Our Last Days? We'll be in Frankfurt!

~written by Nick Bowman

Erfurt, Thueringia, Deutschland -- Looking ahead to our return trip home to the US (I know ... I know ... I don't want to think about it either ... *sob*), we're going to try something a bit different this year. Given that many students never really get the chance to see Frankfurt, and given that our flights home on Tuesday August 9 are sort of all over the place, we've decided as a group to spend our last night in Germany (Monday, August 8) in one of the coolest areas of Frankfurt: Kaiserstrasse.

The entire WVU SPICE group is booked at the Mercure Hotel Kaiserhof Frankfurt City Center for a final night of Germany. The hotel is incredibly easy to access from the train station, as you can see on the map below:



I'll be staying at the same hotel, but I'll have a larger, private room. I promise, it's not to laud my extravagance over you but rather, European hotel rooms can be rather small and you're all going to have your bags to carry around; thus, if you need to stash an extra bag in my room then you're welcome to do so.

As for our plans for Frankfurt, I would like to get everyone checked into the hotel by 15:00 (3pm) on Monday, August 8. For this reason, if you're coming from Erfurt than I would suggest taking ICE1650, which also happens to be an incredibly inexpensive ICE for those who will need to purchase a ticket:

Once we're checked in, I'm more than happy to lead the group on a short walk to Altstadt Frankfurt, to sample some of the local "apfelwein" and possibly even try the infamous "Eisbock 24%" - there is plenty to to and see in the area, including a museum of comic book history. =)

For the next day, all students will be responsible for getting back to Frankfurt Flughafen (the airport) in time for their flights. My suggestion would be for us to check out of the hotel by 9am on Tuesday (August 9) and we can go as a group back to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof and then, on to the airport. Expect to pay between 13 euro for a transfer ticket back to the airport via the ICE, but I'll do some investigating and see if we can get the price down (i.e, by using a group ticket or something similar). There are regional trains that are cheaper, but you might not want to lug all of your bags on them! It's only a 15-minute journey back to the airport, but this will give everyone time to get settled in, get through security and otherwise do some final shopping at the airport - also, given security tensions and any potentials with international flight changes or delays, it's always suggested that we get to airport as early as possible.

We can talk more on specific plans later on, but for now ... it looks like we've got a group date in Frankfurt! 

Guest Post: Buchenwald Concentration Camp

~ written by Emily Lamb

Weimar, Germany -- Weimar is a small city made up of 60,000 people which is located in-between Erfurt and Jena, Germany. It takes roughly fifteen minutes by train to get from Erfurt to Weimar. Once you get to the Weimar train station there is a bus stop directly outside the front doors where you can catch bus number 9 and endure a short twenty-minute ride through the middle of nowhere until you wind up at the very last stop, the Buchenwald concentration camp.

It was difficult to comprehend that only eight kilometers away from Weimar’s peaceful city center was a concentration camp where an estimated 56,545 people were murdered. There are just over 60,000 people living in Weimar today, that is just barely over the number of 56,545 deaths accumulated at the concentration camp located within that same city.

A small zoo was constructed so that the families of the SS officers were able to happily play with the animals, meanwhile a few feet away stood the barbed wired fence holding the camp prisoners.

I have been learning about World War II since I was young. I have watched all the documentaries, I have read all the textbooks, and I have seen all the photos. I was always very aware of the terrible events which took place during that time, so I was quite surprised by how different it felt to actually be standing where the documentaries had been taped, where the textbooks had been written about, and where the photos had come from.

A flower left in the barbed wire fence in honor of the prisoners who were once held at Buchenwald.

“It’s a lot bigger than I imagined.” I heard my friend’s voices say, perfectly aligning with my thoughts when we first entered the camp. I always knew these prison camps housed more than just individuals of the Jewish religion but it didn’t really sink in until I saw a photo of all the different patches that the different “criminals” had to wear. If you wore a red triangle you were imprisoned for political reasons, green meant you were a criminal, black meaning you were asocial, purple you were Catholic clergy, pink you were homosexual, yellow was Jewish, and violet meant you were Jehovah Witness.

