Reverse Culture Shock in USA
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- Looking at some reverse culture shock I've experienced while visiting the U.S.
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I was culture shocked, when I noticed that Things did'nt exactly cost what was printed on the Price Tag in the USA!
+Rox Girl “RoxGirl88” Oh my! I can imagine :O So stupid though o_o
+Shannon Tricia
i hated that.. im in there for shopping, not to learn calculation....
+swdev245 They want you to know you are paying a sales tax. The Sales tax varies from nothing to 9% or more. It varies not only from state to state but from city to city. It makes it harder to raise the tax as people notice right away and complain and vote the bums out. Some states have gone to a hidden tax.
aipo86t
you still could add the tax to the sign on the shelf.. (something like " price + 1,885% tax = X" )but at least you have the full amount you have to pay...
+aipo86t But if they want you to kow that, they can always, you know, print it in smaller letters on the price tag or on the receit. Even here in Germany we have that to remind us that X percent of the price is tax money, but we still have the full price including that on the price tag.
It's really no wonder that we are more efficient.
The US sounds like an extrovert's paradise ...but quite a nightmare for introverts.
+tuschman168 Believe me it is.
+tuschman168, maybe the introversion oozes from my pores because people in the U.S. don't randomly come up to me and talk to me.
+tuschman168 I think that is the best description I've read so far^^
+tuschman168 You get used to it though. I haven't been to the US myself but I lived in Australia for 6 months and they have the same culture of always making smalltalk with the cashier and stuff like that - and while I'm pretty much as introverted as it gets, it was kinda nice to get some social interaction once in a while. (And then be able to walk away within a minute before it can become awkward.)
+Laisaaa True! I am an introvert as well, but I got along surprisingly well with Americans, probably because conversations are less complicated, more superficial which is not always a bad thing. In Germany people tend to talk more straight which avoids misunderstandings but can be very challenging and exhausting sometimes.
Last time I was back in Australia, I was shocked at how very loud people in cafes and restaurants are. You can hear them from quite a distance. I found it awful - and then suddenly remembered that I used to talk like that too - so that was a reverse culture shock for me.
+Catherine Allen I always have to leave my favorite café here in France when a group of international students (mostly from the US) enter, because they are so loud. Soon everybody in the cafe starts shouting at each other because they can't hear a word they are saying, and the noise level rises and rises, and what was meant to be a relaxing chat with friends becomes a screaming contest in a football stadium.
Germans deal with that differently, at least from what I've seen. The Americans and the Australians talk loudly and the Germans smile and nod and then speak really, _really_ quietly. Then the English speakers start again (still at Lautstarke 10) and are answered with overwhelmingly quiet voices. They learn. Or maybe they don't, but there are certainly quiet english speakers around, so I think that maybe they do. Eventually.
Andrew Crews ; I'm from the backwoods of Pennsylvania originally. Our nearest neighbors were 2 1/2 miles away, so there was never any reason to be quiet. My uncle's house was about 100 yards from ours and the phone lines were party lines, meaning there were many other families on the same phone line. Some would get on there and talk all day long, so communicating to my aunt and uncle oftentimes resulted in each if us standing in our yards yelling at each other from a distance. If all else failed, I would run up to their house and deliver/ receive the message and run back to our house and relay the message to my mother!
As an adult, apartment living with paper thin walls taught me to speak in hushed tones.
The price tags not having Tax included. The first time in the US i thought that the store wanted to cheat me....
+RapperFlo oh yeah that really sucks
same here...lol!!!
+RapperFlo I've heard (but I can't confirm) it's because of the different sales taxes in the US. Different states have different rates of sales tax, and sometimes cities add an additional sales tax on top of what the state already charges. So my state has 5.75% sales tax, and a city might have an extra 1.5% sales tax (or whatever), to bring the sales tax to 7.25%. Some states even charge no sales tax. However, if companies want to advertise their prices nationally, or even just within a state, the prices will be different if the tax is included, depending on where in the state or country you are.
+Delstein True, but if they have the correct pricing for every item in their system anyways - how else would they charge you - they could print the labels out the right way, no? Maybe pricing every single item would be too much effort, but the signs?
It must be so hard to add up what you're going to spend without the proper price on everything! People must often pay the wrong price in the end - I know I do occasionally have to correct cashiers because the counted something twice or used the wrong button for the item and I couldn't do that, if I didn't add up the prices (at least approximately).
+RapperFlo Yes!! I had no idea this was "unusual" until I moved to Europe and was like, wait a second...you're telling me that the price is ACTUALLY what's listed on the price tag?!?! Genius! :D
I lived 5 month in Bali. When I came back to germany I wondered how quite everything is. The traffic is moderate. No one ever screams. Germans are just so quite if you compare them to other countries.
True, everytime i can hear someone talking very loudly i wonder what the reason could be to break the silence. Mostly it is just some random teenager or kid who doesn´t care (yet), but it is like a warning-signal when there is noise. I think this is considered as the same kind of “public-privacy“ for ppl as is with not starting to talk to strangers that was mentioned in the video. On the downside, you can hardly make new contacts, cuz it is always violating someones privacy. Maybe that is the reason why there are only 1,3 kidz per family on average in germany. :)
yuffi81 yes I did ;)
+StudierenPlus Im from Germany never been in the USA but im talking daily to people from other countries in englisch. And its really weird to hear in Germany suddenly a cashier for example is veery loud or when you are at any Shop. I am not used to it and i love it quite and calm. Then im re-thinking it and always have the Thoguht of it... that maybe they just learned it that way if some older people who have hearing problems coming in .. so yea actually german people are pretty calm and silent :)
And that Video was very nice :)
+StudierenPlus
Germans have always been a serious people, but I think the Reformation made them even more serious.
Watching the end of this video, I was shocked to see how happy and bubbly she was, very american. It is a dead giveaway when women act like that that the come from the USA.
Whenever I'm in Europe for more than a few weeks and come home to the U.S., I seem to be hypersensitive to how loud/talkative everyone is. Like, in the airport, people waiting around for flights don't seem to mind speaking loud enough for everyone to hear their conversation - no matter how personal it is or isn't.
+Kimberly Cox That sounds horrible to me. As I read many comments since now who mention this, I kinda imagine the US as a country where everyone shouts at each other. ^^´
+Rick West
but as far as i know, us-americans tend to stand not as near to each other, when they speak, and have a larger personal space.
+Kim SeeGee Yeah, Americans really are quite loud compared to other nationalities, hahaha. I always noticed it at my uni in New Zealand, where we had many different nationalities. You could always hear the Americans talking loudly over everyone else. I think especially New Zealanders are very quiet, Germans are kind of in the middle.
+Kim SeeGee Yes, that's true. But I absolutely don't understand why. Maybe because almost everything is a little bit louder? Vacuum cleaners in the U.S. for example seems a lot nosier than in Germany. It's the same with the air conditioning / heating in houses. There is constantly some noise. And wooden walls between the rooms are far worse when it comes to noise insulation.
I have also heard that the subway in New York is extremely loud compared to a subway in Germany.
+Rick West It is a big country!
I'm German and spent a semester studying in Italy, got used to being one the tallest people in town. Even when there were large crowds, I was always able to look across the tops of their heads. The reverse culture shock came at the airport back in Germany when I was in a crowd and there were many as tall as me :-)
+Gustl Schnitzelmoser Dein Name ist ja der Kracher!!! :D :D :D
dynamitediva007 haha, danke :-)
Gustl Schnitzelmoser how tall are you?
Germans are tall?? since when?
Bert G the average german man is 1,80 meter, while the average italian man is "only" 1,77m (same as american man btw).
It seems as a small difference but it can be quite a difference if one is about the average. I am 1,87m btw. Thats big but not uncommon. I have colleques whose are 2 m or even taller.
