Sonntag, 7. Oktober 2012
AMD2
For my post, I decided that I wanted to listen to some popular German music that is out today. So, I looked up Germany's Top 40 list. Unfortunately, all of the songs were in English, even though I haven't heard really any of them. I went back to google and found a list of 100 Popular songs in German that are out today. I listened to the first five songs. They were: "Gloria" by Joachim Witt, "Bin Dann Mal Weg" by Blumentopf, "Hoher Als Der Rest Der Welt" by Massiv, "The Diamond Boy 2012" by Massiv, and "Irgendwie Anders" by Tonbandgerät. All of these songs came from different genres, just like American music. I am now assuming that Massiv is popular in Germany because he was on the list several times and made the Top 5 twice. He is a rapper, not my favorite. I did like "Bin Dann Mal Weg" and "Irgendwie Anders." "Bin Dann Mal Weg" is more rock than all the others. "Irgendwie Anders" was poppy and catchy. The band that plays "Irgendwie Anders", Tonbandgerät, sounds a lot like Matt and Kim. Overall, I enjoyed exploring the music from Germany; it is cool to see what other countries like in music and what the whole music scene is there.
AMD2
Since there is no better way to learn a language than to be totally emerged in it i changed the language on my phone and on my computer to german. At first it seemed to be overwhelming and it still is i can understand about half of the words clearly and the other half I'm lost at first glance but the longer that i look at the more it makes sense considering a lot of the words have a stem word which we have already learned. Where it gets really confusing is on the internet where i usually take things for granted i no longer do. But as of right now i feel like i understand the language a little better because it isn't in the classroom. Yes the book can help a lot but there is no better way than to jump into the language and try to accomplish my task even if that measn navigating something which is usually a piece of cake in german. I think from now on once a week I'm going to switch the language settings over for an hour or two just so i can get a better grasp of what "real german" is like.
AMD2
Since I spend a lächerlich amount of time on Facebook, I figured that would be a good place to practice German. I changed my Facebook language to German and have been trying to navigate it that way since.
Some things on there were already familiar to me, such as "Wohnt in ____ " "Studeirt ____ " or "Aus _____ " in people's info sections. Also, it has been helping to reinforce my memory for the days of the week and the names of the months (otherwise how will I know if that party invitation I got is for friday or saturday?)
I enjoyed seeing familiar things in a different language, such as the "like" button saying "Gefällt mir" or notifications being "Benachrichtigungen"
Some phrases weren't as familiar, but I've been able to work them into conversations with my friends who speak German, such as "Was machst du gerade?" ("what are you doing?" which is the prompt in the status-update box).
Some things on there were already familiar to me, such as "Wohnt in ____ " "Studeirt ____ " or "Aus _____ " in people's info sections. Also, it has been helping to reinforce my memory for the days of the week and the names of the months (otherwise how will I know if that party invitation I got is for friday or saturday?)
I enjoyed seeing familiar things in a different language, such as the "like" button saying "Gefällt mir" or notifications being "Benachrichtigungen"
Some phrases weren't as familiar, but I've been able to work them into conversations with my friends who speak German, such as "Was machst du gerade?" ("what are you doing?" which is the prompt in the status-update box).
AMD 2
I decided to read Mark Twain's essay "The Awful German Language". My roommate thought I was a weirdo for chuckling at some of the things Twain mentions on how strange German is. A lot of the stuff he brought up like 3 different "the's" or how some nouns have a gender when they shouldn't I agreed with. The example I found pretty funny was the turnip and young lady,
"Gretchen.
Wilhelm, where is the turnip?
Wilhelm.
She has gone to the kitchen.
Gretchen.
Where is the accomplished and beautiful English maiden?
Wilhelm.
It has gone to the opera.".
That seemed to sum up the language well, basically illustrating how confusing and how complicated their grammar is.
On a side note, when Twain wrote, "Now there are more adjectives in this language than there are black cats in Switzerland" I didn't realize Switzerland was known for its black cats.
I think Generalstaatsverordnetenversammlungen is my new favorite word. I don't think English has words of that length or even close to that length. That word alone looks like it is a sentence and someone forgot to put spaces between the words.
"Gretchen.
That seemed to sum up the language well, basically illustrating how confusing and how complicated their grammar is.
On a side note, when Twain wrote, "Now there are more adjectives in this language than there are black cats in Switzerland" I didn't realize Switzerland was known for its black cats.
