German Culture Shocks As An American Student (BRITISH REACTION)

German Culture Shocks As An American Student (BRITISH REACTION)

This is my reaction to German Culture Shocks As An American Student

[KrautGrater]

Jaywalking- In opposite to the US, german children start to walk to school by their own at a very young age. If an adult is jaywalking it will be seen as an extremely bad example for the little ones who might be copying that and get into danger.

[denisdrumm]

I am always amazed what a huge topic "Sunday" is for foreigners. Surely there are a lot of people in Germany that do not like the closed stores, but all in all that is not the biggest deal in public opinion. When I grew up in rural Germany in the 80s/90s stores closed on Saturday around noon and didnt open until Monday, which almost everyone who is 30 or older has experienced themselves. So the current situation is still an improvement.
Funnily enough, I have witnessed a lot of people in my vicinity reducing their working hours, going into part-time or shifts and the first thing they did on their free day was to create their own Sunday - no shopping, reducing every work that involes loud noises, rather staying home than running through town; so technically many things a traditional Sunday encompasses. And it didn't matter that it was not Sunday on the calendar. I guess it is just so deeply engraved into your culture and collective memory, that we just subconsciously do, even if we do not believe in the concept or consider ourselves religious.

[jurgenklag]

When we go shoping, we put our grocerys onto the checkout counter, after the item are scanned, we put our gocerys right back into the shoppingcart. We take our gocerys to the car and bag everything there! It is much easyer and stressless! If you only have very little to buy, you can bag your stuff at the register.

[nothingspecialQ]

I'm 58 and grew up in Germany with no shopping on Sundays and this has never been a problem for me. Yes - time has changed but I still think it is not necessary to have everything available at any time. I still enjoy the slow down on Sundays. I am really shocked about how many German stores changed the open hours till midnight throughout the week. And if this offer exists, it will be used. But does it have to exist? I think no. But maybe I'm just outdated 🙃
I never missed a bagger in supermarkets although I really don't like the speed of scanning even as a German.

[sytax]

in a german restaurant you get mostly high quality food for a good price. also you can sit as long as you want in there and have not to be afraid to be kicked out after your last bite. also the waiters are payed fairly so they dont have to rely on the tip that much. so german restaurants make their profits from selling you drinks not from the food. with free tap water and refils you could exploit this and you would have the same stressful service and experience like you have in the USA for example.

greetings

[renegade]

Germans are very special when it comes to queues. I had a culture shock about it in the UK when I was at McDonald's and they opened another checkout and the locals seemed to ignore it because they already had their spot in the queue. And my German self rushed to get a good spot in the new queue ... lol

[duchon]

Sunday is the time to relax, have a good time with our families and friends, have a beer here in bavaria.Go outside and chill before monday work starts again

[ch.s]

In Germany, it is not so common to order tap water. Our restaurants are quite cheap in European comparison, they earn the most from drinks. Therefore, it is considered rude to order free water. Most restaurants will still serve it if you order it, but can you really enjoy the food if you pissed off the waiter beforehand? :D

[PEdulis]

To me, quiet Sundays are a great achievement. Not only do they give you a day to rest but you can be sure that almost all of your friends are off on a Sunday as well (unless they work in emergency jobs like hospitals, police, gas stations, ... ) so you can usually plan gatherings for any Sunday and most can come.
I also never got the obsession with someone packing your stuff for you at a cashier, I actually prefer to do it myself.
My times at university were decades ago but I never experienced anything like what she said about having to queue to get in. I hope that has not changed at my old university.

[c.t.]

Some supermarkets train, force and control their staff to be realy
quick scanning the items and that sometimes can be stressfull for germans too.

