Culture Shock In Germany
I have been in Germany for almost a week and it has been very interesting. There is a lot that has shocked me about being here. I knew bicycles were very popular but there is a specific part of the sidewalk just for bikes! If you go to a restaurant or in public and you need to use the bathroom it doesn’t matter if you are a customer or not, you have to pay to use the bathroom. It is usually around 50 cents or a euro. I was told that in Germany many places only accept cash but since I’ve been here I have been able to pay for everything with my credit card. This is good because credit cards are the way to get the best exchange rate. One thing that is very different for me is using public transportation to get everywhere. It takes me an hour to get to my university and that is very normal. It takes around 45 minutes to get almost anywhere because Berlin is so big. The sunsets around 5 pm and I am often out past sunset for orientation activities and so far, I’ve learned that because almost everyone uses public transportation it is very safe even when it is dark to take the U-Bahns (subways), S-Bahns (mix of a bus and a train) and buses. All of the forms of public transport are also very clean because everyone takes them. One thing that is difficult for me is to live in such an urban environment. I haven’t experienced so much noise and closeness of buildings before so that has been one difficult thing to adjust to. I did go on an adventure with some friends to Alexanderplatz and I found that because of Berlin getting split into four sections, it has many different types of architecture and areas. I felt very comfortable in Alexanderplatz. The weather is much cloudier and rainier than I expected. I did know it would be around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, but I didn’t expect it to rain every day. Because it is warmer, when it doesn’t rain, everyone opens their windows. I had mine open almost all day until the rain got in my room. I bought groceries yesterday, and I forgot that if you want bags for your groceries or for anything in stores you have to buy them or bring your own. I have talked with my host a lot and she told me that teachers are paid well in Germany! Maybe I will teach in Germany. Haha! She also told me you have to pay a tax to be religious. That shocked me. I know the government supports churches, but I’m not sure if people give offerings or not on top of that tax. Another thing that has shocked me is the attitude towards non-sexual nudity in media. The language barrier has been difficult but it is interesting to see that many people in Germany speak around three languages. My host speaks some English and is fluent in Spanish and German. This blog has been pretty scattered, kinda like my brain. I am already starting to adjust more and more to being in Germany and I can’t wait to start classes!
Limerick Living
While attending the University of Limerick, I live in University housing. I am not far from the main campus buildings. It is a 10-20 minute walk to most of my classes, less if you walk like the Irish (they say Americans walk slow). Now that I can say I live in Ireland, let me give you a tour of my residence.
I walk up to my front door and use my key fob to unlock it. A first look into the house will show a staircase heading to the upper level and a door to the bathroom for the lower level.
Turning right will lead to the hallway where the four gentlemen in my house reside. Turning left will lead into our kitchen and sitting area.
The kitchen has cabinets that can store food, cabinets for dishes that were provided by the University, a bread box, microwave, toaster, kettle, sink, a mini freezer, two mini fridges, an oven, drawers for the cutlery provided, and a cabinet under the sink for a few pots and a pan. There is a table and six chairs at the back of the room. At the front of the room is an L-shaped couch and a TV. It can get a little tight in the kitchen when several of us are in the room at one time. The fridges get full at the beginning of the week as four people find places for groceries. Overall, it is a nice kitchen.
Going up stairs will lead to the bathroom and a hallway to the rooms of the four ladies of the upper level. The bathroom has a toilet, sink, trash bin, two mirrors (one above the toilet and a larger one behind the door), and a shower off to the right. The shower has a knob that can be turned to change the temperature to hot, warm, or cold, and knob to change the water pressure. There is a power button to turn on the water. It will glow orange, meaning there is water to use. If there is no light on, pull the cord that is hanging from the ceiling on the left side of the bathroom and the light will turn on.
At the end of the hallway is a closet where the boiler and mop are stored. On the sides of the hallways are individual rooms.
