Kultur 6

   When reading through the article about closed doors for Kultur 6, I was very intrigued.  I found it funny that the scenario that they described has, in fact, happened to me many times even in my native society.  This just puts into perspective, how awkward a scenario like this could be in a foreign environment.  I also found the article somewhat helpful and insightful.  It just goes to show that confidence is very important when it comes to interactions in an unknown environment.  You cannot be afraid to take chances or you will never have the opportunity to establish new relationships or break new barriers in life.

AMD 6

   For AMD 6, I decided to talk about one of my favorite philosophers who also happens to be German.  Max Weber was born in 1864 and throughout his life, he went to college, because a professor, and even had a mental breakdown.  This breakdown put him out of work for five years before he returned and  wrote his most famous piece of work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.  His work led him to become one of the most famous sociologists of all time, and his work has established ties in many economies throughout all past time.

The art of biased writing

   When looking through the articles to be read for kultur 5, I found them very interesting as well as comical.  They were some of the most biased articles I have ever read through and carried nationalistic ideas forward that are far out of date.  Nonetheless, I found them entertaining and easy to read.
   The first article that caught my attention was about sex shops in Germany compared to the United States.  I found it hilarious that they considered the shops here as places where one would go after buying drugs.  Although I am quite sure they did not mean this literally, it was still such a slanderous assumption to make that it made me smile.  I also liked the fact that they tried to play up the shops in their society as such romantic and desirable places.  It just goes to show that no matter what culture, shops like these will always need a hand from biased journalists to seem more appealing and less embarrassing.
  The second article that I found interesting was about both how to and how not to flirt in Germany.  I found it interesting that the writer finds American flirting much more forward.  It has always been a stereotype in my head that Europeans are much more forward when it comes to confrontation.  This just goes to show that we all look at situations and personalities based on our nationality.  It is very hard to keep biased ideas from ruining our judgement.

Gerlicious (corny AMD 5)

   For AMD 5, I decided to venture into the world of German cuisine.  Although I am a terrible cook, I have always been good at eating, and German food is always an appealing aspect.  I have always been a fan of German cooking and drinks, probably due to the fact that I was raised on a wide variety of food that allowed me to try many different dishes.

   One of my favorite aspects about German food, is how rich it seems compared to what I am used to eating.  German dishes tend to have rich sauce, meaty filling, or even toppings.  An example of this richness can be seen when looking at German baking.  Many German cakes have filling or are covered in home made frosting that is both enticing as well as delicious.  

   Another aspect of German cuisine that has always been interesting to me is the idea of how similar some dishes are.  The pasta  served in Germany (examples such as spargel) are very much like pasta served here.  With this being said, the one difference that I have noticed is that it is many times served with potatoes within the German culture.

   Overall, German cooking will continue to have a place in my heart.  The rich cooking as well as the familiar taste behind these dishes compels me to give in and take that one extra bite.  I hope that everybody gets to try German cuisine at some point, and it would be a shame if stubbornness stopped this experience.

Spontaneous Complexity

   For this AMD article, I decided to take some time and look through some German influences in art.  This topic was very interesting to me due to the fact that I have always been drawn to art in many ways.  I have always considered art a very vague term and therefore decided to search for all forms of art that intrigued me within the German civilization.
   The first thing that I discovered about German art is the fact that much of its origins are very hard to trace.  The German population has only been united in one overall state since the early 19th century.  This leaves much of the art created before this time within boundaries no longer considered Germany.  With this being said, there are many known works of great beauty that archaeologists are certain can be attributed to the German community.
  When looking through the hand crafted art examples online, I found that German artists take the time to produce pieces of art that are exceedingly rich in detail.  An example that stood out to me was a piece of their wood working.  This work ( example below) is both complex and beautiful.

   In the end, I was very pleased that I took the time to look at the history of art in Germany.  It was exciting to be able to compare their work with the work done by American artists.  I hope to come to a better understanding of German art and their pastimes.  Hopefully this will shed some light on the culture who's language I am desperately trying to learn.

