Flirting with German Women

After reading the article on flirting with German women I was surprised at the very least. Having spent time in Germany I've found that though German women are accustomed to being hit on in a more subtle manner, most like it when they are approached in a more forward manner. Granted that being a foreigner in many countries may help the situation, I think that some German women like the surprise even if from a local. Maybe not so much in certain cities, and maybe it is also do to the fact that as a fairly cultured city there is more acceptance for different ways of flirting. But I think that from what I've seen a little more than a stare would be appreciated from a women. Especially if you actually want that women to talk to you.

Garrett

Kultur5 - Matthew Simpson

Well, the articles we read for Kultur 5 were definitely interesting. The way Germans are so nonchalant about sex stores seems hypocritical to me. In last chapter's kultur blog, we learned about how strict the Germans are on following rules. One of the explanations for this was trying to be good role models for children. Well, needless to say, Having sex toys dangling in front of their young eyes seems hardly productive at building moral fiber.

In a few weeks, my roommate is actually passing through the Frankfurt International Airport, so I'll make sure he gives me a full report on it. The above picture is a picture of the sex shop in the airport... THE AIRPORT!! Seriously? That's the first impression you want to give to tourists? Well, ok. I guess when they say "Germans have more fun" they really aren't joking. Wait, do they say that?

kultur 5

I find it kind of amusing how different German manners are from American manners, although when you think about it, the descriptions of Germans in the article Rules of the Street: No Blood, No Entschuldigung were not very different from how New Yorkers are stereotyped in the U.S. But if Germans are really that likely to go out of their way to bump into someone while walking, and they won't say "excuse me", then I don't think I'd fare well walking on the streets in Germany! That's one of my biggest pet peeves- people getting in my way and not apologizing. I often get swept up into big crowds in between classes, and it gets stressful when people bump into you or stop in the middle of the hallway.

The other article I liked was the one about flirting in Germany. I didn't realize that the dynamic between German women and men was so different than here in the U.S.! Here, it's more common for a man to approach a woman, although things can still go either way. The article made it seem like men approaching women are considered creepy- unless they're foreign, in which case it's more acceptable. I had no idea simple things like flirting were different from country to country!

Kultur 5

As usual, I found this articles to be very interesting and in retrospect to having visited Germany, very true. Though I don't remember ever seeing any sex shops, I did find their attitude towards them very similar to what I saw when I was in Brugge, Belgium. Funny enough I also came across adult chocolate shops as well. Like other people, I like the Germans' more relaxed attitude towards these sort of things.

At first I found it ridiculous that we had to pay to use the bathrooms during my visit to Germany. I did however, notice that the bathrooms in German rest stops were cleaner than what I used to find here. I guess that's a plus to having the cleaner around though I was slightly annoyed at having to cough up a Euro every time I had to use the bathroom.

Kultur 5 Tony

When I was listening to Lacrymosa, a German Gothic rock band, I thought that only the composer was being subtle in flirting or even suppressing his affection. After reading the "flirting" article, I found otherwise: probably the German people are prone to show affection in a cool way.

What's to my surprise is the inequality between men and women in Germany. Intuitively, equality should be best secured in this ordered and logical society. Or maybe this order is built upon inequality? Maybe the tradition is too powerful to be changed? Or maybe the inequality follows some simple logic (by saying so, I don't mean either gender is superior, but only how one culture deals with the difference)?

Kultur 5

Once again, lots of interesting articles. The one on sex shops was particularly intriguing, because as always, I started drawing parallels with Montreal. Definitely a similar attitude towards sex shops up there - on the main tourist street, filled with tons of classy/expensive stores, there are strip clubs interspersed all along the way like it's no big deal. Maybe it's because Montreal is more European? It was a shock at first, but I kind of like that mindset better than in the US. Seems quite a bit healthier.

The lack of "excuse me" though, is a major difference from America and certainly from Canada (where people apologize for stepping on YOU). Also, the bathroom thing is something that would take me a long time to get used to. Every time I visit Germany with my family I'm always annoyed by the fact that they're charging me to go the bathroom - but at least they're cleaner, so that's a plus. The German flirting article was also pretty amusing. Although, I have to say, sometimes I'd prefer guys to just sit there and stare awkwardly than to come up to me and say some of the stupid things that they say!

Kultur 5 - Joe Schafer

I greatly enjoy reading these articles about life in Germany and how different it is from America. The first article made me wonder if walking around Germany can really be that brutal or if the writer stuck to the highly populated areas. As in all places where there are tons of people walking you have to expect that someone will run into you. And as for old ladies elbowing you, I could see that happening here as well. The article on sex shops was also very informative but not eye opening. Having traveled to Europe I know that they, as a culture, don't place a stigma on sex or nudity. If you read a magizine or watch TV you're bound to see an ad with someone naked.

The article about toilet maids made me wonder just how clean and nice a bathroom is in Germany. And would you pay the lady more if the bathroom is kept very clean?

Kultur 5 - Katherine

I enjoyed reading the articles this week. All of them brought interesting cultural norms that I never knew about. The sex shop article was interesting because I thought that Americans were open but I guess not when it comes to sex shops. The article about Klofrau was crazy because if I didn't know this before going to Germany I feel like I would be getting grunts due to my lack of experience with these bathroom cleaners. I wonder if Germany has more people using the bushes outside of public places to go to the bathroom instead so they don't having to spit out money to use public toilets. The "Rules of the Street" article makes me laugh and want to see how physical people actually get on the streets in Germany.

Willkommen!!

Welcome to our class blog!

Throughout the semester, you will be posting here roughly every other week for your Abenteuer mit Deutsch (AMD) assignment. First you do a fun activity that involves German, then you post about it. You should spend an hour total on this (maybe 45-55 minutes doing something, 5-15 minutes posting about it). And make sure to add your name as one of the "Labels." See the links on AMD Ideen and Beispiele for ideas! This should get you excited about the kinds of things you can do!