Rudolf Barzada is thought to be the last known pink badge concentration camp survivor.
He was held at Buchenwald camp and he survived thanks to the help of two SS guards,
one of which who was more than likely gay himself and infatuated with Rudolf.

On April 16th, 1945 one thousand citizens of Weimar city were ordered by the liberating American commander to tour the Buchenwald camp, where the evidence of the mass murders and tortures were still painfully evident.

The above is a drawing which was completed by a Buchenwald 

camp prisoner, the title is “We did not know that!”

Guest Post: Face Negotiation Theory

~written by Eva Radcliffe

The following post was written by SPICE student Eva Radcliffe, as part of her German Culture and Communication course. In this course, students are asked to keep a diary of their experiences in Germany. Faculty members Dr. Nick Bowman and Dr. Jaime Banks select a few passages of these dairies (with the student's permission) and share those here. 

The Face Negotiation Theory was created by Stella Ting-Toomey and is explained as the way different people respond to conflict and how others view their actions. The “face” part of the theory refers to being humiliated or embarrassed. There are three different parts of the Face Negotiation Theory: self-face concern, other-face concern, and mutual-face concern. Self-face concern is to be protective about your own image when your face is threatened. Other-face concern is to be accommodating to the other party so they don’t get embarrassed or lose face. Finally mutual-face concern is when both parties accommodate each other so they both save face.

One experience I can think of is when I went to the Norma grocery store the other day. I went through the aisles picking up what I needed for the next few days. It was only after I had all of my items rung up I realized that the grocery store only accepted cash, and I only had brought along my credit card. The woman who rung me up spoke very little English so we had to communicate mostly through hand motions and facial expressions. At the end of the day, she did not have any other-face concern for me having my card declined and to make matters worse forced me to put all of my groceries back where I found them.

In this interaction I think there was a lack of other-face concern from the woman working at Norma’s because she did not try to accommodate me when she realized that I spoke no German, and she did not care that I was embarrassed to have to walk around the grocery store putting back my cart full of items. I also think there was self-face concern in this interaction because even though I was upset, embarrassed, and a little annoyed (even though it was my fault I didn’t bring Euros) I didn’t want to be an American stereotype by acting privileged or throwing a temper-tantrum when something didn’t go exactly how I wanted it to.

Intercultural Adaptation Theory

A simplified model of Intercultural Adaptation, which shows the inverse parabolic arc (i.e., the "U-shaped" curve) that we often go through when adjusting to new cultures. Cai & Rodriguez (1996) give an overview of the communication role in this process across nine propositions.

As we've now been leben in Deutschland fur sieben Wochen, we should start thinking reflectively as to how we are adapting to our new surroundings. No doubt each of us is experiencing some different level of German culture as we continue to try new foods, speak new languages, and adapt to new customs. Perhaps the easiest part of international trtavel is recognizing that you are quickly in a culture not your own - it's usually a pretty exciting experience in the beginning (the "Honeymoon Stage") until the glitz and glamour wear off and you find yourself outside the comfort zone - for me, it was (of all things) drinking seltzer water (wasser mit gas) when I was expecting table water (still-wasser). This is an incredibly small thing to "shock" over, but even these small events have you questioning future interactions - trepidation over a drink order leads to scruntiny of a foreign food menus and drives many tourists to the local McDonald's over their local Gasthaus, as they experience a "Culture Shock" and look to regain control of their environment.

Two new ways that we might take a communication science (communiciology?) approach to this would be a focus on "intercultural adaptation" and "intercultural competence." The former focuses on Let's break them down seperately, and then I'll ask you guys to put them together in your weekly post.

Intercultural Adaptation

The following blog offers recommendations on how to
overcome these awkward new moments; I would not
recommend any of their suggestions.

When thinking of intercultural adaptation, Cai & Rodriguez (1996) talk about how communication patterns might aid or hinder persons understanding their "new" cultural environment. Defined as "as the process through which persons in cross-cultural interactions change their communicative behavior to facilitate understanding" (pp. 34, which seems to have a lot of elements in common with Communication Accomodation Theory, yes?).

