My trip to Germany has certainly been an interesting one, and it pleases me to say interesting in the all encompassing way, ranging from completely stunning to absurdly ridiculous. Only here can one feel the broad gamut of emotion from delightful elatedness, blinding anxiety, exuberant intoxication, confusion, satisfaction and finally sweet sweet cathartic slumber - all over the course of dinner. I've decided to apply my new found appreciation for multi-culturalism and comprise a short list of things the USA and Germany could, and should, learn from each other.
Things The USA Could Learn From Germany:
Trains. Where the hell are all our trains? I can't tell you how happy it makes me to get basically anywhere via rail. As if it's not bad enough my native and deeply engrained American laziness manifests itself daily as I struggle to traverse the cities here by foot; it's even worse that German cities aren't nearly as spread out as American cities and I still want some kind of alternate mode of transit other than my own effort. Luckily for me, trains are abound, and the States could take a lesson in public transportation.
Public drinking. I can't even begin to estimate the amount of times I've seen someone walking down the street, beer in hand, and I've had to stop and remind myself where I am - and then remind myself I have a beer in my hand. Let's see, since I've been here I've had a beer indoors, outdoors, on a train, on a bus, in the street, in a castle, on a table, I'm pretty sure upside down, and in my bathroom. And it's been great. I have a broad respect for a culture that assumes its populace can, and subsequently will, be responsible. And fittingly and unfortunately the only instance I have seen someone misusing alcohol here was one of my American compatriots, who back in the States would be too young to drink anywhere - which segues nicely to my next topic..
Drinking age. Perhaps I'm dwelling, and I certainly wouldn't want to monopolize your time with booze talk, but I can't help but notice how drinking in Germany and drinking in America are two vastly different things. This I feel is largely due to our high drinking age. Remember when you were a kid and your mom or dad told you to stay out of the cookie jar before dinner? What did you do the second they weren't looking? It's ok, no one is judging you, but it's because of our natural tendency to want what we can't have that leads us to act like idiots and abuse those things when we get them. This is why Germans are smart. Allowing their youth to learn how to drink responsibly and not making alcohol taboo has led to a more responsible young adult. Perhaps we should adopt this system and one day my children can enjoy a beer at 18 without destroying half of their frontal lobes.
Things Germany Could Learn From The USA:
Food variety. I am a creature of habit. I eat basically the same thing everyday back home. So I know there is a problem when even I am tiring of the food here. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of bread and cheese, but back in the states we have mastered hundreds of ways to prepare said food. In fact I am slightly surprised there are actually two different words here for breakfast and dinner, as through my experience, they are the exact same meal. This leads me to the biggest omission of food I have noticed thus far in Germany..
Bagels. Can a guy get a bagel 'round here? Come on, it's bread, and it goes great with cheese - isn't that your only criteria? Bagels are a crucial food for me because they are ostensibly edible plates. You can put anything on a bagel and it will most likely taste delicious. In fact, I'm relatively certain the last thing I ate before catching my flight was the entirety of my refrigerator leftovers crammed between a bagel - and it was fantastic.
Politeness. I don't want to perpetuate a typical German stereotype, but every time i step into a restaurant here I feel as though Sam Walton is rolling in his grave. Perhaps I'm too pampered as an American or I missed a critical lecture in business school, but last time I checked customers were a good thing, right? So why are all the Germans so angry when I visit their store? Have I done something to offend them? I'm not asking for elderly greeters to wave and smile at me every time I walk into a building, but a little bit of sugar goes a long ways. But then again, the word for poison in German is "Gift" so, you know.
Jonathan, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA
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I am kind of a tree hugger, so I think that the U.S. can learn from Germany some practices in terms of conservation. I like that the trash here is separated, despite that it is sometimes confusing where to put some things. I also like the fact that many people have small cars, which use less gas. There are also many places that use solar panels, such as a boat that i rode while on the Neckar. I think the BMW welt was also powered by solar panels.
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