Final Post

Where do I begin to talk about this semester for German 110? It was a very interesting class and I enjoyed it a lot. I think the best thing that was learnt was all the general information that we covered. Splitting the sections up talking about different topics each week made for a lot of different things to be explored. I especially liked the last two projects we did where groups picked a topic (for me leaders and industry). It covered all the important bases and it was interesting. My group talked about famous leaders of the 19^th century, something that I went into without and prior knowledge. Leaders such as Otto Von Bismarck played an important role in understanding the balance of power and the struggle to unify Germany. I would say that I like history so that presentation was very interesting to me. Jumping back I very much liked the book we read, All Quiet on the Western Front. It was very real feeling book, documenting the struggles of soldiers in world war one. There were so many themes and avenues of topics in the book, it made for some good reading. We each did reports on selected chapters and it made for good recap of what was read and it gave a deeper analysis into the story. My chapter in particular featured Paul returning home from the front. It depicted his struggle of being a changed person returning to a place that seemed foreign even though it was home. We also watched the movie which I did not find to be quite as good as the book but with the restrictions of move story telling at the time they did very well portraying the book. On the topic of movies, Berlin calling is bound to be one of the biggest highlights of the class. I imagine (having not been there) that the movie followed a growing subculture of Germany. It told a story that I have heard before; A man loses everything, he turns his life around, comes out stronger because of it. However, his movie covered it very well. It was interesting to see the difference in how movies are done in Germany. The movie was really good and I’m happy to have seen it.

Overall the class was very fun and much better than I had expected. I feel as if I learned a lot of general knowledge about Germany and that’s good because that’s exactly what the class was about. I feel as if now I can hold a conversation about Germany’s culture, government, or history. 

1901-2014 German Workplace

view our presentation:

Google Slide Show

This project was just as interesting as the one we did before. This time, we focused on the German workplace/industry. I did the slides on mining in Germany. It is always interesting to me how coal mining is done in Germany. The kind of strip mining employed by Germany is very strange when we compare it to what we know in the US. We typically do mountaintop or underground mining for coal, but not strip mining. German engineering also is very unique in the bucket wheel excavators which are used in the coal mining operation. The amount of coal they can mine in one day of operation is almost impossible to picture, but it happens during the business week, every week.

(I guess I never published this last week, sorry about that.)

1701-1900 Rules and Governments

View our Presentation:

Google Slide Show

This project was interesting. I specifically learned about the German Confederation that lasted from 1815 to 1865. I focused on two aspects of the confederation, the industry of the confederation as well as the political turmoil in the short 50 years. The industry of the confederation was strong, but tensions between ethic and political affiliation wasn't strong. The confederation took a leap forward in industry becoming a leader close to the likes of Britain and the US. The confederation failed because of the inability for different ethic groups to coexist. Two wars in ten years caused the confederation to dissolve and the geographic region of Germany once again remained untamed. 

Berlin Calling

Berlin Calling is an excellent movie. I was engaged by it for the whole movie and it was a style of movie I hadn’t seen for a while. One thing I noticed that was different about the movie compared to what I’ve seen is the club scene. In the movie Ickarus is an electronic artist, this is a genre picking up speed in the US but we are still behind Germany when it comes to making it party music. The atmosphere seems to be similar to the US, I don’t go to clubs like the one in the movie but you often here about what happens at clubs in big cities comparable to the us and it seems like they have that in common. As far as topics in the movie something that jumped out at me was the sexual nature of the movie. Here in the US I imagine the general public would bash the movie for its sexual nature, but these same people would not wag a finger had Ickarus been in a drug deal gone bad, causing Ickarus to accrue a body count. It seems like in the US sex is off limits but violence isn’t. I was pleasantly surprised the movie didn’t have the typical drug related violence that is in our movies, it did how ever have contemporary issues like domestic abuse between Ickarus and Mathilde, so the movie wasn’t inherently innocent. It was a very good movie and the best one we’ve seen so far.