IA looks at how we might try to continually alter our communication patterns to reduce misunderstandings - a common example of this is using exaggerated hand gestures when trying to convey meaning to someone who speaks a different language. Why would this play into culture? The notion here is that cross-cultural encounters are the result of individuals from different backgrounds relying on their social norms in an encounter. Example: In the US it is acceptable to hug an old friend whereas in many parts of Europe you may see friends kissing each on both cheeks. In the US, a kiss might be construed as having much more intimacy or meaning, which can lead to a rather awkward pause and silence.

Of course, with experience we hope to get better at avoiding these misunderstandings - the same "American" from above migth travel abroad in the future armed with this slight cultural knowledge and be better-prepared when old friends kiss him or her on the cheek. because their past experiences were rather positive (a kiss on the cheek represents a friendship, and this is a good thing). At the same time, not all experiences are positive and we can reinforce negative as well as positive interactions. Indeed, a common stereotype among US travelers can be how poorly they are treated when visiting France - often a result of miscommuniations from a lack of language skills and Francophile culture. Said negative interactions with one cultural group can drive individuals away from future intercultural interactions or at least, cause them to be more guarded when meeting "foreigners" in the future.

What does this mean for intercultural communication? It suggests that many cultural interactions can be understood in terms of how we communicate ourselves. Moreover, it suggests that much of our communicative behaviors are best understood as a function of the culture from which we stem - understanding communication is understanding culture, and vice versa.

Intercultural Competence

Another way of thinking about how we are "working" interculturally is to focus on our competence, defined by Fantini (2005) as "the complex of abilities needed to perform effectively and appropriately
when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different from oneself." An interesting distinction here is found between "effective" (how well we think we are doing) compared to "appropriate" (how well our hosts think we are doing). It is likely no secret that these perceptions can differ widely from each other, yet the better we are at detecting how our hosts are responding to our communication is the better we are at adapting ourselves to our new culture. Example: You might speak slowly and wave your arms while yelling at a barista to prepare you a michekaffe (which you're probably still calling a coffee with milk, if you're taking this approach) and you'll likely get your coffee (effective communication) - yet this behavior is hardly going to endear you to your hosts (inappropriate communication). Thus, to truly be interculturally competent we much struggle to balance out effectiveness with appropriateness, which is not so easy of a task.

Your assignment? For this week, I'd like you to make an honest reflection as to where you feel that you're fitting on both of these dimensions. Have you started to adapt to your surroundings? In the figure posted here, which "number" do you think you'd be? How would you honestly assess your own intercultural competence? Give me 300 to 400 words on this, and use the theory language. This post will serve as the basis for the end-portion of your final project, go give it a good effort!

Read more:

• Cai, D. A., & Rodriguez, J. I. (1996). Adjusting to Cultural Differences: The Intercultural Adaptation Model. Intercultural Communication Studies, 1(2).
• Fantini, A. E. (2005). About Intercultural Communicative Competence:  A Construct. Brattleboro, VT: School for International Training.

Schedule Change: Monday's course (18 July)

~written by Nick Bowman

Erfurt, Thueringia, Germany -- We're back from Berlin now, preparing for the second-half of the #SPICE16 program, back here in Erfurt. This means of course that we're getting back into the flow of the second-half courses, but it also means that we'll need to get back into our blogs and writings for the International Culture and Communication course.

As we move forward, a few updates and reminders for this class:

• First, a slight schedule change. Due to an inconvenient train schedule, I have to leave Erfurt at 08:00 on Monday, July 18. For this reason, I'm asking that students instead meet for our regularly-scheduled class sessions on the evening of Sunday, July 17. I had hoped to take everyone to Cafe Altstadtneie Noah, but they are "geschlossen" on Sundays (we'll go another day, this I promise). However, instead we'll meet up for dinner at 18:00 (6pm) on Sunday at the Engelsberg Steinhaus - a map to the location is included below, and a menu for those interested.
  

