Kultur 11 - Gabrielle Spickard

     The articles for this chapter's Kultur readings were very interesting to read, and I learned a lot that I didn't previously know about German culture. I also especially enjoyed this week that (some) of the articles had a unified theme of the differences between different regions of Germany.
     For the first article "Breaking Down the Wall in the Head," I was very surprised to learn that there is still apparently a lot of tension between the regions that were formerly East and West Germany. I can kind of see where some of the stereotypes or mindsets might come from, going off of the information provided in the article, though. It was also interesting to learn that some older Germans who lived in the DDR during the time when the Berlin Wall was still up feel that they had more freedom under the socialist government than under the new united German government. They made good points, though, since I can see how some elements of the older government would be appealing (ex. full employment, free education, nationalized health care, etc.).
     For the second article, the Wikipedia article on "Ostalgie," I thought it was interesting to read as well. I can see how there would be nostalgia for certain products from another time in your life. I'm also curious if there's a huge difference between the DDR products and the Western products that took their place in the market post-unification.
     I also read the article "Backwards Southerners, Frigid Northerners." Relations between different parts of Germany seem so complicated: the East and the West dislike each other, and the north and south apparently dislike each other as well. It's also interesting that despite their reputation for being conservative and kind of ignorant, the southern part of Germany has better schools than the northern part. The stereotypes of north vs. south Germany also seems (to me) to kind of parallel the stereotypes of the northern and southern parts of the United States, although they don't seem to be as widespread in my experience. I lived in the south for my whole life until I came up to Michigan for college, and there was never really an overt sentiment of negativity towards the north, just certain stereotypes about cultural differences (being less friendly, kind of snobby, more liberal, etc.).

AMD 6 - Gabrielle Spickard

Für mein Abenteuer mit Deutsch 6, habe ich Artikel über gut Touristenattraktion in Berlin gelesen. Auch, habe ich diese Artikel an Deutsch Wikipedia gefunden. Ich verstehe am meisten von die Artikel. Es war sehr behilflich mir. Ich lese über den Berliner Mauer von dem Kalter Krieg. Die Geschichte war sehr interessant. Dann, lese ich über dem Museumsinsel. Es hat sehr viel Museen! Ich möchte gern die fünf Museen in es besuchen. Ich lese auch über der Brandenburger Tor. Es ist ein groß Deutsch Monument, und es ist sehr historisch und wichtig. Ich finde diese Artikel sehr interessant, und jetzt habe ich viele Ideen für ein Reise nach Berlin.

Kultur 10 - Gabrielle Spickard

I thought that the articles for this chapter's Kultur assignment were interesting, but kind of strange. For the article "Dinner for Who? Germany's New Year Procedure," I was very surprised to find out that there is such a universal and widespread German cultural tradition for New Year's Eve. I can't really think of an equivalent in American culture, where there is such a ubiquitous and celebrated cultural tradition that every American does on a certain holiday. It's certainly interesting, though, and it's also kind of strange that an English-speaking skit became so popular in German as well. For the second article, "Sorry, We're Closed: The Challenge of Spending Money in Germany," I was able to partially relate to the struggles of reduced evening and Sunday hours, it kind of reminded me of my hometown (although not totally to the extreme of Germany). I'm not sure if I agree with government-mandated business hours, but I can see how it would be beneficial in some respects to the businesses and the employees. For the "Booze Brothers" article, I was very surprised to read about this cultural tradition, since it seems to fall so far outside of German cultural norms of order and reason, but it was interesting as well. I'm actually kind of glad that Father's Day isn't like this in America: Männertag as it is now seems like one of those things that would be mildly entertaining for a little while, but then quickly become a nuisance.

AMD 5 - Gabrielle Spickard

Für meine fünfte Abenteure mit Deutsch, gehe ich zu livemocha.com, damit ich mehr über Deutsch lernen können. Ich finde eine Stunde über Skifahren, es heißt "Heute gehen wir Skifahren! L4." Erst, gibt es ein Gespräch mit zwei Menschen. Das Gespräch war über zwei Menschen wandern und Ski laufen in den Bergen, und es war auf Deutsch. Ich habe viele Sätze verstanden, und ich habe viele Teile von dem Gespräch verstanden. Dann, studiere ich eine Vokabeln über das Skifahren, das Bergwandern, und die Bergen. Ich habe Sätzen über diese Dinge geschrieben, auch habe ich die richtig Bräuche auf die Ideen des Stunde. Dann, habe ich Stunde für hören, Stunde für sprechen, und Stunde für lesen studiert. Es war sehr behilflich mir, und Sie war sehr interessant.

AMD 3

     For my AMD 3, per the suggestion of the Deutsch 102 Hausafgarben post for AMD 3, I decided to watch another episode of the series Verliebt in Berlin. Much like the first episode, upon my first viewing of the episode I was only able to pick out certain German words and phrases while the actors were going through the dialogue of the show. If I watch certain scenes through multiple times, I'm able to pick up more and more through each viewing or listening. I think that if the actors were speaking slower I would probably be able to understand more of the German dialogue on the first time around, but I realize that this show is meant for native speakers and the actors are fluent in German. However, going off what German I was able to understand, the vocal tones and reactions of the characters, and the general visual aspect of the TV show, I was actually able to understand a decent amount of the episode's storyline. This show is actually quite entertaining, the difference in language understanding (for me) doesn't necessarily hinder my ability to enjoy the show.

