Samstag, 17. Dezember 2011
What I don’t understand about the USA
Today I want to write about something I have let’s say problems with, in the USA. Some might say it is a boring topic but I am really interested in it and it totally affects everyone. POLITICS!
My girlfriend always tells me how boring German politics and German politicians are. This might be true. They don’t look and talk professional at all. In Germany being authentic is more important.
One of the new members of the Berlin Parliament from the Piratenpartei, always wears a craftsman’s blue or orange overall. One reason they got elected was that they are so different and don’t act professional. To be honest I am not a voter and supporter of them. To say you don’t have an opinion on a matter because you don’t know anything about it might be honest but in my eyes this is not a reason to vote for someone. By the way the topic was the economy.
Politicians from the US look a bit like clones to me. The all have the same perfect haircut. Male politicians have modern looking suits and the ties match perfect. They present their perfect family in public with a perfect looking wife. Perfect, Perfect, Perfect!!! This is one of the problems I have with them. Everything is done so professional by the campaign team that I can’t see the real individual. It is too much Hollywood and not enough honesty.
Another thing is negative campaigning about the political opponent. I like Hillary Clinton (to be honest I would think she’d be a better president, ahh Germans love the Clintons). But do you remember the 3am add she had on TV during her presidential campaign? Why do you have to question the moral integrity of your opponent and don’t tell the people where you are good at. Why does Michelle Bachman have to run a campaign against Newt Gingrich being married 3 times. I don’t like him but would he be a worse president because he cheated on his wife and was married more than once. Is it better to show the public a wonderful family life but the truth is a cold and dead relationship like Al Gore, John Edwards and I guess so many more politicians did and do? In France being married more than once might be the thing to do if you want to have a chance to be elected. Also our former chancellor and secretary of state Gerhard Schröder and Joschka Fischer were both married 3 and 4 times. When they were in office a joke was told that they could never fly in one plane together because the state would go bankrupt to pay all the widows alimentations.
As a European I don’t care about the private life of a politician. I want them to do the job they are elected for. If they are faithful to their partner or not, not my business!!!!
The biggest problem I have is the polarization of American politics. I am too young to tell if it was always like that. My girlfriend’s mother and her partner told me that it started with President Clinton. The Republicans hated him. Then the Democrats hated Bush and now the Republicans hate hate hate Obama. The term compromise does not exist in US politics anymore. That is so not to understand because everyone knows that life can just work with compromises. If you just stick to your position and you are not willing to give in a bit, well everything will break apart sooner or later. This is true in normal life but also in politics. There you need the moderates of both sides in the middle to run a country.
I admit I watch Fox News sometimes just to get angry (do I have a pathological problem???) So often I could just scream because of the stupid nonsense they tell. To all republicans out there I am sorry in that case I am a wacky European liberal (just from your point of view) missing a gene to understand the radical tea party agenda. Radicalism destroys. I agree that you have to balance the budget but this is not the main concern of the tea party and their front runners like Michelle Bachman. They want Obama out of the White House. That is all they care about, not the economy, not the budget and not the American people.
Enough said about politics and about the US. This blog is about my strange native land but I don’t really have to complain so much about it right now, so excuse my excursion to US politics.
German politics might be less exciting and less glamorous but sometimes boring is better.
Samstag, 10. Dezember 2011
Welcome Back, Fenton & Jesus Christ
I just realised that it has been 3 months since my last post. So it is about time to do it again.
My computer broke and I had to get a new one, that was one reason why I did not write for so long.
Someone told me about a video which is very popular in the UK. I don't know how many times I have watched it now but I think it is absolutely hilarious. I could just start to laugh thinking about it. Do you think other Germans you know would think the video ist funny or not??? I got mixed reactions from my fellow countrymen after they watched it. Just decide yourself. Sorry again, but you have to copy and paste my link to watch it or as you say here in German now, you have to guttenberg it. (People from the outside of Germany, don't worry it is not really important to understand that).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GRSbr0EYYU
Sonntag, 11. September 2011
9/11
...In memory of all the innocent people who died today ten years ago...
I will always remember that day of horror even when I just watched it on TV here in Germany...
I will always remember that day of horror even when I just watched it on TV here in Germany...
Dienstag, 23. August 2011
And again the link doesn't show...aaaarrrgghhh!!!!!
I don'T know why it always happens. Before I post my new blog entry, it shows the included link but at the posted blog entry it doesn't.
Sorry for that here we go again:
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20110823-37121.html
Sorry for that here we go again:
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20110823-37121.html
bank card theft
Today I want to tell you what happened to my girlfriend and me. I now believe that this is a major crime since you can read about it in newspapers today and within the last days. I am not sure if the article at the end of my post has something to do with what happened to us but it is possible. To be very direct: WE GOT ROBBED !!!!! Let me tell you the story:
We have a shared account for our rent, gas, electricity, groceries, etc. and a few weeks ago we ordered a new bank card for my gf. The letter with the pin number for the first one never arrived and so we had to order another bank card and another pin number for her. We knew we wouldn't be home when the mail arrives because we attended a wedding and visited my parents in the south of Germany. But we had our good friend and neighbor watching our cat and taking care of our mailbox.
The day after we returned it was my birthday and we went out for lunch. At the end we wanted to pay but my card was denclined. By then we didn't think something bad had happened. We also went to the grocery store to buy some things for a little gathering for my birthday the same night. I tried to get cash out with my card at a Postbank atm but I didn't get any, it just said the balance isn't enough to give me money. I was very confused and told my gf that I would go to the Deutsche Bank were we have our account. Together with the woman working there I found out that the account had been emptied the same day, just some 3 hours before with my gf's new bank card. Now I knew that something bad had happened because I was together with my gf the whole morning and even if this would have just been a misunderstanding, she couldn't have emptied the account since she also never got her card in the first place.
