@@danad7770 And yet I bet you never comment on videos where the guy talks over the girl, which happens more often in the world than the other way around.
Loved your video. My mother was a German war bride. She is now with our Lord, so I always love hearing a German accent. My first visit to Germany was when I was 11 years old. I will never forget it. Our first night was spent at quaint inn in a small village near the Czechoslovakian border. My mother lived there and that is where she met my dad. My older sister and I had never seen or even heard of a feather tick before that first night. At first look we wondered how we could sleep on the bed without rolling onto the floor. Mom laughed and explained that it was not as solid as it appeared. She said to sleep under the feather tick. So we slipped under this massive mound and peered over the top. My sister said that now she knew how a hotdog felt in a bun! I got to meet all my German relatives including my “Omi”. She couldn’t speak English and I couldn’t speak German. But, I felt such a connection that before I knew it, I fell in love with her. I never wanted to leave and cried every single time I had to say goodbye. I will always treasure the memories of my trips to Germany. It is a really beautiful country.
I love that Stefan discovered how Southerners in Atlanta are so genuinely friendly. Yup. I was working at a hotel during the summer in college and checked in two young ladies from Germany who rented a car in New York and drove across the country to California. They took the southern route and were surprised how friendly people were in the Southern States. They said they were constantly being invited to the home's of people they'd meet for meals. Southern Hospitality is real!
That sounds like a typical mistake Europeans make. They don't realize how big the United States is and think they can just drive across the country. That is an exhausting, long trip.
When we were in Paris, we stayed long enough to purchase La Carte Orange - a mass transit pass. We needed a photo. The attendant at a subway station opened a gate for us to enter..the wrong way...so we could go back one station for free..to a post office and get our picture taken, return and he filled out the forms because we have very limited French. Cmon, I had to argue with American public servants when my parents decided to die 15 days apart. I am saying, judge individuals individually, no matter where you are.
What I want to know from Stefan is how he felt about things. What did he like and didn’t like? What was outlandish and different from Germany? What was the same? I need more details!
20 years ago, I took my girlfriend (now wife) to the US for our first vacation as a couple. I had been an exchange student in the US before, so I new my way around, but I still rememeber that face of my wife as we pulled out of the rental car place at Miami Airport and where getting on the first 6 (or more) lane interstates. It was exactly this "i am in a movie" face. Today my wife is staying with my former host family for 2 weeks to improve her english and me and my 2 kids are preparing to leave for the US next week. I bet I will see that expression on my kids faces again :-)
Marcus Brühl Great story. It's so nice that you still know your host family and that your wife is comfortable enough to be there alone. I'm sure you never expected that to happen when you first went many years ago.
I love how she is so bubbly and social and all over the place and him more quiet like so American versus European loveeee iiiiitttt 😍😍😍😍😍 I'm from E Europe and I'm in love with everything American ❤️
That's why I wanna leave this place. I already love my boyfriends family, they give me the feeling that they already love me more than my own parents and siblings ever did. I have way more in common with the American people than with my own.
I'm active duty navy and a little over a month ago we got back from a long 7 month deployment. We had gone to Singapore, Malaysia, Israel, Dubai, Bahrain, and Guam. I think the place i had the biggest culture shock was Israel. It was awesome. Everyone was so friendly and sweet. In fact we had this random old couple come over and ask a group of me and my friends to watch their stuff while they went to play in the water. Another friend of mine had some random people ask her and her friends to watch their baby. They were so friendly and trusting. I loved Israel. I would defiantly visit there again if i had the chance.
That's all true, although what I remember the most about Israel is the women in the malls. Boat goggles had no play in it. I was surprised. The food was pretty good too.
My overwhelming, but positive travel moment was when I was at Arches National Park in Utah this March (I'm from Texas). It was one of those things on my bucket list. My parents went to drive around the park and take photos and they had dropped me off at the Delicate Arch trailhead. It was not a very long hike, but there were some really challenging inclines and slick rock where I almost fell. And let me tell you it was worth every agonizing second. As soon as I rounded the last corner around a giant rock face, the landscape just opened up, almost like an amphitheater. The colors were amazing: vibrant orange and red, and the gorgeous snow-covered Manti La Sal Mountains in the background. I tried my best not to start crying as there were quite a few other people around. "Overwhelmed" is the only word I have to describe how I felt. I could have sat there forever. I knew I had to head back as my parents would be getting back to the trailhead soon to pick me up. It was the hardest goodbye and I would do it again a million more times if I could!
Tawny Parker friends took me out to Arches for my thirtieth birthday-I’m from Kentucky--it was amazing. The West is so different, like visiting another continent -Australia or something.
I have no idea how I stumbled across this video. I’ve never watched your channel and don’t generally watch channels like this. You guys are absolutely delightful, and this made happy.
When I was at the Indianapolis Airport I saw cops on Segways. One cop seemed to still be learning how to ride it so I told him to be careful, because the guy who invented the Segway did on one. He turned to his partner and said, "You didn't tell me you can die on these."
Dean Kamen, who invented Segway, is very much alive. It was the guy who purchased Segway, Inc. in 2010, Jimi Heselden, who died shortly thereafter, when his Segway reportedly drove off a cliff.
