Perhaps it’s because I have been traveling for approximately one month already that my expectations of Germany were pretty exact. I have learned that what I began expecting about certain cities usually wasn’t right. I then decided to drop any expectations I was hoping for and learned to expect to see more cultural similarities than differences.
This change in attitude began when I arrived in Barcelona. I had been to Spain before, however, the south of Spain near Jerez. The towns were so quaint and covered in what Americans would call Spanish culture. So when I arrived in Barcelona and it was a city that looked very similar to a place I have lived for seven years, New York City, I was highly disappointed. I wanted my friend who I had been traveling with to see the beautiful parts of Spain. This exact reaction occurred when we arrived in Athens as well. I was initially expecting little white homes with ruins in the background and instead saw huge buildings and technology everywhere.
Now I am asked what my expectations of Germany were and althought I am currently studying in Berlin, the first time I ever entered Germany was to visit a city a little farther south called Munich. As I said, I had learned not to expect much from cities, and again I was right about Munich. Munich was again another city, but what I didn’t expect were the amazing beer gardens throughout the city. They are gorgeous. I visited the touristy one, Hofbrauhaus. This is where my pictures come in. We were greeted by a man holding three huge beers, as seen in the second picture above. Then, while we were enjoying some beer, three children walked by in what they call Lederhosens. According to Wikipedia.com, Lederhosens were worn by boys at the age of 16. Nowadays, they are seen more as a boy scout uniform than actually clothing worn by teenagers.
This brings me to the differences in cultures between Germany and the U.S. My sincere thoughts are that technology has made the world such a small place that not many differences exist. On May 16th, 2008, web conferencing made it possible to have a court hearing from two different parts of the world, Slovakia and New York City (http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1202421424472). This only continues to prove that the world is getting smaller and smaller. Because of this I feel cultural differences are shrinking. Since I have been in Germany, I have heard the same songs I would hear in Miami, seen the same clothing worn by both countries, and eaten the same foods. While migration also helps bring cultures together, I truly believe technology has decreased the gap even further.
Facebook is a great example of how someone in Germany can learn about the newest trends in the States and then use those in their country. For example, while traveling I have made several local friends and plan to stay in touch with them as time goes on. We will probably talk about foods, trends, experiences and I will find that they are very similar in both countries. The ability to sign on to the internet while in Germany keeps me in touch with the States and allows me to feel less homesick.
Yes, there are some differences in cultures, for example some kinds of music. While house music is popular in the states, it is significantly more popular in Germany. The “thing to do” on a Saturday night in Berlin is to head to a club and dance the night away to techno music pumping through the speakers. In the States this is a bit less common, but again can be found in both countries.
Therefore, as technology continues to shrink the size of our world I believe cultural differences will also continue to shrink. While you can never erase the history a country holds and for that I find to be a reason to travel, I believe we will continue to find people in other countries that look and sound just like one another.
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