5 GERMAN HABITS I DROPPED in 4 Years with a Venezuelan

Hey rabbits!
Time to celebrate! Erick and I just had our 4 year anniversary. In honor of this occasion I decided to make a video about how being with a Venezuelan for this long time changed my way of thinking - especially regarding some "typical German habits".
Which German habits did I drop? How did my perspective on certain daily life topics change and did it change for the better?
Learn more in today's new video and let me know what you think! Have fun! :-)

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INTRO
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

MUSIC & SOUNDS
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

"Punch Swoosh Series" (modified)
Source: YouTube Audio Library

IMAGES

VIDEO CUTTING SOFTWARE
Adobe Premiere Elements 12

[beckypages]

Can Eric make a video of things he changed after meeting you? I'm curious about it

[Pixxelshim]

Trixie, I perceive that you are such a compassionate and empathetic person, and one with the gift of expressing your feelings with words that ring so true. You need not limit yourself to German/English language discussions, but to feel free to discuss anything in which you have passion. Thank you for sharing.

[jessicawang]

“What exactly do I lose from trying?”
This is awesome, more people need to have this kind of mindset.

[mrscary]

I have been a watcher of your videos for some time now and this video is my
favorite. I started watching because I am a 3rd generation
Germen American and wanted to see what the country was like to just
be a person in. You and Dana (An awesome friend of yours) have been
my windows into a country I can’t manage to visit. Thank you for
your content and I wish you joy and happiness in you life and in all
things. Thank you for your openness in this video, it made it great,
maybe the best you have ever made? So good, that until you mentioned
the length I had no clue I had been watching for so long. Never be an
NPC, you are too cool for that.

Now I am off to
watch Dana’s next video.
Congrats on your 4th
anniversary, you picked the perfect soul-mate for you. :)

[stevenlopez]

Hey Trixi! I really enjoy your videos! I am from Puerto Rico living in Hamburg and I married a German woman, but the cultural differences were so strong that we ended up separated after two years of been married... It was really difficult because I met her on her holidays mood while she was in Puerto Rico and this is something that happens very often... you meet someone on holidays and when you meet them at their home country he or she can be a totally different person. Me as a Latino I love to be very flexible and spontaneous and I also don’t like to plan anything too much and just go with the flow of the moment but unfortunately this lifestyle, sometimes doesn’t work here in Germany.... so In my 6 years living in Germany I have also learned a lot from the German lifestyle while also keeping my Latin spirit. Now I am back in a relationship with another German woman and I enjoy how we work together using our culture background to support each other, like when she is going crazy because nothing is not going according to her perfectly organized plan, I am there to help her relax and remind her that sometimes is good to just let go and take it easy or when I am letting everything for tomorrow and been tooo relaxed she is there to push me on to moving forward to catch up with the German speed and achieving my goals. Thank you so much for your videos!

[robwilliams]

A lovely testimonial to your relationship with Eric. ❤️

[Der_Kosmonaut]

I’m glad you came to this conclusion instead of locking down and sticking to your ways. Life becomes so much easier when you let go and start focusing on what makes you happy.

[jostein]

I really really loved this video Trixie :)
I'm glad you are back on track and seem to have now settled in your new flat and are able to do vidoes again. You seem a lot happier now :)
I too have overcome some of the bad German habits you mentioned in the last years but watching you talking about them just made me realize how strongly they are established in our society.

[beluch]

What a superb video this is, Trixi. I somehow missed it when it appeared. You are such a genuine, truthful person.

[Idollisimo]

Being a Ukrainian I love this German way of seeing everybody else around you as NPC's, because in Ukraine you have to know people to get something. You have to have "your own" mechanic guy, "you own" plumber guy, "your own" man in the municipal office etc. If you know nobody, you'll struggle a lot and I mean a lot. In Germany you could really mind only your own business and still be alright, just like everybody else. May be it's because my cultural background, but it's a real treasure for me to know ONLY those who I really want to know :) Still an awesome video, thanks!

[gravis]

Danke schon for making this video. I have lived in Austria for a while, have friends in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, and get to visit every couple of years. I always try to spend a couple of days with my friends in Switzerland before going back into Austria and Germany to readjust to the cultural differences, as my friends in Switzerland, being American themselves, are able to point things out to me that I forgot.

