Differences Between Deutschland and England / Konstanz and Warwick
People in Germany wait for the green man before they cross the road. They actually wait. There are no cars on the road, not even in the distance, i.e. it’s not even necessary to make a dash for it. There are no police around either. Yet they still wait. It comes back to the old question “If you shout but there’s no one there to hear you…” I mean what the fook are they waiting for? When I stick to my roots and dart across dodging cars left right and centre (I like to call it “Extreme Road Crossing”) they actually give me dirty looks.
Konstanz is a university town much like Leamington. But if you walk around the streets at night, there are no drunk students being loud, fighting or vandalising stuff. I find this a little unsettling, but also refreshing. Why is this? And just to clarify, it is not for lack of alcohol consumption, as beer is dirt cheap here and students love to drink. It is more like an inbuilt respect that is just lacking at home.
Germans don’t like to share food. English… (I don’t know the end of that sentence)
Germans are not overly friendly, in fact, some would go as far as to say they are just plain cold.
Men in Germany are HOT. Some of those are actually German, many are foreign, but regardless, most are hot. Men in Warwick are not so hot.
Everyone in Germany speaks English. Few people in England speak English. Germans place a huge emphasis on the learning of foreign languages. The English seem to think it is not necessary at all BBC Article re: School language decline
These are the main differences. I am interested to find out about more differences from those of you who are currently on Erasmus years or have just lived abroad in the past. What are your views?
26 Nov 2006 01:29
| 
Comments (2)
| 
Report a problem
Loading…
Max Hammond
The police make a point of busting people who cross on a red, sometimes standing out of sight just for the occasion.
I’m not sure I agree with this. They’re often pretty chilly to strangers, but are very welcoming if you are trying to get to know them.
They’re a lot less polite than English, but they actually care much more about people.
Remember, Konstanz is definitely südlich des Weißwurstäquators; you’ll get a totally different vibe in the north.
26 Nov 2006, 10:29
Roya
Hi Max,
Sorry that I only saw your post now! Don’t know quite how that happened. I would like to agree with your post after now being in Germany for almost a year. Konstanz is quite unique I feel, differing in many ways from other parts of Deutschland. And I find the people very polite usually. Much more respctful than at home. But still very reserved. People at uni aren’t friendly which I do find different from my home uni. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll probably never see this but thought it required a reply all the same! Thanks for reading!
Roya
22 Jun 2007, 12:20
Add a comment
You are not allowed to comment on this entry as it has restricted commenting permissions.