To make a long story short. I don't know what exactely happened but someone stole her bank card and the letter with the pin number and took all the money. Thank god it happened after the rent was taken out and the bills were paid so the amount wasn't that big.
I don't have to be so detailed but I can tell you (if someone would think that) that we have 100% evidence that it wasn't our neighbor and friend who took care of our mail box. By the way she also got robbed in the same way and the little research I did in our house showed that the same thing happened to 4 other people in our building since june. Also Bahn-Cards, Health Insurance cards and letters with money in it went missing. The whole house now speculates if we have 1.) a "nice" neighbor, 2.) someone comes in and takes the stuff out of the mailbox, 3.) all these things never arrived here (indicating that someone from Deutsche Post must be involved).
Deutsche Bank told me that they sent the bank card the day we returned from the south. The next day, my birthday, the mail arrived like always arround 11 am and at 11:11 am the account was emptied at the next possible atm some 2 minutes away from us. At least in my case I would say that shows it it likely to be #1 or #2. But the other affected people in our house never saw anything strange or anything at all. This makes everything very very odd.
Well, Deutsche Bank, or their insurance, will give us back our money. We had to file an official police report and let me tell you neither the police nor Deutsche Bank seemed to be very enthusiastic in their attempt to help us. Okay, I get it the Berlin government massively cut spending for the police within the last years but why did the 2 other officers in the room have to throw paper balls at each other while I filed my report?
I am also not happy at all about the service at Deutsche Bank. No one told us what to do or what will happen next. They just started to care when I firmly told them that I am very angry about the bad service and I would think about closing the account. I choose Deutsche Bank because they have a reputation and for that I pay Kontofuehrungsgebuehren (don't get my gf started about that). But if the service is worse or the same than at other banks why should we continue to pay that and keep the account? I don't know why you almost always have to threaten service people here in Germany before they take action. Another sad example for the Service-Wueste (service dessert).
The system banks send out the cards and pin numbers is also very unsafe and old fashioned. The data protection people (Bundesamt fuer Datenschutz) focus on facebook and google street view for months and tell us how awful it is, but there is no action from them when it gets really dangerous and when they should be doing something like here. Odd priorities in this country!!!!
I can just warn you to be very careful. I hope something changes soon. It can't go on like this anymore.
We have a shared account for our rent, gas, electricity, groceries, etc. and a few weeks ago we ordered a new bank card for my gf. The letter with the pin number for the first one never arrived and so we had to order another bank card and another pin number for her. We knew we wouldn't be home when the mail arrives because we attended a wedding and visited my parents in the south of Germany. But we had our good friend and neighbor watching our cat and taking care of our mailbox.
The day after we returned it was my birthday and we went out for lunch. At the end we wanted to pay but my card was denclined. By then we didn't think something bad had happened. We also went to the grocery store to buy some things for a little gathering for my birthday the same night. I tried to get cash out with my card at a Postbank atm but I didn't get any, it just said the balance isn't enough to give me money. I was very confused and told my gf that I would go to the Deutsche Bank were we have our account. Together with the woman working there I found out that the account had been emptied the same day, just some 3 hours before with my gf's new bank card. Now I knew that something bad had happened because I was together with my gf the whole morning and even if this would have just been a misunderstanding, she couldn't have emptied the account since she also never got her card in the first place.
To make a long story short. I don't know what exactely happened but someone stole her bank card and the letter with the pin number and took all the money. Thank god it happened after the rent was taken out and the bills were paid so the amount wasn't that big.
I don't have to be so detailed but I can tell you (if someone would think that) that we have 100% evidence that it wasn't our neighbor and friend who took care of our mail box. By the way she also got robbed in the same way and the little research I did in our house showed that the same thing happened to 4 other people in our building since june. Also Bahn-Cards, Health Insurance cards and letters with money in it went missing. The whole house now speculates if we have 1.) a "nice" neighbor, 2.) someone comes in and takes the stuff out of the mailbox, 3.) all these things never arrived here (indicating that someone from Deutsche Post must be involved).
Deutsche Bank told me that they sent the bank card the day we returned from the south. The next day, my birthday, the mail arrived like always arround 11 am and at 11:11 am the account was emptied at the next possible atm some 2 minutes away from us. At least in my case I would say that shows it it likely to be #1 or #2. But the other affected people in our house never saw anything strange or anything at all. This makes everything very very odd.
Well, Deutsche Bank, or their insurance, will give us back our money. We had to file an official police report and let me tell you neither the police nor Deutsche Bank seemed to be very enthusiastic in their attempt to help us. Okay, I get it the Berlin government massively cut spending for the police within the last years but why did the 2 other officers in the room have to throw paper balls at each other while I filed my report?
I am also not happy at all about the service at Deutsche Bank. No one told us what to do or what will happen next. They just started to care when I firmly told them that I am very angry about the bad service and I would think about closing the account. I choose Deutsche Bank because they have a reputation and for that I pay Kontofuehrungsgebuehren (don't get my gf started about that). But if the service is worse or the same than at other banks why should we continue to pay that and keep the account? I don't know why you almost always have to threaten service people here in Germany before they take action. Another sad example for the Service-Wueste (service dessert).
The system banks send out the cards and pin numbers is also very unsafe and old fashioned. The data protection people (Bundesamt fuer Datenschutz) focus on facebook and google street view for months and tell us how awful it is, but there is no action from them when it gets really dangerous and when they should be doing something like here. Odd priorities in this country!!!!
