Kultur 6 Jake Prosyniuk

It is comforting to know that America does not have a monopoly on trashy news sources. It is nice to know that we are not the only sex and scandal-crazed nation, despite our reputation as such. I find it interesting that Bild is a genre of magazine unparalleled in American "cash register literature," combining hard news with the sort of nonsense found in People and Cosmopolitan magazines, managing to captivate a large portion of the German population.

I do not quite understand the sense of always having one's door closed, if not simply for quiet. It seems to create the opportunity for uncomfortable situations, as mentioned in the article, that could be avoided by simply communicating your availability with your door's status. However, I suppose you could also look at it as an opportunity to display confidence before a superior.

The trash cans don't seem that hard to figure out, but I suppose trash's classification not always clearcut. The US is becoming increasingly environmentally conscious as well and I have seen several of these types of trash cans, though not as specialized. I think we often make things too simple for people in America, there is almost no standard for critical thought or problem skills in everyday situations, all of the hard work is done for people (in reference to the DIY digital telephone hookup in Germany).

AMD 6 Jake Prosyniuk

Für diese AMD, habe ich Kinderreime gelernt. Ich habe gehört, dass Deutsche Kinderreime morbid sind. Ich habe mit ein Wörterbuch gelesen. Ich will wissen, wie morbid die Kinderreime sind.

Der erste Reim ist Hoppe hoppe Reiter heißen:

Hoppe hoppe Reiter
wenn er fällt, dann schreit er,
fällt er in den Teich,
find't ihn keiner gleich.

Hoppe hoppe Reiter
wenn er fällt, dann schreit er,
fällt er in den Graben,
fressen ihn die Raben.

Hoppe hoppe Reiter
wenn er fällt, dann schreit er,
fällt er in den Sumpf,
dann macht der Reiter... Plumps!

Auf Englisch:

(Jump?) (Jump?) Rider
If he falls, then he yells
He falls in the pond
Not found soon

(Jump?) (Jump?) Rider
If he falls, then he yells
He falls in the ditch
Eaten by the Raven

(Jump?) (Jump?) Rider
If he falls, then he yells
He falls in the swamp
Then the rider goes thud/splash

Schön. Der nächste Reim ist weniger morbid. Er heißt Backe Backe Kuchen:

Backe, backe Kuchen,
Der Bäcker hat gerufen!
Wer will gute Kuchen backen,
Der muss haben sieben Sachen:
Eier und Schmalz,
Butter und Salz,
Milch und Mehl,
Safran macht den Kuchen gel'! (gelb)
Schieb in den Ofen 'rein.
(Morgen muss er fertig sein.)

Backe, backe Kuchen,
der Bäcker hat gerufen,
hat gerufen die ganze Nacht,
(Name des Kindes) hat keinen
   Teig gebracht,
kriegt er auch kein' Kuchen.

Auf Englisch:

Bake, bake cake,
the baker has called.
Who will bake a good cake?
He must have seven things:
Eggs and lard,
Butter and salt,
milk and flour,
Saffron makes the cake yellow!
(Push?) it in the oven
(Tomorrow it must be finished).

Bake, bake cake,
the bake has called,
has called all night, 
(Child's name) has brought no dough,
He will get no cake.

Ich habe gleich Reime gehört, wann ich ein Kind war.

Kultur5

I don't think my feelings would be too hurt by the full contact sport that is walking in Deutschland. I have spent enough time walking around New York (where you are equally unlikely to hear an apology for being bumped into) that I think I could manage. I don't know if Deutschland is any different, but bumping into the wrong person in New York could land you in a scuffle or worse.

It is interesting that Deutschland's sex shops do not carry the same stigma as Amerika's, I noticed the same attitude in other European countries. Perhaps it's healthy to openly accept sexuality as such, so that sex doesn't carry the "dirty" stigma that lands sex shops in the "bad-side of town." 

I don't think I will ever come to terms with the concept of paying to use the bathroom. This practice was probably my least favorite part of traveling in Europe. While the fees contribute to keeping bathrooms clean, I would rather just take the chance of the bathroom being gross because the staff cleans it less often or even just have to pay a little bit higher prices to cover the expense; it seems like a huge hassle to have to carry change everywhere just in case nature calls. 

It's a shame to hear Deutscherin are immune to pick-up lines, but at least this approach to courtship guarantees some level of substance, should you hit it off. 

AMD5

Für mein AMD5, ich habe den Film "Lammbock" angesehen. I habe mit subtitles den Film angesehen, weil ich den schnell Dialog verstehen will. Lammbock ist ein comedy Film.

I recognized certain lines like "Gina müssen wir schwätzen," or "Gina, we have to talk" to which Gina repies "Was dann?" or "What is it?"

I was also able to understand "Das ist kein Campingplatz" which one of the main characters tells two potheads camped outside of his house, he also says something like "Sagt man, kann ihn einen normal Setzen?" which means "Can this guy say one normal sentence?

One guy says he has to study, when the other makes fun of him he says "Hey! Ich hab in zwei Monat Exam."

