Willkommen!!

Welcome to our class blog!

We will be using this blog throughout the semester for two kinds of assignments:

1. Once per chapter, the homework plan will direct you to post a response to the culture readings for the chapter on the blog.

2. Roughly every other week, the homework plan will direct you to post here for your Abenteuer mit Deutsch (AMD) assignment. First you do a fun activity that involves German, then you post about it. You should spend an hour total on this (maybe 45-55 minutes doing something, 5-15 minutes posting about it). See Was ist ein AMD, AMD Ideen and Beispiele for ideas. This should get you excited about the kinds of things you can do!

Whenever you post something, please include your name and the name of the assignment (e.g. AMD2, Kultur5) as labels. See "Blog: How To" for more details!

Janelle Jajou Kultur1

Hallo!

Deutsch kultur gefällt mir. However, it's always fun to see ander kultur embrace typisch Americanish kultur, too! I was delighted when I saw the Rezept; if anything can bring people together, it's essen. Ich mag viel Rezept und kochen, so scrolling through USA Kulinarisch was sehr entertaining. I even picked up a few Rezept! It was surprisingly leicht to follow, weil ich der Deutsch Wörter für Gemüse und Fleisch und ander lebensmittel weiß. Mein lieblingslebensmittel ist salmon, aber ich mag sandwiches, too. So I especially enjoyed the Räucherlachs finger sandwiches. Es schmeckt mir! 

As for the article about German discipline, I kann nicht sagt ich bin überrascht. It's human nature to despise lines. You are crowded by people (many of whom deploy the garlic tactic) and you have to wait for what seems like eternity. I am not ashamed to say that I also stand slightly to the side of someone in line rather than directly behind so that I can get ahead. Ich bin sehr impatient. 

In 365 Dinge, ich mag ich mag nummern zwölf. Ich möchte Relaxen im Winter in das Badeschiff (especially in this subzero Wetter)! Ich möchte Tandemsprung in Fehrbellin, aber ich habe viel Angst! 

I wish that Universität Michigan Studenten had as many Studentenermäßigungen as Deutsch Studenten do! Ich bin überrascht that the government opts to subsidize for these benefits. It is a good thing, but something I'm not used to as an American.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Kultur 1 Graham Techler

For this Kultur assignment I read the "What Discipline?" article. I thought it was really interesting that in a German Schlange all orderliness goes out the window and standing in line becomes a free for all. The article offered up some helpful tips; some, presumably, were jokes (eat a lot of garlic), but some were very helpful. The article suggested that if another line opens up, run, don't walk to that line, because you can't expect people around you not to run. The article also suggested that you keep wary of people creeping up to stand NEXT to you in line, who may be trying to cut you. The article warned of an all out tantrum you may have to give to keep your place.
It literally seems like the custom with lines reverts people back to the Elementary school lunch line. I havent had to worry about anyone cutting me in line since 2004. Although I guess a comparable situation here is trying to get on a blue bus with limited seating in the middle of winter. A lot of courtesy goes out the window then too.

The 365 Dinge blurb I enjoyed most was the one about the Punk Rock karaoke club. It looked like fun, and it seemed to fit with West Berlin's apparent reputation as a punk rock bastion in the 1970s, so I found when I looked it up afterwards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_punk

Kultur 1

Throughout the course of German 101, my favorite articles that I would read were those that compared many of the customs and practices we take for granted here in the United States with typical German discourse. So, needless to say, the article pertaining to waiting in lines was my favorite read. Originally, I thought the translation from "Schlange" (Snake) would just be referring to the shape of the the line. However, I quickly determined that it actually also can be useful in remembering the cutthroat "snaky" behavior involved in surviving a line in Germany. I absolutely CAN'T STAND when people try to cut me in line, so I definitely would not be friendly waiting in a line in Germany. My patience would quickly run thin. Luckily, the author gave me the useful tip to always eat garlic to keep people away from me. I, personally, wouldn't make many friends waiting in line if I reeked of garlic and am always yelling at the people around me. But at least I wouldn't get cut by some snaky middle-aged man! It's a jungle out there, and I'm just doing everything in my power to survive!