I can just warn you to be very careful. I hope something changes soon. It can't go on like this anymore.
Freitag, 8. Juli 2011
Why can't I include a link ???
I don't know know why it never works to include a link, so I have to type it in. Strange isn't it???
Here is the link for the health plan:
https://portal.versicherungsdienste.de/dsw-studenten-kv/index.en.html
Here is the link for the health plan:
https://portal.versicherungsdienste.de/dsw-studenten-kv/index.en.html
Health Care Problems... solved!!!
Today I want to write about something I wouldn't have thought of some weeks ago. It is not the easiest thing to get health insurance... in Germany!!! That might sound strange for some people but let me tell you the story. Since the problem is solved I can kind of feel amused about it (but just kind of)
When my girlfriend came to Germany to do a masters program here in Berlin she was required to get at least the state health insurance for student which is 70 euro a month. Since she was covered under her mothers amazing health plan in the US she opted out of the German states health insurance and did not have to pay anything. She had to sign a paper which said that as long as she is still a student she will never be able again to get under the German state health plan. Her mother's plan covered everything even here in Germany. She never went to a doctor here, she just did that at home during the summers and the christmas breaks when she was in the USA. Thanks to President Obama this family coverage was extended for one year untill her 26th birthday. Well, she turned 26 at the end of june and since she is still a student untill october, we started in may to look for private coverage here in Germany. One could say that this was a bit late but we asked like 10 different companies and they all send us some offers. How convenient the cheapest offer was from a guy just one block away from our apartment. So we went there. It was still 145 Euro for the female student plan but my girlfriend was willing to pay for it since she saved a lot of money during the last 3 years.
The first setback accured when the insurance guy asked her for her residence permit. The insurance policies require a 2 years validity. Hers is just valid for 1,5 years. Well, this very helpful guy (exception) came up with a crazy idea which is totally legal but a bit strange. I applied as the policyholder but my girlfriend would be the insured person. 3 days later the guy called us and told us the result: He was very sorry but his insurance denied coverage since another requirement of private insurers is a existing health insurance that meets the german standards. Her mothers plan wouldn't meet these standards and she should have never gotten her residence permit. His insurance would cover her but she would have to pay the normal rate for her age 250 Euro per month (not the student rate) and she would have to pay for the last years (250 every month for 3 years= 9.000 Euro). This would be like it with all the other private insurance companies. Well, of course we did not take this plan (we can't afford it !!!) I thanked the guy for his work since he was really sorry about his insurance decision. I couldn't believe that every private insurance would say the same. Well, I was wrong on this. Every single one came up with the same thing. So I called the state health insurance company AOK and told them about the problem. Since she might get a job here in October anyway and everyone has to have health care there should be a way to get in. They said they are very sorry but she opted out and that is the law. No coverage!!!! At one point my girlfriend almost started to freak out. We felt like a hamster in a wheel. This mess could have caused serious problems for her university degree. The state insurances don't take her the private ones don't take her for other reasons. We both were really stressed. We didn't know what to do. To call the Ausländeramt and get to her again like in january that of course it was all my girlfriend fault to get her residence permit renewed because she must have tricked the Beamtin with her invalid health plan. We dreamed (a nightmare of course) about the Beamtin telling her: For this you have to suffer and pay a fine to the state and if you don't take the private plan offered i will through you out of Germany!!!!. No we did not call the Ausländeramt to ask what we could do??? The sad thing was wherever I called they told me: Sorry this is a very special problem, i cant help you. You have to take the offered private plan. My gf was really depressed and stressed: Why does Germany make it so hard for me to be here and why doesn't anyone help me??? Well sadly I could not give her an answer. For a week we didn't know what to do and just kind of ousted the problem.
Since her birthday was coming up we had to find a solution. After a 3 hours research on the internet she found a number where she asked me to call the next morning. I did and told them the problematic situation. I expected the normal german reaction: Well, you foolish deficient human beeing if she was so stupid to not get the states student plan when she came here she has to suffer now. (This is the summary of what we got to hear the weeks before.) But surprisingly she said: Yes, sure. She can be covered. She has to fill out the online formular and than it is 70 euro per month and she is covered. I was totally surprised and asked like 3 times if this is true. I could not believe it after all these failures. Could it be that easy??? and also cheap??? Long story short: YES IT IS!!!!. My girlfriend has a valid insurance and just in case someone else has the same problem i send you a link to the plan. It is a special plan for foreign students here in Germany. It could have been a lot easier than it was if you would find help at the university or at other places. It was kind of luck that we found this place.
When my girlfriend came to Germany to do a masters program here in Berlin she was required to get at least the state health insurance for student which is 70 euro a month. Since she was covered under her mothers amazing health plan in the US she opted out of the German states health insurance and did not have to pay anything. She had to sign a paper which said that as long as she is still a student she will never be able again to get under the German state health plan. Her mother's plan covered everything even here in Germany. She never went to a doctor here, she just did that at home during the summers and the christmas breaks when she was in the USA. Thanks to President Obama this family coverage was extended for one year untill her 26th birthday. Well, she turned 26 at the end of june and since she is still a student untill october, we started in may to look for private coverage here in Germany. One could say that this was a bit late but we asked like 10 different companies and they all send us some offers. How convenient the cheapest offer was from a guy just one block away from our apartment. So we went there. It was still 145 Euro for the female student plan but my girlfriend was willing to pay for it since she saved a lot of money during the last 3 years.
