Kultur 5

I found the "No Entschuldigung" article to be quite funny. Despite having brushed up against a few people in a crowded room or on the street, or stepping on a few feet getting off in a hurry, I try to say "Sorry" if I can. Yes, I have missed saying it a few times, and- as I'm sure Germans could attest- nothing happens if you don't say sorry in these kinds of situations (at least not in my experiences). I honestly think that Americans are too concerned of clearing their conscience of any wrongdoing. However, what wrongdoing is there in accidentally rubbing shoulders with someone on the street? Are you supposed to stop them and plead for forgiveness? Maybe I too have just "come to terms with more day-to-day physical contact", as the Germans have. However, I don't think I would be comfortable plowing through a crowded room like and Arctic ice-breaker. 

Kultur 5

For the article "Women in Germany", I was not too surprised to learn that women's' rights are at a level similar to those in the USA. The only difference between the two seems to be that fewer women have high ranking careers in Germany compared to men. This article seemed to be the only one that showed similarities between the USA and Germany. I found it interesting that although Germany can seem similar to the USA, there are many different parts of their culture that clash with ours. For instance, in the way Germans flirt seems much less aggressive and more committed. I have heard of Klofrau's in the US but they definitely do not seem to be as common as they are in Germany. I was also surprised to read about the street etiquette in Germany. Its not too difficult to give a quick apology for getting in someone's way so it seems odd to me that they don't.

Kulture 5

I remember when I was in Germany and wherever I went I always asked how to say sorry, however when they told me about entshuldigun I gave up fairly quickly and resorted to pardon with a french accent, that way they would think I'm french instead of american.  One thing that I did really like about Europe in general was how friendly and open the people were, and how it is not awkward to have so many sex stores, or to go to them. Whereas over here we are a lot more conservative. I also liked how it was much easier to talk about sex and it was not an awkward conversation to have with people you didn't know terribly well. However, even with people you know well talking about sex can be and awkward conversation. While I was in Europe I looked at a few sex shops, one of which was three levels, and I always found it really interesting to see what the Europeans were into. I personally still do no understand the candy bras or panties because the candy will just get wet from trying to eat it and then make everything sticky. Also, who has the patience in that scenario to eat all the candy. There is lingerie that does a much better job. Anyway, I appreciated the Europeans openness. I also experienced how forthcoming the women can be, and in some cases I felt like I had to be the conservative one and that the girls were the ones making most the moves. Not to say it was just me, I think it was just because of the culture, and possibly because I was foreign. 

Kultur 5

As you are well aware these articles are pretty up front and don't beat around the bush however this one takes the cake so far. I had absolutely no idea that Germany had so many sex shops throughout the cities. I always have known about the beer and the open air markets and even some of there department stores but never this. I also find it weird that Germans will use sex shops as a point of reference.Another thing that I found quite interesting was the Kolfrau. At some of the very upscale places in the US you have bathroom attendants its rare but they do exsist, but they don't even expect a tip. I found it weird that they expect a 30-50 cent tip whether your at a formal place or informal. When I was in Germany I also noticed that they do tend to avoid saying sorry and or excuse me. These articles help enforce the fact that Germans are a touch off kilter.

Kultur 5

In the first reading, 'No Blood, No Entschuldigung', the sentence that Germans are inherently rude really surprises me since I was always considering Germans as a polite symbol. The descriptions about how they plow grimly ahead on the way and how they react after stepping on one's feet are really interesing. In the last paragraph, the writer use a sample of being jabbed by a bitter old lady who wants to clear place for his grandson to again, demonstrate the impoliteness of germans.
Besides, the sex shop culture is really impressive since Germans are even more open to the sex shop. The author says sex shops are located all over the Germany, and the location of sex shops are not restricted to be away from a respectable institution like church. But the traditional opening hours are really inconvenient and one might have to wait until week days to shop.
It's good to know that I need to bring plenty of coins with me when go to the toilet in Germany. Since the Klofrau is paid poorly and the earning from toilet attendents takes a large part of their earning, coins are significant to them. And too much or too little is no good, 30-50 cents are appropriate.

Kultur 5

Once again I found these articles quite interesting. I have no idea what to make out of the Klofrau. I truthfully think it would be annoying to have to pay for public restrooms whether they might be clean or not. On the other hand though I can see how even though it's a lowly job, its still a job and they are still making money. I don't know what jobs these bathroom attendants would be doing other wise. Though if I lived in Germany I would not want to be a Kolfrau and spend my whole day in a bathroom. Also I do find it odd that sex shops are just a normal thing for Germans. I just find the whole idea kind of odd because it is completely the opposite of what we do here. Even talking about sex shops is weird. It makes me wonder how Germans respond when their small children ask about these shops. I suppose they are pushed into have a birds and the bees talk just a bit early! The other article I read that really struck me the most was what comes off to tourists as rude, but is actually a comfortableness with lack or personal space. I find it interesting because I've heard stories of in Japan people will cram onto trains until they are completely full, but this seems to be a different kind of closeness. Germans are just very blunt and have things to do, and I think quite literally, they don't let anyone stand in their way.

Kultur 5

I was pretty surprised that Germans don't say Entschuldigung that often. To me, that seems very rude since in America we are taught to be polite to people and not just jab someone in the ribs and not say sorry or excuse me. Flirting in Germany seems so strange. It seems kinda creepy to just stare at her for a moment and that's it. I always thought that Germany was similar to America but the more articles I read, I realize that has some big differences.As for the article on German sex shops, this is the first thing that popped into my mind was...

