German Patriotism

...is really just my excuse to write about the World Cup. Sort of.

The fever here is crazy. Almost every restaurant or bar has at least one television playing during the time of the games, although they're not taking place in Berlin this time around. It dominates conversations, television ads, newspapers, groceries, lectures, and just about everything else. And it's definitely contagious. I've personally seen more soccer games in the past two days than probably the previous year. Also, being in Germany is a plus, because it gives me a chance to support a land with a pretty respectable soccer team. Not that the USA is bad by any means, but being here almost gives me the feeling that soccer runs in their blood(or rather, Fußball, as it is called here).

And I find that this craze for the World Cup carries a deceptive amount of German patriotism along with it. Normally, you might be able to find a German flag if you visit the state parliament or an office of similar importance, and otherwise you're better off looking for an image of it online rather than flying in the sky of Berlin somewhere. My impression is that the flag simply doesn't bear the same sort of symbolism and importance as ours.

But the World Cup changes all that. At least half the cars you see driving down the road (and more, if Germany happens to be playing) have a small reproduction of the German flag flying from their windows. They're hanging from office buildings, apartments, and backpacks, all displaying their support for their country. At the most recent public showing of the Germany vs. Australia game I attended (Germany won 4-0), they were even being worn as capes! But as I mentioned, this sort of patriotism is very short-lived, and also more of a veneer for the true opinions of the citizenry. An example: at a party I was at last weekend, one of the guests observed an instance of this pseudo-nationalism and was apparently not very pleased, leading them to throw the displayed flag off the balcony. I imagine the host managed to get it back at some point, but this act of defiance gave me some insight into the perspective presented here. I am definitely anxious to see what happens if Germany becomes eliminated at some point...

Word for the Post:die Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft
Definition: Soccer World Championship (usually interpreted as World Cup)
Pronunciation: FOOSS-ball velt-MYS-ter-shaft

Currywurst-The Berliner Delicacy

Currywurst is another of Berlin’s most common fast foods. Unlike Döner Kebap, however, it is one of a few foods unique to Berlin. And it is also served in Berlin with style, exemplified by the Currywurst stand on Kurfürstendamm that will also sell you a 450€ bottle of Rosé.

Its creation is actually very simple, probably an important part of why it is so popular. It is made up of a sausage(with or without the intestine), sliced into half-inch sized chunks, and then smothered in a tomato-based sauce (usually ketchup). A special blend of curry powder is then generously sprinkled on top, giving the dish its name and part its flavor. It is most commonly served with fries and either mayo or more Currywurst-sauce.

The flavor is surprisingly mild. Depending on the stand, you can find a pretty good variety of taste. Personally, I have to add to the most common recommendation of Curry 36, probably the best-known Currywurst stand among Berliners. Serving their house-made sauce covering sausage with a little extra TLC, it’s pretty hard to beat. The currywurst here retains a good deal of flavor from the Ketchup, but the curry adds tang and a surprising heat to the sauce. And, of course, the price is pretty good too.

But it’s not just limited to the confines of Berlin, as we observed advertising for the supposedly famous Volkswagen-Currywurst during our visit to Wolfsburg. I do think, however, that it must have originated in Berlin.

Word for the Post: lecker
Definition: Delicious, tasty
Pronunciation: LECK-er

The Geschlecht-Debate

Gender is a very important part of the German language. Every noun in German is assigned one of three genders through the use of definite articles: der for masculine, die for feminine, or das for neutrum (neutral, neither). Of course, not everything in the world has a specific gender, but for some reason, those that decided to create their language of German also wanted to determine that dogs were male, cats were female, and babies should have no specific sex. However, there are also constructions within the language, like the diminutives -chen and -lein which lead to the Mark Twain quote:

"In German, a young lady has no sex, while a turnip has"

Specifically, what he is referencing is the word Mädchen, which means literally 'young maid' and because of the -chen is neutrum, or without gender.