• At this Sunday meeting, we'll (a) disburse weekly meal funds, (b) talk about your progress on the Berlin Reflections blog  assignment (due July 18), and (c) talk about Cultural Convergence Theory (the post due on July 25). I don't expect us to take more than 90 minutes, total. 
• As a reminder, you'll need to have a minimum of two of your travel and culture blogs written by the end of July (similar to what you did in June). 

We'll go over all of this on Sunday - so, I'll see you there! =) 

Cultural Convergence Theory

~written by Nick Bowman

Comparing the salad bowl to the melting pot metaphor of US 

culture, one distinguishes the uniqueness of each culture

more evidently in the left image than the right. 

The term convergence is defined by Kincaid (2009) as "movement toward one point, toward another communicator, toward a common interest, and toward greater uniformity, never quite reaching that point." This last point - never quite reaching that point - is what distinguishes convergence from a singularity. As a popular corollary to US culture, you might consider convergence to be more like the salad bowl metaphor (separate parts, all in an US culture) as compared to the melting pot metaphor (separate peoples all blended together as one US culture).

Why converge at all? Converging to one point helps us create mutual understanding of who were are as a nation and a people - making sense of our borders as less geo-political and more socio-emotional. Kincaid's convergence model was initially meant to address shortcomings of transmission-based models of communication, but we can expand it to look at cultural convergence (a topic address thoroughly by MIT scientist Henry Jenkins, specifically in reference to new media). From the reading, we see two tenants of CCT at the aggregate (re: cultural) level:

Theorem 1: In a relatively closed social system in which communication among members isunrestricted, the system as a whole will tend to converge over time toward a state of greater cultural uniformity.

Theorem 2: In a relatively closed social system in which communication among members is restricted, the system as a whole will tend to diverge over time toward a state of greater cultural diversity.

So, when you think about communication so far - in particular, your interactions in Erfurt compared to other cities that we've visited(or that you've visited on your own) while in Europe? How might you define the cultural diversity of each location? Can you look at the cultural 'openness' and 'closedness' of each system and explain your thoughts about the diversity in each system (or lack thereof)? I'll look forward to your thoughts on this one. 

Kincaid, D. L. (2009). Convergence Theory. Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. (pp. 189-192). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

SPICE in Berlin!

~written by Nick Bowman

Erfurt, Thueringia, Germany -- This week, we're heading out to Berlin - courtesy of our hosts at the University of Erfurt and most notably, SPICE organizer Afifa Al-Bayed (be sure to thank her for organizing the trip, the next time that you see her). The trip itinerary is embedded below: 

As we're in Berlin this week, we won't have a communication culture or theory post, and likewise, we won't have an official class meting (don't worry, you'll still receive your meal monies!). However, there is an assignment for this week's Berlin trip, and it's detailed below (also posted in the course syllabus):

• Berlin reflections (30 points). As part of SPICE ’16, we will take a week-long excursion to Berlin – this year, from Monday July 11 to Thursday July 14. Students will be asked to complete a number of tasks in their journal reflections, see below (the total post should be between 600-800 words in length). This assignment is due by Monday, 18 July.
• Compare and contrast the communication styles of eastern and western Germany, using a framework similar to what will be provided for the “Interpersonal interactions” assignment. This divide might be a noticed by comparing Erfurt to Berlin as well as eastern and western Berlin (as well as a combination of these two comparisons).
• Understand the international significance of Berlin, and how this has influenced the people living in the city and the culture of Berlin as unique from that of greater Germany.
• Reflect on the increased diversity of Berlin from a historical and contemporary standpoint, and discussion how this diversity is similar to and different from representative areas in the United States. 

Note that this post does not count towards your travel and culture posts - it is a separate assignment, and a rather large one (30% of your course grade). Let me know if you have questions, but as you engage the SPICE tours this week as well as your own Berlin experience, take some mental notes as to how this "small city on the swamp" compares to Erfurt. I'm eager to read what you come up with, and we'll talk about it next week. =) 

Montag Nacht, im Berlin

~written by Nick Bowman

Erfurt, Thueringia, Deutschland -- For this week, we're heading out to Berlin, courtesy of the University of Erfurt. There, we'll enjoy three days of cultural and exploration in one of the most international cities in Europe (and really, the world).