I lived in Germany for twenty-five years. There are cultural differences between the U.S. und Deutschland. I could relate to many of them that were mentioned in the video. Germans tend to be quieter in public, especially around strangers. Strangers to not strike up conversations as easily as they do in the U.S. (Many of my German freunde/friends would tell me how friendly Americans are.) An exception would be at a beer or wine fest where people have been drinking...then they are friendlier!! Unfortunately, Americans have a reputation for being loud mouths in public. Also, Germans are more formal, addressing each other by their surnames, unless one knows the person. Americans are much more informal, using first names. When I first came back to the States, I was a little taken aback when I was addressed by my first name at the dentist's office. In business and professional settings, one is always addressed by his/her last name. The German language has two forms of "you." One is formal - Sie; the other informal - Du. Since I am from TEXAS, we have a similar custom to address strangers and elders as sir or ma'am...so SIE was no problem for me. Germans' are very disciplined about their driving (and other things). They always (99.99% of the time) use their turn signals. Many Americans are more lax about using their turn signals. When driving on the Autobahn (highway), Germans only use the left lane for passing. They don't "hug" that left lane like they do here. After passing, one moves over to the right lane. If you drive in the left lane in Germany, you better haul AZZ; otherwise, someone will be on your AZZ. One does not tip waiters/waitresses (I hate the word server) like in the U.S. One rounds up the cost of the bill/check. Of course, the waiter or waitress will gladly take your Euros, but it is not expected. Here in the U.S., you are expected to leave a tip that is 15 to 20+% of the cost of the meal. Most stores are closed on Sundays in Germany, so you have to think ahead and do your shopping by Saturday. Germans like their cars VERY clean, both inside and out. Unfortunately, many Americans don't keep their cars so clean. Germans also love CLEAN windows...they actually glisten there. Well, there are many more things I could tell you, but those are just a few things that come to mind. For any German readers: Auf Deutsch: Hallo, Deutschland! Grüße aus Texas! Ich habe Dich nicht vergessen. Ich denke viel an Dich, und ich vermisse Dich auch!! Alles Gute. Mach's gut und Tschüss!! TEXAS SOHN
DId you get that, y'all??? If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Danke (thank you), sir or ma'am!!
I live in Illinois and it is the law that you are to stay in the right lane only, unless you are passing a slower car in front of you. That became law only about 2 years ago, I think. (Each state has their own laws, so that is for Illinois - I don't know if it's the same in other states. Illinois has the law that we cannot use our cell phones in any way while driving, unless it is set up for not using your hands. Texting is not allowed, period, while the car is being driven.
Born Texan living happily in Wien, Österreich :)
이렇게 주절주절 말 많은 것도 미국인 특징
Nice comment or in German:
Ich hoffe, dass du immer ein Zuhause in Deutschland bei deinen Freunden hast :)
Das über Deutschland hast du echt schön geschrieben!
Und auch mit viel Herz! Du warst wirklich gerne hier.
Das freut mich! :D
Lass es dir gut gehn!
Many years ago after having lived in Germany for several year's, one of the first weekends back in the U.S I was sitting in a bar when a song I had never heard before started to play. Almost everyone in the place got up and went to the dance floor and started moving in unison. I thought to myself what the heck is going on, what are they doing? The name of the song was Electric Boogie. That song hadn't come out yet in Germany so i had no idea what was going on, it was quite a surreal experience for me. I still laugh about it to this day.
+Berg I can't remember if I mentioned this in the video, so sorry if I'm repeating myself, but I had the same experience in the U.S. a few years ago! I was at a wedding in the U.S. and everyone was getting ready (I was hanging out with the bride to be and brides maids), and suddenly they all started screaming and dancing and singing...and I bobbed my head pretending to have a clue lol like you said, really surreal.
Yesterday I told a friend of mine that I watched Finiding Dorie in Cineman and he was like "Well it was coming out months ago I'm surprised you didn't watched it before."
The thing is that he lives in England and I live in Germany. The Movie came out in Germany 3 or 4 Days ago and for him the movie was already an old topic. That reminded me of your song story.
Berg Its an old song, us americans play it everywhere, theirs a special dance and everything, my school district teaches us when we reach 7th grade.
lol that's called the electric slide.
I once returned in winter from a lengthy visit in south asia (hot, humid, loud, stinky, crowded) directly to my town of upbringing in Germany (I had to pick something up on the way before getting home). After dropping my luggage at my old home I immediately went for a walk in the chilling air. The contrast was incredible: the road, the gardens and the tightly packed houses were absolutely tidy, clean, orderly, every rock in its right place. No one was on the street. No sound could be heard only my footsteps. The air smelled wonderful and clear. And what I had in earlier years experienced as boring and stupid and lifeless was now a miracle to me! I had seen south asia in what ways a place can dissolve into natural chaos and realized this serene place in my homeland was manmade with discipline and was a awesome display of national character. It really totally changed my view of "home".
Markus I feel that in Germany and other places in Continental Europe. It's not boring at all, it is paradise! I can't stand excessive noise, and I just want peaceful clean places to live.
The biggest reverse culture shock I've experienced was returning from a couple months in Asia, and everyone out on the street in the US seemed to have a frown or even scowl on their face, like the zombie apocalypse had hit or something. People in Asia smile a lot I guess, and it was profoundly depressing to see what looked like such unhappiness on people faces. Almost scary.
In Germany we also usually hand the money directly to the cashier. At least I do that. I've seen only older people putting it on the counter because they can't see the coins in their purses that well anymore.
+Faygris True. But I feel like the cashier himself doesn't always give you the money directly. Many times they just put it on the counter...
Sternas Vlog Right, but I'd say most of the time they do. Sometimes I'm even annoyed by it, when I'm just packing stuff into my bag and they are stretching out their hand to give me the money. :D
+Faygris It depends on the kind of store IMO.
Those with cashiers after conveyer belts (supermarkets and shops like DM, Müller,... where there is a similar system) - you usually hand them the cash directly and they also give you your change back that way, if you've got a hand free for it. If you're still busy, they might put the change down to prep for the next costumer. (It's an eye contact thing - if you ignore their attempt, they'll lay it down)
In stores like a bakery, pharmacy,... you most often put the cash down - they aren't supposed to touch money with the gloves they use for handling the food and they're busy preparing what you 'ordered' anyways. Also: it's a bit higher up and there are all the baked goods seperating you and the baker so you'd often have to reach out/stretch at the same time - it's just easier to lay the money down. (Also: often they wait until they see the money on the counter before lifting your bag up there, because they can't really control you wandering off easily from behind that huge counter...)
+Faygris That's a regional thing I quess. Here in northern Germany there are often small plates (mot really plates, but something along those lines) you can put your money onto.
Frank Sennholz Yeah, I know these from the south, too. But I rarely see them used. I think it's really more convenient for both sides to just hand over the money.
When I got back to Germany after living in Canada for a while I kept wanting to say thank you to bus and tram drivers. I actually did it a couple of times at first, but people just looked at me as if wondering what was wrong with me. :-)
I am German. I did a privat holidaytrip to Hawaii - not in a group. After the first night I opened my window at the hotel. The first think I heard was a group of people who speak in german to each ofter... That was really shoking for me. Fly half around the world to hear german language
The other way round it also happend. I did a tour to Australia for about 6 weeks. When I was back in Germany I saw a icecream shop and like to some icecreme. So I was thinking about what is the english word for "Heidelbeere" blueberry. And I was starting to stammer and than I got that I am now in Germny again so I can talk german to the guy.
+Enra Mummi YESSS!!! I have experienced both of these too :D The first one with Germans as well -- we flew to Thailand in 2014, also not in a group, and turned up at the pool/beach the next morning to hear German xD And then several times on this trip I have also put together some German sentences in my head before going into a restaurant to order/calling to make a reservation or whatnot, and then being relieved to recall that I could just explain myself in my native tongue :)
+Enra Mummi Germans are everywhere. Waiter in Londons hard rock cafe -> german, waiter of the hotel at the reception -> german, old district of Kyoto, japan -> germans, tons of backpackers in austrialia/thailand (mostly with a backpack from Deuter) -> germans... the island mallorca(spain) is inoffically occupied :D
ich weiss; I know
About the cars, isn't it that in Germany cars have to be inspected every year (like in Austria)? And in the USA it isn't like that? I thinkt that would explain why there are more "dented" cars in the USA.
+Lena R It is every 2 years in germany.
Interesting! So that can not really explain the difference then.
+Lena R : it's rather a cultural thing. In most countries cars are considered as a tool to get from A to B. In Germany, cars are part of what it means to be german. If you want to pick a fight here, touch someone's car.
+Brad Younger I'd say it depends on the region. I am also under the impression, that germans don't drive that much. First off: the distances just are shorter, so even if people drive, they usually don't drive as long (and the car gets less banged up).
Also: wherever there is a good public transport system - so in most big cities - a lot of people use that instead. Maybe it's also a generation thing. Most of my friends (between 25 and 35) don't even own a car. In a major city, you really don't need one. And it's more and more uncommon to think of it as a status symbol. People are getting more cautious about the environment and you could brag better, saying you're coming to work on a bicycle than about your new car... But in the country, of course most people need cars and use them regularly. (Just: in the US a larger percentage of land could be considered 'countryside' than in Germany... ^_~)
Hauke Holst: maybe so. Still: probably no one in the rest of the world cares that much whether your car looks flawlessly like us germans.
Gosh, as a German I'd totally freak out if strangers were taking to me all the time out of nowwhere ^^
I guess I'd kinda like it but it would really be strange at the beginning.
If a stranger engaged in small talk with me when I'm stressed or tired, I'd be very pissed.
