ching chong ching chong:
train to frankfurt ·
no asians in germany ·
karate ·
you are korean ·
i know you ·
taxi driver ·
ne hao ma ·
monster ·
on germans and relationships:
girlfriends with boyfriends ·
germans need stability ·
change is bad ·
no soup for you ·
on the train to frankfurt.
on the train to frankfurt... i haven't been on a train in a long
time. it's kind of nice, actually. there are so many people - mostly
tourists, too! :) so it makes for a fun atmosphere where people all
speak english and are willing to talk to you. unfortunately, i hopped
on a smoking car, so i'm going to need a lung transplant when we get
there. i'm also going to have to probably take a shower again. :P
yuck.
no asians in germany.
so dude. apparently, there are no asian people in germany. not like
this is a new thing... i have been blogging for the past 10-11
months... at first, i thought it might just be because of the world
cup, but *man* everyone asked me if i was japanese or korean. fine.
but it's way more than that.
karate.
the other night (10.13), i was walking home, and it was pretty late
(maybe 1-2 am). i live really close to the irish pub, biddy early's.
so the pub was closing, and this group of about 10 french guys come
stumbling out. of course, they don't expect that i understand what
they are talking about... but i do. one guy elbows the other guy,
points at me, and asks (in french), "hey, what about *that* girl?"
the guy mumbles (also in french), "naaah, i bet she knows karate."
riiiight.
you are korean.
then, the other at biddy's, i was sitting there, having a radler with
alex, matthias, and alex's friend jared. i went to say hi to v, and
these (obviously american) guys came up to us, asked her for a
guiness, and (with quite a bit of vigor) *told* me, "you are korean."
to that, i responded, "*no.* i really am not." stupid american guy:
"yes... yes, you are." me: "umm... no. i am from california." him:
"yes, but what *ARE* you??" i started walking away, and he called
after me, "i'm from california too!" riiiight.
i know you.
and it's not only from guys that i get this. that same night, this
chick who was obviously half asian, tugged on my elbow and asked me,
"are you korean?" i furrowed my brow, and inquired, "why would you
ask me that?" her: "you *are*, aren't you?" me: "no." her: "i think
i know you!" me: "you're half korean, aren't you?" her: "yeah! i
am!! how do i know you?" me: "you don't. i'm from california." her
looking really puzzled: "oh."
taxi driver.
my cab driver today asked me if i was japanese. i said no. then
for some reason they expect that this is a great conversation
starter. they are being "cultured" by being sensitive to my race. uh
huh. wtf. he seemed like a nice enough guy, was making an effort to
speak english with me, and didn't mean any harm... so after making a
decently unpleasant face at him, i told him i am from the us. he
apologized, and told me, "sorry! for us germans, everyone from
south-east asia looks the same!" uh HUH. he saw from my face that
this was not the right thing to say. he proceeded to tell me that he
is not actually from stuttgart - he is from a city about a 100 km west
called karlsruhe. yes, i have a friend from there. he explained to
me that people from karlsruhe are much more open-minded that people
from stuttgart. what was he trying to say? that if he was from
stuttgart, he wouldn't even be asking me if i was japanese? damn.
anyway, he was nice, he speaks english, and he gave me his card. i
will call him from now on for cabs.
ne hao ma.
this happens to me all the time on the streets. usually from turkish
people, actually. they yell "NE HAO MA?!?! hahahhaha..." at me.
what the hell is that about.
monster.
anyway, it doesn't really bother me that much. it more just shows the
igorance of the people here. little kids stare at me like i'm a
monster that just walked out of their closet or something.
girlfriends with boyfriends.
ok, i'm going to start going off on german people now. their view of
relationships is hella jacked. i know countless poeple who are/were
in relationships with people who were *living* with their significant
others. in case that wasn't clear, i know some guys that are/were
dating girls who were living with their boyfriends. yes, you heard me
right. at first i thought it was just a weird situation. then i
thought my friend was weird. then i thought the chick was weird. or
the oblivious boyfriend. but no... it's uber common here.
so i really wanted to know, "what are you thinking???" they tell me, "she tells me she will leave her boyfriend soon." ummmm... ok. or, "she can't decide between me and the other guy." when i ask what they are going to do about it, they proudly say, "i told her she *has* to make a decision soon. me or the other guy. i'm not going to let this go on anymore." of course, it ends up lasting like that for several months because the want-to-have-my-cake-and-eat-it-too chick needs to know for sure that her new man is for sure before she dumps the old one. wow.
germans need stability.
i've had this discussion with many germans now, and the conclusion i
have come up with is that germans need stability. it's not uncommon
for a german citizen to *never* live in a different city than they
were born in. i don't think i can name anyone that hasn't moved away
for college, at least, if not for good after college. i personally
have had residence in 6 separate places, not including the dorms or
the places i've worked in since i started work.
change is bad.
germans are resistent to change. new things are weird. this
mentality becomes evident in their daily lives. it is very common for
a person to work in the same company for their whole life. and it's
actually very hard to fire someone, even if they are doing a terrible
job, because of the rules. this is the primary reason why there are
so many contractors at the big german firms. this also applies to
relationships... no one wants to risk being alone, so they stay where
they are comfortable... at least until they find something else.
no soup for you.
i don't know how they live like this. the store hours are the first
and foremost most ridiculous, life-affecting horridities (did i just
make up a word?) here. we wake up early and work late. by the time
we get home, all of the stores are closed - most close around 8pm.
fair enough. but when the weekend rolls around, we want to sleep in a
little. saturday, the stores are absolutely packed, and to add to the
madness, they close at 4pm or earlier! sunday, don't even think about
it - everything is closed (except restaurants and bars). so if you
need anything - toilet paper, bread, water, soup, whatever - you have
to go to a gas station and hope they have it.
disclaimer: obviously, this does not apply to *all* germans... it's just a common observation i am making.
you know, i really don't think i can handle this smoke. what was i thinking? gotta get outta here...