Ever since I was a young I have had a great interest in Germany. I take great interest not only in the history of Germany but also the culture, food, and language. When the world cup is on you will usually find me rooting for Germany. German cuisine is by far my favorite; I grew up eating German food. I am of German heritage; my ancestors came to America before World War I. My father lived in Germany with his parents when he was younger. So I have quite a few reasons to choose Germany.
I love to read books, most of which are about history. When I was younger up until the present day most of these history books were about two countries, Germany and Japan. I have had a continuing interest in the history of these two countries and their culture. I have a primary interest I German history in the 18th and 19th centuries as well as medieval periods; as for Japan I mostly hold interests in classical and feudal period.
My interest in German culture is another reason I chose Germany. From literature and philosophy to film and food German culture has been not only of interest to me but also part of my growing up. As a child I was told German folk, as well as read the Brothers Grimm, like many other children. Later I would grow to love and read German philosophy, reading the likes of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Kant, Marx and Engels to name a few. As well as reading books I loved watching German film.
German expressionism is one of my favorite movements in art especially in film. The German films such as the legendary Nosferatu and Metropolis are among my favorites. German war films of World War II are also of interest to me, seeing how the war is depicted from a German perspective in a post-war period is very interesting. Der Untergang a film showing the fall of Hitler is vivid and terrifying, showing the insanity of the infamous man as he lives out his last days in his bunker.
German Music, Opera and plays are amongst some of the world's most highly regarded, including Beethoven, Händel, Wagner, and Brahms, the list could go on. My interest in German music is not only classical, although I do enjoy it, I also enjoy modern German artists such as ATB and Dumme Jungs. Der Ring des Nibelungen is one of my favorite German operas although many people today may have not seen the opera in part or in its entirety they surely know the music or at least one song, Ride of the Valkyries.
The cuisine of Germany is something I could not live without. I love German food and German drink. As I said previously when I was growing up we often had German food in the house for meals. German sausages, meat, sauerkraut, mustard and bread all great foods. German beer is the best in the world hands down, I tend to enjoy wheat beers, and nothing beats a good hefeweiß or dunkelweiß.
I studied German briefly and unfortunately could not continue here at North Central College. In high school I took French for two years after the German teacher retired and the high school did not hire a new teacher. I took German again a few summers ago at a community college to try and learn more however after a semester due to low enrollment the class was no longer held at higher levels.
There are many reasons for me wanting to go to German not least of which is my love and interest in the home of my ancestors. I am excited for this trip and hope to have a great time traveling in Germany.
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