Editors Note: They traveled 1,230 miles to come to Washington, D.C. — Christine Amdam flew all the way from Norway and Alina Braun from Germany. This fall, they are studying journalism at American University and working as interns for WTOP. They quickly discovered that Washington and the American culture are very different from their hometowns Oslo and Mannheim and decided to document their experiences. Check WTOP.com each weekend to read about Christine and Alina’s “culture clashes.”
Drinking age: 18 v. 21
Alina Braun, wtop.com
Many students I go to American University with are not 21 yet. Based on United States law, they should never have had a taste of alcohol in their lives. Obviously, this is not the case.
They drink secretly, letting someone else buy the alcohol for them or using fake IDs. The police regularly crash dorm parties to catch people drinking underage, but that doesn’t really change the situation. To me, it seems as if drinking under 21 in the United States is a normal thing, as if everyone does it, even if they’re not supposed to.
In Germany, we are allowed to drink beer and wine at age 16. At age 18 we can drink all kinds of liquors.
Of course, Germans get drunk, too. Of course, some binge drink (a term that does not exist in German) and of course, there are some teens under 18 who drink liquor. I mean, just visit Oktoberfest — the real Oktoberfest in Munich.
Still, alcohol is looked upon differently in Germany. American teenagers who drink try to keep it a secret. As it is often with things that are forbidden, I have the feeling that alcohol is desired more by young Americans. Therefore, it likely leads to more extreme binge drinking.
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A waitress carries beer mugs in the Hofbraeuhaus tent after the opening of the famous Bavarian "Oktoberfest" beer festival in Munich, southern Germany, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012. The world’s largest beer festival, to be held from Sept. 22 to Oct. 7, 2012, will see some million visitors. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Therefore, lowering the United States drinking age back to 18, as it has been suggested several times, would be a good idea, in my opinion. The drinking age was raised to 21 in the mid-1980s to reduce highway fatalities, according to CBS. This goal was not accomplished. The number of fatalities did not significantly decrease and people between 18 and 21 still drink — just secretly. Thus, I don’t see the sense in keeping the drinking age at 21. What are the advantages?
Alina Braun is an intern at WTOP this fall. She is studying journalism and foreign policy at American University for two semesters. In Germany, she is obtaining her master’s degree and studying , in which she is majoring in linguistics and minoring in psychology. She works as a freelance journalist for the German public radio station SWR.
What is all the fuss about American sports?
Christine Amdam, wtop.com
I have always been interested in sports. I play handball, the only sport we Norwegians actually can be proud of the results. (The women’s team won the Olympics in London this summer.)
In handball, you throw the ball and you are not allowed to kick it. You also run a lot. There are seven players on each team and the game goes pretty quick.
I also play soccer and have been an active athlete, but when I came to Washington, D.C., I felt that I had no idea about what sports are about. I understood quickly that if I wanted to be part of a regular conversation, I had to learn some important things.
For example, the Washington Nationals, or the Nats, are the local baseball team. I found all the fans wear T-shirts, caps and sweaters with the
