Week #24 and #25 in Germany

These past few weeks have been quite a lot of fun, at least on the weekends. Two weeks ago was the Narrentag (Day of the Jester) here in Offenburg. It's all part of the Karneval season which ends on Ash Wednesday. There were people packed on the streets dressed as jesters, witches, donkeys, and various things that I couldn't begin to describe. There was a full day of festivities, ending with a large parade. This past weekend I went to Freiburg to visit a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, the weather was quite bad, but I still enjoyed seeing the city. Some of the buildings date back to the 14th century, which is something quite fascinating for me considering my own country isn't even that old. The time flew by so quickly and I was sad to have to start the work week again. Luckily, there's only 3 days this week and then I start vacation and I'll finally get to see my brother! I'm really excited about all the traveling we will be doing during his short stay.


The Narrentag here gave me two points of cultural observation to discuss. First, the drinking culture in exceptionally different from back home. Second, the idea of personal space is also culturally dependent. The first makes me very happy and relaxed here in Deutschland, while the second can be a bit unnerving at times.


When I arrived downtown to watch all the happenings, there were several tents set up selling food and drinks. Among the drinks were beer and champagne. Of course we drink mimosas quite early back home, but generally beer is something we don't drink until the evening or at the earliest after noon. Here, they were already drinking at 10 a.m. and it was perfectly acceptable. Of course I didn't complain. Instead, I joined.


The drinking, as I said, was something very enjoyable for me. Or at least the drinking without judgement. However, there were also a few times that I found it a bit more difficult to enjoy. As I mentioned, there were people dressed as witches. One of the witches actually chased me down and grabbed me. There was another time that a witch beat me with a broom. As entertaining as it may be for an onlooker, it was a bit distressing for me. I really wasn't sure how to react. However, when I reflected on the past few months, I realized that people touch here a lot more often. There are people back home who are touchy, but here it seems more normal. I find this pretty interesting, seeing as the stereotypes would preach the opposite. 


Yet, once again, the stereotypes seem quite wrong...and they did not prepare me for witches.