My first trip to the caribbean was pretty much like that. I'm a horticultural gardener and I was always super interested in tropical plants. Seeing them for the first time growing outdoors where they belong and not potted indoors was just overwhelming. I actually hugged a palm tree :D
Paris, France! I've been there with a friend and he was concerned that I might be disappointed, that Paris is a big, dirty, loud city with busy people and modern industry and not that pittoresque dream of bohemian lifestyle. But my friend was wrong, I was totally overwhelmed! Shipping on the Seine, eating crepes down the Eiffel tower, climbing up Montmartre, visiting Notre Dame or just strolling around the old city, I was in an constant dream seeing the city, I had so much heard of, I had seen in so many movies and talked about so much in French class. Paris got me, totally!
I think Paris was the first place to *wow* me. At the time (around 1990) France seemed have a lot of new computer gadgets like custom directions printing machines, hand held point of sale devices and minitel (the country's proto Internet system) which impressed nerds like me. In one Pizza Hut, I asked for dessert so I could see the waitress use her handheld thing to order it using infrared signalling. Oh yeah, there was the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Champ D'Elysee and all that stuff too ..
For those who don't know, the Intracoastal (Waterway) is the waterway that runs along the Atlantic coast of Florida behind the chain of long, narrow barrier islands that face directly on the ocean. If you're in a boat, to get into the intracoastal you have to sail through one of the (usually) narrow gaps between two of the islands. The water there is calmer and less salty. Manatees live there. To go to the beach, where the waves are, you have to use one of the bridges (some of which are drawbridges) over the intracoastal and then go to the east side of the island. Some parts of the islands are only a few hundred meters wide. It's not uncommon in Florida to have two sister cities or two parts of the same city, one on the mainland and one on one of the islands. Cocoa, Florida is the city on the mainland, Cocoa Beach is the city on the barrier island. Miami is on the mainland, Miami Beach is on the barrier island.
I experienced quite some culture shock when I travelled to the US when I was just 18. I started in familiar old Germany at 5am and at 4pm local time I already stood on top of the Empire state building. It was so surreal. I had never seen a Skyscraper before in person and suddenly I was on top of probably the most famous one. Yeah that first weekend in Manattan was like stepping into all the movies I had seen as a child...
Martin Hruby If you're an American who's never been there it can be similar, too. I was there only a short time and for some reason one of the things I remember the most is the corner of Central Park. I didn't have time to go in, except that small corner, but I can say I've been to Central Park.
That's actually funny, as I was born and raised in Germany, but live in NYC since 1992. I have lived at (almost) penthouse level, five blocks from the Empire State Building. You will have most likely seen my former apartment - without knowing of course. If you looked along 34th Street to the East (East River direction)... :) My ex and I always marveled about us looking at tourists there... Fun stuff... I have never been on the observation deck of the Empire Stage bldg. and never been to the Statue of Liberty...
I visited Berlin, Germany a few years ago to visit some friends and family. It was one of the best experiences of my life! What a beautiful and interesting city! I loved every minute of it; the people were friendly and fun, and I had the time of my life! I live in a major city now that I love, but Berlin would surely be the city of my choice to move to☺️❤️👍🏻⭐️!
Baggage is what all you travel with....literally or emotionally....this could include a musical instrument, or sports equipment, an animal, AND your suitcases. Luggage is what you put your stuff in; aka suitcases.
I have felt overwhelmed and awestruck by travel before-- the first time I went to Disneyland. I'd been watching The Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night all my life. Every year there was an episode about Disneyland, and eventually the construction of Disney World. Like all American kids in the 60s and 70s Disneyland was the holy grail of family trips. I was 12 or 13 by the time I FINALLY got to go. Thankfully, I found Disneyland lived up to the hype. I'd never been anywhere so _perfect_ in my entire life. Everything was immaculate, colorful and exciting. I didn't really see the artificiality of it as a child. It really was the most magical place on earth to me.
My parents grew up in Anaheim and they were 10 when it opened in 1955. Back then you had to dress nicely to get in. Woman/girls wore dresses and men/boys could not wear blue jeans. Every night at 9pm, Disneyland had fireworks. My dad ending getting a job as a yellow submarine driver and I still have his Disney badge.
I'm from germany anf have a vietnamese Girlfriend. Some weeks ago we visited her family in vietnam. The first day in hanoi was just crazy. I recommend you watch some Videos about "hanoi traffic". For a german, who is used to organized traffic, it was hell on earth :D . There were more moments of culture shock, but the traffic was the first and worst ;)
Hell on earth?? I was also struck by the driving style in Hanoi, but in a positive way. It is much more efficient than in Western countries, the Vietnamese drivers can get along without traffic lights and without stopping.
I get where you are coming from, but in my opinion it is only efficient for the person, who gets through the traffic fast. for the ones he/she is cutting off it's just as inefficient, so it balances out on the grand scale. A more organized traffic in my opinion is more fair and everyone gets to ther destination equally fast. Also the risk for accidents is reduced although that might be debatable. I witnessed more risky situations and actual accidents in the 3 weeks I was there than in a half year of german traffic.
sgtskully meine Freundin ist Brasilianerin, von daher kann ich dich voll und ganz verstehen (bzgl. Kultur-unterschiede). Aber am Ende ist es nur wichtig, was man für sich selber aus diesen Unterschieden macht. :-)
I've travelled to many countries and I think my biggest culture shock was Japan. So many people looking similar, similar heights, and business clothing so similar and so many people it was impossible to cross the train station. Also service being relatively poor. I remember the taxi driver pulling up to our hotel. It was raining and he just popped the trunk and sat there. We had to get out and get all our luggage. Everywhere else I've been the taxi driver helps you with your luggage. Probably the culture of no tipping reduces service value. I remember in London the taxi driver was so entertaining. He had us in stitches all the way to our hotel. I gave him more than a 20 pound tip, he asked if he could marry me. The guy could be a stand-up comedian.
