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More German than many Germans

mertbulan.com

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Re: More German than many Germans

#71

Post by ovb39 »

rockyj wrote: post #32

A very nice read and pretty much my experience. I have been here for a quarter of my life now, I do not think I can live anywhere else now. People may not like me being here because of my skin color or whatever but I do not mind. I keep to myself and follow all the "rules" I can. In fact, I like most of the rules, rules are good because they ensure order, fairness and equality. Will a little bit of empathy be nicer,…

I think a lot of the complaining comes from high taxes, remembering the "good old times" and just from being German. Germans love to complain.

I left Germany for a few years and came back. There are very few other places I could imagine to live in. Maybe Norway, Canada or Switzerland. I hope Germany gets its things together, the recent uprise of xenophobia and social polarization is concerning. I grew up in a Germany where it didn't matter where you came from or what you looked like.

Re: More German than many Germans

#72

Post by cineticdaffodil »

lukan wrote: post #36
dot_treo wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is actually an insurance kind of thing as far as I understand. I've had plenty of cases where the bus couldn't continue due to being in a traffic jam, and people who would have happily get off the bus couldn't either.

Whenever something convenient in germany is not possible, you can bet it is a insurance thing.

Leave the windows leaned open so it cools down in the office over night? Impossible due to insurrance. Somebody dies from overheated office and you want to sew the insurrer who enforced this ridiculous rules even on the third floor.. impossible, due to..

Re: More German than many Germans

#73

Post by matsemann »

arh5451 wrote: post #59

I found it quite interesting you thought American companies are more hierarchical than German companies. I think in general it’s extremely company/industry dependent. Having worked in several industries, countries, and companies I would say that Germany tends to be quite age oriented where the USA is more results oriented which is then reflected in the hierarchy and perceived openness. I also think Hamburg and Bavari…

As a Norwegian working for a company that expanded into Germany, I also was a bit surprised about the author claiming Germany to have a flat structure. I found it very hierarchical compared to what I'm used to. Like, setting up a new business it's very all-hands-on-deck until established, but had people refuse to do stuff "beneath their role" or outside their responsibility, or to do anything unless explicitly ordered by their direct manager when asked by someone else.

Nothing wrong in that, really, just a bit of a culture shock when you're used to something working a certain way. It was on us to adjust.

Re: More German than many Germans

#74

Post by inatreecrown2 »

wolfi1 wrote: post #44
la_fayette wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

let's see how this turns out, but I would not underestimate the german engineering culture...

I'm waiting to see Siemens producing EV cars

That would sure be interesting. Or maybe Bosch and Braun too.

Re: More German than many Germans

#75

Post by vineyardmike »

schmorptron wrote: post #50
amval wrote: post #16

I am myself an immigrant to this country, one that has had itequally easy, if not more. Lately, or perhaps for the last couple of years, I've struggled with negative feelings about the country. I do not like the direction things are moving politically and economically, nor how germans talk about politics, and the biggest reason to want to be in Germany is the very high living conditions one can have here. Culturally,…

You make a good point about cultural things that would make one excited to learn a language. But I really struggle to imagine what could be done to fix that? Injecting more money into the film industry would just lead it to the same people at the top of it where they'll produce the same mediocre output as they have for ages. hmm

> Injecting more money into the film industry would just lead it to the same people at the top of it where they'll produce the same mediocre output as they have for ages

Not necessarily, if you apply discipline and intentionality.

Canada famously created “CanCon” (Canadian Content) by law. They forced media in the country to be X% local, and that built out the industry by sheer necessity. The reputation was poor in the early years, but now a talent pipeline, local services, and industrial knowledge has built up and they have a thriving entertainment industry.

Germany has the disadvantage against Canada which could benefit from speaking English and cross selling to the US and UK. But it can become a source of local pride and distinction. The French are very proud of their language, even though it’s also not heavily spoken internationally.

The building blocks exist to successfully build cultural capital if it’s a priority.

