Gauss-Telegraph: First Steps with Gauss

Gauss-Telegraph: First Steps with Gauss

by Mehdi Mnaouar

At the beginning of the winter semester 2020/21 and as part of the two-week First Steps program, the Gauss-Friends with the Gauss Haus Project offered many helpful and informative events in October 2020, such as city tours, online workshops or joint sports activities. Since participation in these events is free of charge and without registration, many first-time participants took part despite the extraordinary restrictions and hygiene measures.

In the course of this two-week program, numerous city tours were organized: The Lichtparcours was an art event organized by the city of Braunschweig. This year, 15 works, both sculptural and cinematic, were developed site-specifically by international artists. A historical city tour was also organized by the Gauss-Friends. The following places were visited: Altstadtmarkt, Gymnasium Martino-Katharineum, Domplatz, castle, Hagenmarkt and the birthplace of Gauss. An alternative city tour was also offered, during which FairTeiler, Unverpackt, FairKauf, second-hand stores, weekly markets, bakeries, Asian markets and Turkish stores were visited. Last but not least a tour in the beautiful Magni Quarter was organized. Highlights of this tour included the church, the crêperie, the municipal museum, the famous Rizzi House and the Lion’s Wall.

Some participants told us their opinion about the First Steps program:

  • Sebastian is 21 years old and comes from Monterrey, Mexico. He has only been in Braunschweig for a few days as part of an exchange year with the DAAD. He liked the city tours very much, even though the weather sometimes didn’t play along. He was very positively surprised that the Gauss-Friends offered many events this semester despite the corona situation.
  • Juana Valentina is 23 years old and comes from Colombia. She is also in Braunschweig in the context of an exchange year. For her it is very difficult to compare Braunschweig with her hometown Bogotá. She thinks that Braunschweig has many very beautiful sights and an elegant architecture, but for her the people in Bogotá are much more open-minded. In her opinion, the First Steps program is very good for getting to know the city in a relaxed and informative way and for making new contacts.
  • For Jiaqi from China, the First Steps program for newcomers is very helpful to get to know the city and German culture. She especially liked the alternative city tour because she was able to discover many new stores that are environmentally friendly and inexpensive.