German culture

Studying German or any other foreign language is important for one’s realization that maybe there is coherent life outside America. As cliché as it sounds, I don’t think anyone can truly recognize the diversity of our world until he studies a foreign language. The language itself may communicate information about the culture. I mean to say that, for instance, the German language has words for certain ideas for which the English language does not have words. This may convey the importance of these ideas to the region. Other than actually learning the language, the study of German culture has obviously changed my perception of Germans and made me rethink stereotypes in general. Germans are not all uptight, stern, lederhosen-clad people; in fact, lederhosen isn’t even that popular. My perception of drinking in Germany remains unchanged, however, as they do seem to be more heavy drinkers than Americans. They also seem to be a lot more reserved, as I had previously imagined. This isn’t such a negative aspect, though, as I originally thought. In fact, it made me rethink aspects of general American demeanor. Germans seem more admirable in the fact that they do not come off as fake in social situations with people they hardly know. In America, it is not uncommon to greet a stranger with completely ungrounded warmth and overexcitement, when in Germany, it is uncommon to greet a stranger at all. So, learning the ins and outs of a new culture has proved helpful in my own self observation. I was also unaware of Germans’ infatuation with vacations, as I believed them to be obsessive workers. Viewing the scenery of Germany in the Auf Geht’s interactive and in class have piqued my interest in someday traveling there. Perhaps I will study abroad in Germany; it is beautiful there.