I've been in LA for 5 years and I still haven't gotten used to it. There's a lot of freaks talking randomly so it's difficult to tell them apart so by default I just try avoid strangers. I got gun pointed at me once so that was a big lesson. For an introvert, USA is very stressful place it's just weird how people try to have useless and often stupid conversations with you. Many of them have ADHD so after 3rd word you say they are not paying attention anyways and start their own thread :-D
You know you do too much crochet when the first thing you think seeing a video like this is, "I wonder if that scarf pattern is on Ravelry?" :-)
After living in Mexico for six months, I returned home to the US for a month long stay. At a stop over in DFW Airport in Dallas I was talking to a U.S. Immigration agent in English. At the end of the conversation, she said "welcome home." I said "gracias" instead of Thank you. She said: "Well, I see you have been outside the US for a while." When I return back to Mexico a month later, I realized I needed to go to the supermarket. After shopping, I went to the cashier and the total came to $100 pesos but my mind was still thinking in US dollars. I started to say out loud in Spanish that prices had skyrocketed. I caught myself before completing the sentence and told the woman cashier I was glad I my bill was not 100 bucks because I only carried 200 pesos with me. Finally, I got so used to greeting every women with a kiss when I met them in Mexico, that it kind of caused a problem when I was back in NY because you do not kiss anyone in the US unless you are very close friends. In the US Latinos view me as a American which means they don't kiss me. In Mexico I am still a gringo but they will kiss me because they hear my accent-free Mexican Spanish. They know that I know their customs.
After living in Germany for three years, my friend and I returned to his family's home. We went out to dinner that night. We ordered our meal and some beers and sat chatting. In a very short time, his father apologized for the very slow service. My friend and I both had the same reaction. We just got there! I learned in Germany to slow down and enjoy your meal and your time with friends. There is no hurry. Here there is a lot more expectation to Dine and Dash. I miss the more leisurely attitude at that time in Germany.
Also, in the 70s, stores closed in the early afternoon on Saturday and re-opened on Monday. It seemed only the bakeries were open on Sunday mornings. No one went shopping the late afternoon. That was when you enjoyed life at home or with friends. I noticed that was changing even then in Germany and I felt sorry for them.
I recall a small grocery store had "gone American" and started bagging items using store-provided paper bags. I saw little old ladies with their shopping bags reminding each other how to do it the "new" way where you didn't need to bring your shopping bags. I wanted to warn the whole town "Don't Do This!"
I'm sure it has gotten worse there. What a shame. We are finally back to toting our own bags again - some of us anyway.
My most significant cool reverse culture shock l shock was after a trip to UK.
Because back in Germany, as a pedestrian passing a street, it is highly recommended to first watch your left and then your right - which is the opposite in UK.
+Sabine h. d. Gardine after driving in the UK for the first time I went through a roundabout in Germany the wrong way around. Even last week, back in Germany, I was shocked when I saw an ambulance on the right hand side of the road until I realized, gosh sure, I'm back in Germany.
I lived in Germany for eleven years before moving to Canada. Three years after moving to North America, I went back to Europe to visit friends and family! I was so shocked at how when Someone bumps into me in the grocery store, instead of apologizing, they give me an evil death glare as if it was my fault all along!
I recently went on a trip to Germany and loved it! I was staying with a family and I noticed they asked me very little about myself. One day we had a guest over and after he left, they were horrified and very concerned for me that he had been asking me questions. I didn't think anything of it because it was just conversation, normal things a stranger in the US would ask to get to know you. Now I understand why! Thank you.
In the US, waiters torture you with a gazillion questions to order a simple meal. In Europe, the name of a dish implies ingredients and a certain way of preparation. Everybody knows that a Wiener Schnitzel is veal, and Wiener Art is pork. Melba is a dish with peach, Hunter implies mushrooms and Hawaii means Ananas (pineapple) and ham. Ordering is much easier in Germany, plus, you simply sit down where you like. If it's packed you just ask to sit on somebodies table.
Your limited menus and your customs are not ours.
Coming back from turkey to germany after six months ...
I was like: Oh my god! All these people are just so blonde and pale, some of them wear a lot of tattoos. Some wear really strange gothic clothes or coloured stockings (+ so short skirts! There are short skirts in turkey, too - but less).
In the bus there was a couple touching each other - it was just so strange. The bus driver told everybody to wear the seatbelts, to put our bags up for safety (nobody cares about stuff like that in turkey), and he even told us how to open the toilet door and how to use the toilet :D
During my first day people were "shouting" at me three times for any random mistakes.
One of the most strange things was (and still is) people talking about the "hot weather" when it is actually cold.
When I met my friends we were buying food for everybody - but everybody paid on his own. (In turkey people are fighting who can pay for the others). I shared a Döner with somebody and he gave back to me half of the money o.O it seemed just so complicated to me.
In turkey, they even say it's "german style", when everybody pays seperately.
Also the subjects people were talking about seemed strange to me. Some people seemed to talk about "so smart, philosophical subjects" just to sound intelligent.
When it comes to politics, people suddenly thought the same way as me. (Not all turkish people support Erdogan ... most of my turkish friends don't like him ... still many of them think differently when it comes to other subjects ...)
The dogs are not just running around at the street. They all have an owner and some of them wear a leash!
It was strange that it was possible to drink water from the tab, and to throw the toilet paper in the toilet instead of the trash bin.
Everything is so tidy in germany ... the curbs are way more flat. Everything is green! So many trees!
In the first days the shops seemed to be so wide (I mean: not narrow).
Streets were very empty, and the city was quiet, compared to turkey. Less busses are going, but: There is a plan where it is written when the busses are going! Even a map. Nice. Many bus stops even have a display which shows, how many minutes you have to wait. This is an advantage, but in the same time it made me more stressed, because now i was running to the bus stop to get the next bus!
Anyways in the first days I was like ... okay - so thats supposed to be my country?
Nowadays I'm slowly getting used to it :-)
Keys and doorknobs open clockwise in Argentina, while in the US it's counterclockwise. I often went to the concierge claiming "my door doesn't open". Nowadays in hotels with card keys that doesn't happen anymore!
And what's up with some keyholes being mounted upside down in the US?
I currently live in Buenos Aires and I'm from the US. I think the keyholes are upside down in Argentina. They're mounted the opposite way. That's all. Neither is right or wrong.
Such things originate from patent issues. Company B couldn't just build things like company A did (unless paying fees), so they changed some details - and once introduced this way, things are kept as usual locally. This is also the reason why there are so many different types of electricity plugs (even for same voltage).
Tumblers down is wrong, the lock will get dust/dirt/whatever in there and need maintenance years sooner than if it was right side up. It's rare for key to be upside down here, so I'm assuming they're upside down in Argentina?
Most door knobs that I have encountered in the US open when turned in either direction.
My reverse culture shock:
When I got back to Germany after travelling several weeks all over New Zealand the first thing they did when we got off the plane in Frankfurt was ...checking the passports of course. An old lady in front of me, who seemed kind of lost, asked one of the officers where she can declare customs. The answer she got was "We are police, not an information desk." in a VERY rude tone. They were not airport personal but actual police, btw. She got no help at all. That was the moment I realized I'm back home - it was a very sad moment. ... I never recovered from the shock completely ...the only way to deal with this is telling me now and then that the next time I visit New Zealand it will be for the rest of my life.
I was just in Germany long enough to develop some of the German habits you mentioned, especially with coin issue and placing the money on the counter, though I did already place the money on counter in the US before so I was a fit in on that issue in Germany. I also got used to not having all the random chit chat that Americans do, and I really like taking to new people as that is how I learn things, so when I came back it felt uncomfortable, but I liked it. The advertising everywhere was a shock in the US, plus it was late one evening and I was forced to go a Walmart and that whole experience was a culture shock. It also seemed to me that Americans are generally sloppy dressers compared to Germany and this is really true when you have to go to Walmart. Also I got used to avoiding bike lanes on the sidewalks and most US towns and cities do not have these and of the if they do they are in the street, not on the sidewalks. The big thing I wish the US would have is good bakeries with good bread, cakes, and coffee. I got used to German coffee and cakes and I have not been able to find either here yet.
I´ve been in the U.S: 10 times now in a matter of 13 years. And all the things that you just mentioned are the exact things why i love to be on vacation in the USA.
Cars have to be fixed after a accident in germany or otherwise you won´t get a "TÜV Plakette" which means that the vehicle is not street legal anymore. Even if you only have a small little dent, but that dent has a little sharp edge, you have to fix it.
In germany it´s not normal to start a conversation with strangers. So thats a thing that catches me off guard everytime i am in the US. Even if its just a compliment like "hey, i like your shoes" or something like that. Making random compliments is often considered rude in germany.
I love cars, especially big ones so that´s a plus for me when i am travelling to the U.S. I don´t get the idea why you need a huge pick-up truck in citys but i just happen to love the cars. A thing that i experienced during my last stay was that there are also more cars with much more power in america. than in germany. You don´t see cars with huge 5,7l hemi engines as often in germany due to higher gas prices and taxrates aswell as insurance.