1. Drugs offer Ickarus an escape. I mean this in two different ways. Early, he uses drugs as an escape to relax. His friend comes and gives him drugs, he passes out and Mathilde wakes him up later. Drugs also offer him an escape which Ickarus thinks causes him to escape his mind and become creative. This notion of drugs amplifying his creativity isn't true because he produces his best music sober in the clinic.
2. You see his fans taking cocaine frequently. Usually they take drugs to ramp up for a party. Ickarus himself takes cocaine, his friend brings it to his apartment, and he has it in the park restroom with one of his groupies, in most cases the drugs are taken to "have a party." 
3. I talked about before how drugs give Ickarus an escape. Alot of parties and drinking happens on weekends and nights. Fans and Ickarus use drugs and parting as a release after work and so forth. Drugs let them live the fast life loaded with parting and having a good time. Alot of the users take drugs to get high which makes the parties more fun, which is what they are seeking.
4. I don't do drugs, I'll occasionally drink with friends but what happens in the movie is a pretty alien experience to me. Generally, it's the standard around my friends and myself to maintain a control on the situation, not letting yourself go to far. This doesn't happen in the movie, in the movie people go until they are forced to stop, not necessarily when they should. I feel as if that is the largest difference when it comes to recreational drugs.
5. I think that the youth growing up in the movie could experience life without trying to ground themselves, taking responsibilities and so forth. The fans are living for the moment. I was told once about a pain and pleasure system which we use to decide what to do. It's alot harder to decide to put in considerable effort to achieve success (pleasure), while it is comparatively easy to seek pleasure first, because it's what the end goal is. Choosing pleasure first leads to pain because of the time lost etc. I think this can be applied to the youth culture in the movie where they seem to have no disregard for what happens when parting is over. Ickarus learns the hard way that he has to stick through his pain of treatment and not getting high, to achieve pleasure through the success of his album. 
6. The plot of, guy has it all - guy looses everything - guy struggles to get back on his feet - guy achieves his goal and wins back the girl, is a plot I've seen time and times again. That being said I can't think of a movie that tells the story in the way that this one does, which is good.

Peculiar German Practices - Anthroposophy

The Anthroposophical Society sees themselves as <begin clip 1> "An association of people whose will it is to nurture the life of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of true knowledge of the spiritual world."
<end clip 1 - http://www.goetheanum.org/>


Rudolf Steiner
Anthroposophy gained it's foundations from Rudolf Steiner (1861 - 1925), an Austrian Philosopher. <begin clip 2> Rudolf Steiner, recieved and education at a village school in Neudorfl. After some time he moved on to the Veinna Institute of Technology. Steiner, withdrew from the university in 1883. One year before, a professor of his suggested Steiner studied a new compilation of Geothe's work. Eight years after he withdrew from Veinna Institute of Technology, Steiner received a doctorate of philosophy from the University of Rostock. His doctorate work was on Fichte's concept of Ego.

As a child, Steiner perceived to have seen a spirit of a dead aunt. It is said that he saw her before his family even knew of her death had occurred. This experience was the beginning in Steiner's study of Philosophy. At the age of 21 Steiner had an encounter with a herb gatherer. After this experience, was when Steiner began studying the work of Geothe as mentioned above. With these two things in mind, Steiner would become a Philiospher on Spiritual Activity and Naturalistic approaches to medicine and other scientific methods.

<end clip 2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steiner>

Anthroposophy

<begin clip 3> Anthroposophy follows three basic steps in a process of development outlined by Steiner, these characteristics are imagination, inspiration, and intuition. Anthropology involves the nature of the human being. In this theory, the conscious and sentience of humans is housed inside the life body. Ego and self awareness represent the anchors which remind people of this connection. Anthropology aids in the reincarnation of the spirit. During the time spent on living on earth, "a complex transformation takes place between the review of the past life and preparation for the next life." this idea is closely related but independent from the idea of karma. Anthroposophy also views evolution, as an evolution of the human spirit, this idea meaning that, human beings are decedents of a spiritual being. Human evolution is suggested to be in a phase of heat, light, gaseous state, fluid, energy, and currently physical matter. Lastly there is a balance to be maintained. Good and evil are two poles and evil influences attempt to corrupt humanity and sway the balance.<end clip 3 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophy>

Applications:

<begin clip 4> Biodynamic Agriculture is a method of organic farming that uses ideas from Antrhoposophy, and it was developed by Rudolf Steiner. Biodynamic Agriculture is intended to "restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony." For example, 10% of the farm acreage is set aside to be used as a biodiversity preserve. This land can be a a number of natural habitats, from a forest to a swamp. Other examples is the standards of crop rotation, no yearly crop can be planted in the same plot of land for more that 2 years without rotating. There are also more taboo examples of Biodynamic Agriculture in the cases of field preperation. Such as the horm manure preperation where a mixture of humas and cow manure is filled in a horn, this horn is buried in the fall and recovered in the spring. There is also another method for the spring where a horn is filled with powdered quartz, buried in the spring, retrieved in the fall.  <end clip 4 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamic_agriculture>

