I’ve been here for five minutes. I’ve been here for five years. The days go by so quickly here, yet it seems unfathomable that I left Chapel Hill just two weeks ago. Everything felt so incredibly unfamiliar my first few days here, but I now feel that the differences between the United States and Germany are more a multitude of subtleties than any huge glaring differences. Both countries are voting, capitalist societies with well-established social programs, are technologically innovative, and have stable and productive economies. I would like to qualify my summary of the cultural differences I have observed by first saying that my actual experience in Germany thus far has been relatively limited. The differences I have observed have been within the context of my particular host family, school and neighborhood, as well as the city of Hamburg. Someone traveling to Tuscaloosa, Alabama would have very different assumptions about US culture than someone who visited Portland, Oregon or New York City.
With that said, here are my observations from my bubble:
•It’s considered rude to not clean your plate during a meal, which is something I’ve really struggled with so far. Every day I feel torn between wanting to be polite and respectful and honoring my body when it’s telling me “Stop, enough already!” I may physically blow up while I’m here. Stay tuned.
•German people are very conscious of using resources economically and minimizing waste. The convention of cleaning your plate after a meal stems from this, as does the very elaborate recycling program here. All waste is sorted into one of at least four designated bins, and it is a big faux pax to throw something in the “rubbish” bin that could more accurately be placed in another. For my first few days here, I couldn’t determine if used tea bags belonged in the paper, organic material, or trash bin. (organic material: whoomp there it is)
•The culture here seems to be much less PC than in the United States. Americans seem to be much more concerned with how things are worded, fluffy euphemisms, and the connotations of the name something or a group of people is given than Germans are. Americans rename things over and over again throughout history as terms take on darker implications. I have experienced several cringe-y conversations when talking about immigration or special education in my time here, while the person I was talking to didn’t bat an eye. The philosophy here seems to be much more “it is what it is” than in America.
•I love that the litigious, safety obsessed aspect of American culture is absent here. Germans have a much more common-sense approach to risk management, and I find it so refreshing. No “caution: hot coffee is hot” philosophy here, and I love it.
•A completely meaningless observation but one I noticed nonetheless: you have to turn the key in a lock three or four times before the door will unlock. #ImSoCultured
•Fiats. Fiats everywhere.
With that said, here are my observations from my bubble:
•It’s considered rude to not clean your plate during a meal, which is something I’ve really struggled with so far. Every day I feel torn between wanting to be polite and respectful and honoring my body when it’s telling me “Stop, enough already!” I may physically blow up while I’m here. Stay tuned.
•German people are very conscious of using resources economically and minimizing waste. The convention of cleaning your plate after a meal stems from this, as does the very elaborate recycling program here. All waste is sorted into one of at least four designated bins, and it is a big faux pax to throw something in the “rubbish” bin that could more accurately be placed in another. For my first few days here, I couldn’t determine if used tea bags belonged in the paper, organic material, or trash bin. (organic material: whoomp there it is)
•The culture here seems to be much less PC than in the United States. Americans seem to be much more concerned with how things are worded, fluffy euphemisms, and the connotations of the name something or a group of people is given than Germans are. Americans rename things over and over again throughout history as terms take on darker implications. I have experienced several cringe-y conversations when talking about immigration or special education in my time here, while the person I was talking to didn’t bat an eye. The philosophy here seems to be much more “it is what it is” than in America.
•I love that the litigious, safety obsessed aspect of American culture is absent here. Germans have a much more common-sense approach to risk management, and I find it so refreshing. No “caution: hot coffee is hot” philosophy here, and I love it.
•A completely meaningless observation but one I noticed nonetheless: you have to turn the key in a lock three or four times before the door will unlock. #ImSoCultured
•Fiats. Fiats everywhere.