However, there are still things that catch me off guard sometimes. Like I am walking in the pedestrian lane, there is someone else coming, I look into the bike lane, there is no one coming, so I step to the side to let the other person pass. Rather than thanking me, I get wide eyed looks, some people verbally assult me, I have had a few grab me and pull me back into the pedestrian lane and ask me if I am okay and need help. I get it, it's the bike lane, but there are no bikes coming, and I am not walking in the bike lane, I stepped aside to let them pass.

Likewise, I both love and hate the bus system. I know that, rain or snow, the bus will be on time. If a bus is more than 30 seconds late, people in Austria and Germany and Switzerland start getting nervous. Many will ask the bus driver if everything is okay when he arrives. However, this goes into the whole Germanic-speaking world about punctuality, and how I have trouble adjusting. Most of my friends in the US consider me very punctual. I usually don't show up more than 5-10 minutes early unless I make it a point to, and 5 minutes late is considered reasonable, and if its going to be more than that, I call. This is not the case in Switzerland / Austria / Germany, and so if I am meeting someone, I will go out of my way to make sure I am early, and then lie to the other person when they get there on time and say that I just arrived myself - otherwise they feel guilty for making me wait.

Back to the bus, I like that there are stated rules for letting elderly people and the disabled have priority on seats. My problem is sometimes I get tunnel vision while sitting on the bus and start daydreaming. We get to a bus stop and I get chided for not immediately vacating my seat. You have been on the bus less than 5 seconds, I haven't even processed your existance yet, give me some reaction time!

On the plus side, I find that it is really easy to get people to open up to me, once I readjusted how I think about people. Like you said, many people seem to act that they are in their own little bubble, and can feel very lonely and cut off. A simple greeting and some small talk (other than the common "how are you doing" phrase that most Americans tend to use) tends to shock a lot of native German speakers, and many of them will drop everything they are doing and just talk to you for quite a while - I have had random strangers skip busses and text and call places to let them know they are running late, simply because someone is taking an interest in them and their lives. They say it is an excuse to practice their English, but you can see it in a person's entire demenor - they are absolutely fascinated that someone thinks that they are important enough to want to talk to.

So this video was extremely informative to me, because you explain your mindset before, and how you started to adjust, and in that, you gave me a lot of insight into the culture. So thank you, I greatly appreciate you opening up.

[JanSuing]

"Life is dry leaves in your mailbox sometimes."
- Beautiful. Thank you for sharing, Trixie!

[danielangulo]

As a venezuelan myself, this video made me really happy. Almost all venezuelans who have the opportunity, leave the country, so it's nice to hear that were having a good impact out there. I hope your relationship with Erik keeps growing. :)

[RetroGuy_]

First! I'm a big fan! Keep up the good work!

[WhiteSpatula]

You always roll with the punches, Trixi. But that’s no surprise. You’re just naturally resilient and determined. I think you showed real couth today by expressing gratitude for your man, and your family, good and bad, obstacles and blessings alike. You have changed over the years. And I would have to agree: For the better. Thanks for sharing. May you always find a dried leaf in your mailbox whenever you need one most. -Phill, Las Vegas

[Ccaarrooification]

As a German who lived in South America I completely agree with your points.
Thank you for the video, I needed to hear that :)

This was interesting and nice to hear :) Different perspectives always are good for growing! I’m an Argentinian married to an Austrian and before that shared a flat in Berlin for a year with my best (also Argentinian) friend and his German wife so I can relate to a lot of this things... Never connected the relaxed time management with the buses but your boyfriend has a good point there!

[ummrania]

This video was beautiful, thank you and congratulations

[thekenneth]

Trixi, I think this is one of your best videos ever. I already liked Erik, and now even more. My father was raised by German-Americans, and I picked up way too many habits from that culture that took far too long to overwrite. One of my best 'Erik' experiences was dating an Arab-American woman for a couple of years. Your story of Erik and the washing machine reminded me so much of her; she would happily start a conversation with anyone about anything, and while I was a little uncomfortable with that, I still found it hugely admirable.

[draugami]

Trixie, thank you for your video. If I would choose one word to summarize all five points of this, it is maturity. All of your points display growth in maturity. Yes, I see many of your points in my life. Thank you for sharing.