One of the more frequent questions people ask me is what the biggest culture shock was for me after I got back. This has been a little hard to answer, since Germany is a western civilization, has electricity, they wear similar clothing, eat similar food, etc. From outward appearances there are not a lot of major differences, almost none in fact.
But two things have stuck out to me just this past week.
The first was realizing how capable I feel again! I got used to feeling incapable in Germany. Used to needing help, used to not understanding everything, used to feeling a bit lost and used to going at a slower pace. Now I completely understand the language, even if I just hear it in the background. I am self-sufficient, I do not need to prepare myself mentally, or run through a vocabulary list, before taking on simple errands like talking with the people at the bank. I can make 5 phone calls, in a row and all before lunch. I understand the cultural cues. And I look generally less confused than I probably did in Germany.
It's a nice feeling.
The second culture shock was Aldi.
In case you were not aware, Aldi is a German grocery chain with stores across Europe and Australia and the United States. I was feeling a bit nostalgic for Germany the other day (a day where it felt like years and not 2 months since I left). I decided to stop by Aldi to get a little feel for Germany. My plan backfired. It was so different! Instead of having 10 kinds of granola and only 5 types of cereal to choose from, there were 15 types of cereal and no granola! There were more products that would not be found in a German Aldi, and of course many German products not on the shelves. It looked like the same store, same name and layout as the one in Germany, but completely different.I sure there will be more mini-shocks. The really fun thing is thinking about when I get back to Germany and going through this again! ;)
Kate, I go to our new Ikea for the same reason--to get a taste of Germany! It makes me homesick, but I wallow in that feeling all through out my walk around the store. The only problem is that my brain expects to hear German, so it feels a little wacky to hear English instead. I STILL call it EeKayA just to be stubborn!!
ReplyDeleteI was just at Ikea last week, and did the same thing- wallowed in feelings of not being in Germany and kept feeling surprised to hear so many people speaking English. :)
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