The temperature thing is actually someting i get by now. Most of the time i´ve been to america i was in warm states like Florida, Utah, Nevada or California. So by now i know that 75-85 Fahrenheit is pretty warm and everything above a 100 is killing me.
I think i adapted my style of clothing to the american standard by now. I only wear basketball shorts in the summer. No matter if i am in germany or somewhere in america. I just love how comfy those are.
Another thing that got in my mind is the traffic. I am always suprised when people infront of me turn right on a red light. Thats not allowed in germany but it is in america. I really have to hold myself back for the first few days when i am back in germany not to run a red light. Aswell as overtaking sombody on the right. Thats also not allowed in germany. Furthermore the positioning of trafficlights is so much better in the US. In germany the trafficlights hang directly above your stopline, where in america they hang across of the intersection so you can see them better.
+SgtAggression Cool to hear your experiences! Thanks for sharing :) Yeah, when I first moved to Germany, I remember trying to strike up conversations with people at the grocery store or other places -- like you said, complimenting people -- and I often got weird looks.
I hadn't considered the positioning of the traffic lights! But what I did notice (and was very amused by) is that in Germany the traffic lights go from red to yellow to green, just like in a car race or something. In the US, you only see the yellow when coming to a stop -- green, yellow, red, but when going again it just goes from red straight to green.
@unknown guy, How much does it cost to fix a small dent in your car? In the US it can cost a minimum of $300 for a small dent and I'm referring to a baby fingernail size. Anything bigger and you're looking at 500 to thousands of dollars. Body work is so expensive. So if you're looking at paying rent, buying food or fixing a dent or scratch on a car that runs perfectly well, it's not a hard decision to make. I would love to fix every dent on my car but unless it's egregious, it doesn't make financial sense. If u could fix an ugly dent or spend 10 days in Thailand for the same amount of money, I might be inclined to take a vacation instead. But I know ppl for whom nothing but a pristine auto is tolerable.
when I went back to berlin after being in london for a while I was so suprised that people just didn't talk to me. I'd gotten so used to people in shops just randomly starting a conversation where in berlin they just kinda stare at you in silence xD
We've spent six weeks in the US about 2 years ago (Washington state). While we were there, we almost never saw anyone smoking cigarettes in public. Whereas, when we came back to Germany and walked out of the airport, it seemed like everyone around us was smoking and we felt like we could hardly breathe. Before the trip, we had never realized that smoking cigarettes is so ubiquitous here in Germany.
I always get culture shock when going to a restaurant in the States. Waiting for a table instead of just going in and sitting down and also the speed at which people eat in restaurants. Most of the time you're in and out of a restaurant within an hour where as in Germany, you can sit for hours leisurely drinking, eating, and chatting. The coin thing has also happened to me too. ;)
+Sarah M. Newman hahaha yes! Had to get used to waiting to be seated and not just picking my own table. Not a good idea to try to seat yourself in the U.S. -- maybe you sit down at a table in a section that doesn't have a server that night, well then you'll be waiting for a loonnnggg time lol
+Sarah M. Newman Did your server make you feel that you need to go if you're still hanging out on the table when you're arleady done eating? Happened to me. Also, I just realized that I get served water right away and not have to call for a refill either.
+ She La I do miss getting water automatically at restaurants and having it constantly being refilled. However, at least in Upstate New York where I'm from, the water is so chlorinated that for awhile, I would get stomach cramps when visiting home because of the water. Before I moved to Germany, the high calk content in the water used to do the same thing. Amazing how our bodies also get used to one thing or the other...
In Uzbekistan, when I came back because reasons, I noticed that the airports aren't as tidy as the ones in the US or even in Turkey(It's a pit stop before getting on the plane to Tashkent), older cars, less space in the grocery stores unless you go to a big mall that has a big grocery store in it, smaller juice boxes, taxi drivers just standing there waiting for customers, butcheries featuring lamb, GIANT samosas and little urban areas(at one point I been on a family a day road trip to Samarkand and on the way there there was nothing but farmland and rural areas). Also carrots on hot dogs.
fahrenheit is so useless xD
well if u fix ur car in german u have to do it proper or u just lose the tüf (even if u change something totaly useless to have to let it be accepted) so ... well at least our cars are save xD
TÜV
+Akkusativ Bruder Du bist Deutscher... hier ist deine Einstellung normal. Meiner Erfahrung nach sind wir damit aber fast alleine in der Welt.
+Holly *safe
Naja eigentlich ist es die HU = Hauptuntersuchung und der TÜV ist nur eine der durchführenden Organe wie zB auch die DEKEA usw.
+BigBad Wolf DEKRA statt DEKEA ;)
Yeah, everyone speaking English is definitely weird. I speak to my friends in English, but if I bump into someone in the street, then I apologise in Hungarian :-)
+Adrian Bury LOL
+Adrian Bury for me it is mostly the other way around. I got myself a natural "sorry" reflex for every country i might end up in XD
+badcat Hell, I'm a German living in Germany and I still use "Sorry" most of the times i'm apologizing for bumping into someone
+Adrian Bury And when you get back to hungary you apology in english... happens to all of us! :D
when I was in Germany I noticed in the city, I think it was Köln, I couldn't tell the difference in the street and sidewalk. I thought it was weird because here in Tennessee the sidewalks are raised and they are a tan color. I was also shocked when a car drove right past us on the sidewalk.
I was in Germany for 2 weeks and I think that was the most shocking. I love it over there thou!
+Lycan There are some streets where this actually is the case.
A street level sidewalk is often used when occasional traffic crossing it is expected. But there always is a visible distinction between street and sidewalk, although it may only be a row of differently colored stones or a painted line.
In some old, historical areas a level sidewalk is retained from the past, when there where no sidewalks at all.
Still the vast majority of sidewalks in Germany is of the raised type.
+Lycan
we have some 'semi-pedestrian zones' in germany, where there is no distinction between street and sidewalk and cars have to drive very slow. in many areas (esp. in old cities) there is a higher density of buildings, so these 'semi-pedestrian zones' are a way to save space.
+Lycan That differs strongly from city to city in Germany. Most sidewalks in Germany are also raised and it would be difficult for a car to drive on a sidewalk.
One difference I have noticed is, that sidewalks and bike lanes in German cities are normally paved. Grey stones for the sidewalk and red ones for the bikes. Whereas in the U.S. the sidewalks are almost entirely made out of huge concrete tiles. And the driveways are also made out of the same huge conrete tiles. That loooks in my opinion not so nice. That's too much concrete for me. I like it when sidewalks are made out of a different material. I feel safer as a pedestrian.
Driver was Italian?
You did not get confused by:
1- The tiny tiny light switches in the US?
2- The multiple layers of thin blankets that get split apart?
3- The way windows open?
4- Power lines hanging from telephone poles?
That is what surprised me the last time I went back to North America.
How considerate, the neighbours are screaming in my native language so that I can understand their discussion. Oh, wait...
Vehicle registration and safety laws are more strict in Germany. In order to be registered they have to be thoroughly inspected. In Michigan for example there are no inspection requirements so anything with wheels, 2 headlights and a brake light are legal.
I was in London for one week and I came back to Germany... and everything was much cheaper:P . And people waiting for red sign. In London I was the only person who waits for a green light... and that was really shocking.
And of course nipples in breakfast TV :P
+zuckerschneuzchen Yeah, I went to London for a week last November and noticed the same!
Cool. You have to know im also live in München. So maybe you are my neighbour ;-)
Because people living in London or Paris or whatever are humans and not robots like Germans.
Obey the ampelmännchen ^^
The first thing I noticed coming back to USA from Germany were all of the lights!! The lights from businesses staying on and businesses being open SO late!?
In general I don't find Germans rude even though i totally get where the impression is coming from.
But what i experienced when i came back to Germany and still am 5 years later is that Germans "don't apologize in public". When you bump into someone in the US, you apologize, no matter whose fault it was. Here you don't, people will rather give you weird looks if you do. They just assume that of course you didn't mean to do it and don't find it necessary for you to make that clear.
I'm curious if i will ever get used to this again or get those weird looks for the rest of my life. :D
+Birte A Haha I have the same "issue" the other way around...concerning the apologies it's the same here in Ireland...people apologize for really absolutely EVERYTHING ...coming from Germany that is still a bit weird for me :D But I must say that I really appreciate it... makes the co-existence of people a lot easier and friendlier..so I try to adapt myself but sometimes it still just makes me laugh e.g. when I see a person who looks pretty rough but then starts to apologize like crazy...something u simply wouldn't expect :D
+Birte A yes!! Good point. I'm often the only one in the collision mumbling "Entschuldigung" afterward :D lol
Also in the grocery store I've noticed that in Germany if one of the employees has to get through with a cart of food, they don't say excuse me, but rather "vorsicht!" Whereas in the U.S. the person would be like, "excuse me, coming through, sorry about that!" I guess in Germany "vorsicht!" just gets the point across quicker and, following what you mentioned in your comment, perhaps they don't feel the need to apologize for coming through because it's their job to get the food to where they're bringing it and ultimately you as the shopper will be happy to have the food out on the shelves rather than in the back... ?
