Kapitel 6 Kultur-Texte

The Bild Zeitung seems like my kind of tabloid. I know that I, like many Americans, prefer to hear about the news in a comical light. The events of the world, particularly political ones, are going to be reported with some distortion one way or another, so why not embrace it and at least enjoy the parody? As long as the basic facts are presented, I consider it enough news for my satisfaction.

Many American news networks criticize Comedy Central for The Daily Show with John Stewart, but honestly, that type of show is all that many people can bare to watch that involves current events. Germany embraces the fact more readily, and I appreciate it.

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.

Kultur 6

The article about the closed doors was really interesting. I always think that's an awkward situation when you're supposed to meet someone, like a professor, but their door is closed and you don't know what to do so you don't interrupt them. It seems like it would be easier if they left the door cracked or something if they weren't busy so you wouldn't feel bad about possibly interrupting them. I don't think I would do well in that situation where you don't know how you should go about knocking. The recycling article was interesting too, I didn't know they were that into proper recycling. It seems weird when you contrast that article with the one where they just write about sex scandals and stuff and have sex shops everywhere; on the one hand they seem very clean and environmentally conscious but then very liberal about other things.

Kultur 6

I found the German Privacy article the most interesting and entertaining out of all the articles we had to read. I would definitley not fit in, in Germany when it came to knocking on doors. I come from a family that is very open and my parents usually did not like it when me and my brother even closed our bedroom doors. In the summer, spring, and fall my mom usually has our deck screen door open for fresh air to get in.

Even at college I live in a house with 6 people and if we are home our door is usually unlocked (which may not be the safest thing) but I enjoy people just being able to come in and visit. Since i've grown up with an open door policy in my household I have an issue with knocking as well. My housemates tend to get annoyed with me because whenever their door is closed (mine is usually open) I instead of knocking just open the door and walk right in. I think its easy to say I would make some Germans very angry.

Kultur 6

The zwei articles that I thought were sehr interesting were the one about keeping doors shut and the one about recycling. Ich mag these articles weil ich kann relate to them. When ich war in Deutschland, I couldn't believe how much they separate their trash. I had the same reaction as the girl in the article. Would I get in trouble if I put something in the wrong place? Where do I put everything? It was sehr stressful! I found it interesting that it is just second nature to them. I'm not sure how long the Deutsch kultur has been doing this much recycling, but they sure have gotten used to it and are really good at it now. The other article that I thought was funny was the one about keeping the doors shut. I experienced this when I had exchange students living at meine Haus. They would always close doors behind them! We finally would have to tell them that they needed to leave the doors open. Then when I went to Deutschland, I had to deal with all the doors shut. I never knew if I could walk into someone's room or if there was someone in the bathroom. My host family probably thought I was strange for keeping my door open, but they never said anything. I think it would be interesting to find out why they do this. Is it for privacy? Is it just something that has been passed down from each generation?