The German Hug

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ug and kiss on both cheeks. But I learned that giving a hug is the way Germans meet other people and it took me some time to get used to it. And I even named it “German Hug”. Stereotype number one falls flat. Germans are not cold.Germans prefer to speak only German(And we all know that life is too short to learn German right?). To show you how wrong this opinion is, I will describe a story briefly. I was on the bus and an old woman, in her 70s maybe, started to explain to me the station where I had to get off, IN ENGLISH. Now that is something I never expected. And almost everyone knows English here. Wherever you go, in a shopping mall, train station, university, on the streets, etc. there is someone talking in English. Even if they do not know, they will try to help you anyway. Another stereotype fails.Germans obey rules. Yes, they do most of the time, but that doesn’t mean that they will never cross the street while the traffic light is still red. And nobody will shout at you for doing this. At least nobody did till now.The reality is that the Germans are very nice people. Whenever you need help, you can just ask the person next to you about it and they will help you without any doubt. Sometimes they offer to help you even if you do not ask for help. Like the girl who saw me getting lost in my huge university because I could not find my classroom, or the lady in the grocery shop, who did not know English, but she didn’t hesitate to leave her cash register place to help me put my things in the bag.And Germans are definitely not boring, rude, or cold. At least the 60 something years old man in my Salsa dancing

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course is not. He knows how to dance Salsa better than youngsters. And my neighbors always greet me when they see me and they always keep the door open for me to walk in, or they will wait for me to enter the elevator.Next time you will come to Germany people will tell you that it is a cold place filled with cold people. Do not believe them. Unless you want to. The truth is that it all depends on your mindset. It is you who decided how to perceive people and places.PS. There is something true about Germany though. Do not walk on bicycle roads. You will probably hear some German words being shouted at you by some not-so-happy cyclists. And try to always be on time. Germans may be late sometimes as well, but they always apologize. After all, they like to respect their time and expect the same thing from you.One more thing. Next time you meet a German, give them a German Hug.-Join <a href="https://keis-newsletter.beehiiv.com/">my monthly newsletter</a> where I share learnings and tips about living a more fulfilling life based on research and Stanford classes.Want to be the first one to be notified about my upcoming article? Then subscribe <a href="https://keihysi.medium.com/subscribe">here</a>.I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you’d like to support me as a writer, consider signing up to <a href="https://keihysi.medium.com/membership">become a Medium member</a>. It’s just $5 a month and you get unlimited access to Medium. If you sign up <a href="https://keihysi.medium.com/membership">using my link</a>, I’ll earn a small commission. Thank you!</article></body>

Are Germans really that cold?

It is not something new that Germans are considered “cold people”. Actually, it is a well-known and worldwide accepted opinion. Before coming to Germany to study, the first thing I did was Google the country and its people. And no need to guess, what I read mostly consisted of Germans being cold, not really preferring to talk in any other languages (“they won’t switch to English even if they know English”), obeying the rules, and probably never have the opportunity to make a German friend. Oh, I didn’t mention the fact that Bavaria, the southeastern part of German is considered to have even “colder” people. My future looked quite boring taking into consideration how spontaneous I am and how much I enjoy meeting new people. Just perfect.

It has been almost a month in Germany right now and long story short, I love this place and its people. The first person I met here was a German friend and the first thing he did when meeting me was give me a hug. Now that’s weird. Aren’t Germans supposed to be cold? Even in my native country the first time you meet a new person is to give them a handshake. And after knowing each other for some time we hug and kiss on both cheeks. But I learned that giving a hug is the way Germans meet other people and it took me some time to get used to it. And I even named it “German Hug”. Stereotype number one falls flat. Germans are not cold.

Germans prefer to speak only German(And we all know that life is too short to learn German right?). To show you how wrong this opinion is, I will describe a story briefly. I was on the bus and an old woman, in her 70s maybe, started to explain to me the station where I had to get off, IN ENGLISH. Now that is something I never expected. And almost everyone knows English here. Wherever you go, in a shopping mall, train station, university, on the streets, etc. there is someone talking in English. Even if they do not know, they will try to help you anyway. Another stereotype fails.

Germans obey rules. Yes, they do most of the time, but that doesn’t mean that they will never cross the street while the traffic light is still red. And nobody will shout at you for doing this. At least nobody did till now.

The reality is that the Germans are very nice people. Whenever you need help, you can just ask the person next to you about it and they will help you without any doubt. Sometimes they offer to help you even if you do not ask for help. Like the girl who saw me getting lost in my huge university because I could not find my classroom, or the lady in the grocery shop, who did not know English, but she didn’t hesitate to leave her cash register place to help me put my things in the bag.

And Germans are definitely not boring, rude, or cold. At least the 60 something years old man in my Salsa dancing course is not. He knows how to dance Salsa better than youngsters. And my neighbors always greet me when they see me and they always keep the door open for me to walk in, or they will wait for me to enter the elevator.

Next time you will come to Germany people will tell you that it is a cold place filled with cold people. Do not believe them. Unless you want to. The truth is that it all depends on your mindset. It is you who decided how to perceive people and places.

PS. There is something true about Germany though. Do not walk on bicycle roads. You will probably hear some German words being shouted at you by some not-so-happy cyclists. And try to always be on time. Germans may be late sometimes as well, but they always apologize. After all, they like to respect their time and expect the same thing from you.

One more thing. Next time you meet a German, give them a German Hug.

Join my monthly newsletter where I share learnings and tips about living a more fulfilling life based on research and Stanford classes.

Want to be the first one to be notified about my upcoming article? Then subscribe here.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you’d like to support me as a writer, consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s just $5 a month and you get unlimited access to Medium. If you sign up using my link, I’ll earn a small commission. Thank you!