Germans don't mind noise — as long as you don't make any. I have no solid comparative data to back it up, but I would rate the German tolerance level for noise (Lärmempfindlichkeit) as among the lowest in the world. This is especially true for Germans living next door...
The GW Expat Blog
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expat life
The Expat Crisis
There are typical crises that happen in every person’s life: the identity crisis of the teenage years, the mid-20’s crisis, and the famous midlife crisis. Of course there are also the financial crises. Sadly, it's common to have more than one of these, but they are...
You Know You’re a Real Expat in Germany When…
A while back, someone in our Expat Forum posted a clever "You know you're in Germany when..." I happened to run across that list again recently and thought I'd use it as inspiration for today's blog entry. These brief "You know you're not in Kansas any more when..."...
Expats at the playground – the fun of combining cultural observations
This blog post could start like a silly joke. A Yorkshire lass, a Scot, a Brazilian, and a New Yorker go with their children to the playground … But, given I'm still working on the punchline, let me provide the context. Today was beautifully sunny. The advent of...
Where a House is a Home
I've been living in Germany for about two years now. I knew things would be different here, but how things would be different was a big question mark. Although I had visited Germany a few times before, living here is a whole different ball game... as we Americans like...
The Expat Trap
As I write this, I've been living in Germany for about two years. From time to time I meet up with other English-speakers in cafes or restaurants just to get that "fix" of speaking my native tongue at full speed complete with cultural references and a chance to drop...
You Can Du Me: The Du/Sie Question
The question of du or Sie, informal versus formal "you," is a perennial one for expats in a place like Germany. Many European languages make a linguistic distinction based on interpersonal relationships. These distinctions have fallen out of use in modern English....
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