The first setback accured when the insurance guy asked her for her residence permit. The insurance policies require a 2 years validity. Hers is just valid for 1,5 years. Well, this very helpful guy (exception) came up with a crazy idea which is totally legal but a bit strange. I applied as the policyholder but my girlfriend would be the insured person. 3 days later the guy called us and told us the result: He was very sorry but his insurance denied coverage since another requirement of private insurers is a existing health insurance that meets the german standards. Her mothers plan wouldn't meet these standards and she should have never gotten her residence permit. His insurance would cover her but she would have to pay the normal rate for her age 250 Euro per month (not the student rate) and she would have to pay for the last years (250 every month for 3 years= 9.000 Euro). This would be like it with all the other private insurance companies. Well, of course we did not take this plan (we can't afford it !!!) I thanked the guy for his work since he was really sorry about his insurance decision. I couldn't believe that every private insurance would say the same. Well, I was wrong on this. Every single one came up with the same thing. So I called the state health insurance company AOK and told them about the problem. Since she might get a job here in October anyway and everyone has to have health care there should be a way to get in. They said they are very sorry but she opted out and that is the law. No coverage!!!! At one point my girlfriend almost started to freak out. We felt like a hamster in a wheel. This mess could have caused serious problems for her university degree. The state insurances don't take her the private ones don't take her for other reasons. We both were really stressed. We didn't know what to do. To call the Ausländeramt and get to her again like in january that of course it was all my girlfriend fault to get her residence permit renewed because she must have tricked the Beamtin with her invalid health plan. We dreamed (a nightmare of course) about the Beamtin telling her: For this you have to suffer and pay a fine to the state and if you don't take the private plan offered i will through you out of Germany!!!!. No we did not call the Ausländeramt to ask what we could do??? The sad thing was wherever I called they told me: Sorry this is a very special problem, i cant help you. You have to take the offered private plan. My gf was really depressed and stressed: Why does Germany make it so hard for me to be here and why doesn't anyone help me??? Well sadly I could not give her an answer. For a week we didn't know what to do and just kind of ousted the problem.
Since her birthday was coming up we had to find a solution. After a 3 hours research on the internet she found a number where she asked me to call the next morning. I did and told them the problematic situation. I expected the normal german reaction: Well, you foolish deficient human beeing if she was so stupid to not get the states student plan when she came here she has to suffer now. (This is the summary of what we got to hear the weeks before.) But surprisingly she said: Yes, sure. She can be covered. She has to fill out the online formular and than it is 70 euro per month and she is covered. I was totally surprised and asked like 3 times if this is true. I could not believe it after all these failures. Could it be that easy??? and also cheap??? Long story short: YES IT IS!!!!. My girlfriend has a valid insurance and just in case someone else has the same problem i send you a link to the plan. It is a special plan for foreign students here in Germany. It could have been a lot easier than it was if you would find help at the university or at other places. It was kind of luck that we found this place.
Samstag, 18. Juni 2011
Vienna, Budapest & Bursitis
The last month was really quite eventful. My girlfriend's mother and her life partner came to visit. Since my girlfriend came over to Germany it became a tradition for them to stay in Berlin for 2 weeks in may. This time we did a little trip through europe with a rental car and since I was the only one able to drive stick I had to do all the driving. We went to Vienna and Budapest and back to Berlin through Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Vienna was nice but I have to tell you that I am not such a great fan of the city. The spanish riding school was definitely the highlight. Otherwise the city feels kind of altmodisch (dated).
Budapest was wonderful. I really loved the city and the friendly people there. Everything was just wonderful (weather, food, etc.) For me Budapest has this metropolitan touch I sometimes miss in Berlin and which I also missed in Vienna. One reason might be the US-like sirens of the police cars and ambulances which still give me the thrill because for me this is the sound of American movies and therefore the sound of a fantasy world. When I was in New York for the first time it always felt like being part of a movie when a police car passed by. The German "tatütata" is kind of boring.
In Budapest the life partner of my gf's mother got food problems and so I offered to walk to the nearby pharmacy to get something for him. I was just there the same morning to get some cooling. When I arrived the pharmacy was already closed (saturday at 8 pm) and so I asked people on the street if they would know an open one. They sent me to a big square just 15 minutes away and since I already knew the direction I did go there. When I arrived it was closed, too. So I had to ask again. Let me tell you that happened 3 times and all the people said the next one would definitely be open. I walked for almost an hour and got totally lost. I came to a huge shopping mall where I finally found an open pharmacy just to hear that you would need a prescrition for that in Hungary. The woman did not give me the medication and so I had to return. I did not want to walk so I decided to use the Metro (underground). The ticket machine was out of service and the metro guy standing there to controll the tickets sent me somewhere around the corner and up the stairs to find other ticket machines. To make a long story short, I did find these machines but I couldn't read anything since it was just in Hungarian. The problem with Hungarian is that it is a totally different language. There is no similarity to any other european language. I just watched the busy people acting totally normal knowing what to do and I failed some basic thing to do, buying a ticket at a machine. Let me tell you expats now I really know that it feels scary sometimes and you feel kind of like an idiot when you don't understand anything of another language.
I drove almost 1500 miles within a week and I loved it. Driving a car makes me feel free and independent. You don't get that with the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn here in Berlin;-). I must have done to much driving since I developed a really terible bursitis in my right elbow which is still not totally gone.
Whatever!!! a "relativly" small price to pay for wonderful memories.
Vienna was nice but I have to tell you that I am not such a great fan of the city. The spanish riding school was definitely the highlight. Otherwise the city feels kind of altmodisch (dated).
Budapest was wonderful. I really loved the city and the friendly people there. Everything was just wonderful (weather, food, etc.) For me Budapest has this metropolitan touch I sometimes miss in Berlin and which I also missed in Vienna. One reason might be the US-like sirens of the police cars and ambulances which still give me the thrill because for me this is the sound of American movies and therefore the sound of a fantasy world. When I was in New York for the first time it always felt like being part of a movie when a police car passed by. The German "tatütata" is kind of boring.