+Birte A I'm from germany and I think that too. I do excuse - and they give me weird looks :D Well.
+Wanted Adventure
Here in the German speaking world, we think that employees in shops already have a hard enough time getting paid little and doing uninspiring stuff all day, so we don't require them to additionally apologize for doing their job.
The same thing with chatting to the cashier. We don't want to waste their time and build up their feelings of pressure because people are waiting in line. A friendly smile and eye-contact also makes them see we recognize them as fellow human beings.
Same among Koreans
The same thing is here in europe.
In Denmark I was used to talk to strangers at the bus at the train, or while you are waiting for the bus or train.
As a teen-ager i talked to strangers in the train in Germany and Denmark, but in Sweden people are more closed, they do not normally speak to strangers.
In northern europe people are more closed or reseved while in southern Europe and Germany people are more talkative to strangers.
I studied in Taiwan for two semesters and then stayed in Thailand for the summer - one year in SE Asia. Back in Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands, I STARED at all those fancy hair colors like red, brown and blonde. I still towered over most men, but felt TINY among all those norsk giants. SO hilarious in hindsight - so disturbing at the time. :D
When I was still in turkey I met two german guys - they were just so tall! I was not used to that anymore.
I was on a class trip to England and I needed two days to adjust to cars driving on the left hand side. When I got home to Germany, it took me a week or two to adjust again to cars driving on the right hand side
+annali552 Yep!! Happened to me when I traveled there for a trip as well.
When i went to Brazil, my reverse culture shock on coming back (went for 2 months as an exchange student ) was the lack of hugging and kisses on the cheek, ... America felt so , rather, "cold" for awhile, until I got used to it again
The more episodes I´m watching, the more I like your channel!! My reverse culture shock was, when I came back to Austria from a one month US-trip many years ago, where I was committed to immersing myself completely into the English language, refraining from everything German during that time. I realized, that had actually started thinking in English. So back in Austria, I was struggling for words for the first 2 days or so, which was quite an odd feeling!
+fetzinger10 Thank you :) :) Glad you're enjoying them!! I don't have that exact problem because I speak a lot of English here in Germany, but I can at least somewhat relate because I also speak a lot of Denglish, and sometimes that causes confusion when I call home and, for example, tell my parents that we're excited to go Hamburg for the "Hafengeburtstag." xD Ummm the Hafenwhat??? they ask
Wanted Adventure :-)
Reverse reverse culture shock... I remember returning from my student's exchange (in Louisiana). For me it was the streets. In the US, they are usually quite wide and straight, with comparatively little traffic. By comparison, Germany feels... cramped, at least at first. Which probably contributes to the "traffic shock" Americans get when coming here. German drivers are used to "cramped", and drive with a healthy dose of confidence.
After 10 years in Greece i came back to Germany and everyone was looking at me so angry, i thought i was doing something very wrong. But then i remembered with shock, that's how people look like here, no one ever smiles. I was so happy to go back to Greece !!
Didn't see any smiling Greeks on my visit there in 2015, just normal expressions, minding their own business.
The biggest shock I believe you can have is when you have been gone for long enough, and you are now able, for the first time in your life, hear your own accent - it freaks you out. I lived and grew up in Toronto for almost my entire life, but I worked and lived in Glasgow for 6+ months during college. Just before returning home, a young Toronto girl and her family moved back to Glasgow and she landed a temp job days before I finished. When she opened her mouth for the first time, my jaw dropped (she looked local and I wasn't ready for it) - what an ugly accent I thought - and yet I knew it was from where I lived but I had never heard it before - and then it hits you that you speak the same way - total mind blow.
This also happened to me nearly daily but from the opposite side. If you look local, and you are in a place where many people look similar (i.e. Scottish looking people in Glasgow), you are thought by those around you to be the same by their brains - you have slipped in close to them without them recognizing something foreign approaching - but when you open your mouth and speak, you get this reaction that is like a semi shock / stunned / they don't quite process what happened to them when you first speak - they almost feel like they have been tricked. In a place like Toronto where everyone's from somewhere else, this reaction never happens - but when a Scottish looking guy, working in Glasgow, goes out at lunch with all the other working people and orders a sandwich at the lunch counter, you basically get the same reaction every time - they don't process what you say, you have to say it again, and they have to ask where you are from. I actually learned that the only way not to get this reaction every single time when I needed something was to have a bit of a very slow preamble so their brain would snap out of expecting me to speak in a certain way so their brain could actually hear me when I asked them for something. I eventually began to go to lunch only in a certain place that a specific counter lady always worked at so when she saw me in the line I knew her brain had made the adjustment and there was no problem. There is no one in Scotland that cannot understand someone from Toronto speaking english - but if you look like a Scot, work in Scotland, and are dressed and with locals in a local environment, when you first open your mouth, you may as well be speaking a foreign language.
After spending months in Austria, it felt really rude to get on an elevator in the US and not acknowledge the other people there.
Paul I am half-Scottish and spent my summers with my family there growing up and the rest of the year with family in North America. From age 4 or earlier, I was speaking in Scots. The switch would happen somewhere on the plane ride over. Not sure if you are able to do that since you came over as an adult, but speaking in Scots in Scotland is the best way to fit in. Not even my Scottish family members would have understood me very well if I was speaking in American. They do sort of understand American English, but not really. It's very weird for them as an American accent is so different, and so are the idiomatic expressions and mannerisms. I later moved to and went to high school in England, and developed an English accent. Coming back to visit Scotland I sometimes would not switch back to Scots for a while. The locals understand English accents far better than American ones, albeit some Scots don't like the English. I never had weird looks or incomprehension when I spoke in Scotland with an English accent. But Scots definitely prefer to hear Scottish accents.
I had a similar experience when I came back to Austria from my year in Sweden.
First: I wanted to go shopping for some groceries on a Sunday. So I sood in front of closed doors of that shop, and was wondering what was the matter before I realised, that shops in Austria aren't open on sundays (this experience also prevented me from trying to buy groceries after 8pm :-D ). And when I finally went shopping on monday, I wanted to take a shopping cart, but didn't make it very far, as it was chained to the others, so I had to put a Euro in, to release it. I had totally forgotten about that.
And the second "culture shock" experience was on the tram. I sat there, and suddenly somebody took the seat right next to me. At first I was surprised, but then I realised, that I was back in Austria, and remembered that this wasn't so uncommon here. In Sweden most people would rather stay standing than sitting down next to a stranger.
So my experience wasn't as significant as yours, but still merorable :-)
i went to the netherlands for a few month, when i came back to germany i was like, wow why is everything in german XD
+MrBombSTI ich wenn ich die ganze nacht animes kuke und am nächsten tag zur schule gehe... DERP
This hairstyle is quite popular in germany too... at least for young women (16-20) but more often found in big cities.
When I came back from the US, I regretted the fact that we don't talk to strangers as much. It always put me in a better mood.
Also I think it's sad that we Germans do not thank the bus driver when we leave the bus.
I had missed a certain kind of spicy taste of food, though... :)
In UK I rarely take the bus ,but always say thank you to the driver its manners
whenever I go to england for three weeks in the summer driving on the other side of the road always throws me off and then when I go back to Austria it takes a while again to get used to
re dented truck: remember you were in Colorado. A lot of trucks are used for work, out doors and in the wild, on farms and construction. a dent is to be expected.
The first time in my life when I was in the US (in 1985), I flew back via Brussels. I had spent 3 months in the states and when I arrived in Brussels I was shocked how few people SMILE.
The bun thing is a popular thing for girls but upside down sunglasses aren't common. Also, if Americans talk to you, you shouldn't feel uncomfortable, people just get bored of standing in a line. Also, talking with a stranger isn't bad ,it's not like they're going to steal you or anything, it just gets a little boring lol
One big difference I noticed when I went to Mexico for a long vacation and came back home to the US was the warning signs everywhere. In Mexico, if someone is mopping, there is no huge sign or bright orange cone warning people that the floor may be slippery. Also, workers had a sidewalk torn up but it was still open for people to walk on. There was no signs or barriers warning you to watch your step. One may think at first that they use common sense but I think they have far less lawsuits there.
Very little justice in Mexico and much everyday danger. No law suits if you can't win.
