Week #39 in Germany

At the Hoffeier celebrations

This past week included the "Hoffeier" at my school, and an international festival in downtown Offenburg. For those of you who are not familiar with Gymnasium celebrations (Gymnasium is one branch of German high schools), the Hoffeier is a time for celebration by the students who have finished their Abitur (Austrian=die Matura, British English=A-levels, Hogwarts=N.E.W.T.s). As you can see from the picture, the students basically attacked. This year it was with paint. Lots of it. These girls actually look fairly clean compared to some. I was warned by colleagues that if I wanted to remain paint-free, I shouldn't show up until 2nd or 3rd period. Otherwise, I should bring clothes that I didn't mind getting dirty. Seeing as my wardrobe here in Germany is limited, I decided to settle for pictures of the aftermath. I don't think there's anything really comparable back in the U.S. Of course, some students endearingly pull end-of-the-year pranks on teachers, but I can't think of anything to this extent, involving the entire school. In this case, the stereotype of the overly strict Germans would, once again, be wrong, and I really don't think we could ever get away with something like this back home.

This past weekend, there was an international festival here in Offenburg. There were different cultural events (dancing, singing, etc.), and vendors selling food from their homelands. It was meant to promote tolerance, equal respect and integration among the different nationalities living here in Offenburg. The effort was impressive to me, because back home we would generally only have this type of thing on the University campus and not in the community. There were, however, still a few things that I felt illustrated the lack of progress when it comes to cultural acceptance. For instance, the MC was introducing a dance/gymnastics group of about 20 girls, and decided to ask one of the four black girls where her parents were from. The innocent girl boldly answered, "Deutschland", to which the crowd laughed and cheered. For me, the question was quite insulting and would most likely be considered culturally insensitive back home. The question was based on two assumptions: 1. Because the girl was black, her parents were foreign, and 2. Because the other girls were white, their parents were from Germany. Of course, the announcer was merely trying to illustrate the integration of the dance troupe, but in the U.S. we would typically be much more careful when it came to questioning people based on the color of their skin, so as not to offend. 

"badisch" culture

However, the aspect that I found most appalling, was the rap group claiming to represent "badisch" culture, or the culture from Baden, a region in southwest Germany. I found this to be offensive for both German and non-German alike. The two men were drinking beer throughout the performance, the larger of the two was constantly flashing his enormous belly and their songs were about how superior Baden is to everywhere else. First, if I were someone completely ignorant of Germans and Germany outside of this spectacle, I would think Germans were beer-drinking, overweight, radical patriots without a morsel of cultural understanding. Luckily, I know better and if I hailed from a place such as Baden I would flee the performance in protest, which many people did. I was proud to see that I wasn't the only one disgusted by the display. On to the second point, concerning non-Germans, as much as I enjoy Baden and the true culture of Baden, I think the organizers for the international day did a poor job in allowing these jokes to have their 30-minute exhibition. Although German and Baden culture is just as important as all the other cultures represented that day, I don't think this was the time or place for it to be shown. This day wasn't meant to celebrate German culture, but instead the cultures from around the world that have influenced this region. Everyday, everyone living in the area is steeped in "badisch" culture, so for one day I think we can give it a rest and pay respect to the other cultures in the area. For me, it was similar to white people in the U.S. complaining about BET (Black Entertainment Television) and asking, "Why don't we have a WET (White Entertainment Television)?". My response: We do, just turn on your T.V. to any other network.