Kultur 8, Gabrielle Spickard

     I usually enjoy reading the Kultur articles for each chapter in my German classes, I find them interesting and I also think that it's important to learn about the culture of the language that you're studying. For the first article about the "Draftophobia," I think that it's very strange. I don't really know about the legitimacy of German doctors' claims that drafts cause all sorts of illnesses, much like I don't know about the reasoning behind many German cultural practices. It just seems like they're making Summers unnecessarily uncomfortable for themselves. I did think that the image presented in the article of drivers in a car lowering the windows at a red light and closing them as soon as the car starts moving to be pretty funny, though.

     The next article about disease in Germany was also interesting. The possibility of contracting a uniquely German illness and Germans' attitudes towards illness continue to make me mildly uneasy about going to Germany (but not enough to make me not want to go). I feel like resistance towards doctors and medical care isn't really a German thing, though. I know many Americans here who share similar sentiments. My grandpa who is nearly deaf refuses to get a hearing aid because he insists that he can hear fine on his own, my other grandpa didn't want to go to the hospital even for a kidney stone, etc. The list continues. Maybe it's a stubborn-ness thing more than a German thing.

     Saunas seem nice in Germany. However, I'm not sure about the idea of a unisex sauna, but that may be my prudish American cultural expectations talking (compared to those of Germany). I've only been in a sauna once and I didn't see too much of the hype behind them, but maybe it's one of those things that takes repeated exposure and time to appreciate. 

     From the 365 Dinge... book, I found number 108, or the Kunsthalle Deutsche Bank, to be very interesting. First off, it's in Berlin, where I would very much like to go if I make it to Germany. Second, I find the idea of a well-curated contemporary art museum within a high-powered bank to be a very novel and curious idea. I'd like very much to see it! I like art, not so much banks, so that would be the main appeal to me, but still I'm curious.

     I like how the Kultur texts in the textbook had the central theme of the German education system. German universities seem great, for the most part! It seems like a university education in Germany is much more accessible due to the lower tuition fees, but there are probably other factors that affect accessibility that aren't addressed in the articles. The tiered system towards obtaining an undergraduate degree seemed interesting as well, I'm not sure if I'd prefer that to the system that most American universities use. It's also interesting that they don't focus that much on a liberal arts education. I guess that means that most students already have an idea for what they want to study by the time they get to university. However, one thing that I read that was kind of concerning was the fact that in the fifth or sixth grade most German students are evaluated and have educational tracks recommended for them. I think that it's a bit early for instructors and administrators to be playing a part in determining the overall path of their life at that point, but maybe that's just me.  

AMD 2 Gabrielle Spickard

     For my AMD 2, I decided to watch South Park in German. They had most, if not all, of the episodes translated and dubbed in German on the website, so I watched the most recent episode "The Hobbit" (oder in Deutsch , "The Hobbit"). I was able to navigate the website fairly easily and was able to understand a good amount of the German on the website, and if I couldn't understand it I was able to infer a rough translation through context clues (for example, the button to press to watch the episode read "Jetzt 'The Hobbit' ansehen", translating to "Now watch 'The Hobbit'". While I was watching the actual episode, I was surprised at how much I was actually able to understand. I certainly wasn't able to understand everything (barely the majority of) what they said, but if I couldn't understand completely what the characters were seeing I was able to pick out certain words enough so that I could understand the situation. It was a wonderful, very educational experience.

Kultur 7

     I found the articles for this chapter's Kultur assignment to be very interesting! In the first group of articles with the German blogger writing about USA food items, I read a few of the posts (the ones about the author making an "American Christmas" dinner with the turkey, the article about the cupcakes, and the article about the craw fish boil). In all of the articles in this group that I read, the author is continually in awe at American portion sizes and the "lavishness" of American food, which I found to be interesting. From what I've read from non-American based publications, this doesn't seem to be a common opinion either. I empathize with the author's shock at how much work a traditional American Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner is to prepare, although her menu looked great! Except for the pea and tomato cappuccinos, I'm not so sure about those. Also, a quick note on the craw fish boil article: they aren't really a western United States thing, they're more of a southern U.S. custom (the boil is referred to as a "Wild West" party, but close enough, I guess).
     I also found the article about the lack of queuing in Germany to be very strange, since a large number of customs and traditions in Germany seem to have their root in order and lawfulness. I enjoyed reading the tips on how to assert your dominance in the resulting crowd of Germans, though. The more I read about German culture, the more worried I get that I'll be in a pretty serious culture shock when I'll possibly be going to Germany to study abroad.
     There were some good selections for things to do in the 365 Dinge reading. I especially liked a few of them: I liked the fondue suggestion, as I've only had fondue a few times in my life and I'll always take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy it again. I also liked the suggestion of going to the saunas, since saunas are always nice. I also liked the suggestion for shopping in the stores that primarily carry goods from Southeast Asian countries, that sounds interesting.
     I liked the readings from our textbook as well. I wish that we had more perks as a student here in Ann Arbor like the ones that were described for German students! Although, I know that some of my friends who go to school in major U.S. cities get to enjoy similar perks where they live currently (free/discounted tickets to cultural events in the city, public transportation discounts, etc.). I was surprised to read that it's common for Germans to go food shopping every day. Even though this probably means better food and service, I doubt that this practice would take on in America (too much time and money). It was also interesting to read about the two German cities profiled in the book. My mother and father have visited Stuttgart and toured the Porsche museum before, and they said it was a lovely city with lots to do. I'd really want to see one of the Bach performances in the city, and maybe one of the operas (even though I'm not really into opera). Munich seems like a great city in Germany as well! I've heard of the Glockenspiel before as well as Oktoberfest, both of which I'd gladly go to.

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