After reading the article "No Blood, No Entschuldigung," I am left wondering if that holds true in all areas of Germany. I am inclined to believe that in may only be a big city thing. In the states, this is certainly the case. The bigger a city gets, the less polite the people become. I've always wondered why this occurs. I suppose iot has something to do with people believing that they're so busy that they haven't the time for common courtesy. The time it would take to off up a kind gesture would inconvenience them too much and take precious time away from them. Who can say?
I hope that Germans are no more rude than people you would find in New York or any of the other major cities in the U.S. Of course, I've never been to Germany, so I have no waying of knowing the accuracy of this article. I have always felt that a quick "excuse me" oder "Entschuldigung" isn't that much of a hassle. It's jsut a common courtesy. I guess it's a different culture though. One thing I do know, however, is that when I visit Germany, if I bump into someone, I will say, "Entschuldigung."
It's actually quite funny to experience this, but every time I go to Germany, I have to readjust my notion of personal space.
AntwortenLöschenHere in the US, and especially in the Midwest, my personal space grows exponentially to match the standard - and I do start saying "Excuse me" even if I am passing someone with my cart in the isle at the grocery store.
And when I go to Germany, it takes me a couple of days to "shrink" the personal space somewhat. I has happened before that my initial "Entschuldigung" was met with a very puzzled look because people could not understand why I needed to say that if nothing happened (e.g. I didn't push them etc). It really takes some time - also to get used to people standing/walking/sitting very close to you according to American standards.
And then when I go to Russia.... oh well... It's actually a different story all together. :-)
Interesting! I think Vera's description of the 'personal space' is unfortunately pretty adequate. Another good example is the supermarket/grocery store. You just can't always expect superfriendly employees in Germany. (They kind of insist on their personal right to be in a bad mood from time to time.) On the other hand, Austin is right, it is all a different story in the country! And Berlin is definitely not worse than NYC. And Vera, I've heard a couple of stories from Russia and you seem to agree -- how is it/is it really so bad there, or just… different?
AntwortenLöschenWell, let me say that you have to "storm" the bus if it is full - no one will stand nicely in line and wait for their turn to board. So, you get a lot of *very* close contact with people of all ages and sexes.
AntwortenLöschenSo, generally, the personal space is even smaller in Russia. At times, people would cut into a line in front of me thinking that I am just standing on the side waiting for someone, when there will be 1 foot or so of space between me and the person in front of me in the line.