Kultur 3 - Ryen

Among the first five articles, I chose to read "An Obsession Explained: Beer, Brewskies, and Liquid Bread," "Capping the Bottle: Germany Looks to Tighten up Public Drinking Rules," and "Yo dude, what about the Turks? An Introduction to Germany's Real Fast Food Joints"

As someone who has yet to leave the United States, I am fascinated and puzzled by descriptions of different cultures. Someday I will need to visit Germany to see these things for myself. The fact in the two alcohol-related articles that I found most interesting was that the stereotypes are true! Apparently, Germans really do love their beer and drink it all the time. Previously, I had only thought that this was a myth or a great exaggeration. But no, alcohol is an integral part of their society. I now wonder what German children are taught about drugs in school. Every anti-drug lecture I ever heard in high school was designed to make you fear and loathe everything that might be slightly mind-altering, alcohol included. Our strict drug laws reflect our anti-substance mindset. But I imagine that alcohol is legal to drink in Germany at a younger age - so what is German drug education like? And another question comes to mind: whose alcohol policy is better, theirs or ours? According to the article about public drinking rules, Germany is having some problems with their excessive alcohol consumption. (How do they deal with drunk driving?) But that's not to say that we don't have problems - I don't think anyone here in college cares that the legal drinking age is 21. I'll reserve an in-depth discussion of public policy for elsewhere.

The fast food article made me hungry for sausage. I also found it interesting that in Germany, even at a fast food restaurant, if you order "for here," you don't pay until you are finished. That's all I have to say about that article.

The article about German pessimism logically ties in with the Kultur 2 article about German negativity. Apparently the Germans would rather be skeptical about everything and pleasantly surprised than be optimistic and disappointed. I can see why their humor tends to be sarcastic, ironic, and self-deprecating. To conclude: Germans sound like a lot of fun to be around, and I can't wait to take a trip to Deutschland. No, that was not sarcasm. I like German culture, pessimism included.