Germany A-Z

So part of our requirements for my German class are to go on bi-monthly excursions with the class. So far we've explored Ikea, gone on a scavenger hunt around town, and have been forced to ask for directions auf Deutsch. This week my class headed out to the Willy Brandt museum where they were having such a cool exhibit! The basic concept of the exhibit was to present an A-Z of what it means to be German. Each letter had it's own little display related to the word it represented. Before we went to the actual exhibit, we met at Starbucks (my first time in a Starbucks in months... their blueberry (or blaubeer, if you prefer) muffins are no way near as tasty as Balzac's, although Le Crobag definitely has the best. But I digress. We met at starbucks and began listing all of the stereotypes we had heard about Germany and Germans before we came here, and then a list of what we'd discovered since getting here. You know the usual stereotypes: they drink a lot of beer, they are angry and cold people, they wear lederhosen, and they're all blonde. My German teacher made us realize that most of the stereotypes Americans hear about Germans are based on the Bavarian section of Germany because that's the area that the US occupied after WWII. Something I'd never thought of before!

 Fortunately, this isn't how the Germans dress.

Anyway, after making our lists, we headed over to the exhibition. It was probably one of my favorite exhibitions I've been to - just absolutely playful and fun! We each paired up and had to choose our favorite letter, then present to the class what that represents about the German people, and why we chose it. My partner and I chose J - Jugend (Youth). I honestly think I liked this one because the display consisted of condoms, piercings, pink hair extension and a disco ball. It rocked! haha But seriously, it was a really interesting part of the exhibit because one usually thinks of the Germans as being very traditional, adhering to strict order and values, but the youth has so much freedom. It's like there's a youth movement that began with the most recent reunification and has continued to just provide freedom from the strictness of past generations. Though this too has it's down sides. The display said that about 30% of the youth essentially never speak to their parents, even when they live at home, because the divisions and differences between generations is just so large. It's easy to understand when you think about the fact that some of the parents grew up on the East side of the wall, and now they're children are living in a very unified, cohesive society. These generational differences are obvious everywhere, especially with language. Most older generations know very little English, whereas the younger generations were definitely affected by the total Americanization that infiltrated Germany during American occupation and the Cold War.

My German teacher, the ever so wonderful Tanja, picked D for her letter - Deutsch Sprechen (essentially speaking German). We all laughed at her at first, but then she pointed out something we'd all missed. There was a sound board with all of the different regions of Germany and their individual dialects and accents. We all knew the Berlin accent (the most obvious example is that Berliners pronounce Ich (I) as "ick," where as elsewhere the "ch" noise comes from the back of the throat, and kind of sounds like hissing. OK, that's a terrible example. I don't know how to explain it) but Tanja told us that she has a friend from Bavaria, and when she speaks her usual language Tanja can't understand a word she is saying. It's a completely different dialect. All Germans are forced to use "high German" in school, so it is cohesive throughout the country, but it's really cool that there are still different dialects in such an industrialized and Americanized country (ok, that might sound kind of weird. I mean that it's cool that traditional languages are still spoken and haven't been modernized out of society).

I have pictures from the exhibit, but I can't put them on the blog yet. I'll get on that either tomorrow, or when I get back from Amsterdam on Sunday! Unfortunately, it's supposed to rain the whole time we're in Amsterdam, but that's ok. We'll still have a blast. The best part is that our hostel is literally across the street from the Van Gogh Museum!

Bis Sonntag! (oder später)