Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Top 10 Misused Hand Gestures
http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/2007/09/24/top-10-hand-gestures/
This is a great article and a must-read for anyone traveling abroad. You don't want to get caught in Germany thinking your complimenting someone's cooking but really calling them an anus.
This is a great article and a must-read for anyone traveling abroad. You don't want to get caught in Germany thinking your complimenting someone's cooking but really calling them an anus.
Labels: Berlin, Germany, hand gestures, travel
Monday, September 17, 2007
Shopping the way it was meant to be...
If you go to a store in Germany, no one asks you within the first 30 seconds, "Can I help you look for something?" I worked in retail in the States and this was a company policy. In Germany it's implied that "no, you're just looking" unless you are by fact looking helplessly lost, then only reluctantly an employee will ask if you need their assistance. They really get it culturally. They were offered capitalism and got to choose the best parts and leave the others by the road side.
This cultural difference is most pointedly exemplified in a story I heard last night. It's about retail behemoth, Wal-mart. Wal-mart tried to come to Germany, but jsut couldn't figure out why people we afraid of their stores. It wasn't that they didn't like big-box discount places, they have OBI and IKEA. The problem was the people. When someone is standing at the door, smiling and welcoming every person, the Germans probably thought he was a nutcase. And when old ladies were asked if they needed help with their bags on the way out, they turned and ran, because the only people who'd ask you that in Germany are people who are trying to steal your bags.
And it's not that the Germans are impolite, it's that they're too polite. They don't feel like they should intrude into your life. You should be free to live you life in comfort without being harassed by other people. Ah, Wal-mart, proving Southern Hospitality doesn't quite cut the Senf mustard in Germany.
This cultural difference is most pointedly exemplified in a story I heard last night. It's about retail behemoth, Wal-mart. Wal-mart tried to come to Germany, but jsut couldn't figure out why people we afraid of their stores. It wasn't that they didn't like big-box discount places, they have OBI and IKEA. The problem was the people. When someone is standing at the door, smiling and welcoming every person, the Germans probably thought he was a nutcase. And when old ladies were asked if they needed help with their bags on the way out, they turned and ran, because the only people who'd ask you that in Germany are people who are trying to steal your bags.
And it's not that the Germans are impolite, it's that they're too polite. They don't feel like they should intrude into your life. You should be free to live you life in comfort without being harassed by other people. Ah, Wal-mart, proving Southern Hospitality doesn't quite cut the Senf mustard in Germany.
Labels: Berlin, Cultures, Germany, shopping, travel, wal-mart
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Podcast Update
Hey all. Just wanted to say that I've been working for about 3 days on Part Three of the Road Trip podcast series, and iMovie is doing nothing but crashing. Everytime it crashes it does some weird thing by sending all the movies to the trash and saving over the previous version of my movie. It's very frustrating. So, I'm going to get iMovie '08 today, snd hopefully have something for you guys soon. Sorry it's taken so long.