<begin clip 5> Architecture is also a point of Steiner's Anthroposophy. These buildings contain a traditional set of architecture constraints. For example right angles are almost eliminated from building plans. The first Geotheanum (The first building to encompass ideas of Anthroposophy) was crafted by many boat builders, who were capable of making rounded hulls. Steiner employed this boat builders to create a rounded form which is significant in Anthroposohic Architecture. It is said that Steiner found these concepts of Architecture not from the physical world but through "abstract theorizing" of the spiritual world. 

<end clip 5 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goetheanum>

<begin clip> Medicine using Anthroposophy is regarded as naturopathy and it is refereed to as a an alternative medicine, which receives a lot of criticism. Naturopathy believes in vitalism, and idea that energy directs itself through the body. This idea is liken to Steiner's belief of the human spirit and its connection to nature. Examples of Naturopathy medicine is herbal and nutritional medicines, vapor therapy, and so forth. In 1921 a group of pharmacists and physicians started Weleda a company which distributes Anthroposophical medicines.  Naturopathy is a highly criticized field of medicine. 17 US states require licensee for Naturpathic doctors, while 2 states ban the practice of Naturopathy.<end clip - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturopathic_medicine>

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I found that this research was very interesting. We heard in class the practice of Anthroposophy in hospitals. I thought it would be interesting to study the man who invented it, and what are central ideas of Anthroposophy. I wanted to also research different areas of Anthroposophy to see what else it offers as  a science. I am very skeptical of this process, I do not know if I would ever use Anthropomorphic medicines. Even so, it was interesting to learn about and I wouldn't change much about this assignment. 

All Quiet on the Western Front Character Role

My name is Himmelstoss, I was an NCO, I've held authority. The war made me become something, something I wasn't, but deserved to be. As a post man I was ridiculed, ‘Himmelstoss you’re 5 minutes late… Himmelstoss this letter was supposed to come last week’ but now, I have power. I gained a sense of satisfaction out of training my men. For once I barked the orders instead of receiving them myself. I have to admit, acting as I did, did entertain me. My men hated me for my harsh conditions but it will help them realize what they will come to face. It is through my actions I hope they would respect me, I just wish I could have conditioned myself. I was scared to fight, I cowered in the trenches while we were at the line. It wasn't until the most horrifying fight that I realized where I went wrong. I tried to make amends for the treatment I gave my men. I made sure while back from the front that they were nourished and they could work with ease. I still wonder and hope that it wasn't too little too late.

I thought this was posted last week but it was never published.

All Quiet on the Western Front Review

In All Quiet on the Western Front, the theme of the Lost Generation was the most apparent. This book’s characters are ripped apart by the fighting on the Front in the war. They hadn’t even finished ‘high school’ and they were being trained to fight and kill. This reality was propagated by the very people who are instrumental in their learning, the Teacher, Kantorek. He spoke of honor and patriotism that would come to the boys who would become men fighting for their country. That honor and patriotism would only come about for those men who didn’t die to begin with. People who survived such as Paul, the narrator would have to live in agony from the horrors of war. He would come to see his friends he served with die. Along the way their innocents was lost. The men would frequently joke of death and be dehumanized by the experience. Muller for example desired Kemmerich’s boots even before he died. He was almost immune to the fact his longtime friend was going to die; he was understandingly, worried for himself in that instance. The horrors of war for this Lost Generation are also illustrated when Paul returns home on leave. Despite the praise given to him, he feels disturbed. He receives numerous gifts from curious citizens who haven’t experienced the war like he has. The most significant part of the innocents of Paul being robbed can be seen when he speaks to Kemmerich’s mother. She pleads to hear how her son died. The story plagues Paul by picturing Kemmerich’s final death throes. Paul cannot bring himself to tell Kemmerich’s mother the truth. It is something he cannot bare to do. Paul knows Kemmerich’s mother cannot possibly imagine how her son died. He saves the burden of truth from her to protect her, he pities her deeply. Throughout his interactions with citizens on leave Paul hides the horrors of war, as to not distress those around him who still retain their innocence.  

