Kultur 2

The assigned Kultur articles tied in very nicely with what we are learning in Kapital 8, seeing as our two main subjects are universities and illness. In both of these subjects, Germans seem to have some unique cultural quirks. It was very interesting to learn about these qualities and how they relate to our current course material. 

Previous Kultur articles gave me some idea of German views on health. Some of the articles from German 101 mentioned that Germans have a rapidly growing organic food market. They are generally disturbed by the thought of any kind of chemicals or unnatural substances sullying their health, so when the article You Have What? mentioned that they are reluctant to use medicine I was not that surprised. I was surprised by the draftophobia phenomenon. It seems pretty dramatic to me that the Germans would fear drafts due to airborne illnesses. But they do appear to be significantly more health conscious than me in general, so maybe it is doing them some good. 

I also noticed that the German perspective on education seems to differ from that of America. I feel like most people in America  frown upon "eternal students" slightly, and  usually assume that people who take longer to graduate are lazy. But education is also a lot more expensive here, so I can see why the sense of urgency to graduate wouldn't be as pressing in Germany.