Hey everyone, Dana here!
After spending 7 years living in Germany, I have really gotten used to the culture here,
I feel very at home here in Germany, and I've found myself even taking on some of the things
that are done here in Germany, and I've started doing them myself, too.
Which is on the one hand really, really great because, well, I live in Germany so that works
out nicely.
But it can sometimes lead to a bit of an uncomfortable situation when I travel back to the U.S.
As I mentioned in my video on 4 things I look forward to in the USA, one thing that I really,
really appreciate about going back to America is simply being in a place where I just know
the societal norms of the country like the back of my hand.
I don't have to think about it.
Or at least I used to know the societal norms of the USA like the back of my hand.
I don’t know, the last couple of times that I’ve gone back to the U.S., I've started
to realize that living in Germany has changed me in some ways that sometimes make me stick
out in America and even some of the customs or ways of doing things that I’ve picked
up here in Germany are not considered so polite in America.
So here are a few habits that I’ve picked up in Germany that kind of make me look like
a rude American in the U.S.
From what I’ve heard, blowing your nose in public is a total and complete no-no in
Japan, just really, really rude thing to do.
Well, it’s not considered that bad in the U.S., but on the other hand, I would say that
blowing your nose in public in America still isn’t as socially acceptable as it seems
to be in Germany.
For one thing, people in the U.S. just don’t usually have tissues on them, but here in
Germany it’s totally common for adults to carry around little packets of tissues in
their jacket pockets.
Now I do carry around tissues with me in all my jackets.
But if for some reason I don't have any tissues, most of the time, if I ask one of my German
friends for a tissue, they've got me covered.
When I first moved to Germany, I sometimes felt a little lonely without the typical American
smalltalk at the start of a phone call or an email, but over the past 7 years, I’ve
actually gotten quite used to getting right to the point in many situations.
Which can sometimes translate into me sounding like someone who doesn’t really care all
that much about the other person when I make a call in the U.S. or send an email to a fellow American.
As I mentioned in my video on swearing, I’ve noticed that swearing in general in Germany
seems to be more socially acceptable than swearing in the U.S., and especially swearing
in English.
Which has led to me picking up the habit of swearing a little bit more often now than
I did when I first moved to Europe.
Which is not so bad when I’m in Germany, but when I go back to the U.S. and drop those
swear words nonchalantly, just accidentally throw them out there, especially in places
where kids could be in earshot, then yeah, I could end up looking kind of rude and inconsiderate.
It was really hard for me to get used to this one in Germany, and it’s actually still
something that I struggle with today.
People in Germany can often be lot more blunt than Americans.
If a German doesn’t like something, it’s been my experience that they’ll often just
come right out and say so.
But even though this one can still be hard for me to handle, two trips to the U.S. ago,
I did find myself making a phone call and then being quite a bit more blunt than I usually
would have been.
I felt so bad afterwards when I realized what I had said.
A common saying in America that I grew up with was "if you don't have anything nice
to say, don't say anything at all."
And yeah...I should have probably just not said anything at all. Sorry.
In many stores in the U.S. there is either a bagger at the checkout who puts your things
into the bags for you or the cashier does it.
But my parents actually go to this one smaller store in town where people often pack their
own bags.
And I was ready for it.
After getting pretty used to the no-nonsense check-out style here in Germany where speed is
your goal, I completely forgot that in America, first of all, the cashiers don’t race through
your stuff like it’s a sporting event, and secondly, you’re kind of supposed to make at
least a little chit-chat.
Nope, I was all business.
Down at the end of the lane, grabbing the food and stuffing it into the bags as fast
as I could.
Grab, stuff; grab, stuff; grab, stuff.
Why is she taking so long?
Come on, come on, come on.
Thank you!
Grab, stuff; grab stuff.
Only afterwards did I realize how crazy I must have looked.
No hello, no how are you?
Nothing.
I was just pack and go.
From my experience in the U.S., if you’re walking around a store or a trade show or
the mall or wherever and someone accidentally bumps into you, it’s totally normal for
both parties to say like, oh sorry!
You know, and you kind of laugh and apologize.
In German the word for excuse me is "Entschuldigung," and I would say that I’m often the person
who uses that word the most in Germany.
It’s been my experience that here in Germany if people just kind of rub up against each
other while walking around somewhere, they don't always stop to apologize.
When people bump into me in Germany I’m often like: oh, Entschuldigung!
And they just usually ignore me.
And also when I bump into other people I also say Entschuldigung.
And then a lot of the time they also just ignore me as well, or they'll kind of, like,
look at me and just sort of gaze at me with a blank stare and then go back to whatever
it was they were doing.
But so yeah, when I was back in the U.S. it happened.
I was walking, someone else was walking towards me, and we kind of bumped shoulders a little bit.
And I totally just kept going.
So my question for you is: what kind of experiences have you had with this, and where do you stand
on these topics?
Please let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching.
I really hope that you enjoyed this video, and I also hope that you will enjoy the bloopers
that are coming up next.
Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
Where people often bag their own...bags. Pack.
I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. And even...uh...
We are recording. Let's go!
Oh wait, need something to drink. Hold on. Not yet.