All Quet on the Western Front: Chapter 7

Part 1: [Pages 137-161] Kristine Avant

Main Characters: Paul, Leer, Kropp, Paul's mother

Plot:

Himmelstoss tries to make up with them - giving them more food and getting them easy jobs

Paul, Leer, and Kropp meet the three French women when they are swimming - later that night they take food and swim across the canal to meet with them; they obviously have a good time even with the language barrier

Paul gets seventeen days of leave. When he goes home he finds out his mother has cancer and the people there are starving. He lies to his mom about how "bad" it was out there.

Themes/Analysis:

We learned earlier in the book that all of Paul's, and most of the other men's, sexual experiences were in the brothels - by being with the French woman he is trying to gain back some of his youth/innocence (first time type of thing). He also realizes she would find him more interesting if he were going to the front - more betrayal, as she doesn't see him as a human being like he wants her to.

Part 2: [Pages 162-185] Tim Olson

Main Characters: Paul, Paul's mother, Kantorek, Mittelstaedt, Kemmerick's mother

Plot:

Immediately as Paul returns to his hometown he is greeted by a woman serving coffee, she exclaims how happy she is to give a soldier a coffee, Paul is disgusted by this notion and it sets the tone for the homecoming section of this chapter.

Paul makes it to his house where he has an awkward experience returning home, he has sensory overload and doesn't know how to react when he hears his sister's voice, he says he is home but, "a sense of strangeness will not leave me."

Paul's mother briefly questions him about what happened at the front, he dismisses the accusations of gas attacks and sieges, saying it's 'only talk.'

Paul has a run in with a Major who shames him for not saluting him, Paul is forced to march and vows to not wear his uniform while he is on leave. Despite this concealment, he is strangely humbled by the gestures of the townsfolk who offer him cigars while questioning him about the front.

Paul visits Mittelstaedt at the barracks, where he finds he is a training officer. Mittelstaedt is training Kantorek (their old school teacher), Mittelstaedt has a sense of satisfaction out of the role reversal, reciting orders once barked at him by his former teacher. Paul criticizes Mittelstaedt's pride, referencing Behm's death in war following his reluctance to fight in the war.

Paul puts off visiting Kemmerick's mother till the end of his leave. He lies to her saying Kemmerick's death was a result of a shot to the chest, which killed him immediately without pain. His mother has her doubts and tries to hear the truth from Paul. Paul defends his lie which results in Kemmerick's mother accepting it as truthful. Paul pities her and hides the truth because he feels she cannot ever know the pain he went through.

On Paul's last night his mother and him share a moment, where they pity each other. Paul's mother worries for him on the front, and he worries for her and her declining health. Paul wishes he could put his head in her lap and weep like a child.

Themes/Analysis:

The second half of the chapter continues the theme of Paul's youth and innocence. Paul and his friends joined the military together and left behind their childhood. They had no choice but to adapt to the conditions of the Front. Paul's homecoming in the second half of this chapter deals with his anguish of the war. Paul moved from a stressful environment of the front, returning to a place where he was innocent. He's become suspicious living in a hostile environment, the home he returned to doesn't feel like the home it once was. There is a metaphor in this chapter where he goes through his old things, books, insects, and other objects around his room seem foreign to him much like the overall surroundings he is in. Coupled with the stress of returning to war, and the conflict at home, the chapter ends with Paul biting into his pillow, wishing he had never come home.

Group 3 - CDU

Christian Democratic Union

Presentation

Party Platform

From Wikipedia

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) applies the principles of Christian democracy and emphasizes the “Christian understanding of humans and their responsibility toward God.”  Members of the party are do not have to belong to a certain religion or be religious at all.  Its policies are derived from Political Catholicism, Catholic school teachings, and political Protestantism.  The CDU supports European integration and a strong relation with the US.  They do not want to allow Turkey to enter the European Union but want a privileged partnership.  They cited Turkey for numerous human rights violations and they believe that because Turkey is unwilling to recognize Cyprus as an independent, sovereign state, Turkey is contradicting the EU policy that its member must recognize the existence of one another.  The CDU supports stronger punishments of crime and involvement on the part of the Bundeswehr (armed forces) in cases of domestic anti-terrorism offensives.  The CDU believes that Germany should integrate immigrants through language courses and wants to further control of immigration.  They also believe that dual citizenship should only be allowed in exceptional cases.

Opponents/Supporters

Opponents of the CDU include the SPD, The Left party, and The Greens.  The CDU has governed two Grand Coalitions with the SPD and various coalitions with The Greens.  A preferred partner of the CDU is the FDP, who has similar attitudes towards fiscal policy.  

