AMD 4

Today I read a few articles on how Germans feel about having the best performing economy in the eurozone, and how they feel about bailing out other countries, most notably Greece. The first article I read said that only 53% of Germans seemed to be against the bailout, which to me was very surprising because I expected there to be many more Germans. However, the last article I read, which was not dated, quoted a German man saying that about two thirds of the people in Germany oppose the bailout, which to me makes more sense. I am curious however if they know how much they rely on these other countries, mostly like Spain and Italy, and if that plays a large roll in their decision. Because, if all the other major economies are not doing well, then Germany will most likely follow because they rely heavily on exports. Another interesting thing was that A.M. was starting to lose favor within her own party over the bailout issue, and there are almost enough people in her party that are voting against the bailout, that she will possibly have to start relying on the opposing party to keep bailing out Greece.

One of the most interesting things I learned though, was that while all the other economies around them have been seeing declines and recessions, Germany has seen growth. The reason stated was that due to some prior reforms when the global recession began, Germany quickly turned it around by cutting some pensions, and in return has enjoyed continued growth. This growth has accelerated since many companies are now moving to Germany since they have lower taxes, and the economy has not felt the hardship as those around it.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/26/us-eurozone-germany-poll-idUSTRE81P0BW20120226
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/germans-edge-key-greek-austerity-vote-nears-829606

AMD 4

For this AMD, I watched a documentary in german about the late Karl Richter (I mentioned him in my Bach post). Richter was a German conductor, organist, and harpsichordist. While he is often lauded as one of the greatest interpreter of Bach (specifically for his directing/conducting of the Münchener Bach-Chor and Münchener Bach-Orchester), he was also a prodigious instrumentalist. At the age of 23 he was appointed as an organist for the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, one of the most prestigious organist positions in the world- partly because the Thomaskirche was the church where Bach was Musical Director in the 1700s. His renditions of Bach's greatest works (the Passions, the Mass, Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, etc.) are known by Bach experts as intense, deep, and expressive. One thing that makes Richter so unique is that he did not conduct Bach in a Romantic manner, as many of his contemporaries did. He avoided drastic fluctuation in tempo, and kept the sound balanced throughout the orchestras that he conducted. Richter died of a heart attack in München in 1981, at the age of 55.

Listening to the documentary and reading the subtitles, I was able to pick out some of the subjects we have gone over in class. What I found really interesting was how different the construction of sentences in german is compared to English. It seemed as though what was being spoken was incredibly scrambled, when compared to the english sentences. While I notice this in class, I was surprised by the degree of which it can seem "scrambled". 

AMD 4

I decided that I was going to re-watch Das Boot ("The Boat") in German with English subtitles.  Das Boot is about a German Lieutenant in World War II and his time with his crew in a German U-boat.  The movie does not have much plot, but it served to portray the harsh and often monotonous life of a soldier in the German Navy.  The film uses lengthy scenes to help the audience understand the days that the crew would have to wait for a sighting of an enemy vessel.  The life of the movie comes from its battle scenes.  Das Boot also delves into Nazi history a bit.  I've read a book called "The Wave" by Todd Strasser that was written as a metaphor to the rise of the Nazi Party.  The book tends to explain that the Nazi party gained momentum through strong promises from an enigmatic leader, resulting in the emergence of zealous followers who blindly swore allegiance to the party's ideals.  However, Das Boot suggests differently; the crew members including the lieutenant often ridiculed their Fuhrer.  As the audience, we are innately opposed to the idea of supporting the soldiers of the Nazi Party.  We realize that quite a few of the soldiers were not loyal to Hilter, but to their country and continued to follow orders.  I definitely felt sympathy towards the crew of the submarine, considering their long hours of labor and cramped living space.  

AMD 4

This weekend was actually quite interesting because I had originally planned to watch a movie with the German Club, that is until the malfunctioning DVD-Spieler attacked! Instead I ended up going to the Heidelberg with a friend to eat, and I have to say I was thoroughly impressed! The atmosphere of the restaurant was very rustic and from the moment you stepped in the door it was completely different from any place I had been to. I was very thrilled when the waitor sat us in front of the big Bavarain crest. At first I was a little iffy since truthfully the descriptions under the food didn't sound too appealing, but it was actually turned out to be very good. I had the Wurstwich with the Boar and Apple wurst and Spaetzle on the side and it was delicious! My friend let me sample her Rouladen and potato cakes which were both amazing. Overall I was very pleased with my experience at the Heidelburg and I can't wait to go back for more yummy German food!

AMD 4

For my AMD, I decided to turn my Facebook language to Deutsch for the whole day. I was actually surprised to see that many of the words were the same as they are in English, like "status" or "chat". I am assuming that these are new words that were incorporated into the German language like "Overheadprojektor." However, I have learned a lot simply from knowing how to navigate Facebook, but with different words for my activities. For example, when writing a status, instead of it asking "What's on your mind", it asks "Was machst du gerade?" which means "What are you doing?".  There are a few of these little differences on the Facebook page that now helps me understand German culture a little bit better. Also, I learned a lot of new vocabulary, like "Nachrichten", "Orte", and "Gesponsert". I think that I may keep my Facebook language to German for a few more days. It is pretty fun.