Being from Germany it would be totally weird that some random person behind me in line starts talking to me for no reason. I would understand if they had an actual question like "what time is it?" or something like that, but random chatting would actually be considered pretty annoying by most people over here. Does that also happen at other places? Like when you're on a bus in the US, how often does the person sitting next to you or across start talking to you? Do you chat with cashiers? Cab drivers? I'm curious :)
+Wuzzysbrand06 I live in the US and yes that happens all the time. Frankly, if two people are next to eachother and it gets too quiet for too long, and it's not because one person is preoccupied, it's considered awkward (ie "awkward silence"). We exchange pleasantries often just so we don't come off as unfriendly or rude. Anyway specifics. Cashiers, they are basically required to ask if you found everything all right, and at the end of the transaction to wish you a good day... beyond that, we might converse shortly but only if there isn't a long line, and usually only briefly about some general topic that everyone has been talking about. Nice weather right? Isn't it great that local team x won the game? Any plans for the weekend? Just a short interaction. On the bus, it depends. I was taking an hour and half long bus ride every morning to work. In the morning the unwritten rule was that you keep quite to let those around you sleep, the bus driver would even turn off the lights in the back to allow for this. In the afternoon, on the way back though, yeah if you didn't plug in headphones or stick your face in a book to look busy, you were fair game for conversation. I met a lot of regulars on the bus, interesting people, and some of them became acquaintances I guess, not friends, but I can pick their face out in a crowd and remember a little about them. When I was taking the train, the station agent used to come around often and ask if everything was all right, if we had our tickets or tapped our card yet, ect ect which would turn into conversations about her big fluffy dog, and how icy the weather has been as of late ect ect. The train ride itself had idle conversations, much like the bus, unless you got on the sleep/quite car.... And, oh yeah, cab drivers usually have some pretty interesting stories if you strike up a conversation, because they pick up all sorts of people. Some other places idle chitchat is likely to occur is in elevators, in locker rooms at the gym, the break room (although I suppose co-workers aren't strangers), while waiting in a long line, and of course, at bars =)
+LoveYourEnemyMat544 Wow thanks for the insight :) It's funny because here it feels like it's the other way around. It's kind of awkward if some stranger randomly asks how my day was. It's totally normal for a bus or train to be full of people in the middle of the day and nobody's talking. It's also fine to pay for your groceries without saying a word to the cashier, or maybe just a "hello" and "bye". Cashiers usually don't say anything other than how much you have to pay. I've only taken a cab here maybe 3 or 4 times and the only thing I said was "hello", where I wanted to go and "bye". In elevators and long lines everyone is usually quiet unless they know each other. I guess I would come off as pretty rude in the US then. I'm just not used to strangers talking to me for no actual reason other than chatting to avoid silence. But it's not like it's unacceptable to talk to strangers. If I ask the person next to me on the bus something like "Excuse me, do you know at which stop I need to get out to get to XYZ" then that's totally fine. But I think it would make most people feel uncomfortable if I said something like "so how is your day going?" out of nowhere. I will have to keep this in mind if I ever visit the US (which I definitely want to do some day).
+Wuzzysbrand06 One is not rude if one is quiet, just not "chatty". In the US cities don't usually speak to others for no reason, but may open with a pleasantry to put the person they are speaking to at ease. If someone speaks to you abruptly on the street it is usually a warning or a sales person. Small town folks will be chatty.
^It also depends on where you are of course, we are as a whole, very chatty on the West Coast, whereas the East Coast tends to be a bit more reserved.... some might say stuck up =P
Wuzzysbrand06 I’m from the North East, USA and moved to the South. Ppl are very friendly and chatty here in the South, even more than the North. Also, It seems very real to me, not just superficial talk.
After 3 weeks driving around Ireland, I had to re-learn to drive on the right side again when returning to the continent. I fixed a note on the steering wheel "drive on the left side" when in Ireland and "drive on the right side" when back to France.
i always do this hair style u mentioned at the beginning and i´m from Germany :D
same :D
+Julia Wunnenberg (singasong) hahaha that's awesome :)
It's perfect for school! It doesn't take much time to do it 😊
I lived 4 years in the US as a student,I could never get used to the farenheit or the measure system that was just blocked in my brain to learn...
I am German and I love my privacy. So when I am in the US and in a restaurant it is ok for me when they come once or twice at the table and ask if everything is OK but it gets annoying if it happens every (just from my point of view) 30 seconds. Oo
I find it disturbing and for me impolite as I don't get space for my self and the friends I have with me.
I know it is a cultural thing but all this pampering of the customers and the friendliness/politeness feels so fake.
I know it just feels the way because I am not used to it but it feels this way anyway
In the US it is called an outlet ( or plug-in), lamp bulbs are screwed into sockets. The lower voltage of 120 VAC is for safety. We do have 240 VAC outlets for dryers, welders, stoves, ect. and they look pretty similar to the European plug ins.
I remember the first time I sat in a car in a UK roundabout, thinking "Oh my GOD, we're going to CRASH and DIE!!!" :'D
Driving on the left side of the road used to make me feel extremely queasy. The two faucets in the bathroom were also kind of a culture shock. And that people found it okay to call me a Nazi because I am from Germany - that was definitely a big shock for me and also really hurt my feelings... But I do still love the UK :D
Same in Boston,it unnerved me more than the freeway in Houston.
i went from Jordan to germany for a month , and the biggest difference i noticed after coming back from a small german city to a noisy city , was how LOOUD everything was! the quiet in small cities and towns in germany is unique
Prices!! Wherever I go, its cheaper than switzerland. Then I arrive at the airport back home and want a sandwich...whaaat?
Alain Pfaeffli And how much tax do you pay in Switzerland??? 😉 That is a good part of the difference in prices. Products/industries are not subsidized in Switzerland. For example in Germany there are lots of subsidies, that makes cheaper products but higher taxes to begin with...
Jan Meier taxes are pretty high, but so is our infrastructure standard that we as paid by taxpayers. I always pay rates in advance, so I don't get a shock when the bill arrives. In germany taxed will be automatically paid with salary, as far as i know..
Alain Pfaeffli That is correct, "regular" employed employees get their tax deducted automatically from their gross income, corrections possible with a yearly statement. What I meant is that for example the whole agriculture industry (among others) is strongly subsidized in Germany, paid by taxes, products therefore cheaper, taxes higher. As far as I know there are no or much less subsidies in Switzerland, therefore taxes lower, products more expensive. May not come out as the same in the end but is at least leveled to a certain degree. So your advantage is to "live cheap" outside of Switzerland, which is more correct than being shocked about high prices in Switzerland...
So I spent a month in Germany on vacation (to get a feel for the country to see if I wanted to move there. Which I do). It felt so weird having to drive again. I fell in love with the mass transit system that's there. I exchanged my Euros for dollars. And the 5 and 10 dollar bills felt so foreign to me. I can't help but look at the coins we have in the US and realize now how worthless coins here are as opposed to in Europe.
Maybe it's jut me, but I believe women in the US talk with a higher pitch voice.
Is it genetics or is that also cultural ?
and i thought i had smth wrong with me ears. :) i cannot listen to her voice (i wish i could, it's interesting theme), it's so grating, so am jus browsing the comments. trying to find out WHY it is considered rude to put money on counter/into person's hand.
p1rgit
she says: it's considered rude in the US to let the person behind the counter have to collect the money from the counter. Clearly a different culture.
Culture shock for Germans in the U.S. Is definitely the soda sizes in movies : the large soda in Germany is about the size of the small one in America . Or stuff like sugar and flour are in tiny 1kg bags ( about 2 pounds) in Germany ,don't remember them that small in the states
I hope you ll have a nice Holliday with your Parents :)
I do often had some Problems when i was visiting my Wifes Hometown (Kiel, Schleswig Holstein) and then returned to my Hometown (Dortmund, NRW)
For example i called the wiping Tool a FEUDEL instead of AUFNEHMER and noone knows what i was talking about or what i wanted :)
Or at Pizza Hut i ordered a KALTER KAFFEE (Cola mixed with Orange) and guess what i got :) Yip, Cold Coffee, urgh ;)
+Kangoo1963e I never heard any of this before xD I'm born and raised in Germany. What the heck?
+CoB Tyrannon
Na kommt drauf an, wo du wohnst :)
In Kiel sagt man halt Feudel zum Aufnehmer :)
Genauso wie keiner in Kiel was mit Schwippschwapp anfangen kann :) (ebenfalls Cola Orange mix)
Ich kenn nichtmal Aufnehmer! Erklär nem Allgäuer mal was das ist!