Kultur 1

I most enjoyed the article about lines in Germany. It's very surprising that the orderly Germans become such animals when it comes to lines. I guess it goes with the stereotype that they are cold-hearted, but it still comes as a surprise. Some quotes that I particularly enjoyed:

• "Germans cannot stand the smell of garlic. Eat lots the night before and then breathe heavily while standing in line"
• "Alternatively, look threatening and malevolent. It will discourage people from trying to get ahead of you." This quote seemed weird. I think of Germans as being fearless and willing to pick fights with scary people.
• "As the line progresses, they will gradually advance until they are beside you and then, before you can say Überschallgeschwindigkeit, actually ahead of you. A polite Entschuldigung ("excuse me") may resolve the issue, though throwing a tantrum helps too."
• "While the worst offenders tend to be impatient middle-aged men, you also have to watch out for old ladies who can be quite shameless in their queue-jumping."

While browsing the American Cuisine site, I also found an article about how to decorate the table for Thanksgiving. There's a funny paragraph that basically says: we don't have Thanksgiving, but it's a nice holiday so I'm going to celebrate it.

• "Thanksgiving fällt in diesem Jahr auf den 28. November – und auch wenn dieser Feiertag keine deutsche Tradition hat, so finde ich ihn als Anlass dennoch schön: Mit Familie und Freunden zusammen sitzen, quasi für das Gute des Jahres “Danke” zu sagen und lecker zu essen "

Kultur 1

What I'm really liking about the USA-kulinarisch site is that there is just so much feedback and information for American food brands, dishes, recipes, you name it. It's nice to know that there are countries that sometimes appreciate and try integrating American culture into their lifestyle, which in this case would be food. The usual association with Americans are hamburgers and all that good fast food stuff, but there really are better options for cuisines known to be "American". There are also user interactions on the site for any one having questions about a certain recipe or food that others can help with and comment. One of the headings was "Was ist unsweetened chocolate?" and I giggled a bit. I know it may not be so amusing to them, but who knows, I might now even know what true unsweetened chocolate is. There were four comments all with different suggestions that I also found to be interesting. One mentioned the baking chocolate chips while another described it as being made of 99% cacao. 

The snake and line in Germany article did not surprise me. In places that are bound to be greatly populated, the atmosphere really is like a jungle! Places in New York and Chicago can have no lines at all especially when there's a big sale at a certain retail store like on Black Friday. I feel like I would need to gear up mentally when going to a crowded place in Germany. 

From the "Brennpunkt Kultur", I believe that the student privileges and benefits are more limited in America than that in Germany. It would be nice if the student discount could apply to a lot more things here in the U.S. Stuttgart seems like a place with a lot of greenness and history. Relaxing and calm certainly caught my eye, so perhaps if I plan to travel to Germany, Stuttgart will be one destination.  

Kultur1

Ich habe den Artikel über das amerikanische Essen interessant gefunden. Ich finde besonders die Artikel “Tisch dekorieren für Thanksgiving” und “Halloween: Schnelle Grusel- & Dekoideen” sehr interessant. Es ist interessant wie the author of der Artikel appreciates the American tradition even though Deutschland hat kein Thanksgiving tradition like American does. Der Kürbis Kerze ist sehr gut, und die andere Dekorationen sind schön. Die Halloween Dekorationen sind auch schön. Die Ideen für “spooky” Essen sind Spaß und kreative. Ich mag “Spinne” aus Pfeifenputzern, das selbst gebastelte “Haunted House,” und zum Snacken-Rice Crispy Treats. Es ist interessant for me to sehen what Germans think about American holiday traditions, and es ist sehr gut to sehen, dass sie mögen the traditions as much as we do sometimes.

Ich habe den Artikel “What Discipline? Of German Lines and Pythons” sehr interessant, und I will keep the advice it gives in mind if ich ever gehe Deutschland. The analogy with the word “Schlange” war sehr creative. In American standing in line is something no one obviously likes to do, but ich mag in Deutschland wie Menschen try to get ahead and at times ignore politeness. Es ist ein interessant contrast from wie Americans operate and wie Menschen in Deutschland operate. These differences are some of my favorite things about learning about die Kultur.

Ich mag learning about Stuttgart in Vorsprung. Es ist interessant, dass it is home to famous car makers and is considered very famous in the automotive industry. Ich mag auch, dass Stuttgart is a metropolis but with distinctly southern charms. The combination of the calm nature in the region and the city’s history with the automotive industry is ein sehr interessant combination. If I ever visit Stuttgart, I may want to visit the Staatstheater Stuttgart, weil it seems sehr cool.