States that support the CDU are concentrated in rural and Catholic regions such as Eifel, Sauerland, Thuringia Eichsfeld as well as areas in Saxony, Vorpommern, and Nordfriesland.  There is less support in Bremen, Brandenburg, and East Berlin.

Similar Parties

The party most similar to the CDU would be our Republican Party.  Both parties advocate for fiscal conservatism and support the use of armed forces for anti-terrorism offensives.  The Republican Party and the CDU have affiliations with the International Democratic Union.  The IDU allows political parties with similar views to come together and exchange views on matters of policy and organizational interest.

Views

They are currently focussed on weathering the financial troubles of the last few years.It is among their goals to keep the economy competitive, and taxes low. They have been going by the slogan “Germany’s future: in good hands.” They also stand for protection and promotion of the family. Most recently, the party has put its efforts on phasing out nuclear power.

History

Following the collapse of the Third Reich and the end of WWII. Germany began restricting its government. This brought about the Christian Democratic Union. The CDU aimed to establish a union, and as such a party of German people, something the likes of the Weimar Republic failed to achieve. The CDU was founded in Berlin on the 26th of June 1945, 49 days after VE-Day. The party spread out to Westphalia and Rhineland after its formation. The first Chancellor of Germany since WW2 was Konrad Adenauer (serving 1949-1963) of the CDU. Adenauer was imprisoned twice during the Nazi years, under the accusation of ‘Opponent to the Regime.’ Adenauer and his colleagues were successful in taking power because of their views of; economic flexibility, and oppositional to the Nazis, two attributes favored by the United States and Britain. The CDU would lose their grasp when Adenauer was replaced. Moving forward, the next successful leader was Helmut Kohl (serving 1982-1998). Kohl was the longest running chancellor since Otto Von Bismarck. Kohl was seen a main architect for the reunification of Germany, and the creation of the EU in 1993. Today, the current Chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel. She, a Research Chemist and Politician started as an opposition leader in 1998 versus the SPD. Merkel became chancellor in 2005 and remains chancellor today. She is currently ranked 5th on Forbes.com’s most important people list, the highest achieved position of a woman.

Members

The Christian Democratic Union has roughly 485,000 members, as of May 2012. Each German state had a series of members, and a chairperson. North Rhine-Westphalia had the most members of any state in Germany, with more than 165,000 members. The chairperson of North Rhine-Westphalia, representing the CDU, is Armin Laschet. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, is the chairperson of the CDU party.

The average age of members in the party is 59. Less than 6% of members are under the age of 30. 75% of the party’s members are male, and the remaining 25% are female members. Therefore, this party has a strong population of middle aged adults and seniors.

Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Democratic_Union_(Germany)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Democrat_Union
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)
• http://www.thelocal.de/20130909/51823
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Adenauer

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Thoughts

This group project was very fun. I thought it was interesting to learn about the political process in Germany. Specifically I tried to handle most of the history for our group. I think it's interesting how this party, which is very old (by Germany's standards) seems to be the conservative party, similar to the United States' Republican party. I think it's interesting to note how this party was favored by the United States and Britain because of it's economic focus in the early days. They've remained true to this stance trying to keep taxes low as well as weathering the financial crises. 

I was happy that this fit well into a group project. I wouldn't change much about the criteria for this project. We had a specific topic to learn about and we didn't have to cover a lot of different topics in one presentation. I thought the pitch idea was good to introduce the topic, however it may have been better to know more about the 'pitch' idea ahead of time. I would suggest that in the future presentations would go before people choose to join, that way they know they are or are not being subjected to sensationalism to get them to join a specific party, such as the tactic I tried to use in our pitch.

Group 3 - Saarland

Group 3

Tim Olson, Robb Olson, Jordan Lemke, Danae Schafers, Kyle Pirron
[Thoughts are at the very bottom of this post]

Google Presentation

• Saarland [You're here]
• Lower Saxony
• Bremen

Saarland

Paraphrased from Wikipedia-

1.     Saarland is located on the western border of Germany, and also shared a border with France and Luxembourg.  It officially became a state in west Germany in 1957, but it was formed as the Territory of the Saar Basin by the league of nations following World War 1.  Prior to this formation it did not exist as a unified country. 

2.    The last tabulated population for Saarland is 1,012,000 people.  When the city states of Germany are disregarded, Saarland is the smallest of all the other states, having a total area of only 2570 square kilometers.

