Kultur5 - Joe Oliver

The thing that stuck out to me the most was the article about sex shops, weil ich ein Klasse in "Sociology of Sexuality" gehabt hat. We talked about the Safe Sex Shop in Ann Arbor, which ist wie sex shops in Deutschland: open about what they have inside, well lit, clean looking, right next to normal shops. Die Frau who owns the store knew meine Lehrerin. She tries to get rid of the stigma around those types of shops, an encourages people not to be ashamed about that stuff.

The other thing that really stood out to me was the contrast between the sex shop article and the flirting article. Es ist sehr interessant, dass German people aren't phased by sex shops out in the open, aber sie hat viele Angst für flirting. I suppose both the German and American views don't make much sense. Germans are open minded about sex shops but sound almost prudish when it comes to flirting, and Americans are the exact opposite.

I also really enjoyed the extra article about Kneipen und Bars. From the perspective of somebody in a relationship, I like the sound of German Cliques. I would prefer having a Kneipe to go and hang out and have a good time rather than going to an American bar, i.e. "Meat market." However Ich auch denke, dass it is unfair to the couple for a group/clique to expect their friend to always prefer going with them when their boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't want to. I would like to do both, have time with just my friends und just meine Freundin, und some mit beide. It seems that German cliques expect their friends to always hang out with them the same way they criticize American couples for always being together.

Kapitel 5 Kultur

Excerpts from "Women in Germany" -

There is very little surprise in this article. As with in America, there is the issue of women earning considerably less than men for equal work. This seems to be a global issue, at least in the developed world. It is also nearly impossible to account for all of the variables that may have an impact on this difference between genders. It's good to hear that this gap is shrinking in the younger generation. It's also really good that they actually acknowledge the issues that go along with prostitution as a profession, instead of sweeping it under the rug like the American government is inclined to do.

German Erotica

This was good for a couple laughs, but was not very substantial. The image in the article was especially entertaining.

Rules of the Street

Again, nothing too insightful in the article. Obviously this is referring to large cities where there are generally large groups of people. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the population density in German cities is higher than in almost any American city, so this makes sense. If New York City was even more overcrowded than it already is, one can imagine that people would generally be even more pushy in crowded areas.

Flirting in Germany -

The article hit this subject right on the head for me. I wish I would have read this before I spent considerable time flirting with German girls, because it probably would have helped me avoid all of the issues I ran into. I really like the idea of the male not having to initiate the encounter; it's a welcome relief from American customs. One thing not mentioned in the article is how friendly German girls are (at least those in University). On multiple occasions I found myself riding bikes with a girl that I had just met the previous night, or having breakfast after a long night of dancing. Because clubs don't close down until the morning, it is possible to spend a whole night dancing and hanging out with someone without "going home with them". This was an interesting concept for me, and it's one of the things I really wish we had here. Luckily for the visitors to Germany, one line says it all...

" And often as a foreigner, you have the advantage of being different and intriguing."

Kultur5, Norman Lam

I found it interesting that Germans are used to physical contact when walking in the streets, because this is somewhat similar to Hong Kong, where I grew up in. In Hong Kong, people seldom apologize for physical contact in the streets, and I am sure that the scene of people rushing into the subway during rush hours is more horrible than that in Germany and many other countries. Occasionally, Hong Kong people might scowl at or quarrel with one another if someone bumps into someone else on the sidewalks in a rude way.

In my four years here in America, I have grown accustomed to the politeness of Americans. However, sometimes I still feel awkward when someone apologizes to me at the slightest contact, or when I cannot even feel that someone has touched me. It makes me feel like I am compelled to apologize upon the slightest contact with someone as well.

I also found the article on German “toilet ladies” very interesting. Coming from Hong Kong where it is generally free to use all restrooms, I was very intrigued by my experiences in Germany when I found out that everyone had to pay to use the restrooms. Furthermore, I was confused about the amount I should tip the sanitary assistants when I saw them in restrooms in tourist districts. However, I have to commend them for their efforts - in general the German toilets that I have been to were indeed very clean.

Kultur 5

I do not find it shocking at all that Germans rarely say entschuldigung after running into a person on the street because they are known for being slightly rude. I think it is funny how they usually say if they make someone bleed though. It was very nice that the boys still give up their seats on the subway for elderly, but it is funny that it is probably because they are scared of the only ladies.

It is funny that sex shops are just like every other store in Germany because in America they are hidden because so many Americans think that is it bad. Germans have a completely different perspective of them however. Germans think that having them is natural and that going in for some porn because they have left over money is no big deal. I find this disgusting because I am use to how Americans portray sex and sex shops.

I like the idea that in Germany people have to pay to use the public restroom. Doing this ensures that they are constantly kept clean and that people will not go into the bathroom for no reason and destroy it. It isn't very expensive, ranging from 30 cent to a Euro, and it is worth it. When I went to Germany we either had to pay a machine to get into the bathroom or we had to tip the woman in the bathroom cleaning it as we used it, but every time I used the bathroom it was spotless.

I do not like the German way of flirting because it can people in a lot of trouble if they go to Germany and try to flirt with Germans. Also in our culture we are kind of taught that the guy should start the flirting, so the fact that it is up to German girl seems kind of awkward.

I think that Hamburg is a very cool city not only because it was the birthplace of composer Johannes Brahms, but because it has a lot of history. For example, I found the Hanseatic League to be very interesting because it promoted international trade and eventually over 200 cities joined this league.

Kultur 5- Cameron Carpenter

The idea that a German will ignore that some one is there is a little bit surprising and that the people wont even say sorry or anything, but I mean they are Canadian so what can we expect. I found it really funny that an older women would jab someone just so her grand kid could see a parade. After that the comment that a young man will still give up his seat for n older lady is probably more out of fear than respect. Firstly the opening to this article is hilarious and probably the best thing we read all semester. This article is fairly accurate about the American perception I believe, however it is not completely correct in Ann Arbor we have the safe sex shop right on north u. and there is also one in my home town that's fairly open. Comparatively to Germany though we are quite close minded on the matter and I don't think any one say " oh I have some extra money, I should get some porn!". The idea of paying for a public bathroom seems insane to me, I think the person who gets paid to do it then they should. Charging you petty change although doesn't seem like much it would really add up, which we saw by some of the women's weekly earning. A thousand dollars a week is crazy for just cleaning a bath room. For the flirting article I really only read the part for the men since I decided that was probably the only part that pertained to me. It is really interesting that girls will not like it if you are to forward and will most likely to be scared off. The quick eye contact is rather weird to me, but I suppose it makes sense, although it would probably be considered awkward in the united states. The main gist of the last article was that women seem to be better than men in Germany, they live longer, there are more of them (although that's probably better for the men), and more go to college. I found this article so dumb compared to the normal kultur articles so I really only skimmed it.

Willkommen!!

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We will be using this blog throughout the semester for two kinds of assignments:

1. Once per chapter, the homework plan will direct you to post a response to the culture readings for the chapter on the blog.

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