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On December 02 2010 07:06 Kishkumen wrote:
My dad lived in Germany for two years. He wasn't a huge fan of the culture. I think it clashes too much with West Coast American culture (it seems like it would be okay with East Coast culture). What's acceptable in Germany can kinda make you seem like a jerk where I come from. It's weird how even within Western societies there's a huge difference in cultural expectations. Just traveling to different parts of the US can make a huge difference in how people treat you.
In your next blog you should discuss Germans' disdain for ice in their drinks. Or how they all think Root Beer is disgusting and tastes like medicine.
or why they carbonate .... EVERYTHING
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MrHoon
10183 Posts
germany is one of the top 5 places I want to visit before I die
Reading stuff like this makes me even more curious
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On December 01 2010 22:04 oBlade wrote:Show nested quote +On December 01 2010 19:49 zatic wrote:innocent attempt to start some conversation over desert. Was this ESL error or a clever Afrika Korps joke?
LMFAO!
If correct, this blog might partially explain why my personality is the way it is! (I'm half german, but have no real connection with that country and culture).
Nice entry!
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Zurich15366 Posts
On December 02 2010 07:06 Kishkumen wrote:
In your next blog you should discuss Germans' disdain for ice in their drinks. Or how they all think Root Beer is disgusting and tastes like medicine.
Hmm don't know about ice, but root beer just is disgusting, what is there to say about it.
On December 02 2010 04:48 ZeaL. wrote:
/Can you do one about how Germany feels about all these bailouts?
This would be incredibly hard, since the German feelings about the bailouts are awfully complex. It's a mixture of Euro-patriotism, compassion, anger, told-you-so satisfaction, worry, and indifference.
However it seems like indifference overtakes all currently. We were angry with Greece, but in the end everybody knew Germany is going to pay up once more, so now with Ireland everybody seems to resign to our faith and we keep on shipping.
On December 02 2010 14:25 snorlax wrote:
....or why they carbonate .... EVERYTHING
Because it's BETTER.
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I am 3/4 german so I visit regularly and everything is carbonated, I agree it is ok but I almost puked when one of my cousins was drinking carbonate milk shit is so gross (although that doesn't seem to be commonplace) the other thing is why do they carbonate it so fucking heavily a little Id understand but those little carbonation things just turn drinks into a pile of fucking needles
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Truly spoken, zatic.
You should add to this that many germans understand it as a cultural responsibility to fuel up with local beverage in massive amounts for further going deep discussions about fake gras versus natural gras on a football pit after debating for 4 hours about world crisis.
Yes, we are kinda strange :-)
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On December 02 2010 17:45 snorlax wrote:
I am 3/4 german so I visit regularly and everything is carbonated, I agree it is ok but I almost puked when one of my cousins was drinking carbonate milk shit is so gross (although that doesn't seem to be commonplace) the other thing is why do they carbonate it so fucking heavily a little Id understand but those little carbonation things just turn drinks into a pile of fucking needles
In my whole life living in Germany, I have never heard of or seen carbonated milk. The idea alone makes me tremble in terror.
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Great blog ;D
Be sure to also cover the breed of super-individual nonconformist alternative elite Germans 
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On December 02 2010 18:33 Shockk wrote:Show nested quote +On December 02 2010 17:45 snorlax wrote:
I am 3/4 german so I visit regularly and everything is carbonated, I agree it is ok but I almost puked when one of my cousins was drinking carbonate milk shit is so gross (although that doesn't seem to be commonplace) the other thing is why do they carbonate it so fucking heavily a little Id understand but those little carbonation things just turn drinks into a pile of fucking needles In my whole life living in Germany, I have never heard of or seen carbonated milk. The idea alone makes me tremble in terror.
Yes that sounds more like crime against agricultural product :-)
I'm from a region with many milk farms, I' never heard of such a thing. Makes my stomach twist.
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Korea (South)17174 Posts
i've liked every german person i ever met
maybe it's because i am one!
