The Wall Street Journal published another provocative piece on one certain "ethnic" parenting style superior than the American one. I put ethnic in quotes as I refer first to the Tiger parenting style written and described by Amy Chua early last year. Chua talked...
The GW Expat Blog
Tag
cultural comparisons
Tricks of the trade for the metrically challenged
In an earlier article I wrote about the many little differences in daily culture that can sometimes frustrate expats in German-speaking Europe. I listed 15 "Kleinigkeiten" that may or may not be minor matters – from traffic signal placement to the bare kitchen. But...
You went to Davos and didn’t ski?
I have often joked that Switzerland may be the only place on earth where gyms are completely deserted during the month of January. I remember going for the ubiquitous January 2nd workout last year, anticipating the typical hordes of resolution bandwagoners, but I...
Homesick?
As I write this, I am dazed with jet lag. In this haze, the thoughts I had on the airplane for this blog post are distant and somewhat difficult to grasp. The moment we arrived back in Europe, it was as if the trip had never happened. Three weeks of the Great...
Don’t be Stuffy
A few years ago, a building contractor told me a story that scared me enough to change my habits: “I worked with a young couple recently who fully remodeled an old house. They both worked full-time. Every morning, they both got up, took showers, got dressed and left...
Canadian Wedding with a German/Swiss Twist
Four months before my July wedding I was inundated with the same comment from almost every female I encountered: “Oh you must be so busy!” Further into the conversation always came the question, “Is it difficult planning a wedding from overseas?” I was living with my...
The First Twelve Months
I've been enjoying getting to know my new baby during these first three months of his life. I organized a Mommy & Me Yoga/Baby Massage class at our local yoga studio here in San Diego to give myself that regular undistracted one-on-one time with baby Lenny. During...
Credit card differences
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...
Go Forth and Reproduce
It’s a fact: Germany needs babies. The generous welfare system of this social democracy needs young people to work hard and pay enough taxes to support the rest of society. One problem: young people are too busy working to bother with raising the next generation of...
Not even the kitchen sink
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,...
A Blog on Booze
I would say I learned the hard way, that attitudes regarding alcohol are quite different in Germany than in Canada. As a twenty-something living in Düsseldorf, (home to the world’s longest bar top if all were placed one after the other, as the legend goes) I very...
In Search of Healing
One of the typical hotspots in any political discourse between Americans and Germans is the topic of health care. Europeans firmly believe that a shocking percentage of Americans live without any access to health care, and Americans believe that the socialist...
German compartmentalization and closed doors
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...
Made in America
My family and I went through yet another life changing experience four weeks ago with the birth of our third child here in San Diego, CA. Child #1 and Child #2 were born in southern Germany, both positive experiences, so it was with curiosity and trepidation that I...
See you Thursday, in Switzerland.
When I first learned I would be moving to Switzerland, like most of us expats, I quickly went online and began bouncing around German-way.com and its many message boards, trying to find out more about the country and its people. During my years as an expat I have...
Do You go to Church?
Happy Easter! This blog post is slightly late this week, because I have been busy doing what we all should be doing this holiday: spending time with friends and family. And because I live in the religious South of Germany, it is a nice long four-day weekend, with Good...
Finding a Job in Germany
There are many days I think to myself, "Oh my God, why did I leave my good job and move to a country where I can't find a job to save my life?!" How many of you have thought the same? In 2009, I moved to Frankfurt from London for personal reasons (personal...
Gambling and other sins
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...
On Food
I have long believed that food in Germany is better than food in the United States. This was mostly based on (literal) gut feeling: since about age 14, my life in America was a battle with my digestive tract. I spent many nights as a teenager awake in bed with...
There’s a dog in the pub!
Different canine expectations Kaiserswerth, Germany, a small village just outside of Düsseldorf, is a dog haven. There are vast green farmers’ fields for miles, very little traffic, and the shore of the Rhine offers many interesting things to smell and discover. Dogs...
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