AMD 4

Guten Tag! Für meine AMD Post, ich habe "Vitus" on Netflix gesehen. Es ist ein Film über einen Jungen, der ein Genie ist. Er spielt das Klavier sehr gut, und er ist erst 12 Jahre alt. Aber, his parents, rather than encouraging his genius gently, put too much pressure on him as a child since they want fame and wealth through his success. Finally, he stops caring about what his parents continually push him to do, and just walks away to live a ordinary life.   

Meine Lieblings-Part of der Film ist when Vitus and his friend are riding their bikes back and forth in opposite directions, and as each one passes the screen, you can hear the music that they hear in their minds; it's funny to see how Vitus is imagining Classical music in his mind while his friend is listening to modern music through earphones.    

Overall, it was a good, heartwarming movie to watch. The acting was not that good, but I enjoyed the relationship after Vitus meets his grandfather since his parents were just annoying to watch. I like how at the end of the movie Vitus fliegt in einem Flugzeug zu seinem Klavierlehrer's haus like it was a completely normal 12 year old thing to do.   

Here's the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfAZ0nBV1Zg

Kultur 9

Although this week's articles were surprising, yet enlightening as always, I'm not surprised to hear that the Germans love their paperwork and organization skills. I remember my history teacher mentioning this to us while we discussed World War2 and the Holocaust in that German's were extremely meticulous in their procedures.

It was actually kind of sad to hear that German's don't have pride in their history when in reality, their history extends way beyond just World War 2. They have such a rich, historic culture that it's depressing to see that they can't face their history to the point of not being able to answer a simple questions as "Do you love your country?" The fact that they can't even fly their tricolored flag is sad, and although the article mentions change, I hope that Germans can move on sooner rather than later and embrace their rich history.

Once again, there's an article that kind of makes you rethink your wishes to visit Germany. The "neighbor" article was weird; my first impression was "Wow, I don't want to live there," but I wonder if it truly is like this in reality. There are so many restrictions and although they do fall relatively close to the natural quiet/noisy zones, I can't help but think it be inconvenient at times to have those restrictions. Nonetheless, this article was also interesting and a gave a different insight into German life than the other two.

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!

Ich denke, dass Deutschen sind sehr interessant! With all the weird phobias out there, I'm not surprised that this one exists.. in fact, it's probably on the milder side of "why would anyone even think of that?" Although I was surprised to hear that it's specifically Germans who are afraid of drafts. Ich denke, dass Deutschen sind sehr intelligent, aber diese Angst makes no sense. Ironically, "leading scholars and doctors" are the ones that introduced this irrational fear. This relates also to how Germans treat illnesses. Es ist lustig that one of the most engineering-based advanced nations denies modern medicine, and still prefers to treat illnesses like how they would have several centuries ago.

Ich agree mit ihren über Saunas. Ich denke, dass sie sind relaxing. I'm not surprised that they use saunas to relax, many people do. That's partially what they're there for. What did surprise however was the article on Germany's "aged" students. I think it would be interesting to see the differences between that environment and the one here, where we're mostly surrounded by people in our own age group +-2. I think it would be interesting how classes are conducted since people have such different maturity levels, experiences.

AMD 2

Hallo! Für meine Blog post, ich möchte über Deutsche Kunst schreiben! Ich habe die Bilder von Deutsche Kunst auf der University of Michigan Museum of Art website. I think one of the most popular paintings from Germany at the Museum is Max Beckmann's "Begin the Beguine." Immediately from the picture, you can see that there's a lot of color, even a bit chaotic at places. It makes you analyze every detail since there's so much of it; you can't just glance as you would miss so many minute details that add a lot to the entire essence of the piece. Max Beckmann ist ein berühmter Deutsche Künstler in den 20er Jahren. Er zieht realistisch. He depicts life in a very "modernist" way. I thought it was cool how all his paintings have the similar theme of sharp, bright colors throughout. They really make you stop and look at them closely. Ich hatte Spaß sehen seine Kunst!

Guten Tag!

Für meinen Blog-Post, ich möchte über Bella Martha schreiben. Ich mag den Film sehr. Es war interessant. Although some parts were sad, I never thought it was melodramatic or over the top. The emotion was very real, and palpable especially during the scene where Lina finally cries about her mom. It's interesting to see how grief is dealt with so differently among all the characters; Martha cries about it, but prefers to keep herself busy and always working so that she doesn't have to think about her sister's death. Lina was in denial at first, but after it finally sets in, she too cries. Ich mag die Romantik und die Komödie im Film. I like the happy ending, and although the movie was all too predictable, I enjoyed watching it and I definitely learned a lot of new phrases in German!

Alle Artikel war sehr interessant! Ich habe viele über die Deutsch Kultur gelernt. I was really surprised by what I learnt in these articles. I did not know the german culture in supermarkets and on the road was like this. It's funny because there's a stark contrast between the articles describing how to behave on roads and how to behave in queues/supermarkets. While the article on the roads asks you to be overly polite, making sure that other people always get their way first (or else you'll "get a ticket or die"), the article on queues and the supermarket encourages you to be pretty ruthless. I found it funny that the author compared being in a queue like being in a jungle, each man for himself. It's funny also how even if you are the first in the line, you are still not guaranteed safety into the actual checkout lane. Other people behind you might easily cut and steal an open stall if they see that you are not immediately moving towards it. Where as in the roads article, even if you are 25 seconds late, you should expect a ticket from the meter maid, and you should so while smiling. It amazes me how polarized these articles are in terms of behaving, as one asks you to be completely passive - allowing others to take the benefit of you doing so - while the other two demand that you be fierce and determined to make sure that others don't take the benefit of you. In fact, one of the articles even suggested to eat a lot of garlic the night before as germans hate the smell of it. But collectively, all the articles were interesting and entertaining to read.