Kapital 10 Kultur, Yuntao Chen

I enjoyed the German Christmas classic "Dinner for one", a short black and white film performed by two British comedians.

Like any non-German people, it was pretty odd first when I watched the movie. It was an interesting story, and the two performers did very well. However it was difficult to understand the fever that Germans have over this film, to a point it is said to be broadcasted during every Christmas.

But just as the Spiegel article said, the show gets better and better as you keep watching it over and over again. When I watched it for the third time, I also unconsciously started to repeat the punchline "the same procedure as every year, James".

This show is definitely an acquired taste for anyone who did not grow up in Germany, but after watching it several times, especially with some German beer, you may start to grasp its secret charm.

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.

Kultur 10

For Kultur 10, I read the article called "Sorry, We're Closed: The Challenge of Spending Money in Germany." I found the article very interesting because it explains the problems with all stores being closed on Sundays-well most anyway. I have visited Germany many times and understand the frustrations that come along with law in Germany. Many times groceries will be forgotten about until it is too late, or an art project is due and you forgot to get the supplies earlier. In any case, it is simply just another way of life and something to get used to. It makes people plan ahead, which happens a lot more in Germany then in the United States. Here we take for granted the twenty-four hours seven days a week system, which is that a bad thing? I personally like the idea of everything closing on Sundays because it allows workers a day off as well as giving people time to be with family and friends. Of course it takes getting used to, but I don't object to this system and actually find it quite interesting. I know this law will never come to the United States, but it is definitely something to experience.

Michael Weathers Kultur 10

Diese Kultur ist sehr interessant. The articles again show me how I am the complete opposite of the citizens of Germany. I like the fact that HerrenTag ist celebrated with much fun and bonding. Although they might have too much fun manchmal, es ist besser wenn Leute nicht schlecht tun. Tag der Vaters ist a day of celebration, happiness, and having a good time. Some people do not get to see their fathers, so every moment ist sehr precious, even the drunk ones. Germany’s New Years procedure is very funny to me. It is great that there is a tradition they follow. I am not the biggest fan of the closing on time thing, but rules must be followed right? Es ist ok, aber dass ist sehr crazy to closed the door in someone’s face.

Kultur 10, Amanda Victory

The first article I read was Booze Brothers and at first I didn't find it that surprising. Besides the religious differences that are tied with the holiday in German I kind of expected there to be beer involved as well. One thing I did find interesting was that it is purely just for fathers (or middle aged men) rather than their family as well. In America you typically spend the day with your father, do nice things for him or something, but in Germany it seems to be a day for them to let loose and not be bothered by women or kids.
The next article I read was "Dinner for Who?" that is a British skit that is very popular in Germany and at least heard of in Australia. On New Years Eve it is a tradition for families to watch it and I was surprised to learn that most Brits don't even know what it is. I figured it was just a bad movie to them that they maybe didn't want to take credit for but not completely unheard of. Here it is tradition to kiss someone when the ball drops or just get really drunk on New Year, which I don't know if that is also true in Germany, but I expected their New Years Eve rituals to be more along the lines of drinking and going out not watching a skit that they find extremely amusing.
The article I found most useful was Sorry We're Closed. I knew that in the past places like stores and what not were closed on Sundays and there really wasn't much to do besides go to church but I assumed that since that trend has almost completely faded in America the same has happened in other countries. However I learned in Germany it is almost impossible to buy anything on a Sunday. It did mention that they are becoming more relaxed with that law and moving towards just having short open hours on Sundays. Not being able to go grocery shopping one day a week wouldn't be so bad, it seems completely manageable but having banks and stores close early on weekdays as well would be a huge inconvenience. If you had a family and both you and your husband worked how would you ever be able to get errands done? I also wonder if this rule affects other things we take for granted as being open whenever we need them like hospitals. Of course I assume that hospitals don't close, but I wouldn't be shocked if the staff was really low or if they had no patients since most people would be in their homes.

Kultur 10 - Jenna Malzahn

For Kultur 10 I started out by reading "'Dinner For Who?': Germany's New Year 'Procedure'" which was focused on the phenomenon of popularity that surrounds the "Dinner For One" skit. Seeing as Germany has a very distinct national language and is a different country in general, I didn't find it that surprising that there would be contrasting trends present in their society. Overall I thought that the popular German television programs and movies would be different from that of Americans and that cross over would be minimum to non-existent because of the language barrier. I found it interesting that Germans didn't think about that possibility and instead thought it was extremely concerning and strange that most of the population outside of Germany hadn't seen it. The lack of a language barrier from the skit does offer a greater possibility for the likelihood of the skit to spread but even without that obstacle to hinder it the differences in cultural preferences are still intimidating obstacles. The "Dinner For One" is such a short and old skit that its lack of transgression into other countries doesn't surprise me at all especially since there are always numerous films and skits being made while only the ones that successfully enter popular culture are able to stick around. The connection that the author made at the end of the article did help me to understand how this misunderstanding could continually exist because to me it seems unlikely that "The Sound of Music" is not located in other countries popular film collections. This also offers another example of the cultural differences that exist between America and Germany. Not only do the differences in languages help to maintain a barrier but the preferences of the citizens also continually perpetuate differences.