Gettin Around

   When reading through the articles for Kultur 4, there were two major points that struck me as interesting.  The first subject I would like to talk about is the article about biking in Germany.  I find it very interesting that they take such pride in riding bikes to and from work as well as many other times throughout their daily travel.  This seems at home to me not because I ride my bike often, but due to the fact that I am barely ever seen riding in a car.  I am able to walk to and from my classes as well as to many of the shops that I need to travel to in daily life.
   I also enjoyed the fact that bikers in Germany have priority when it comes to pedestrians and drivers.  This seems logical to me due to the fact that you should already be paying attention to pedestrians when driving, and it is also much easier for a walker to stop then it is for a biker.  It seems fit that they should have  to pay attention the least seeing as it is hardest for them to avoid some sort of collision.
   Finally, I also wanted to talk about the article that mentions the "lack of logic" behind German trains.  I found that this article was very nationalistic and I didn't appreciate it.  I feel that the writer of the article simply did not take the time to properly learn about the train system in Germany, and when it came back to bite them, they took it out on the country they were visiting.  I feel that there is no lack of logic simply due to the fact that a visitor may not be use to using a train the same way a German has for many years.

The Cup

   For Amd 3, I decided to look into the fact that German hosted the 2006 world cup for soccer.  This seemed like a good topic to elaborate on due to the fact that I played soccer for thirteen years before ending that hobby when I started college.  The idea of writing about  a sport that consumed so much of my life seemed natural.

   When looking through several articles on the hosting of the 2006 world cup, I found that tickets were sold from anywhere between 35 to 600 Euros.  This didn't shock me in the slightest due to the fact that there are so man different categories of people that attend these events.  There needs to be seating to accommodate all types of spectators, and this would make pricing very competitive.  

   I also think it is worth mentioning that due to the fact that they were hosting the cup, Germany was automatically entered into the qualifying matches.  With this said, I do not believe that they need this advantage due to the fact that Germany seems to do well almost always throughout the soccer season.  They have been to qualifying matches many years prior and continued to do well for years after.

   When the matches finally did begin, Germany hosted them in their newly renovated Berlin historic Olympic Stadium.  The renovations cost Germany 291 million dollars and the spectacle that it created was well worth the money in my mind.  This stadium was also host to other Olympic games and Germany was no stranger to participation in those as well.

Food or Foe?

   When reading through the most recent "kultur" articles, I was very happy to find that a majority of the subjects examined involved some of my favorite activities.  These activities consist of eating and drinking...  Although I do not consider myself an expert in cooking or even eating/ drinking, I was still very interested in the subject of sustenance in another society.
   The first thing that came across as important in these articles was the idea of casually drinking.  This is such a slap in the face for a society like ours, and  I was very pleased to see such a contrast in viewpoints.  I believe that when the article talks about beer as if it were nothing more then a daily thirst quencher for many in Germany, it gives the realization that not all countries look down on drinking.  Here, we tend to look at public drinking with some stigma, while in Germany, they do it on a daily basis, and in very public places.  This showed much understanding  on their part and it is something that I hope will someday be reflected here in the U.S.
  Another aspect of drinking that this article talked about was the idea that they are trying to rid their society of its public drinking "problem".  While I completely disagree with the idea of ridding public drinking, I do agree that there needs to be some limitations.  The part of the article that had me somewhat concerned was where it mentioned drinking on the job.  This is something that could not only be dangerous to the person consuming alcohol, but also those around him/her.  For this reason, I do feel that any job designating heavy labor should not allow alcohol to be consumed during the work hours.
   Lastly, these articles caught my attention when they covered the organic food that people tend to enjoy so much in Germany.  This was very interesting to me due to the fact that I have always enjoyed fresh and organic food when compared to processed goods.  I believe that it is amazing that they have so many shops where you are just able to go at any time and pick up all of the fresh produce and other goods that you need.  This would be especially nice to have here seeing as the healthy alternative in America tends to cost more then it is worth, leading many down the lesser of the healthy choices.

