Monday, August 28, 2006
Das Blog Lives
When people ask me how I like living in Germany, I'm tempted to reply "well, Germany's fine, it's the Germans I can do without." But that's too rude, isn't it? It's hard to articulate exaclty what's so difficult about Germans as a group. Cold. Distant. Unfriendly. Unapproachable. Uptight. They all touch on the idea, but none hits it on the head.
Having a dog has proven to be a great segue into conversations with other dog-walking neighbors who, on the most part are happy to engage in dog chit-chat, then act as if they've never met me four hours later on the next walk.
This evening's walked proved a perfect example of German terseness/unfriendliness. I thought I spotted another greyhound in the park, and it being an unusual breed thought I'd chat with the guy walking it:
Me: Is that a greyhound?
Guy: What?
Me: Your dog, is it a greyhound?
Guy: A what?
Me: The breed, is it a GreyHound?
Guy: No.
Me: Oh, it looks kind of like my dog, I thought maybe it was a greyhound.
Guy: (looking increasingly annoyed) No, it's a mix.
And he walked off.
See what happened was, I broke rule #1 of german interaction: Don't talk to people you don't know. It's built into the language too, you have to call someone by the formal address until you've known them either ten years or slept with them 100 times, whichever comes first. So all the neighbors I engage in dog chit-chat with will keep me at a distance for at least ten years, and ignore me outside our usual dog walking context.
Germans are the exact polar opposite of Californians. ¶ 8:19 PM
Having a dog has proven to be a great segue into conversations with other dog-walking neighbors who, on the most part are happy to engage in dog chit-chat, then act as if they've never met me four hours later on the next walk.
This evening's walked proved a perfect example of German terseness/unfriendliness. I thought I spotted another greyhound in the park, and it being an unusual breed thought I'd chat with the guy walking it:
Me: Is that a greyhound?
Guy: What?
Me: Your dog, is it a greyhound?
Guy: A what?
Me: The breed, is it a GreyHound?
Guy: No.
Me: Oh, it looks kind of like my dog, I thought maybe it was a greyhound.
Guy: (looking increasingly annoyed) No, it's a mix.
And he walked off.
See what happened was, I broke rule #1 of german interaction: Don't talk to people you don't know. It's built into the language too, you have to call someone by the formal address until you've known them either ten years or slept with them 100 times, whichever comes first. So all the neighbors I engage in dog chit-chat with will keep me at a distance for at least ten years, and ignore me outside our usual dog walking context.
Germans are the exact polar opposite of Californians. ¶ 8:19 PM
Comments:
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yeesh, i thought dogs were the universal conversation opener. even though i am dogless, people seem to love it when i ask them about their dogs or say how cute they are (how cute the dogs are, although maybe if i went around telling strangers how cute they are, they might enjoy it). crazy, uptight germans.
"It's the Germans I can do without."
I'm laughing my head off here! So true. That's exactly it - it's the people, isn't it? I just came back from a 5 week Canadian holiday so I'm REALLY noting the difference right now.
I'm laughing my head off here! So true. That's exactly it - it's the people, isn't it? I just came back from a 5 week Canadian holiday so I'm REALLY noting the difference right now.
'well, Germany's fine, it's the Germans I can do without.'
HAHAHAHAHA! That's my response sometimes. My other one is, 'It's fine, despite Germans.'
HAHAHAHAHA! That's my response sometimes. My other one is, 'It's fine, despite Germans.'
Yes.. sigh.. I've been trying the best I can to deal with living here for nearly 2 years and it still bites me to deal with everyday germans. Its like 90% of the nation are in a permanent state of mild depression.. and its rubbing off. Would they all just loosen the hell up for gods sake..
# posted by 
: 3:44 PM
: 3:44 PM
You're retarded because you're missing the bigger picture. The question should be: "What's living on earth like?"
Correct answer: "It's fine, but I could do without humans."
Correct answer: "It's fine, but I could do without humans."
# posted by : 2:29 AM
: 2:29 AM
DC is the worst, in my opinion. In Southern Germany I find the people to be very nice. Maybe it's the big city of Koeln?
That sucks. Go buy a nice (cheap) bottle of wine and a Milka and think about the fact that you have a delicious bakery right around the corner and I don't.
That sucks. Go buy a nice (cheap) bottle of wine and a Milka and think about the fact that you have a delicious bakery right around the corner and I don't.
I really wonder about your problems interacting with people. The way you're writing about them clearly indicates that you are carrying around unfounded anger which is most likely the cause. But it doesn't matter anyway because it is alway their fault, isn't it? It will surely help to decry a nation because of your personal problems.
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