Kultur 2

For the article, "The German National Pastime", I found it interesting that the amount Germans complain is so much larger than in the US. I have always thought that people in the US tend to complain a lot, so I cannot imagine how much the Germans must complain if the person who wrote the article noticed such a significant difference between the two countries. For the article, "The Germanic Stare Down", I thought it was interesting that this particular aspect of German culture has stayed around for so long after the 20th century. In a way, its good that Germans feel such a strong civic duty to their fellow countrymen, but I also think that this particular characteristic of Germans could get to be overbearing and rather annoying. Also, when I visited Germany, I noticed that people definitely seemed comfortable with staring. For the article, "Brutally Honest: Have you gained weight?", I think it is good to an extent to be so honest so that people will not misinterpret what you say, but I think that this brutal honesty does not need to extend as far as the article says it does. For the article, "By the Numbers: An Obsession with Statistics", I think that this is a very good quality in the German culture. Germans seem to be very knowledgeable of not only the statistics of places, but also with history and current events.

Kultur 2

"There's the positive, clean, efficient, functioning country that visitors see -- and there's this incredibly awful place the locals live in."

I found the articles, "The German National Pastime" in particular, to be hilarious reads.  I love how the blog goes on about how the German mindset is concrete, and how German's will defend their right to complain.  Of course as readers, we have to implement a bit of skepticism when reading these, even though these articles are humorously honest at times.   I can't say I have much experience with my German friends giving me stare downs.

Overall, what I gathered from the articles is that the average German conversation is a bit more... obtrusive than an American one.  Brutal honesty dominates German talk; the open expression of medical problems is a good example.  

Kultur 2

#Deutschlandproblems

The article about German complaining was fascinating. It seems like Germany is pretty cushy yet the residents don't see it that way. I think Health insurance, great public transportation, and 4-8 weeks of paid vacation is pretty nice. Maybe Americans have lower standards....who knows.

I would be mortified/so creeped out if someone made it their business to stare at me for long periods of time. That kind of behavior would warrant some major backlash and confrontation in the U.S. I love the line "Smiling and winking, on the other hand, might get you a date. " Some people wish it was that easy.

Brutal honest would be a shock to the American system. Yet I love how we have this unwritten language of passive aggressiveness/rudeness. This line was particularly funny: "We're having a party, please do come," means "We feel rude not inviting you in front of these other people, but surely you'll have the grace not to show up." 

But really...who doesn't like Wagner?! I mean, rainbow bridges to Valhalla??? Yes, please!!!

Metropolitan Opera Ring Cycle

WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!

Kultur 2

     The deeper I got into these Kultur articles the more I wanted to be German for a day. Wouldn't that be fun? So I'm going to start now by complaining about things. There are so many times I've lied through my teeth about Christmas gifts and whatnot. I think Americans try too hard to be nice. It's nice to be nice. But honesty is good too. I've always been the sort of person that likes others to be as comfortable as possible, even though it may result in my own discomfort. But not much bothers me, so it's all good. It's not that I'm a liar, I'm just trying to be nice. It's so confusing!
      I think our American accomidativeness (not a word) is especially apparent when you look at new college roommates. I didn't know my roommate before and I was trying so hard to keep the peace. We were so passive, it was almost funny. For the first few weeks of school I always went to bed with the lights on because she'd still be doing homework in the library and I wanted to make sure she could see when she got home. One day she finally told me to turn the lights off at bedtime and I asked "Are you sure?" about a thousand times. But we are totally upfront about some things. Even then we try to be tactful, "I think we should rent a vacuum this week. I've been shedding like crazy!" You see, it's just not acceptable to say "Please clean up your hair, this is getting ridiculous". Is that even too direct for the Germans? I suppose I can't even wrap my head around how blunt they are. I always have to beat around the bush when it comes to "confrontation".
      Girls really have a problem with bluntness. We're always saying "Oh my word! You look so great today!" We can't really be honest with each other when it comes to the "How do I look?" question. I wish people would just be honest. I'd rather find out about a run in my tights when I still have time to change them rather than at the end of the day. Like when I sat on a bench in the diag and I got chalk all over my jeans. Oh my word, I looked like such a fool. If only there was someone to save me.

