Week 3: Eine neue Kultur.

Ich bin ziemlich krank, deshalb ist es ein bisschen schwierig für mich, im Moment diese Blog zu schreiben, aber ich werde versuchen! 

As we fast approach the end of our third week here at Stuttgart, I am starting to pick up on some of the cultural aspects of our host nation.

Firstly, I am quite surprised at the level of Americanisation in Germany (though perhaps I shouldn't be). Just like in Australia, a McDonalds or Pizza Hut can always be found nearby, and German television is filled with all the American shows I am familiar with. Therefore, I find that a part of the culture of Germany is somewhat familiar (perhaps, even reminiscent of our own culture back home). 

Second, (something I touched on briefly in my previous post) is the cultural diversity of Stuttgart, and indeed other major cities of Germany, such as Munich. Much like Australia, Germany seems to be a nation comprised of a number of different types of people. This then reflects on the culture of the nation: it is not restricted to one type, but rather there is a "mix". This is something that I also find familiar, because being an Australian I am used to a cultural mix resulting from our diverse range of people.

Something, however, that I have found quite different is the cultural attitude toward smoking. Public places (such as the U and S Bahn stations) are smoke free; however I constantly find that people smoke in these areas anyway. Cigarettes are heavily advertised (is anyone else sick of those "Don't be a Maybe" adds by Marlboro?) and there are even cigarette-pack dispensers in places like supermarkets and restaurants. It is not difficult to find a smoker on the street, and there are a lot of young people who also choose to smoke ("choose" is perhaps the wrong word, given that they are saturated by cigarette advertising). Overall, there seems to be a completely different attitude to smoking than in Australia. Of course, people smoke (I should also say here that I have nothing at all against people who do smoke), however it is largely discouraged by anti-smoking campaigns, and the overwhelming majority of young people are (at least from my view) against it. 

I look forward to observing more of these similarities and differences over the next few weeks. Jetzt, muss ich mich ins Bett legen. 

Bis Bald,

Dan. 

Week 2: Rethinking the German cultural stereotype.

I'll start off by saying that the last week has absolutely flown by. It felt like yesterday that I was writing my first post, but alas that was a whole week ago. I really believe that the next five weeks will go by incredibly quick, so I am trying to savour every moment I have here whilst trying to soak up as much as I possibly can. 

Like most of my classmates, I have begun getting into a routine of waking up, coming home, studying, going out, going to bed etc. I also feel a LOT more confident in using the transportation system (I will also mention that I'm not really looking forward to returning to TransPerth after experiencing DB).

Before I arrived in Germany, I had an image in my head of what kind of place I would be going to- and what kind of people there would be there. After being here for over a week, I realise that the image I had was very different from reality. Primarily, I was not expecting the sheer amount of cultural diversity that exists in the modern-day Germany. My host mother explained to me that in Baden-Württemburg, around 25-30% of the population are of non-German descent- primarily  of Turkish origin. You can walk anywhere in Stuttgart- from Königstraße to the Hauptbahnhof, and see this from the various types of restaurants alone. The famous Turkish Döner Kebap, for instance, is something you can pick up from any one of the numerous Turkish fast-food shops that are all over Stuttgart. To me, the extremely popular Döner represents the real, modern-day Germany: a diverse and multicultural society, not a country of only "European" character. This has been an interesting thing to see and experience, and it reminds me a little of back home and our own wide cultural variety. It has also made me more aware of the falsehoods of cultural stereotypes. 

Bis bald,

Dan.

Week 1: Ein neues Land.

To be honest the feeling of finally being in Germany hasn't really "hit" me yet, but I feel that perhaps that will change very soon. My first few days have been rather mixed- excitement of course at being here, but also a bit of nervousness, apprehension and a bit of missing home (which is normal I suppose). 

Putting into practice what I have learned over last year at Uni has, so far, been rather difficult. It is easy enough to watch a German show or movie and understand some of the dialogue, but being confronted with an "everyday" conversational situation by a "normal" German is hard, and even quite nerving. It's this point that I, like everyone else I'm sure, want to improve. We are here after all to reinforce and strengthen what we have learned so far, to learn new things, and then to implement them in the "real world". My overriding learning expectation for the program is that I will improve all aspects of my German: vocabulary; writing; listening; reading but most of all, speaking. I really believe that speaking (along with listening I suppose) is the hardest thing to do, not physically but rather mentally: you need the confidence (along with the actual knowledge, of course) to be able to speak. This is something I feel a bit down about at the moment, but I'm hoping to change that. Carrying on from this, I hope that the program can give me some confidence to be able to speak and not feel nervous. 

I also hope to gain a fundamental understanding of the German people themselves. I want to get away from the numerous stereotypes that exist and to discover the "real" Germany and the "real" German people. It is something I am already beginning to learn. For example, I was unaware of the ethnic and cultural diversity of Germans. I think the reason for my surprise is that we are fed stereotypes and images of people of other countries, and Germany as a multicultural nation is not, I don't think, a very commonly projected image. 

It will be interesting to see what the rest of this week brings. Ich freue mich darauf. 

Dan.