REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK! From Germany Back To The US | #thoseGermans
REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK! From Germany Back To The US | #thoseGermans
Different driving rules, funny grocery stores shelves and new nicknames – I’ve lived in Germany for 13 years and have countless transatlantic flights under my belt, but every time I go back to the US, there’s something that stands out.
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26 thoughts on “REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK! From Germany Back To The US | #thoseGermans”
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January 10, 2017 at 5:47 pm
Die Sache mit dem Schlange stehen ist richtig, es gilt das Motto: Neue Schlange neue Chance 🙂
January 10, 2017 at 5:50 pm
Also besser nicht in einem fremden Land mit dem Auto fahren, bis man sich halbwegs daran gewöhnt hat.
Aber ich denke mal, an den Unterschied USA/Deutschland gewöhnt man sich schneller als an den Unterschied England/Deutschland.
January 10, 2017 at 6:17 pm
Get me this Nutella Croissant Muffin! Now, please! *lechz*
January 10, 2017 at 9:07 pm
Richtig lustig wirds an offenen Theken. Das kann wie Raubtierfütterung sein…
January 10, 2017 at 10:05 pm
Staying in the line gives me a little bit of extra time to think about nothing… or all! Or it means an extra-time for daydreaming.
I also hate it, when another cash gets opened… and I’m often amused, that many of the people, that are changing the line, have to wait longer than me…:o). (Wie viele Kommas wären nicht nötig gewesen?)
January 10, 2017 at 11:26 pm
Passing others while rushing to a new register line is one of the ugly and inexplicable habits I really hate about my country. I relentlessly scold people whenever I notice that.
January 11, 2017 at 12:36 am
Yes, when i was in California I noticed that most restaurants had a note at the bottom of the menu that a tip (18% i think) would automatically be added to the bill for groups of six people or more. Why is this? Are large groups really that much less likely to tip generously?
January 11, 2017 at 7:48 am
No problem with the “line”-thing. Germans DO see waiting in lines as a competion. The first one who manages it through the line wins. Sorry no manners here.
January 11, 2017 at 4:48 pm
Sicherlich ist es zivilisierter, wenn der zweite aus der alten Kassenschlange den ersten Platz in der neuen Schlange bekommt. Aber was macht Ihr mit den anderen? Geht wirklich genau jeder zweite Kunde in die neue Schlange, was ja die gerechteste Lösung wäre? Aber, wie auch immer, alles besser als dieses Recht des Stärkeren oder Schnelleren, das hier herrscht.
Ich finde übrigens, dass die Amerikaner zwar weniger Vorschriften machen, diese aber besser durchsetzen.
January 11, 2017 at 11:49 pm
+KateMüser Every time I’m in a drug- or grocery-store, I have to stand back and watch with some amusement at the queue-jumping that happens when a new register opens up. The reverse shock goes both ways when I’m in Germany for a few weeks among the familiar, and afterwards when I return to Canada.
January 14, 2017 at 11:47 pm
I lived in South Korea for seven years. The majority of Koreans do not like standing in line. Unfortunately, I picked up this habit. I still do not like standing in line. It is harder to control my patience now that I am in Japan.
January 15, 2017 at 12:25 pm
Haha, $ 4,15 für Sonnenblumenkern-Brot? Würd ich auch nicht kaufen … ?
January 19, 2017 at 8:44 am
New line… Wer zu spät kommt den bestraft das Leben.
Isn’t overtaking from the right, also illegal in the US? I thought it’s just a not enforced rule as so many drivers violate it. I think it’s this way, because the term “passing lane” exists. And my reasoning is why should the term exist if no passing lane exists. And if the passing lane exists there has to be a rule that allows passing only on the passing lane. Also why do Americans call people out as beeing left lane clutchers, when it’s perfectly legal to be the slow pole on the left lane while people can overtake from the right?
February 12, 2017 at 9:11 pm
Oh those are great obversations!!!
February 15, 2017 at 5:55 pm
Many years ago I took a 2 week trip to London and the surroundings. I spent a lot of time travelling on their underground. At least in that era, subway trains slowed down much more gradually than those in NYC. When I came back to NYC it took a while to get used to the rapid breaking on NYC subways.
February 25, 2017 at 9:04 am
I haven`t been in the US for a decade but when I was this January, I was shocked about the queues! It seems I had to stand in line for the most trivial things because either the counters weren`t manned and Things were done by an actual person rather than a machine. So yes, I agree, Americans are incredible disciplined and patient while standing in line. My question is though: Could it be they are much more used to it? Time is precious in Germany and to waste some ones time by making them queueing up just because not all cashiers are manned would be a scandal, while in US it seems to be no big thing.