As part of our trip, Dr. Banks and I will be spending our Monday afternoon over in a very cool neighborhood called "Alt-Treptow" - a neighborhood that is fully of restaurants, bars, a floating bar-pool, a few "flohmarkts," nightclubs ... you know, a fun place.

To celebrate the end of the first half of SPICE 2016, we're also inviting all of you to join us at one of my favorite restaurants in Berlin. They've moved to a new location (on the map below) and the name is the White Trash Fast Food. I've not been to the "new" location, but the old spot was an amazing mix of "American" food, beer, music, and just a fantastic atmosphere. They describe their food as “Exotisches Essen nach Hausfrauen-Art!” (Exotic food just like Mama used to make!). We'll plan on having dinner around 17:30 (5:30 pm) - we'll reserve space for 12 people, but I'm sure we can add or subtract chairs as folks show up.

We've included a map down below that shows how to get from "Alexanderplatz" train stations (servicing both S-Bahn and U-Bahn, and very close to the CityStay Hostel) to the restaurant. There are several ways to get over there - my suggestion would be:

• Leave your hostel around 16:45 to walk over to Alexanderplatz S-Bahn station 
• Take the 17:05 (5:05 pm) S7 from Alexanderplatz (in the direction of S Ahrensfelde Bhf) to Berlin Ostkreuz
• From there, transfer to the 17:16 (5:15 pm) S41 (Ringbahn) to Treptower Park
• White Trash Fast Food is about a 10 minute walk from that station 

4th of July BBQ, Monday @ 18:00

~ written by Nick Bowman

A quick reminder that we've scheduled our 4th of July BBQ for Monday at 18:00 (6pm), over at Zitadelle Petersberg. Because we won't quite know where to set up the grill, we'll ask that students meet us at 17:30 (5pm) at the Domplatz train station so that we can do a quick search of the area and "stake a claim" on the BBQ grounds. Our meeting point is marked below: 

We'll also ask that all people "pre-register" using this quick survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_I9lXQXFJ8M5eTzGyzwf1trrhoMG113hAPtWZOgzhtM/viewform, so we have an accurate head-count and we know about any allergies in advance. Please try to complete this before Saturday night, if possible. 

For students who want to do some BBQ shopping, I'd recommend a visit to Rewe or Edeka (several of these around town) - there's also a Tegut shop right on the Domplatz that sells basic food and drink. Dr. Banks and I will likely go to Rewe after our regular Monday morning class. 

GUEST POST: Orlando Memorials, in Europe

~written by Katherine Burgess

The following post was written by SPICE student Katherine Burgess, as part of her German Culture and Communication course. In this course, students are asked to keep a diary of their experiences in Germany. Faculty members Dr. Nick Bowman and Dr. Jaime Banks select a few passages of these dairies (with the student's permission) and share those here.

On June 12th, the day I left for this trip, a man entered into a busy, gay nightclub – Pulse – in Orlando, FL and opened fired. People frantically screaming for help, but none would come for almost three hours. Victims fell to the ground, bodies filled with bullets, but the gunman just kept shooting…

Forty-nine innocents killed, and many more injured because of the simple fact that many of them identified as members of the LGBTQ community. This was a crime of hate and terror that sent shockwaves through almost every person in the world, this is especially true for those of the LGBTQ community who lost some of their own. I lost some of my own. Though I didn’t personally know any of the victims from that night, I felt as if I had lost friends, lovers, and fellow activists. Though I didn’t know of them, I couldn’t help but look at my own partner and our friends who also identified as LGBTQ or a variation of the such, and think “it could have been us.” On a college campus where the community is typically very accepting, you forget the harsh reality that there are many people who do not want you; who do not think you deserve love or even life; who think you are an abomination. The Orlando massacre was a cold, hard reminder of this. The brutal massacre left the LGBTQ community at a loss, a loss for security in even our safest places and places of solidarity. The attack was not just an attack on the people in Pulse, it was an attack on the entire LGBTQ community.

