I was expecting changes when I came to Europe. I
thought there would be a huge language barrier, I would eat endless
amounts of sausage, and immediately know what I want to make my
documentary about. Some of my expectations have proven to be true (I
actually had a „Bratwurst“ for lunch today and a „Bratwurst“ for dinner
last night), while others have been entirely wrong. For example:
Language is not a huge issue or barrier at all.
I was taught to say: „I speak a little German“ and whenever I
ask someone if they speak English, they always seem hesitant and say:
„Just a little“. Here’s the thing – I do speak a little German. A very,
very little. When a German says they speak a little English, they are
under exaggerating. They will probably speak English almost fluently and
you will have no trouble understanding or deducing what they mean. I
love this – the unnecessary modesty and uncertainty.Another thing about Germany or Europe in general that is different is the food and fitness. I was originally convinced I would be gaining weight in Germany, with the carbs on carbs on carbs from bread, potato and beer. I thought it was inevitable that I would gain a comfortable 15 pounds. Still, I was confused when I looked around and quite a bit of Germans are in shape with far fewer obesity problems as I could tell. I soon realized why – the walking. To get anywhere you must walk. Even with the accessibility and convenience of the public transportation system, walking is still a huge part of daily life. In a day I walk to my bus station, then to school from the drop off, then to lunch, then around the city before heading back home. I question now if it would even be possible to not get in some form of better physical shape. I made a comment to a few Germans about the 40 kilometer bike tour the AIB students went on, I was hoping for some level of shock. My host dad was the first to shut that down with a polite, but sincere, “That’s it?”
Written by Hannah Finlayson
