AMD 3

For this AMD, I spoke to my hallmate, who's also just starting German, in German for a whole lunch.  It was kind of hard to talk about everything I wanted to talk about, but it was fun to just talk about what we could.  We ended up just asking each other what we did or were doing that day or talking about food.  It was not an especially awesome experience, but it was still fun.  Hopefully one day we will do it again, maybe in a few months.  Only this time, we'll have a bit more we can say.  Then I'll see just how far I'll have come.

AMD 2

   For this AMD, I put all of my online things in German-Facebook, Youtube, Spotify, even my browser.  It made things a little more difficult, but I was usually able to figure out what everything meant after a little thought.  Now there are a lot of things I probably wouldn't have known how to say that I do from looking at them every day.  It was also fun, athoguh time consuming, to have to think about what I was reading before I knew what it meant.  I'm thinking I'll just keep everything like this for a while unless it gets really annoying.

Kultur 6

For my Kultur assignment i read the article 'Division hell, worshiping the garbage gods'. This article about the German's recycling obsession did not surprise me at all, having visited Germany on a couple of occasions i was simply amazed at how clean everything was, the streets were spotless! (A far cry from London!) I think it is great that Germany a major world player takes their waste management so seriously, and although throwing away your ketchup covered wrapper maybe a major operation, i believe it is important that other countries follow Germany example.

Kultur6

The whole being idea of being assertive, knocking once, and just entering a room with a closed door literally sounds like the worst thing in the world to me.

Ich bin schüchtern und nicht selbstsicher.  I'm the type of person who, upon seeing a closed door, rather than knocking, lurks around the corner pretending to be on my phone until it opens.

AMD 6

For this weeks AMD I did something a little off the beaten path and that is because technically I didnt do anything. I was at the gym last night and had my phone on an app called 8tracks which is similar to pandora but it allows anyone to create there own playlist with any type of music imaginable. I was scrolling through various playlists when I finally found one that looked like it would get the job done until I hit the play button. The very first song that came on was Du Hast by Rammstein. I have listened to this song many times before and have grown rather fond of it especially when working out. Since you are only allowed 3 skips per hour i decided that I would go with the flow. Well the flow led me right to a guy from Berlin who decided he was going to make a playlist of strictly German Death Metal and Rock. So I spent the remainder of my time in the weight room listening to music which made me question if there was any happiness in the world. As it turns out I actually found that I like a song or two and they are currently on my ipod.

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.

Kultur 6

I hope that it was an exaggeration that millions of Germans get their news from the Bild.  We form your opinion so you don't have to does not sound like the way a population should be getting informed.  If they are continually going on crusades against public figures, you would think that the people would dismiss anything they write.I don't think page one girl would be allowed here, but I'd really prefer to see her than Ex-Foreign Minister Joschka Fische.
Why not just leave the door open?  Do they have privacy signs when they don't want to be disturbed? Or perhaps lock the door?
It sounds like a good plan to separate everything.  That way recycling is much more efficient.  We have single stream recycling, which makes it easier to recycle, bu lots of things are still sent to the trash.  It sounds like the Germans don't have the can returners like we do, because everyone returns the can themselves.  Why even have a deposit if the people are going to do it anyway?

Kultur 6

Every time I read the Kultur articles for this class I learn something new and useful regarding German Culture. This time, I read that Germany has a magazine similar to some of the gossip magazines in the United States. It puts news stories on the back burner, and focuses more on the gossip of celebrities and then elaborating on certain events. This came as no surprise to me as it is a magazine. The next article about the door closed policy, however, was very surprising. During high school, I could walk into any classroom at almost any time and not have an issue, as long as the door was open. In college, I can do the same thing for my professors office hours. It boggles my mind that in Germany the door is always closed and that knocking is expected, and also that if you do not here a response, the person you are visiting gets aggravated. Lastly, I was intrigued about the garbage article. I had no idea that Germans put so much care and effort into sorting their trash - I didn't even know that there were so many categories! I am only used to three; trash, glass/cans, and cardboard, but hey, good for the Germans for so environmentally friendly!