In Budapest the life partner of my gf's mother got food problems and so I offered to walk to the nearby pharmacy to get something for him. I was just there the same morning to get some cooling. When I arrived the pharmacy was already closed (saturday at 8 pm) and so I asked people on the street if they would know an open one. They sent me to a big square just 15 minutes away and since I already knew the direction I did go there. When I arrived it was closed, too. So I had to ask again. Let me tell you that happened 3 times and all the people said the next one would definitely be open. I walked for almost an hour and got totally lost. I came to a huge shopping mall where I finally found an open pharmacy just to hear that you would need a prescrition for that in Hungary. The woman did not give me the medication and so I had to return. I did not want to walk so I decided to use the Metro (underground). The ticket machine was out of service and the metro guy standing there to controll the tickets sent me somewhere around the corner and up the stairs to find other ticket machines. To make a long story short, I did find these machines but I couldn't read anything since it was just in Hungarian. The problem with Hungarian is that it is a totally different language. There is no similarity to any other european language. I just watched the busy people acting totally normal knowing what to do and I failed some basic thing to do, buying a ticket at a machine. Let me tell you expats now I really know that it feels scary sometimes and you feel kind of like an idiot when you don't understand anything of another language.
I drove almost 1500 miles within a week and I loved it. Driving a car makes me feel free and independent. You don't get that with the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn here in Berlin;-). I must have done to much driving since I developed a really terible bursitis in my right elbow which is still not totally gone.
Whatever!!! a "relativly" small price to pay for wonderful memories.
Samstag, 7. Mai 2011
S-Bahn Nightmare & Bright Istanbul
Tonight I picked my girlfriend up from the airport. She visited a friend from high school for a week who married a guy from turkey. Since I knew that the Ring-Bahn wouldn't run (part of the Berlin S-Bahn) because of construction, I planed my trip to the "isolated" airport of Berlin-Schönefeld without the normal S-Bahn S41. In theory no problem. The reality: A NIGHTMARE!!!! Because of a broken train another U-Bahn didn't run. All the people just sat in the U-Bahn and waited for like 20 minutes before they would tell us the reason of the delay. So I had to go back to the station then where I came from and had to switch like 4 times, always with a waiting time of like 10 minutes. To make it worse, my girlfiend's cell didn't work so I couldn't get a hold of her. I arrived 25 minutes late and of course she wasn't happy.
I could also feel that she isn't happy to be back in Berlin. Part of the reasons why I have problems with my own country is seeing her struggle in Berlin.
She told me about Istanbul. She really liked the city. "People are friendly and nice. They are not as cold as Germans are, at all. They smile at you in stores and give you a great service. The layout of the stores is so much nicer and US-like. Even the official workers at the airport smile. It is not like here where you go in a store and the workers don't stop talking or give you the feeling of not being welcome or hating their job".
Well, I could go on. It is very hard for me to deal with it. As you know from my earlier posts I struggle with Germany myself and I complain a lot. But somehow when she does it I feel the need to defend Germany. I feel always really offended. I know, it is very irrational but how can you change an emotion like that?
I think for my gf it would be the best thing to leave Germany. But for job reasons this isn't possible for me at least for the next 1-1,5 years. We thought we would be over a long distance relationship, maybe not??? Not the most magnificent situation we are in right now!!!
I could also feel that she isn't happy to be back in Berlin. Part of the reasons why I have problems with my own country is seeing her struggle in Berlin.
She told me about Istanbul. She really liked the city. "People are friendly and nice. They are not as cold as Germans are, at all. They smile at you in stores and give you a great service. The layout of the stores is so much nicer and US-like. Even the official workers at the airport smile. It is not like here where you go in a store and the workers don't stop talking or give you the feeling of not being welcome or hating their job".
Well, I could go on. It is very hard for me to deal with it. As you know from my earlier posts I struggle with Germany myself and I complain a lot. But somehow when she does it I feel the need to defend Germany. I feel always really offended. I know, it is very irrational but how can you change an emotion like that?
I think for my gf it would be the best thing to leave Germany. But for job reasons this isn't possible for me at least for the next 1-1,5 years. We thought we would be over a long distance relationship, maybe not??? Not the most magnificent situation we are in right now!!!
Dienstag, 3. Mai 2011
Good bye Germany!!!
Well, to say it wright at the beginning I will not leave Germany. It isn't a physical good bye to the country of my origin. It is just an emotional one (for now). As I mentioned in earlier posts, I had my problems with Germany for a long time. I never felt really comfortable here and i just figured out it will never be better. A few days ago I read a very interesting post of an American (Resident on Earth) living in Germany. I hope she doesn't mind when I quote the most important sentences for me of her post:
"I don’t belong here. I don’t really fit in Germany, yet, either. I feel like a person without borders. I’m in between two worlds".
My sentences would be: I don't know where I belong. I don't really fit in Germany, anymore, etc...
When I was in the UK as a child in 1990 for the first time I loved this country. I liked everything there, even the houses were much prettier than here for me. I don't know, why every house needs to get this ugly grout always with a new and fresh coat of paint in Germany. Everything has to be "in Ordnung" here. Well, the weather isn't better in the UK but even grey felt less grey for me there when I returned later in life than it does here. I loved the brick houses and buildings that actually show that they are old. Even as a child I found people friendlier there and with better manners.
In 2006 I met my American girlfriend and from 2006 - 2008 I visited the US every year for my whole semester breaks. So I spent like almost 3 months in Pennsylvania and Nebraska every year. I didn't do the touristy stuff, I was part of a family and got to know the normal life there. I have to tell you, I loved it.