On the plane ride over from the US to Germany and the entirety of my time being over here I keep trying to wrap my head around what happened. How people could hate me/us so much having never spoken to me or my partner or my best friend. How can you think I deserve to die because I love another woman? I struggled trying to come to some emotional understanding to cope with this tragedy in my community. What I found here in Europe was more than I ever could have hoped for…support. In both Erfurt and Amsterdam, I found memorials for the 49 victims of the Orlando Massacre, and these two sites of commemoration has had a lingering effect on me. Seeing how tragedy has effected not only the families of the Orlando victims, and the LGBTQ community in the U.S but also the lives of people so far away in places like Erfurt and Amsterdam is extraordinary. Because of the massacre, I do feel significantly less safe since the massacre, but there was something uplifting about seeing how so many people around the world are standing with the Orlando victims and their families. These memorials gave me hope.

A memorial to those killed in the Orlando shootings, in Amsterdam.

The memorial site in Erfurt was simple with two rainbow flags and candles carefully placed outside of the Anger Mall with a little over a dozen people standing around with flags and signs. Everyone stood around as if waiting for something to happen, but they remained silent and focused. Perhaps they were waiting for someone to come speak, I wasn’t able to stay and find out. However, maybe the anticipation in their eyes were simply wondering when the killings and hate and terror against our community will stop. I’m perhaps reaching with that last bit, but it is what I am thinking when I see the memorials.

A memorial to those killed in Orlando, in Erfurt, Germany.

The memorial in Amsterdam was much more elaborate with well over a hundred flowers and candles, photos, and messages for the families of the victims. While there were no people standing around, I could only imagine what the gathering must have been like. Were people silent, were they hugging, holding hands? Did they have the LGBTQ pride rainbow flag flying high?

The memorials, as previously stated gave me hope, it made me feel included and optimistic about the future. The memorials also showed me the same things for the communities here in Erfurt and Amsterdam. Even through hate, we stand strong, together with love oozing out of every pore until we are finally treated like human beings and not something people so easily cast aside or kill off. I hope to see more of these memorials during my time in Europe, I know there is one in Berlin and I will search for it because I’m sure it will be just as magnificent as the ones I’ve already seen. 

National Pride ... Was ist Das?

~ written by Nick Bowman 

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The initial Bellamy salute (right hand extended forward, not 

pictured) might remind many readers of another (in)famous 

way to salute one's flag -- a difference that  likely sits at the 

root cause for US and German perspectives on nationalism.

In August 1892, Baptist minister Francis Bellamy pinned this short passage in preparation for the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Americas. Quickly reciting this passage to most US citizens will almost instantaneously result in a group recital, hands placed over the heart and eyes darting around the room for the nearest American flag.

Over the last 100+ years, the Pledge of Allegiance has become a staple of the American classroom and likewise, a staple of how many Americans treat and respond to their flag. Becker et al (2012) reviewed several studies demonstrating that for Americans, exposure to the US tends to prime feelings of intense nationalism - some of these suggesting military authority and others related to egalitarianism and humanitarianism, or as etched on the Statue of Liberty (a poem by Emma Lazarus):

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door

While Americans are often blasted for being a bit ... err ... tacky with how they display their national pride, the simple fact is that most of them do, and displaying your national pride - to an American - is considered a perfectly acceptable thing to do (especially before our sporting events).

Shifting our attention to Germany, and the perspective is quite different. In November 2009, rock start Pete Doherty faced possible prosecution in Germany for singing the verbotten first verses of "Deutschlandlied" (the German national anthem) during a live performance in Munich [UK perspective via UK Daily Mail] [German perspective via Der Spiegel]; notably, the first and second verses are no longer used given their Nazi connotations and reinterpretations. That is, while Americans take great pride in memorizing and reciting Bellamy's classic verse, Germans largely avoid reciting Heinrich Hoffman von Fallersleben's piece - a national pride/drinking song he pinned almost 80 years before the rise (and 100 years before the fall) of Hitler's Third Reich. As best worded by blogger Rory MacLean:

"No German put his hand over his heart while singing the national anthem. No school flew the flag when Jan was a boy. ‘How did we [Germans] learn not to wave the flag?’ asked Jan, a world traveler who is nearing his 50th birthday. ‘We simply did not do it.’"