I think Generalstaatsverordnetenversammlungen is my new favorite word. I don't think English has words of that length or even close to that length. That word alone looks like it is a sentence and someone forgot to put spaces between the words.
Samstag, 6. Oktober 2012
AMD2
For AMD2, I listened to German songs that are currently popular. The songs I listened to were: Schau nicht mehr zurück and Lila Wolken. A lot of the songs popular in Germany are in English so I also listened to a few other German songs that are not as popular. These songs are: Sleipnir and 99 Luftballons. Some of the popular songs include She Wolf (Falling to Pieces), Stardust, Summertime Sadness and Feel Again. The song, Gangnam Style, is also quite popular. The first song, Schau nicht mehr zurück, is about how the singer is not going to look back on the past but instead look forward to the future. The second song, Lila Wolken, is about being young and living life to the fullest while still young. The third song, Sleipnir, is about a battle. The fourth song, 99 Luftballons, is about the cold war and is a song of protest. Also, I was surprised at how many words I was able to recognize in all of the songs.
AMD1
For AMD1, I read the article, "Kurzer aber heftiger Herbststurm sorgt für Schäden in Berlin" in German. The article is about the damage inflicted by a recent Autumn storm in Berlin. According to the article, the storm caused a tree to fall on the train tracks in Berlin and interrupted the normal train schedule. Another tree fell on a house, there was damage to other buildings and there was flooding in the streets. The storm occurred between 15.40 and 17.30. There were a lot of words I did not recognize, but I was able to find some verbs and adjectives that I recognized which made it possible to guess what some of the words I did not know meant. Some of the words I did not recognize were: heftiger, lahmgelegt, sowohl, and rollen.
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.
AMD2
For this activity I listened to the German National Anthem. To my surprise I was able to distinguish a lot of terms that I have learn through classes so far. For example The opening starts off as Germany, Germany above all, above all in the world. I recognize the "in der Welt" and learned what über alles, meant. I also was able to grasp Vaterland since I know vater means father vaterland will mean father land. I distinguished what Ihren alten schönen Klang, "their old beautiful chime" since ihr, alt, schön, were all words we have learn in class. In one part it states "Deutsche Frauen" which of course I know it means German women. I liked listening to the anthem it had a fun, marching beat to it and was pretty easy to understand parts of the lyrics.
Kultur 2
As I was reading the article "Have you Gained Weight?" I found it to be funny and quiet different from what my culture is like. I couldn't help but compare and contrast between Mexican culture and German Culture. In my culture people tend to beat around the bush and find out why a person is gaining weight by asking other people or asking questions that might lead the person to admit they've been gaining weight. In Mexico if you were to ask someone directly why they are gaining weight a person would get offended and perceive your comment as rude. Unlike Germany where it is normal for people to be blunt and not get upset over the comments.
In the article "The Germanic Stare Down": Watcha lookin' at Granny? I found it interesting because unlike the first article this one I can relate to my culture. Alike old Germans, old Mexicans feel a sense of watching what occurs in their neighborhood and being alert and positive citizens to their countries. In Mexico, specially in the villages you will see old people peeking out the windows the same way the article described the Germans. Also the Subway scenario is also likely to happen in Mexico since we are known to love gossip, mexicans tend to stare at what others are wearing to later talk or comment and of course gossip.
In the article "The Germanic Stare Down": Watcha lookin' at Granny? I found it interesting because unlike the first article this one I can relate to my culture. Alike old Germans, old Mexicans feel a sense of watching what occurs in their neighborhood and being alert and positive citizens to their countries. In Mexico, specially in the villages you will see old people peeking out the windows the same way the article described the Germans. Also the Subway scenario is also likely to happen in Mexico since we are known to love gossip, mexicans tend to stare at what others are wearing to later talk or comment and of course gossip.
Freitag, 5. Oktober 2012
Kultur 2
As I read through the articles, what I found quite interesting is that these "Germanic" qualities seem more to me like "Eastern European" qualities. I see many of the same qualities (constant complaining, the blunt statements, the staring) from my relatives in the former Yugoslavia. I would assume that this has a lot to do with the fact that most modern Eastern European governments were once Communist, just as Germany was (pre-Unification). It seems that each time my overseas family skypes my parents, they have something new to complain about. Be it the government, their health, the weather, there's always something new (and almost always minor) to complain about. They can also be incredibly blunt with their statements- a trait that I share. It seems that they don't have the patience to beat around the bush- they say what they think. That can be either a very good trait, or one that is very bad (especially for Westerners who don't expect it). And if there's anything that is evident throughout Eastern Europe, it's the staring. My grandmother is a huge perpetrator of this. We like to laugh about it, that she has no shame- regardless of who it is, where we are, if something interests her for whatever reason, she stares. During my last visit to Macedonia, I noticed the stares as well. People see Americans or hear English being spoken, and their first inclination is to observe. As creepy as it is, I think it is beneficial for all of us to just observe the people and happenings around us once in a while.
