February 9th, 2010
It seems every post I write has to do with kids, but that is how my life looks right now! At the moment, both of my little ones are in the midst of the Eingewöhnung process in their respective nursery schools (Kindergärten). My youngest is starting Krippe (loosely translated as daycare) and his sister is starting nursery school. When I signed them up, I was told to prepare to be available during the acclimitization process. Little did I know, they have it down to a science. (more…)
Categories: Daily life, Expat issues, Tips, advice, suggestions, Work and employment matters |
Tags: Berliner Modell, Daycare, Eingewöhnung, expat, Germany, kindergarten, Krippe | No Comments
February 2nd, 2010
Ripped from the headlines in Germany, YouTube has shamed and ridiculed yet another public figure, this time Baden-Württemberg’s governor and now Germany’s European Union Commissioner, Günther Oettinger.
The widely circulated video is of Oettinger painfully stumbling through a speech clearly neither drafted nor rehearsed by him. The point of the speech, recently held in Berlin at a Columbia University hosted event, and Mr Oettinger’s main message as the new EU Energy Commissioner are unfortunately lost, overshadowed instead by Mr Oettinger’s inability to pronounce many of the more “challenging” words such as “justifiable,” “interference,” and “initiative” and making other words such as “does” and “otherwise” unrecognizable. Already known for his rather distinctive way of speaking in German (read here: he has a very heavy Swabian accent), Oettinger managed to “swabianize” English. The well-known Baden-Württemberg tagline, “we can do everything except speak high German” has been refashioned by commentators to, “wir können alles außer Hochdeutsch - und Englisch!” along with the terms “schwänglisch” and “Spätzle-Englisch.” What made this all the more humiliating perhaps is that the YouTube video included footage of Mr Oettinger emphasizing how all Germans, regardless of their profession, must be able to speak and understand English.
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Categories: Expat issues, German language, History and culture |
Tags: English, EU, German stereotypes, Jane, Oettinger, Swabian language, YouTube | 2 Comments
January 27th, 2010
We are about four months into the new government here in Germany. As so often seems to be the case in politics and people, the current government seems to have mis-interpreted what the voters wanted to say.
It should not be so surprising, really. It is difficult to get a good unfiltered view of how voters feel when you live behind a wall of handlers and advisers. Politicians are still just people and are just as susceptible to wishful thinking as anyone else. The FDP is on the verge of learning this lesson the hard way.
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Categories: Expat issues, The euro and money matters |
Tags: CDU, FDP, Geoff, government, taxes | No Comments
January 20th, 2010
German culture at the “Goldenen Thor”
During a recent visit to San Francisco I got a surprising reminder of how truly widespread and important German culture once was in the United States – before two world wars drastically changed the role it played in America.
My wife and I were standing in a very long line of people, slowly making our way towards the entrance to the California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park. (And we all already had tickets!) As the line flowed at its glacial pace, I noticed a statue of two figures standing on a stone pedestal. I remarked to my wife that it looked like a German or European statue. As we got closer, the bronze figures seemed even more familiar.
Once we were standing right in front of the statue, I was amazed to read the inscription on the reddish stone base: “Goethe. Schiller.” As I gazed up at the large bronze figures of Germany’s two greatest poets and philosophers, I realized why they looked so familiar. This statue seemed to be the same one my wife and I had seen a few years earlier in Weimar, Germany. How the heck did it get here? What was the story behind this larger-than-life symbol of German culture standing in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco? Did any of these people in line, besides my wife and me, even know who Goethe and Schiller were?
I took out my iPhone and snapped a picture of the statue (see photo), thinking I would try to solve this mystery later. (more…)
Categories: German language, History and culture |
Tags: Cleveland, culture, German-Americans, Germany, Goethe, Golden Gate Park, Hyde, Milwaukee, monuments, San Francisco, Schiller, statues, Syracuse, USA, Weimar | No Comments
January 12th, 2010
Just recently, I went to buy my youngest his first pair of shoes. Ty the aupair came with us to chase Olivia through the store, expecting this to be a short process. He was wrong, of course, because this is Germany, and everything takes just a little bit longer! And shoes are very important and very expensive here, especially for children.