But this assigning of gender also becomes problematic for specific Germans who are overly concerned with political correctness, as specific words are also interpreted as inherently male. An telling example of this comes from Switzerland, where women received the right to vote in 1971. Prior to the momentous occasion, their constitution read "Stimmberechtigt ist jeder Schweizer", which translates to "every Swiss is given voting rights" but really, this only means the men. It wasn't until they changed the passage to include Jede Schweizerinnen that women also received this right. This list of words with this assumed masculinity includes pretty much every profession, most of which used to be male-dominated but are now balancing out. Examples: der Artz meaning the (male) doctor, der Kanzler meaning the (male) chancellor, and also der Student, meaning the (male) college student. Since women also practice these (and numerous other) professions, Germans came up with a solution: Simply at -in onto every male word to make it female. Brilliant! Now we have die Ärtzin, die Kanzlerin, and die Studentin. But the gender problems creep back up when we turn to the plural. Because there are different words for males and females of a specific profession, how do you address them together?

Normally, to pluralize something in German, one of a variety of endings is added, depending on the word and its gender. For example, der Student becomes die Studenten. But because another word exists for female students, die Studenten doesn't officially refer to them. The proper way to pluralize die Studentin is instead die Studentinnen. So when an official document is published that wants to say something like "Dear Students", it would probably read like:

Lieber/e StudentInnen

This is officially fair to all parties. Unfortunately, it's also terribly unattractive when writing legal documents or statements to large groups of people. Therefore, we come upon the solution, which applies at least to students, that I mentioned last week: die Studierende, meaning "the studying". Unfortunately, this does not really solve the problem, because a Studierende is not actually always studying, as the name implies. The solution works out fine for die Jugendliche, because they are constantly youthful. Personally, I think this debate is laughable, because I have found that even in the US, where such inherent gender assignments do not exist in our language, we have trouble with stereotypes. We can't solve this problem because it is really part of our way of thinking.
Word for the Post: das Geschlecht
Pronunciation: ge-SHLECHT
Definition: Gender

The Berlin Institute of Technology (Part I)

It's where I study. At least, for the next 3 months or so. Specifically, it is clustered around Ernst-Reuter Platz in the western part of Berlin, but there could be other satellite locations of which I am not aware.
Anyway, I just want to discuss a few aspects of it to start off with. First of all, it is huge. Something on the order of 35,000 students study here, which is almost 3 times as large as what I'm used to at Duke (and half of those are grad students in the US, so we never see them anyway). I have class in a lecture hall here that could seat upwards of 1,000! But even so, I've only seen it filled once, and that was for a Colloquium from a Nobel Prize winner(I think he won the Nobel Prize). It is so enormous that it is visible from Google Earth (52º35'40.08" N, 13º19'39.47" E) And one of the things I found a little strange (but understandable, in light of the size of the university) is that you don't have to register for most of the classes taken here. Instead, you just show up on the first day. If there is an associated tutorial or recitation, you are expected to register for those, depending on whether or not the space is limited in them. For example, with my Signals and Systems course, aside from my registration for the online content, the professor/administrators would have no idea whether or not I were in the course. And when you compare this with registration at Duke, where it sometimes feels impossible to get the class you want, it's just kind of incredible to be able to theoretically take whatever. You do have to register for the final test as well, but I believe that it's possible to do so without being in the course.

Then again, this system does have its drawbacks, namely impersonal relations between lecturers and students. Because much of the information is available elsewhere (lecture slides online, review of important problems in recitations, textbooks etc.), many students will simply not attend classes in which the lecturer is particularly uninteresting. I can also imagine there being very little sympathy on the part of the instructor for those students whose grades are particularly borderline.

Word for the Post: die Studierende
Pronunciation: Stu-DEER-in-duh
Translation: literally, 'Studying', not in the sense of the gerund as in English, but rather as a noun. Refers primarily to university students, but also broaches an interesting facet of the German language which has recently come up for debate. More on that in the next post!

Döner Kebap: A foray into German fast food

One of my favorite choices for a quick snack or pseudo-meal is a Döner Kebap. This item of fast food usually consists of some sort of seasoned, roasted, sliced meat, much like a Gyro that you’d find stateside, along with cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and your choice of 3 different sauces in a bun or flatbread. The sauce options are Knoblauch (garlic), Scharf (spicy red), and Kräuter (like Tzatziki). The veggies give it a satisfying crunch and a little touch of sweetness, while the meat fills you up and has a salty, spiced flavor. The meat is so flavorful that some will eat it by itself-they sell packages like fish & chips, only it’s Dönerfleisch & Pommes (meat and fries).