AMD 2
A couple weeks ago a video of a guy named Flula was posted onto Reddit. It was basically a video of him complaining why it's stupid to shoot fish in a barrel. You already caught the fish, why do you need to kill them? It was very funny but now I appreciate the humor even more after reading the Kultur 2 texts. Flula is everything that is German. He starts out every video extremely distraught. Usually saying something like "So I haf dis DJ friend. And he say to me, 'Flula. You are preaching to the choir'...What? There is no choir here. And I would not preach to it". He complains about everything! One of my favorites is when someone tells him he is the cat's pajamas. He takes it as a death threat.
It's strange to think of idioms that are so common in English being a puzzle to people who are not native speakers. Because really, a lot of them don't make sense. A lot of them have strange origins from the Middle Ages. One of my friends gifted me a book of strange English sayings. Most of them say "This phrase originated in the courts of Queen Elizabeth"or something like that. For example the phrase "Put your best foot forward". Apparently footwear was a sign of how well off you were. So at fancy parties, you would present yourself putting your best dressed foot forward. Neat, right? So most of these sayings at one time made sense, but English speakers don't use them without knowing their origin. So Flula's hilarious confusion is alright by me. I'd be certainly confused if I was him.
Here's another Flula video!
Hier is a website with German idioms that might confuse me. One of my favorites is "bis in die Puppen gehen" which literally translates to "to go to the dolls". What on earth could that mean? Apparently it means "very lengthy"...Ich verstehe nicht...
It's strange to think of idioms that are so common in English being a puzzle to people who are not native speakers. Because really, a lot of them don't make sense. A lot of them have strange origins from the Middle Ages. One of my friends gifted me a book of strange English sayings. Most of them say "This phrase originated in the courts of Queen Elizabeth"or something like that. For example the phrase "Put your best foot forward". Apparently footwear was a sign of how well off you were. So at fancy parties, you would present yourself putting your best dressed foot forward. Neat, right? So most of these sayings at one time made sense, but English speakers don't use them without knowing their origin. So Flula's hilarious confusion is alright by me. I'd be certainly confused if I was him.
Here's another Flula video!
Hier is a website with German idioms that might confuse me. One of my favorites is "bis in die Puppen gehen" which literally translates to "to go to the dolls". What on earth could that mean? Apparently it means "very lengthy"...Ich verstehe nicht...
AMD2
For my blog I read up on a famous German that has made plenty of waves in American sports; Dirk Nowitzki. For those of you who don't know, Nowitzki is a basketball player that came overseas from Germany to play in the NBA in 1998, and is arguably the best European basketball player (if not the best non-American basketball player), since the inception of the game. A 7-footer, Nowitzki is notorious for being a center that can also hit the 3-pointer when open. He has a gentle giant attitude, yet at is determined to win every game. This attitude and will-power helped him and his team, the Dallas Mavericks, win the NBA championship in the 2011 Finals, as well as the Finals M.V.P. award. He is with the team to this day, heading into his 15th season later this year, serving as an inspiration to the kids of his homeland in
Germany.
For more information on Dirk Nowitzki: http://espn.go.com/nba/player/bio/_/id/609/dirk-nowitzki
Germany.
For more information on Dirk Nowitzki: http://espn.go.com/nba/player/bio/_/id/609/dirk-nowitzki
Kultur 2
"There's the positive, clean, efficient, functioning country that visitors see -- and there's this incredibly awful place the locals live in."
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
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!!!
AMD2
For my AMD2, I watched a lot of German Sesame Street youtube videos. The first one I watched was about the German U-bahn, which I mentioned in my AMD1 post. It was basically a music video showing how the Germans love to take U-bahn. Then I watched a video where Kermit was reading a story in his chair. I was proud of myself that i was able to recognize a lot of the verbs and other words in the dialogue. I am also able to understand many of the verb conjugations. The next video I watched was twinkle twinkle little star in Germany, called "Funkel Funkel, Kleiner Stern."
