So, when I first started this blog in anticipation of my Fulbright year, I made a blog post detailing six goals I had for the coming year. Now that the year has come and gone, let’s take a second and check in with how those goals went.
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Before I begin a sentence with, "Well, in Germany they..." I try to make sure whatever I'm about to say actually enriches the conversation instead of just serving as a ploy for me to pat myself on the back for being so damned worldly. But sometimes, you do simply have to admit that parts of living in Europe are genuinely better than America.
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Having the chance to be in Germany for the World Cup is something I was quite excited about. Given Germany's long legacy of being a dominant force in the sport, its is an especially good place to watch the events of the cup unfold. But part of the reason I find being in Germany for the World Cup so interesting is not just for the festive atmosphere. The World Cup brings out a very different side of Germany than is normally shown.
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A few months ago, I posted about my take on the German school system and how it differs from the U.S., with an emphasis on each system's approach to preparing students for their post-high school lives. With this post, I wanted to highlight more specifically the differences between German high schools and U.S. high schools based on how the schools actually function day-to-day.
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As EU residents and European political observers know, residents of all EU countries voted yesterday in elections for representatives to the European Parliament. This was the second election I experienced in Germany, the first being the federal elections held last fall. As somewhat of a political nerd, one thing I found most interesting during both electoral processes was the types of posters and talking points different parties used to promote themselves.
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When Americans think of celebrating "Karneval," we often get an image in our minds of a massive parade in Brazil full of women wearing outrageous, revealing costumes -- that is, if we think of anything at all.
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