Kultur 5

Rules of the Street
In Germany the "rules of the street" are much different then in America. Apparently when walking you can expect to be pushed or shoved. If there is a large crowd you can expect someone to plow through or even step on your shoes without a simple "Excuse me", or in German, "Entschuldigung". In America we would classify this as rude or impolite, but apparently in Germany this is just the way that it is.


German Erotica
In Germany sex shops are no hidden secret. You can find sex stores right next to grocery and toy stores. In America these stores are hidden and not talked about , but in Germany these stores are commonly seen and referred to. I know if I went to Germany I would be very shocked and even uncomfortable to see such an abundance of these stores.

The Loneliness of the Klofrau
I've never heard of the term Klofrau and I never even knew this existed. In Germany the Klofrau is a "toilet lady". She cleans public restrooms after people "relieve" themselves and collects change from them in return. This sounds like a terrible and disgusting job. It also sounds like it is unnecessary. Why have someone...a woman at that.... wait around in the bathrooms all day to clean. In America we have custodians, janitors, or some hired workers who clean the bathrooms all at once, and normally at the end of the day. They are also paid an hourly wage and have this responsibility along with many others. I feel like having a Klofrau is not crutial and I feel bad for anyone who has that job. The article mentions this job is mostly occupied by poorly paid immigrants because they are doing the job that other people will not . Although I would appreciate these women if I lived in Germany I do not think the job is necessary. It is also disgusting ! Hopefully these women have not gone through/seen too much!


Scoring a German
This article describes flirting in Germany and how subtle it is compared to in America. In Germany flirting is more subtle. Men are not as direct, aggressive or as forward as they are in America. Apparently that type of behavior scares the women. The woman in Germany seem to be more delicate and do not like this behavior (unless of course they are on vacation). After reading the article flirting overall did not seem like flirting. It seems to be almost too subtle and boring. The way Germans flirt seems like more of a game because the men are hard to read and you have to be cautious with the women. I think I like our ways better ;)


Excerpts from "Women in Germany"
This article was very factual and interesting. It basically shows the progression of women in Germany and gives us a timeline . Overall the statistics are related to women's rights. The statistics range from income to children and unemployment to education. What I found the most interesting was the increase od self-employed women from 1991-2002. However something I found less shocking was the fact that the average income of woman in full-time employment was much less than the income of men. Thats how it is in America as well.



Brennpunkt Kultur

pg.177
This Kultur reading was very informative. I learned about the location of Hamburg which is between the North Sea (die Nordsee) and the Baltic Sea (die Ostsee). I also learned that St. Pauli is home to Hamburgs shipping and shipbuilding industries and that its location is the largest entertainment and red light district of northern Europe (die Reeperbahn). Something I found ironic in the article was that Hamburg is the birthplace to the Hamburger steak! What a shocker. Hamburger steak is chopped beef with fried egg and made its way to America. It's what we call a hamburger. How interesting.

pg.189
In this reading I learned that many Germans differentiate between calling someone a friend and calling someone an acquaintance. In Germany they call most people their "Bekannte" (acquaintance) and they only call one or two people their Freunde or Freudin. Someone who is younger may even use the word "Kumpel" for friend. Overall, I thought that this was interesting because I feel like in America people are quick to call everyone their friend. But everyone is not your friend and I like that they save that term for people who actually deserve it. When people get older they even celebrate a new friendship with something called "Brüderschaft trinken".