March 1, 2017 at 5:49 pm
Nun ja, my travels between Germany to Thailand and back. Dort bin ich der *auffällige* Ausländer! Left-sided traffic, every 400 meter food street restaurants in Bangkok, Rush-Hour from 5 a.m. till 12 p.m. Geschenke, Schokolade, Lachs, Krabben, Käse hinein schmuggeln – Mama Fertigsuppe, Durian Chips zurück in die EU schmuggeln. Thailand ‘coolness’ is crazy – every time! Thai bon restaurants, thai mcdonald with free chilli/ketchup sauce, crazy traffic on streets, very cold air/con climate hotel room and big grocery.
Back in Germany? Look at wrong side, walked wrong side, talk in wrong language – fast cashier at grocery. Ahhhhrg! Grausam!
March 1, 2017 at 6:24 pm
The Brit’s can stay – and wait – in line. Problem often – most european countries start at right side. Brit’s as left-oriented use the left side! Works here in Thailand perfectly, Thai people make first order, first served but never works on european ferries or christmas markets.
The Brit’s are only crazy in a big group with the cheap beer in Thailand often in beer pubs. Loud but wonderful party champions.
Thai people wait in line too. Same in full traffic street’s – no honk, no bad words. Very be quiet.
Mainland chinese are crazy, never wait in line. Walks around often in big very loud groups. Grabbing at all, open things, walks at every (forbidden) place, take many photos.
March 22, 2017 at 1:17 pm
Tja, das Schlange stehen ist nicht gerade unsere Stärke. Wir Deutsche sind allgemein ungeduldiger als der Rest der Welt. Merkt man sogar im deutschsprachigen Ausland.
Einmal waren ich, mein Bruder und meine Mutter in Salzburg. Das war am Tag der Deutschen Einheit. Wir kamen gerade an und waren auf der Suche nach einem Parkplatz. Wir entschieden uns in ein Parkhaus zu fahren. Als wir dort dann ankamen, war da eine Riesenwarteschlange. Während wir so warteten, wurde vor und hinter ständig gehupt. Und wer waren die Huper? Hauptsächlich Fahrer von Autos mit deutschen Kennzeichen! Da wurde mir bewusst, dass wir Deutsche vielleicht Mal ein Spezialtraining in Geduld gut gebrauchen können…
March 25, 2017 at 6:54 pm
I wouldn’t like a stranger calling me sweetie. Too personal, back off!
March 26, 2017 at 9:47 am
I have lived abroad for almost 13 years. Coming back to Germany sometimes is a bit of a culture shock for me. Queue jumping, most pedestrians waiting at a red light even when there is no traffic. Watching English movies dubbed in German. Someone correcting your English even though they are wrong:). Complaining and whining being the second most popular sport after football. A few years ago, I also had my sauna experience and forgot to remember you get in all naked.
People staring at you in a restaurant. A year ago, I met with a very old friend in restaurant that reminded me of my time at university. Felt as if I were a foreigner ( which I probably am). My thinking also was quite different from my friend’s, I noticed.
Positives: The quality of groceries and their cheap price ( I miss German food ). Being very pleasantly surprised at a shop assistant’s friendliness.
March 29, 2017 at 6:48 am
Hi Kate! I discovered your channel only yesterday, and I love it! You hit it on the nail!
I had my last reverse culture shock when coming back from a week in Valencia, Spain. I had a rental car there and experienced a lot of urban traffic. Valencians would conduct in a flexible, yet selective way, doing as they pleased, and I loved it and easily adapted. Once, in the front line at a red light, a guy stopped on my right, only to pass me on green and turn left before me. No harm!
Back home, I was honked at and ignored several times when I had chosen the wrong line and politely tried to correct my faults – ugh!
April 2, 2017 at 7:59 am
My wife and I spent a four weeks vacation in Australia and pretty much adopted to their laid back way of life.
When we returned, on our way back from the airport to our home, we had to change trains. When my luggage and me were just one or two steps away from stepping on the escalator, a young guy would rush in and squeeze before me. I just thought: Welcome back to Germany!
t wasn’t hazardous at all. But such a situation would simply not have occured in Australia.
April 8, 2017 at 1:12 pm
Komm in den Osten, da haste den grünen Pfeil und kannst auch bei Rot abbiegen.
April 11, 2017 at 6:06 am
now love from germans from india
May 13, 2017 at 7:57 pm
“The price on the menu basically means nothing at all.” That’s a whopper of an exaggeration. When Americans mentally total the price of a meal, they automatically (and probably subconsciously) add in the tax and tip. I’ve heard lots of Europeans complain about this same issue, but never an American. Stores in other countries rarely offer the choices that American stores do. Does that mean all Americans fall for the ploy of putting Hostess cupcakes next to whole wheat bread? If you believe they do, then you’re grossly underestimating the intelligence of the American shopper. You’re also grossly misreading the juxtaposition of goodies and healthy food: it’s called marketing. It’s not a “symbol of unhealthy eating habits.”
By the way, after they eat all that healthy food, do the Germans still light up a cigarette as assiduously as they used to? It’s been a while since I’ve been there. One universal observation from my American students when they return from Europe: ‘Everyone smokes!”