Kultur 6

This weeks articles were not overly surprising, but they were pretty interesting. The first article about Bild Zeitung was quite funny, because there are similar publications like it around the world, like National Enquirer. They post outlandish and crazy stories to garner attention and to sell more copies of their publication. The privacy article didn't really offer much insight, but I believe it essentially boiled down to just saying to knock loudly once and then proceed on in so you don't end up annoying the person you are about to see. I did find the garbage article interesting because I would find it really annoying have to always look at which trash receptacle I need to throw my stuff in. I know in some recycling bins you throw everything into one can so you don't have to worry about anything because it is sorted somewhere else. I do have to give my admiration to the Germans though for their environmental concerns and accountability! In the other two articles I thought it was interesting how most Universities in Germany don't have dorms for their students, but it makes sense in older cities where there isn't a lot of room left to build around the University. I also thought it was cool at the end of the Tübingen article it said that they are associated with Ann Arbor, Michigan.

AMD 6

For AMD 6 I did some research on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (mostly just checking out his poems). Goethe was so influential the German Goethe-Institut is named after him. This website has some of his work (they also have translated parts): http://german.about.com/library/blgoethe2.htm
Goethe's poetry is usually longer than most poems I see, and they all have an underlying meaning within each one. A problem with translating poetry is sometimes translating a poem word for word doesn't achieve what the writer was always hinting at, and sometimes them meaning or theme of a poem can be lost by translation, but I don't really see this being too much of a problem with Goethe's poems. Some of his poems are quite dark, like Wandrers Nachtlied II and Totentanz. Overall, they are very interesting and it's cool to try and find out what each poem means. It is definitely helpful to have some of the poems translated as well, because some of the words are very difficult! Goethe seemed like a very intellectual and interesting person.

Kultur 5

I am once again quite intrigued on some of the differences between the United States and Germany. I am a little surprised at how Germany don't really say "excuse me" or "pardon me," and I know they are not the only culture to do this. As an American this just seems rude and annoying though, almost like a lack of respect for others, even though I imagine most Germans don't see it that way. I was a little surprised about how open Germans are with their sex shops (although I already had a good idea that Germans were much more open about this than Americans are). If the Germans still function normally with the sex shops in place then I don't see a problem with them, I only have to wonder what parents say to their children if the children ask what's in that shop. The Klofrau was another thing that surprised me, because I see it as strange to tip a bathroom janitor, but Germans find it weird how much we tip waiters/waitresses here in the U.S., so it works both ways. I thought the flirting in Germany article was interesting, especially because it is almost the complete opposite of how Americans flirt. I'm sure there are many problems when Germans try to flirt in the U.S. and vice versa. The article about German women was also captivating. It was interesting being able to see all of these statistics about females in Germany, and how they make up demographics of Germany and in the workplace. Overall, I found most of these articles quite interesting and made me think about the differences between the U.S. and Germany.

AMD 5

For AMD 5 I read the Wikipedia article on "Denglisch." I thought the article was extremely interesting and I was intrigued by the blending of the languages. I know that languages have taken words and combined words   together in the past, but I think the mixing of words now-a-days is much more prevalent then previously. In a world with internet and a lot more interaction between the languages, not to mention all the terms that are being created from the internet (downloading, google, etc.) are contributing to the influx of these words.
In the case of a lot of English words being used in Germany (like in advertisements), I think that is mostly to appeal and to accommodate English speakers/English tourists in Germany, in addition to the fact that English has more speakers than German does.
Overall, I think it is interesting how words are just taken directly from one language to another. I personally contribute it to our more connected world, and I also think it is easier just to use the same word across the languages. The simplicity and the fact that a completely new creation of a word and making it become standard usage attributes to why the same word (or a mixed version) would be used rather than an entirely new word (in my opinion).

Kultur

I think it is very interesting that Germany has so many bike paths (and some even with their own traffic lights). By implementing these bike paths Germany is reducing the number of cars on the road and reduces the countries reliance on gasoline. I think that having bikes to rent is good idea especially for tourists that are interested in going to a lot of locations. I thought the article how crossing the street without the correct crossing sign was quite funny. Especially here in Ann Arbor, everyone jumps out in front of cars all along the streets, so I can imagine Germans would cringe if they were to see Ann Arbor. I am interested to see if a lot of Germans do actually abide by the "little red man" though! I didn't really understand the article about selling the German train tickets. Why would ticketing agent sell you a ticket for a train when it isn't supposed to be used for that train. It seems quite ridiculous on the ticketing agents part. I also found it extremely interesting that the subway operates on the honor system. Although I can't imagine a ticket for the subway would be that expensive if it operates on the honor system most of the time. Overall, I think it is interesting how Germany offers transportation. While more public transportation and bike paths are ideal for most people, I think the United States is far too big to be able to implement systems like this except in cities. Also reading about nudity in Germany was pretty strange. While I can imagine they don't see too many problems, I inherently see this as very wrong and would feel incredibly awkward if I visited a nude location.