...and I'll just leave it at that.

Kapitel 5 Kultur

These readings didn't quite peak my interest as much as others in the past have, despite some of the attention grabbing headlines! Of course there's always something to be learned and a few points did stick out to me.

First of all, I didn't like the depiction of the U.S.'s prudishness in the "German Erotica: The Land of Beer, Sausage and Sex Shops" article. I understand where these stereotypes come from, those who are very conservative are pretty vocal about it, but in cities, sex shops are not nearly as rare as this article makes them out to be. Ann Arbor has Bongz and Thongz as well as the Safe Sex Store, and I'm sure that's not it. When I lived in Chicago there was no scarcity of erotica supply shops. Of course, in the suburbs things are a little different, but I'm sure the same can be said about Germany's cities vs. their more rural areas.

I really love the idea of the Klofrau. I'll give her all of my spare change in exchange for a clean bathroom. Public restrooms are some of my most feared and avoided places in most cases, so to have the assurance of a recently cleaned toilet is a great idea to me. It breaks my heart to hear that the profession dying out.

I didn't take much from the "Women of Germany" excerpts. I read through it, but I think it was just too many dry stats in a row for me to handle. 

The "Bekannte oder Freunde" bit from the book was the most interesting to me out of all the readings we had for this chapter. It's just strange to me that forming a friendship is so formal, when to me, friends are some of the most informal people in my life. The idea that there is even a ceremonial drink to mark the occasion is so odd! I like it though, as I've always had a few very close and important friends and I feel like German culture places emphasis on the importance of the few people that are considered Freunde, not Bekannte. 

Kultur 5

The article about women in Germany was very interesting because I couldn't help but compare it to the little I know about French culture. I'm not by any means an expert but it seems to me that when it comes to women in the workplace the French are a little more sexist. I think this is the same in German but in France there are different names for male and female professions. For example, a male postal worker is facteur but a female postal worker is factrice. Also, the French sometimes are very typical and refuse to make any distinction at all in the word spelling and simply add "femme (woman)" to the end of the profession to make the distinction. (Example: un ingénieur (male engineer), une femme ingénieur (female engineer)) This however differs in French speaking parts of Canada where they have adopted different spellings for female occupations. Obviously we don't have a distinction like that for most professions in English. I know there isn't perfect gender equality here, but I like to think that it's pretty close. I've read articles that suggest thinking differs from language to language. Like that article we read earlier said a German speaker may think of bridges as beautiful and elegant because bridge is a feminine noun but to a French speaker bridges might be powerful and sturdy because bridge is a masculine noun to them. I'm not calling these languages sexist of course, but it does make me think that gender inequality may stem from these simple nouns.
Anyways, I think this is a great achievement for German women. It really amazed me to learn how progressive women are as far as getting an education and entrepreneurship. It's comforting to hear that there isn't much of difference in earnings between men and women. There is a difference, but it's rather slim, 99% wasn't it? It reminded me of an interview I heard of a woman, Lilly Ledbetter, who held a position at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company  in Alabama. She shared the highest position in the company with two other men but was paid significantly less just because she was a woman. She calculated that she had lost out on an enormous sum of money because of pay discrimination. Eventually the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into affect because of her story.

Kapital 5- Kultur-Texte

For my Kapital 5 assignment I read about flirting in Germany, and how hard it can actually be to "hook-up" with a German if you are a foreigner.  Due to the differences in culture, it is especially hard for an American man or woman to properly attract the attention of a German woman or man.  There is however, a proper way to flirt in Germany and it is up to the foreigner to learn this way if he or she wants to succeed in having an international relationship.  For the most part, us guys show interest by way of a studied, concentrated look.  The look should be brief and fleeting -- and then the man's job is done.   It is important not to come up to the girl asking, "Hey baby, want to dance?" as this is seen as being overly forward/aggressive and will put the German female out of her comfort zone.  It is then up to the female to decide if she wants to come up to him or ignore him, because with German-on-German flirting, the power rests solidly with the Fräulein. 

It is important to recognize the differences between your own country's take of flirting when compared to Germany's.  If you are able to find the differences and adjust to them while visiting there, you may just have a shot of picking up a German man or woman, depending on whatever floats your boat.

Kultur 5

I think it's interesting that the articles said flirting in Germany is so subtle, but that the sex shops are so open.  In America, it's the opposite.  Flirting here is extremely overt, to the point of sometimes being vulgar.  However, here people are very shy about porn and sex shops.  I've never really liked how America at large treats the whole sex issue, because it seems very hypocritical--people are judgmental of sexuality, but still condone the hook-up culture.  I think I like the German view of it better.

Willkommen!!

Welcome to our class blog!

We will be using this blog throughout the semester for two kinds of assignments:

1. Once per chapter, the homework plan will direct you to post a response to the culture readings for the chapter on the blog.

2. Roughly every other week, the homework plan will direct you to post here for your Abenteuer mit Deutsch (AMD) assignment. First you do a fun activity that involves German, then you post about it. You should spend an hour total on this (maybe 45-55 minutes doing something, 5-15 minutes posting about it). See Was ist ein AMD, AMD Ideen and Beispiele for ideas. This should get you excited about the kinds of things you can do!

Whenever you post something, please include your name and the name of the assignment (e.g. AMD2, Kultur5) as labels. See "Blog: How To" for more details!