In 1971 I was stationed to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. I arrived on Saturday morning at the base. Found my barracks and put on my civilian clothes. I caught a local bus to take me to the nearest town. I wanted to walk around and eventually have dinner and drink at a local restaurant. Since I spoke no German I had to look carefully at the signs. Not just road/street signs, but also the business's signs. I was surprised to learn that I could figure many out. The meal was fantastic and so were way too many beers. When I got on the bus to return to the base, I ended up paying for everyone on board. One of my best memories of going to Germany for the first time and by myself with a guide or interpreter. Years later I was working for a German company here in the US. I was traveling with a couple of our German engineers and we found ourselves at the Seattle airport. While waiting for our flight I noticed that one of the guys had a kind of anxious look on his face, similar to a six-year-old that has to hit the john. When I asked what was wrong he was at a loss for words. I asked him if he needed the wasser closet? Yes he said with relief. I pointed to the "Men's Room" and off he went. Upon returning he asked what do you say in the US when asking for the location? I started listing the different ways that we use, "where is the john, I need to take a leak, I need to drain the lizard, and so on". When he was finished I asked him what would be the same answer in Germany? He responded, "I must leave a column of water in the corner" at which time the other Germans all nodded in agreement.
Charming couple . This type of relationship makes the world smaller and brings people together I think. What I’m meaning is your sharing your experiences.
My first roadtrip westcoast USA was so stunning. And the first time in a supermarket with this huge packagings of Chips, Cookies, ans others. Also those huge cars ans pick ups and those endless streets in the national parks. Since 2017 I am so in Love with the USA.😍 I'm from germany
Just as there's a reason for there being two distinct characters, there's a reason why your name isn't "braindead dumbfuck". I'm honouring the existence of the latter (for the moment), what's your problem with the existence of the former?
+Anvilshock Although I tend to lean towards "meh" when it comes to mistakes in posts, you have a point. The way we as a society have devolved away from human contact, we have to make sure our current/last form of contact through writing (social media) is conveyed correctly. What I mean is, it is very easy to misinterpret a post mostly because it misses inflection on words. One sentence with five words can mean five different things when the inflection changes i.e. "*Are* you talking to me?" "Are *you* talking to me?" and so on. Spelling as well as intent are important as well. If we as a society want to regress to a point where our main human contact is social media via text, it is incumbent on us for our future to not corrupt our written language to the point of grunts and groans. Carry on :)
Dana, I really enjoy all your vids. You're great and I am really liking that Stefan has been taking a more active part in your videos. You guys play off each other really well and it is nice to occasionally get a native Germans perspective on some of the topics you talk about.
Frankfurt Germany 1997. My first business trip to Europe and there are armed soldiers with large guns patrolling the airport. Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
I had that feeling going to Spain in the 1980s. The first time I saw two soldiers, probably Guardia Civil, standing outside the doorway of a run-of-the-mill public building guarding it with submachine guns it was definitely something that caught my attention. Despite all the talk of guns I never saw that in the United States. In hindsight, I'm fairly certain it was because of the threat of ETA. They liked blowing up or shooting up public buildings in those days. I was in southern Spain but I guess the threat was nationwide.
Biggest culture shock for me(California) was when I visited Sevilla, Spain; the Spanish people were eating dinner at 9-10 pm in droves. The night life is out of this world.
I grinned thru this whole video!! I love videos with both of you & relate to them so much b/c my husband is German (we live in Chicago). This made me think of his first trip to the States meeting my family & friends! ♥️
I've dealt with my share of big airports, but have either of you ever been to one that was just a little on the _small_ side? When I graduated from Navy Boot Camp, in April, 1999, they sent me to submarine school, in Groton, CT. The airport there only accommodated (at the time) _four_ airlines which meant _eight_ employees. There would be one to check your ticket, and then run the x-ray machine at the security checkpoint, and then work with the security personnel to load the bags into the plane, and then de-ice the wings, and then direct the plane out to the runway, and the _other_ guy would be the copilot from the plane. We (the passengers) joked that the other guy was now going to go to the control tower. And the planes _themselves_ would be these dinky, little _Christmas_ ornaments that made you wonder why the ticket agent asked whether you preferred an aisle seat or a window seat, since every single seat on the plane was _both._ There was no lavatory, since the plane would not be in the air long enough to _need_ one. Accordingly, there would also be no _flight_ attendants or _refreshments_ served. Any incoming flight is coming from Philadelphia. Any _outgoing_ flight is going _to_ Philadelphia. At one point, every single seat on the _left_ side of the plane was occupied, but only _two_ seats on the _right_ side were. We joked that the plane was going to fly in circles.
lazyperfectionist1 my hometown has an airport that tiny. It was crazy when I got to the salt lake airport it was so huge. I've since been to quite a few different sizes of airports, but the first time seeing the difference between an airport serving one small town versus one serving a number of large cities was quite shocking.
I was vacationing in Maine a few years back and flew into and out of Augusta airport. I think the attached Chinese restaurant was bigger than the terminal building. Quite an eye-opening experience.
