This opportunity to go on exchange is my first experience being outside of North America. I had only ever really been in Canada, and I had only left a handful of times to visit New York City. Although I am bi-cultural, I had never truly experienced culture shock in a way that others have spoken about it before.
Coming to Germany, I don’t know if I would necessarily say that some things were culture shock, but rather an interesting difference in culture that I had to adapt to.
The first thing I noticed within 30 minutes of stepping out of Mannheim Haupfbahnhof was how much people were smoking. Everyone was smoking!You hardly see that where I’m from in Canada. There were even some people smoking inside of it.
What also caught me off guard was how “cold” people were to strangers. You don’t look at strangers on the street, smile, and greet them if you make eye contact. What I’m used to is giving strangers a nod or a smile if passing by them, just to be courteous. When you go to the grocery store, you’ll likely only hear the equivalent of “Hi. $10. Thanks. Bye”. If you’re lucky, they’ll ask you if you want a bag, or if you want your receipt. My German friend mentioned how when he went to Canada, he would always be surprised at how chatty the cashiers would be. They’d ask him how his day was, where he was from, what he was studying, where he was studying, if he was planning on travelling, etc. Don’t expect that here. Understand that some people just blatantly and openly may stare at you, don’t be creeped out.
My German professors were very, very strict regarding tardiness. Don’t be late ever. Really. Alexander Pfisterer, who taught various Cultural courses, in particular was mildly terrifying. If he’s unhappy with your project, he will call you out on it in front of everyone, and pick it apart bit by bit. It’s very direct, he won’t beat around the bush. If it’s bad or disorganized, if you didn’t prepare sufficiently, if he thinks you didn’t quite hit the target in terms of what he wanted you to do with the assignment, you’ll know. He’ll say it very clearly, that your presentation was terrible. And then again. And again. Then another time. Then for thirty more minutes, in front of everyone. So… just do your assignment properly and make sure to triple check to see if you’re doing things to a T.
It’s not you though, don’t take it personally. It’s just German culture.
Studying in the Quadrate 