Kultur 2 - German Perfectionism and Identity

As I read the articles that were assigned, I was thinking; "Wow, how weird can that be?" about Germans being as honest as they can be, and about them staring at you for no apparent reason. It is hard for me to understand why Germans complain (or just believe they complain) a lot, especially regarding soccer, since Germans have a very talented and solid team, which was among the favorites of winning the European Championship of 2008 where they reached the final against Spain and the World Cups of 2002, 2006 and 2010 where they finished 3rd, 2nd and 2nd respectively. Except for the European Championship of 2004, where the Germans got knocked out on the first round and the Greeks later won the tournament (let me boast about it as Greece's greatest success in soccer), the Germans were always on the top 4. I grew up knowing that the best teams in the world were Brazil and Germany. However, this does not seam enough for the Germans themselves, and someone would ask why since it seems irrational.

From my visit to Germany and from the information I have seen on the media, the Germans are perfectionists, they would not settle unless they achieved perfection. In Greece, Germans are viewed as the most productive European country and their economy is considered to be the most efficient. It does not surprise me to find out that the Germans always complain and are obsessed with statistics. My opinion is that this life style is what has made Germany into the leading country of Europe, and how has Germany sustained all the difficulties other European countries are suffering from during the present economic recession.

The German people's habit of staring and being brutally honest is an exciting fact about them. It is definitely a German thing to behave that way since it is not something we see everywhere nowadays. I would suggest that along with Germans' constant complaining and obsession with statistics, staring and brutal honesty may be their identity; they are some of the characteristics that distinguish the Germans from other cultures around the globe.

Kultur 2

I really enjoyed reading all of these articles. They were all short, however, interesting. It was good how they told me good useable facts but didn't take up all of my day. I like the article about their opinions the most, and how they can be brutally honest as long as they just explain why they feel the way they do. I enjoy to argue my points I make often when my views differ from that of someone else. So to have to explain my reasoning and get what I want is a win win situation for me.

Also, when the article talks about how Germans Complain a lot I liked to know that. I also complain a lot and feel that I could connect over that. I find that complaining can be a good way to know what your dealing with in a day, as well as, complaining just to complain can feel good sometimes.

Garrett Salters

Germany Survival Bible

Does anyone remember the movie "The Invention of Lying" that came out in 2009 about a world where NO ONE lies? According to the 'Brutally Honest' article about Germans, they might have taken this movie a bit too literally. German culture has absorbed the same means for communication : a don't-beat-around-the-bush ideology where yes means yes, not sure or maybe or kind of or no, but absolutely yes. Unfortunately, we Americans have championed the 'white lie' in order to keep everyone happy by responding to people with 'what they want to hear.' Although polite, Germans want the truth and nothing but the truth. Responding honestly isn't being rude, but staying true to one's nature (something that is rarely agreeable to some.) And just because you've responded with something that may startle others, Germans only want you to explain why you believe something or why you feel a certain way about something, and then move on with your life. They don't want you to invent a lie, they want to hear your opinion, which they value highly.

Now, a true American might call this a negative adaptation of culture, but wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone said what they meant and meant what they said? DUH. We wouldn't waste time grappling with appearances, and get to the point so we can move on with our lives. Germany 1, America 0.

I found the readings all particularly interesting. In particular, the second scenario in the Stare Down article. Since I live on north campus, I ride the Michigan buses daily. I myself on the bus never know where exactly to rest my gaze, as it says the person across the aisle stared down the one looking at the newspaper. I feel like in the U.S. we tend to look down at our laps as I noticed after reading this article, or people pre occupied themselves with their cell phones. The article says that there are two basic reasons going back to Cold War seperation of East/West Germany. And as the article sums up, I do remember in my childhood being told that its not polite to stare, I found that interesting because I never would have thought of where possibly staring has become such an awkward activity in our culture.
Also in the Brutally Honest one, I feel politeness is always over honesty in our everyday social life. But the Germans have it right, saying no is not a way of attempting to hurt ones feelings its just giving an honest answer, which ultimately leads to less confusion between aquaintences and friends. If I eat the fruitcake, maybe next time the Grandma will make it again thinking that I actually liked it, when really I was just too polite to say otherwise. It is also interesting that there must be justification if your directness is opposed.
From my personal experience I've never noticed the pessimism of Germans because I've always felt they are fun, easy going people.

Kultur 2

I found reading these articles about elements of German social culture that seem unusual to Americans to be highly entertaining because during my senior year of high school i went to German for a few weeks and for part of that time I lived with a German family, and during that time I encountered basically everyone fo the things that the articles talked. The first article which discussed German's tendency toward complaining  was one of the things that I noticed the least while I was there. That's not to say that it went unnoticed though. When I was talking to my host family I often found them asking about things that i didn't like in America, and I found myself wondering, "Don't you want to know what's good about it too?"

The staring that was discussed in the second article was probably the thing that disconcerted me the most while I was there. The first time I rode on a train there I found myself stuck in starring contests with 2-3 different complete strangers. And I kept thinking can they tell that I'm a foreigner without me even speaking. Also I found it very funny that people will not like if you cross streets at the wrong time in Munich because I was actually staying in Munich and I crossed the street at a red light and some old man started yelling at me.

The brutal honesty that is discussed in the 3rd article is not something that I particularly noticed while I was there but I guess just didn't get into any conversations where I thought people said anything to me that would be considered rude in America. However, I think I would prefer this societal convention to what we have in America cause I have always found myself wondering why can people just say what they really think rather than hiding it behind polite language that is open to varied interpretation.

Finally the fascination with statistics was another thing that I did notice to some extent while I was there as well. When I first arrived my host family kept asking me many questions about America and Chicago,
similar to what is in the article. I noticed that my host family was always eager and willing to provide statistics about their city, Munich whenever given the slightest prompting.
-Mike Flinn

I enjoyed reading this week's culture assignment. On the Whining, Bitching, and Moaning article - it is probably the German's constant dissatisfaction with the current state of things that drives the country to be the "positive, clean, efficient, functioning country that visitors see." I like the Brutally Honest article, and wish American culture would be more comfortable with honesty and meaning what you say and less concerned with "politeness." Perhaps the "Germanic staredown" on the subway also has something to do with their honesty - if they want to observe someone, I guess they just don't feel a need to hide that, just like they wouldn't hide their opinion. Overall it seems the Germans constantly seek knowledge- what their neighbor is doing, what the person on the subway is doing, what someone's opinion is, what the state of their country is and how it could be better, what the statistics are where someone else comes from, or what can they learn from a documentary. The quest for knowledge is certainly a noble one.

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!