Hi there! My names Brooklyn. I'm hoping to go on exchange to Germany during 2017-2018 and I was wondering if you could maybe share some things I should expect that most people might not tell you? I also have a side blog, brooklyntoberlin here on tumblr. This is just my main account, haha.
Hey, that’s awesome! I’m glad to tell you everything that comes to my mind. Are you from America?
So, what most people say about Germans being impolite is partly true for many parts of my home country. It’s not that we are rude, but lots of strangers -especially in the city- aren’t as used to being overly polite as most Americans for example. I’d just advise you not to expect a “sorry” every time someone bumps into you, yk? I smile at people all the time, but they look away bc they’re not used to it... stuff like that. But friends, family, staff, fellow students and so on are welcoming and friendly.
German food is super delicious in my opinion... I’m used to lots of vegetables, potatoes, almost always meet (pork). Some habits might seem weird at first glance; just try it out. Cottage cheese on bread is one thing some people eat (yummy) and then there are weird people eating chocolate with ketchup... ew. That’s not German though haha.
The Autobahn/highways are fast unless you're stuck in traffic because of another part under construction. If you’ll go to school, there’s gonna be like 7-page-exams bc we don’t take multiple choice tests, but I’m not sure if you’d have to take them as an exchange student. Depending on your grade, there might be 9h-days most of the week because politicians once decided they’d cut “Gymnasiums” (idk do you know about the school system?) to 12 years instead of 13 (ugh).
Soccer is big. You’ll encounter fans, rivalry, and major parts of soccer in the papers and on tv. Like 90% of the guys at my school play/have played soccer and another 5% are fans. We don’t usually play on school teams, but in clubs, so it might be “harder” for foreign exchange students to get into sports here than it was for me in America. Just because you don’t just go to meetings at school, it doesn’t mean you can’t look for clubs you’d like to join. Do you like sports?
I don’t really know what to tell you because I don’t know where you’re from. This is just generally typical stuff. If you wanna know more about school, the “downsides” of Germany or anything more detailed, ask away!
Stereotypes are mostly based on southern Germany (= Oktoberfest, Sauerkraut, Lederhosen,...) . It’s way more diverse than most people think.
Every exchange is unique. You’ll perceive most things differently than other students or I do (naturally, haha) and although Germany isn’t as big as the USA or Australia, there are different regions with different traditions that still exist, although globalization is taking over and everything’s kinda blending together.
I hope I could help you a little bit and didn’t confuse or bore you :) Thanks for asking!
annaxmalina
blakekathryn
baratheonpilled
stormborns
vaporwave
prguitarman
ellievsbear
