AMD 4

For this week's AMD, I simply tried acting like a German. It sounds drab, but it was actually quite entertaining. Whenever I ate, I only used utensils, like a true German. I also had conversations with mein Vater, who is also learning German. My grandfather is fairly fluent in the language, so I had a short conversation with him on the telephone. Another activity I practiced was whenever I said a simple sentence or phrase, I would do my best to translate it into German in my head. I soon found myself translating my favorite TV shows into German in my head. In my humble opinion, i think it is a great way of learning the language. It also forced me to look up words that I didn't know, or couldn't pronounce. For me, it would weigh on my mind if I couldn't figure out a word, so I would try to figure it out by separation, or by it being a cognate. I definitely brushed up on my German from this activity.

AMD 3

For AMD 3, I did the elongated worksheet about German eating. I thought it was very interesting that German supermarkets were not as organized as the American ones. The stereotype most people have on Germans is one that everything they do is very utilitarian and for the general good. I guess it applies to everything but supermarkets...

Kultur 3 Cameron Schmitchen

It's very interesting to find out new things about a culture, at least for me, it causes me to think about how we are related, or different. As stated in the text, learning about a culture's eating habits shows us a lot about the culture. In class, when we were told that Germans only used a fork an knife to eat their food, I found myself eating a piece of pizza the next day with a fork and knife. This one subtle difference makes it easy to understand why many cultures think Americans are "pigs". Germans find it very offensive when someone eats with their hands, so avoid it if you ever go to Germany! Something I like about the German food habits is the 5 different meal times. I enjoy eating, so adding two more meals a day is something I wouldn't object to.

In regards to the section about Mannheim and Heidelberg, I remembered learning that Mannheim was nearly destroyed by bombings in WWII. I had also thought that Heidelberg was bombed too, but I had recalled incorrectly. The fact that Heidelberg is known for it's academic excellence is similar to how Ann Arbor is synonymous for academic excellence here in Michigan. While Heidelberg has it's reputation based on academics, Mannheim is based off of industry, similar to Detroit. In addition to the link BASF is based there, which shows a German connection to the southeastern Michigan area. So, the articles show that there are some major differences from our area, from how we eat, to the differences in measuring systems, but there are also many connections, such as the similarities in major cities, to a German founded company, essentially in our own backyard.

Kapitel 2 Kultur

It's interesting to learn about how selective the German schools are. It's also interesting to see how the German school system is now loosening up on how degrees are granted, as well as how the different school systems are comparable to how Americans choose schools based on what they want to study. Looking from the outside in, I agree with the article stating that the system is too inflexible to allow for proper educational growth.

Schneewittchen-- AMD 2

For AMD 2, I had the thought of reading through a little bit of one of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. I chose a classic, Snow White. What could go wrong? Well, not getting the story is a start. After searching high and low on google, I found that it was nearly impossible to find the tale for free in German. I decided to go the the German wiki page and look up the main points of the story. Having known the story previously, it was fairly simple to see where the story was headed. For example, die böse Stiefmutter sagt "Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, wer ist die schönste im Land?". Now, that's not an exact translation to the rhyme we're all accustomed to. It's a rough translation though. A couple differences with German fairy tales to conclude my post. From my research, I learned that firstly, German fairy tales often try to intimidate the readers, die Kinder, into doing what either a.) their parents want, or b.) what is socially acceptable to do. Another difference is the fluffy stereotypical fairy tale ending. This rarely happens in German. Most end in the perpetrator meeting their demise. Very rarely are the antagonists coerced into a happy ending, like in American fairy tales.

AMD 1

For the AMD assignment this week, I changed my facebook page to Duetsch for the day. I don't go on facebook often, but I thought it would be interesting to poke around and see what I could understand. It was very interesting using the translate option as well, there were some sentences that I knew how to structure, and some that I thought I knew how, but a single word threw the entire phrase off. I think I'll leave facebook in this language just for the heck of it, to see how much I learn by April. On a side note, setting the language to "Pirate" is also extremely entertaining.