Kulture 6

These articles did not seem as surprising and attention grabbing as those in the past have. I did find it interesting that many Germans get there news from a magazine that for the most part makes fun of the news. I would think that the Germans would be very strict about who they hear it from, and try to get the most unbiased story. However, it appears they would rather hear a knock off the what is really happening in order to have a good laugh in the process. This is quite different than here in the US where people tend not to use tabloids or magazines that either make up their own news or alter what is actually happening. I at least have never seen anybody buy something like the National Inquirer, and the only satirical outlets I have seen people use are comedy shows and The Onion, which are more comedic than news.

As for the trash, I really liked how the Europeans recycled most everything and how environmentally conscious they are. This is exemplified by Sweden, where they burn trash for energy and since they are so efficient at recycling, they actually have to import trash from Norway for their power plants because they do not produce enough unrecycled waste. I as well was a little confused about where to through my trash, when it had some combination of different things, but in the end the learning curve is quite steep.

Kultur6

I must admit, I am continually befuddled by German culture. There are so many aspects to it that, as we have read throughout the semester, are completely backwards than in the United States. It doesn't make sense that a closed door is inviting; however, I can see the logic in confidently approaching the door, giving it a stern knock, and entering with purpose. Especially in the context of Germany, it conveys much more strength and resolve to enter a room with a purpose and a goal in mind; compare this to walking in sheepishly- it leaves a completely different impression. This enforces the stereotype of Germans being stern and industrious (a bit of a contradiction coming from Der Speigel, which- as we read- wrote an article about German humor). Furthermore, I commend the Germans for taking such a serious national interest in recycling, something our government has yet to do on such a scale. Our government could learn quite a bit about environmentalism from Germany. I have read previously that Germany's solar plants were able to produce record levels of output this year- so much, in fact, that half of the country was powered one day by electricity resulting from solar plants alone. Quite the feat indeed.

Kultur 6

Out of these articles I found the one about the German Privacy by far the most interesting. Here in America and even other countries that I have traveled to when a door is shut you usually just leave whoever is behind the door alone. They obviously don't want to be bothered. If you knock once and nobody answers you assume that nobody is there and you come back at a later time. Just the opposite is true also. If the door is open then its insinuated that its ok to "come on in". I found it quite funny that the Germans will knock as loudly as possible and keep knocking the walk right on in. I also found it odd that there doors are normally closed. In America and especially here at college you meet more people and come off as being much more approachable just by leaving your door open.

Kultur 6

Once again the Germans have blown me away with how friendly they are to the environment. I wish the way we sorted our recyclables were something we would discuss more. Really though, it's seems like the Germans have it close enough to being figured out, so does recycling really have to get more complicated? Don't they have other things to worry about than what's the best way to recycle? Regardless, I'm still impressed. It's also very interesting how important their newspapers are, and what a wide range of information these newspapers cover. Most importantly though were the other two readings, since if I'm going to Germany this summer those will be good things to know. I think I already knew about Uni housing being hard to find and Uni Campuses being spaced out thanks to my chat with Karl-Georg. He admittedly advised me to avoid the bigger cities where I wouldn't be able to stay in dorms.

Kapitel 6 Kultur-Texte

Make sure to knock loudly ONCE, and then walk right in. 

For Kapitel 6, I learned about the guide for navigating the German door, and how it is different then the American way of approaching the door.  In America, an open door is an invitation to come in while a closed door usually means "keep out." Yet in Germany it is typical that doors stay closed no matter what, even if the person inside is not busy.  So what you do is you go up to the door and knock once loudly, open the door and walk in with pride and a smile.  What you should not do in this situation is knock quietly, because in a potentially loud area you won't hear a response coming from the other side, and by not hearing that response, you will most likely think that the person inside didn't hear you, so you'll continue to knock several more times until you here a loud "Herein!", from the other side.  It is important to avoid this incident or else your meeting will be how you say beschißen.

