Culture Shock! Germany

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Culture Shock!Germany

• Awesome PP Presentation by Alan Itkin

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Table of Contents

• First Impressions
• German History
• German Characteristics
• The German Landscape
• Fitting Into Germany
• Settling In
• Experiencing German Society
• Food and Entertaining
• Enjoying Germany
• Doing Business in Germany
• D.I.Y. Germany

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Extras

• Culture Quiz
• Dos and Donts Appendix
• Resource Guide
• Further Reading
• Map
• Index

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Introduction

• The story of the three blind men and the
  elephant.
• No one can fully experience and describe all of
  it, not even someone who had spent his or her
  whole life here (6).
• Ive tried to incorporate all of these
  perspectives into the overall view presented
  here, even when they were in some cases wildly
  contradictory (7).
• But then, German society itself is wildly
  contradictory in so many ways (7).
• I admit that even after youve travelled through
  this whole book, you still wont know every inch
  of the elephant, but at least youll have a good
  idea of what kind of beast this elephant is, and
  how you might begin to deal with it (7).

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Tone Style

• Informal
• Conversational
• Anecdotal
• Avuncular
• Straightforward

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Chapter 1 First Impressions

• A quote from one world-weary American visitor
  I was pretty much used to the fact that in
  todays world, every place looks like every place
  else. But Germany looks more like every place
  else than any place else (12).
• Dispelling myths, Lederhosen, etc.
• I can count on the fingers of one hand all
  foreign residents of Germany who came here and
  then fell in love with the country or its people
  (as opposed to some of its people). But they did
  fall into a sense of satisfaction (15).

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Chapter 3 German Characteristics

• Skipping Chapter 2 History.
• History plays a role in the development of all
  nations but in Germany it casts a particularly
  long and heavy areas (39).
• What are Germans like?
• Germans are not risk takers and they insist on
  having things reasonably under control-- and what
  the Germans see as reasonable, others might well
  consider irrational (40).
• Other headings under Values in this chapter
  Neither Borrowers nor Lenders, Home and Hearth,
  Concern for the Environment, Compartmentalisation,
  Keep it Where it Belongs, The Importance of
  Planning, Frankness to a Fault, Arrogance,
  Theres Always Room for Gloom, etc.

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Other Chapters

• Chapter 4 The German Landscape
• Exploring regional differences in geography and
  culture.
• Chapter 5 Fitting into Germany
• Immigration, ethnic communities,
  multiculturalism, xenophobia.
• Practical advice for integrating into German
  culture Aufenthaltserlaubnis, etc.

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Other Chapters

• Chapter 6 Settling In
• Practical advice for living in Germany housing,
  banking, shopping, health, transportation, etc.
• Chapter 7 Experiencing German Society
• Advice for acclimating oneself to German culture
  humor, public vs. private, etc.

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Other Chapter

• Chapter 8 Food and Entertaining
• Gross!
• Chapter 9 Enjoying Germany
• Leisure time activities Holidays, the Kneipen
  culture, Strassenfeste, the media, the arts.

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Other Chapters

• Chapter 10 Learning the Language
• Chapter 11 Doing Business in Germany
• Chapter 12 D.I.Y Germany
• Miscellaneous cultural info names to drop in
  conversation, etc.

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Conclusion

• Culture Shock! Germany is a decent, practical,
  friendly guide, that does not pretend to be
  definitive, but approaches German culture from
  the perspective of a non-native (Richard Lord),
  with plenty of anecdotes and advice gleaned from
  the experiences of other outsiders who acclimated
  themselves to German culture.