Kultur Blog fur Kapitel 10

"Dinner For Who?"--I have some family that live in Germany so I actually saw this skit when I was very young. I just remember thinking it was very strange. In the conclusion it's funny how they bring up "The Sound of Music" because the situation is so similar. However, The Sound of Music is not nearly as widespread as Dinner For One.

"Sorry, We're Closed: The Challenge of Spending Money in Germany"--This article was really funny to me because my town is pretty similar. Although businesses are open on Sundays very few are open late. All restaurants close before 10:00p.m.... 11:00p.m. in the summer. As for the two bars in town the are open until 2:00a.m. (unless they are slow in which case they'll close early if they feel like it); however, they stop serving food generally around 11:00p.m. The grocery store will stay open until 12:00a.m. in the summer but generally closes between 9:30-10:00p.m. in the slower months. As for the bank, if you're not there by 5:00p.m. you won't get served. I think that was the biggest change for me when I moved to Ann Arbor, everything is open so late. It still is a strange concept for me.

"Booze Brothers: Father's Day Debauchery in Deutschland"-- This article was interesting. I don't think I'd ever want to participate in the day in Germany. Mainly what came to mind when reading it was the question of how the celebrate mother's day. If it isn't as exciting than something is wrong.

Blog on Traveling to Bern--"Many of the blog posts were similar when discussing Bern. They normally mentioned 1) Swiss Army Knives ..2)Bears obviously ...3)Mountains and Camping...4)Cheese and Beer....5) And one interestingly discussed the waterfalls they found while camping, not something that usually comes to mind when thinking of Switzerland, but makes sense with the Alps.

"Die Bruder Grimm und ihre Kinder-und Hausmarchen"-- The Brothers Grimm piece was very interesting to me. I love reading their fairy tales because they are about the level of difficulty I am at in German, and it is interesting to compare the German and American versions. I also know that the brothers did a lot of linguistics work which wasn't mentioned as much in the piece.

"Karneval, Fasching, Fastnacht"-- I had a friend who was in Barcelona during carnival and said it was a crazy experience. I picture it to be a little like our Mardi Gras on a much larger scale. It is interesting that students get the day off. I think it would be worth a visit at least once in your lifetime.

"Die Schweiz"-- I would love to visit Switzerland one day. I know a student from Switzerland and we talk a lot about the cultural differences. I just like the idea of being neutral and how they approach many of their issues. For example, when governmental officials evaluate meat packing plants in Switzerland they give helpful advice and there isn't a lot of pressure. Whereas, in America there is a lot of pressure and no guidance just rules. Despite America's stricter method our plants are worse off, less clean, and less efficient. I admire Switzerland's way of business and culture.

"Fest- und Feiertage"-- Germany holidays are similar to those in America. They are like a melting pot too so they cover many different cultural and religious holidays. Their Christmas is certainly different with "Santa" coming on the 6th. Personally, my birthday is on Christmas day so it would have been nice growing up with a birthday a little more separate from the holiday itself.