The smallest airport I’ve been in was on an island called Sylt in the North Sea. One flight a day and I think it was just a bunch of chairs in one room. So bizarre. I feel like we didn’t even have legit boarding passes
I noticed that you interrupt and talk over Stefan a lot. I think it would be nice, if you leaned back a little and let him talk freely. It was distracting when I was trying to listen to what he was saying and you would cut him off.
Let me drop a little truth for ya....MANY loving couples talk this way. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it doesn't work in their relationship. ab202012 : Just the mere fact that you mention Trump automatically qualifies you for a safe room ;)
I enjoyed your video. I just came back from a trip to Banff , Alberta, Canada and yes, I was amazed at how beautiful it is there, how wonderfully cool it was for the middle of summer, how clean it was, how friendly everyone was, how well maintained everything was, etc. I loved everything about it and will return as soon as I possibly can.
When we came home from a student exchange in Cyprus, me and my friend sat in an airport café at Frankfurt Airport, just waiting for check-in to out next flight to Hamburg. My friend had just bought herself a plush dog, which was a Husky, and we were playing with it. Suddenly, a lady came up to us, showing us pictures of her baby husky Henry that looked JUST LIKE the plush toy we had. We didn't really understand her speaking (we were like 9 years old), but she was really nice and proceeded to chat with our teachers for a bit. She was either from North America or Australia. We were really taken aback by her friendliness (all the other people in the café were businessmen hiding behind newspapers and giving us disapproving looks) and my friend named her plush dog Henry afterwards.
I've been to Nepal in October 2018 and I walked around like Stefan all the time! I guess I didn't stop smiling and being shoked and overwhelmed for all the three weeks! It was my first time out of Europe and I was just soooo amazed by the culture, the language, the nature, the people, the food, the traditions.... On the last day I couldn't believe to just leave and be back in my old life and actually I still feel like this trip made a huge difference for me! It changed my way of thinking and acting and I really hope to go back to that wonderful place one day! Until then I'll carry Nepal with me in my heart
I think it shows the diversity of languages from one part of the United States to another area. In Ohio, we call what we carry our clothes and personal items in on a trip luggage. Baggage is to some extent throwaway items. If I lose my baggage it's not a big deal, it could have replaceable items; soaps shampoo, toothbrush, snacks, a book to read, such as that. If I lose my luggage it IS a big deal; clothes, items of value that might be hard to replace. Carryon luggage has the meds, money, jewelry, items of value that I would not want to lose at all.
What I miss most about in the US and was super confused at for the first two weeks was how polite and friendly everyone is and especially the small talk with random people!
baggage and luggage both work in this context but I'm with Stefan and would use luggage only because baggage also has a different (negative) meaning. The things people went through usually in relationships that may affected their current disposition is what I think off first when I hear the word baggage.
My husband is German. I loved Germany when I went there. Loved it so much I wanted to move there! My favorite place is Fuesen even though my husband is from Bremen. We´ve been living in my native country of Panama for 17 years. We met in Florida. We have been married for 24 years.
As i was taught as a child in the 1960s in Australia: luggage is the suitcases and trunks themselves, baggage is your belongings packed in them. And indeed that is what the Concise Oxford says. So, you store luggage empty when it is not being used, and you are carrying baggage at the airport. Maybe this has drifted, or is British English, but it seems to me they really are different things.
And yet, the "Left Luggage" room/department/counter at a UK train station or airport and "Luggage storage" / "luggage lockers" in the USA are places to store luggage that is not empty.
This was my understanding in the US (DC area)! I would probably use them interchangeably but I thought the luggage was the suitcases themselves and baggage was all of your crap together.
oh i also had such a culture shock when i first visited the usa!!! i couldnt believe what i was seeing most of the time, and its really weird at first that the people over there are so nice. i also constantly felt like i was in a tvshow/movie the whole time
Makes me wonder what cultural shock my dad's grandparents and parents went thru when they came over from Germany. At that time it was Prussia when they came over. One town was Penkhul. The other was Stanzig. Both now have Polish names.
This year was our first trip to America and then directly to NYC. (my husband and I) We had no culture shock. We felt very well. In the future, we would like to travel to Chicago. My biggest dream would be to travel to LA. My English is not the best, but it´s enough to answer someone or to order something for me.
Chicagoans are accustomed to people visiting (or moving to Chicago) from other countries, who may have some difficulty with English. Just ask for help if you are confused.
1994 I was in the USA for the first time. When I woke up the first morning, I heard about LA the typical howling of American police cars and saw the words"Hollywood" on the hills behind the city. That really didn't feel real. It was very easy to make friendly contact with almost everyone. Very quickly very personal things were exchanged, but at the same time I quickly realized that this did not mean that such a relationship is permanent. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
Sven Schumacher Good story. And good translation. The one change I would probably make is to change howling to wailing. Sirens wail. :) Visiting Los Angeles can feel the same way for an American, too. It's like recognizing a famous person in front of you that you've only ever seen on TV before.
This was an automated translation. But thanks for the correction. I hope to go to the US soon again. There is so much to see. Big country and so many very different places.
