Kapitel 3 Kultur

I myself am grossed out by the idea of genetically modified foods. After doing a weeks worth of research in high school on food justice  and watching baby chicks being feed artificial and steroid ridden slop to grown bigger breasts before being brutally slaughtered I vowed to myself that I would eat organic from then on... of course I haven't been completely organic since then but I try my best. Germans understand that not only does organic food taste better but it is better for you. My mom always stresses to me that if I ate pork in Nigeria (although I'm not really a fan of pork) I would never want to eat the pork here in the US. All this crap we put in our food in order to mass produce it is the same thing that is wearing away at our environment which is why I have to experience Polar Vortex's in Michigan. I may not have the resources to have my own farm but I will definitely strive for my own little garden to grow fresh herbs and veggies when I get older.

On the other hand it's interesting to see how all these German snacks have basically been adopted into American culture. It seems like there are actually more types of sausages and burgers in Germany than here. Many from the list sounded familiar such as Schnitzel (Wiener Schnitzel), Currywurst and Bratwurst. I'm very picky when it comes to my sausages and exactly what meats they are made of, so I would probably stray away from this fast food joint but a form of fast food I would definitely prefer that I wouldn't expect to see in Germany is the Turkish Imbisse. According to the article New York Times recorded 2.3 million Turks living in Germany. I am the adventurous type and I do like spice so I would probably get a hot sauce (scharf) and I would definitely have the salad. I imagine that this salad would be the type you see in Mediterranean cuisine including tomatoes, cucumber, almost like a tambouli but I may be completely wrong. Either way this sounds like an ideal fast food spot.

I like to call my self a pretty optimistic person, of course I always have those days where I hate the world, but it always seems to pass once I fit in a good nap. It's one thing to complain and bitch, but its a different thing to be pessimistic. I strongly believe that the energy you put out into the world is the energy you receive. If Germans are always thinking, "that's stupid", or "don't even bother" then they will never reap results contrary to the negative ones they prophesy. Yes, we all need a reality check one time or the other and we don't all want to have our heads up in the clouds but there must be a balance. It was interesting they brought up the German opera "Siegfried" (which I've never seen) as an illustration of this downer mentality, but there are some examples like Ariadne Auf Naxos by Strauss which has a happy ending.
It seems like German "funny" is a more static, realistic type of funny which contrasts from the stupid, idiotic, "knee-slapper" American humor. The article mentioned that the German humor features Self-deprecation, irony, sarcasm, and a sharp wit which not everyone could relate to. The four stereotypes of German humor definitely gave me a better perspective of how they view humor and how they approach it. It says a lot about  intellect and I would have to say from the descriptions German humor sounds much more advanced than American humor.