+CoB Tyrannon
Aufnehmer ist das Tuch, mit dem Du den Boden wischst :)
p163412.mittwaldserver.info/fileadmin/Dateien/Bilder/Produktdatenbank/430030.jpg
Ok, da hab ich jetzt was gelernt. Aber wie zur Hölle kommt ihr auf kalter Kaffee? Ist doch ziemlich klar was man da bekommt xD
I was last year in France and I stayed for three weeks and when I got back , I said Merci and Si'l vous plait and spelled the words french. My mum laughed a lot because in France, I was too shy to speak french
sunglasses on the collar is how it's done! :)
I went for a bit of a tour in Europe and the first thing I noticed was how many more people smoke out in the open and everywhere...including in restaurants and trains. There are a lot of great things about the places I visited but it seemed in general (what shocked me most was) that things were dirtier and smellier in Europe than in the US.
Reverse culture shock... Coming back from the Philippines once, I knew I was home when I landed in San Francisco and was suddenly worried about being thrown into a dungeon for 10 years by my own government over any number of arbitrary things.
LOL, my wife said she was worried that they´d asked her why she left, and maybe wouldn´t let her back out. LOL!!
Never had that fear, then again I only flew back and forth over the ponds while I was in the military. Just flash my military ID at customs without saying a word and get waved through.
SternLX I got the 3rd degree on my way home from Basic because I forgot to take off my dog tags going through the metal detector on a connecting flight in Dallas. Had my dress greens on, my military ID, and a freshly shaved head, but nope. Got treated like a criminal.
Always wore my civies when flying with my tags in my bag... unless it was a military hop which never used civilian airports.
SternLX Drill Sergeants made us wear our Greens before we left, and changing at the airport would have looked like I was ashamed of my uniform. That was 2003 when everyone was extra up their ass about 9/11 still but was still ridiculous.
when I came home from england the last time I took the first roundabout in Germany in the wrong direction (so that I drove against the direction)... fortunatly it was late at night and nobody saw me
Your Parents moved from Florida to Colorado? I thought, People move from North to South, when they're getting older.
When I first visit Vancouver and the BC Area, it was a huge Shock for me. Canadiens are so nice and gentle. When we went to Seattle it was different in many ways. Yes, Americans are nice People too, but when you're at the Border, the officials in the US are much more.....special. They're not polite, very unapproachable and I thought the whole time, that they thought, we have something to hide. Like weapons, drugs or something like that.
The canadian Immigration is like: Oh Hello! Glad, that you're visiting Canada. How long you wanna stay? Have a good time.
The US Immigration is more like: What do you want in the US? How long you wanna stay? Are you a f@cking Terrorist? 😉
+MrMillhouse72 "Your Parents moved from Florida to Colorado? I thought, People move from North to South, when they're getting older."
You watched too much The Nanny. I can relate.
The rest: Hahaha, totally what I expected. There's a reason Canadians are likable, not only for their syrup.
+MrMillhouse72 Gee, we have GOOD REASON to be that way. We weren't that way before some of the first terrorist attacks.
+MrMillhouse72 They moved there for the weed
Same experience at the US-Canada border near Niagara Falls. The Canadian immigration officer was really friendly, we even asked him for the best place to get some food near the the falls. That was some great pizza!
I guess there is a perfect parody about that on the Simpsons. ;)
Love that video, Dana.
After living in the States and returning back to my home country Germany I had a reverse culture shock as well... no talking to random strangers in the streets, no waiting to be seated in restaurants, no refills on drinks, no "excuse me"s, no adding the tax, ... the usual I guess. ... also when I saw the gas prices I thought gas was so cheap here in Germany until i realized the price was for one Liter not for one Gallon... oh and it was really hard for me to watch German TV as it sounded so weired as they talked in proper German and all German I heard during my time in the US was the southern dialect spoken by my family and friends on the phone. Plus I hated that the actors' mouth movements didn't match what they where saying in German (in cases when it was a sychronized american show or movie) ... But the weirdest thing I noticed was that toilets have a different hight.
It would be cool if you could upload a video in fully german i want to know how your voice sounds in german :D i noticed that voices slightly change with the language that is spoken with it
+FloNess1 She did at least one in german, where she interviewd a 'Dirndl'-taylor.
Also,after living in Japan, bowing to everyone is a part of the language.
You are so great and cute to watch.
Really love you`re enthusiasm about everyday life, and the small differences.
Love your posts, but think I´ve seen all of them by now.
Allways looking forward to see what you post next.
Very informative and quirky, presented with bubly personality and grace..
- And super super cuteness :) Mr. German Guy is a lucky man :)
As a German I knew that NYC is extremely multicultural, but especially in the part of Brooklyn I stayed in I was shocked how many black people there actually are and found it hilarious how you could even buy products in Spanish when grocery shopping the average quality of products also seemed a bit off compared to Germany. American immigrants seem to be a lot more integrated and fit in, white Americans in NYC mostly don't look like Germans at all and I'm finally average height in the U.S., also how every street is at least doubled in size and the way you can look down a street til it hits the horizon, I have never experienced that in Europe... regarding Spain and Italy: how poor their south actually is, might as well be a second world country in a lot of parts
You just fit the Euro stereotype. NYC is no more typically American as London is German. It is very much its own animal. Visit someplace at least 100 km west.
shocked by how many black people there are? seriously, there are 1.5 billion black people in the world. Why are you shocked?
They are not that common in germany. I've only seen one black person in "actual" "real life" (not internet, news or anything like that) so far, and he was a co-student at my school. Girls swooned over his afro and wanted to touch it a lot. :D Still very funny to think back to that.
After spending a month in Rio (Brasil) and driving either a car or a scooter every day, I was shocked when I was back in Germany and saw a motorcyclist stopping behind a car and waiting for the traffic to move on. What also gave me quite a shock was how everyone sticks to the driving rules in Germany. In Rio I had to learn to drive like a 'fish' - you are a member of a big swarm, you have to constantly watch 360° around you and to swim along and to make your way through.
This experience also showed me how quickly one can get used to a different lifestyle, it just takes you a few weeks, as long as the change is significant.
Returning to the USA from Japan, I'm always struck with how rude people are.
Don't get me wrong! Americans are nice, but it's like they just never learned how to be polite. Japanese people are not nicer, or smarter, or better, they are just more polite.
I also live in Germany (Fulda) and when I go home (Orlando FL) to visit the worst thing is driving. All the cars are automatics and my foot keeps looking for the clutch and keeps hitting the breaks instead. Otherwise your video is spot on as to what I also experience going home.
A topic I'd be very interested in: Tell me about the social downsides and compare them. Racism in Germany, America, Poverty in Germany, America. Crime in Germany, America. Tell me what you've encountered and how different your experiences are. Compare the worst, not the average :)
I am from Texas; we traveled through England, France, and Belgium for 2 weeks. I don't remember the initial culture shock, but on returning home it struck me how slowly everyone walks and talks at home. After just 2 weeks, it felt like everyone was living in slow motion.
You may have covered this in another video (new subscriber, here) . . . I'm curious though, that if people in Germany who don't know each other don't chat or talk in public, what is the cultural norm for people to make friends? I'm hoping to get my Masters degree in Munich, and I've heard Germans are extremely reserved, and want to be prepared for that kind of culture shock. I don't want to offend anyone, either, as I'm normally a very chatty person. I also tend to by shy, too, while in a place where I don't know anyone.
Most people make friends at their job or at school or university. That you actually 'befriend' someone by randomly talking to him on the street is rather seldom and exotic, yet funny. In fact, especially younger germans can cope with a casual chat in the tram or at the bus stop. And another thing about germans is: It may be hard to become their friend, but most germans are loyal friends who, when they like you, feel a very strong sympathy.
+RoxyRogersWrites I wouldn't worry about it, I'm a Brit living in Germany (Frankfurt Am Main) and in all honesty I've not had any difficulty making friends. The German people are by enlarge very friendly, especially if you make an effort to speak German with them, even if your German is really bad lol.
For sure they may be a little more ( not that much) reserved than you're used to at first, but as you'll soon find out, you don't really make casual friends with a German, you tend to make a close friend, the type of friend who will help you move apartment because "hey you're my friend why wouldn't I help you move" for example. The type of friend who'll spend an hour on the S-Bahn or U-Bahn (trains or subway) just to meet you for a coffee and a half hour chat just because..... "just so" a phase Germans use a lot, it's kinda a friendly way of saying "because I want to", or "I enjoy helping" etc.
I hope that helps dispel any concerns you may have.
Viel Glück und viel Spaß (Good luck and have fun)
+Lilli Jäger Thank you for responding. I don't tend to go out of my way to chat up people on the train or in the grocers now, so I don't think anyone will think of me as too wild in my day-to-day life. It's funny how, after being raised in the Northeast, I have spent much of my life disappointed, after meeting new friends, that their definition of friendship seems more like my definition of an "acquaintance." For me, if I am your friend, it's not half way--there is no "a little bit," with me in friendships. It seems to me, quite often, that I was born in the wrong country. Americans are much more casual in their friendships, I believe. Thanks for confirming the impressions I've been getting from German friends I've met through a Facebook group I moderated for awhile.
