While in Germany I have experienced many things that are similar and completely different from America. Here are a few of those things (sorry for the randomness and lack of order, just trying to get everything I've seen down):
- There are a lot more smokers in Germany than in America. Everywhere I turn here there are people smoking from young to old. Instead of snack machines everywhere, there are cigarette machines were you can pick from over 20 different smokes.
- I have saw a lot more men taking care of children on their own here. In America I very rarely see men out alone with their children, but here I see it everywhere. Fathers taking their children to the park, to school, or just exploring with them. I see fathers with older children and fathers with infants, it's amazing. I thought Germany would still be stuck on the woman as the home keeper idea, but it seems that this country has developed the more modernized family system.
- Germany is FULL of immigrants. Because of Germany's history I thought this country would be more old fashioned with very few immigrants and international culture, but boy was I wrong. There are many people from Turkey, Africa, India, Ghana, Afghanistan, and places I have never even heard of. Germany seems to be more of a melting pot than America.
- Germans eat A LOT of cake, ice cream, and bread, but they don't seem to have the obesity issue that America has. Maybe it has something to do with the way Germans make their food with a lot less sugars and chemicals, or the fact that they walk EVERYWHERE and exercise great portion control. (I swear I have walked enough here to have been in a few marathons!)
- The German school system seems to be more laid back and functional than America. The teachers here seem far less stressed and exercise more freedom in their classrooms and curriculum. Because there is no set curriculum for the teachers to follow, they do have some guidelines for math, they feel less pressured to zoom through the material and to stick to bookwork. The teachers here will stay on a topic for months if it means that ALL the students understand it, where in America, if you don't get it the first time, good luck trying to figure it out on your own. They also aren't bound by state tests, assessments, miles of paperwork, or all the other crazy things that bind American teachers. This leads the students in Germany to be more open to learning and to actually have fun in the classroom.
- Because education is so important in Germany, students are prepared for their jobs beginning in 4th grade where they choose to go to Gymnasium or Statileschule or to vocational school. After deciding and making it to 12th year, they can take the Abitur, kind of like our SAT, which gets them into the University. Did I mention they don't have to pay for college? For teachers, they go to University for 5 years, then do 1 1/2 years of internship before they are considered qualified. They also have to apply to get an internship position, which if they don't get, they either wait to apply again later or decide to do something else. All of this schooling makes me think the teachers here are way more qualified and experienced when it is time to go into the classroom. With just my 4 years and 10 weeks of student teaching, I am honestly terrified of having my own class and having no idea what to do with them because of my lack of preparation compared to Germany. Side note: I was talking to one of the teachers here who is from Michigan. She has a Masters in teaching from the US and the German School system basically told her her degree was b.s. and won't let her get a paid position in a school here, she is "volunteering" as a teacher, so not getting paid. That has to tell you something about the quality of American education.
- Germans drink A LOT more beer and alcohol. You can buy beer at the grocery store, cafe, gas station, service store, pretty much everywhere. And there are no open container laws so you can walk around wherever you want and drink as much alcohol as you want. I've seen people drinking at 8 am or just sitting around in the middle of the day during the week having a few drinks. Although there is a lack of restriction on alcohol, I have not heard or seen any violence, injuries, or inappropriate behavior concerning alcohol since I've been here, it is very intriguing. I guess German's just know how to control themselves and control their drinking very well.
- There are a ton of babies. I don't know where the information came from that says Germans have a low birth rate, because I have saw a baby every single time I have been outside every single day I have been here. I think those researchers were looking at the wrong country.
Okay, that's all I can think of for