AMD 2 Word Play

   When reading through Duden's "Words of the Decade", I was very amused.  I was excited to see that many words in German are very similar when compared to their English translation.  Words like Gangsta-rap actually made me laugh because of how straight forward they had been translated.  This goes to show that shaping society and therefore its language is one thing that follows the rule of simplicity.
   This article was also very interesting to me due to the fact that the German population seems to be adding many words based on social change.  For example, Lebenspartnerschaften is now used to describe a homosexual couple as life partners.  This shows a social change towards acceptance of one of the biggest society changes.  This brought into perspective the idea that the German population must cope with just as much media and social change as the society I am use to.
   Lastly, I found it interesting that it has only been one hundred years since the death of Duden.  The founder of this dictionary was known as the founder of the nationally accepted German dictionary and the article claims he is the "canon of German."  It seems somewhat awkward that it was only a century ago that the main dictionary for a specific language came into existence.

Kultur 2

   These articles were not only funny to read, but they were also very interesting.  I found it intriguing to compare how German citizens view their country and fellow citizens.  It seems to me as if when viewing one's own country, we tend to look at it in a biased way as well as a negative one.
   I feel that people as a whole tend to look down on our own countries when comparing them to another.  This came up in these articles when the writers spoke about staring, rude honesty, and even complaining.  I found it humorous to think about walking down a street and having some pair of eyes staring at me through every window that I pass.  I also liked the comments made about honesty and how brutally honest the German population is made out to be.
   In the end, I found these articles well worth the read.  It is nice to have an "inside source" on how those people originally from one country view it from inside a new one.  It shows that we all are biased when it comes to our "home towns" and that we may even be biased in a way that is negative.  Nonetheless, these articles were both interesting in a factual point of view as well as a humorous one.

Unfamiliar Face...book.

   Reading through Facebook in German this weekend was quite an eye opener.  When skimming through this familiar site in a different language it truly shows the obvious similarities and differences between English and the German language.  It was especially intriguing when looking at the different options you have when trying to comment on or like a specific status.
   One of the more interesting aspects of Facebook in German, is the fact that there are so many cognates.  For example, to comment on a status, you simply click the button labeled kommentieren.  It was also fairly easy to determine that that "suche" meant search in the drop box where you may search for a friend to chat with.  These cognates are a great help when trying to deal with a site that is currently being processed in a language that you are not completely familiar with.
    Although there were many helpful similarities between the site in German and the site in English, it is also worth mentioning that some differences could make it difficult to navigate the site in German. One major example of one such difference is the fact that the "share" button for a specific status is labeled "tellen" when viewing the site in German.  This was misleading to me due to the fact that "tellen" seems more like "comment" or "tell' in English. This could definitely confuse the user of Facebook if they were unfamiliar with the location of each specific button prior to this experience.
    Overall, I feel that this experience shows exactly how important both the similarities and differences are when it comes to one language compared to another.  This shows me that in the future, it may be a good idea to look for cognates in a German sentence to help decipher it.  It also shows that when using cognates to help interpret a foreign language, you must be careful not to assume every similar word directly translates.  These ideas will play an important role in the future development in my understanding of the German language.

Kapitel 1: Adaptation and contribution

    Reading through this article, I found myself coming to a conclusion that the German population that migrated to the United States were not only motivated, but also very patriotic in nature.  As this article states, this group of people were forced to make their journey in harsh times to find an economy better suited to meet their needs at the time.  This action shows not only courage in the sense of diving into a new economy and population, but also a drive to do better for one's family.
    Another surprising detail in this article was the fact that not only were these people courageous enough to rush into an unknown environment, but they were also very efficient in doing so.  I was surprised to read that this group of immigrants succeeded in their new environment by accepting a new way of life.  They did not try to bring every aspect of their culture with them, but merely accepted their new way of life in a new economy and strove to acclimate to a new population.  This shows a great amount of acceptance in the German population.  To be able to give up many familiar life styles shows a great sense of adaptation.
    Lastly, I think that it is worth mentioning the effect that these Germans have had on the society in the United States.  For example, this article states that in Wisconsin, the German speaking immigrants had such an impact that the town of New Glarus actually became known as "America's Little Switzerland."  This concept shows our society has much to gain from other populations such as the one mentioned in this article.

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