Week One

After a week of being and studying in Germany, I am still somewhat amazed that I am here. Coping with the cultural differences has been uneventful and usually more curious than problematic. The language barrier, on the other hand, has been more of a problem. My lack of fluency in the German language has one of two effects: either the person I am trying to communicate with will use English or our conversation is extremely limited if they do not know English. Sadly, I usually open any conversation (or attempted conversation) with a stranger here by asking the question "Do you speak English?." Fortunately though, I have met and had good conversations with a few of the locals who do speak English. On one occasion, I met a man in his mid-fifties named Wolfgang who is originally from Ilmenau but now lives in Dusseldorf (he also knew the English language well). While we were both studying a map of the region located on the outskirts of the city, I asked Wolfgang about a detail of the map I could not interpret. This led to us sharing details of our lives with one another. In the course of the conversation, we found that we both have had similar aesthetic experiences, share similar artistic interests and possess a certain similarity in our philosophy of life. The connection that we made, simply by chance, was a life enriching experience, I believe, for the both of us. This was an example of cultural similarity rather than cultural difference and it shows how an openness on the part of two people to an unexpected encounter has the potential to yield fruitful results.

Photo: This photograph of a sign in front of a "Ferienwohnung" (rentable vacation flat) was taken shortly after my conversation with Wolfgang.