Of course, there were things I didn't like so much, but this is planet earth and not paradise. There is no place where everything is great and without problems. I do prefer the German social system with health care for everyone workers protections rights and more holidays and I do prefer the European layout of cities with a walkable centre. I like to shop in the US and the variety of options there but it is not essential for me to have all these options and nice stores. (Maybe that's also because I am a man). I am confused by people in stores who ask me how I am doing and I can feel that it is sometimes insincere and just part of the job. I am also confused by people who talk to you on the streets just to be nice. I am more formal and will always be than my girlfriend and sometimes the informality in the US is strange for me with my German upbringing.
I could go on, but let me be clear, the list about what I like, I can say love there will be a lot longer than the negative one and the list what I don't like about the country of my origin, Germany, is a lot longer, too. O.K. the lunch snack of your working colleague looks always more appealing than your own one and so I might be to critical about my country in some ways. But something that happened to me at work today is a very good summary of my negative emotions about Germany. Let me tell you about the dialog:
Working colleague 1: Well, what do you think about the capture of Bin Laden?
Working Colleague 2: It was definitely a illegal act and once again the US showed that it doesn't care about the sovereignty of other countries. They just do what they want to.
Me: O.K., You can have different opinions about how they did it, but don't you think about the victims of 9/11 and that this guy was a brutal mass murder?
W1: Of course he was and I don't have a single tear for him but the US vaunts to be a democratic country and to just go there and kill him is beneath the dignity of a so called democratic country.
Me: What do you mean with "a so called democratic country"???
W1: Well the normal guy there doesn't make the decisions. The wall street does and the big money. For example in 2000 George Bush bought his election victory. America is just about money.
W2: And you have to say Americans are so superficial...
W3: ... and prude!!!!
Welcome to my world of the last 5 years. It happened so often when I told that I was together with someone from the US that I heard these old stereotypes. It was just stunning how fast they switched from Bin Laden to this.
Me: Isn't it a very superficial thing to say THE Americans are superficial and prude ????
W1: I have a lot of friends who did a high school year in the midwest and they all told me that it is like that.
Me: So you didn't even go there yourself?
W1: No but as I said a lot of my friends told me that and what you can see in American TV shows proofs my point.
Me: I can just say I never met friendlier and nicer people than in the US.
W2: It is a superficial friendliness they don't really care about you.
W1: It isn't honest and I really hate it!
Me: Well, I love it. I can't stand people here who tell you what to do and how to do in a very blend and rude way. So many people here ruin your day just because they are in a bad and grumpy mood and the can't see anything positive in life.
She just looked very confused and I knew I didn't have to go on. She would never know what I am talking about. I just gave up, but I have to say I am still really upset about it. It is such a true example of what I think about "my" country: A lot of Germans are experts on everything even if they have no real point to proof there opinion, they are blend in a sometimes very rude way and they have no manners otherwise they would reflect, what they are doing and saying and that it might hurt the feeling of others. So many people here make the day of others just miserable with their bad mood.
Also so many people here care a way to much about what others think of them. And also everything is negative and will get worse. Aaaaaaarrrgggg!!! someone help me to stay calm!!!!
I don't know if I am capable of a life in the USA. (Maybe I would prefer the UK) I can't say if life in America would be so much better for me. I didn't have to depend on my own there it was always holidays. Maybe I would never feel at home there. But what I know now is that I am not at home in Germany anymore and this is a bit painful to realize. Will there ever be a place again, where I can say: I am at home???
"I don’t belong here. I don’t really fit in Germany, yet, either. I feel like a person without borders. I’m in between two worlds".
My sentences would be: I don't know where I belong. I don't really fit in Germany, anymore, etc...
When I was in the UK as a child in 1990 for the first time I loved this country. I liked everything there, even the houses were much prettier than here for me. I don't know, why every house needs to get this ugly grout always with a new and fresh coat of paint in Germany. Everything has to be "in Ordnung" here. Well, the weather isn't better in the UK but even grey felt less grey for me there when I returned later in life than it does here. I loved the brick houses and buildings that actually show that they are old. Even as a child I found people friendlier there and with better manners.
In 2006 I met my American girlfriend and from 2006 - 2008 I visited the US every year for my whole semester breaks. So I spent like almost 3 months in Pennsylvania and Nebraska every year. I didn't do the touristy stuff, I was part of a family and got to know the normal life there. I have to tell you, I loved it.
Of course, there were things I didn't like so much, but this is planet earth and not paradise. There is no place where everything is great and without problems. I do prefer the German social system with health care for everyone workers protections rights and more holidays and I do prefer the European layout of cities with a walkable centre. I like to shop in the US and the variety of options there but it is not essential for me to have all these options and nice stores. (Maybe that's also because I am a man). I am confused by people in stores who ask me how I am doing and I can feel that it is sometimes insincere and just part of the job. I am also confused by people who talk to you on the streets just to be nice. I am more formal and will always be than my girlfriend and sometimes the informality in the US is strange for me with my German upbringing.
I could go on, but let me be clear, the list about what I like, I can say love there will be a lot longer than the negative one and the list what I don't like about the country of my origin, Germany, is a lot longer, too. O.K. the lunch snack of your working colleague looks always more appealing than your own one and so I might be to critical about my country in some ways. But something that happened to me at work today is a very good summary of my negative emotions about Germany. Let me tell you about the dialog:
Working colleague 1: Well, what do you think about the capture of Bin Laden?
Working Colleague 2: It was definitely a illegal act and once again the US showed that it doesn't care about the sovereignty of other countries. They just do what they want to.
