Actually I planned it already a long time ago to write some “additional” things here concerning intercultural experiences. But it is, I confess, hard to find the time. I am sometimes glad to have the obligatory articles about classes finished that I feel too tired to write some additional stuff. Anyway, there were some things which I liked to mention or only to make a note on.

The first thing happened already lots of weeks ago. Our market place was re-opened after some re-construction. The participants in the celebration were dressed in traditional costumes; the city was popular for its salt gaining. What surprised me was that there also was a black man. I wondered if this was intentionally and if the characters displayed should refer to real characters from that time. If so, was late medieval Germany so liberal to allow a black man to participate in the contemporary society? Should he display a trader for salt from a far country? Maybe. I did not pursue the question further but only wondered if in old times of trade intercultural communication played already a role or if this “science” actually is a modern days phenomenon.

The second things happened in the village where I am living. Nearby there are gardens, so called “Schreber-Gärten”. For me the Schreber-Gärten were a typical German occurrence. During the warmer days of a year people of the city go out to their small piece of land in the garden colony, grow plants, relax or barbeque. The more surprised I was to see two Vietnamese women planting salad and other German vegetables. I was with the dog and at first I passed. However my company made me to return and to ask them for a picture. In this occasion I also found out where they were from. But unfortunately the picture has never been taken. They were too shy (or I asked too harsh?). Anyway, it impressed me somehow and I had a strange feeling what I interpreted as that kind of feeling which you have when you make up with stereotypes.

The third thing… (I don’t know if I really get everything together what I actually wanted to write about)
The German national pride is also an interesting thing to watch. At the moment I think it might be in a change which can not be excluded to be long lasting. After hundreds of years in which Germany was split into more than 300 single states (dukedoms), two lost world wars and a long time of occupation, one can not deny that the German pride is different from other countries. If you ask German people what they think about their country they would answer with complaints. With further thinking, this is maybe observable only in Germany itself. When Germans are abroad I suppose they have certain national pride, or merely know how to differentiate them from other people (either native inhabitants or tourists). Of course I don’t know if this is a general phenomenon or if I only watch it with me. In fact because of the tomorrow beginning World Cup many foreigners come to Germany or look at Germany. Probably this is a good occasion to think about the own culture a little bit more, about what makes the difference between us and others. As a Focus article (in German) states being German has been discovered recently by the media. “We have the Pope,” “We have the World Cup” and “You are Germany” one can read from time to time. But this new euphoria is in its beginning. The Deutsche Welle published an article which says it is only limited to the World Cup and that the German flags, banners and t-shirts will vanish again soon after it is over. However it may be, I will definitely take the chance and buy one of those Germany flags for one Euro. And this actually only out of the fear that after the World Cup everything will be as it was before the World Cup, that is becomes impossible again to get a German flag.

The forth thing has something to do with the unfriendliness of Germans. At the moment I am living together with a foreigner, let’s call her “S”, and she sometimes tells me about her experiences. One of the first things she told me was that everybody stares at her all the time. First it wasn’t so obvious to me but then, when standing together with her in a waiting room it was quite obvious! My theory was that only old people would stare but in fact it was everyone. Okay, it might be a difference if you are in town or on a village. In our case it was the latter. There, people seem not really being used to foreign looking people in real life. For sure, TV has transported foreign life already into their homes, but in real…
Then she told me about the experiences in the bus. Can it be that foreigners are nicer to the people who surround them than Germans? Well… maybe, but I will not give my thoughts on that now. S was sitting face to face to a woman on the bus. The woman must have just come back from shopping. Suddenly the woman lost something from her basket. She was old and couldn’t reach it right away. S helped her but as soon as she took it up from the floor the old woman grabbed as if she was afraid S would steel it! Yes, she said “thank you” but in a monotonous, ignoring voice, looking to outside of the window and no trace of a smile on her lips.
It is difficult to explain that situation but I absolutely can follow her description. It was already sometimes that I thought people are ignorant here. Never expect too much from them! Even a reply to “Guten Tag” is oftentimes too much.
But of course this strange behaviour can be interpreted as personal by somebody who is a foreigner here and still quite unsure about language, culture and people.

Hard cut. I will end my posting here though I have not written a final or general concluding part. I will not do it here and maybe do it never because I think my Personal Notes can always be continued. I hope I will once more find the time to write something like “Personal Notes on Life - Part II” :-)