"Germany So Far"

Germany So Far

by Yulia Sutjahjono

As a former student in majoring French Studies (for pedagogical purpose), I’ve learned so many stuffs about occidental culture, particularly European cultures. Therefore, I had enough a knowledge of European social life, characteristic of the society, what they eat, and many more. However, I will never know how it feels until I see and feel it straight forward.

In the end of August 2017, I came to Berlin, Germany to work voluntarily in a children and family center named “Freizeitzentrum / Familienzentrum Upsala”. I certainly found challenges that I face in my project, one other thing is the language. I studied French in the University for 5 years, then suddenly I came along to Germany and it is just like “getting lost”. Beforehand, I’ve learned a German basic language with a private tutor, but in fact, in the beginning of my arrival, I didn’t know how to communicate to the people at all. Then, I learn it, both in a language course and or by myself.

At first, I still feel so unconfident and having a doubt to use my German skill to communicate to other people. The most simple words that I usually used was just how to greeting, how to order something in a bakery, how to say ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’, and also how to express desirability. However, after 3 months, I am getting used to that language. I listen and listen all over the time, and now my comprehension skill in German is getting better, but not with my speaking and writing skill. The way I see things is that I need more time to achieve that.

Even though I got better way to understand German, sometimes I found misunderstanding in my project or wherever I am. People speak so fast and when I try to explain what I want to say, they don’t give me a chance to just explain or clarify. They seem not to be patient while I’m trying to communicate with them in German. They expect me to speak fluently, while I just came here 6 months ago and something.

I also found another intercultural experience in my host family. My host family, especially my host mother is a person who really concern about health and environment. Thus, she decided to buy bio-organic products since many years ago and also reducing meat consumption. For bio-organic products, I also concern and care about that, but not with the meat consumption reduction part. I come from a country where the people consume a big number of meat; chicken, fish, beef, duck, even bird, almost every day. At first, I was really worrying about what I eat if the case just like that. Until several months, I still think about how to survive with consuming meat. Then, I just try to solve it with buying my own meat just three times in a week in order to keep having a good appetite.

There’s also another part of milieu that I don’t really comfortable with. When other people suggest me to hang out to a bar or a club, to be honest, I don’t like it, I don’t feel comfortable with that. Because actually it is not a part of my culture. I don’t get used to those kind of stuffs. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to join, it’s about a limit that I have. I can be with friends doing some fun stuffs and hang out, but not in a club nor bar. But sometimes, some friends had a strong suggestion to put me to those places. I accepted their ideas only for twice, in order to respect them and also the society. But the fact was not really comfortable for me. I feel that I broke my life principle; I didn’t respect myself.

I always try to be tolerant towards new culture that I found in Germany, include other cultures that other volunteers brought from their countries. However, it is about respecting principle of life, the rules that I’ve already had for such a long time. When local people or other new friends suggest me to do the same thing as they do, I hope that it wouldn’t change me at all. I just want to be myself, and I still want them to keep being themselves as well. And it is also about limit, or a border between the cross-culture in practice with the principles that we’ve made before.

As far as I am concerned, if those things will be well-done by all people; respect each other, well communicated, tolerance towards other cultures, that is the real meaning of a culture exchange and we will not find a disproportion.

In conclusion, I know that perhaps it is just my own perspective, my point of view. I believe that another volunteer (as I am) encounter their own intercultural, and I believe also that they will survive and solve the problem that they have about the cross-culture by themselves. Nowadays, even everything is getting better and better day by day, but I need to always pay attention to all friction in the intercultural that might be happened. I can just take a lesson from the previous problem. I feel so fortunate when I can solve my own problem, not only by myself, but also with the help of the people in my around. Nevertheless, I still look forward to the new things that I can discover from this beautiful country. I hope that every barriers that I face in my voluntary life for the next 4 months, would give me new perspective and could enlarge my knowledge as well.