David Brown

OGL 350 Module 3 Paper

November 9, 2020

For my paper I was lucky enough to be able to interview my cousin Stephanie Rogers

who lives mostly full time in Mannheim Germany and lives here a couple of months out of year

and she just happens to be here for her “holiday” season. She is a very special person to our

family where it is a treat to be able to have her with us each year and this year alone with

COVID in the midst she was able to make it here.

While we were at a family members house and I knew this assignment was due soon I

asked if I was able ask her some questions about herself and her culture in Germany, she was

happy to answer any questions I had. It also came in handy that I took four years of German in

high school because she has a real thick German accent, so for most people it can be hard to

understand what she has to say most of the time. It can be a little bit of an inside joke that we can

have full conversations with each other, and others don’t have a clue it is what we talk about.

Stephanie really has two different cultures that she has emerged her self in and seems to

do a very good job at being able to distinguish which culture is which and she always stays true

to who she is no matter what part of the world she is in. Her father is a natural born citizen of the

United States he was in the navy on deployment when he met her mother and from there it is

history. She was born on a United States military base in Germany and because her father is a

U.S citizen but her mother is a German citizen she got the lucky title of dual citizen. She grew up

in Germany, so she naturally adopted the German cultures like her mother.

Her culture in Germany as defined by herself is that she and her mother are Christian and

go to church every Sunday as do most people around her, Sunday is a special day for a lot of

people in Germany. Her mother and herself are with each other all the time and do just about

everything together so when I say “they” I mean her and her mother. Her mother is big into
David Brown
OGL 350 Module 3 Paper
November 9, 2020
volunteering in the community especially the garden own the road where they mostly grow

potatoes that are rich from the dirt. I asked her how she defines her culture and she said “family”

even friends are my family it is what is important in life without family you have nothing. We

tend to stick close together and respect each other.

When asking her what the primary language spoken in her family was, I was a bit

shocked because I had just assumed it would have been German. She told me that even though

her father was of English speaking that she didn’t really know any English until she took it in

primary school. So, at first yes it was German but after she became more fluent in English, she

taught her mother and the two of them mostly speak English together and has became their

primary now because they don’t want to lose it. She did say that her mother can speak polish and

it is a different dialect than German and English so she would consider it foreign.

When it came to talking about foods, she got excited because she said her favorite was

“Ferrero Mon Cheri” which are German chocolate cherries that are marinated in Asbach brandy.

They pack a serious bite of alcohol and in my opinion are not very good, but she says at certain

times they can be hard to find because they are very popular. She also said that her favorite dish

that her mother makes is called Karoffelsuppe which is translated to potato soup.

Her holiday traditions aren’t much different than ours she said only that they do it

“bigger” Christmas is celebrated a little more than what she has seen it in the states. As she

explained it “Americans care more about gifts and money, we care more about the love

surrounded by the season.” We start decorating for the Christmas season around American

thanksgiving which isn’t celebrated as big as it is in America. She said, “I personally decorate

every inch of my apartment, with all things Christmas.”

David Brown
OGL 350 Module 3 Paper
November 9, 2020

When it comes to the healthcare system in Germany it is very different than in the U.S.,

she said that all Germans who are legal have free health insurance. She said it is so much better

than here in the U.S. People in Germany enjoy to spend their off time from work by watching

football which is American soccer, when they are not watching or playing football she said you

could usually find most people at the Pub having a few beers, especially during Oktoberfest

which is a big drinking and eating festival she explained to me. Most people may not know that

Oktoberfest is actually celebrated in the last week of September.

The worst thing about the U.S she explained was that most people are rude and give her a

hard time about her accent and pay no attention to her while she is talking. As well as everyone

is so fast pasted where back home everyone just takes their time there is no hurry unless you

have an appointment. The best thing about the U.S she said was the diversity everywhere she

goes, there are so many things to do and so many new things to try. The different types of food is

her favorite she loves to try new things and here, there is a diverse variety of things to try.
David Brown
OGL 350 Module 3 Paper
November 9, 2020

References

D, N. (2016). German Culture. Retrieved November 09, 2020, from

https://www.expatrio.com/living-germany/german-culture

Flamini, R. (1997). Passport Germany, 3rd Edition. Retrieved November 09, 2020, from
https://store.worldtradepress.com/product/passport-germany-3rd-edition-2/
David Brown
OGL 350 Module 3 Paper
November 9, 2020

Appendix

1. What is your definition of “culture”?

2. What is the primary language spoken in your family? Is there any foreign language

speakers?

3. Do you eat foods that are indigenous to your culture?  Why or why not?  If you answered

yes, name some of the foods that you eat.  If you answered no, what types of foods do

you eat?

4. What are your holidays and traditions?

5. Define and describe the most important (or most celebrated) holiday of your culture.

6. What kind of health care system do you have in your country of origin?

7. How do people spend their leisure time? Sports? Movies, etc.?

8. What is the best thing about living in the USA?

9. What is the worst thing about living in the USA?

10. Have you been discriminated against?