How are Germans, really?

Which stereotypes are true?

Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash

I have been living in Germany (Bavaria specifically) for almost two years now, and believe it or not, I’m starting to love Germans. Yeah, yeah, we all know the stereotypes about them being cold people, distant, and having no sense of humor. Do I agree with these? Not really.

However, some stereotypes are true. Germans are indeed super organized. If you ask your german friends for a coffee sometimes, they will most probably open their calendar, see how busy it is, and luckily, will find some free time within the month. Which to me, in the beginning, was a bit too much. Being an Albanian, if somebody would invite me for a coffee, I’d probably say, “Yeah sure, let’s go now.” Did I have other plans? Was I supposed to finish an assignment or study at that time? It didn’t matter much, I was spontaneous, and I could reschedule things. Germans don’t. If they make a plan, they stick to it. And trust me, they have scheduled their whole year in their calendar, no kidding. This was a bit shocking in the beginning. I mean, I would understand a manager scheduling his time that well, but students at my age? Weird. According to me, they clearly didn’t know how to be spontaneous and enjoy life.

But it turned out I was wrong. Germans are always right, aren’t they? While I thought I was being spontaneous, like everyone in my culture is, these guys were more efficient (surprise, surprise, Germans are efficient, it took me a while to realize it). They make a plan, stick to it, and separate work time, from fun time. This means, if Germans say that Sunday is a day off, it is a day off. While in my case, being spontaneous meant mixing things up, studying, and working not with a real schedule, and ending up never having a full day off. Made me realize, I was most probably wrong.

Believe it or not, I have started to use my calendar more than ever before since I came to Germany. Yes, I’m making plans and scheduling things way ahead of time. Well, not always. I still can’t schedule everything, and to be honest, I don’t want to plan everything. I like to be a bit spontaneous. Like, if I suddenly decide to visit a city nearby today, I will do so, without planning it a week ago. I like spontaneity, and I will clearly not give up on it. But I’m also liking being more organized. Some…