My bedroom is furnished with a desk, chair, shelf, bulletin board, twin-size bed, sink, mirror, towel ring, and wardrobe. The desk is big, making it a nice place to do some work. It even has a light hidden under the shelf. The shelf holds my yarn, books, and a few items from home. Under the sink is a place to store different bathroom supplies and above the sink is another light. The wardrobe has a place to hang a few clothes on the left side and shelves on the right. There is an overhead light on the ceiling and another light above the head of the bed. Under the bed, there are three drawers. I use one to store my shoes. All around the bed is a “bed frame” or as I call it, “My little ledges.” The little ledges make an ideal place to set a phone when lounging in bed, watching a Hallmark movie, or FaceTiming a friend. I am a big fan of my room. I find it cozy and I am enjoying all the shelves, drawers, and cabinets.
My house is a part of Plassey Village. In the village, there is a reception office, laundry building, and many other houses. We have three washers and three dryers for all of the village. It seems to work just fine. I have been able to find an open washer and dryer each week I needed to wash my clothes. Washing cost €3 and drying cost another €3.
The village is filled with both international students and Irish students. In my house, there are six of us from the United States. I have met a few of the other people in my village. The other ladies who are using the International Study Abroad agency (ISA) to study here are in my village. We get to go on adventures together. On the 22nd of January we visited King John’s Castle and this past weekend we went to Dublin with all of the students using ISA. These other students are studying in Galway and Dublin.
So far living in Limerick is going well. I’ll give another update on my Amazing Ireland Adventure soon.
Trinity College in Dublin 
Dublin Castle 
Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin
Culture Shock
Culture shock is a bit of a misleading term because it is not shocking. It’s not one moment where you are slapped in the face with culture, but rather a slow realization. It’s like that moment in a movie where it slowly dawns on the main character that nothing is as it seems. I did so much research before leaving that I felt I could have taught a course on British culture. I thought I knew everything and I could not possibly be surprised or confused. But that’s the thing about culture: it’s so pervasive that it affects every single aspect of life. It is impossible to know it all, even for someone who was raised in that culture.
I like to describe culture shock as an alternate dimension. It’s like being in the twilight zone. A lot of things are similar, so if I wasn’t observant, I might think that nothing had changed. It’s just different enough to make me slightly uncomfortable.
The wildlife in the UK is different from the US. We have squirrels, birds, deer, etc. but they are slightly different from those I am used to. Many geese congregate around the lake we have on campus. They aren’t black and white Canadian geese, but multicolored Egyptian geese, which I had never seen before. On one of the first days that I was at Roehampton, I looked out my window and saw bright green birds. After some research, I found out that parakeets are actually native to England. That really was a shock.
The directions on the road outside my university are extremely helpful. Even though I am aware that they drive on the left side of the road in the UK, it will take some getting used to. The writing tells you which way to look so that you won’t get hit by a car (see picture). In areas where there is no writing, there have been some close calls.
While I am out in public, I am constantly thinking about etiquette and manners. Brits love to be polite, and I love to follow the rules, so I want to do everything in the right way. But following the rules is hard when you don’t really know what the rules are. Here are a few that I have picked up.
- If you must speak on public transport, do so quietly and NEVER talk to strangers on the tube.
- Always say thank you. To the bus driver, the store clerk, anyone. Alternatively, you can say ‘cheers’. It means the same thing.
- Always say sorry, no matter how small your misstep.
- Dress well. Gym or lounge clothes are not appropriate unless you are going to the gym or lounging.
While in some ways English culture seems more formal, and that certainly is the stereotype, it’s flipped on its head in certain aspects. Even though some of my teachers hold doctorates, they are addressed solely by their first names. It is very rare to see the country’s flag or hear the national anthem in England, while you can walk down any US street without knowing which country you’re in. Service workers are much less friendly and more informal. I’ve learned to be more vocal because if you don’t ask for something (like water or the check), they won’t give it to you.
