Kultur 5

Rule of the Street: No Blood, No Entschuldigung
For me, it was not at all surprising to read that Germans don't apologize after they bump into each other. While in Berlin, l was bumped into multiple times and not a single person apologized. However, I knew to expect this because Marie warned me that people almost never apologize for bumping into people.  I found it not surprising that young men get up for an elderly person.

German Erotica: The Land of Beer, Sausage, and Sex Shops
I thought it was interesting how this article compared yet another facet of German culture to American culture to show just how different the Germans are from Americans. In America, it's severely frowned upon to go to these stores while in Germany, it's completely normal to go to them. For me, this articles explains the question I had while in Germany as to while a sex store was in the middle of a shopping district in Berlin.

The Loneliness of the Klofrau: Toilet Training for Visitors 
I thought it was interesting to learn about the people who work as sanitary assistants. This article was right when they said you would be frowned at if you didn't put some change in the little white bowl. In Germany, they may make fun of the sanitary assistants, but all of the Germans make sure to give some spare change upon entering the bathroom.

Scoring a German: Flirting with Fräuleins, Hunting for Herren
I thought it was interesting to see how yet another aspect of German culture is different from American culture (even from the rest of the wordl!), and how unique this aspect is. I thought the German way of flirting was slightly amusing because when I see someone staring at me, I think "What? Is something wrong with my hair?" It would also make sense why so many guys turned Bailey, a friend of mine, down because she flirted with them in the good ole American way. 

Excerpts from "Women in Germany"
Personally, I found all of these statistics to be fascinating because they show how women are increasingly developing a larger role in the workforce of Germany. I also find it interesting that they allowed women to serve voluntarily in the army after previously only allowing them to serve in restricted positions.