Me: O.K., You can have different opinions about how they did it, but don't you think about the victims of 9/11 and that this guy was a brutal mass murder?
W1: Of course he was and I don't have a single tear for him but the US vaunts to be a democratic country and to just go there and kill him is beneath the dignity of a so called democratic country.
Me: What do you mean with "a so called democratic country"???
W1: Well the normal guy there doesn't make the decisions. The wall street does and the big money. For example in 2000 George Bush bought his election victory. America is just about money.
W2: And you have to say Americans are so superficial...
W3: ... and prude!!!!
Welcome to my world of the last 5 years. It happened so often when I told that I was together with someone from the US that I heard these old stereotypes. It was just stunning how fast they switched from Bin Laden to this.
Me: Isn't it a very superficial thing to say THE Americans are superficial and prude ????
W1: I have a lot of friends who did a high school year in the midwest and they all told me that it is like that.
Me: So you didn't even go there yourself?
W1: No but as I said a lot of my friends told me that and what you can see in American TV shows proofs my point.
Me: I can just say I never met friendlier and nicer people than in the US.
W2: It is a superficial friendliness they don't really care about you.
W1: It isn't honest and I really hate it!
Me: Well, I love it. I can't stand people here who tell you what to do and how to do in a very blend and rude way. So many people here ruin your day just because they are in a bad and grumpy mood and the can't see anything positive in life.
She just looked very confused and I knew I didn't have to go on. She would never know what I am talking about. I just gave up, but I have to say I am still really upset about it. It is such a true example of what I think about "my" country: A lot of Germans are experts on everything even if they have no real point to proof there opinion, they are blend in a sometimes very rude way and they have no manners otherwise they would reflect, what they are doing and saying and that it might hurt the feeling of others. So many people here make the day of others just miserable with their bad mood.
Also so many people here care a way to much about what others think of them. And also everything is negative and will get worse. Aaaaaaarrrgggg!!! someone help me to stay calm!!!!
I don't know if I am capable of a life in the USA. (Maybe I would prefer the UK) I can't say if life in America would be so much better for me. I didn't have to depend on my own there it was always holidays. Maybe I would never feel at home there. But what I know now is that I am not at home in Germany anymore and this is a bit painful to realize. Will there ever be a place again, where I can say: I am at home???
Samstag, 2. April 2011
Are Germans to direct????
Not just since I am together with my American girlfriend there is something in my country I can't stand. Germans are experts on everything. Asked or not asked they let you know what they think and how they see the world. As always, I have to say I don't like stereotypes and generalisations. There are many, many wonderful and friendly people here in my country but there are also a lot of the first mentioned.
I can't stand people who tell you: "Why don't you do that like this" or "oh my god you look awful today, didn't you sleep enough???" and the grumpy retired who yell at you when you do somehting wrong ae just a pain in the a...The problem is that everyone doesn't like it. It happens so often that people tell me what awful things someone said to them and complain why they can't stick to their own business. I just think then how they do the same all the time. Is it so difficult to understand that you shouldn't say something to another person you don't want to hear?
I don't know why but good manners are not always seen as something important. On the contrary something like friendly small talk at the beginning of a business meeting or in general, with a person you don't know is seen as something inefficient. As a student I worked in a callcenter where I had to put business people through. It happened very often, especially with people in a higher position in a company that they would be really disrespectful. It is very efficient but just rude behavior if you only say: Miller, Mr. Schneider!!! The information i should get was that the name of the person who called was Miller and he wanted to talk to Mr. Schneider. Since these people were in a higher position in a company bad behavior can't have anything to do with a possible lack of education. It always really offended me when it happened.
It is not just the cashier in a grocery store that answers you in a very sassy way when you ask for a new line to open." For you???"
It is also not just the Hartz IV guy who is cutting the line in front of you.
What is it that people behave like that? And was it always like that? Older people tell you that there was a time when manners were more important. If you read old letters or watch old movies the language they used was definitely more polite and less efficient. What do you think???
I can't stand people who tell you: "Why don't you do that like this" or "oh my god you look awful today, didn't you sleep enough???" and the grumpy retired who yell at you when you do somehting wrong ae just a pain in the a...The problem is that everyone doesn't like it. It happens so often that people tell me what awful things someone said to them and complain why they can't stick to their own business. I just think then how they do the same all the time. Is it so difficult to understand that you shouldn't say something to another person you don't want to hear?
I don't know why but good manners are not always seen as something important. On the contrary something like friendly small talk at the beginning of a business meeting or in general, with a person you don't know is seen as something inefficient. As a student I worked in a callcenter where I had to put business people through. It happened very often, especially with people in a higher position in a company that they would be really disrespectful. It is very efficient but just rude behavior if you only say: Miller, Mr. Schneider!!! The information i should get was that the name of the person who called was Miller and he wanted to talk to Mr. Schneider. Since these people were in a higher position in a company bad behavior can't have anything to do with a possible lack of education. It always really offended me when it happened.
It is not just the cashier in a grocery store that answers you in a very sassy way when you ask for a new line to open." For you???"
It is also not just the Hartz IV guy who is cutting the line in front of you.
What is it that people behave like that? And was it always like that? Older people tell you that there was a time when manners were more important. If you read old letters or watch old movies the language they used was definitely more polite and less efficient. What do you think???
Mittwoch, 30. März 2011
Montag, 28. März 2011
German Humor???
I won't say anything just think about it:
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110328-34021.html
Sorry you have to copy it, don't know why it doesn't work.
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110328-34021.html
Sorry you have to copy it, don't know why it doesn't work.