Even though living in this alternate dimension can be confusing, and even scary, I love it. I am learning something new every day simply by observing and asking questions. I revel in adhering to each social guideline, knowing that I have met expectations.
Would You Like Sugar For Your Tea?
Did you know they offer tea on the airplane? It is a strange thing to be thinking about at the close of my second week in Ireland, but it is a good place to start this post. I have flown a total of five times. I flew to Massachusetts and back with my family for my brother to tour Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I flew to Arizona and back for a Mission Trip with my high school, and I flew to Ireland by myself. I like to ask for Ginger-Ale when I fly because it reminds me of my mom and it’s a fun drink. The lady next to me asked for tea. Since then, tea has been everywhere.
I arrived at the airport in Dublin, walked up to the immigration desk, and my brain stopped. What did he say? “Can you repeat that?” “I’m sorry?” “What was that?” I needed to ask the Irish man at immigration to repeat every instruction and question he asked me. He spoke with a thick accent and his words were soft, they hid under his mask.
After making it through immigration, I found the bus driver who was picking up all the students going to the University of Limerick. We piled on and I drifted in and out of consciousness. I would wake up to another thick Irish accent, this one even harder to understand than the last. It could have been because of how tired I was, or how far away I was sitting, but I am betting the real reason I had such a hard time understanding what was being said was because the bus driver was slipping in and out of speaking Irish or Gaeilge. Depending on where you go and who you meet in Ireland, you might hear this language too. All of the road signs have the Irish name on top and the English name underneath. It is hard to miss, even when you are half asleep finishing your twenty hours of travel.
We arrived at the University of Limerick and were off to our villages. The villages are like a collection of dorms. I am staying in a house that is connected to other houses with buildings of more houses nearby. All of these buildings form a village. They are housing for students and close to campus. The University of Limerick gave my housemates and me a few supplies so we would not immediately need to go to the store when we arrived. One of those supplies was a box of tea bags, black tea in particular. There are two brands of Irish tea that have a firm following: Barry’s and Lyons. I will see if I can try both while I am here.
I have been to the store a few times since arriving. I bought towels at TKMaxx and groceries at Aldi. Lidl and SuperValu are grocery stores that are a little farther out of my way. They are not far if you take the bus. Taking the bus is the best way to get around here. The bus will take you into the city of Limerick where you will find other stores like Penneys/Primark, Brown Thomas, and Dunnes. I made it to Penneys while traveling to the city of Cork, but I have not been to the other two yet. People shop differently here, at least in the grocery store. Food does not keep as long in Ireland as it does in the United States. This means people shop more frequently for food and buy less at one time. They are in a hurry when they shop. People want to get in and out. I feel quite out of place staring at every little item trying to find where anything on my list could be and determining if laundry liquid is the same as laundry detergent.
The roads in Ireland are set up so that they drive on the left, but what side of the sidewalk should I walk on? I have seen people walking on both sides. I have seen signs for bikes to stay to the right. I have seen doors that say stay on the left, but the left door is made in such a way that the right door must be opened first to allow the left door to open. I stay on the side of the sidewalk that the person ahead of me is walking on and swerve back and forth to avoid people walking on the right and left coming towards me.
Drinking is also strange here. I have been having a fair amount of culture shock from the other people from the United States, but the Irish too. Swearing is very common here. I have seen a fair amount of people smoking and vaping too. Drinking is prevalent, but pubs are for much more than drinking. Pubs serve food, they have good paninis, I hear they even have tea.
I have been drinking tea since arriving in Ireland. I like drinking tea because it reminds me of having tea with Anna when we roomed together, and the chamomile tea Sammi makes me. My International Study Abroad (the agency I used to study abroad) contact person, took the four of us in Limerick who are using the ISA program, out for lunch. She taught me how she takes her tea, and I have been playing around with how I take my tea. So far, I am a two sugars kind of gal.
