Kultur 6: Callie Chappell

Sex, Smut and Shock: Bild Zeitung Rules Germany: I thought it was interesting how the Bild hyperbolizes actual events, rather than just inventing sensational stories. Personally, this seems better than publishing outright fiction. I also thought it was hilarious that the motto is "we form your opinion so you don't have to."
German Privacy: Come On In, My Door Is Always Closed: This aspect of German culture encapsulates many aspects of the culture in general. In line with what we've learned about German privacy. Here  in the US, people seem to rarely keep their doors closed. It's good to understand the cultural norms in a world where door-knocking is actually a valuable skill.
Division Hell: Worshipping the Garbage Gods: I definitely noticed this when I was in Germany. Even my host families had up to 4 different waste bins under their sinks for different kinds of waste. It was rather overwhelming. Everything had its exact place, and way to dispose of it.

AMD 6: Callie Chappell

For this AMD, I wrote to my German pen-pal. Even though we usually write letters, I sent her a facebook message this time. I met her, Ann-Kathrin, when I visited Hecklingen, Germany. She is currently working as an apprentice at a bank in Munich and is also going to school there. She says that she dislike "special calculation subjects,"  but I'm not entirely sure what those are. I'll definitely have to ask. Ann-Kathrin has traveled a lot in the past couple of years, and she has sent me postcards from London and New York, when she was in the US. Hopefully, I'll be able to travel to Germany and see her again. Now that I'm learning German, I'll have to start writing my letters in German (even though her English is excellent...).

AMD 5: Callie Chappell

As I write this AMD, I am in the bus driving back from a debate tournament in North Carolina. Looking out my window, I am always amazed at how the geography of Appalachia reminds me of some areas in Germany. I've done this drive many times before. After traveling in Germany the summer before my junior year in high school, my school drove to this same college for a debate tournament that fall, and the fall of my senior year. I remember thinking how similar things looked, flying past. The same craggy rock faces and rolling foothills, which gently sloped down from the highway to reveal a misty panorama. This time, however, I noticed some differences. As we drove along the river, I was surprised by the abject poverty. So many homes were ramshackle, worn, and falling down. Windows were boarded up, and many homes had rusty lawnchairs and broken cars out front. This vision of Appalachia was one markedly different from the Germany I remembered. In Germany, much of the development lies in quaint villages, that together make up an urban region. But perhaps I was just romanticizing my trip, I thought, so I looked back at my pictures. Below are a few of them with comments: 

I was surprised to find this picture I found of a German "trailer park". I guess our worlds aren't that different after all! Interestingly, one of my host families (who were very financially stable) actually owned what the American equivalent of a "cabin on the lake" would be, but for them, it was a "trailer on the river."  

Some visions of Germany were very similar to what driving around Northern Michigan (wo ich komme aus) in the summer looks like. 

This is a picture of the small villages. From what I understand, collections of these villages comprise a larger urban city or town. 

I thought this image was remarkable because it could pass as a view from any American highway passing through North Carolina/Virginia/ Southern Ohio. 

Here is another image of a German village. 

This is an image of a typical German village (Eberbach) around the river (this is the Neckar River). Here, the buildings are nice and expensive. In America (and in similar terrain), many of the riverside homes were in disrepair. 

