Kultur3

I don't know about anyone else, but i actually enjoy reading these Kulture-Textes. I find them very interesting and I wish i had more time to read all of the optional ones as well, but when you have a tight schedule (as I'm sure many of you have) you don't always get to do things you want and enjoy. Interesting, possibly conversation-starting facts are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine, mainly because I find that starting conversations is always the most awkward part and getting past that allows you the opportunity to learn something new from other people. One such fact that i found interesting is that Deutschland ist home to 3/4 of the European Union's breweries. I liked reading about the main, different kinds of Bier that is brewed in Deutschland and i found it interesting that only 24 breweries are allowed to brew Kölsch. I found it interesting that Deutschland has laws such as the 1516 Purity Law which limits ingredients to water, hops, malt, and yeast, and they are so well known for their great Bier. I found it somewhat comical that they have such an opposite view of alcohol than that of us Amerikaner. They think a ban on alcohol in public would infringe upon their civil rights and that law abiding citizens shouldn't be punished because of irresponsible drinkers. They feel very strongly about keeping their drinks on trains and public transportation. Even politicians and judges agree and there have been bans put in place before but have been repealed. They have developed "fines" to impose on misconduct due to alcohol, which is a very realistic way to try and improve that sort of situation, rather than trying to enforce a ban. They have also reserved certain areas for drinkers, but the problem still remains that when drinking is banned in certain areas, the drinkers just move to a different spot, which could be even less desirable.

I was also very intrigued by how die Deutche feel about their food. 70% say they would never eat anything that is genetically altered, in other words, they choose to only eat organic foods. Die Deutche buy 1/3 of the organic food in Europe. I also found their reasoning for being so pessimistic somewhat skewed. They rationalize being pessimistic by saying that it indicates depth, critical thinking, and an intelligent caution.

The different stereotypes of German humor seem to fit somewhat into American stereotypes of humor like the Berliner being snudy and sarcastic such as a New Yorker and The Hamburger describing our American stereotype of the "talk show host" type of humor (witty)