German newsletter

Deutsche Börse's company newsletter recently did an article on the visiting American workers. They were asked a few questions about Germany and were supposed to submit a "leisure" photo of themselves. Here are the questions with my answers. Dan gave some "American polite" answers, but I said he should be honest and blunt, just like the Germans are with us.

Which associations have you had with Germany before you arrived at Frankfurt? And how did reality match with them?

I traveled to see the Rhine River Valley on a Sunday when everything was closed. Other than that, I thought Germans were hard working with no sense of humor. Reality matched, except they aren't as hard working as I imagined.

What are the most frequently asked questions from Germans when you say that you are American?

1. Are you learning German yet?
2. Why are you living in Germany?
3. When are you moving back to America?

Which are the situations that tempt you to say "typically German"?

1. When my daughter holds the door for someone and they don't say "Danke" or even smile.
2. When someone scowls at me or other foreigners in disgust for talking on the train.
3. When I see someone haggling with a shopkeeper over €0.10.
4. When the lady at the cake cafe gives me a slice of Johannisbeere instead of chocolate because my pronunciation of "Schokolade" was imperfect.
5. When I see kids riding small wooden bikes with no pedals.
6. When I see families out on their "Sunday Strut" getting their €500 shoes muddy from walking on the dirt paths in the park.

Which are the three tourist attractions in Germany where you would go with people visiting you from your home country?

Oktoberfest
Rhine River
Christmas Markets


And here are the leisure photos I found for Dan to submit. Which one do you think he chose? It was harder than I thought to find a photo of only Dan (no Gianna) where he is fully clothed and not drinking beer.