4. Germans have a celebration for every month of the year...
Fastnacht, Frühlingsfest, Johannesfest, Weinfest, Oktoberfest,
Weihnacht... Except for November, which is the month to get
depressed and die (yes, they also plan for this)!
5. Germans are very respectful towards others and value their
own freedom as well as other's freedom to think and act on
their on way, as long as it doesn't break the rules. This
freedom includes from being gay to being naked (for further
details, google ‘FKK’)!
6. Germans are very inclusive and caring for fairness and
everyone's well being. This can be seen from their social
security and health system, going through welfare of
employees, to smaller daily actions. They cared a lot for me
and they helped me out every time I needed it, even when I
had only known them for a couple of days !
7. Germans are very punctual and value time a lot. They count in
minutes, compared to my "more relaxed" Latin-American
culture that counts in blocks of minutes (5, 10, 15, 30...)
Therefore they expect others to be punctual as well, except for
DB (national train system) which is their little shame of
inefficiency. The only exception is when they come to my
place, since they're respectful for my Latin culture, so they
"plan to be late.”!
8. Germans are very pragmatic, straight-forward and efficient.
When decisions need to be made, they're just made without
much romanticism. They work just the needed amount of
hours and they don't over talk on things, they just get things
done !
9. There are many rules which Germans do their best to stick to
in order to have a harmonious life in society. They expect
others to also comply to the rules and don't even think of the
possibility of someone breaking them (i.e. why would anyone
take your unlocked bike from the street if it's not his)!
!
Finally, the following may sound naïve, but it’s coming from true
feelings and not any philosophical background. I must say that
before coming here I had a vision of Germans that was built by
media, movies and history. Having lived here and having had firsthand experiences with German people I must admit I was wrong. !
I would love that when people watches movies about the World
Wars or comes for weekend holidays to Germany and visit a
concentration camp don’t judge current German society based
only on that. It’s true that we must remember the history of
humankind in order to avoid such things happening again, and I
can say that Germans are the first to remember this. But for me it’s
also true that all Germans cannot be judged by what a few did
many years ago. The Germans I know are well apart from that, are
tired of being judged by the whole world for something not done
by them, their parents or they grandparents, and they just want to
enjoy the beauties of life in all their expressions.!
living abroad
10. Germans enjoy nature as part of their life and value a lot
connecting to it... A walk in the woods, a swim in the lake, a
picnic by the river or simply taking some fresh air outside give
them the dose of nature that they need in their daily life!
Because of all of this, !
I can proudly say today I’m a little German inside.!
Check out David speech at Leadership Talks (NaLDS’13)!
Change Your Carpe Diem
!
http://youtu.be/zJMkdIAlabY!
Dey Dos Magazine | 21