Learning German has helped me shape my views on the way I perceive my own culture. For one, the superficiality that Americans use when greeting one another or saying something like “How’s it going?” was pointed out to me. Some may argue against this “superficiality,” but honestly: when someone asks you, “How are you?” there is no real meaning or substance to such a question (like seriously, does a random acquaintance really care about your personal condition?). I think that I personally seem to reflect the reserved German idea that everyone associates with them—and I feel that the way Germans answer “Wie geht’s? is much better than our answer to “How’s it going?”. And may I add, the answer is “fine” 90% of the time, regardless of whether or not someone is having a shitty day.
In the past, I’ve learned a great deal about the Holocaust that at times I wondered back then, “Wow, I bet the Germans get blitzed with this all the time.” Not too diminish what happened or anything, but this course showed how tough and burdensome it is for Germans to be stereotypically labeled as “Nazis” and having to put up with all that.
My opinion has not changed at all about foreigners living in my country. For one, my dad is Spanish, so I definitely don’t hold any prejudice against foreigners of any type.
1 comment:
Nicholas,
The "wie geht's?" thing is not that different from the "how are you?" as you may think after this class. It always depends on who you are talking to. Germans would also answer "gut" if it is not the case if they are talking to a random aquaintance. I think the main difference is that you have the choice what to answer and not this pattern that you have to follow.
I think the "Vergangenheitsbewaltigung" was the most important topic in 102 and I'm glad that you got something out of that.
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