[Pucky]

In the supermarket, you can also use a shopping cart so that you can quickly pack up the goods at the cash point. Then you look for a quiet corner in the store and then pack the goods neatly into the bags. It's just stress when you're holding the goods in your hands. Germans are also quickly annoyed when other customers take too long at the cash point. I sort my goods on the conveyor belt so I can pack everything faster. I have already counted my coints so that I know how to pay as appropriately as possible. If it doesn't fit, I'll pay by card. Then I quickly drive my shopping trolley out of the cash point area so that I don't get in the way of other customers and then I have forever to pack everything. So while you're waiting in line, preparing to pay, you don't have any stress.

I think it's right that shops are closed on Sundays and public holidays. These workers are also entitled to a day with their families. You can easily do your shopping from Monday to Saturday. Consumption is not everything in life.

When you go to a restaurant, you get food and drinks that you have to pay for. That's what the owners live on. So why would they give out free drinks? I think it's rude when you, as a customer, demand that you get goods for free. German restaurants usually have good food/drinks and not high prices. You should also be willing to pay for this standard.

[Patrick-onty]

klingt einfach sehr verwöhnt, läuft bestimmt auch nicht gerne 😅

[rashomon]

bagging your items at the groceries seems to be a high stress situation only for americans. locals would just put their items back in the cart after paying and bag them at their own speed somewhere else, just not directly at the cashiers.
although tap water is the highest regulated an controlled food item in germany and of very high quality, tap water at restaurants isn't a thing. when you order water, you'll get mineral water, like perrier or one of the thousands of german mineral water brands. And yes, you'll have to pay for that and no, there're no free refills, just as with any other drink at a bar (wouldn't that be awesome ;).

[ZerosWolf]

5:40 i never understand why they don't just put their stuff back into the shopping cart and bag it calmly at the designated area which usually every german supermarket has for slow packers.
Also: presort your items on the belt, heavy stuff first and so on.

[onkeltom]

talking about these 'baggers' she mentioned: 95% of us Germans would yell at them like 'DON'T TOUCH MY STUFF!!!" 😤😤😂😂

[kloseincnet]

As a German: The public bathroom and the tabed water situation i feel so much. Everytime I'm somewhere in another country, I love there, that you get your tapped water without question or bad look and you can go to the toilet somewhere if you have to. Especially there are sooo few public toilets in germany. Its understandable, that this all cost money, but I'm sure it could be handled better as it is in Germany. And most of the time i think it is not about the money, more about people proof there point that it is not yours.

[volkersora]

I go shopping once a week, like many others here. And that’s always stress-free. Hardly anyone packs their goods directly into a bag at the checkout, the vast majority drive the shopping cart to their car and then pack their stuff there.
A few years ago, some Walmarts opened here because a supermarket chain was taken over by them. So they wanted to establish this packing by the staff, as usual in the USA. But it didn’t work out. Germans are too pedantic for that. Nobody packs their stuff as well as themselves. 🤷🏼‍♂️😂
Sunday is (fortunately) still largely there to rest today. But even if someone ABSOLUTELY still has to do some shopping on Sundays, there’re always shops that open at train stations, for example. So, no one has to starve on Sundays in Germany. 😅

[GrouchyBear]

I do not particular like that YouTuber you reacted here to, as she is very... shall we say a high maintenance person, or as you said, first world problems... It is even more apparent in some of her other videos.

As for Sundays, that is indeed a very relaxing concept. The Store Opening Times used to be a lot tighter, just a few years ago. Stores used to close every day around 6pm or 7pm and there was always a rush of people getting a few things after work. Saturdays used ro be open until noon. Over time things changed little by little, now you can expect some Stores to stay open until 10pm, but Sundays still stays closed. HOWEVER, in Trainsratios and touristy places Grocery Stores are open every day, even on Holidays. Gas Stattions and Restaurants are open as well, of course.

Great Videos, keep going.
Cheers

[johnhendriks]

I am from Amsterdam, Netherlands and we have in general the same rules closing shops on sunday. Of course the origin is that sunday was the day of the Lord, but later just a quiet day. Also it is meant here and in Germany to protect workers against the boss to exploit them. It is really a labour law

[luricci]

crossing a street only on green light is that adults should be a good example for children to avoid an accidents with them