Coming from an Asian country, there were a few things in Germany that were very difficult for us to accept and digest.
Constantly smoking, leaving cigarette butts on the road, drinking beer in trams or trains, kissing in public, holding hands in public, having a partner of the same sex, seeing someone walking with little or no clothes in one's room, paying for your own food only when in a group, not waiting for others to gather at the dining table and start eating, etc. was a huge cultural shock for us. We tried to look away every time we saw someone smooching. We were not comfortable watching others do it. And they had no second thoughts about it. I used to think it was a nice gesture to hold hands with my partner while going for a walk or shopping. But that's it! I am not comfortable doing it in public. Such is the hold of the Indian code of conduct and morals on my conscience.
We got a chance to see a few German movies. The movies were very bold and explicit with violence, nudity, and sex scenes. That made us highly uncomfortable in theatres or watching with other Indian friends. There was once an Indian film festival at the university where movies like Asoka and Dil Chahta Hai were screened with German subtitles. Many foreign students were present for this festival, and they all loved Indian movies. Annika was a fan of Dil Chahta Hai, and she asked me to send her a DVD from India once I went back.
The professors at the university were very good, but there was no personal contact with the students. They came, they delivered, and they left. The students didn't even look at them while they were teaching. I found this very unusual. I always looked at the professor when he or she taught, nodded at what she or he said, and appreciated it with my eyes and body language. But no one else actually gave eye contact or nodded like me. They were busy taking notes or doing their own stuff. This was again very different than my experience at college and university in India. But that was the way they were tuned, I guess. There is nothing right or wrong about it; it is just a matter of perception.
We were once invited to a local German school where our friend Susanne taught English and maths. The students were very curious to see us and talk to us. I interacted with them in German and talked about India to them. I told them that I could speak four languages and wrote a few of their names in Hindi on the blackboard. Then I sat behind in the last row and observed the class and the teacher. The atmosphere was very informal. The teacher announced to the class that she was pregnant, and the kids wanted to know the name of the father of the baby. It was different than how I had studied at school. Then the time was over and I got to interact with one of the teachers there, and surprisingly, she turned out to be a good friend of my professor at the university. They had both studied together in Germany and were good friends. They lost touch later, and she was overjoyed when I gave her the email address of my professor. She promised to write back. It was a great coincidence, and I was happy to be the reason for the renewal of their friendship.
I forgot to mention the time change on the last Sunday of October in my previous posts. It's a yearly ritual in Europe. On the last Sunday of March and October, the clock is reset. The time difference between India and Germany during summer time is 3.5 hours. That starts on the last Sunday of October. One sleeps one hour less. And then, on the last Sunday of October, the clock is reset and one starts sleeping one hour longer. The time difference with India becomes 4.5 hours, which is a little too much for me! We were invited on the last Sunday of October to a restaurant by a girl called Dagmar, whom we had met in the library of the university, and we had instantly hit off as best friends. We met with her roommates a couple of times during our stay at their place, and this time they had invited us to a restaurant at 6 pm. We didn't know about the time change and reached there early, only to realise that we still had one hour to go for the others to come. We then went to a small bakery and had coffee and cake there. Coffee and cake is the usual afternoon teatime that we have in India. Strong black coffee with no sugar or milk and a sweet (not so sweet as in India) cake as an accompaniment is very common here. Young and old meet her for coffee and cake as if it's a celebration. I missed my tea with ginger and milk and never warmed up to the excellent varieties of coffee available in Germany.
On February 1st, 2003, I returned to India after gaining a wealth of knowledge about the people, lifestyle, and culture of Germany. I was proud of the fact that I was there on a scholarship, and I had no idea what the future had in store for me. I returned as a different person, one who started appreciating Maharashtrian and Indian food very much, one who started appreciating the Indian culture and values even more, one who appreciated the presence of family and friends even more!
It's good that we can't foresee the future. Who would have known that I had to re-visit this country in 2003, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015 and spend the next five years from 2017 to the current day here. More about these trips, sometime later!
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