+Loki Jotunn Fantastic!! Thank you for responding. I probably had an OMG reaction at least three times while reading your response. I've been accused of being reserved myself, but I'm really not, just cautious. And I've been known to say "just so" and "quite so" frequently. That's freaking me out a little. I grew up in the Northeast, and people used to tell me I seemed so British to them. I wonder if it was simply because they only met Brits and didn't know any Germans?
I do tend to be more shy in public or at stores, so I don't think anyone will be overwhelmed by me as a too-loud American when I arrive (although I've heard Germans are blunt, so I expect I may get some matter-of-fact remarks on my behavior if I'm doing something odd :) ...or something offensive and don't know it).
As I mentioned to Lilli, above, most Americans seem to define friendship in the way I would define "acquaintance." If I'm your friend, it's not just part of the way. The friends I have now I have helped them move, and they've promised to help me with my upcoming move to "pare down" so I can get used to living in a small space again, in preparation for living in a flat in an expensive city. Right now, I live about 45-60 mins by auto from many of my friends, and we think nothing of crossing a city to get together. My friend in England and I have been exchanging birthday and Yule gifts for years, even though we've only seen each other twice.
It did take me awhile to discern who my kindred spirits were. I have a feeling there will be a larger population of kindred where I'm headed.
+Loki Jotunn And as for speaking German, I'm learning now, and spend time about 6 days out of 7 on it. I'm planning to get a tutor this summer so I can learn to enunciate correctly, so by the time I go, I hope I will at least be able to converse well enough not to make anyone wince. :)
"An English menu. Doh!" lol, that was funny.
In Deutschland muss man ja 19% Mehrwertsteuer zahlen und diese ist immer schon zu dem Preis, der auf der Wahre steht dazugerechnet.
Meine Frage ist: Wie viel Mehrwertsteuer zahlt man in den USA und ist diese auch schon im Preis (der auf den Artikeln steht) dazugerechnet? :D
Liebe Grüße :)
+Philine P. Mehrwertsteuer variiert in jedem Staat und manchmal auch in den Bezirken in den Staaten (Michigan hat z.B. überall 6%, Illinois hat in Chicago 10.25% und in Springfield 8.5%) und die Preise in Läden sind generell immer ohne die Steuer. Die wird dann an der Kasse dazu gerechnet!
Kommt auf den Bundesstaat an. In manchen Staaten zahlst du gar nichts, in anderen sind das so krumme Sätze wie 8,875%. Und deswegen sind die Preise die dranstehen immer netto, also ohne Steuern. Deine Dose Cola für $1 kostet dann eben an der Kasse $1.09. Es ist also immer ne Überraschung wieviel man dann am Ende für seine Einkäufe bezahlt ;)
+Hauke Holst Nein, Betrug ist es nicht, da Du so etwas ja weißt, wenn Du in den USA lebst. Da gewähnst Du Dich dann relativ schnell daran und weißt ja auch normalerweise, wieviel jeweils noch ungefähr dazukommt. Und sinnvoll wäre es für die Hersteller bzw. die Ladenketten, die in mehr als einem Bundesstaat vertreten sind, eben so gar nicht. Dann müssten sie genau darauf achten, dass der korrekte Stapel Jeans oder was weiß ich sonst an den korrekten Laden geliefert wird damit das Schild stimmt. Das zieht einen ganzen Rattenschwanz nach sich und bedeutet sehr viel mehr Aufwand.
+pieniaurinko *gewöhnst
+Knabberkekslein oki :D danke für deine Antwort ^^
Well in germany your carr will be inspected every two years and if its broken the won't let you drive anymore until it's fixed, so its kinda hard to pull the duct tape thing off
In the U.S. we just have to worry about being shot by police officers for having a broken tail light.
well greatest country in the world xD
I think the standard in the USA as what is considered "broken" is different. A few dents are not considered a safety issue.
ich war neulich auch in dem usa, ich bin zu aller ersten mal geflogen und dann gleich so weit weg und ich war richtig verwirrt warum alle Leute mit mir reden! sowas kannte ich von hier (in Deutschland) überhaupt nicht. am ende war ich genervt dass alle Leute ständig fragen wie es einem geht und einfach stunden lang reden... xD
ich glaube ich fänds nett :D
ich fands auch super nett aber ich bin sowieso nicht son kontaktfreudiger mensch... bisschen schüchtern :P
bei mir ja genauso :D deswegen finde ich es ja eigentlich so nett. ich würde oft gerne mit anderen Leuten spontan reden, aber ich schaffs dann doch nicht.. wenn andere dann aber von selber anfangen ist es viel einfacher xD
danke :P :)
und ***** das stimmt! so hab ochs gar nicht gesehen, ich war mit der ganzen situation irgendwie überfordert :P
I've spent 1 month in Chicago, and when i went back to munich i was shocked how cold everyone here is. We simply go our way, don't talk to anyone and do our job. Nothing more. We hate to try new things and have a daily rythm tht changes rarely. The german Band "die toten Hosen" were right wenn they said that we are going roboting.
Hey there! I'm from South Florida! My reverse culture shock has been that I was treated like a goddess overseas! Home in the US, not so much, bleh.
It's Kells why
Talking about culture shock:
I just got 49 and live since '99 in the US. One aspect I still realize after all those 17 years and traveling back and forth for many years...
I think it is much easier to start a chitchat with strangers in the US on the street and I do appreciate that aspect.
On the other side I find it in the US much more difficult to form a friendship with people in the US or similar lasting relationship which can be quite disheartening at times.
I am not completely sure why that is even I have some theories about it. But I experienced this extreme opposite so often that it still sticks out after 17 years like a sore thumb.
New York has dollar coins
+Nick Jamison Music **gasp** really?!! I've never heard of that before!
+Wanted Adventure yeah that's how we get change back for our metro/MTA cards
I've gotten them from soda vending machines, too, when I pay for a soda with a 5 dollar bill.
golden dollar coins. I got them from the metro ticket machine
I got one to couple of years ago- when I tried to pay a Coke on a street corner- the lady inspected the coin very weird- so I noticed It has to be special
so I hand out notes and had a special souvenir xd
Every time I return from Ireland (which I've been to for a few years in a row now and you'd suspect I'd get used to it), I catch myself doing the same mistakes: When I'm waiting for the bus, I tend to look in the direction I expect the bus to come from. When I'm back from Ireland (where they drive on the left hand side of the road), I somewhat expect the bus to come from the right instead of the left.
I had a similiar feeling the first time I went to Ireland, but strangely enough, I adapt to it much quicker when I step out of Dublin Airport. At least I think I do.
Britain and their stupid trafic rules. When I was in England i got almoust driven over 4 times! And when I went back and crossed a with a traffic-iland for walkersthat I've crossed so many times before I looked in the exact opposite direction. Luckily there were no cars around
+Obstgeist7 Years ago I made it a habit to look both ways, even if traffic should only come from one direction. The reason was a news article about a taxi driver who instead of going forward to the next opportunity to make a u-turn, simply put his car in reverse and put his pedal to the metal, thereby running over an elderly couple and killing the man and severely injure the woman. The couple was crossing a 3 lane street using a cross walk as it should and just didn't expect a car coming "from the wrong direction".
I do look both ways, but it does make a difference where you start
+Obstgeist7 I almost got run over in Britain a few times. They don't slow down for pedestrians.
+Rainy Day And they don't stop going round a corner. But I think, It's much easier driving over there than walking or sitting in a car next to the driver. First time in England I was just walking, looked into a car and saw this huge dog staring at me from what I thought was the drivers seat. And then realized, the driver sat on the other side.
Haha I can just imagine! :)
I spent 8 months in the south of England, and I got quite used to thanking bus drivers whenever I got off the bus. When I got back to Germany, there were quite a few confused looks when I did that.
People who wear baseball caps are bad.
1) Right on red. I always forget it the first time. When I get home, I sit and wish I could do it.
2) Noisy appliances, AC, washers and dryers. Big noisy machines, sometimes even placed in a closet in the living room instead of the plentiful space in the bathroom og garage. When I get home I enjoy the quiet of my house without all kinds of different things making all kinds of sounds. Why are so many central AC's in the US so bloody noisy? :) Even on newer houses.
3) Talking to people on the train or in the supermarket or whatever. I have to learn to smalltalk when I get to the US and when I get home again, looks weird at you when you talk to them. But I enjoy the smalltalk. fx. I was parking at the supermarket and someone parking in a SUV commented on the new Mustang GT I was driving because there were a beautifully restored/kept old model on the parking lot also. So we had a 2 line smalltalk about the beauty of the old one and the power of the new. :) Or someone asking at the register. what I was making with that mixture of ingredients I was buying. :D
4) Tipping, I try to get it right when I am in the US, but I still fail from time to time, and I would like to apologize for that. :)