Departure

2009-05-02T04:35:00.001-07:00

So today we leave for Germany. I am excited and a little anxious, but nothing that I can't handle. I can't wait to get to Munich...it's going to be a long day. Below is my pre-departure paper.

Michael Belair

Plus 3 Germany

Pre-departure Paper

May 2, 2009

German Culture

Traveling to Germany will be the trip of a lifetime, and one that is completely new and inspiring for me. My family is not much of a traveling family. Due to these reasons, I haven’t been to many places, especially out of the country. So I am a relatively inexperienced traveler. I have been on a variety of vacations to Florida and South Carolina, but I have never really travelled West beyond Ohio. I have also never been to another country in my life, except for Niagara Falls, Canada, which essentially doesn’t count much for international travel. Germany will be a totally new experience for me. It will be the second time that I have even ridden a plane also. I feel that this trip will be indispensably valuable to my education because I need to get used to traveling, which will most likely be part of my job in the future.

I personally wanted to go to Germany as my first choice Plus 3 country for a variety of reasons. One of my reasons for choosing Germany as my Plus 3 destination is because of the type of companies that we will be visiting throughout the trip. I believe that these companies are more suited to my individual interests as an engineer. I also wanted to go to Germany for a variety of personal reasons. One such reason is that I wanted to go to a European country for my first major trip out of the country. I feel like this would be the easiest cultural transition and get me used to international travel. I also wanted to go to Germany because I have a lot of family ties back to Germany. At least half of my grandparents are from Germany, and it will be great to be able to see the place from which my ancestors originated. Germany also has a rich history that I find very interesting. I do not know much about the German culture; however, from what I understand, it appears that they are very much like Americans. Although it does appear that their culture dictates that they are much more formal than many of the American traditions.

One thing that you must worry about when visiting another country is the kinds of cultural differences that are present. As stated before, Germany is very much like the United States; however, there are multiple differences that could present themselves throughout the trip. Germany has obtained a very high standard of living and has a social security system like the United States. There is a nearly universal health care system in Germany, and over 90 percent of the population receives the country’s health care insurance program (Gordeeva). Also, in Germany, the drinking age is lower than the United States, 16 to drink and 18 to buy, compared to 21 to drink in the United States (Wikipedia). Germany is much more liberal about its drinking age than in the United States. The country also has a long history and takes pride in the production of high quality beer. There are even laws governing how the beer is produced, called the Purity Laws, ensuring high quality. In Germany, it is also a much bigger deal to be able to drive because the licensing process is very expensive. There is a slight difference in everyday life in Germany compared to the United States because of a combination of these cultural differences and many others.

Not only are there differences in the way that people in Germany live their everyday lives, but there are also some differences in the way they conduct themselves in a business situation. Many of the expectations that the German people have for business situations are much like that of the United States, but they are often much more to the extreme. In Germany, it is very important that you are on time. If you are late or early it is disrespectful because either way, you are showing them that your time with them is not that important (Priest). This is compared to the United States where you are expected to arrival early in most situations. In Germany, they also do not like to talk about their personal lives during business meetings. They are all business, but this is not much unlike that of the United States. In the United States, it really just depends on the individual’s personality. German businesses also are very favorable to hard facts and numbers. They want statistics and numbers, not opinions and other unsubstantiated claims (TREFF). Overall, German business structure is much more formal than other countries, which will be very important to take into account during the company visits.

Another aspect of German culture that will have a great affect on the way I interact with the people is the types of national and social issues that are present in Germany. Many of these cultural differences may arise from the political structure and climate in Germany. The political system was created in 1949 and is set up much like that of the United States. According to Wikipedia, “Germany is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic,” this is somewhat similar to the United States’ form of government (Wikipedia). One important thing to consider is how World War II and such things as the separation from the Berlin wall have affected the people in the country. It will be interesting to see if there are still considerable effects from these events. It is also important to consider how the economic situation in Germany will affect my interaction with the German people.

Germany is part of the European Union (EU) and their currency is the Euro. Germany has the largest economy in Europe and is a top exporter. Most of the business in the country is engineering, such as automobiles, wind power, solar energy, metals, and chemicals. Germany has considerably benefited from the globalization of the economy and continues to be a leader. However, the current global economic recession may prove very challenging for the German economy. Since Germany is a high exporter, the global recession may limit the amount of goods that they can export to other countries (CIA). The luxury automobile industry, which is a large part of the German economy, may also be greatly impacted by the recession and economic downturn. Although Germany has a strong economy, it still will be impacted by the global economic downturn.

The economy, cultural differences, and political differences will all affect my interaction with German society on my trip this summer. I believe the best plan of action for my trip to Germany is to attempt to be respectful to the people that I meet in a way that I would be respectful to other people in the United States. This philosophy hopefully will keep me from embarrassing myself and my peers. I believe that as long as I act appropriately and professionally, the German people will respect me. Once I have a better feeling for how I am expected to act around certain people, I will adapt my behavior if necessary. I feel that most of this trip will be a learning experience in how to adapt to another culture and avoid doing anything unacceptable in that culture.

Bibliography

CIA. (n.d.). Germany. Retrieved 04 28, 2009, from The World Fact Book: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html

Gordeeva, T. (n.d.). German Culture. Retrieved 04 28, 2009, from Health Care in German Society: http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_health_care.htm

Preist, M. (n.d.). Retrieved 04 27, 2009, from German Business Etiquette: http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/germany.htm

TREFF, Language Institute. (2009, 04 14). Retrieved 04 27, 2009, from Business Etiquette Tips Germany: http://www.german-business-etiquette.com/

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved 04 28, 2009, from Legal Drinking Age: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Germany. Retrieved 04 28, 2009, from Government: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany

Michael Belair - Germany Plus 3

Departure

Bibliography