More than you know…. Germans and their impact on our society Herr Reierstad Fall 2011

The Germans You may not think Germans have much to do with our society today. However, we owe a lot of what is America and American to the Germans. For example, 1 out of every 6 Americans traces some of their ancestry back to Germany (the largest single ethnic group!)

Oh yeah? What else? It might be hard to list all of the things/people we can thank Germany for, but I’ll try. Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock is ½ German! Leonardo DiCaprio is 1/8 German!

That all? Of course not! Let’s indulge your sweet tooth. You can thank Germanic people for these: –Candy corn –Hershey’s kisses –Gummi bears –PEZ

But that might ruin your appetite…. For these other foods we can thank Germany: –Pretzels –Ketchup (Heinz), that is! –Hamburgers –Bratwurst –Hot dogs (Frankfurters) –Smuckers products –gingerbread

Mann’s best friend These dog breeds originated in Germanic countries: –Rottweiler –Dachshund –Doberman –Weimeraner –St. Bernard

And where would style be without These German creations: –Levi’s jeans –Adidas tennis shoes –Puma tennis shoes –Birkenstock sandals + shoes

And of course…… BMW Mercedes-Benz (actually the first ever car) Volkswagen Audi Porsche

Okay, but why should I learn German? To make it simple- money! –Germany has the world’s 4 th largest economy –Germany is also the world’s 2 nd leading exporter –German is the language of business in Europe –Germany does a lot of business worldwide. Knowing German can open doors for you.

Expand your horizons More than 120 million people speak German worldwide. It is the 2 nd most popular language in Europe and Japan, after English. The world is getting smaller. Knowing German increases your chances of getting a job in many other countries.

She blinded me with Science! –German is a good language for those going into scientific fields –4 of the world’s 10 most innovative companies are located in Germany –Germany exports more high-tech products than any other country except the U.S. –Knowing German could help you get a foot in the door with one of the above companies

Maybe I don’t wanna go there… Ok…they’re coming here! –More than 1 million German tourists come to the U.S. every year –The companies that can reach them first get the Euros –The Florida Journal and Florida Sun Magazin are both published in German to attract German tourists –91 billion Euros is a lot of money (they spent that on international travel in 2007)

The Internet Germany has a very large presence on the Net. –The German country domain.de is second in size only to the extension.com –There are 8 million German Internet domains –They’re only a click away; get to know them!

Great places to stay In 2010, Bloomberg Business Week listed Vienna, Austria as the #1 place in the world to live (based on the Mercer Quality of Life Index) 6 of the top 10 cities were in German-speaking countries (10 were in the top 50) A lot of great places to live for people with German connections! 1.Vienna, Austria 2.Zurich, Switzerland 3.Geneva, Switzerland 4.Vancouver, Canada/ 5.Auckland, NZ (tie) 6.Dusseldorf, Germany 7.Frankfurt, Germany/ 8.Munich, Germany (tie) 9.Bern, Switzerland 10.Sydney, Australia 17.Berlin, Germany 19.Luxemburg (country) 23.Hamburg, Germany 30.Stuttgart, Germany 31.Honolulu, Hawaii

A rich past You might recognize a few of these names. They’ve contributed a little to the world: –Johann w.v. Goethe –Friedrich Schiller –W.A. Mozart –Ludwig v. Beethoven –Johannes Brahms –Richard Wagner –Friedrich Nietzsche –Immanuel Kant –Johann Strauss –Richard Wagner –Carl Gustav Jung –Sigmund Freud –Alois Alzheimer –Henry Heimlich Learning about these people expands your knowledge of the world!

Finally, wanna save some money? Every year, students participate in exchange programs in Germany Also, tens of thousands of students are able to study at German universities, where there is little or no tuition As an exchange student in Germany, I paid approximately $50 a semester for tuition, and ~$150 a month for room & board (food was extra, though…)