Kultur 5-- Callie Chappell

Rules of the Street: No Blood, No Entschuldigung: This article ruefully reminded of the opposite stereotype many Americans have of Asian tourists. From personal experience, some Americans think that Asian tourists are overly rude in pushing their way through crowds without saying "excuse me". Additionally, I've personally experienced this; when I said "Entschuldigung" in a store, people would give me weird looks.
German Erotica: The Land of Beer, Sausage and Sex Shops: The things that Americans hold taboo and the plethora of weird things that we do NOT hold taboo never fail to amaze me.
The Loneliness of the Klofrau: Toilet Training for Visitors: I think the idea of privatizing bathrooms is a great one. Bathrooms are something that are in high demand; why not charge people for their use? Additionally, paying to have them clean incentivizes quality. Go capitalism!
Scoring a German: Flirting with Fräuleins, Hunting for Herren: I think this is rather indicative of the overall German devotion to commitment. One thing this article does not touch on is whether the same amount of flirting happens, just differently, or whether the amount of flirting is just dramatically decreased.
Excerpts from "Women in Germany": This article mentions cohabitation, which seemed rather common to me when I was there. One of my host parents had a child who was in a co-habitation relationship with a child, and, when I asked how common such an arrangement was, they replied that it was "very common". As an American, I have no idea the prevalence of cohabitation in the US is, but it would be an interesting comparison. 

AMD 4-- Callie Chappell

For this AMD, I read an article about the increase of Halloween in Germany:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/rise-of-halloween-culture-sees-backlash-in-germany-a-931005.html
The article was interesting because it targeted German's main 2 concerns with the holiday. Namely, its commercialization (and thus Americanization) of German culture, and its dissonance with the Protestant Church. In my opinion, both arguments are valid. As the "self-proclaimed "father of Halloween in Germany,"" notes, the holiday was originally introduced as a way for retailed to fill the gap between major holidays. However, despite its capitalist origins,  Halloween hasn't quite caught into mainstream German culture. The article mentions that most trick-or-treaters visit areas rich with ex-pats to find their candy. Additionally, I thought that it was interesting that trick-or-treating seems much more malicious. Call me naive, but I don't hear too much about the more negative aspects of trick or treating in America. I guess we prefer the "treating"! Who knows, maybe Thanksgiving will be the next American holiday to catch on in Germany.

AMD 4-- Callie Chappell

For this week's AMD, I watched some Peter Fox music videos and analyzed them for their reflections on German culture.
Alles neu: I thought this video reflected an interesting dichotomy between the orderliness of "traditional" Germany, and the "radical" new-age in which Peter Fox seems to reflect. Throughout the video, he destroys symbols of traditional Germany (eg. clean streets/dumpster, German cooking, traditional music tradition), all within the anonymity and equality of the monkey mask. Does the ubiquity of the monkey mask reflect the ubiquity of his followers, or the followers of the old order?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdtLCfEcPL4&

Schwarz zu Blau: Like the previous video, this video is laden with imagery, namely, of the "new world" tearing down the old. Beautiful, yet grotesque images blossom from the dregs of society, which postulates a positive, or more powerful result of assumed social stigmatization. Monkey faces bloom, representing the power of anarchy. Finally, the illustrative face of Peter Fox himself (on varying bodies) orchestrates the video, inferring that his music serves to narrate some aspect of the German social scheme itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yphwzD1XaBY

Kultur 4 --Callie Chappell

Two-Wheeled Teutons: Stay Off the Bike Path!~Due to the prevalence of bicyclists in Germany, it's not surprising to me that there are so many bike paths and that there are so many regulations. After all, with more adoption comes more regulation!
The Red Dictator: Crossing the Strasse~This is totally true! When I was in Germany, no one jaywalked. When I was with host families, I made to jaywalk, and everyone looked totally surprised.
Illogical Logic: The Right Answer in Germany May Be the Wrong One~I think this an interesting looking into the assumptiveness of Americans. It's fascinating how many Americans take some assumptions to be typical-- like this train example-- whereas in other countries, these are relevant and important questions.
Fare-Dodgers Beware: There's No Such Thing as a Free Ride~This is certainly a testament to the immense power social stigma holds on behavior. There are some actions in the US that are very socially stigmatizing (i.e. nude beaches?); in German, however, different actions hold the same stigmas.
Disorderly Germans: Playing Chicken on the Einbahnstrasse~not going to lie, I wasn't entirely sure I understood this one. I realize that Germans are notorious for being organized, but I'm not sure how that spills over to pranksters changing street signs or overly generalized language? I hope someone can help me out here...

