Kultur 2

I really enjoyed these articles, they made me smile not only because they're funny but also because I experienced this in my trip to Europe last Spring which included Germany! I wasn't on the subway and I didn't come back to the hotel at 3 am drunk, but there were times when I'd notice a couple of Germans, or at least German-speakers, staring at our group. It definitely weirded my friends out.

The "Brutally Honest" article was interesting because there is a city in Japan, I believe it's Kyoto, where there is a widely-known stereotype. Friends from Kyoto, my cousins living in Tokyo and my mom have all said the same thing. This stereotype is that when someone from Kyoto says something to you, they mean the exact opposite. "My, you've lost weight!" means "Wow, you're so much fatter than I remember!" and "See you soon!" means "Please don't ever come here again." American mannerisms in this area bother me especially when I'm meeting a bunch of people. I never know if they actually want to see me again or if they're just being polite. Then again, I think I'd rather have people be polite in that aspect.