We first took Noah to look for shoes before Christmas when he had just started walking. It had been pretty cold here and even I, the American who doesn’t ever put enough clothes on her kids, thought he might be getting a tad bit cold. But we were sent home from the shoe store. I guess kids have to have been walking for a couple of weeks before anyone is allowed to buy them shoes. Even my German husband was surprised, but around here, we must listen to the experts! (more…)
Categories: Daily life, Expat issues, Tips, advice, suggestions |
Tags: au pair, babies, first shoes, Germany, measuring feet, Sarah, shoe purchasing | 1 Comment
January 4th, 2010
I’m concluding my Christmas holidays now here in America, so it’s natural for me to once again think about how different my life would be if I were living in America instead of in Germany, especially as a mother.
Despite all my good intentions to not shop as much and my otherwise disciplined nature about spending money, I’ve continued the shopping spree which I had started on my last visit last October/November. All of these pre-Christmas, thanks to the economy, and of course post-Christmas sales have been too difficult for me to resist. Along with stocking up for Christmas presents for next year, I’ve been noticing what sort of toys are out on the market for children. My husband and I had made a quick stop into Pottery Barn Kids when I first saw “Melissa and Doug” toys. I had previously read references to this brand on several parenting related web forums and sites. They were obviously regarded as nice, so I checked them out of curiosity. Maybe they would make a nice gift for one of our friends back in Germany.
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Categories: Daily life, Expat issues, History and culture |
Tags: expat life, free range kids, Jane, raising children in Germany | No Comments
December 29th, 2009
Oh my goodness… I always knew there was more than a little bit of European in me; but my conversion to the German Way was more subtle and insidious than I could have imagined.
I, unlike most other red blooded, consumer oriented, individualistic Americans was actually cheering at the German Supreme Court’s ruling prohibiting allowing businesses to stay open regularly on Sundays in Berlin. I don’t even live in Berlin.
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Categories: Daily life, Expat issues, History and culture, Red tape and bureaucracy, Work and employment matters |
Tags: Geoff, Germany, lifestyle, Quality of Life, Sundays | No Comments
December 21st, 2009
Germans don’t do small talk. (Well, sometimes they do – but they rarely admit it.) Most German-speakers will tell you that their language is too serious and precise to be wasted on small talk or chitchat, especially with strangers. Anyone who has lived in Berlin for any length of time knows that Berliners in particular aren’t prone to idle chatter – even if they know you fairly well.
So I was amused to read an article on German stereotypes and “Chatiness” in the latest issue of The Atlantic Times (Dec. 2009). Jabeen Bhatti writes of her astonishment when – in a single day in Berlin – she experienced several strangers chatting with her, something “as rare as seeing a white Rhino.”
In the US, such banter among perfect strangers is nothing unusual. (more…)
Categories: Daily life, Expat issues, German language |
Tags: American, culture shock, Germany, Hyde, shopping, social rules, speaking German, USA | 2 Comments
December 15th, 2009
Many a time I have written about German schools, which sometimes seem to be the bane of my life, but are generally pretty okay. It seems that no matter how good the non-German parent was in school (and in our case, that would be me), when confronted with German math problems, I’m lost. And unhelpful. And really really frustrated.
Now granted, my oldest daughter is not a math genius. She would probably do pretty well if she found math interesting and had a little bit of faith in herself (the classic not living up to her potential). But our problems started way back in first grade when they start adding and subtracting. They even subtract differently here. No borrowing and carrying. The little numbers go at the bottom. Division is another story. As soon as I see that math book coming out I want to run for cover. I have to relearn it, remember how we did it, and end up asking my colleagues to explain long division to me German style. (more…)
Categories: Daily life, Expat issues, German language |
Tags: bilinguality, fractions, German schools, helping with homework, math, Sarah | No Comments
December 7th, 2009
“Bald ist Nikolausabend da! Bald ist Nikolausabend da!”
(rough translation: “Jolly, jolly tralalala, soon it will be the evening of St. Nikolaus Day!”)
If you are like me, this song has been stuck in your head all week. The Christmas season is upon us here in Germany, which is entrenched in traditions such as visits to the Christmas markets, lighting candles on the Advent wreaths each Sunday and celebrating St. Nikolaus Day.
This Sunday gone was St. Nikolaus Day, and my family and I were invited to celebrate the event on Saturday at a friend’s house. Our friend Melanie was visiting us from London this weekend, so it was amusing and interesting to see this tradition and all of its associated rituals surrounding it from her perspective. (more…)
Categories: Daily life, Expat issues, History and culture, Miscellaneous |
Tags: Christmas in Germany, Golden Book, Jane, Nikolaus | No Comments
