Culture Shock!...

Every exchange student goes through culture shock. You read about what to expect in exchange “manuals”, you hear stories of personal experiences, you think you know what is coming, but really there is no way to prepare. As of now, I have been very lucky in that most of the culture changes I have experienced were minor, and more observations then real shocks. However, for your reading pleasure, I have written down a few of the more “drastic” differences I have noticed.

Meals:
Meal times and the food eaten at them are very different in Germany in comparison to the US. German meals are usually lighter, yet eaten more frequently throughout the day. Below is an outline of a typical German eating plan.

Breakfast (7 am):

Germans always eat every meal together, with breakfast being no exception. I usually eat musili (think a cereal made mostly of oats and with dried fruit), bread with meat, cheese and butter, or jelly and butter (they always butter their bread, and think that it is weird if you don’t,) or yogurt.

Snack (eaten during school, around 11-12 am):
Because there is no lunch break at school, all of the students bring a small snack with them to tide them over before school ends and they can go home for lunch. Usually, this snack is bread, meat, cheese and butter, with raw veggies or fruit

Lunch (after school, usually 2 or 3 pm, and earlier on the weekends)
This is the biggest meal of the day, and it always consists of meat (beef, chicken, fish, eggs, rabbit- yes, I ate rabbit and actually enjoyed it!), cooked veggies (depends on the season, but as of now we have had: carrots, peas, asparagus, apple sauce, brussel sprouts etc.), and, of course, potatoes! On Saturdays, we always have soup, and on Sundays the meal is usually “fancier” (for example, rabbit or steak)

Dinner (7 pm):
Dinner in Germany is “Abenbrot”, or literally “Evening bread.” So, as you can probably expect, for dinner we eat bread. A typical Abenbrot is bread with meat, cheese, and butter, a salad, or “Würstchens”, small sausages, with mustard (one of my favorites!)

I personally really like this eating schedule. I like having time to digest my big meal before bed, and I enjoy eating smaller portions more times throughout the day.

Water:
Germans drink mineral or “bubbly” water. The majority of them find still or tap water disgusting. Therefore, water is not free in Germany. No water fountains, no free, endless refills at restaurants, and no ice. They also don’t drink as much as I do (or at least my family does not.) They rarely have something to drink at lunch or dinner, and usually just a mug of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate at breakfast. Drinking is seen as having another meal, not something done in addition to a meal.

Public restrooms:
Public restrooms, as well, are not free in Germany. They all cost 50 Euro cents to use (around 75 American cents.) Because of this, however, they are very clean, and always have enough soap and toilet paper! (See above for picture)

Recycling:
I could write a whole article on German recycling! They recycle everything; it really is wonderful. In my family we have five “trash” bags. The first is plastic bottles to be returned to the grocery store for money, like water or soda bottles (yes, soda comes in bottle, not cans.) The second is paper. The third is compost for the garden. The forth is the “yellow” bag. This one is the largest, and holds everything from plastic and glass containers to tin foil and cardboard (basically all food wrappers and packaging.) The last and smallest bag is for trash. Trash consists of everything that can’t be recycled, so basically food leftovers, tea bags, and tissues. That is really all that goes into our trashcan! Everything else can be recycled! Why doesn't America adopt a system like this?

German recycling: (left to right) Paper, compost, two "yellow bags", white and then green glass

The news:
I watch the 8 O’clock news with my host mom every night. In comparison to the many (and usually angled) American television news stations, there are only two or three German TV stations that report the news (once every hour for 15 minutes, max.) And those 15 minutes include sports and weather! The news is short and concise. It tells you the facts about what is happening in Germany and the world, and not much else. I actually really like this system. I feel like I can really focus on the important information, without being distracted by all of the junk and political spin usually found in US news stations. This is just my personal opinion, though.

Clothes:
The German girls at my school are perfect examples of “European fashionistas”. This means, dark colors, skinny jeans, patterned scarves, and leather boots with at least a two inch heal. Lets just say, that my days of wearing sweat pants and tennis shoes to school are over...

"Discussions":
Germans like to discuss things, and they like to discuss them with very loud and sometimes angry voices. “Discussion,” but they sound more like arguments to me, take place in all groups: between friends, teachers and students, family members, random strangers on the bus. At first, I felt really uncomfortable whenever my host family would begin one of these “discussions.” I was raised in a family were children were expected to always respect their parents, so hearing my host sister question her mother’s authority was quite a shock. However, now, even though I still disapprove of this manner of conversation, I have gotten more use to their “discussions.” But don’t worry, I won’t be joining in anytime soon =)

The Dishwasher and Washing Machine:
In my family, the dishwasher is run once a week and the washer (we don't have a dryer, so all of clothes are air-dried) once every other week. Water and electricity are expensive in Germany, and therefore Germans are very conscious about their appliance usage. In my US family, both the dishwasher and washing machines were running practically 24/7 (especially when my Grandma was in town!), so this was a huge change for me. And I must admit, I still miss the warm feeling of clothes right out of the dryer. *Sigh* oh, the sacrifices we make to live abroad!