When exposed the the German flag, more patriotic Germans 

were more likely to express prejudices towards out-groups 

(non-Germans) after exposure to the German national flag. 

In fact, recent work by Becker et al. (2012) looking at the impact of national flag exposure - US and German - on a population of German adults aged 18 to 45+ actually found that exposure to the German flag elicited far more negative than positive feelings. First, their work found that when Germans were asked to list the thoughts coming to mind after seeing the rot-schwartz-gelb, those thoughts tended to be rather neutral (almost 20% of the thoughts listed were references to sports, specifically "football (soccer)"). The next most-prominent category? Nazis. Nearly 12 percent of German respondents, when viewing an image of their country's modern flag, listed "Nazi" or "Hitler" or "Third Reich" as the most prominent thought in their mind. The authors write (p. 5): "These results indicate that the German flag does not imply such positive egalitarian associations for Germans as the US flag indicates for Americans." 

Our own class discussions (from the media psychology and influence) might also give some support for these findings. Recall from moral foundations theory that we can often understand intercultural differences as a function of their primary view on morality. For example, Bowman et al. (2012) found that Germans tended to place far more emphasis on concerns related to harm and fairness (considered more individualizing, or liberal, facets of morality) while Americans emphasized aspects of authority, loyalty, and purity (considered more binding, or conservative, facets of morality). The article explains that these cultural differences make sense when one considers differences in the political systems of each country - such as the increased importance on social welfare in the German economic and political system.

How Aldi Nord sees the typishe Amerikaner grillen. Photo

courtesy of one of our German SPICE students. 

In 2016, SPICE students are likely seeing quite a few German flags around town as the country gears up for Germany's run at a potential fourth World Cup title (for we Yanks, simply making it through the quarterfinal rounds would be best performance by a US World Cup team since their third-place finish in 1930, or maybe their quarterfinal run in 2002 Korea/Japan). Or, consider this coming Friday, when we gather at Zitadelle Petersberg to celebrate the 4th of July - an American holiday stepped in our culture to celebrate life, liberty and the pursuit of (grilled and malted) happiness. For the past three years, SPICE has hosted a American-style BBQ with students decked out in all manner of Red, White and Blue. For many of our German colleagues, the sheer variety of clothing that is either made from, of, or in the style of the Stars and Stripes is staggering.

As you watch the World Cup or as you enjoy burgers and brats (with ketchup!), you might consider asking your German classmates - or any German friends you've made so far - about their views on "being German" and "advertising their 'Germanity' to the world". Some discussion points for your Monday blog (and feel free to work in notions of Face Negotiation Theory and Communication Accommodation Theory into these discussions):

• What sort of thoughts and values do the Germans that you know associate with the German flag? How do they feel about the American flag? 
• How do your German friends feel when their peers others proudly demonstrate strong patriotism? What sort of thoughts and feelings do they have when Americans do the same? 
• What about you - how does the American flag make you feel? What about the German flag? How do you feel about Germans showing their national pride? How do you feel about Americans showing their national pride? 

More reading:

Becker, J. C., Enders-Comberg, A., Wagner, U., Christ, O., & Butz, D. A. (2012). Beware of national symbols: How flags can threaten intergroup relations. Social Psychology, 43(1), 3-6. doi: 10.1027/1864-9355/a0000073. [unformatted version] [published version, might require institution/library access] 

Bowman, N.D., Dogruel, L, & Joeckel, S. (2012). A question of morality? Moral salience and nationality on media preferences. Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research, 37(4), 345-369. doi: 10.1515/commun-2012-0020. [published version]

Bruges: Selfie Scavenger Hunt

Here’s the gist. Bruges is a small but beautiful city, and despite its charm it can be challenging to find its coolest spots. So we have designed a scavenger hunt to encourage you to explore the city’s nooks and crannies. Some are more obvious than others, but they’re all cool little bits of Bruges.

