Der Untergang (Downfall, 2004)

Wow! Ich habe eine tolle Frühlingpause gehabt. Ich bin für eine Woche nach Guatemala gegangen. Ich bin letzte Nacht nach Ann Arbor gekommen. I habe der Untergang gesehen. Es ist über Traudl Junge und Nazis. Ich werde über den Film auf Englisch zu erklären.

My gosh, writing couple of sentences in perfect and future tense was so tough! I guess a week without German but instead with Spanish makes it really difficult. Anyway, I watched about an hour of the movie Downfall. The movie was originally made in German, but the one with a Youtube movie had English subtitles. It was quite entertaining, because not many World War II movies depict the side of Germany, especially among the Nazis and top German officials. This movie seems really unique because it shows the difference a couple of years of war made on Germany. If you're eating your meal and you got nothing better to do, I'd recommend this movie.

AMD 3

For AMD 3 Ich habe uber Friedrich Nietzsche gelernt. Er war ein Philosoph. Er wurde im 1844. Er war aus Deutschland. Er war sehr intelligent und interssant. Er hat uber religion und morality geschrieben. Er ist beruhmt wiel "Gott ist tot" gespricht hat. Er starb im Jahre 1900.

I personally find Nietzsche's philosophies very interesting. The most interesting to me are the aforementioned death of god philosophy and his ideas about nihilism. Another interesting thing about Nietzsche was that he always claimed Polish ancestry despite overwhelming agreement/evidence that he was German (Prussian in fact). Nietzsche has many other interesting philosophies, including some about what he calls "master" and "slave" morality. If philosophy is interesting to you then his works are definitely worth a look, especially because he was German.

AMD 3

For my AMD 3, I spent a lot of time looking for a good blog/article that I would be interested in reading. I tried looking up German soccer/German World Cup experiences and didn't get much which I was really disappointed about because I really wanted to read about this. I also tried looking up German driving experiences but also didn't find much. Then I came across a blog from a while ago, November 22, of 2006 written by a guy maybe 19 or 20 who took a trip to Germany and explained his opinion of differences between Germany and the US. He pointed out 8 differences that caught his eye: 1.) Speed Limit 2.) Beer 3.) Coins 4.) Sex & Nudity 5.) Cars 6.) Cell Phones 7.) Smoking 8.) Casinos. I will try and give a little description of what he thought was different about all these things. First he talked about the speed limit and how he thought the driving was much more respectful in Germany and people were just better drivers than here in the US. Then after I read some of the comments on it, someone from Germany said that they liked the driving better in the US and people are very rude drivers in Germany so I guess it's just one's opinion. Then he talked about beer and drinking. He liked how the drinking was much more casual and the drinking age was lower than the drinking age in the US and that he could drink without worrying in Germany. Also he talked about how the foam at the top of the beer is like an art in Germany and once you get your beer you let it sit and settle, then drink, which is different from here in the US because people serve it with as little foam as possible so you can drink it right away. Then he went on to Coins. He thinks the way they use coins in Germany is much more efficient than here in America because they have a two dollar coin as their largest and here our largest is only 25 cents. I would agree with this. I think that coin system would be more efficient. Next is sex and nudity. He just said that people are just much more open about their sexuality and being nude. He said that you will come across many commercials with nude girls and when going to a pool you will find people just changing wherever they want and they don't wear the big long short type bathing suits like most wear here in the US, they wear speedos. Then he talked about cars, saying that people drive much more fuel efficient cars in Germany/Europe in general. He also said that the cars are made with more quality. After that he talked about cell phones, and how he thought they were a year more advanced than here in the US, but this was back in 2006 so I'm sure the US has caught up or ahead. Then he said Europeans love their cigarettes and it is very common to see cigarette vending machines but also the warnings are much more clear saying "Smoking is/can be deadly" right on the pack. Finally he talked about casinos and that they were the opposite to casinos here in the US. Here casinos are loud, energetic, fun where as in Germany they are quiet and you must dress in very nice clothes such as a tux or suit and tie and when people win they just keep to themselves and are not loud about it. I really enjoyed reading his blog even though it is a little outdated. I enjoy reading about people's experiences because I hope that maybe I can make a trip out to Europe someday and see things for myself.

The link to the blog I read is: http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2006/11/22/8-differences-between-germany-and-the-us/

Weil morgen Valentinstag ist, warum dann nicht sehen, was die Deutsche machen für sie. Valentinstag war nicht in Deutschland populär bis jetzt. Valentine's Day was mainly popular in English speaking countries, aber es ist common Deutsch Valentinstag-Karten sehen jetzt! Deutsche beschenken wie Leckereien, die Spaß Sätze haben. Sätze wie "Ich liebe dich" und "Du bist mein Liebling" are written on little gingerbread hearts which are then worn around the recipient's neck with a ribbon. Steiff ist ein Deutsche Plush-toy company that's popular all around the world, but also ist populär in Deutschland for many occasions, including Valentinstag.

