A is for ADMIN
Ok so the Germans like admin. My supervisor in Southampton mentioned this might be the case. Can't we just email them something to add their electronic signature to? Nice and easy. No! The Erasmus co-ordinator at Freiburg stamped my arrival form twice and then put a sticker on it, before finally signing it. Needless to say, 'E' won't be for efficiency.
B is for BEER
A stereotype, but the beer in Germany (unlike the sausages in my opinion) really is amazing. A 500 year old brewing law in Germany means beer is only allowed four ingredients: water, yeast, barley and hops. That means you get none of the chemicals you find in lagers from the UK, France, Holland... and, well just about everywhere else.
C is for CARS
Supremacy: 'the best or nothing' (Mercedes), arrogance: 'the Ultimate Driving Machine' (BMW). But it's hard to deny that German cars are pretty awesome, and as uniquely German as the Autobahn itself. However, I think the Germans love their bikes even more than their cars.
D is for DEUTSCHE BAHN
I don't like them very much. Check out my previous post.
E is for ENVIRONMENTAL
I might be coming from a biased viewpoint because I'm living in the 'Green City' but it seems like lots of Germans really care for the environment. It's easy to here with such amazing scenery around. Who would want to see the Black Forest chopped down to make post-it notes?
F is for FUßBALL
I had to put this in whilst living in the country of the world champions. You can't win a World Cup without huge dedication for many years from your home country. And the Germans do love football. But still not as much as us.
G is for GEORG HOFFNUNG
That's my name in German. Not that you can translate names, but it's still fun.
H is for HOMELY
Maybe because it's a nice country, or that the people are friendly and welcoming, but I do feel very at home here. Deutschland ist meine zweite Heimat.
I is for INTELLIGENT
I don't know if this is more of a stereotype or if it's actually true, but in my experience Germans are very clever people. History would also seem to back me up: Bach, Einstein, Kant, Nietzsche, Goethe...
J is for JA
I really can't think of anything for J.
K is for KLAR or ALLES KLAR
Literally means everything is clear, but I would also translate this as sure, okay, any time, yeah, all right, understood, are you ok?, looking good, of course, absolutely... and those are just the ones I can think of. They say it all the time. After living in Germany I'm sure of only one thing: there are more uses for 'Alles Klar' than there are people in the world.
L is for LINGUISTS
The Germans I've met are excellent linguists. It seems most people can speak English, and a lot can speak French too. The bathrooms in our flat are respectively labelled 'Boys/Chicos/Jungs/Garçons' on one door and 'Girls/Chicas/Mädels/Filles' on the other.
M is for MENSA
German universities have cafeterias, or Mensas, that serve pretty good food for very low prices. You can get main meal for €2.50 or a soup and bread of €1.50. We need this kind of thing at home!
N is for NO SENSE OF HUMOUR
People told me this before I left for my year abroad. Definitely not true. They have a great sense of humour.
O is for ORGANIC
I like buying organic stuff here, mainly because it's more affordable. I think in the UK it's largely about class and status. "Oh God, I would neeeevvverrr buy non-organic produce. All those God-awful pesticides..."
P is for PEGIDA
Germany haven't been immune to anti-Islam demonstrators either. Pegida is a group of populist anti-Islam, anti-immigration activists. However, on a positive note, the response to it has been very strong, with thousands demonstrating against them in practically every German city. Remember, Freundshaft hat keine Grenze! (Friendship has no borders).
Q is for QUATSCH
I picked this because I think it's such a great word. Pronounced 'kvatch', it means nonsense. This blog post is mostly Quatsch to be honest.
R is for RULES
I think Germans appreciate having structure and rules they can adhere to. The perfect example of this is when they cross the road. A respectable German will wait until the light goes green to cross, even if there's not a car in sight. Pretty much any other nationality will make a judgement of how fast the approaching car is going before making a quick decision. I'm not saying the rules are a bad thing. The beer law as I already mentioned is great. The ordered recycling as I've talked about in previous posts is the future.
S is for STREUSEL
Streusel is a delicious topping the Germans put on cakes and pastries. It's made from butter, flour and sugar, so it's a lot like a crumble topping. Try it!
T is for TRAMS
I love the trams in Freiburg, and in Germany in general. They're cheap, much more reliable than trains and they seem to cover almost every place I want to go to in the city (except Ikea).
U is for UNTERKUNFT
Unterkunft means accommodation. I live in a Wohngemeinschaft (WG, shared flat) here. They're similar to halls in the UK except they're not just packed with freshers; I think they're for students of all ages. People often stay in them for more than one year, which means they feel more lived in and less 'don't put anything on the walls or you won't get your deposit back'.
V is for VAUBAN
W is for WURST
The eponymous word for this blog. I hope that's the correct use of the word eponymous. I'll happily admit that German beer is the best in the world. But sausages? Give me a Lincolnshire any day over any of their ones.
X is for XYLOPHAGOUS
That means 'wood-eating'. It has absolutely nothing to do with Germany, but you can try thinking of a word beginning with X that does.
Y is for YARP
Ok not strictly Germany-related either, but the Year Abroad Research Project is what we have to do as our third year dissertation. It's what I should be working on now, really. And on that note...
Z is for Ze End.
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