AMD 4

For AMD 4 I watched an episode of South Park in German. The episode was "Rauf auf's Huhn" ("Chickenlover" in English). I did not see this episode before, so I didn't know what to expect. It was quite difficult intially watching the episode, although I could make out quite a bit of the words and I had a good idea of what was going on in the Episode. While the characters in the show spoke very fast, it was not too hard to understand what words the characters were saying, which was helpful. The episode was about a person molesting chickens throughout South Park, and they boys are made deputies to help stop the "Chickenlover" because the main police officer on the case is illiterate. It was a strange episode, but it was funny and  I enjoyed watching it in German. After I watched it in German, I watched it in English to see if I understood most of the episode, and I did in fact have a good grasp on what the episode was about. Overall, I enjoyed doing this assignment and would recommend anyone else to try it out if they can't think of an idea for one of the next AMDs.
Here is a link to the episode: http://www.southpark.de/alleEpisoden/203

Brandon Small

Kultur 3

Reading about the German culture this week was quite interesting, but I thought some of the articles were really contradicting. For instance, the article "An Obsession Explained" talked mostly about German beers, and how they have so many different kinds. I thought it was quite humorous how the author included how hungover you would be from drinking each beer, which was a nice touch. Nevertheless, the next article "Eco-Centric Germans" talks about Germans' love for organic foods, because they are better for the environment and they are healthier. The article continues to talk about how a lot of Germans eat organic to be healthy, but wait, did the other article mention how Germans drunk a lot? It seems quite counter-intuitive to worry about buying healthy organic food only to chug a few beers along with it. I thought it was interesting how the article "Capping the Bottle" talks about how Germany struggles getting anti-public drinking legislation passed because of beers importance to Germany. I thought the other two articles were also very interesting, but were also quite contradicting as well, considering one article talks about Germans being deadly serious and being pessimists about most things, yet the next article states how Germans are quite humorous, which was somewhat strange, but I can see how both fit in society. Overall, I thought the articles were quite enlightening on German culture.

Kultur2

Reading the German articles were quite interesting and funny. It is always funny when someone visits a different country, because usually the culture is quite different from their own culture. I thought it was a little creepy with the German staring, but I am sure most travlers would get used to it quickly. I thought the article talking about the German complaining was very funny, because I seem to notice that this is the case for most people. Most people complain about their town, or their house, or a multitude of things, but then once they move or see other things, they realize that they don't really have it so bad. I think the brutally honest article was also interesting, and I actually like that, because we Americans are so indirect, and it must be very confusing for visitors because what we say isn't actually what we mean all the time. I also thought the statstics article was captivating, but Germany is much smaller than the United States, so I think it is easier for Germans to get statistical information on Germany than it is for Americans about the United States, but I must say I applaud them for being so knowledge about where they live.

AMD 2

I have watched the German movie "Run Lola Run" or "Lola Rennt." This is a captivating movie, but definitely extremely quirky. It is about a women named Lola who has to get her boyfriend a large amount of money in 20 minutes. There are three different outcomes that are determined by three small different events that change what happens. The movie is not too hard to follow in German, but make sure the subtitles in English are on! The plot isn't complicating, but the movie is different then most movies I have seen. I thought the movie was okay, but it wasn't one of my favorite movies.

Here is a trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta1Sn6MtC9w

Overall, like I said before, I thought the movie was okay. Der Film ist nicht super, aber sie ist lustig. Ich gebe "Lola Rennt" drei Sterne.

AMD1

Hallo!

I viewed the music video (and listened to) the German song: Millionär by Die Prinzen. Here is a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGCmZPfe_bU&feature=related. This German music video was introduced to me in my German 1 class, and was shown in the accompanying video for the book Komm Mit! (here is a link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/Komm-Mit-Holt-German-Level/dp/0030565979). I think this video is very funny, and the song is actually quite catchy. I really enjoy the whole theme of the song, which has to do with wanting to have a large amount of money. I always find it funny how the group is always saying "geld" in the song, which translates to "money." My favorite line is "Ich hab kein geld, hab keine Ahnung" which translates to "I have no money, and no ideas." Overall, I found this video/song quite easy to listen to (and easy to understand), while at the same time being catchy and funny. And here is a video with the lyrics of the song in the description: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH-1cg2rvgc

- Brandon Small

Kultur 1

     Reading How German is American by the Max Kade Institute and the three articles in Vorsprung were quite captivating and interesting. Previously, I did not hear very much information on Germans that moved to America, and how they impacted the culture here. Reading these articles gave me some new insight in German culture, and how it shaped American culture as well.
     Initially, I was surprised that most individuals of German descent would live in the Midwest, but upon reading how the environment was similar to Germany, it makes sense why they would want to live there. I was interested how religion was quite a big factor into why Germans were moving to the United States, and also to seek out new opportunities (which is what people mostly hear when they hear about why immigrants move to the United States). I liked reading about how Germans brought some of their "clubs" and institutions to the United States, and how they were implemented here. Reading about the "Milwaukee Turners" was very interesting, and I am surprised I never heard anything about them previously.
     Overall, I really enjoyed reading about German culture was introduced and was implemented into current American culture. It was interesting to read about a topic that I didn't previously know about, and how influential the German culture was on American culture.

Mein Lieblingswort ist lecker.