Kultur 8 Jason Bui

I found all of the Kultur 8 material to be very interesting. Every time I read an article online or a passage in the Vorsprung text, I learn something new about German culture.

Of the three articles, the first article that I read was titled: "Draftophobia: Blown Away by the Fear of Air." In general, I found this particular article to be quite enthralling. I had no idea that Germans were so meticulous when it came to a windy draft. I mean, from what I gleaned from the article, Germans do not mess around when it comes to an airy draft. The article makes it seems as if Germans go out of their way to protect themselves from a draft, even at someone else's expense. And the sole reason why they are so afraid is because they are convinced that "drafts are responsible for pneumonia, flu, colds, clogged arteries and just about every malady imaginable." Although the article explains that Germans enjoy fresh air, their fear of getting sick from a draft prevent them from doing so in most situations (i.e. when driving on a hot day). Personally, I think that this fear is quite irrational because a draft cannot directly cause sickness (at least I do not believe so). Either way, the risk of getting sick does not outweigh the feeling of a nice, satisfying breeze on a hot day.

The second article that I read was titled: "You Have What? Mysterious Illness in Germany." This article discusses the bizarre illnesses that some Germans come down with. For example, many Germans will take a day off of work because they have a Kreislaufzusammenbruch, commonly known as a circulatory collapse in English. Although this may seem like a fatal thing to come down with, it is not quite as extreme in Germany. But it has been known for many people to retire or take a day off of work because they have come down with a case of 'Kreislaufzusammenbruch'. Another illness that is quite common in Germany is Hörsturz, or acute hearing loss. Although this does not seem so bad, the illness has actually caused "Germany's leading center-left political party to swap leaders because party chairman Matthias Platzeck suffered a Hörsturz." In addition to all of these illnesses, many Germans also refuse to take any prescription drugs when they are sick, as they are afraid of their chemical contents. In my opinion, I think that it is quite foolish for Germans to not take medications that may be needed. Most medications are tested and are proven to work before they are released for public consumption, so there is no need to be afraid. 

The third article I read was "Germany's Sauna Obsession: Expose Yourself to the Culture." This article talked about German's love for saunas. I myself actually enjoy sitting and relaxing in saunas, so I completely understand why Germans adore the saunas. One thing that I found interesting was that the saunas are unisex and most people go in the nude. I am actually surprised that of all the things German's fear, they are not afraid to get close and personal with other fellow sauna-goers. 

The sections from the Vorsprung text were also quite interesting. Most of them were related to the school systems and how a student progresses through his education. The one thing that I found surprising was that many college students have to pay little to no money for their tuition. I would love to get a free, or at least cheap education in Germany.

The 365 Dinge book was also fun to skim over. There were many activities that I enjoyed reading about and there were many that I recognized. For instance, the Blue Man Group and many of the restaurants and extracurricular activities.