Germans, especially Berliners, have a bad reputation for reprimanding. I have talked to several people, foreigners especially, who live in fear of scolding. Either they have already been chewed out, or they know someone who has.
I won't deny that Berliners can have a tough exterior. There have been a few times when I asked a question, got a really negative response and then was helped anyways. But there have been several times where strangers helped me without me even asking them.
On one of my first grocery store trips, I dropped a five- or ten-cent piece into the grate. I wanted to say, "Don't worry about it," but the only words in my head were in French, Spanish and English. I had no German words. Instead, I watched as the cashier took off the grate in order to give me the lost minuscule coin.
Another time, I was walking to class and talking to a classmate. All of a sudden, I heard someone yelling behind me. My knee-jerk reaction was that it was a crazy person. Actually, it was an older man following me with the black glove that had fallen out of my pocket. He had probably been trying to get my attention for close to a minute. That's a committed random act of kindness!
Then there was the forthright waiter who had the courage to tell me that saying "Ja" multiple times could be taken to be quite the opposite of what I meant.
I could go on for a while about the extra effort that people have given to help me. Without their kindness, I would be down a map, a glove and a few cents. I would still be pronouncing zwiebel (onion) wrong and accidentally cursing people or advertising that I am a prostitute when I am trying to agree or tell people that I am free.
I'm not here to deny the negative experiences that others have had. There is almost always a grain of truth in a stereotype, but I have learned not to jump to judgments until I have a more complete picture.
I want to get to know this city and its people personally. To affirm that they are more than what people might say about them – negative or positive. I want to love this city the way that I want to be loved – as a fully known individual, with strengths and weaknesses, victories and failures – but valued just the same.
I won't deny that Berliners can have a tough exterior. There have been a few times when I asked a question, got a really negative response and then was helped anyways. But there have been several times where strangers helped me without me even asking them.
On one of my first grocery store trips, I dropped a five- or ten-cent piece into the grate. I wanted to say, "Don't worry about it," but the only words in my head were in French, Spanish and English. I had no German words. Instead, I watched as the cashier took off the grate in order to give me the lost minuscule coin.
Another time, I was walking to class and talking to a classmate. All of a sudden, I heard someone yelling behind me. My knee-jerk reaction was that it was a crazy person. Actually, it was an older man following me with the black glove that had fallen out of my pocket. He had probably been trying to get my attention for close to a minute. That's a committed random act of kindness!
Then there was the forthright waiter who had the courage to tell me that saying "Ja" multiple times could be taken to be quite the opposite of what I meant.
I could go on for a while about the extra effort that people have given to help me. Without their kindness, I would be down a map, a glove and a few cents. I would still be pronouncing zwiebel (onion) wrong and accidentally cursing people or advertising that I am a prostitute when I am trying to agree or tell people that I am free.
I'm not here to deny the negative experiences that others have had. There is almost always a grain of truth in a stereotype, but I have learned not to jump to judgments until I have a more complete picture.
I want to get to know this city and its people personally. To affirm that they are more than what people might say about them – negative or positive. I want to love this city the way that I want to be loved – as a fully known individual, with strengths and weaknesses, victories and failures – but valued just the same.
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