Germans being Germans

     My host family, as sweet as they are, this is their first time hosting a student from my school! Which is incredibly exciting but, I am the ‘guinea pig kid’. For example, they set-up an adorable little kitchenette in my loft area complete with a microwave, a sink, a mini fridge, an induction stove, a kettle and all the pots, pans, silverware, etc. to go with it. However, the pans they purchased do not work on the induction stove…. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make eggs in a 5 liter pot… because I do. And I don’t have the heart to tell them that this is my life for the next 4 ½ months.

Speaking of host families and Germans though, coming here I knew they upheld a reputation for seriousness and being work-driven and blunt and often times coming across as rude as a result. My experiences so far though have proven to be quite the opposite. Life here seems to be structured around prioritizing family first. If kids are at home, parents are expected to be home as well. That means work hours that are flexible around school hours. That means working on the weekends is absolutely unheard of and deemed unacceptable. Even me studying on the weekends my host family finds crazy – I know, crazy right. I rather kind of like it this way though… although I doubt it will keep me away from studying on the weekends, there is simply too much to do.  On an unrelated note though something kind of interesting with Germans just being Germans is the stigma with COVID Vaccines. Pfizer, is a German vaccine. German engineered, German manufactured, Germany produced... And I’ve noticed here it’s not uncommon for certain cafes and restaurants to only accept Pfizer vaccines for entry rather than Moderna or Johnson & Johnson – kind of interesting.