Kultur 4

Reading through the texts provided for this chapter, there are quite a few differences between Germany and back here in the United States in terms of transportation, being a pedestrian, and even being straight forward. In the first reading about biking habits in Germany astounded me. Coming from an area where nobody rides a bike anywhere (except maybe school children on their way to class) it is amazing how many people consider biking a viable form of transportation. To be honest, I have barely had experiences of walking around my hometown let alone riding a bike through it, people are too unpredictable and it is considered dangerous to be outside of a vehicle when traveling. Since coming to Ann Arbor, my view on the matter is slightly different, although not entirely. The sidewalks are still crowded and motorists are still as crazy as ever making pedestrians and bikers alike feel like they shouldn't belong in the area.

However on the flip side of transporting yourself from one place to another, having strict morals for crossing even a simple street have a much different perspective here than in Germany. I never experienced this until my stay here in Ann Arbor, but the right of way for pedestrians annoys me to the fullest extent. I am used to having complete right of way in a vehicle being that I am in the machine that could kill a person. When something is big enough to kill me, I stay out of the way until told I can move (similar to people in Germany). But as I have seen in Ann Arbor and several other large cities in the United States, people will just trot across the road without warning and expect you to slam on your breaks to express some sort of sympathy for their idiotic nature. If I were to do that at home, somebody would make it a game to hit me too! The idea of street pong is a great idea, if only the area I came from wasn't stuck in the 1990's... or if anyone walked anywhere.

I have never had to concern myself with public transportation that required payment, but  Germany seems to be a bit heartless in their logic and their way of taking tickets. From what I understand here in the United States, you can't exactly get on a bus or train or anything else without having to pass through some sort of gate. I have never been allowed in somewhere where once I am inside I then have to remember to show someone that I was allowed to be there. If I wasn't in the right place, I would have been shuttled out before taking my first step in. The same goes with the logic. I would expect a cashier to make a small leap from my ticket to when the next train for MY ticket is. Although, I guess that would be on my head assuming the tickets have a time-stamp on them. Again, not entirely sure on that to begin with.

Finally the one thing that brings us all together is our messes. Even if you consider yourself orderly, we all can have our tendencies to be a bit off from time to time. Two one way signs negating each other is a new one for me, but I have seen 4 way stops with only 3 stop signs, deer crossings where deer never cross, and an upside down yield sign on the back of a tractor... now what kind of orderly person would do that?