Kultur 1 - Hyun Jun (Aaron) Shin

For Kultur 1, I have read some interesting articles about German Autobahn rules and queuing in Germany.

1. "What Discipline?  Of German Lines and Pythons"

Which line would you prefer??

From this article I have learned some fun tips for standing in line in Germany. Germans seem to be very inpatient and not very orderly in queuing. I have never expected that because they are famous for their "Ordnung" in their everyday lives. I guess this is one of the exceptions. I have traveled different cities in the world and in many cases I have taken the public transportation in those cities. The most organized, polite, and orderly people in standing in line was Japanese. When I went to Osaka, a huge metropolitan city with a maze-like subway system, I have taken subway many times. People at the platform would wait very patiently in organized lines. They were quiet, organized, and polite. Queue-jumping is simply not possible there. I am a Korean and I personally do not praise Japan for anything because of the historical relation between Korea and Japan and their attitude toward us, but I think that standing in line in such way is something Koreans should learn from. Anyways, it was interesting that Germans do not like the smell of garlic. I think I can take the advantage of that because many Asian foods have garlic in it and I have no problem eating garlic everyday. Also, it was weird that Germans would stand in line slightly to the side. That is something more advanced (in negative way) from queue-jumping... which seems to be rude in my opinion.

2. "Take It From a German: How Not to Die on German Roads"

a traffic sign indicating "end of speed limit"

Germans are famous for their "Autobahn." Around 7 years ago I was visiting Frankfurt airport for a flight connection to Italy and it was my first and last visit to Germany. I was middle school-er at the time and I didn't know much about the nation except the World Cup was going to be held in that summer. During the layover at the airport, my tour guide first told me about this concept of Autobahn in Germany and I could not believe it. As a boy I loved cars and I remember myself being so excited about driving in Authobahn one day. After reading this article, however, I feel a little cautious because it could be very dangerous place to drive. No doubt I have to drive at least 120 kph there and many other drivers would definitely drive faster than me, at least around 200 kph. This is unimaginable in Korea or anywhere I have been lived so far either Canada or USA. I still want to try driving there one day, but these rules from the article are threatening. I ride a motorcycle here and I have an experience of almost getting killed in I-94 highway and it became a trauma... I definitely have to be careful while driving too, especially in Authobahn!