Kulture 3

Leitz Ordner

I have always been curious about how German college students make sure that they don't lose their official academic records such as the certificates from every single class, when they have to keep track of almost everything themselves. And I was always wondering why the German universities don't keep an official record for each student and just leave all the burden of taking care of all the documentation to students. Now this article may have explained quite a lot about the unique document-tracking situation in Germany. The wall of Leitz Ordner is also quite interesting, and it is even more interesting to see that German students would actually sacrifice their little dorm space for the Leitz Ordner wall.

Die Nachbarn

The neighborhood problem does not seem to be very surprising for me somehow. The reason might be that German are usually considered serious or disciplinary. Somehow I even like this "neighborhood code" a little. I feel that while it is causing a lot of conflicts, it makes the life of people who don't like a messy living environment much easier, as long as one is not very picky. However, some rules do seem a little "over". For example, only one grill once a month seems to be too strict, especially in the summer. In addition, the "7 a.m. to 8 p.m." rule also seems to be too extreme. It seems that it requires people in Germany to either all get up really early, or all get up really late. :p


Die Nationalflagge
Some part of the history still seems to be a sensitive topic. I still remember that in the 11th year in high school, a group of German exchange students came to my high school for two weeks. As host students, we were told by our teachers that we should try to avoid the Nazi topics, especially not to judge or criticize any more, as German people have done a lot to remind themselves of the mistakes and to show their deep apologies. Personally, I appreciate German people's courage of facing and learning from the non-glorious part of the history.

Wien
Wien is always the place that I want to visit. The movies based on the history or stories related to Wien are always interesting to watch. If possible, I will definitely visit Wien in the coming summer, and I would like to bring my violin with me. It must be a unforgettable experience to play violin there, in the historical atmosphere which Beethoven also enjoyed once.

Berufswahl und Berufsausbildung
It seems that I always have an impression that people in Germany have to choose an education or career path not only at an early age, but also really explicitly. There seems to be no such thing as "undecided" in Germany. However, I still prefer the idea that students get a broad education at a young age and then make a decision after they get to know more about each and everything. Maybe that is why I am here in the U.S. instead of in Germany.


Österreich
The size of Österreich, or the size of European countries in general, is always a reason that I want to travel in Europe. It would be really interesting that, when I feel that I am just driving from one state to another as if I were in the U.S., I am actually crossing the boarder between two countries. In addition, the pictures on the website "Advent in Österreich" made me really look forward to a trip to Österreich.


Links of the images:
1.http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Leitz+Ordner&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1029&bih=986&tbm=isch&tbnid=WAjYZuW8DbdpZM:&imgrefurl=http://www.oegg.co.at/Buerobedarf/Buerobedarf.htm&docid=Gs4ZNIFwRZPGGM&imgurl=http://www.oegg.co.at/Buerobedarf/Leitz%252520Ordner%252520und%252520Ringmappen.jpg&w=300&h=215&ei=ItegTpDsNampsAKx74DNBQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=396&sig=105330441689170756946&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=184&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=81&ty=63
2. http://www.google.com/imgres?q=house&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1029&bih=1029&tbm=isch&tbnid=jNBqrGigFvqZJM:&imgrefurl=http://housemoversadvice.com/2011/06/29/moving-to-a-smaller-house/&docid=pgILYSPQKP-nTM&imgurl=http://housemoversadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/small-house-in-the-village-coloring-page.jpg&w=465&h=346&ei=bNagTtPvAuyqsAKlpci2BQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=338&sig=105330441689170756946&page=1&tbnh=147&tbnw=196&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0&tx=59&ty=84
3. http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Wien&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1029&bih=1029&tbm=isch&tbnid=BKtPNkPAIxQqSM:&imgrefurl=http://www.globosapiens.net/alrusso1/picture-wien-35446.html&docid=-NQMIZbgS4IolM&imgurl=http://www.globosapiens.net/data/gallery/au/pictures_468/--austria--wien--id%253D35446.jpg&w=468&h=350&ei=22OhTvidLcXIswaJspilAw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=256&sig=105330441689170756946&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=185&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:0&tx=91&ty=63