Walking into German 101 at Carolina I already had two prior years of german education from high school. As was such, my opinions on the culture of Germany and how that affects my own culture were already set it stone. I had judged the German people, and that has not changed in the past year. I have a great sense of nationalism towards America, almost to a fault. I have a hard time opening up to new ideas and ways of doing things, especially by a country that 12 years of history has taught me to hate. I do not hate Germany; I respect its culture, but at the same time I do not agree how they treat their past – by shunning those aspects that bring Germany to shame.
That said, German’s do earn my respect for the way they live. The cleanliness, the order, and the effectiveness by which they do things never fails to impress me. That does not mean I wish America would adapt these traits, it simply means I respect them.
German 101 and 102 has also given me a stronger sense of identity, for it portrayed how tightly a person is tied to their culture. I want to embrace my own culture now, and be able to interview for the English version of Auf Gehts. A lot can be said about a person by knowing where he or she is from. Without stereotyping, I believe that each German comes with a set of values and expectations that they hold, and I wish to seek out the American equivelent.
1 comment:
Patrick,
I tried to find the word shunning in my dictionary because I haven't heard it before. I didn't find it. But what I got from the context of what you wrote your point is that you think Germans avoid to being confronted with their past. This is absolutely not the case. Germans are very sensitive when it comes to this topic. They tried to find a way to deal with it by not letting it been forgotten.
I think respecting another culture is a good thing to do. So, you are on a good way.
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