I was raised in a Navy and Air Force family, and have had the pleasure of traveling all over the world; living in many different countries. But of all the places I've lived in my travels, I enjoyed Germany well above the others; with the exception of the United States. Both countries have wonderful people, unique customs, fantastic food and culture that is rooted deep in each man, woman and child that lives in both of these countries. Question: What is culture? Culture is the knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society (Kendall, 2011). In this essay, I will analyze the cultural components: "symbols, language, values, and norms," (Kendall, 2011) while also highlighting other comparisons and contrasts like material objects and behaviors between these two countries. I will use the South University Online Library, our online lecture and other online resources along with my personal experiences that I have obtained from living in these countries. What is in a name? Let us first start off with how each country got its name. "The name Germany is derived from the Latin word Germania, which, at the time of the Gallic War (58 - 51 B.C.E.), was used by the Romans to designate various peoples occupying the region east of the Rhine. The German-language name Deutschland is derived from a Germanic root meaning volk, or people." (Eidson, 2013) The United States or America, as it is most commonly called "is named after Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer who set forth the then revolutionary concept that the lands that Christopher Columbus sailed to in 1492 were part of a separate continent. A map created in 1507 by Martin Waldseemüller was the first to depict this new continent with the name "America," a Latinized version of "Amerigo" (LOC.gov). Symbols The United States and Germany use symbols or "anything that meaningfully represents something else" (Kendall, 2011). Our textbook tells us that cultures would not exist without symbols because of the lack of shared meaning among its people, whether it be loyalty, animosity, love or hate. The eagle, in comparison to the United States, is the emblem for the now reunified country of Germany. The contrast is that Germany's eagle "depicts the single-headed black eagle against a golden background; it has its head turned to the right and wings open, with the feathers not spread; its beak, tongue and talons are red," (Deutscher Bundestag) much like the colors of the German national flag of black, gold and red. The United States emblem, also the eagle, as depicted on the Great Seal, "holds a scroll in its beak inscribed with the Latin motto "E pluribus Unum" - which means Out of Many, One (one nation created from 13 colonies).  (McCoy) Although, in contrast the American eagle on the Great Seal "grasps an olive branch in its right talon and a bundle of thirteen arrows in its left. The olive branch and arrows are symbols for the power of peace and war" (McCoy) On the crest of the Great Seal are America's national flag colors of red, white and blue. So these