Ze Germans
I have returned from my little trip to France and Germany armed with new perspective and self discovery.
Calais, France was nothing special; really just a place for the English to take advantage of the exchange rate and stock up on alcohol. It was fun, but it's not somewhere I'd be particularly interested in going again.
Germany, however, rocked my socks.
Connie, Waldemar (W's are pronounced as V's) and their three children, Robert, 19 (R's are pronounced "war"), Clemens, 16 and Mariele, 12 were our hosts, and they were fantastic.
Waldemar and the kids all spoke English rather well, Robert could read and translate Latin and Clemens is leaving in the summer to live in Mexico for a year. Connie speaks German, English, French and Italian, loves to travel and loves to show travelers everything she can during their stay. Therefore, Connie fed and watered us with local and traditional German food and drink and took us to the places the locals go, and Waldemar made sure we drank the right beer.
The family was bright, interesting and interested in other people, culture and language and had a very good general knowledge of the world. It didn't seem to me that differences between culture, language or personal preferences seemed in the least bit odd, strange or funny to them; rather, it appeared, from where I was observing, that they had at some point simply accepted the fact that all cultures and languages are different and that the people within those cultures are going to do and say things from a different perspective on the world than the perspective from within the German culture. Therefore, it seems to me, the norms of various cultures are immediately accepted as normal without question, and unless it is clear that something being explained is radically outside the norm for that culture, it is not surprising in the eyes of the Germans.
Of course my greatest exposure to the German culture was through this one family, and only for three full days, so perhaps I was just lucky enough to land in a really cool family.
But I have reasons to believe that education and the understanding of other peoples and cultures is of general national importance. One of my reasons for this is that, in the small towns that we visited, every German person that I came across was able to understand what I said and respond accordingly in English.
My main reason for believing that they have a keen interest in education, understanding and knowledge, however, is what I understand of their education system, which was a little too complex (and probably not explained as well as it could have been) for me to be able to properly repeat here in any sort of concise, coherent manner. What I can say completely clearly, though, is that it seems to be quite intense and very, very well rounded. There appears to be a big push toward study abroad, foreign exchange and language at a fairly young age, and the result is such that I hope to be able to expose my children to the same kind of things.
Basically, I learned that Germans like to learn, and that it makes them seem incredibly cool.
Other things I learned while in Germany:
- They have GREAT bread... like, omg, so delicious!
- And GREAT beer, duh.
- Also cheese.
- Germans are generally skinny people despite their consumption of lots of delicious bread, cheese and beer. I think it's because they walk a lot, and probably partly because it's cold (shivering burns calories, right?).
- German products are fantastic and very much my style: sleek, elegant, simple, functional and durable. Never have I found such a lightweight teaspoon that I couldn't bend, and never have I found a watch that was as beautifully perfect as the one I found while wandering around Gottingen -- so simple, functional and versatile, perfect for work or the Christmas ball. The jewelry is the same, simply gorgeous. My flatware, my watch and my favorite jewelry will hopefully one day come from Germany.
- Things in Germany are very, very clean and tidy, although I'm not sure that street cleaners actually exist, and trash disposal units are a very rare sight indeed.
- There are a lot of book stores, leading me to believe that books are popular.
Possibly the most important, relevant thing I discovered in my most recent short travels, however, is that it is advisable to go to the Irish Bar.
Calais, France was nothing special; really just a place for the English to take advantage of the exchange rate and stock up on alcohol. It was fun, but it's not somewhere I'd be particularly interested in going again.
Germany, however, rocked my socks.
Connie, Waldemar (W's are pronounced as V's) and their three children, Robert, 19 (R's are pronounced "war"), Clemens, 16 and Mariele, 12 were our hosts, and they were fantastic.
Waldemar and the kids all spoke English rather well, Robert could read and translate Latin and Clemens is leaving in the summer to live in Mexico for a year. Connie speaks German, English, French and Italian, loves to travel and loves to show travelers everything she can during their stay. Therefore, Connie fed and watered us with local and traditional German food and drink and took us to the places the locals go, and Waldemar made sure we drank the right beer.
The family was bright, interesting and interested in other people, culture and language and had a very good general knowledge of the world. It didn't seem to me that differences between culture, language or personal preferences seemed in the least bit odd, strange or funny to them; rather, it appeared, from where I was observing, that they had at some point simply accepted the fact that all cultures and languages are different and that the people within those cultures are going to do and say things from a different perspective on the world than the perspective from within the German culture. Therefore, it seems to me, the norms of various cultures are immediately accepted as normal without question, and unless it is clear that something being explained is radically outside the norm for that culture, it is not surprising in the eyes of the Germans.
Of course my greatest exposure to the German culture was through this one family, and only for three full days, so perhaps I was just lucky enough to land in a really cool family.
But I have reasons to believe that education and the understanding of other peoples and cultures is of general national importance. One of my reasons for this is that, in the small towns that we visited, every German person that I came across was able to understand what I said and respond accordingly in English.
My main reason for believing that they have a keen interest in education, understanding and knowledge, however, is what I understand of their education system, which was a little too complex (and probably not explained as well as it could have been) for me to be able to properly repeat here in any sort of concise, coherent manner. What I can say completely clearly, though, is that it seems to be quite intense and very, very well rounded. There appears to be a big push toward study abroad, foreign exchange and language at a fairly young age, and the result is such that I hope to be able to expose my children to the same kind of things.
Basically, I learned that Germans like to learn, and that it makes them seem incredibly cool.
Other things I learned while in Germany:
- They have GREAT bread... like, omg, so delicious!
- And GREAT beer, duh.
- Also cheese.
- Germans are generally skinny people despite their consumption of lots of delicious bread, cheese and beer. I think it's because they walk a lot, and probably partly because it's cold (shivering burns calories, right?).
- German products are fantastic and very much my style: sleek, elegant, simple, functional and durable. Never have I found such a lightweight teaspoon that I couldn't bend, and never have I found a watch that was as beautifully perfect as the one I found while wandering around Gottingen -- so simple, functional and versatile, perfect for work or the Christmas ball. The jewelry is the same, simply gorgeous. My flatware, my watch and my favorite jewelry will hopefully one day come from Germany.
- Things in Germany are very, very clean and tidy, although I'm not sure that street cleaners actually exist, and trash disposal units are a very rare sight indeed.
- There are a lot of book stores, leading me to believe that books are popular.
Possibly the most important, relevant thing I discovered in my most recent short travels, however, is that it is advisable to go to the Irish Bar.
posted by joey at 8:03 PM
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