I also read the article "Sorry, We're Closed: The Challenge of Spending Money in Germany" which is concerned with the hours of stores and the strict regulation that the government mandates about them. I found the whole article really strange because it differs so vastly from what I'm used to in America which are the 24 hour stores. The fact that the government regulates when a store is allowed to open just seems so restrictive to me and would probably violate one of the amendments of the Constitution if it were to start occurring in America. I think that this difference just underlines the transition between the two cultures and how contrasting the simple ideals of the population are. The strict hours of shops directly correlates with the expectations that Germans have of social conduct like how washing one's car in their driveway is deemed offensive to neighbors. While some store hours are changing in order to accommodate the changing times of the working class this idea hasn't made it on a widespread scale which I think directly correlates with the differences found in the German culture. Overall it seems that the seemingly smallest differences offer the biggest reflection of societal changes between the American and German culture.

Kultur 10 - Kailey Schwartz

'Dinner for Who?'

 I think it is really funny that Germans find this so entertaining. I, personally, have never seen Dinner for One, so I fit right into the stereotype. Now that I have heard of the film, though, I'll probably watch it sometime. At least if I ever visit Germany and get asked about Dinner for One, I'll know exactly what they're talking about. Then, of course I'll go into a spiel about The Sound of Music. It's only right to give people a taste of their own medicine.

Sorry, We're Closed

I cannot imagine stores not staying open late. I've made countless 12am runs to Meijer or Kroger. I barely have time anymore. I rarely go grocery shopping before 10pm. This is almost frustrating to think about. I don't have time to plan my day around running errands. I put that stuff at the bottom of my list and when time permits, that's when I get it done. Which is usually late at night. 

Booze Brothers

I'm sure all fathers would love to spend at least one Fathers' Day in Germany. It sounds like a man's dream come true. What's better than getting plastered on a day devoted to you and you only? (sarcasm) In my opinion, it's kind of pathetic, but to each their own.  

Kultur 10, Michael Nizinski,

The article about the "Dinner for Who" described the show that is watched every year at New Years by Germans. This show seems boring and similar to the "Three Stooges". The only reason I would watch this on New Years is that the article says there are drinking games for the show.
The "Sorry we're closed" article I like that nothing is open on Sunday. It forces people to take a rest and not have to do anything. To much work is never good for anybody and I think we should have this in the US.
Another thing I believe we should take from Germans, is their Fathersday or Männertag. If I ever become a father I know this would be a day that would be enjoyable for me.
In 365 Dinge number 220 is one of the things I would like to do if I was in Germany. 220 Is the Brooklyn Beef Club a restaurant that has Rib-Eye T-Bone and Porter-House Steak. Hmmmm
The paragraph on the Brother Grimm was interesting. Not one for fairy tales, I thought Brothers Grimm was a fairy tale not a publishing company that collected them and published them.
I liked the reading on Schweiz. It was very interesting to learn about Schweiz. I have a friend that lives in Zurich and at the moment has an internship at a bank their. From what he has told me, they actually speak a form of Swiss-German which is slightly different from the German we are learning.
Fest und Feiertage article was also interesting. From all the readings today it seems Germany has always some kind of celebration going on. Wish US was more like this.

Kultur 10, Ian Propper

Dinner for two:

Very random, I watched the entire skit. It was old, but seemed kind of campy. It was almost like if "The Room"  was an american past time.

Sundays:
Apparently everything is closed on Sunday. Which really stinks.

Father's Day:
Every middle aged man gets smashed...... Kind of messed up considering it's a day celebrating fatherhood, and large quantities of alcohol typically help you forget life's disappointments.

Grim Brothers:
Interesting that the grim brothers are so famous and they just wrote down stories told by others. Then again, they were probably great editors.

Ashe Wednesday:
German women break the first rule of scissors, don't run with scissors. Also, cutting neck ties sounds dangerous.

German Holiday's
German holidays are very similar to american ones, we may be a bit more Christian.

Kultur 10 - Tim

After reading the article about the famed "Dinner for One" I of course had to watch it for myself.....  I do believe it would be much more enjoyable if I were on par with James' level of inebriation.   While I can usually appreciate the droll, methodical pace of old British humor, this sketch was another piece entirely.  Suffice it to say it is a small wonder the Germans are not renowned for producing a great number of hit comedians, satirists, cartoonists, or citizens with anything resembling a normal sense of lustig.  

Der Spiegel article regarding closing times was something I can definitely relate to.  As mentioned, it may not be as bad as it used to be in Germany, but I find that the amount of time a store is open at convenient hours is in proportion to the size of a city.  So for the little Bavarian Alpine towns my family frequents, that makes it almost never.  Although this Sommer, Tante Erne was happy to announce to us that the local Backeri now is open late, all the way until 17. Uhr on weekdays!

Männertag sounds to me like a rather revolting and strange drinking holiday.  But that in essence is I suppose what defines the German stereotype to so many outside the country.  Good to note that the reputation is mostly the work of, as in so many things, a vocal minority.  Many choose simply to enjoy a day with friends.

Kultur 10, Carolyn Kodis

Man, those Germans really do know how to celebrate Father's Day.  If I'm lucky, my dad and I will go fishing, but that usually doesn't happen.  However, this German celebration does remind me of a "holiday" that recently occurred.  I write for the Michigan Daily, and twice a year, we have elections for editor-in-chief (the election held in October is for the regular EIC who runs the paper for the school year, the election in March is for the summer EIC).  Regardless of which election it is, precedent has it that these elections will run 9-10 hours.  So how do we pass the time and keep our sanity?  By bringing and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.  (Not me, I choose to stay sober for these elections.  Who wants to stumble home at three in the morning when it's already as dangerous as it is?)  Like the Germans, somehow my fellow writers are able to remain courteous to the poor candidates standing at the front of the room, answering question after question.  But on the occasion that we do get a break, the newsroom does become quite rowdy.  Luckily, the police have not been sent to tend to us.