> People seem to think a German passport is handed out easily now. It isn't. You have to prove you paid into the social system for at least five years. You have to pass the citizenship test. You need German at B1 level. You need a sustainable livelihood while your application is running. And most importantly, you have to accept the democratic values of this country. That is still relatively easy. 5 years is not a lon…
Note that you need a B1 certificate, so it’s really better to take actual courses to be sure you know the actual grammar and vocabulary (including all the irregular verbs, uhrg…) you will face during the exam. The exam isn’t too hard but you need to be prepared, it covers reading, speaking, writing, and grammar exercises
Welcome to my home country, glad it worked well for you. Regarding the far rights and how they are againts immigrants, this is 100% not against immigrants like you who integrate and are a valuable member of the german community. There are still a lot of illegal immigrants who have no intention of working here, just want to take benefit of the social system and send the money home or just come to germany to be criminal, sadly that is still a real problem.
I'd like better understand the German engineering culture. Why was it special in the past? What about today? As a kid in the 80s, I had some things from Germany and their quality was astounding. Fast forward to present time, our Volkswagen car made in Germany is the worst car I've ever had in terms of reliability. PS: an honest question getting downvotes?
There is no incentive to build a reliable product that can‘t compete in price. People are trained to consume and throw away. People are getting used to throw away cloths and household appliances after 1-3 years. Miele once built washing machines that outlast 30 years. They offered spare parts and regional service hubs. But the market decided to just buy the 50% cheaper ones every 5 years.
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
German films are mostly not great, but if one wants to get immersed into the language, music and literature are much better places. And also comedy. The language allows for some great puns.
A lot of good video games have decent German dubs, it was how I reached B2 German.
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
German films are mostly not great, but if one wants to get immersed into the language, music and literature are much better places. And also comedy. The language allows for some great puns.
On the other hand, the dubbing for foreign movies is usually very well done though.
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 p…
This can be out of your control. Your health insurance will ask why that camel hit you, and might sue the bus operator for their damages for letting you out where they should not.
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…
I, a German, went to Switzerland for vacation once. I talked to a Swiss guy about how I like Switzerland and all that. I told him how impressed I was with how organized everything is and how well everything works. The train system and public transport in general is wonderful compared to the one we have in Germany, for example. To my surprise, he said something along the line of "yeah well, it only looks like that from the outside".
Perhaps the tendency to complain is a necessity to achieve a high level of efficiency.
> 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.
Having lived in Germany (and Switzerland) for fifteen years, I've come to really appreciate the Ruhetag. Having Sunday off gives a real rhythm to the week, and I really appreciate that there is a day where I'm not going to be running around between stores.
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”.
I'd like better understand the German engineering culture. Why was it special in the past? What about today? As a kid in the 80s, I had some things from Germany and their quality was astounding. Fast forward to present time, our Volkswagen car made in Germany is the worst car I've ever had in terms of reliability. PS: an honest question getting downvotes?
> I'd like better understand the German engineering culture. Why was it special in the past? What about today?
German engineering culture is to think things through. To take everything into account. To do it properly, and not mess around. To rather think a bit more and make sure you get everything right.
Basically very similar to German rules culture.
Problem is, both of these cultures have their downsides as well. Rules as well as plans get overengineered. The belief that "one more rule can't hurt". The belief that "taking a step back yet again and discussing it a bit more is always worth it". At some point, you get stuck in a maze of rules, contradictory plans, meetings over meetings with no action. Engineers are scared to invent and engineer, because there surely will be some rule that could be violated...
The German history is a very complex one. Some habits in society and in families are going back still to the 30 year war, which was an extremely cruel one. Germany inhibited psychological pain over centuries from wars, battles, restrictions and cruel upbringing practices. Keep in mind, Germany didn't exists as a country before 1871 (!). It were "smaller" states like, Schleswig, Pommern, Preussen, Bayern, Franken and many more, all loosely scattered around, having big nations like France, the Nordics, Russia, etc. as neighbors, that regularly invaded some of the German states. That seeded a constant type of fear historically and resulted in a psychological overreaction over the recent centuries, certainly starting with the "Kaiserreich" from 1871 on, which encouraged strong but willing people that obey. The first World War is a complex and cruel situation in its own, but with roots in the European situation of this time, leading to the second World War where Germany played a very cruel role, but psychological determinable. In the 50s, 60s, the "Wirstschaftwunder" draws a typical compensation pattern of a wounded narcissistic personality from a psychological perspective. Parents buried a lot of pain from the past wars inside them, inheriting this pain to it's children, by being distached or "cold". Until today !, younger Germans suffer from this inherited "pain", they cannot explain, because not many looking at Germany's history and can connected all the pieces together. On the other hand it is fantastic what German overcame and became now. Overall Germans did a good job in the recent history, but I think they still can do better and should be more friendly to themselves. Accepting that the cruel German history starts waaay earlier then WW2.