Kultur 6

I suppose that the article about garbage was most interesting to me because it's one of the things that I remember about Germany that I thought was really cool when I visited. At first I was bewildered, and I didn't really get it, but eventually I caught on. I wonder if that would ever work here in America. I think it would be good if it did, I mean, it seems pretty smart. At the same time though, I'm pretty lazy so sometimes I do just carelessly toss things. Germany seems so orderly. I really admire that. I wonder if I'd get tired of following all those rules though. But I do like rules. But not necessarily the knocking one. I'm a kind of person who almost needs permission in order to enter a room. One knock usually doesn't do it for me. But I suppose if they didn't really want you there they'd lock the door, right?

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!

Kultur 6

Well I already knew Germany was a complicated place with complicated people, or I have heard. Germans are very picky and precise, which could explain there garbage system. The fact that in one garbage container there are four parts; all identifying what exactly you put in each. Seems rather tedious an some what time consuming, but it is because we are not used to being so :energy conservative" and environmentally friendly. Germany is country very well know for being eco-friendly. They do recycle a lot and try to preserve their countries environment. I think in a way we might be more complicated than they are cause to them it is simple and easy to decipher what I considered "waste" and what is not. Although we on the other hand might take a while just identifying that. I also enjoyed the article on the door policy. You would think to knock, but to them is pivotal that you do.

AMD 6

For AMD6, I have watched a video of "Die Simpsons - Auf diese Lisa können sie bauen [Deutsch | Staffel 22 Episode 2 | Part 1]  " in youtube. It is really interesting and talks about the story that Lisa went to a shop and misread the price for a handbag. It is funfhundert euros but Lisa thought that costs funfzig. When she checked out, others are laughing at her since she was shocked by the price and thinking not to buy it. But out of her self-esteem, she gave her card to the check-out lady with a firm hand. Lisa was sorry after she got home but Mr Simpson told her that it's fine and they went to a high-class restuarant. They were badly treated at first but after the waitress saw her handbag they were treated superior to others. And das Baby was playing a game in computer, der Mann sagt, cliken Sie auf meinen Nase! which is letting the baby clicked at his nose and after she clicked on it, der Mann sagt, Wiedersehen!

AMD 6

For this AMD, I watched the first episode of the German TV show, Stromberg.  It is the German version of The Office.  It is funny how many adaptations of that show there are.
The show took on some more serious issues than I have seen in the American version.  They openly make fun of a fellow employee's asthma.  Going so far as to make him smoke a cigar when her requests a parking spot that requires less walking up stairs for him.  This request is, of course, denied.
Going along with what we learned about sex shops and the like, a tech finds some inappropriate material on the boss's computer and they show employees drawing naked pictures on the whiteboard.  It is funny because that kind of thing would be found on cable here.
They smoke inside the building, I wonder if that is the case at most offices in Germany.
The other interesting parts were the commercial segments.  They used English in many of the commercials, just like we learned in class.

AMD 6

For my AMD, I watched the very famous German movie, Downfall. The movie depicts the last months of World War 2 as Hitler lived out of his bunker while trying to salvage the war effort. It was fascinating to see how all of the various German officials responded to the defeat of Germany. Hitler became delusional and refused to listen to his advisors. He continually ordered new offenses by his army, even though it was clearly impossible to win. When he finally accepted the defeat of Germany, he killed himself along with his wife. Many other officials also killed themselves during the time in the bunker. The most appalling suicide, however, was when Frau Goebbels took the lives of her several children and then killed herself along with her husband. I had already known that this occurred, but to see it happen was quite shocking and disturbing.
I think that the movie is so good because it shows the fighting taking place, the internal disputes, and eventually, the acceptance by the Nazi officials. It is a long movie, at 2 hours and 35 minutes, but it is never boring. The most interesting part of the movie to me, was that I actually found myself having sympathy for many of the characters even though they were Nazis. Hitler, many of the generals, and especially Joseph Goebbels, scared the hell out of me with their anger and made me despise them, but there were many characters that this movie put a human face to. The secretaries, some soldiers, and some of the doctors showed that many people were just trapped up in the horrible times, or were more interested in helping the soldiers and citizens than Hitler's cause. These characters have helped me understand that even though the whole time was terrible, there were decent people on the bad side, just like there were horrible people on the good side. Downfall is an amazing movie and very historically accurate. I would recommend it to anyone.

AMD 6

For my sixth AMD assignment i watched the Simpsons in Deutsch. The episode was about how  Marge experiences at 'springfield Universität', it started with the Simpsons heating not working so they told storys to pass the time. I was fairly pleased with the vocab i could pick up, however it was tough at times because they all spoke very fast.