Kulture 6

I enjoyed reading the article about the various types of trashcans in Germany the most. It is just so typical of Germany to have such a confusing process to throw away trash. They are almost too efficient for their own good. However, I do understand and condone the plus-sides to having a in-depth trash collecting system. It is very beneficial to the environment in terms of how to reuse our wastes. It is no wonder that Germany is the leading country in the field of environmentalism when they have a trash-throwing-away system like this. I found it particularly funny that some Germans try to rebel a little by not always abiding by the color scheme on the trashcans. This shows another big cultural difference between Germany and the United States. In the States, people will throw any trash on the ground without thinking twice, even right next to a trashcan. Whereas, it is actually considered rebelling when someone puts a piece of trash in the wrong bin. This is very impressive of Germany, and I hope that we one day learn from their model.

Kultur 6

The reading "Sex, Smut and Shock Bild Zeitung Rules Germany" is quite interesting to me since I did not know that a daily dose of high-resolution soft porn is so welcomed by millions of Germans. And the writers can also make fun of the chancellor of their country, Angela Merkel, which will probably never happen in China. The writers in China are barely allowed to blame the chairman or any other government officials in China, if anyone did so, they might even lose their jobs. The part talks about a bow of a smile of the soccer team trainer and the final part compares the significantly different react of the British Sun to that of Bild. The British press published paparazzi photos of German's Chancellor Merkel's naked derriere while Bild's commentator Franz Josef Wagner emphasized their unwillingness to put that in the front page. And they mentioned about soccers several times, which really reflects their fond in soccer.
"Come On In, My Door Is Always Closed" is even interesting. In German, if you don't knock loudly then you may have to wait outside until the person you are waiting comes out.. This is so upset since I am used to knock very politely to not interrupt people I am coming for. This sample is very similar to a cultural difference of eating noodles in China and Japan. In China, guests should eat very quietly to be polite to the host. However, guests should eat noodles loudly to represent their pleassure and enjoyness of eating at the host's home.

Kultur 6

This articles were pretty boring to me. The article on garbage didn't surprise me. Germans seemed to like things very exact and precise from previous articles we had to read. It was nice to see though that they like to be environmentally friendly (though I remember learning about this in high school).
German culture is definitely different than here in America. I would feel uncomfortable just knocking once and opening the door. Then again I wouldn't feel this way if I grew up in Germany and was accustom to it.
It seems like every major country has tabloids that stretch the truth. The Bild article was informative but not that interesting. "We will destroy you at the World Cup." is exactly what I would expect a German to say.

Kultur 6

Finally! Tübingen is no longer just the mystery destination of Anna Adler. I'm glad we got to read more about Tübingen this week. I never knew it had a partnership with Ann Arbor! Like most of Germany it seems to have quite a rich history, which of course wouldn't fit in a Brennpunkt Kultur, but I'm sure independent research would turn up some interesting results.

I found it strange that Germany doesn't provide much housing for its students. In America, getting into student housing is rarely a problem, as housing students is a major planning factor in most universities across the country. Personally, I was never a fan of student housing and got out as quickly as possible, but that doesn't mean I don't greatly appreciate the option.

As far as the online articles this time around, they didn't really spark my interest. I appreciate Germany's environmentally friendly attitude and their waste sorting efforts that they make, but I'm really glad Ann Arbor doesn't make you sort trash or even really recycling for that matter.

Kultur 6

I read the article "Come in my door is Always Closed" the title I thought to be sarcastic and it caught my attention. Once I read the article I thought it was pointless to always have the door shut. If Germans always have their door shut then, people always interrupt, unlike in America in which a shut door means come back later. I will also be the person to knock softly and feel like an intruder. It will be very difficult for me to knock hard and walk in without feeling unwelcome. The second article I read was "Worshipping the Garbage Gods" I was really surprise on how strict and specific Germany is about recycling. As I was reading I quickly compared it to the millions of times I thrown away something in the recycling cans doubting whether the item is considered to be recyclable. I would freak if I had to divide my garbage in multiple categories. Although recycling can be confusing at time I think it is great that Germany puts such great effort into keeping the earth safe!

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!