American lady wants to know your view of German culture.?

Question

I recently moved to Germany after living in Dubai for a couple of years. Dubai of course has so many cultures living together. It was great. I am really sad and lonely in Germany. People don't seem to smile. Everyone seems irritated. I want to understand and be happy here. Please enlighten me.

To the question about marmite, yes we get it in the English ethnic section. We have English satellite television as well.

Answer 1

You must make an effort with the language and be prepared to have cultural clashes in the process, as German is a subtle language and it is easy to say the wrong thing in the initial stages. Germans can be very judgmental in their attitudes and some of them seem to have a feeling of superiority over the rest of us. However, they have some great qualities too. One of them is loyalty. If a German becomes your friend, then he/she is a very good friend indeed. Another is conscientiousness. Germans do work very hard and very seriously. Yet another is generosity: they can be very kind. The Germans are people of high educational standards and very appreciative of culture in many forms. Perhaps you think that they take life too seriously, but I think that they apply their serious approach in a good and constructive way. Do try to join in as far as you can and see these good qualities. I might add that I too was sad and lonely in Germany years ago when I was in my teens and working as a "Haustochter" and eventually the constant carping criticism got to me and I left. But I can still say that I have met far more pleasant than unpleasant Germans in my life and that I can see all those positive qualities which make them people to admire. Keep smiling yourself and see if they won't start relaxing and smiling back in return. And persevere with the language! It will really pay off!

Answer 2

I have only visited Germany a few times so I’m no expert. However, I have noticed that David Hasselhoff has a huge fan base in Germany as a pop singer! Admittedly he is a fluent German speaker which probably helps. So if you want to win friends and influence people while you’re living there …
1) Learn the lingo
2) get some tight leather pants and a dodgy tan
3) cultivate a curly mullet.

The Germans that I know are reserved and have a very dry sense of humour but are also very nice people. When in Germany I was impressed by the fact that they still have cigarette machines in the streets, people have the freedom to make their own decisions unlike here were we are fast becoming a ‘Nanny State’. Also the public rubbish bins are sectioned to make recycling easier and people use their orderly approach to ecological ends by choice. If Hasselhoff can break down the German reserve I’m sure you can too :0)

Answer 3

I'm British, married to a German, so I have been visiting the country on and off for the past 20 years. I've certainly noticed a change in that time.

It started when the Berlin wall came down. There was such a period of hope at the time, but it went sour very quickly. The "Ossies" see the "Wessies" as superior and arrogant, the "Wessies" see the "Ossies" as lazy parasitical dinosaurs. It has also been a huge economic drain on the country.

In common with most of continental Europe, their labour laws and costs seem somewhat overinflated compared to Britain. It is almost impossible to fire somebody, and the cost of employment is huge. Not surprisingly, they are losing out big time in manufacturing to Asia and eastern European countries, especially those who have recently joined the EU such as the Chechz (spelling?) Republic and Poland. The country is getting nervous.

The people are very reserved anyway, as a nation, they are great believers in "Ordnung" (natural order). A boss is the boss because he is the boss. The workplace is incredibly formal, there is no way you would call a superior by their first name, it would always be Herr .....

It is sort of true what people say about their sense of humour as well. It is so dry as to be almost unnoticable, but it is there.

Once you get past the barriers, though, they are nice people, just don't expect them to be as open and upfront as Americans.

Answer 4

I think that you must be very unlucky with the Germans that you know.
I have always found the Germans to be the most friendly, honest and helpful people. If you have just a few words of German and make the effort to be understood, the Germans will do their best to communicate with you.
As for culture, the great composers Wagner and Beethoven, Brahms and Richard Strauss come to mind. Germany has produced many philosophers, poets and scientists.
Get to know a bit about the country and just a few basics of the language and it is a country that you can easily fit into as if you belonged.

Answer 5

Guten tag, Freundin Mel.

The Germans you bumped into certainly don't paint the true picture of real Germans.

I live in Southeast Asia. I used to work at a German store and got to know businessmen as well as teachers and students from my country's German school.

Believe you me; the Germans I've met are the nicest people I've ever met! To top it all, I don't speak a word of German - and yet they are polite and open with me and I often find myself having conversations with perfect strangers.

Since you do stay in Germany now, check out their excellent food and beverages. Bavarian beer, bread, sausages and chocolates are the best! German music rocks too.

Also, do note that for you, the American, who tends to be more vocally expressive, the ways of the German might seem alien and serious to you - but it's just their general trait. Nothing more.

Picking up simple German phrases and getting to know what Germans love, can be of great help, socially etc. Tschuess.

Answer 6

depends where in germany you are - i didnt really care much for the northern germans but the people from mid to southern germany are great fun and once you get to know them are very loyal friends. It would help if you start to learn abit of the language, once you've got the basics you dont have to be fluent they start opening up and speaking in english just when you want to practice your german. I enjoyed my time there and I still keep in touch with friends I made there. Good luck, you'll be ok. You've only been in germany a short time, be patient and smile :-)

Answer 7

I am studying in Brazil, and there are many Germans in my class.

I do not mind them, but I would say that they are very reserved and insular.Their culture is fundamentally suburban, and this may be a factor, though the people do vary in Germany from state to state. They are also quite formal and stiff.

Another factor is the average age of the German population, whose numbers are in decline.

If I were you I would leave Germany; I have heard such criticisms before, and you cannot spend your life being depressed.

Answer 8

As a German-American I frequently ask your self how i might want to were diverse if my kinfolk had kept extra of our ethnic traditions. growing to be up I not in any respect idea-about our kinfolk as having any ethnic roots. Then round age twenty my grandfather finished a e book on kinfolk historic previous. i replaced into shocked to locate that our kinfolk call replaced right into a German call and that my large, large, grandfather got here to u . s . a . of america from Hannover (Germany) in 1840. i replaced into very much shocked to comprehend that I had a ethnic history. something to locate and be happy with - as an American with German roots. Which make me appreciate the ethnic roots of all individuals extra constructive.

Answer 9

It all depends on where you are.

I have a brother-in-law in a small villiage near Frieburg in the South Western corner. Not far from Mulhouse in France.
The people couldn't be more friendly or welcoming.

Of course this may well be down to him marrying my sister!

The weather is also great down there in summer, excellent wines too that we never see in the UK.
They only export the rubbish they won't drink!

Answer 10

Yes floorline (That's Miss in German) my understanding of the Germans is great. It started when I met Herr Bush and Herr Blair at the Geneva Peace convention. I saw them together at a local Cafe' with two broads just sitting there. They appeared to be discussing blowing up an island off the coast of North Scotland because the people refused to hand over 200 year malt whisky, Bush called it fire water and a weapon of mass headaches.. Good morning Herr Bush I said 'QUACK, QUACK, QUACK came the answer, I then said good morning Herr Blair 'WHHHAT' came the reply. I immediately thought something was amiss; first of all why were they sitting there in woman's dresses? Why did Tony Blair have padding down his bra? Then on closer inspection, I found the two broads to be dummies (out of a local dress shop). Strange, don't you think ,however, I thought I should go along with it. Hi! ladies, I said with a condescending tone, Hi! Redmonk came the reply. Well blow me down, this was almost unbelievable Dummies don't talk (do they) anyway, it turns out Bush was saying Iraq, Iraq, Iraq and Tony thought Cheryl had caught him out but what I learnt out of this experience is something we all knew and that is; I got more sense out of the two dummies than the two stooges.

Hope this cheered you up. The Redmonk