Discussing expat life in German-speaking Europe


Posts by HF

Expat Book Review: Expat Women

Aug24
2011 Written by HF

REVIEW: Expat Women: Confessions – 50 Answers to Your Real-Life Questions about Living Abroad by Andrea Martins and Victoria Hepworth

Book coverThe term “confessions” can be a little misleading here. These “confessions” from expatriate women are really (often desperate) questions from women living abroad and facing the many problems that anyone, male or female, living in a foreign place can encounter. The 274 pages of Expat Women: Confessions offer practical, reassuring answers to 50 pleas for help from women living the expat life in various places all around the globe. These are real questions from real women living the life of an expatriate.

Based on advice posted at the ExpatWomen.com website and email responses to many women around the world, the book offers advice and encouragement for women dealing not only with the typical difficulties of culture shock, but also serious personal or family problems. Each of the two co-authors has many years of experience living and working abroad, and their advice reflects that.

The book’s basic, underlying message is “you are not alone.” The authors reassure expat women that they are not the only ones experiencing emotional turmoil and doubts. Never condescending, the authors offer solid, step-by-step suggestions for dealing with problems ranging from workplace difficulties to teens (or a spouse) who can’t seem to adjust to the expat life. But they also aren’t afraid to remind expat women that in the end they themselves are responsible for their own happiness. They remind us that sometimes we need to step back and gain some perspective on ourselves before we can solve certain expat and personal problems. READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , ,

No time for nostalgia: The Berlin Wall’s 50th birthday

Aug13
2011 Written by HF

Fifty years ago today (August 13) the Berlin Wall rose its ugly head (in 1961). While the collapse of the Wall may be fresher in our minds, the construction of the Berlin Wall was one of the world’s most glaring crimes against humanity – even though many people still fail to realize that.

Berlin’s mayor, Klaus Wowereit, had to remind people of that today. He chastised those Germans and others who somehow have some nostalgic view of the Wall (Berlin mayor criticizes nostalgia for Berlin Wall). There is nothing nostalgic about a concrete barrier set up to divide families and imprison a country’s entire population – and that led to many deaths. READ MORE »

Posted in History and culture - Tagged , , ,

Credit card differences

Aug08
2011 Written by HF

I was planning to write today about the problems sometimes encountered by Americans when they try to use their US credit card in Europe. As fortune would have it, I experienced exactly the reverse yesterday: Trying to use a German card in the US.

I was helping a German friend who is visiting us in the US use his credit card at a gas station. He inserted the German Deutsche Bank MasterCard into the gas pump. First he had to choose credit or debit. It’s a credit card, so he chose credit. Then a message appeared that I’ve seen a lot at gas pumps during my US travels lately: “Please enter your ZIP code.” Well, a German Postleitzahl is the same length as a US ZIP code, so he tried that. “Please see the clerk” was the machine’s response. We tried debit also, but it wanted a PIN that didn’t work. So it was off to see the clerk.

We were able to get the German card accepted with the clerk handling the transaction (and showing a German ID), but we had to guess how much gas we needed. If it was less than that amount, we would have to return to have the clerk enter a refund of the difference. Luckily, we guessed about right and did not have to do that. But the entire experience was a hassle caused by the differences in the way US and German credit cards function.

Basically, American credit cards are out of date (überholt in German). READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, The euro and money matters, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

How many Germans are international travelers?

Jul25
2011 Written by HF

Germans have a reputation as travelers. They even claim to be the Reiseweltmeister (world champions of travel). Indeed, many citizens of Germany do travel abroad and in Germany. If you visit US national parks, as I did this month, you could get the impression that Germany is almost empty, and that most of the country’s population is in the US this summer. You will often overhear German, French and other languages as you hike the trails of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon.

But in 2009 (the latest year for which statistics are available), Germans represented just 5.8 percent of all foreign visitors to the United States, totaling 1,881,944, a bit fewer than in 2008. That means that in 2009, barely two percent of all 82 million Germans crossed the Atlantic to tour the USA. Not only that, READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues - Tagged , , ,

Not even the kitchen sink

Jun27
2011 Written by HF

Apartment or house hunting in Germany can dramatically reveal some of the more important cultural differences between the US and Germany. One of them is what I call the “four bare walls” tradition.

When prospective buyers or tenants are house or apartment hunting, they may look at places that are still occupied and have full furnishing. Even if the real estate agent tells them that the furnishings aren’t included, inexperienced buyers may be totally shocked when they later discover exactly what that means in Germany. They open the door to their new abode, walk in, and… gasp! Not only are the walls bare, even the light fixtures are missing! Moving on to the kitchen, they see only roughed-in plumbing and electrical outlets. There’s not even a sink, much less cabinets, counters or a refrigerator! READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , , , ,

German compartmentalization and closed doors

Jun02
2011 Written by HF

German compartmentalization comes as a shock to most Americans. This rigid compartmentalization is both physical (floor plans, closed doors) and mental (friends vs acquaintances, business vs pleasure). It is a cultural difference that usually becomes obvious to expats in German-speaking Europe early on. But like many cultural differences, it is one that tends to sink in slowly and involves breaking long-established habits.

