Kultur Drei

Bureaucracy Gone Awry: I find that this behavior puts very little trust in society, in the sense that nobody will take your word for having done something. If Germany is really that big on having certificates for every little thing, then I feel like that would lead to a very stiff and regimented style of life, not allowing for little personality differences to affect an interview or application. In some sense though, I think this is a good thing, because it means nobody can be stretching the truth on an application, like when Americans could put down a fancy term for a simple job to make it sound more impressive.

Love Thy Neighbor: This article would make me very weary of living in a neighborhood in which houses are close together. I don't know exactly how much stock to put in this article, because I feel like most of these rules would only be applicable in the case that you don't get along with your neighbors and you're looking for a legal suit against them. Other than that I would hope not to run into these problems.

Germany's Patriotism Problem: I've heard about this before, though from what I've heard flags have slowly become more prevalent thanks to the 2006 World Cup. I know that this World Cup was the first time in Germany's history since WWII that they've really been able to be proud of country and celebrate being German in front of the whole world. I think that so long as everyone feels comfortable with the way the system's working, there's no reason to change it.

Vorsprung Readings: These articles make me want to go to Austria. I think it's amazing how far Vienna and Austria at large have come in only 70 years since the end of the second World War. I'm sure getting a nation back on track and erasing dark connotations is difficult, but seeing how well the cities are doing and how enticing they are four tourists is very inspiring and welcoming.