Kultur 1 - Philip Picon

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this document about German-Americans. What interested me most about this reading is that they talk about how the "German Belt" is located in the upper Midwest. Being from New Jersey, far from the Midwest, I would say that I notice a decent amount of people from German heritage but only a few people who can speak German (mainly grandparents who moved here from Austria or Germany). However, since I am currently living in the upper Midwest, I figure that I will now notice German heritage more.

Being a fan of American history, I liked the description of how the Germans, when they immigrated, settled around each other and forged new communities. This reminded me of the segregation of cultures in New York City (Irish, Italians, Jews, and Germans). One of the pictures that stood out to me was the one titled "Oktoberfest." I have of course heard of "Oktoberfest" and I am sure that I knew it was German but it took until this point in time for me to really understand how much of a "signature event" it has become and how it ties many people back to Germany.

Towards the end of the reading, it started talking about how German-American culture has started to recede. Unfortunately, I feel that it is just a part of time passing since the mass amount of immigrants came over. Now I know you may not believe me but as I was reading the reading outside, one of the Oscar Meyer weiner cars drove by on Washtenaw Ave. I was blown away because it was as though the reading was coming to life and I was actually witnessing German-American culture while reading about German-American culture.

Finally, last semester I took a class about roots music and therefore I knew a little about how root music (German) influenced our current music. Having taken a language before, I realize that something that is just as important as learning the language of a country is understanding the culture, something this article helped me to do.