Everything ends sometimes
Since I am originally from Baden-Württemberg the states elections which took place yesterday were very interesting for me even if I live in Berlin now. American expats might think German politics are not interesting but these elections were interesting. Something happened I would have never ever imagined. After almost 60 years of being in power the CDU (German Republican Party equivalent, well not really since I believe that German parties are all more leftwing than most of the US politicians) lost ethe elections. If it wouldn't be inaproppriate after what happened in Japan you could call it a political earthquake.
Now the state will have a Green-SPD government with a green ministerpräsident (govenor), also something very new since the green party never was that strong. It will be very interesting to see, what the new government will do. The controversy about the new train station in the state's capital Stuttgart, which is known as Stuttgart 21 project, will be a big challenge for them. The greens opposed the plans to build it and now they might have no other chance than building it.
The situation in the japanese nuclear power plant finally gave the greens the push of the voters to be that strong in the elections since they wanted to end the usage of nuclear power since decades. Both, Stuttgart 21 and the japanese nuclear catastrophy polarised German politics in a way I never experienced before.
Something you are used to from the US at least since Bill Clinton and which got even bigger with the whole tea party movement, might come to Germany, too. In the past they would fight in a parlamentary debate but at night members from different parties would go to have a drink together. This could be over now. Today the new Minister of the Interior got a bullet in his mail from a leftwing anarchist group as a warning sign. Were will that end?
There are some things we could and should do similar than the US but the polarisation of politics is definitely nothing we should adopt.
Now the state will have a Green-SPD government with a green ministerpräsident (govenor), also something very new since the green party never was that strong. It will be very interesting to see, what the new government will do. The controversy about the new train station in the state's capital Stuttgart, which is known as Stuttgart 21 project, will be a big challenge for them. The greens opposed the plans to build it and now they might have no other chance than building it.
The situation in the japanese nuclear power plant finally gave the greens the push of the voters to be that strong in the elections since they wanted to end the usage of nuclear power since decades. Both, Stuttgart 21 and the japanese nuclear catastrophy polarised German politics in a way I never experienced before.
Something you are used to from the US at least since Bill Clinton and which got even bigger with the whole tea party movement, might come to Germany, too. In the past they would fight in a parlamentary debate but at night members from different parties would go to have a drink together. This could be over now. Today the new Minister of the Interior got a bullet in his mail from a leftwing anarchist group as a warning sign. Were will that end?
There are some things we could and should do similar than the US but the polarisation of politics is definitely nothing we should adopt.
Dienstag, 15. März 2011
Japan
My deepest sympathies and condolences to all the people of the wonderful country of Japan. What a terrible desaster for mankind.
Donnerstag, 10. März 2011
German Ways Part 1: Fasching
OMG, it is already march and I realized that this is my first post this year. I don't know what is more stunning for me. It was a very busy start of the year and so I was never really in the mood to sit down and do my blog obligations. Well let me have a very late new years resolution to blog more often.
I want to start a new series about different topics that bother me here in my strange Nativeland. Since the peak of German fun and humour (Fasching, Karneval, etc. and please notice the irony!!!) isn't over very long, I thought I would start with it. Living in Berlin has many advantages, one is that Fasching does not exist here and you are not bothered. Since I am from the south I can not say that about the first part of my life.
I have to tell you, I really hate it. The parades are boringly the same every year, the word hellau makes me sick after I hear it more than 10 times (and that means I am really sick) the candy is awful and don't get me started with the TV coverage of the so called Prunksitzungen. Overweight Men dress like women and do ballet dancing, people talk about their stool samples or do slapstick and the audience laughs like crazy of course just after the fanfare. When it is very very haha funny then they do the fanfare 3 times in a row (Is this what people mean when they say Germans don't have a sense of humour??? It would make sense when you have to give them a signal when to laugh!!!
These funny people are the same who have google street view paranoia, they fight with the neighbours about the height of the hedge or scream at children when they dare to interrupt the Mittagsruhe. They have no sense of humour in the daily life and are angry grumpy grandpas in normal life or even worse tell you how to cross a street or that you have to slow down with your bike, car, etc.
Fasching seems very German to me. Everything has to be organized, even the fun part. What is your opinion about Fasching???? I can't wait untill november 11 at 11.11 am (hahaha how very funny) when the next 5th seasons starts.
I want to start a new series about different topics that bother me here in my strange Nativeland. Since the peak of German fun and humour (Fasching, Karneval, etc. and please notice the irony!!!) isn't over very long, I thought I would start with it. Living in Berlin has many advantages, one is that Fasching does not exist here and you are not bothered. Since I am from the south I can not say that about the first part of my life.
I have to tell you, I really hate it. The parades are boringly the same every year, the word hellau makes me sick after I hear it more than 10 times (and that means I am really sick) the candy is awful and don't get me started with the TV coverage of the so called Prunksitzungen. Overweight Men dress like women and do ballet dancing, people talk about their stool samples or do slapstick and the audience laughs like crazy of course just after the fanfare. When it is very very haha funny then they do the fanfare 3 times in a row (Is this what people mean when they say Germans don't have a sense of humour??? It would make sense when you have to give them a signal when to laugh!!!
These funny people are the same who have google street view paranoia, they fight with the neighbours about the height of the hedge or scream at children when they dare to interrupt the Mittagsruhe. They have no sense of humour in the daily life and are angry grumpy grandpas in normal life or even worse tell you how to cross a street or that you have to slow down with your bike, car, etc.
Fasching seems very German to me. Everything has to be organized, even the fun part. What is your opinion about Fasching???? I can't wait untill november 11 at 11.11 am (hahaha how very funny) when the next 5th seasons starts.
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