Here's a link of common phrases during Valentinstag:

http://german.about.com/od/vocabularytips/a/I-Love-You-In-German.htm

Also, like in any country, any occasion is thoroughly celebrated with songs. In Deutschland, ein populär Song während Valentinstag ist Nena's "Willst du mit mir gehn?"

Hier ist die Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILw0lGmgsg8

Alles Gute zum Valentinstag!

AMD 3

Am Donnerstag habe ich für die AMD 3 Rammstein auf Deutsch gehören. Ich habe das Lied "Du Hast" und das Lied "Ich Tu Dir Weh" gehören. "Du Hast" ist ein unheimlich Lied. Die Musik ist finster und the lyrics sagt "sie lieben auch in schlechten Tagen? Nein." Diese Lyrics bedeutet "Will I love you on bad days? No." Ich denke dass the lyrics sind unnecessarily angry. Ich denke dass die Musik von Rammstein ist beschissen. Ich denke auch dass viel Amerikaner die Musik beschissen werden sein. Alle Rock Musik sind nicht finster aber Rammstein ist sehr finster! Ich will nicht Rammstein zuhören!

Here is a funny Spongebob version of "Du Hast."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36hgFeR0tFM

Also, I accidently ran across this and I couldn't help but think the people who make those travel blogs we read for our Kultur blog made this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuDtACzKGRs

AMD 3

If I ever go to Germany, Ich werde wohl über mein Vögel sprechen. So I need to look up some words that are relevant.
Here is an example of a conversation I might have in Germany:

Ich: "Weißt du? Ich habe ein Sittich.”

Unbekannte: “Oh, ich habe ein Hund-’”

Ich: “Er hat blau und weiß Federn. Er ist sehr klein. Er hat ein rosa und blau Wachshaut.”

Unbekannte: “Ich muss gehen…”

Ich: “Er ist sehr zickig. Er liebe die Hirse. Er beißt nie. Niemand, der ein Herze hat, hasst ihn.”

Unbekannte: “Das ist sehr nette für Sie. Aber jetze muss ich arbeiten.”

Once I lose the interest of one passerby, I will just have to find another!

AMD 3

Für diese Woche AMD, entschied ich mich auf Artikel Deutche Welle zu lesen. Ich habe versucht, dieses letzte Semester, aber nicht gut tun. Der Artikel, den ich gelesen habe, war auf den Unruhen (bedeutet „riots“) in Athen, und war nicht zu schwierig. Titel des Artikels, "Straßenschlachten in Athen - Regierung billigt Sparpaket", bedeutet in etwa „Streetriots in Athens as they debate cutbacks.“ Der Artikel sagte, dass Zehntausende („tens of thousands“) in den Straßen über Kürzungen protestiert, mit vielen Leuten und der Polizei verletzt. Auch hat das neue Abkommen die griechische Regierung Feuer („to dismiss;“ nicht brennen) vielen öffentlichen („public“) Arbeiter.

Ein späteres Stück mit dem Titel "Deutschland will Taten sehen" („Germany wants to see action,“ ich denke), erklärt, dass Deutschland am Anfang wird durch die Griechischen Regierungen Langsamkeit („slowness“) irritiert, und will mehr Aktion zu sehen. Auch wenn es ein kurzer Artikel war, brauche ich eine lange Zeit zu verstehen. Ich war immer noch schwer, überhaupt zu wissen, die Nachrichten.

Here is the article for anyone interested: http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15738489,00.html

-Cole

AMD 3 - Deutsch Sprechen im Co-op!

Ich wohne im Co-op mit 40 Studenten. Viele "co-opers" im meinem Hause sprechen Deutsch. Wir haben uns für "Co-op Kaffeestunde" entschieden. Wir alles haben Deutsch gesprochen and Kaffee getrunken. Wir haben über Deutsch Prüfungen und Hausaufgaben geredet. Wir haben auch über Dativ, Reflexiv, und Konjunktiv gesprochen, weil ich habe üben gewollt.

Overall, it was really helpful and really fun! We've been meaning to all practice our German together for a long time, so I'm glad we finally got the opportunity to do so. There were about 10 of us, and we talked for 45 minutes or so. It was harder for me, since I know the least amount of German out of everyone. But it was great getting to practice with my friends who have taken German for several years, and those who lived in Germany. Also, a bunch of us had tests coming up, so we all felt very accomplished afterwards! At the beginning of the year, a few of us went to Heidelberg for drinks and to speak German, so it was nice to do this again with more of us and in a less chaotic (more studious!) environment.