I have lived in Germany and visited there often, yet some un-German habits die hard. Like leaving doors open or punching the “1″ button for the ground floor. There are many things about daily life in Germany that you can “know” intellectually, yet somehow are slow to be truly absorbed and comprehended.

At various points in an expat’s life there come those certain “aha moments” when you suddenly “get it.” One such aha moment for me came when I was living in Berlin. I was house-sitting for friends who were staying in the US for almost a year. They had a lovely fourth-floor loft apartment with an open, airy, bright floor plan. The only doors are the entrance and two more for the bathroom and a guest toilet/lavatory. The bedroom is set off by a wall without any doors. I loved it. READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

A 400-pound gorilla named Germany

May09
2011 Written by HF

Anyone who has followed the evolution of Germany and the European Union for as long as I have may be forgiven for thinking that Germany would always be the EU’s biggest supporter – in more ways than one. But lately, there have been signs that the gradual progression from the old Common Market of the 1960s to the EU and eventually on to a United States of Europe may be a much bumpier road than many once thought.

In the past, German policy regarding the EU reflected Germany’s history and the destruction of Europe caused by Nazi Germany. Along with the rest of Europe, German leaders realized that a unified Europe would help avoid the national conflicts that had so often led to European wars of conquest from ancient times on into the 20th century. In 1952, post-World War II German guilt and common sense led to the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) by six countries: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. That modest beginning would lead to the “Common Market” (Treaty of Rome, 1958) and the European Community (EC) in 1967. By 1993, only a few years after German reunification, the 12 EC countries formed the more robust European Union (EU). Today the EU has 27 member states with a total population of about 500 million. READ MORE »

Posted in History and culture, The euro and money matters - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Max Raabe in Reno

Apr11
2011 Written by HF
Max Raabe in Reno

An illuminated sign inside the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno announces coming attractions, including Max Raabe.

Although his first big hit song in Germany, “Kein Schwein ruft mich an,” was in 1992, I didn’t become fully aware of Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester until I was living in Berlin in 2007-2008. After hearing him on the radio, I bought one of his CDs and enjoyed listening to tunes from the 1920s and ’30s – and Raabe’s wry, light-hearted approach to a repertoire of songs rarely heard over the last 80 years or so. (If you don’t know anything about him, please see the GW article about Max Raabe.) He regularly performs live in Berlin and other German cities, although I missed his June 2008 open-air Waldbühne concert in Berlin.

I knew that Raabe and his orchestra had also performed outside of Germany in places like New York and Tokyo, but the last thing I ever expected was to see him on stage in my hometown of Reno, Nevada. Las Vegas or San Francisco maybe, but Reno?

So a few weeks ago, while watching a PBS TV broadcast of a 2009 concert by Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester at Berlin’s Admiralspalast theater, I was a bit stunned to hear that Raabe was going to perform in Reno on April 10, 2011. I immediately went online to buy tickets for my wife and me. READ MORE »

Posted in German language, History and culture - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gambling and other sins

Mar14
2011 Written by HF

When I first moved to Nevada (the year shall remain vague) the Silver State still had pretty much of a gambling and quickie divorce monopoly – and a reputation as a rather sinful place. Today almost every US state has casinos and/or a lottery. Getting a divorce has become so easy these days, there’s really no need for a Reno or Las Vegas divorce. “Sin City” is now about as sinful as Disneyland.

Nevadans were once proud of their “sinful” status, but now about the only exclusive “sinful” thing Nevada has left is legal prostitution. Even that may be doomed if US Senator Harry Reid has his way (although one Nevada lawmaker has proposed a new tax on prostitution to help solve the state’s budget crisis). Of course the fact that prostitution is illegal in the other 49 states doesn’t mean there’s no prostitution there.

Yes, I DO have a Germany-related point here.

I recently wrote an article about casinos and gambling in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Among other things I learned in my research: Switzerland didn’t even have casinos until after 2000; while most European countries have gambling casinos, the real money (for the tax man) comes from lotteries. READ MORE »

Posted in History and culture - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Watching German TV in the USA and Canada

Feb09
2011 Written by HF

When it comes to television in the USA and Germany, I’m not sure which is worse. Germany has copied from US TV (judge shows in German, dubbed crime series, late-night talk) and vice versa (some reality and quiz shows). Daytime TV in either country is a big waste of time. Late night TV in Germany, with its more titillating offerings, can be a shock for Americans. The German commercial channels (RTL, ProSieben) can be more ad-riddled than anything you’ll ever see in the US.

But we former Germany expats can get a bit homesick for German Fernsehen, especially in the realm of news. While we may have once used German TV for help with conquering the language, now we’d like to get a taste of it back in North America.

I once thought that satellite reception would be the solution to this problem, but it turns out that READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, German language, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , , , ,
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