Re: More German than many Germans

#76

Post by EdwardDiego »

Mashimo wrote: post #34

> I didn't hesitate to complain (with Lärmprotokoll) to my landlord. True Alman spottet. No loud noises on Sunday (mowing lawn, home renovations etc) I can get behind. But I truly don't get why Germans collectively dislikes shops being open on Sunday. If you ask into it, something about the fabric of the German family is at risk.

I've not lived in Germany but visited routinely for longer periods when working for a company there, and the understanding I derived is that Germans have an expectation that the only things (with some exceptions like airport shops) that should be open on a Sunday are things you can do with your family and/or friends - museums, art galleries, restaurants, and, natürlich, stuff like city parks and things that facilitated Wandern machen (going for hikes), so while the grocery store in that small Alps town might be closed on a Sunday, the Seilbahn/cable car isn't.

It caught me out a few times when I'd go to buy a bulk of German confectionary from a Lidl or Aldi to take back home for colleagues and my kids, and of course, I was flying out on a Sunday, so they were closed, so I had to pay airport prices for them.

All that said though, even the stuff that was open on a Sunday would generally shut earlier than usual, because after all, it _is_ Sunday bru, and the trains ran on a sparser schedule which meant my attempt to go to the Eagle's Nest museum, ended up with me getting there just as it closed, and then realising that the next train back to Munich from Berchtesgarden was in 4 hours (IIRC), and my dinner with my colleagues was in 3 hours... But the locals were so lovely and patient with my poor German, and they directed me to catch the next bus to Salzburg, and then catch the ICE to Munich from there.

It blew my Kiwi mind that they're like "Oh yeah, the fastest way back to Munich is to just catch a bus into Austria" real casual like. Schengen is pretty awesome.

Re: More German than many Germans

#77

Post by cineticdaffodil »

tchalla wrote: post #6

On rules - they certainly create clarity and also have the potential to enable NPC like behaviour which is all too common. Since you mentioned Traffic Light Coalition, the chancellor Olaf Scholz (who is a lawyer and was also the ex-mayor of Hamburg) recently said in an interview “Germany was known to be a country of engineers, we are now a country of lawyers”. Hamburg along side with Munich is what Germany should loo…

Scholz was also involved in cumex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CumEx-Files

Re: More German than many Germans

#79

Post by suslik »

lqet wrote: post #37
bambax wrote: post #13

The first time I was in Berlin I had to take a bus. It was just leaving the stop as I was getting there, but stopped at the next red light. So I ran to the bus and knocked on the door. The driver looked at me with a concerned look to see if something was wrong, and once he understood I was just asking to come onboard outside of the regular stop, he laughed. Not ironically or in a mean way: it was a genuine laugh like…

If you get run over by a car or bicycle while trying to board a bus outside an official station, or if you trip, the bus company is liable, and the driver will be in very big trouble. Also, wehret den Anfängen! If they started doing this, it would set an example: it would make it very difficult to keep the schedule, and would invite people to just walk into traffic to busses stopping at a red light.

I see it like this:

Me: I'd like to get out here please.

Driver: But it can be dangerous...

Me: Noted. Good thing that is not your problem.

And when I am hit by a camel while departing the bus, that is my problem also. But of course, most cultures do not support this line of reasoning - you need to be taken care of weather you like it or not. This approach is well tolerated by most people, but saddens and irritates people like me.

Re: More German than many Germans

#80

Post by Propelloni »

asdf88990 wrote: post #64
la_fayette wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

let's see how this turns out, but I would not underestimate the german engineering culture...

The German Engineering is a byproduct. The culture that created is also the one that is holding it from becoming competitive with Chinese automakers. Like almost everything, utility and efficiency is relative and dependent on the environment and external factors. People often overlook the “fit”.

They said the same when Japanese car makers were trashing European and US manufacturers in the 1980s. Yet they adapted. Then they said the same when the South Koreans trashed them, yet they adapted. Now they say the same about the Chinese.

Sure, past performance is no indicator of future performance, but all the doom-saying and hysterics are just that, fear of the unknown.

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