It feels like it’s been years since my last blog post. This past week has been great. I had a short week as I had off on Monday, and the week went by fast. I’ve gotten into a routine, which has been nice and it feels like I’ve really gotten comfortable with my colleagues and my responsibilities.
On Thursday, a group of us went to an American diner to celebrate the Fourth of July, which, not going to lie, made me a little homesick. It was also cold and rainy which didn’t help. But the diner definitely brought a little bit of American culture that I missed. On Friday, a few of us got together to go to the fan mile and watch the Germany vs Spain game. It was very fun, but also sad because they unfortunately lost. It still is such an amazing experience and I’m grateful to be able to be here during the Euro games and experience the crazy futbol culture. Also, we celebrated Anna’s birthday, which was very fun.
On Saturday, my dad flew into Berlin to stay here for a week. I met him at the airport at 7am, and from there we got breakfast and just wandered the streets around his hotel, which I suggested walking distance from our apartment. We then took a little nap as we were both pretty exhausted, and then went and saw checkpoint Charlie. It wasn’t great weather, so we just went to dinner and then called it a night. On Sunday, we went to a museum with a lot of Egyptian artifacts. Then we went to the famous cathedral and walked around the flea markets in the area. We were pretty tired, but decided that it would be the perfect day to see the zoo. It was definitely worth it, although our feet were killing us after a while. We met up with my brother who is also visiting later on in the night for a late night dinner, and then we went our separate ways. I’m excited to show my dad and brother around more of Berlin, and maybe go and travel to other cities or countries during our week.
Germany definitely has a low context communication style, which is similar to America. They tend to be very straightforward and direct in their approach and don’t rely too much on context clues. If they want something done, they will tell you exactly how they want it done, and not have you read between the lines or give too much leeway to misread the situation. I believe that this is the preferred way for me, especially in a business setting and especially in an accounting setting, where there are specific ways in which things need to be done, and so the more that a task is explained, the less their is room for miscommunication and errors. My supervisors always emphasize the fact that I can go to them if I have questions or if the way that they are explaining things is not clear.
I haven’t encountered a situation in which I’ve had any miscommunications, but if I did I believe the most important thing would be to recognize that in different cultures, there are going to be different ways that people communicate, and that I shouldn’t take it personally. Especially within the German culture, it could be easy to take their directness as impolite or rude but it’s actually just their way of communicating. When working or studying abroad or even just traveling, it’s crucial to prepare yourself for cultural differences because they are inevitable.
I do think that Germans and Americans communicate similarly. I think that we also have very low context communication, and when given tasks or responsibilities it’s common to explain them in depth. Again, in an accounting department, the work that we do needs to be detailed and accurate, and so the most efficient way to communicate would be to be as clear and precise as possible. Maybe in a more creative field would it be different, but accounting relies on rules and precision.
Overall, German communication styles are definitely straightforward and direct. There hasn’t been any miscommunications for this reason, which I’m very grateful for as it can be very easy to get confused with the language barrier that exists. It’s definitely allowed me to improve my own adaptability skills and communication skills, as it’s allowed me to be mindful of other people’s preferences.