I finally got my Aufenthaltserlaubnis from the Ausländerbehörde today. I could have picked it up earlier but I didn’t have time and they are open at really inconvenient hours. It was extended until the end of November 2008. Previously I was required to work full-time for my current employer. If I were to quit or lose my job, I would need to either find a new one, enroll at university or leave Germany. With the visa just issued, I can theoretically work for whomever hires me. Not that I am actively searching, but it is nice to have options. Of course with the current unemployment situation in Germany, I’m thankful to have a job at all.

There is a campaign here in Germany with billboards and TV spots showing typical and atypical Germans with the slogan, “Du bist Deutschland“. I never took the time to look into it further because, as much as I like it here, ich bin nicht Deutschland. So imagine my surprise when there was an article about it in the New York Times with the headline, “Germans Told to Cheer Up. ‘Why Should We?’ Some Say.”

Discuss.

Here is an interesting article in the Sunday New York Times about some of the problems being faced in Germany concerning the integration of Turkish/Muslim immigrants and how their traditions and values clash with those of a modern Germany. Most disturbing is how women in many of these cultures are treated and how German lawmakers, in the interest of touting multi-culturalism, are apprehensive of doing anything about it. Sad but true. I’m all for multi-culturalism. It makes life interesting. However, to say you believe in human rights and then do nothing to enforce them for a certain part of the population, is basically saying that they don’t mean anything. That’s the whole point.

And I found this: A subjective comparison of Germany and the United States. I’m not sure if I posted it already but it is a pretty interesting read.

Here are some clips of Blixa Bargeld, the guy from Einstürzende Neubauten, reading from the Hornbach catalog. Hornbach is a chain of hardware/home-improvement stores in Germany. (via)

Ever since the change from D-Mark to Euro in 2002 I still hear from many Germans the following phrase: Was? x Euro? So eine Frechheit! Das ist 2x Mark! Das kann nicht angehen!

For me the DM to Euro transition was pretty easy because I was new to the DM and didn’t get to use it long enough to get very comfortable with it and because the Euro was more inline with the Dollar. So when I hear people making DM comparisons and do the quick conversion, I wonder if it would give them more peace of mind if they would stop doing that. Start finally living with the Euro and train your brain not to automatically convert to DM. Live in the here and now. You’re not spending DMs, your spending Euros. But that is probably easier said than done. Especially when the DM is your only point of reference. I still find myself doing quick Euro-Dollar conversions in my head, so what the hell am I talking for?

The plus side to this is a sneaky trick to make the Germans think you are one of them. They like to do this thing which, to the uninitiated outsider, might be described as complaining, and they like to do it a lot. It is actually a way of discussing and analyzing a problem to a pulpy mess. Vertiefen you might call it. Often these discussions involve prices of various goods and services. This is an important topic for everybody, even the rich, because Germans tend to be more modest than Americans and not show off. There are exceptions of course, but this seems to be a common observation. Anyway, when the conversation starts going in that direction and some says, “Alter Schwede, I had to pay 50? just for blah blah blah.” Okay. This is your cue to say, “50?!? So ein Scheiß! That’s 100 Mark! Das kann nicht angehen!!”

Boom! You’re in like Flynn.

They will now think that you understand and agree with the basic principle of their argument and that you are one of them united in the struggle against whatever it is you are struggling against. Herzlichen Glückwunsch Mensch! Laß uns Brüderschaft trinken!

The best view of the Christmas market is always from the restaurant on the 3rd floor at Karstadt.

Or from An den Brodbänken.

Lüneburg is such a beautiful city. Come check it out.

Today I give thanks for:

• Roof over my head
• Shoes on my feet
• musical talent
• Family and Friends that love me and put up with my crap.
• Gainful employment
• Food and additional forms of nourishment
• Modern conveniences like running water, sewage management systems and electricity
• Living in a part of the world that is relatively safe in which I don’t have to worry about soldiers/guerrillas/thugs coming into my village and blowing it up after killing everyone inside.
• And especially for Meike, who I love very much. She has helped me in more ways than I could ever possibly thank her for. But I won’t stop trying. SchmmmmMMMMATZ!!

Well, Germany has a new Chancellor. Good for them. It’s about time. I was starting to miss all the parliamentary bickering on evening TV.
Es versteht sich ganz klar, dass der Herr Minister Blahblah sich unverschämt verhalten hat! Das ist eine veranwortunglose Politik! Meine Damen und Herren, Sollen wir alle bloß zuschauen als unser Land untergeht? You can learn some really snotty things to say in German by listening to politicians.

I am reading a book called “Germany- Unraveling an Enigma” by Greg Nees. It is all about Germans and why they’re that way. It’s pretty interesting. It has helped shed some light on a few of the puzzling things that go on here like Germans being very direct and opinionated almost to the point of rudeness. Even beyond sometimes. Don’t hold it against them. It is all about Klarkeit and Sachlichkeit. Some of the observations are quite obvious now that I see them in print.

One of the most interesting things in the book is how the medieval Germanic tradition of the father distributing his inheritance equally among his sons has had a long lasting effect even on German culture today. This led to the dividing up of the kingdoms and duchies and to squabbling between the brothers. Many small isolated city-states then arose and often warred with each other for various reasons but having the main effect of hindering the German tribes from getting their shit together and forming a centrally controlled sort of kingdom.

England and France would use this to their advantage and get smaller kingdoms to attack each other in hopes that they would destroy themselves and save them the trouble. They’d be all:
“Yo Hans, your brother Hermann in Franconia is pissed cuz you got more gold than he did. Said he was gonna come over there and kick your ass.” To which Hans would say, “Oh Yeah? Well, I’ll show him.”

Then they would say something similar to Hermann and hilarity would ensue.

This impeded Germany’s participation in the Colonial and Industrial Age until it was winding down. Although, when it came to industrialization, they caught up fast.

It wasn’t until almost 25 years after the Thirty Years War in 1871 when Otto von Bismarck from Prussia stopped all the hatin’ and brought his peeps together and created the German Empire.

Word?

Fo’schnitzel, Mein Nitzel.

The most interesting side-effect of these little city-states all over the place is how it has affected Germany’s present day railway system. It seems to be a bit more decentralized compared to England (pdf) or France.

Yeah, I know some of that is high school history, but now you know the connection between ancient Germanic inheritance laws and the great rail accessibility to German cities and I bet you didn’t know that 5 minutes ago, you’re welcome.

Anyway, I’m about halfway done with the book. I’m in the middle of “German Communication Patterns – The Fine Art of Complaining”.

Heh. That chapter wrote itself.