Cultural Comparisons: An American in Germany

"Everything I Know About Germans"

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 00:31:00 +0000

Did you see Liv Hambrett's viral blog "Everything I Know About Germans"? I think every single item in her list could make up a whole blog post here!

Check it out:

http://www.livhambrett.com/everything-i-know-about-germany-germans/what-i-know-about-germans/

Germany's Equators

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:49:00 +0000

Thanks to Heidelbergerin for this map of Germany's divisions between north and south--defined by sayings, versions of Aldi, and kinds of sausages. I think it's interesting that even Germans themselves focus more on the southern German culture (it's not just cheesy American restaurants claiming to be German)--look at that blank northern part without any cities marked.

Labor vs. Work vs. Function

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:53:00 +0000

Here is one of my experiences in ~~messing up~~ using German verbs.

(Also: thanks for all the comments, Sommergarten! Kannst gerne meine Blogs teilen, wenn Du willst!)

Apostrophes

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:35:00 +0000

See the example above (ignore the misspelled word for now)? German doesn't use apostrophes, though all the English that is taught in German schools has influenced that. Unfortunately, Germans' use of apostrophes in both English and German is just about as confused as the use of apostrophes in America. The only difference is that a lot of Germans tend to type them (whether correct or not) the wrong way, even though German keyboards are actually capable of ´ and ` and '. Most word processors will change the single quotation marks around words (such as in the case of 'word') to be at the correct angle anyway, so the straight up and down apostrophe symbol should be used in place of the grave accents and acute accents. This goes for contractions, too. "I`ve had a wonderfull day!!" should be "I've had a wonderful day!!" More info here.

Diagonal Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:27:00 +0000

What do all these pictures have in common?

They're all diagonal. And they were all taken by German guys. I'm not saying all Germans do that. I'm just saying.

Learn East German

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:03:00 +0000

Just in case you wanted to know what the East German dialect sounds like. :)

Erdställe

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 20:57:00 +0000

Another thing to explore in Germany: Erdställe, or ancient underground tunnels with an unknown purpose. (I wonder if they're like the tunnels I saw in Cappadocia, Turkey, that early Christians built to hide in.)

(Image source here.)

Audiences at Concerts

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:53:00 +0000

Apparently German audiences are more quiet at concerts than American audiences.

Concert in Germany:

Concert in America:

Cup Holders

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Tue, 31 May 2011 18:15:00 +0000

I never noticed that cup holders are missing from European cars.

Differing Names for the Same Things

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:17:00 +0000

Different names for the same things all over Germany. (My great uncle would love to see the Röschti one.)

Disruptive Swiss Youth

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 01:55:00 +0000

Switzerland imprisoned disruptive youth without trial? It seems so uncharacteristic, but I suppose a love of peace and not deviance ruled here . . .

-chen

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:55:00 +0000

"-chen"

is a postfix that you add to words to make them little or cute, like "-ette" in "kitchenette" or "-y" in "Jenny" or "cutesy." It is pronounced a little like the English word "hen" with more of a bite on the H and a slip of a Y before the E, kind of like "(c)hyen."

Here are some examples of it in action:

Häuschen (little house) = Haus (house) + ¨+ -chen (little)

Mädchen (girl) = Mädel (maiden) - -el + -chen (little)

So, after a month of living in Germany, when I ran across the word

Löschen

I mistook it for "Lös-chen," though I didn't know what a "Los" might be. The friend I was talking to didn't know what I meant at first and then laughed as he told me that in this case, the S, C, and H are all taken together ("lösch-en") to form the word "löschen," a verb that means

to delete

Bwa ha ha. Silly foreigner.

Zivildienst

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 23:31:00 +0000

No more Zivis in Germany?

Weihnachtsmann der Deutschen Post

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:36:00 +0000

Does anyone else think that Deutsche Post's Santa is a bit creepy? I don't know what it is.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Walking Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:01:00 +0000

If you want to go walk dogs at the animal shelter, you have to have a "Hundeführerschein"--a dog walking license. Wow. That is so German.

German Beds

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:46:00 +0000

At "Ann On a Moose" I found the following:

German beds are frequently problematic. Until now, we’ve had a water bed, but we’ll be switching to two twin mattresses. My mother mentioned that there were foam pieces for the notorius mattress gap and we decided to at least look and see if there was a similar product on the German market.

It would appear there is – die Liebesbrücke – the love bridge.

And the gap, the crack between the two mattressess is a “Besucherritze” – the visitor crack.

Happy to be of service.

Ha ha ha. A friend of mine told me that she and her husband were shocked when they saw that American beds only had one bedspread for the two of them. You have to admit, the two-bedspread system is more practical.

Stuffing for Thanksgiving in Germany

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:06:00 +0000

Thanksgiving is one of those American holidays that you just don't miss, even if you're living in a foreign country. And I'll tell you why: it's the stuffing. Okay, for me, anyway. Turkey's great for making you zonk out and mashed potatoes and gravy are a staple in any true American diet, but stuffing . . . oh, it's something special.