AMD2
Ich schaue um 20:00 Uhr Nachrichten auf tagesschau.de. Es ist sehr interessant. Sie sprechen um viel Welt Streitpunkt. (Now is English....)The news talked about some of the pressing news stories from around the world. They briefly talked about the updates in the Syria/Turkey conflict. A big topic on the news and across the website was the Presidential debate last night. They even had graphs of the swing states! I never knew Germans seem to be really interested in this election.
Another big topic of interest is the EU Stresstest fur Atomkraftwerke (Stress testing the Nuclear Plants). A Greenpeace made a brief appearance.
It is also raining in north and central Germany just in case you were wondering.
And apparently its the 50th Birthday of James Bond?! Alles Gute zum Guburtstag!
With all that heavy news we need to lighten it up with some Sesamstrasse. Sing, sing ein Lied...
Another big topic of interest is the EU Stresstest fur Atomkraftwerke (Stress testing the Nuclear Plants). A Greenpeace made a brief appearance.
It is also raining in north and central Germany just in case you were wondering.
And apparently its the 50th Birthday of James Bond?! Alles Gute zum Guburtstag!
Not even Mitt Romney can kill this joy!
Donnerstag, 4. Oktober 2012
AMD 1
For my first AMD assignment, I skyped with a German friend of mine. She was my best friend from America, but was originally from Germany, and then moved back to Europe this summer where she is going to University. I practiced speaking a lot of my German, and attempted to show off how much I've learned, but then she would chime in with her perfect accent and fluency in an attempt to help me, which it did! She also spoke to me in German about the ubahn and the different culture she's been experience while living in Vienna. It's always wonderful to speak to her, but is much different doing so in her mother tongue rather than mine! She never stops challenging me.
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.
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.
Montag, 1. Oktober 2012
Kultur 2
So I have German neighbors and this weekend I went to their house for dinner. Of course since Germans are very punctual we had to be there right on time. We have learned this throughout the past years. It is also funny because in my culture you are always at least a half hour late. So when we first started to plan dinners we were always ten minutes late, and since Germans are very blunt they would say why weren't you here on time? It was kind of funny reading the article cause it reminded me of my experience with them. Now we are always on time with them and they are always at least half an hour late, it worked out in the end.
Kultur Kapitel 2
Diese kapitel isnt ein teil interessant. Mein Oma ist ein typisch Deutsche Mädchen. Sie kochen gern und auch sie starren gern. Jeden tag mein Oma starren am Fenster. Wann im Deutschland Ich bemerkt wie die Deutschen beschweren sich immer. Mein Vater sagt "IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME?!?!?" dann sie schauen weg. Mein Vater hat kein Idee und auch ich nicht.
I also notice while i was in Germany that they complain a lot. When we were getting on the same train where my dad yelled at the man for staring people were complaining that it was five minutes late which i thought was funny considering that our plane to Germany had been delayed 6 hours. The only place i noticed that people didn't complain as much was in the bars or places i went to eat. Maybe this had to do with the fact that i could only understand about half of the words that came out of there mouth because they were talking so fast. I can't even begin to explain how many questions I got asked that were totally out of the blue and had no rhyme or reason...i guess for them it did. Eventually i figured out thats just how they are and to get used to it and it is also true when you say they are interested in statistics i must have gotten asked my weight and height about six or seven times. All in all i enjoyed myself there even if the trains are "late".
I also notice while i was in Germany that they complain a lot. When we were getting on the same train where my dad yelled at the man for staring people were complaining that it was five minutes late which i thought was funny considering that our plane to Germany had been delayed 6 hours. The only place i noticed that people didn't complain as much was in the bars or places i went to eat. Maybe this had to do with the fact that i could only understand about half of the words that came out of there mouth because they were talking so fast. I can't even begin to explain how many questions I got asked that were totally out of the blue and had no rhyme or reason...i guess for them it did. Eventually i figured out thats just how they are and to get used to it and it is also true when you say they are interested in statistics i must have gotten asked my weight and height about six or seven times. All in all i enjoyed myself there even if the trains are "late".
AMD1
For the first ADM assignment I listened to some various types of germanic music. I have always been a fan of classical music i.e Bach and Mozart I tend to listen to it when I'm on those never ending plane rides or what not or when I'm studying. However I also listened to some Rammstein to get the "total Germanic experience" Since many germans enjoy listening to death metal i decided to listen to Du Hast and Feuer Frei! To be brutally honest I'm not a big fan of metal so the classical music was much better my favorite being Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nacht Musik" I also enjoy the song "Morgenstimmug aus" by Peer Gynt. It does make sense however why the Germans get the stereotype of being so angry! All in all I think ill just stick to the classical music for relaxation.
