Culture is everyday life

A German flag parade celebrating different cultures

What is culture? Culture is how we interpret the world around us and how we act upon it. This is something that is shaped and moulded throughout our lives.
Culture is essentially what I study in Sociology and Politics. I am in a state of constant observation of the world around me. This blog will describe my different cultural observations that I have observed in my everyday life.

This is what I first saw when I came to Munich.
The first thing I saw was not the differences but the similarities between my own city ( Exeter, UK) and Munich. Both are a liberal stronghold in a conservative countryside, both are wealthy and both are international regarding demographics.

This actually disappointed me as I came here to feel a difference. However, as an upside, I haven’t felt as homesick as I thought I would and I neither felt that much of a culture shock.

This is a big contrast to a city like Berlin which was a culture shock; Munich seems pretty stable and safe. For example, it was 3am in the morning and this homeless man made friends with me in Munich, I gave him my chips and he went on by. In a place like London or to a certain extent even my home city, I wouldn’t feel safe in such a situation, in fact, I could feel unreceptive towards the man.

Berlin Olympic arena

That is one of the differences that stand out. Munich feels safe. The city never sleeps no matter what time of day, I thus feel safe knowing there is always a tram on route.
My home city is rather stable relative to the rest of England but even it cannot compete to how orderly Munich is.

The People
Regarding the German people, I was told they would be direct and that I may be offended by this. However this wasn’t really what I found, all I found was that people were slightly more straightforward with me. For example, when I went to the doctors, the doctor was direct by telling me that I had to leave to go get my injection. I didn’t understand as he was still typing on his computer, which in England you are expected to wait until they are finished( at least in my home surgery). But with him being direct I was able to quickly achieve my goal and get out, thus not wasting time, even though it gave me a bit of a shock. This directness, in general, has made my life easier. I struggled with people not being straightforward with me back at home.

I have made many Spanish friends in Munich. This has surprised me. It is possible to compare cultures in reaction to being an expat. I have found the Spanish rather direct. For example, if they didn’t like someone’s outfit, they would say that they looked bad, which at times I struggled with.

Music

Music is very different in Munich as well; there is a lot of Reggaeton, mainly Brazilian. This is a complete contrast back at home where it is only pop, so I enjoyed this new music. I think this is due to southern England being very isolationist and Germany having far more international exposure, so more global music breaks through German culture.

Me at reggaetón club with my Spanish friends

Friendship

Friendship also is different from the so-called ‘Anglo’ friendship. My friend from the United States discussed that to be your friend in Germany it takes effort. You must know them over a few years to build trust which is why people stay in their friendship circles form high school. This actually works better for me as I always used to offend people back in my home country when I said ‘you are only an acquaintance, not a friend, as we’ve only known each other for a few weeks’

My friends back at home

Transport 

Transport, to change the subject, is different In Munich. Back at home, I buy a ticket when I get on the bus which is frustrating as it does take a lot of time, in Munich however it is quick and easy you just get on or get left behind. Did make wonder though how effective the transport police are against literal ‘free riders’. Bars are also very different, everything is put on a tab whereas back at home I would go to the bar and waited to be served. I much prefer the way back at home as it’s what I’m used to.

My visit to Austria 

My experiences of Austrian people in Vienna was that they responded to you speaking German far better than people in Munich. In Munich, I find people don’t care if you speak English or German, but in Austria, I received a very positive reaction when I tried to speak German. This actually made me feel good as my efforts were being rewarded. This I think may be a reflection of Austrian culture.

Remembrance 

My Grandad’s Poppy pin

I also observed the 100th anniversary of remembrance in Munich. I compared it to my home country. The UK currently has an issue regarding how we remember the dead in war. I found that Germany did still recognise remembrance but it was far more subtle and slightly more peaceful than back at home. I actually did an analysis on my home university’s radio which is linked below.

Conclusion

So far my observations are limited to general ones, what I would be interested in is comparing Germany’s subcultures with my home country’s. For example, I find generally everyone very friendly over here but I think that is due to me being part of a student subculture. I wonder if the older locals would be as friendly to me. I would also like to see if there is a class divide in Germany, as back in England there are very strong class divisions to the extent that people judge others on class based on your accent. However I have time and this is what I am here to learn about another culture, so onwards and upwards.