Kultur 5

I found the articles for Kaptiel 5 Kultur assignment interesting choices. From what I have read before, I got the sense that Germans have different cultural behaviors than I am used to, but I think the fact that they rarely say Entschuldigung. Saying excuse me has been something that's been drilled in my mind since I could speak, and is just a concept that is so familiar to me, out of politeness if nothing else. So, I cannot think of it being acceptable not saying it. As for the article on the sex shops, I find it humorous how casual Germans are about them. It's true though, about the location of them in US cities, well from what I've seen in NYC. They aren't hidden or in bad neighborhoods, but they are not as open as German ones, as described in the article. I also think it's funny to read about flirting in Germany. I always hear about my best friend's experience with German guys, and now I wonder if they are the way the are because she grew up in America. It's also a good thing to know if I ever plan on going to Germany. The Klofrau is something I have heard of though. Many of the restaurants I've been to in New York have "sanitary assistants", but instead of tipping only 30 cents or so, they expect to be tipped at least a dollar. Granted, it depends on the quality of the restaurant. Lastly, I found the statistics and other facts about women in Germany was very interesting to read about.