Before ze Germans get here!
So I spent exactly 12 months in Germany. It's a shame that I came out of it all without learning the language but I still gained a lot from my experience over there and I learned a lot about Germans.
Germans are a strange mixture of tradition and modernity. Most Germans live as far away from their parents as possible but they still go back home every weekend. I'm not sure if this is because they love their parents or because they want to make fun of their friends who still live over there, but it seems that it's the default behavior. So unless you're traveling or have big plans for the weekend, you go to your parent's.
Germans are also extremely work-oriented people. Life revolves around work and working hours. There's this idea that the first one in and the last one to leave is the most hard-working. If you leave before your boss does then you better have a very good reason or it will look like you're a slacker.
They dub over everything on TV. Desperate Housewives is in German and South park is also in German. You have no idea how ridiculous (and different) Eric Cartman sounds in German. The only thing that is left in its original language is music. But I think it's good to preserve their own language and culture and not to give in to the pressure of being cool and hip and say everything in English. There was this big issue a while back when the guy running for foreign minister allegedly had poor English language skills and replied to a foreign reporter in German. And in general this is the way most Germans are. They do not have a lot of confidence when it comes to English. Even though most of the younger generations speak English relatively well, if you ask someone if they speak English, they will most probably say, "a little bit", no matter how good they are. The only German who was confident enough to say "of course I speak English", was an officer who was checking my passport. Those who don't know English will say "nein" and use a combination of German and hand gestures to communicate. Older people will say "nein nein" and keep telling you stuff in German which I'm assuming means something along the lines of "in Germany we speak German. Go back to where you came from. Asshole".
There are also some peculiarities that occur when you think in German and speak in English. For example it's very common in Germany to hear the sentence "see us later" instead of "see you later". Or "I have a friend" instead of "I have a boyfriend". Also, some sentences end prematurely... like "Are you coming next week or?". We do the same in Arabic but it throws you off a little.
Germans are still a little bit sensitive about the whole Nazi thing. Again, the younger generations either don't give a shit or are just sick and tired of the whole issue, but the media and the government are overly cautious. There is not a single day that passes without someone apologizing for something they said or a protest against something that might be insensitive or a call for a memorial of some sort. You can actually go to prison for 3 years if you say "sieg heil" in public. With that said, there are still some Nazi parties in parliament, but I'm not sure how successful they are. Every now and then you hear about a bunch of youngsters beating the hell out of some poor man and there are some places in East Germany where a foreigner will probably get killed regardless of where they come from.
Also, Germany still has a very hierarchical societal structure. Even though everyone is equal, there is a lot of stress on titles and positions. You address people you don't know by their last names and "Frau" and "Herr". And like in Egypt, if you have a PhD you're a "Doctor" and if you're the boss you're "Mr." This is very different to The Netherlands where my professor is simply "Stefan" and he buys us a drink on his birthday. But it's not as bad as in Egypt where your professor thinks he's God on earth and your boss talks down to the janitor like he's some kind of disease.
But to be honest, Germany is a HUGE country. And it's all populated. So it's really difficult to accurately describe how Germans are. Bavarians think of themselves as different from the rest of the Germans (and they are). West Germans and East Germans are also different. But in general, they are fascinated by everything foreign. They don't necessarily like it, but they find it interesting. It's really easy for a foreigner to pick up ladies. You don't even have to go to a bar. You can do it in the bank or on the subway. But once you're past the initial 'wow' stage, people get frustrated that you don't speak German. So you're expected to make some effort. Even if you suck. But then you risk looking like an immigrant who's only there to make money and speaks very bad German because he can't be bothered.
That's why I chose to go for the tourist look. "I'm here for a short while and I don't speak German... Entschuldigen sie."