Callie Chappell- Kultur 3

Eco-Centric Germans: Organic Food Obsessions: This is really great to read. As a strong proponent of organic food, it's encouraging that organic is becoming global and no long simply an "unnecessary luxury".
German Fast Food: Forget the "Mett", Try a "Frikadelle": German fast food is just so much better than here! Schnitzel is always amazing--- even though I have to have "puten schnitzel". I also was surprised about having mayo with pomme frites. I never had it in Germany, but it was certainly big in Belgium. (Where pomme frites were invented....)
Yo Dude, What about the Turks? An Introduction to Germany's Real Fast Food Joints: Turkish immigration in Germany seems to be a contentious issue, and this is certainly indicative of their cultural assimilation. Interestingly, this increase in Mediterranian food has also spread to Ann Arbor..
Teutonic Humor: Vee Have Vays of Making You Laugh: The characterization of Bavarians is right on, especially the language part. Literally the first thing I was told in Bavaria was about their strong accents.
Also, the evolution of WWII humor seems very interesting. It seems like still a very touchy subject.
The Dark Side: Optimists Are Idiots: This seems just like another aspect of German's dreary outlook on life. Although we've read a lot of articles about this, from my experience, this just doesn't seem to be true. I guess I'll just have to return to Germany and see!

AMD 2: Callie Chappell

I'm currently at a debate tournament in Kentucky, but the intersectionality of multiculturalism is very interesting here. A lot of the debates come down to identity politics-- how we posit identities (eg. the black identity, the white identity, the identity of the aesthetic, etc.) in the political realm. A recent debate I watched was a team advocating the philosophy of Frank Wilderson, and the relationship of the "whiteness" in both the debate community, and the overarching epistemological and ontological social constructs that uphold our law and society. Our team was answering this argument and evoked their German heritage through a narrative about their own social position. Although this relationship is a little stilted (hey, I didn't have a lot of time to do German cultural activities as tournaments run Friday through Monday 6:00 AM - 1:00 AM), I still think this interconnectedness between radical critical theory (specifically, critical race theory) and the fundamental universality of discursive racial social positions throws an interesting light on the value we hold on understanding other cultures (eg. the LSA foreign language requirement).

Kultur2-- Callie Chappell

I thought that all of these readings were very interesting and telling about German society. Like any culture, so many assumptions about German culture are statements of non-understanding. Approaching German culture with the mindset, "It must be so different, I'm not sure what to expect" will leave you very surprised about the similarities between American and German culture. I thought the article about German complaining was interesting because, as the article points out, the German standard of living is the nearly the highest in the world. Ironically, the country where citizens have the least to complain about do the most whining. Additionally, the historical analysis from the ""The Germanic Stare Down": Watcha Lookin’ at, Granny?" article placed their cultural "stare-down" in a historical context. The deep-seated German patriotism impacts the way citizens relate to one another on the street or on the subway. I think the "Brutally Honest" and "Obsession with Statistics" articles go hand-in-hand explaining the German value in truth and honesty. Personally, I find the American inclination to mask rudeness in dishonesty inefficient. Being both well-informed and required to be held accountable for your personal opinion/identity I think leads to a more well-thought out state of being.

AMD1- Callie Chappell

I read the NYT article about Native American culture in Germany. I was raised in a very with parents with very Native American spiritual beliefs, so it's fascinating to see how our distinctly American (in the truest sense) culture has migrated to Europe. I've actually seen the German fascination with Native Americans firsthand. Even thought I didn't think it was an overarching interests, I remember when I was in Germany one of my host fathers had a "Dances with Wolves" poster at his house. I remember thinking that it was funny that he had such an American movie poster, but now I know why. I also think the intersection of the German history of being the "domineers" drawing such an interested in the suppressed history of Native Americans, especially in relationship to Hitler and the Nazi party.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/arts/design/12karl.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&adxnnlx=1189696206-pnz6lZy/hEZ2htbGXZa5zQ