I find the popularity of Döner a little surprising, not because it isn’t absolutely delicious, but rather because of its Turkish origins. Though I suppose this could be compared to the popularity of Mexican food in the USA, as one of Germany’s largest immigrant populations is Turkish. That only makes me wonder whether the Turkish actually eat Döner in Turkey, because I’ve often been informed that most average Mexicans hardly ever eat what we normally consider ‘Mexican’ food. In any case, if you’re ever in Europe, try it!

Word for the Post:Schnellimbiss
Pronunciation:SHNEL-im-biss
Meaning: Fast Food (literally: fast snack)

*Paris

I figured as long as I was here, I should make the title right at least once. For about 5 days, I was indeed in the most popular tourist destination in the world. It was an interesting experience, being in a place where I couldn't speak enough of the language to say 'you're welcome'. One of my companions did have a substantial knowledge of French, but whenever he would teach me something, especially a question, I could never use it. I found that asking questions is essentially pointless when you have no hope of understanding the answer. But, by the end of the week, I could kind of order in restaurants in French, and English got me around the rest of the way surprisingly well.

I was also quite surprised to notice that the French did not live up to their reputation for being rude to English-speakers. Those that realized quickly enough that I couldn't understand what they were saying either switched to hand signals, English, or writing in numbers without their reported rudeness. +1 for Paris! However, I was amazed at the quantity of souvenir hawkers and panhandlers and also at the variety of their tactics. The only one to which I actually fell victim involved a guy convincing me to allow him to tie a friendship bracelet around my wrist... and then asking for a donation once it was completed. And of course, there were the performance artists, but I had no qualms about giving them donations. If you're willing to stand in public all day wearing a moon mask and an emergency blanket, then you can certainly have €0.50.

Other impressions: the French are very focused on their history, much like the plaques I saw in Weimar. So much so that they have forbidden skyscrapers to be built in the Paris city proper, save one. And even with this there there great public outcry. So more accurately, I think, is not to say that the French are only very focused on their history, but rather that they are more resistant to change. Unlike Paris, Berlin has been forced into change a couple times in its recent history, and has very little dating before the 18th century to treasure. Whether fortunate or not, this change has certainly directed the face of the city and its landmarks. Paris does its best to preserve every building out of its triumphant military campaigns in the 19th century (among other memorable events), whether its new use is as a government headquarters or a museum. this difference is why I have to admit that I like Berlin better than Paris. There are certainly aspects of the city that i liked, and a portion of my preference can be attributed to my better understanding of German over French. Perhaps if I were spending my exchange semester in Paris, my opinion would be different. Perhaps I will happen upon more revelations as I travel around Europe more.

New Word: die Sehenswürdigkeit
Definition: Tourist Attraction (literally: thing which would like to be seen)
Pronunciation: zeh-ins-VURD-ish-kite

Weimar Bemerkungen

This week we travelled to Weimar on a group excursion. For those of you not familiar with German history, Weimar is significant because it is the center of a significant number of developments in German history and culture. Some highlights:

Goethe's main residence
the Bauhaus University and founding location
Franz Liszt's main composition town
seat of the German government between WWI and WWII
and so much more!

But what I found most interesting about this town is just how much it embraces its status as one of the most culturally significant places in Germany.
This may be displayed by using Goethe to advertise the local favorite Schwarzbier, as seen here. It makes me wonder: Did Goethe really drink Köstritzer? (actually, yes) or perhaps by posting plaques outside of every building that ever had a famous person reside there, even if the building is no longer standing... In any case, is it really so important to remember the past in this manner? I can appreciate museums and monuments just fine, but sometimes I feel as though some of the effort put into memorializing the past could possibly be better used to develop the present.

On a side note, I encountered an amusing example of the striving to recreate the past in Eisenach, at the Bach museum. In this town, a house is attached to the museum and is called the 'Bach House'. Ironically, they discovered some years after the construction of the museum that Bach never actually lived in this house. But rather than try to memorialize him in a place he actually lived, they opted to be very specific with the language used in the Bach house, displaying "furniture that was owned by someone who lived at the same time as the Bach family" and "a copy of the book that was so prevalent in this time that Bach is sure to have owned one".

German Word for the Post: Bemerkung
Definition: observation, note
Pronunciation: buh-MARE-koong