AMD 6

For my AMD6 assignment, I researched the Christmas traditions in Germany. The children call Santa Clause Christkind, who is a figure dressed in white robes with a golden crown and wings. There is also a figure, though, called Weihnachtsmann. He is a figure who dresses like Santa Clause and delivers gifts. Both of them come on Christmas Eve. Decorations are usually put up during the first week of December. The first day of celebration is on December 6, which is St. Claus day. This day children leave shoes or boots outside the fire place in hopes that they will be filled with delicious candies (which occurs if they have been good). If not, then the shoes or boots are filled with rods or twigs. The Christmas Trees are also important to German Christmases. Officially, German Christmas begins on the first Advent Sunday, or Adventszeit. Some traditional foods eaten for Christmas dinner in Germany include Weihnachtsplätzchen, which are cookies, Stollen, a fruit cake, and Lebkuchen, which are spicy cookies. Although the traditions in Germany differ from the traditions I celebrate, it is still Christmastime!

AMD 6

This week I decided to listen to a german love song and see how many words I could understand since the last chapters vocal was all about love. The song is called Liebst Du Mich? Which reminded that it is in the accusative form. The song has a lot of words that I was able to pick out such as uhr und schön. I thought the beat to the song was interesting. It reminded me of some spanish music in a way but also the typical love song. The link to the song is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhvXdwbyqNc
I also looked up Love Will Find A Way from The Lion King in german. It was so cool seeing a Disney movie in a different language. Growing up I knew all the disney movies in spanish and eventually learned the songs in english. Since I knew the song I knew the lyrics but I also did understand what they were saying. It was great to hear something in a different language and understanding it. The link to that video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6YWpn04eXs

AMD 6

For this AMD I looked up Simpsons episodes on YouTube in German. The video didn't say the episode's name, just Die Simpsons Deutsch. The very beginning was interesting. They showed Die Simpsons but the choir (its the very opening scene) said "The Simpsons". The episode was telling Homer and Marge's life before they have kids and Marge going to Springfield University. I could pick out a decent amount of vocab but it was hard to understand what the characters were saying sometimes because they spoke fast.

AMD 6

For my last AMD I watched my favorite TV show, 30 Rock, in German. I was surprised at how much I understood. Not extremely surprised though, being a TV junkie. It was very easy for me to guess what things meant because I understood the context. Some of the words were not changed or were at least very similar to their English counterparts. Zum Beispiele:

• Tracy frequently says "Yo" and "Hey Jacky-D". These did not change in the German dub. 
• Tracy is always contractually obligated to bring up "Wayde Boggs Carpet World" whenever possible. In the German dub Tracy said "Wayde Boggs Teppich Welt"
• Someone in the show asked for "Trinktjoghurt" (drinkable yogurt)

One of my favorite quotes from 30 Rock is in this episode so I was so excited to hear how it was said in German! This is what I heard at least, I'm not sure if it's right: 

     Liz: Schau okay aus?

     Cerie: Ganz genau sehen sie aus!

     Translation:

    Liz: Do I look okay?

    Cerie: That's exactly how you look!

AMD 6

     By accident I actually stumbled upon what I was going to do for this AMD. Earlier today I was watching interviews with Tom Hiddleson (Loki from the Avengers) and found this interview. In the beginning I recognized the word Superheld. The main interview portion is in English, but I could see some of the German culture we read about, for example the host had no problem saying Tom Hiddleson had a poor body, while the British, American, and Australian (Tom Hiddleson, Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Hemsworth) thought that was a little rude and seemed surprised but laughed it off. At another point during the interview the host started talking about pony ad's which I and the actors were very confused about. I googled pony ads looking for an exclamation, and eventually I found this on a blog.
     "I too had to google that pony advertising thing, it was just too confusing. And somewhat intriguing. So, what actually happened, is that the Green Party wants to stop pony riding at fairs, etc. During a speech, the leader of the Liberal Party criticized the Green for wanting to ban so many things, like cigarette advertising for example. Then he was supposed to mention the pony rides, but accidentally said pony advertising, which has caused a wave of jokes on Twitter and so on. That's all. And apparently, before the guys showed up on the show, Stefan Raab had presented a few clips that showed what pony advertising could look like."
    Overall though I did like this interview, and while the host seemed kind of ill-informed, it was still fun to watch and maybe even makes me believe that Germans do have a sense of humor.