For one glorious year I had the privilege of living in Clearwater Florida. Grew up in Michigan. The look on Stefan's face is VERY familiar! Did my dishes while watching white herons land in the pond outside, every other weekend at sand key, madeira beach walking and walking...those little lizards that scurry about...bugs the size of cars....IT WAS WONDERFUL! Cried all the way out of the state when I had to move back. Thank you for bringing back wonderful memories. God bless. :)
It is so funny that stefan mentioned the friendlyness in english speaking countries... I alway thought like "oh okay, they are just a little bit more friendly than in Germany/central Europe"... And now I live for three weeks in Ireland and the people are SO FRIENDLY here... it's crazy :D And I also experienced the "hey how are you?"-question you mentioned in earlier videos... as a German I suppose you never know what to answer exactly :'D
I don't agree.. I live in london and people are not friendly. Certainly not frindlier. Very rarely do I have a nice encounter with a stranger even though I do treasure those.
hgzmatt oh thats sad... :( Here in Cork, Ireland, the people are really friendly and they help you when get lost etc. Maybe it is so because it's a smaller city? I don't know... ;)
Germans always notice how friendly everyone is abroad, no matter what country. I think it's the other way round, Germans are particularly unfriendly and everyone else is normal.
Xaver Lustig yeah it always depends on the perspective right? :D But I will definitely bring back a little bit of Irish friendlyness to Germany when I get back :)
Well maybe germans are unfriendly.. I'm from austria and the couple times I've been there they seemed friendly enough. I believe we are extremely close culturally so it's not a huge difference. I think it's a general misconception where we just don't show over the top friendliness unless there is a very good reason for it. And I like that idea because if you use something all the time it loses it's meaning. I'd rather be honest and people know that if I look happy I truly am.
I went to my husbands home town in Mexico and everyone kept staring at me. I said something and he told me no American had ever been there. I was in awe of the food because it was so simple but delicious. Everyone took a siesta from 1 to 3, nothing was open. The center of town was exactly like you see in the old westerns with the gazebo in the center. Once a week they butcher a pig and it is only available that 1 day. The motel was all of 6 rooms but very well cared for. All the colors were bright and the whole town was very open. It was very quiet and relaxed. No one spoke English and were very patient when I spoke spanish, we all laughed about it but they genuinely appreciated me speaking their language. It was culture shock because it was so peaceful and the food was so good. Very simple fare. I remember it fondly to this day.
I'm going to Ohio this November and i'm really nervous but excited about it. First time flying alone, first time traveling to America, first time meeting my GF irl, first time meeting her parents, first proper thanksgiving, first everything oO
Good luck! Be aware that the holidays are stressful for a lot of Americans. Not Thanksgiving itself, it’s the best holiday ever. But from then until Christmas I’d prefer to be in a coma. If you work in retail the hours can be brutal; if you just want to drive somewhere there’s too much traffic. Christmas advertising and music _everywhere_ make me want to do bodily harm to anyone nearby.
Spent 2 weeks in Regensburg Germany in December and my jaw never closed. Christmas markets in Regensburg, Munich, Nurnberg, Prague were amazing. The food was phenomenal and the culture divine.
In 1975 when I was 12 years old my stepfather was transferred to Germany. Upon arrival and after we collected our luggage and passed through customs at the Frankfurt airport, we headed up an escalator. While ascending, I glanced to my right and in very large letters over a store front were the words SEX SHOP with their wares prominently displayed in the store window.
The first time I went to the U.S., I stayed there for a year, so I had to look for an apartment. I stayed at a hostel for a couple of days, and a colleague had arranged for me to house-sit a friends' place, who were going on vacation for a week. So we met beforehand and they explained the most important things to me and gave me a key. But when I actually "moved in", I couldn't figure out how to actually unlock the door. So I kept trying for maybe 15 minutes and then all I could think of was to ask the neighbors. So I went to the next house, rang the doorbell and explained my situation. I think I had never been that nervous before. It was raining cats and dogs and here I was, some strange guy they had never met with a foreign accent trying to get into their neighbors' house using a key that doesn't actually work. But the guy didn't even bat an eyebrow, smiled and went over there with me. He had a short look at the door and then calmly explained to me that - because it was an oldish kinda lock - it might be slightly tilted and all I had to do was pull the door a little while turning the key. That actually did the trick. I can't really say it was a culture shock as I had never been in a comparable situation before or after, but this guy's reaction was definitely very different from what I'd been expecting. Unfortunately, I never met that guy again. I don't think I thanked him enough, I was just too overwhelmed.
Sweet video ! I actually started liking your videos to learn what might be likable about Germany ^^ I used to hate Germany a lot, but you made me see it in a new and sweeter way ^ ^ Thanks for that ! I’m German (from Münster, lived 6 years in Düsseldorf) but I’ve studied 1 year in Japan and am now moving to L.A. for good. It was quite interesting to me that Stefan had such a big culture shock & I heard the same from many of my German friends visiting the US. I kinda expected to have a bit of a culture shock too, but I didn’t have any so far in the US (L.A and San Francisco) but I think that comes from living in Japan maybe , it being so much more different from Germany than the us. I was even a bit sad that it was so small compared to what I expected- but I guess compared to experiencing Tokyo city life, L.A. is super chill :D I think the chill & outgoing types of the young Germans fit very well into California and the like :)
I think part of the reason why the culture shock going from Germany to the US instead of other countries is because you don’t expect it. We all see the movies and so on and we think we know all about it and it’s not the different anyways... But it really is very different. Going on vacation to Asia you expect a very different culture but I guess not really going to the US 😉
I spent two year in Germany and really loved it! There were things I missed of course, but there were so many new things to experience, that compensated, and more!
