Kultur 2

As someone who grew up visiting my German relatives and experiencing some of the things discussed in these articles, I found them very amusing (and very true!). I think the thing that's most shocking about Germans is their directness, which for Americans comes off as rude. My grandmother told my mom that she hated the names my parents had chosen for me and my sisters. She also told each one of us as well. As a young child, if my grandparents disagreed with something I said (which tends to happen when you're attempting to have a serious conversation with a 5 year old), they would tell me I was wrong and explain why. Definitely very intense, but my family and I have developed a sense of humor about it.

I agree with Adam that sometimes I wish Americans were a bit more direct like this though. So much of what we say to one another is entirely meaningless - it'd be nice to know that when someone says "let's hang out!" they actually want to hang out with you. As for the statistical obsession, I think that's pretty cool. Maybe a little bit overboard, but it'd be nice to have people be more informed about where they live and where they're from.