Kapitel 2 Kultur

I am really not a right person to hear complaints and moaning. I was barely a listener to my not very close friends. Everytime they started complaining, I will just make an excuse and leave. Since I feel that when I complain to others, I am spreading my pains and forcing them to share with annoyance, which I have no right to do. But I think it's time for me to make a change since I want to go to Germany! In the first reading "Whining, Bitching and Moaning", the author says that the Germans are "very happy" to complain about things like economy and football teams even though they don't have any real reason to do that. People living there are mostly covered by health insurance and they have a four-to-eight paid vacation every year, which is a way-better and easier life compared to most other countries.  I might study a bit harder to make sure to get ready to understand what people in the subway are complaining about before I go. And I would try to get used to the staring by elders from a window I passed by although it might be tough. Being stared by people is always a super awkward thing!
As for their habit of using statistics, it sounds perfect to me! I am studying statistics so I might have some common sense with Germans hopefully. It might scare them if I tell them that there are over a thousand and four hundred million people in my hometown, Shenzhen. I would love to see how surprised when they hear that! And I won't go there before I collected  enough data about the size and our polical system etc.


Got to study harder to get ready to my jouney in Germany!

Kapitel 2 Kultur

I found the articles on German culture to be both an interesting and insightful look into the German culture. Almost immediately upon reading the articles my mind drifted back to my Oma and all the odd habits that I perceived she had. She would always seem to be in an awful mood, she drove my Dad crazy, and she would perpetually stare me down whenever I would help her with housework in her older years. As a kid I always thought that she was a grumpy lady and going over to her house was a real drag. Of course, as I got older I realized that she actually had quite the sweet side and was a very nice person. The articles "The German National Pastime," "Brutally Honest," and "The Germanic Staredown" hit the nail on the head with the way I perceived her traits. It was interesting to read articles explaining German culture and to see that they supported my own conclusion that her seeming bitterness was just a cultural divide.

Kapitel 2 Kultur

While the quirks of Deutsch Kultur may seem odd to Americans, I actually find them quite interesting and smart. I do admit it would be creepy to have an elderly person watch me from their apartment or having staring contests with random strangers. I, like many Germans, have bad habit of constantly complaining about things. Many people find it annoying but I only do it as a form of venting; a way of making myself feel better about what's going on. Such as the "Art of Complaining" article said, complaining is a way of pointing out what needs to be improved and is a way flat out saying the truth. This was another thing I found I liked about the Deutsch Kultur. They are matter-of-fact about things and the quote "Bluntness saves time." which has stuck with me since my 11th grade English class, pops into my head now. I do not see why for only the sake of politeness people do not just say what they mean. For these reasons I think Germans have many things right, except the "widespread belief that all Americans eat burgers all the time -- and that they all carry guns".

Kapitel 2 Kultur

What I found most interesting about these readings was the bluntness that is a part of the German language. In the English language, nothing is truly taken at face value. We never really say exactly what we mean due to the fear of being impolite. So, it is fascinating that in the Germanic language, it would be almost rude to not say exactly what you feel. I also thought that it was a little funny that you would have to explain in depth your answer and possibly even have to debate it. I guess that this way of life ties into Germany's obsession with statistics. The absence of white lies in the German culture is definitely a major difference between German and English.
I thought that the article about complaining in Germany was a little lame. I feel as though everyone complains everywhere. American life is filled with complaining about everyday things. The amount of complaining here has even brought about the saying "first world problems." Like in Germany, we don't have much to complain about so we pick out little things just for the sake of complaining. Therefore, I don't think that Germany is all that different than anywhere else in those regards.
The last article about the staring in Germany is a little creepy. I guess that it does make sense that because of the Cold War, the older generations do have a tendency to stare and record everyones' daily lives. I would definitely not be comfortable with that though. I did like the part in which it said that if people stared in New York like they do in Germany, they would end up getting punched. I thought that was pretty fun. Overall though, I am glad that staring as a pastime is fading out in Germany by the younger generations.