Buenos Aires was my first culture shock. But I just went with the flow and I loved it. Three months in, and a Bonairense local mistakenly guessed I was from northern Argentina. I. WAS. ECSTATIC! Ultimate cloud-nine experience being mistaken for an almost-local. They were shocked when I said, “Nope. California. But you were close!” BTW, guys, for me, luggage is the bag all by itself (empty) and baggage is luggage that’s been filled with all your crap. Tschüss! -Phill, Las Vegas
Yes - I have also had the same overwhelming feeling. It was when I was travelling to Korea to pick up my son (14 years ago now! Time flies!). Going from a small town in Sweden to big city Seoul was really, really a big shock. I had never before experienced sky scrapers and that much people. But I fell in love with the place and I really want to go back there.
I liked this video to see Stefan's view, literally the other way round to your experience coming to Germany. It's fascinating getting to know both sides! There is just one thing I feel I need to mention: Dana please stop interrupting Stefan so much. He coud barely speak two complete sentences in a row without you interjecting and sometimes anticipating what Stefan was going to say. That made the video stressful to watch. I know, this is your channel, but if you let somebody else talk about their experiences give them some room to express themselves. I don't mean this to be rude. As you can guess by my critique, I'm German and I do write this to you as "Konstruktive Kritik". I always enjoy your videos and think they are well done :)
LoL funny I am a American male and my wife is Austrian , Just TRY to talk with anyone with her in the room . Oh and Austrian love to talk over each other so both can be talking at the same time . I just seat back and let them talk . Culture shock is not that bad in Europe , Most younger people all speak some english . No matter what country your in . Most people in Europe use English as a 2nd language .
When i was 14 a was in the Czech Republic. I was so overwhelmed, because I never saw so much snow in my whole life. Because i came from northern Germany and there you can be pretty happy if you can build a little snow man.
Stefan's reaction to America's was like my first reaction to England. After having read Dickens and Shakespeare and watched various shows like classic Dr Who, I got to go to England (and London especially), and see not just the Globe and the British Museum, but also just regular streets. And everyone spoke in a British accent and there were pubs with quaint names. It was very neat.
My neighbour had to move to Buenos Airis for 2 years and my mother, sister and I visited her. This was also my first time crossing the Atlantic Ocean or generelly travelling this far. I live in Germany and only visited the countries around. I just walked around with exactly the same expression, but it was awesome there.
I went alone to the US in 1980, when I was 19 years old. I didn't run around with my eyes wide open and surprised, but was from then on taken aback by the freindliness I was always greeted with. I had bought a car in Buffalo, N.Y. and drove east to Boston, down to Washington and zig zagged my way across to L.A. On that trip I made friends with people, who are still my friends. We are in touch. If not on a weekly basis, then at least every month. I have learned a lot from them. Since then I have been to the US so many times now, that I have stopped counting, but the friendliness keeps amazing me. One of the funniest experiences I had - which much to my regret was before we all ran around with a smart phone that could record video clips - was on a trip to New York, Washington, Buffalo and Montreal, where I had brought my mother along. On Manhattan a traffic light was out of work, so a police officer was directing the traffic. It pas priceless. With pantomime mimics and gestures like Charlie Chaplin he was running the show, like explaning a woman driver: "Where do you think you are going?" No no no, you are all wrong. You will have to WAIT - and NOW you can go THAT way and that way ONLY." I am pretty sure everybody got through this traffic jam with a smile on their faces.
I remember being in a German Walmart as a 7 year old American and I was terrified. It was so strange being in a place that seemed so familiar but nobody was speaking my language.
Samantha Rose ... that's how I felt when I was in parts of Florida. Everyone was speaking Spanish. Coming from a northern state, this was so strange. I was a stranger in my own country.
Erik Evrard There were at one time, but German people did not support them (to my understanding) and they subsequently closed because it was not profitable to keep them open.
I can relate! I went to Costa Rica for a month four years ago (I’m American), and the only time I really felt culture shock was the first day when I went to Wal-Mart. It was like the uncanny valley of culture or something with how similar yet different it was from American Wal-Mart.
great video! I had that experience after a dive in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.. the enormity of the ocean made me feel very overwhelmed and humbled..
Since you mentioned the surrealism of these travels, I have that all the time in the USA. Grown up in West Germany, left for USA at age 40 in 2003, now I am traveling to places I know from very old songs (70s). Sacramento, Philadelphia, New York City, Reno, Chicago, I walk the streets and the songs are in my head (and on my playlist, haha). Or I am in a place nearby from places I heard in songs, so I look up the map and I understand the meaning of "so here we go to Amarillo" (meaning from Lorado). I understand now the trip they planned. Before that these were no places to me on a map, they were just words in a pop song. My best is always when I tease my Boney M friends while I am in Reno. There is a BM song starting with "in the hills above Reno", and that is where I am staying (for work), exactly there, in the hills above Reno. Not in Reno, but in the hills above it. The song is titled "Consuela Biaz", and I am sending my friends notes like "I'm with Consuela Biaz again", then they know where I am. It is totally surreal when you walk places physically that you have heard in pop songs decades before in other parts of the world.
