Germany as a foreigner

Angelika Back to my visit to Germany: I really enjoyed the four weeks in Germany and was especially happy that I was able to see and talk to so many of you. Even though my visits to many of you were just brief stopovers and therefore, of course, much too short. Those whom I didn't manage to visit, please be understanding; four weeks is just a limited amount of time.

Many of you in Germany have repeatedly asked me these two questions: a) Can you still speak German? b) Do you experience Germany differently now?

I believe I don't really need to answer question a) correctly; anyone who has heard me talk knows that I chatter just as much as before. I think I still manage to do that perfectly in the German language (the proofreader: "Modesty, modesty..."). Perhaps some of you might have wished that bilingualism would make me a bit more reserved, but unfortunately, I have to disappoint you, and I don't think you should get your hopes up in that regard.

The second question is a bit more difficult to answer. When I think of Germany, I primarily associate it with a lot of familiar things: my family, good friends, many familiar, beautiful places. This, of course, hasn't changed at all. On the other hand, there are some things that have struck me negatively, which I might not have noticed otherwise. The problem, of course, is that when you write about Germans or Germany, you always have to generalize; this simply cannot be avoided, and as you all know, there is no such thing as "the German" or "the American," and exceptions prove the rule. And yet, certain characteristics can be more strongly attributed to one nation or another.

First, I've noticed that Germans are a nation of complainers and pessimists (and I would certainly include myself among the latter). I noticed this right away when I was transferring in Atlanta. The plane was about half-filled with Americans and German vacationers. Since Atlanta is known to be one of the largest airports in the USA and thus has relatively heavy air traffic, we were waiting at takeoff position 46, which meant the plane took off with about one hour delay. For me, it was very interesting to observe how differently Germans and Americans dealt with this situation.

The Americans mostly sat there relaxed, reading, with no one constantly checking their watch or getting upset. In contrast, four Germans, about 25 years old and just returning from vacation, were sitting in front of me. Not only were they loudly complaining in German about the delay (good thing Americans generally don't understand German), which made me quite embarrassed, but they also checked their watches every two minutes, which, of course, didn't help much. Later, these same Germans not only ordered a beer but insisted that the stewardess bring each of them two at once. Embarrassing!!!! No wonder every American thinks that every German is born with a beer keg. You will now, of course, argue that these Germans were the famous exceptions, but I have to say that the complaining continued to follow me. The general tone everywhere was that Germany is doing worse than ever, with real horror scenarios being described (and I don't just mean in the media).

I definitely don't want to be misunderstood now. Of course, there are serious problems in Germany -- as everywhere -- that urgently need to be addressed to prevent a major crisis from developing. However, by serious problems, I do not mean bitterly arguing over a spelling reform and involving the courts in this matter. To be fair, it should be noted that Americans also like to take every trivial matter to court. But that's a completely different topic that I would prefer to address another time. Back to the German spelling reform: I confess, I am in favor of a spelling reform and would have supported much more radical changes. Incidentally, I now also consider this a German specialty: clinging to unimportant things and not being willing to take even a small step towards real, necessary changes. Suddenly, people remember that they are, after all, the nation of Goethe and Schiller, although their language might have looked somewhat different.

When you follow the discussion about the spelling reform from a bit of a distance, you really have to wonder if Germany doesn't have any other problems to tackle at the moment. I'm thinking, for example, of the high unemployment rate, increasing poverty, the endangered welfare state, etc. In my opinion, these are the issues that urgently need to be addressed.