Final

I have learned a lot about german culture and I have also learned a lot about how germans perceive our own culture. I always just assumed lots of things about german culture, such as them being heavy drinkers and always being pessimistic. I learned during this class that not all germans are this way and many of them are just like us americans. I thought it was especially weird that germans found americans to be over friendly. That is just an alien concept to me because we are all brought up to be outgoing, it is the only way to get ahead in our world. In America you have to be nice to people and have great people skills in order to get a good job and do well. I also thought it was weird that germans only call people very close to them their friends. It seems like a really lonely way to go through life. I love having lots of friends, some close and some just people i like to talk to. Another thing about german culture that I found interesting is the fact that they have extremely long vacations. I dont think i could spend whole months in vacation areas, it would get boring. I think the great thing about vacations is that you spend a week in a place and make lots of great memories, but you dont stay long enough for the place to lose its magic. If i stayed too long, i would get bored with the place and i wouldnt have as fond of a memory of it. I also loved learning about World War II from a german perspective. I have always been very interested in that. I know how americans view WWII, but i have never heard what the war was like from the losing side.

All in all, I am extremely glad that I have taken german. I originally took it just because i was required to take a language and i didnt want to take spanish or french. Now I love going to german class and I am already looking forward to learning more next semester.