Exams | Dominik Mayer – Products, Asia, Productivity

The midterms are over and learning for them has improved my Chinese quite a bit. Inspired by a student of Sinology I had decided not to study any tones as memorizing doesn’t work, I can’t speak them anyway and most Chinese also understand me if I don’t use them. That doesn’t mean that I won’t try to learn them by speaking.

In the midterms we solved some exercises in teamwork and I would have never thought that one day a Chinese would copy from me in a Chinese exam. ;-)

We found a great book about Shanghai with beautiful pictures and very interesting texts but don’t have the time to read. The midterms are approaching.

Chinese test tomorrow morning, I’m learning hanzi. It’s impossible. I can mostly recognize and read them and if I see one I know how to write it. But if I shall write one with given pinyin or on my own I’m totally lost.

And I still can’t memorize the tones, not to mention that even if I know the right ones I’m unable to pronounce them. Instead of “two yuan” (liǎng kuài) I say “cold weather” (liáng kuài) and my noodles (miàntiáo) tend to become sanitary napkins (miántiáo).

Just swallowed my last two Buluofen. I’m feeling much better now. Not yet perfect, but better. The problem is now to catch up with the Chinese lessons. On Monday we’ll have an exam about the first book…

Here’s a text from a German exam in China. It explains why Germans like women with darker skin while Chinese prefere those with a lighter tone.

But my favorite is still this dialog from a textbook:

A: Hello, Mr. Muller. B: Hello, Mrs. Krug. A: How are you? B: Good, thank you. A: Really? B: Yes, everything’s ok. A: Really? B: Yes, I am very well. A: Aha. B: Wonderful. A: Aaah. B: Yes, life is so beautiful.

“Dominik has no time to be excited about Shanghai.” That was on Wednesday. Now the exams are over and I’m going to move out tomorrow. Still not much time, but there is room for a little excitement.

Nine hours until the exam Computer Networks starts… Then Investment and Financial Management in the evening and I’m ready to go. If only it was Monday.

Beachten Sie, dass zur Lösung mancher Aufgaben die Durchführung einer Integration nötig sein kann.

Note, that it might be necessary to process an integration in order to solve some exercises.

One exam next Thursday, two more the Friday after next, then two days to clear out the apartment and I’ll be gone. Is there any time for a farewell party?

I don’t want to write on my semester thesis, don’t want to study for the exams, don’t want to clear out my appartment and don’t want to go to China. Although I have to admit that the images Jan and Michael took look quite good.

As interesting as computer networks may be, learning for an exam is none of my favorite pastimes. And it was so beautiful outside. The sun shone, people left their winter coats at home, the city began to be in bloom.

An exam is scheduled for February 25th, five days after the projected start of the semester in China. The professor offered to send it to China so that I could write it there, supervised by a member of Tongji. Sounded like a great idea, but TUM won’t allow it.

1. Flight Mechanics I is not Flight Mechanics II. The same applies for the exams.
2. Mechanics exams were longer two years ago.
3. On a late trip to the botanical garden it’s advisable to visit the greenhouses first.
4. If you want someone reluctant to come along, you just need to find the right person for asking.
5. Bavarian politician Gabriele Pauli wants marriage to automatically end after seven years unless it’s been renewed.
6. Coming back from Sweden to Germany is like switching from a monthly to a strip ticket.
7. Pizza in TribüHne is inexpensive and tasty.
8. You better don’t eat anything in China and use tap water only for showering, bottled water for everything else.

The freshmen wrote their mechanics exam this morning, so there’s only information technology left. My last one for the time being is flight mechanics which will start in 50 minutes. Wish me luck.

(It’s time that it ends, my script starts to fall apart.)

The lecture Produktentwicklung und Konstruktion (PuK), product development and construction design) teaches how to generate various ideas for technical products.

How would you close a pitted, almond-filled date? I used, amongst others, excess pressure while the proposed solutions contained throwing it on the ground as well as shooting two balls at it.

Today’s exam was trickier, it was about a highly realistic bicycle trainer which permitted tilting and could simulate inclines.