Kultur 6

Sex, Smut and Shock:
This article talks about a German newspaper titled "Bild Zeitung". This paper seems to be very "out there". It is daring with its publications in comparison to tabloids in America and in Britain as well. A major part of the article is its use of "high resolution soft porn". The newspaper discusses topics from sports to sex and anything in between. It contains simple stories to twisted stories and polls to sexual articles. A funny part of the article was when it mentions a publication of Angela Merkel's backside while she was changing swimsuits...(haha very interesting)...

German Privacy:
In Germany privacy is a little different than in America. Apparently if a door is closed it usually means you should not enter. The article highlights how to enter a room if the door is closed. It says you must knock loudly and "show it whose boss", but only once. If you knock more than once you will probably irritate the person on the other side of the door...

Division Hell:
Apparently throwing away your garbage is a difficult task in german. There are a variety of different garbage cans that can make the process quite confusing. There are cans for brown glass, some for green class, some for white class and then some for paper, and metal, organic waste and packaging. Finally there are also cans for anything else left over. I guess that alone could be overwhelming.... The author of this article shares their experience while they were in Berlin. It was hard from them to figure out where exactly to throw away their paper wrapper . They were torn between a paper bin and a "leftover" bin. Since Germany takes recycling very seriously and so it can be quite embarrassing if you throw your trash in the wrong place and if it comes time to sort it all out. Germany is one of the leading countries in environmentalism so you better know where to throw your stuff away!!


Brennpunkt Kultur
Pg. 211 The university living style in Germany seems to be similar to that in America. At most universities there is limited dorm rooms. However the dorm rooms are single rooms called Einzelzimmer and they have a bed, desk and bookcase. Some residence halls have a community bathroom known as die Toiletten/die WCs and a shower room called der Duschraum. Each floor even has communal kitchen which is called die Gemeinschaftsküche. This is very similar to the dorms at Michigan! The dorms in Germany also have a cafeteria which is called die Mensa. I found it interesting that 12-13% of German students nationally live in residents hall while 66% live in apartments. Only 18 percent live at home with their parents. I think that is the only way in which university dorm life differs in comparison to here at Michigan. here I think the majority of students live in the dorms and then an apartment and then commute from home. 

Pg.225 This reading was about Tübingen, an old university city. It is distinguished by its historical center which is called die Alstadt. It has a population of a little under 90,000 and is famous for the 25,800 students at the EberhardKarls Universität. This university continues to draw many students! Apparently it has attracted intellectuals of different types for  many years. I found it interesting that it was famous primarily due to an educational institution! Good for Tübingen!