While talking about the dangers of dealing drugs, one guy says "Mein Vater [sentenced once guy to] 3 Jahre, er hat einhundert Gram.

Ich kann nicht viel verstanden, aber ich war entertained by der Dialog. The movie reminds me of several American comedies in its sense of humor.

AMD 4 Jake Prosyniuk

For the last week or two I have been using Facebook in Deutsch just to get used to seeing the language in my everyday life. At first I was completely lost, but now I am able to navigate the site just well as I could in English. I've grown used to seeing the "Willkommen bei Facebook" tab at the top of my browser, where I can flip over, type in my E-Mail oder Telefon und Passwort und Anmelden, oder Ich kann click "Passwort Vergessen?" I have become familiar with seeing "Was wachst du gerade?"on meine Startseite. Instead of being able to "Like," "Comment," oder "Share," Ich kann "Gefällt mir," "Kommentieren," oder "Teilen."

Where it would have said "SoAnd So posted 53 new pictures to their album Doing Something," it now says "SoUnd So hat 53 neue Fotos zu dem Album Machen Etwas hinzugefügt." Instead of being "Tagged," people are "Markiert." My profile isn't a "Timeline" sondern "Chronik." My Chronik says "Studiert hier: University of Michigan," "Wohnt in Ann Arbor" und "Aus Birmingham," und Leute kann see my favorite Musik, Filme, Fernsehsendungen, Bücher, und Spiele. I can look at "Fotos von Dir" und "Deine Fotos," and choose to "Als Profilbild verwenden." I still don't understand some of the things on my page, like Vergangene Veranstaltungen, which shows Events I've attended, but I don't know exactly what it means.

I don't plan on changing the language back anytime soon, I'm just going to keep using the Deutsch versions of websites so that the language becomes a bigger part of my life and is more natural to work with.

Kultur 4 Jake Prosyniuk

I would definitely get plowed over trying to get around in Germany. As a frequent bicyclist, the lanes intended specifically for bikes would make me worry about my safety less than I do in Ann Arbor. However, I would almost certainly find myself in the path of a cyclist if I had gone to Germany without understanding traffic flow there. I am also a chronic jaywalker in America because there is no moral stigma attached to it; I would most likely be the one to become a target of a vigilante driver while crossing illegally. However, I would definitely be less likely to jaywalk if I was able to play a quick game of pong with a fellow pedestrian while waiting for the signal to change.

The article about German logic reminded me of the first mistake I made in Amsterdam, getting on the first train from Schiphol Airport to Downtown Amsterdam. My friends and I asked the man at the railway counter similar questions to those asked in the article and found ourselves being yelled at in Dutch by a conductor with no patience for ignorant Americans who boarded an express train without the right tickets. We ended up buying ourselves some time and escaped before we were fined, but this is a mistake I could see us making in Germany too, if confronted with similar logic.

Having lived in New York for the last two years I don't think I would have much of an issue with paying to use public transportation. I like that ticketing is based on the honor system because it's more efficient than having each person go through turnstiles and encourages ethical behavior.

I would be a card carrying member of "Anonyme Unordentliche."

AMD 3 Jake Prosyniuk

Für this AMD ich returned to my high school days by listening to Rammstein for the first time in Jahre. Back when ich first got into the popular Deutsch metal band, ich hore gern the music and either looked up translated lyrics oder just rocked out without wessen what they meant. Now that ich studiere Deutsche I thought it would be interesting to see how much ich kann verstehen. Ich hore to some of their most popular songs like "Ich Will" and "Du Hast." 

In the song "Ich Will" (I Want) ich verstehe some of the verse, such as "Ich will, ich will dass ihr mich gut seht, Ich will, ich will dass ihr mich versteht" which appears to mean "I want, I want you all to see me well, I want, I want you all to understand me." The chorus is a easier to understand, saying "Seht ihr mich? Versteht ihr mich? (?) ihr mich? Hort ihr mich? Kannt ihr mich horen? Wir horen dich. Kannt ihr mich sehen? Wir sehen dich. Kannt ihr mich (?)? Wir (?) dich. Ich versteh euch nicht" meaning "Do you see me? Do you understand me? Do you (?) me? Do you hear me? Can you hear me? (We hear you). Can you see me? (We see you). Can you (?) me? (We (?) you). I don't understand you all."

In the song "Du Hast" (You have) ich verstehe some of the lyrics but I couldn't make out a lot of what was being said so I looked up some german lyrics. The song says "Du, du hast, du hast mich, du hast mich gefragt, du hast mich gefragt und ich hab nicht gesagt"which appears to translate to "You, you have, you have me, you have asked me, you have asked me and I have said nothing."Apparently this song is a play on Deutsch wedding vows and could have multiple meanings (z.B., "du hast mich" ist "you have me", but "du hasst mich" is "you hate me").

It's interesting to hear these songs again and hear the lyrics as being somewhat familiar. Hopefully as I continue to lernen Deutsch I will be able to verstehen more Deutsch lyrics.

