Kultur2

Hey all!

I found myself comparing the German cultural comments to my feelings on Chinese culture. I'm half Chinese, and both my parents speak Mandarin, so I grew up surrounded by Chinese international students and families. Reading about the Germans' love of whining reminded me quite strongly of the way my grandfather carries on. He'll complain about everything, mostly that it's too expensive. But, unlike Germans, you cannot tell meinen Grossvater that he complains too much.

Which brings me to the article about honesty. You can always trust what a German person says to you. There is no beating around the bush or saying nice complimentary things just to make you feel good. They will simply state the truth. This is nicht richtig in Chinese culture. A conversation between two adults might go something like this:

A1: Your shirt is so pretty, it must have been quite expensive!

A2: No, no, this old thing. It makes me look overweight and pretentious.

A1: no no no!

A2: Yes, well.... your son is doing really well in his math class, isn't he?

A1: Oh no, little Bobby is a stupid boy. He's uncharacteristically lazy for my family. I really think he should be put in the slow class.

A2: Of course not, he's brilliant!

Mind you, neither of the two adults in this conversation believe ANYTHING they just said. The shirt is not that good looking, but it isn't hideous either, and poor Bobby is probably a bit above average, but nothing that would merit being singled out like that. I think in the long run I prefer the German way of saying exactly what you think and mean. It sounds a little exhausting, but so is the run-around of Chinese culture.

Truthfully, and I want to be as truthful as Deutsch kultur, I have NO interest in the statistics of the places where I have lived. I wouldn't have much to say, unless it was about the university. I suppose that I would be able to speak about my hometown as it relates to Virginia Tech (ich komme auf Blacksburg, Virginia), and then I could talk about my undergraduate experience at USC. I would, however, be perfectly glucklich zu horen about some Deutsch statistiks.

I wasn't surprised about the Germanic stare-down article. I had a similar feeling when I was traveling in Frankfurt. I wondered what was so note-worthy about me, that in public places like grocery stores and post offices the older generation would stare a bit. And not just at me, but everyone! It made me feel a bit eerie, like I had been cast in the beginning of a film about zombies. (They're not zombies yet, but they'll be the first to go!)

Well, that's about all I had for these. I hope we get to see more of Lola Rennt!

-Sonya