Marcel Audubon Sorry, I forgot you might be American reading this. Boney M. was THE most important Disco group next to ABBA in the 70s, produced in West Germany with superhits all over the world. I am not kidding, they were superstars all over the globe except for 2 countries: China (was in the post-Mao era and still closed tightly) and the USA. They did release their records here on Atlantic, even had a gig on Soul Train in March 1979, but the Americans never took them seriously. That is why you have never heard of them. But you might have heard their Xmas hit "Mary's boychild" on your local radio. Idk, just assuming because my American husband had never heard of them either before he met me, but he knew the song from his Pennsylvania radio station, they play it every year.
I’m from the US (born and raised in CA) and I felt the same sense of wonder and awe when I came to Egypt. Definitely overwhelming but in a really good way! I married an Egyptian man and now live in Cairo ❤️❤️
keriezy which word is used when it comes to small bags e.g. hand luggage. I've never seen the phrase hand baggage. Plus is baggage only used in the US? Which word do other countries prefer?
I'm American and I've never heard people call it baggage, unless we're talking a person's bad habits, or about that weird dating show on GSN called Baggage, but I digress. Everyone I know calls it luggage, but different parts of the US use different words, like with soda vs pop.
My 1st trip out of the USA was to Germany. It was a culture shock for me. I was only 20. We first toured Munich. I was surprised how modern the fashion was in the shop windows. And then the English Garten with the naked sunbathers lol. The beautiful Theatine Church, and the size of Nymphenburg Palace. Just wonderful. I finally got to go back a few months ago, 30 years later. Germany was Even better than I remembered!
I had a similar experience in reverse. My then wife and I took a vacation from the U.S. to Germany to visit a German lady my wife met when I was in the Army at Ft. Hood. They picked us up at the airport and brought these huge sandwiches made with this awesome bread and the husband opened a cooler and asked if I wanted a beer with my sandwich before he started to drive to their house. I said sure but asked if we couldn't get pulled over for drinking in the car. He thought I was crazy and I couldn't believe it was legal. Complete culture shock! Loved visiting Germany! Especially Bavaria!
Yes, the Grand Canyon for sure...I want to go back again. I loved the water all through the San Juan Islands in Washington. Also, Carlsbad Caverns underground was very interesting. I went to Mexico a couple times, to Tijuana, Mexico from California, and going to Juarez Mexico from El Paso, Texas. The taxi drivers drove like crazy and the kids panhandling and the contrast of rich gated homes to dirt houses was startling..Mexico was a big culture shock for sure!
My family and I traveled to the US when I was 15 years old. I was also very positively surprised by the kindness of the people but even more by the vastness and beauty of the nature. It was overwhelming. One day we visited a beautiful place which is also a sacred site for Native Americans and I had a spiritual experience there. I suddenly got a lot of knowledge. This knowledge is more certain than anything I have learned in life and it is totally undisputable for me. Anyway, it changed my whole attitude and has given me a lot of strength in difficult situations throughout my life.
I moved to Augsburg, Bavaria from Texas without knowing a word of German. (Was told Germans learn English in school) Eight years I looked like you did with eyes big as saucers. First day I could not get out of bed from jet lag. Second, McDonalds charged me 0.20 DM for ketchup, witnessed ketchup mixed with mayo, (threw up in my mouth🤢)and an old lady hit me with her umbrella in the thigh (I was looking at beautiful architecture in the Altstadt) for being in her way. Was asked by a person who would eventually be my wife if I was American. Said yes from Texas. Asked if I have a lot of horses? Said that’s a silly stigma I only have one. Asked if I drive a big Cadillac? Ok you got me on that one. I do but it was given me by my grandmother. Was asked why I was not wearing a cowboy hat. Had to explain most African Americans don’t dress western. Was told if I live on a ranch I should dress cowboy. I explained to her I lived in a city and could see the ocean from my house. Her response was if I make you upset with my questions you don’t have to be mean to me. 😂 then she touched my hair without asking and walked away. A week I turned the radiator in my room to the sun picture when I woke and to the moon picture before I got in bed before it was explained to me that I don’t need it in the summer. 🤣 Learned real fast to ask Germans “how’s it going” only when I have a few minutes.
I had culture shock when I moved from the burbs of Atlanta to the burbs of munich at 17! Didn't speak a lick of German. First time I went out with ppl around my age they came to pick me and go to the disco or club as i knew it 😂 they were playing the song "welcome to Atlanta where the playas play" 😂 i knew every word and sang it ... they thought that was hilarious. Ppl there always asked me about guns and if I'd shot one or if it was true that in Kennesaw ga they are by law requires to have a gun in their homes. 😂 it was such a foreign concept to them. I just couldn't believe they knew about that! Also our front door locked automatically and I locked us out and a locksmith wouldn't open the door because we were foreigners and my neighbor, translating for us, kept telling him that we could show him our papers if he'd just open the door but he wouldn't and the neighbor had to drill out the door handle and let us in...only after he and the locksmith got into a very heated arguememt....none of which I could understand 😂.
I'm from South FL, too. I was in the USAF and was stationed in Germany (Sembach). I was picked up right away at Frankfurt by another military member and so I didn't get to interact with Germans for the first hour in country .... but I remember my first culture shock. I just got on base and was talking to the person setting me up with base housing. She spoke perfect English with zero accent, and we were on base so I assumed she was American ... but then she turned and started talking in German. I guess the shock was that it came out of nowhere. My next culture shock was when I went to a restaurant and had to go to the bathroom. I stood in front of 2 doors .... one had an "H" and the other had a "D". Thankfully I guessed correctly, otherwise I might have had another kind of shock. ProTip: if you're a guy pick the door that has an "H" on it.