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9071 Posts
I like analyzing cultural differences. Especially the bits where the opinion of the "foreign" doesnt overlaps with the image "home" is trying to create for itself. I've spent some good amount of time with german ppl of my generaton, and so far, I agree with what zatic said in his blog, no idea where this will go in the future, I'm curious to see. Most of my german friends indeed ask me very often what do I think about Germany, the political events here and the social processes in general. Which is rather interesting to witness since most of the big west european nations tend to get ignorant in their sense of national pride. But from what I can see, especially from the younger generation here, germans are trying to remove the old stereotypes about their nation and replace them with smth else... smth more american I fear
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Germany2896 Posts
Wait... discussing global thermonuclear war isn't small talk?
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Hahaha, I love this blog! I am having so much trouble connecting with my German colleagues (Im in an international environment). It goes like this:
me "so, what do you work on?"
german guy "I work on [something weird that I dont understand]"
me "oh, sounds nice... can you explain this/that?"
german guy says one short sentence
...
Usually I drop it after two or three I ask/they answer but dont ask anything about me/dont talk about anything else...
Even though I enjoy the differences between cultures, this one makes it really long and hard (...) to build relationships with German people. The good thing is, if you're patient enough, you get good quality relationships..
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Ahh, Germany sounds like a great place. I would love to sit down and enjoy a nice large glass of beer and discuss events, and opinions, rather than the dull banter that is usually passed between ears.
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On December 03 2010 01:33 NoMicro wrote:
Ahh, Germany sounds like a great place. I would love to sit down and enjoy a nice large glass of beer and discuss events, and opinions, rather than the dull banter that is usually passed between ears.
Don't get your hopes too high. While what zatic wrote is indeed a german stereotype proven true, it's not as if we have 82 million philosophers here. The majority, even if you have befriended them and thus "unlocked" the key to actual conversation, will gladly indulge into mindless smalltalk and chitchat. And countless people can fill endless conversations about the weather, the last night out or the latest reality TV show - because they don't really have much else going on in their lives.
While the behaviour described in the OP is found often in Germany, there are many folks here as well who'll react with complete lack of comprehension if you refuse smalltalk. Especially younger people between 20-30 will often not behave like "typical germans".
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Yep. Discussing just for the sake of it. I meet with a couple of friends every few weekends, we have lots of beer and smoke heavily, and discuss "heavy" topics just for the fun of it. None of us has professional relations to that, most of my friends are just normal workers. And still, fighting to the death while drinking ist just soooo enjoyable, always makes my week.
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On December 03 2010 01:33 NoMicro wrote:
Ahh, Germany sounds like a great place. I would love to sit down and enjoy a nice large glass of beer and discuss events, and opinions, rather than the dull banter that is usually passed between ears.
It can be rather difficult to meet the suitable people.
Also, at any university you are within a constant ear-shot of those American know-it-alls who love casually lecturing their German acquaintances about the world and how it works.
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zatic, you should habe mentioned that the level of chit-chat gets lower to the north of germany.
if your are in the north the people will just ignore you, if they don't know you :D
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interesting blog. I've been studying German in the hopes to spend a good amount of time there in the future, because it seems like a pretty legit country. I pretty much hate small talk more and more every day, so this sounds quite appealing. Also, it's always been a goal of mine to become fluent in another language.
at the same time, if your description is accurate, it sounds like there's a lot of pressure there to be knowledgeable about world events and whatnot, so that is a bit intimidating. but yeah, different cultures are cool.
but yeah, how do you get to know new people in this case? When you meet someone new, do you just walk up to them and ask them for their opinion on the cable leaks or what?
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On December 02 2010 18:33 Shockk wrote:Show nested quote +On December 02 2010 17:45 snorlax wrote:
I am 3/4 german so I visit regularly and everything is carbonated, I agree it is ok but I almost puked when one of my cousins was drinking carbonate milk shit is so gross (although that doesn't seem to be commonplace) the other thing is why do they carbonate it so fucking heavily a little Id understand but those little carbonation things just turn drinks into a pile of fucking needles In my whole life living in Germany, I have never heard of or seen carbonated milk. The idea alone makes me tremble in terror.
I think he lied and just ripped it off of Ed Byrne (Different Class, 2009 "Not everything tastes better when it's fizzy. Milk, for instance..."). This random facts about Germany thing is kinda funny, maybe I'll steal your idea contribute.
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EPT
