A Small Japanese Explorer Presents: My Experience in Germany

Written by Shiori Hamasako

Part One of Three

Drive one hour from the Frankfrut International Airport, and you will find a “small” town called Wuerzburg – this is how people describe this town, but I don’t think it is a small town at all. Although Wuerzburg has only 133,501 people (2008) in an area of about 87.63 km, it has extensive land with as many as 55 churches and some magnificent castles. If you drive through this town, you see the vast vineyards everywhere, and all the houses look just like they came out of a Disney movie. In the center of the town, there is a historical bridge over a long calm river, and you will find what makes this town look so interesting – the combination of history and modernity.

I came here only for the summer, staying with my boyfriend’s family for one month. This is the first time for me to visit Europe, and I have always had a longing for this western part of the world, known as the sanctuary of beauty, art, great food, and historical buildings. I am glad that I could get a chance to visit one part of it, Germany, the country of beer and sausage.

Germany is one of the biggest countries in Europe, known for its strong economy, its effort to solve environmental problems and its hard-working, punctual and organized people. Many Japanese people believe that Germans and Japanese have similar social norms. Therefore, when I think about European people, the ones that I feel most familiar with are Germans.

To tell the truth, my image of German people wasn’t very good. Somehow I imagined them as being cold, unfriendly, and too serious about everything.

After I met some wonderful German friends at school in the US, the idea completely changed. Some are very nice and friendly, most of them are  punctual: sometimes they are too honest, but yes, I love my German friends!

I have also met so many wonderful people since I got to Germany. Many people speak English, and they are always nice to me when I get in trouble. I traveled some places in Germany, mostly in the small villages, so very often I was the only Asian person in that place. I could feel the curiosity of people through the way they looked at me, but I enjoyed it pretty much because I never felt excluded. Many people smiled at me when I caught their eyes, and sometimes I enjoyed having a small talk with them.

You can see how much people here are into alcohol. What made me surprised on the first day is the amount of alcoholic drinks that each store, supermarket, and even gas station have in stock. The supermarket near our house seems to have more than 100 kinds of alcohol, and it’s not even a liquor store but a supermarket! Beer is cheaper than water, and many stores have good wines for reasonable prices. You can get a six pack of Beck’s for 3 Euros, and you see many people buying a case of twenty four beer. It’s funny to see it because in my country, people usually buy a few canned beers, not a whole box of them, unless you are a huge fan of it.

I also find many people are, or at least the German government is, quite serious about environmental problems. Whenever I drive through a rural area, I see many alternative energy sources like windmills and photovoltaic generators. Another example is: when you go and get some beer at a store, it’s not easy to find the ones in a can. Even if you find them, you have to pay 25 cents extra for every single can. People usually buy beer in a glass bottle, and when they finish, they bring the bottles back to the store, so that they can get 8 cents for each. Compared to my country, more people bring their own shopping bags when they buy food, and people care very much about resources.

I really enjoy my staying here, surrounded by many nice people. When I have a small talk with people, almost every time I am the first Asian / Japanese person that they have met. I am very glad to be the first one, and I’d like to say thank you for all of those amazing people I have met so far.