Reflections

Reflecting on Experiences

German 100 HW

The most beautiful thing I've encountered:

Oh dear this is a difficult question. I guess so far, perhaps the rolling landscape? It's a bit similar to England's rolling hills, only slightly more pronounced and covered in trees of a variety of shades. I also love how here the villages are really incorporated in, being nestled into the surrounding and popping up quite frequently. I often find myself just staring out into it, or trying to take photos of it (though to be fair I often do this when abroad.)

The ugliest/most annoying thing I have encountered:

Honestly, being unable to get antibiotic cream. I developed a slight infection from an ingrown toenail, and it took two days to get anything in part due to location here in Otsehausen and how pharmacies work here time-wise. While culturally I do not believe their practice should be changed, and I wish the USA would adopt this, of closing early and reinstating Sundays off, it has been a bit of a pain, literally. I'm not actually that annoyed though because I understand the reasoning and respect the practice. Really it is more my fault for not being prepared. 

A novel product:

For a novel product I have seen, the super small kindle-like device I took a photo of. It was smaller than an iphone and comparable to the palm of my hand! I guess I just do not get the practicality of such a small reading device- why not just use your phone at that point? But I digress. For an item I have not seen but heard about, I would say the kidney warmers. Professor Kronenberg talked about it in reference to the cultural beliefs tied to things being cold (Germans seem to have an aversion to anything cold, seeing it as a cause of illness, from ice in drinks to air conditioning.) As a result there are products like kidney warmers to ensure that one never gets too cold. 

A novel food item:

This is cheating a bit, since I have been to Germany once before, but their vitamin juice they give in the morning. I want to talk about it mainly because when I first came here it is what shocked me the most, and really stayed with me. I was actually excited and anticipating having it again for this trip. It's sort of a V8 like thing only not- only reason I compare it to V8 is because it seems to be a fusion of different juices. It is really delicious and I recommend trying it for breakfast if ever in Germany. 

A facet about German history or culture that surprised me the most:

This might seem a bit repetitive, but Sustainability. The first time in Germany I was most surprised with what I learned about Goethe (I had never heard of him before) and about the Weimar Republic, and that era, in general (which I now love to learn about- culturally very exciting and producing a lot in the arts.) So far the newest thing for me is Sustainability, which is why I have been writing on it so much. Consequently I will not elaborate too much here, but most of my surprise comes from the extensive history of the movement and what a large part it plays in German culture.