I was stationed at Hahn AB, in the early 1960s, and again at Weisbaden AB, in the early-middle 1970s. Used to travel down to Sembach AB on duty as an Air Police Supervisor. In 1966, re-titled Security Police. Also went into Trier, Luxembourg, and on to Paris, France many times, as well as the rest of Germany. If I remember correctly the main two lane highway was B-235 or B-237 back then. You could drive it from Trier to Koblenz along the Effiel mountains. Part of my patrol area was the Mosel River, most especially during Wine Fests. Good memories indeed. Spangdalem and Bitburg were a couple of other Bases back then, I went to, don't know if any are still open or not. We had a missile unit located at Hahn, from Sembach. Their Air Police Unit combined with ours later. The missiles back then (60s) was the MACE and the MATADOR (looked like T-33 jet planes on "Trans-Launchers" (trailers)
We had the pleasure of hosting a wonderful German student from Bavaria. We had had a terrible experience with a student from Catalonia and to avoid the misery a second time, we wrote a letter full of Thou Shalt and Shalt Nots. To think of it now I blush. Peter was such a terrific guy we wept after he left! The Germans have a vastly superior education system so he had absolutely no trouble being an Honor student and the rest of the time just enjoying funny Americans. Love you, Peter!
Tbh I never had a culture shock in another country simply because I got there as a tourist and prepared myself. But I had a minor culture shock when I went to Bavaria for the first time with my friends. It sounds kinda stupid but Bavaria is so different from other parts of Germany that being there for the first time grown up (as a child I didn't realize the differences) makes it feel like a different country.
Bavaria is closer to Austria in culture than it is to Germany in total. My Great-grandmother was from Bavaria region, and I learned German from her. I could easily read the German signs, however the spoken word was different when I was stationed at Hahn AB, on the French border area in the 1960s, and again when I was stationed at Weisbaden AB on the Rhein River area in the 1970s. I do love Germany, and I do love England/GB where I grew up at as a "Military Brat" in the 1950s.
I had the same experience your Husband had if not multiplied when I went to Japan. Me, being from Eastern Kentucky, from a small town, taking my first trip overseas. First time time on a plane and on the plane for 22 hours straight. The culture shock was real. I spent over a month there.
But you don't need a big plan trip to go anywhere in Europe. For example we made holidays in Hungary and we drove there, same goes for Italy. We only flew to Greece and that isn't a big plane ride.
Thanks for this video, I resonated so much with what Stefan had to say about culture shock. My first time being out of the United States was when we were stationed in Stuttgart, Germany (for 5 years) in 2009. The first day in the hotel, trying to keep a 4 and 7 year old awake, felt like I was just trying to make it through the day. We were in a hotel near the airport and were just left to ourselves, no one was showing us where to go to find food or how to navigate the area. Our car would not arrive for another 2 months so we could only get to places by foot or metro (thankfully there was a stop next to the hotel). After a failed attempt at trying to eat dinner at a restaurant, we decided to get on the metro and go to downtown Stuttgart (in coats because although it was August in Germany, we just came from Texas and were used to temperatures over 100 degrees and it was only 65 degrees, winter was a real eye opener). We muddled our way though figuring out the metro and arrived at the Hauptbahnhof. We walked into the main terminal and what did we see...Burger King! I don't think I had ever been so happy to see anything in my entire life! We ordered by pointing at the menu, drank our sodas without ice, and experienced only getting one packet of ketchup per person. Not to mention just how expensive those burgers were, and let's face it, it was only Burger King and isn't even any good. After that we learned how to shop, how to drive, how to pay bills, how to speak enough deutsche, even go to the emergency room at the Krankenhaus. We learned a lot about the country we lived in, but also a lot about our own country while we lived overseas. It was an invaluable experience and I think everyone should have to leave their country and live somewhere foreign. It teaches you so much and makes you a much more sympathetic person.
This has to be my favorite Wanted Adventure video ever! I didn't want it to end. It's so interesting to hear what this is like from the opposite perspective. (I'm American.)
I did experience this a little bit domestically when I moved to the U.S. South for graduate school after having never even visited that part of the country before. (It's really different than the rest of the U.S. I loved it there.)
I felt that when I went to England when I was in college, as I went with my college wind ensemble. We flew from O'Hare in Chicago, IL as a direct flight to England. We had just landed in Heathrow, went through customs, got our bags, and had to wait a while for our tour bus to arrive. I swear, I could not get enough of the new sights and sounds during that time. I absolutely loved it!
The first time I was in the US I was astonished how accurate the movies were that played there. (And after that, I understood the simpsons even better :)
I loved this my experience was like this when I first got stationed in Germany. My wife(German) had these same experiences as your husband visiting me here when I was stationed in NJ
He's right. Hollywood isn't worth it anymore. You can still see the celebrity stars in front of the Chinese theater, but there's tons of street garbage.
I'm from St. Louis in the middle of America. I lived in Vienna for a couple of months during college. It was amazing how different everything was. Even down to the little things like grocery shopping! I miss it.
First: Stefan needs his old hair style ^^ he looked so much better back then Second: Dana, I saw you yesterday on ARD alpha :D You did an awesome job Third: I once had a trip to Italy by bus and we drove through Switzerland. Everything looked like a postcard just by watching out of the window.