Here’s how it works. The person who finds the most items from this list wins something super awesome (rare, special, delicious), and in the case of a tie Nick and Jaime will decide the winner based on creativity. For a find to ‘count’ you must take a selfie with the item you find. By 9am on Wednesday – that’s 24 hours – you’ll post your batch of pictures to the SPICE Facebook group (complete with captions telling us which item it is and something cool about it … captions count for creativity too). Please be sure to upload all photos in a single post (rather than individually). 

Also, for some of the items below there are ‘XP’ options (that’s gamer-speak for ‘experience points’) … these are just additional challenges to make the find even more awesome. These additional bits are completely optional, but really cool. Some clues are obvious and flexible, and some are cryptic and specific … it could be helpful to do a little research ahead of time.

An extra benefit of the hunt is that any of the items on this list are fair game as topics for your travel blog posts, so keep that in mind as you enjoy Bruges.

• The home of 47 bells – “Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the town” – is just 366 steps above two rebels and the site of a famous murder.
  XP – Climb the steps, and take a selfie at the top
• Two brews – one of moon and one of jester – are born in this place.
  XP – Take a tour between 11 and 4, but note you’ll have to schedule in advance.
• Bruges is home to chocolatiers – find a sweet that’s shades of green.
  XP – Taste the treat!
• All o’er the town little angles abound … find three cheeky cherubs.
• In the U.S. doors can be bores, but Belgians entrée with more flare. Find three red doors!
• Bears aren’t so bad in Belgium – they hug beers! Find this lovely beast.
  XP – Enter his den and find the bit of Dr. Banks’ home town while you taste some brew and cheese.
• In certain spots – more low than high – you’ll spy tiny doors made for the gnomes. Seek out these gateways (but don’t try to enter!) as they may not like you in their homes.
• Swans are plenty in Bruges city. Find three of different forms: 1) Real and live. 2) Sweet and small. 3) Statuesque.
  XP – if your live swan is photographed while on a canal cruise.
• Signature local foods are all of the goods … try at least one of these dishes: Flemish beef stew, Belgian frites, Belgian waffles.
  XP – Check out the Frites museum.
• From the west to the east, those lions are beasts – but whoever knew they could be blue, and carry a cross in their feets?
• Churches and cathedrals rise high above the town, but for one of the more interesting ones you may want to look down. Find the ruins of a 950 AD church in the basement of a hotel.
• Seek out – according to your tastes – a museum that highlights treasures of this place. Take your pick from torture, beer, chocolate, art, or diamonds … or another of your choice.
  XP – Pop into the museum and make the rounds.

Enjoy!

Bruges Itinerary

In this other post, you've got all the information for getting to Bruges, Belgium. Now here's our itinerary for once we're there:

Monday - ~3:00pm – Arrival at Bruges train station
We’ll walk to your hotel and ensure that everyone gets checked in. You’ll have a few hours to yourself to get settled. 

Monday - 6:00 pm – Meet Jaime/Nick at the Place de Bruges …
There is a large statue in the center with all of the EU flags around the outer edge … look for us underneath the German flag. We’ll be taking you from there to a place we think you’ll love, and we’ll have class there. Great drinks, but not a ton of food options so you may want to grab a bite before we meet. Also remember to make sure you’ve posted your CAT blog and read the face management material before we meet.

 

After we meet, everyone’s on their own for the rest of Monday night. Have fun, be safe, and remember we have a class meeting in the morning.

Tuesday – 9:00 a.m. – Meet Jaime/Nick at the Place de Bruges …
Required class meeting … meet at the same place as last night, under the German flag. We’ll launch the “Selfie Scavenger Hunt’ from here.

Tuesday – 6:00 p.m. – Meet Jaime/Nick at the Druid’s Cellar
Optional class meeting … meet at the Druid’s Cellar, and the first round’s on us. After this meeting, you’re on your own.