Cultural Values

This week we read an article that Stefan Schirmer wrote about how the american values are different than the ones in Germany. America likes control, and to have ridiculous rules and regulations whereas in Germany they have more loose limitations. He claimed that the 24/7 grocery stores were strange, and that in Germany the grocery stores are only open certain hours of the day, and they aren't even open on Sundays. Living with my mom, I've definitely experienced the American way of control. I have restrictions on what I can do and when I can do it, and when I don't follow those, the consequences are harsh. So I definitely can understand how he sees we need control as Americans.

Culture Shock

Last week we watched a film about the lost boys in Sudan. They walked many miles without their parents. Once they were settled in a new area, a refugee camp was set up for them, and some got to come to America. Living here, it seems like everything we do is normal but after watching this film, I realized we have a very different culture. The lost boys had never used electricity or had eaten simple foods such as chips. I never thought such simple things could be so confusing. This movie taught me that we as Americans take so much for granted, and don't realize how good we have things. The lost boys sometimes had to even drink each others urine just to get by. Yet we eat what we want, and then throw out the rest. It just doesn't make sense. This was a complete eye opener.