The German Hug
It is not something new that Germans are considered “cold people”. Actually, it is a well-known and worldwide accepted opinion. Before coming to Germany to study, the first thing I did was Google the country and its people. And no need to guess, what I read mostly consisted of Germans being cold, not really preferring to talk in any other languages (“they won’t switch to English even if they know English”), obeying the rules, and probably never have the opportunity to make a German friend. Oh, I didn’t mention the fact that Bavaria, the southeastern part of German is considered to have even “colder” people. My future looked quite boring taking into consideration how spontaneous I am and how much I enjoy meeting new people. Just perfect.
It has been almost a month in Germany right now and long story short, I love this place and its people. The first person I met here was a German friend and the first thing he did when meeting me was give me a hug. Now that’s weird. Aren’t Germans supposed to be cold? Even in my native country the first time you meet a new person is to give them a handshake. And after knowing each other for some time we hug and kiss on both cheeks. But I learned that giving a hug is the way Germans meet other people and it took me some time to get used to it. And I even named it “German Hug”. Stereotype number one falls flat…
