Kultur 3

I absolutely LOVED the article "The Dark Side: Optimists are Idiots."  It actually made me question whether I was German in a past life, because I pretty much subscribe to that way of look at the world despite being raised in the US.  People who are constantly happy and optimistic usually remind me of ignorant, naive children who have yet to learn the realities of life...which I find annoying.  It's funny, because in America telling a doctor you have such an outlook on life can get you prescribed a slew of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications...but in Germany, that's pretty much the status-quo it seems.

The article about humor in Germany was pretty interesting as well.  I actually know a guy from Berlin that was pretty well described in this article.  He's a good person over all, but tends to make people angry with his rude and disrespectful behavior.  I guess he just can't help it.  :-/

I lived in Japan for about six years prior to coming to Michigan for school, and in Japan public drinking is legal as well.  I was not old enough to drink prior to moving to Japan, so drinking in Japan was all I knew.  I was shocked the first time a friend told me I had to finish my drink indoors.  To me, it makes no sense.  If I want to be intoxicated in public, I can walk into a bar, take a few shots of Vodka, then go on my merry way completely hammered.  It does little to prevent public drunkenness.  In Japan, my friends and I would drink beers or liquor on the way to a club (on the train and while walking) and could pace ourselves, but still be sufficiently under the influence prior to partying.  In America, because of laws restricting public drinking, people resort to "pre-gaming", which consists of binge drinking and getting absolutely trashed before the partying even begins.