Kultur 3 Jake Prosyniuk

The articles about food were interesting to me. It's interesting that Germans have taken to organic food on such a large scale. While organic food has been a growing trend in the last few years in America, so has genetically modified food. The fact that many Germans are unwilling to compromise quality for savings speaks to the nature of German culture. I cannot say I was particularly motivated to get a Schnitzel from an Imbiß, I must say that a Lamm döner sounds delicious. The article about Germans' negative attitudes towards optimists elaborated on my understanding of Germans as a direct and cautious people. I think I would be frustrated by such pessimism since much of American culture values optimism and the pursuit of crazy ideas or dreams. It's interesting to me that the regional senses of humor in Germany are similar to regional senses of humor in America. For example, Berlin's appreciation of snide quips is shared by many New Yorkers, but it's tough to make such generalizations anywhere.

AMD 2 Jake Prosyniuk

I just finished chuckling my way through "The Awful German Language" by Mark Twain. I was thoroughly entertained by his genuine frustration mit lernen Deutsch provoked by the nuances of the language, which viele foreign speakers finden counterintuitive. I was able to relate to his exasperation with the gender system; like Twain, I have failed to find a pattern in Deutsch gender assignment and put forth a great deal of effort memorizing which genders belong to which nouns. I have also struggled to make sense of separating verbs, which often dramatically alter the meaning of sentences, only after I begin to think Ich verstehe what is going on. While I have only learned how to use the Nominative and Accusative cases, these alone have managed to muddle my use of the language; I have yet to lerne the Dative and Genitive cases which obviously gave Twain a great deal of difficulty. As Twain also points out, the seemingly random injection of details into the middle of the sentence can also serve disrupt the Englisch-speaker's understanding of the clause, forcing me to try to come to terms with sentences as a whole. I have yet to encounter the remainder of Twain's gripes with the German language, but I have no doubt I too will be campaigning for the amendment of the language by the time it is through with me.

Kultur 2 Jake Prosyniuk

I found these nuances of German culture to be interesting and rather humorous. My family has been close with a German family for three generations so I am familiar with the directness of the culture. I am also familiar with the constant attention paid to potential improvements or issues with the world. I think these are both beneficial traits; Americans are reluctant to point out flaws and often layer their communication, making it harder to have honest, mutually beneficial relationships. The patron of our friends' family, Ragnar, as well as his son, share the supposed obsession with documentaries and statistics; obviously influenced by this part of German culture, they are always very well-informed and willing to have a debate about any given subject. American culture could benefit from a genuine passion for self-education and honest argument: many Americans are simply not interested in rigorous topics and take personal offense to differing opinions, which is ultimately unproductive. I think the response to an offer of fruitcake of "I don't like fruitcake at all and figs make me swell up and break into a hideous, oozing rash" being "reserved exclusively for Germans" is the best thing I've heard all day.

Kultur 1 Jake Prosyniuk

I thought the brochure was interesting because it brought attention to facts I was unaware of and addressed a silent identity crisis in America. I didn't know that Irish Americans are outnumbered by German Americans; even after growing up in the so-called "German Belt,"I have never felt a large German American presence. I thought it was interesting that many Germans originally moved to the upper midwest because it resembles the parts of Germany they're from. I also thought it was interesting that American businessmen with stakes in Wisconsin thought to print migration pamphlets in German just to bring immigrants in and increase business. I also think it peculiar that many Germans are fascinated by American Indian culture, so much so that there's around 200 "Indian clubs" in Germany. One mark of German influence that I never even realized existed was eating hot dogs and pretzels and drinking beer at the ballpark. I'm glad to hear that German is so widely used in Europe and even in America. I think it's interesting that Germans greet each other differently depending on the situation, but the book is wrong to say that Americans typically only greet each other with "Hello."

AMD 1 Jake Prosyniuk

I enjoyed learning about sport, specifically Fußball, from Sportschau.de und Sport1.de. Fußball ist huge in Deutschland, as it is in most European countries. The Bundesliga is best and most followed fußball liga in Deutschland, but there are auch several lower-level domestic leagues (2. Bundesliga und 3. Liga). Beyond those loyal to the local teams, many Deutscher are only interested in the Nationalmannschaft und UEFA EURO liga, wo viel Deutsch spieler compete for global and European titles. There is also the Champions League, where German club teams compete with each other to face off against international opponents. Bayern München, a sehr popular und talented Bundesliga club lost to the English Premier League's Chelsea in the Champions League finals of 2012. Many of Bayern Münchens spieler, including Franck Ribery (Europas Fußballer des Jahres 2013), will go on to represent Deutschland on the Nationalmannschaft in the 2014 Weltmeisterschaft. Deutschland recently won a series in Qualifikation zur Weltmeisterschaft against Färöer According to the Sport1.de Tabellenrechner, the best club in Bundesliga is currently Dortmund, with zwölf punkte; FC Bayern is in second with zehn punkte. Navigating the websites was somewhat difficult, but they follow much of the same format as American websites like ESPN.com or Yahoo.com, so I was able to poke around and learn more about the various levels of play.

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Mein leiblingwort ist Österreich.