3.     For the majority of the time since 1955, the governing party in Saarland has been the CDU, known as the Christian Democratic Union.  From the time period between 1985-1999 the SDP, Social Democratic Party of Germany, held the majority of the seats in the Landtag.  Saarland employs a Parlimentary style government, with a Minster-president, a Vice Minister-president, 5 other Ministers, and a Head of the State Chancellery.  All of the ministers besides the Minster-president are responsible for another office.  For example, Stephan Toscani is the Minister for Finance and European Affairs. 

Paraphrased from the UNESCO website

4.     The most famous World Heritage site that is located in Saarland Is the Völklingen Ironworks.  This is the only remaining iron manufacturing facility that dates as far back as the 1800’s that is still intact today.  They no longer produce iron, but all the buildings are kept intact to show how the iron industry used to operate.  This facility mainly produced girder iron and railway sleepers from iron ore mined in Luxembourg.  Currently all six blast furnaces are intact and can be seen by visitors.  The last construction that was done on the site was when the coking plant was rebuilt and enlarged in 1935.  Two other notable items that are still standing today are is the coal tower that was built in 1898 and the conveyer system that was built in 1911.

Paraphrased from the Saarland State Website. 

5.     Arguably the largest industries in Saarland today are the automotive industry and the steel industry.  Saarland is even referred to as “Auto Land”.  There are over 40,000 people employed in the automotive industry in Saarland alone.  As far as volume goes, the popular American Automaker, Ford, has a factory in Saarlouis which is produces almost 2000 vehicles every day.  Also, over half of the components for the BMW X3 are produced in Saarland.  This shows that both high end sports cars and economical cars are produced in factories in Saarland.  The steel industry is also booming in Saarland.  The biggest company that is talked about for their steel industry is Dillinger Hütte.  If it weren’t for Dillinger Hütte supplying all the steel, the bridge of Millau in the South of France couldn’t have been constructed. 

From IMDb and Wikipedia

6.     One famous german was Max Ophüls, who was born in 1902 and started his career as an actor.  He eventually became a director and had a part in 27 movies.  Also Erich Honecker is from Saarland, his is the former leader of the GDR (German Democratic Republic). He was the leader of East Germany from 1971 until just before the Berlin Wall was torn down.  He was also the prime organizer of building the Berlin Wall in 1961.

Paraphrased from germanFoods.org -

7.     One famous saying that is known in Saarland is “Hauptsach’ gudd gess!” which translates to “the most important thing is to eat well!”  Saarland is known as a potato lovers paradise.

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Thoughts

This group project provided an interesting view point on places states in Germany, resulting in an understanding of German subculture to name a few such things. We were able to learn about the western region specifically Lower Saxony, Bremen the landlocked city state, and Germany’s smallest state Saarland. It was interesting how culturally our there is a divide between Saarland and Lower Saxony, but their industry is remarkably similar. For example they both have a natural resource focused industry, both Lower Saxony and Saarland feature Mining and Ore refineries. Saarland however, boasts itself as Germany’s Autoland featuring many of Germany’s manufacturing plants for vehicles, featuring BMW, Ford, VW, Michelin and so forth.

My only concerns and criticism of this group project is the size of task. German states, though small compared to US states, still have a lot of information to be said about them. Making a short presentation while covering all the appropriate criteria is very hard to do. It may be important to learn about all the German states but I feel that to give each one enough attention takes more time. That being said the class shouldn’t be focuses only on German states, which it isn’t. Overall a divide and conquer strategy is the best method to learn about the German states.

My expectations for German 110

I have taken 3 German classes in high school. Having taken these classes I’ve learnt the basics of the German language. Along the way, we studied portions of German culture. The first thing we learned was about the regions of Europe where German is spoken, then Germany itself. The language is rather interesting, but learning more about the country and its people is very intriguing. Taking this class I hope to learn more information about Germany. As I stated in class, I think the advancements, and technological feats of Germany are very interesting. There is a prevalence of the stereotype of German engineering being great, but I don’t know much about it. For example the Bagger 288 is the largest machine in the world and it’s used in Germany for strip mining. Similarly Germany is home an extensive history of firearms. The 9mm cartridge came out of Germany in the early 1900s and it is the most popular handgun cartridge today. These sorts of things are very interesting to me, and I hope we touch on this and other topics this semester. I’m looking forward to the next few months.