There was a time, not too long ago, when you could fly off to foreign shores and experience firsthand, the diversity of humankind! Now that we are jailed, so to say, within the confines of the four walls, we yearn to relive those moments which appear so distant now. As they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder.
For me, moments from my trip to Berlin, the ‘promised land’, would definitely be catalogued within this category in my album of memories! Some wise soul had quite aptly said that in order to truly appreciate your own culture, you need to expand your horizons and experience the world outside. I learnt the true meaning of this once I landed at the Tegel airport.
Experiencing a new culture especially for a starry eyed twenty-year-old (with not many prior stamps on the passport ) could be an intimidating experience and there were definitely a few shockers in store for me. But these were always overcome by pleasant surprises and discoveries of facets of their culture. Here are a few snippets of my experiences:
One Euro goes a long way: Ever paid for a trolley at the airport? No?
After landing at the airport, I rushed to collect my luggage as I just could not contain my excitement to experience the city. I navigated to the nearest trolley stand and yanked at the one closest at hand. But it would just not come out! I kept pulling at it for a while as the local bystanders would look at me with mild amusement but to no avail. And then a local came to my rescue. He promptly took out a euro, slipped it into a hitherto undiscovered slot in the handle and lo and behold! The trolley came out. Even before I could say thanks he left! This little act of kindness went a long way to break the stereotype of the reserved German.
Far from the madding crowd: The scene outside the airport was a study in contrasts with what we see on our shores. Even though these were the times when social distancing was an unthinkable concept, I found that there were very few people around me and in hindsight maintaining the “2 gaz ki doori” or the six feet gap wouldn’t be a challenge unlike in the public places closer home. Germans love their space and would not generally take too kindly to an invasion of the same by a stranger. However, once you are part of their inner circle, they can be the most fun and chilled-out people to be with! Another stereotype bites the dust.
On the wrong track: The next morning I went out on a leisurely stroll to explore the area where I was staying, Schlachtensee. I walked up to a nearby bus stop and as I waited, my mind slipped into the thoughts of the many plans I had for the day. These few minutes of calm were suddenly shattered by the frantic bells coming from a distance. “Hallo, Das ist der Fahrradweg!”
And I realized, all this while I was standing bang in the middle of the narrow cycle track adjacent to the bus stop! Germans take their cycle track seriously unlike us and it is a really popular mode of transport there. Coming from Pune, which was once known for cycle tracks, I did feel a tinge of sadness. Why could we not have them in more numbers in our city?
Age no bar: Did I tell you about why I was in Germany? It was not for tourism alone! I had arrived in Germany to study at the Freie Universität, Berlin for one semester as part of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship program. An integral aspect of college life is to meet and make friends with people from diverse backgrounds but from the same age group. But here, I was in the company of people close to retirement age and moms with kids, who were as enthusiastic as any other fresher in the campus. In Germany, learning does not stop at a certain age. They really practice the concept of lifelong learning, as evidenced by these classmates of mine.
Vorsprung durch Technik: Progress through technology is an innate aspect of the German society. This was also reflected by the liberal use of technology and digital tools in German classrooms to complement the pen and paper. Exposure to this new way of learning was really helpful while adapting to the new normal of teaching during the lockdown. This was a decade before the mainstreaming of the digital tools of learning, on account of the pandemic.
To sum it up, my experiences with German culture during those six months has really gifted me with a new lens through which I now look at the world.
-Gauri Ghare
Visiting Faculty, German
SIFIL