Kapitel 2 Kultur
I thought it was funny to read about Germans complaining about the train systems, because when I was in Berlin this summer I got to experience that first hand. It was the day of the Deutschland vs Greece football game, so the city was broadcasting the game on huge projection screens at the Brandenburg gate. It was, understandably, very crowded, so the trains to get home were extremely packed and delayed.
At the time, I only knew a few phrases in German, one of which was "Das ist schlecht!" So I decided to try this out on a few Germans who were waiting on the platform with me. To my excitement, one boy answered, "Ja, das ist schlecht!" and then proceeded to animatedly complain about the delays. It was a bonding moment hampered only by my lack of any fluency in German.
At the time, I only knew a few phrases in German, one of which was "Das ist schlecht!" So I decided to try this out on a few Germans who were waiting on the platform with me. To my excitement, one boy answered, "Ja, das ist schlecht!" and then proceeded to animatedly complain about the delays. It was a bonding moment hampered only by my lack of any fluency in German.
AMD1
I have a freind who lived in Berlin for three years during high school and his freshman year of college. I asked him about life there--what he did for fun, what music he listened to, what parties were like, etc. He highly recommended this song, which both sums up the atmosphere of clubs and features basic German phrases about dancing and partying. Plus it's a super fantastisch video.
Laserkraft 3D - Nein Mann
I roughly translated the chorus to get the gist of what the song was about:
Nein man! ich will noch nicht gehen [No man, I will not go yet]
Ich will noch ein bisschen Tanzen [I will dance a little more]
Komm schon alter ist doch noch nicht so spät [Come on it is not too late]
lass uns noch ein bisschen tanzen [Let's dance a little more]
The video is quite helpful in giving visual context clues, so I didn't have too much trouble understanding the parts that I couldn't translate.
Laserkraft 3D - Nein Mann
I roughly translated the chorus to get the gist of what the song was about:
Nein man! ich will noch nicht gehen [No man, I will not go yet]
Ich will noch ein bisschen Tanzen [I will dance a little more]
Komm schon alter ist doch noch nicht so spät [Come on it is not too late]
lass uns noch ein bisschen tanzen [Let's dance a little more]
The video is quite helpful in giving visual context clues, so I didn't have too much trouble understanding the parts that I couldn't translate.
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!
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-texte
The articles regarding German culture were quite eye-opening for me. The one reading that was particularly interesting was the one about staring. I have family friends who are German and have lived in Germany for a very long time, and when I read that article I was immediately reminded of the father of the family. He would always give the epitome of the "German Stare"to whomever came to his house, which was always quite intimidating. Regardless though, he was in no way an intimidating person. Also, having grown up outside New York City, I understand the comparison to staring in NYC subways or on public transportation. The culture is very different between the two areas.
I really enjoyed reading about ways Germans complain as well. It seems as though it is a common part of life in Germany! I never thought that it could be a part of one's culture to complain, rather it just being an individual personality aspect. The same thought goes with the statistics too. I feel as though if I were to live in Germany I would never be able to have so many statistics memorized. I come from a very small, suburban town and know no relevant statistics German people would ask me.
As far as the brutally honest article goes, that is one culture point I completely agree with. In America, people give straight forward and honest answers less frequently than they give "fluffed" answers. I am a culprit of the fluffy answers and do not think I would fit in very well in the German culture because I have difficulty expressing my thoughts in that way. Overall these articles were interesting in providing insight into the German culture and comparing it to other cultures. I enjoyed reading the information provided.
I really enjoyed reading about ways Germans complain as well. It seems as though it is a common part of life in Germany! I never thought that it could be a part of one's culture to complain, rather it just being an individual personality aspect. The same thought goes with the statistics too. I feel as though if I were to live in Germany I would never be able to have so many statistics memorized. I come from a very small, suburban town and know no relevant statistics German people would ask me.
As far as the brutally honest article goes, that is one culture point I completely agree with. In America, people give straight forward and honest answers less frequently than they give "fluffed" answers. I am a culprit of the fluffy answers and do not think I would fit in very well in the German culture because I have difficulty expressing my thoughts in that way. Overall these articles were interesting in providing insight into the German culture and comparing it to other cultures. I enjoyed reading the information provided.
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