My Last Blog!

Throughout my German classes at UNC, I have learned much about Germany, its language and culture. The months I have spent in Germany have given me a basic knowledge of southern Germany, but not of the country as a whole, not of the history, the past that so defines modern Germany. I have learned that the Holocaust, for Germany, has lasted more then the few years it occurred during World War Two. Now, more then sixty years later, Germany still struggles to overcome the horrendous events of those dark years. Even though I am a second generation immigrant from Germany, I only recently learned of continuing price all Germans are paying for the actions of a few. My first knowledge of it came in 2006 during the World Cup. My friend, Fabian, and his mother, Gudrund, spoke of how unusual it was to see so many German flags flying everywhere: Off cars, houses, skyscrapers; on jackets, shirts, and hats. I was shocked. It happened two generations ago! The youngest veterans of the war are at least 80, more than four times my age. Yet here was soccer, the world’s sport, allowing, dare I say it, German pride peak out from under the rock it has been hiding for the last half century. Bigger then just the quarterfinal exit, this world cup did for Germany what nothing else could. It gave a way to display pride without it feeling wrong. The last semester I have learned a lot more. The discrepancies between West and East Germany that I thought ended with the Berlin Wall are still there, ever present. How many more scars will Germany have in the next century? How many of the current ones will heal? Before taking the Germany classes, I never realized how much the culture and history effects citizenship. I expected that by learning German, I would automatically become more naturalized. But I am coming to see that the language is not even half of what being German is. The classes make me want to go to Germany to live for a few years at least, if not more. Both the United States and Germany are great countries, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. I firmly believe, both from first hand experience and what I learned in class, that the German public school system is in much better shape then its American counterpart. The college system in America is better though, as far as I am concerned. Thats about as much as I feel like writing right now.