Joke is on you

One thing that has spawned from US/German contact is the creation of many jokes about the others. These jokes often rely on stereotypes, history, culture and language differences. Americans are portrayed as stupid, fat, and loud in many German jokes, while Germans are often portrayed as Nazis, or very cold and mechanical in American jokes. During my travels I have been collecting jokes from various cultures. Some of the most amusing come from the East/West German split. an excellent example of this is the following: A reporter is doing street interviews in occupied Berlin. First he encounters an American and asks, "What is your opinion of the meat shortage?" The American has terrible German, so he asks, "Meat? what is Meat?" The reporter gets frustrated and moves on. Next the reporter tries to interview a West German. The reporter asks,"What is your opinion of the meat shortage?" The West German says, "shortage? What's a shortage?" The reporter gets frustrated and moves on. Next he encounters an East German. He asks, "What is your opinion of the meat shortage?" The East German replies, "Opinion?"

-Erik

Language

Any student who has studied abroad in Germany or spent a significant amount of time there will quickly notice that English slang has had a profound effect on German slang, in particular among the younger demographics. German seems to have a limited supply of those cruder words that ought not to be mentioned here, but it has gracefully and regularly dipped into English's abundant reserves. This is readily apparent, in that around university campuses, one will often hear German students using English profanities as smoothly and fluently as though they had been German words all along.

But this borrowing of English's less formal vocabulary has also extended to less uncouth words. Dorm mates might regularly inquire as to who wants to "chillen," or even an adult might say "das ist unser Place-to-be."

Some German words have even been formed to appear as though they were derived from an English word, when in fact they were not. One of the most well known examples of this is "Handy," which, although it seems as though it might come from English, does not.

It should also be added that a huge number of English words have been imported into German that deal with more recent technological innovations such as the internet. These things already had English words, and Germans (as well as speakers of many other languages) have remained relatively faithful to them, tweaking them slightly to conform to the rules of the grammar. For example: "Hast du das gegoogelt?" or "Ich wollte das eigentlich besser layouten."

-Alex

Mer schwetze noch die Mudderschprooch

"We still speak the mother tongue!" The Pennsylvania Dutch are a group of ethnic Germans that settled in the USA in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Pennsylvania Dutch are composed of many smaller groups of different religious affiliations. They include: Lutheran, Reformed, Evangelical, Moravian, Church of the Brethren, Mennonite, Amish, Schwenkfelder, River Brethren, Yorker Brethren, and Urglaawe. The start of the Pennsylvania Dutch can be traced back to the 1683 founding of the Borough of Germantown in northwest Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. At one point the Pennsylvania Dutch constituted over half of the population of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania Dutch was a dominate language there all the way until the second world war. The Pennsylvania Dutch were also big supporters of the American Revolution.

-Erik

Humboldt

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin was founded by Wilhelm von Humboldt in 1810. Von Humboldt was a Prussian linguist and government official who held various positions throughout his life, but was also particularly known for his educational philosophy. The Humboldt Universität was significant for its time because it brought to fruition von Humboldt's ideal of the university, namely, that teaching and research be combined at the same institution.

This model has proven to be extremely influential as evidenced by the large number of universities which have adopted this system. Many European universities follow this model, and American universities as well, such as the University of Washington, which is both immensely active in research and serves a large undergraduate body.

The Humboldt Universität has also demonstrated itself to be a center for the spreading of information and ideas, given some of the intellectuals who have numbered among its faculty and students, such as the philosophers Hegel and Schopenhauer; Marx and Engels; and Einstein.

-Alex 

Barbie

An essential item for every young girl, Barbie came in all different outfits and themes. One surprise is that the ever-so-American seeming doll in fact started because of a German doll named Bild Lilli. The German-American Barbie is turning 53 years old this year, and with over a billion dolls sold the Barbie doll clearly has withstood many years of changes and fashion trends.

The German-American Barbie appears to have been inspired by Berlin fashion; shiny clothes, tattoos and crazy hair. However, the best part of any Barbie doll was the ability to change her look with the new clothing packs found next to the dolls themselves in stores. I remember as a young girl owning a hot pink box of at least 10 Barbies, and too many outfits to count. This trend of Barbie dolls will forever be an icon as well as on every young girls Christmas list for years to come. This fad all originated with a German idea, and Americans took off with it running.

-Amanda

Studying Abroad

According to DAAD, the number of US students studying abroad in Germany at universities during the 2010/2011 school year rose about 5.5% from the previous school year to over 9000 students. The rise in popularity for German universities could be because of the already good yet increasing quality of German schools, the low or nonexistent tuition rates for German universities, and because of increased advertisement and scholarships to American students for such study abroad options. Another factor has been growing number of American students studying abroad anywhere recently (rather than just in Germany). It has usually been the case that Germans studying in the states have always outnumbered Americans studying in Germany, but now the gap has almost closed. German universities are becoming m

ore enticing to American students- hopefully the promise of American universities has remained stable and that the closing gap cannot be attributed to decreasing popularity among Germans for US-study abroad trips. Attracting the world’s best students from around the world is good for the host country, good for the universities in the host country and reflects how attractive a nation is for the world’s most talented people as well. Here in the US we should try to figure out what Germany and its universities are doing right- it’s in our best interest if we want to keep our society successful. More gifted minds coming into our country means more great ideas coming out our country.

-Dane

Christmas!

Best Christmas Markets in Germany:

http://www.europeupclose.com/article/germany-christmas-markets-a-world-of-christmas-magic/#.UKxAFHy9KSM

Chicago Christkindlmarket:

http://www.christkindlmarket.com/en/

Few things make me happier during the holidays than seeing the glittering festivities of a Christmas Market. Not only are they absolutely beautiful, they hold a special meaning for me. When I was writing my application essay to compete in the National German Olympiad  several years back, I mentioned how I had always wanted to visit a Christmas Market. The night before the final competition in Chicago, the proctors at the Goethe Institute had a special surprise for us: a visit to Chicago's very own Christkindlmarket- it really was like a dream come true, as was winning the German competition the very next day.

 I never would have expected Chicago to have a Christkindlmarket, but I suppose its a testament to the transatlantic exchange of ideas we have come to learn about this quarter. I have yet to visit one in Germany, but I suppose having accomplished so much already, it's wise to leave some things for later.

-Yasmin