So each time I've celebrated Thanksgiving in Germany, it goes something like this:

Someone: "We want to celebrate Thanksgiving."
Me: "Great! I'll make the stuffing!"
Someone: "I can make the stuffing. Why don't you make the potatoes?"
Me: "You could use my recipe. It's really awesome."
Someone: "Oh, that's okay. I've got one already."
Me: "I'll make the stuffing! And a pie!"
Someone: "Sounds good."

Yeah, so that was actually an exaggeration. But I do like to make stuffing or at least consume stuffing, especially when it's made of Mom's recipe. But then, when shopping for ingredients, it goes something like this:

Me talking to myself in Denglisch: Brot, Zwiebeln, Butter, gut. I have Salbei zu hause . . . now I just need celery (walking to the produce section, looking around, not finding any).
Me to a store employee: Haben Sie Sellerie?
Store employee: Yeah, here, let me show you (except in German, obviously).
Me: That looks like a root (see picture below). I need celery.

Store employee: This is celery (pointing to sign).
Me: Okay, but I need the plant part of celery.
Store employee: For what?
Me: Stuffing.
Store employee: ?
Me: Where do I get the green plant part of celery?
Store employee: We don't have that.
Me: Yes. Do you know where I could find some?
Store employee: Maybe a farmer's market? Or Kaufland (the German version of Target)?

So I make another trip or two. Just for the celery stalks. But you will know why it's worth it when you try this recipe (no turkey necessary!):

Basic Stuffing Recipe

2/3 cup butter

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

Saute until onion is clear.

In a large bowl, mix together:

18 slices bread, toasted and cubed

2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. poultry seasoning (sage, thyme, marjoram)

Dash of sage

Then add onion mixture and approximately one cup boiling water and mix well. Add more water if necessary. Stuff into turkey right before cooking. Bake remaining stuffing at 325 degrees (162 Celsius) for about an hour. You might want to cover it with foil and then uncover it for the last 15 or so minutes for some crispy pieces on top.

Angela Merkel

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:53:00 +0000

I don't know what she's laughing about, but isn't Angela Merkel great?

Blaue Augen

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:32:00 +0000

Did you know what are called bruised or "black" eyes in English are called "blue eyes" in German?

How does that make sense when people like me have blue eyes all the time?

Germany's Done with Payments

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 19:14:00 +0000

Did you know, as of the German Unification Holiday yesterday, Germany is done with the reparation payments from WWI?

See this article.

And here's an interesting photo gallery with pictures of East Germany right after the wall fell and again many years later.

Join Me In Laughing At German Bureaucracy

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 01:17:00 +0000

I wonder how this system would be hilariously different if it were the American/German system.

Schwimmen

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Swimming in America's public swimming pools:

Swimming in Germany's public swimming pools:

(In case you didn't catch it, Americans seem to just play and Germans are all about the business of diving and laps and fitness.)

Tiere

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:28:00 +0000

Guess who finally saw the Wildpark in Leipzig? That means that within a matter of a few weeks, I had finally seen animals that Germans couldn't believe I'd never seen . . .

two hedgehogs (one in the headlights--I totally scared the driver with my excited yell--and one up close in Schkeuditz)
two foxes (one on the sidewalk--I pulled over the car onto the sidewalk and started running towards it until it ran away--and a sleepy one in a fenced-in area at the park)
wild boars (that I guess aren't so wild since they're taken care of in the Wildpark)

Finally! Yes!

Uncapitalized First Words in Letters

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:09:00 +0000

The differing German grammar and editorial rules have left my brain completely confused. But one thing that I will never remember is the uncapitalized word at the start of letters. Like this:

Liebe Michelle,

hast du einen schönen Tag gehabt?

To the American/English eye, the H needs to be capitalized because it's the start of a sentence, but to a German eye, the H needs to be lower case because "Liebe Michelle" is actually the start of the sentence. It makes sense, but a new paragraph that starts with a lower case seems so weird to me. I guess it's just the sense of tradition.

Flag Symbols

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Glauser) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:35:00 +0000

= America

= Deutschland Fußball

This probably has a lot to do with the fact that under normal circumstances, too much national pride is connected with touchy nationalism of the past. But when Germany's soccer team plays, everyone can finally be proud and scream "Deutschland" as loud as they want.

Cultural Comparisons: An American in Germany

"Everything I Know About Germans"

*Germany's Equators*

*Labor vs. Work vs. Function*

*Apostrophes*

*Diagonal Pictures*

*Learn East German*

*Erdställe*

*Audiences at Concerts*

*Cup Holders*

*Differing Names for the Same Things*

*Disruptive Swiss Youth*

*-chen*

*Zivildienst*

*Weihnachtsmann der Deutschen Post*

*Walking Dogs*

*German Beds*

*Stuffing for Thanksgiving in Germany*

*Angela Merkel*

*Blaue Augen*

*Germany's Done with Payments*

*Join Me In Laughing At German Bureaucracy*

*Schwimmen*

*Tiere*

*Uncapitalized First Words in Letters*

*Flag Symbols*