Kultur 8 - Jenna Malzahn

For Kultur 8 I started out by reading "Draftophobia: Blown Away by the Fear of Air" article, which was focused on the German population's concern of drafts and their affect on their personal health. I found this article really interesting because it shows the vast differences that can exist between the German and American culture. While it may only seem like such a small difference it conveys the underlying differentiation between the two countries that still continues, even through the mass globalization and integration that has been occurring in recent years. What really surprised me though was how adamant the German population was in their belief that a draft will cause sickness. They would rather suffer in the sweltering heat of a train car than merely crack the windows open to allow for air circulation. Also the fact that it's the German doctors who validate this information is quite shocking because I would have assumed that this idea would have been contradicted from other countries findings, but it's permanent presence might be because of a long standing tradition or belief that's just passed on through generations.

I also read the "You Have What? Mysterious Illness in Germany" article, which was extremely revealing about common diseases in Germany and expanded upon why their fear of drafts exist. Their fear of drafts now makes more sense to me because they explain, culturally, how these diseases and illnesses are transferred. What I found really interesting was the sheer amount of illnesses that seem to be present in only Germany and to such a large amount too. Yet it all appears to be so under control even though  majority of Germans refuse to use medication like what is used in America. I would suggest maybe following in Germany's footsteps on this one but I think medication is too embedded in American culture for that to really have any effect on the majority of the population. Overall, I think that these differences arise mostly from the geographic differentiation between the two countries and how over the years it has evolved into varied consequences.