Kultur 2

I really enjoy reading this week’s culture readings.

When I was in China, the only language course I had ever taken was English. My hometown is much less advanced than big cities like Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong. Studying or working abroad was nothing but a dream to everyone. English was taught only as a test subject instead of a language, a skill or a tool to learn more things before I went to college. The classes were all about grammar, choosing the right words to fill in the blanks or correcting an error in a sentence. We had no foreign teachers and our teachers had never been to a foreign country. They knew nothing about the people who speak this language. I had to say, English was like solving an equation, a skill that was useful only during exams. We learned nothing about the people, the culture or the lifestyle of the English-speaking countries during our English class.

Now, I am taking the German 101. Not only unser Lehrer ist ein Deutscher, but also ich lese die Deutsche Kultur (wrong sentence…). The language is more than a course, it is a tool for us to communicate and to explore another group of people on earth.

These short articles are great first-hand materials to know the real Germany.


The German National Pastime: Whining, Bitching and Moaning
German Culture – Art of Complaining

Mein Cousin ist ein großer Fan der deutschen Fußball team (wrong sentence). He would be amazed if I tell him that German thinks their team is horrible. I am wondering would that be too depressed by seeing negative things every day. Maybe only German can handle that.

However, there is also good come out of the complaining. As Mark said, the Germans are keep seeking improvements because they can always find the dissatisfaction. I agree with him and I also believe that is why they can design and produce the delicate watches, cameras and cars; my father likes all of them.


By the Numbers: An Obsession with Statistics

This piece makes me sweat. I cannot give any precise numbers to describe my city. I love my hometown and all I can say is that it was a town and grew to a small city in recent ten years. Nothing more. I would definitely do my homework about both my hometown and Ann Arbor this weekend, and memorize them.

It actually makes sense to ask for numbers because they are strictly facts and not affected by your emotion. Next time, I will ask other people the same questions: What’s the area of your city? Population size? It seems that this is a brilliant start to end a conversation…


Brutally Honest: "Have You Gained Weight?"

The tips in this piece are very useful. In China, people are very “indirect” and it is an art for some people to read the real information behind the words. It is very complicated and the conversation can turn into a spy game. American people are much more honest or direct than Chinese. I just get used to this.

The Germans are brutally honest even for Americans; no need to mention how Chinese would response. Actually, I like being honest because that makes life easier but I definitely would feel upset if a stranger asks me whether I eat too much…


"The Germanic Stare Down": Watcha Lookin' at, Granny?

I can live with “whining, bitching and moaning”, stats quizzes, or brutally honest, but not staring. I hate being stared at. We were told since very young that staring at others, especially strangers is impolite. I could never get used to this and I wish this would never happen to me if I visit Germany someday.

German immigration to North America

The piece has been very well covered by last week’s reading. The Kulturkreuzung (Culture Crossroad) asks a very interesting question of German city in the Michigan. When I Google this, I found a German town in Michigan: Frankenmuth. The web told me it is a great place to visit and has "the World's Largest Christmas Store”. I lived in Ann Arbor for three years and this is the first time I heard of this city. What a pity. I will visit it before I leave here!

source: http://www.1zoom.net/Cities/wallpaper/300917/z1286.6/

I also found a post, “Five great German towns in the USA”, expect for Frankenmuth, MI, there are Leavenworth, WA, Hermann, MO, Fredericksburg, TX, and Amana Colonies, IA. They could be part of my targets for next trip!

Types of universities in Germany

The academic system in Germany is very different from China and the US. University of Michigan is an outstanding public university. Based on the subjects, the UM contains die technishe Hochschule, die Fachhochschule, die Kunsthochschule und die Musikhochschule.

The most famous techishe Hochschule in China is die Technische Universität München. I hope it will be my next stop. 

Damn Cool Library!!

source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MI-Geb%C3%A4ude_der_TU_M%C3%BCnchen_Magistrale1.JPG

The most well-known German university is Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg because two excellent Chinese writers were associated with it. One of my mother’s favorite writers, Lung Ying-tai was a teacher there. I think Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg is eine Fachhochschule