Kaffeeklatsch

For those who don't speak German, Kaffeeklatsch translates to “coffee party,” and it’s a coffee party every Wednesday at 4 p.m at the German House (Hillside 5F, not to be confused with HILL Suite 5F).

Well, “party” may not be the appropriate term. There’s usually no music or dancing, but there is coffee. There are also cookies, straight from the oven (some days, literally). With plenty of coffee and cookies, the weekly Kaffeeklatsch are laidback and conversational. And very yummy.

No one remembers when exactly the Kaffeeklatsch meetings began. I know when I was a freshman they had them, so they are at least three years old. Regardless of the age, it’s become a tradition and main staple of the German Club. They always precede and then continue after the regular meetings, helping to keep everyone full and caffeinated.

One of the biggest draws of the German Club is the free food, whether it's at the meetings or the events. Call it bribery or whatever you want, but it is something the club always strives to have. The weekly Kaffeeklatsch is the best example of this. The way I see it, the Germans take their food and drink seriously, so the German Club should as well. And free food is the best kind.

Correction: USG-funded food is the best kind. The cookies, coffee, and creamer come straight out of our rather generous budget. So we get to have Kekse (cookies) and Kaffee (coffee) at every meeting without making the club officers go broke.

You might say, “I don’t speak German so I can’t come to the Kaffie-coffee-whatever-it's-called, right?” Wrong. Speaking German is optional. The meetings are not conducted in German and most of the conversation is not. Of course, if you want to, we usually have the two German professors and a number of German speakers at the meetings. They would love to help you with your German. However, more often than not, the conversations are in English.

The point of the club is to promote and enjoy German culture. The point of the Kaffeeklatsch is to gather everyone interested in German culture and converse with each other. We usually get a good group of 6-12 people showing up, so there's never a lack of conversation. Even if you’re only remotely interested, you’re encouraged to stop by and have a cup of coffee and chat. The meetings start at 4:30 and run about 15 minutes, depending on how much needs to be talked about. Then we hang out some more afterwards and chat. Interested students are always welcome, and there’s always plenty of coffee to spare.