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Primer for Real Germans
Chapter 1: What are Real Germans like? Set all stereotypes aside and read about Real Germans' habits, likes and dislikes.
  More of This Article
• Part 2: Real Germans and their education, holidays, cuisine, Hausordnung, and clubs (Vereine)
  Related Resources

• German Traditions

 

By guest author WEISSDORN

Real Germans want everything at least 99.999999%. That is to say, before they purchase any product it should be 100% with a 1 Euro price. Maximum quality (nothing less will do), and minimum price.

Real Germans are perpetual bargain hunters. As soon as they buy anything they are slightly unhappy, because somewhere else that has inevitably escaped their attention, there was some place that had a better quality and it was cheaper!

Real Germans hate anything artificial in their food, even if it does improve the quality of the food, such as additives, vitamins, preservatives, or things that prevent it from becoming "yucky" after 24 hours. Let us not even speak about gene-spliced food or drugs to prevent livestock from becoming sick.

Many real German men love their cars more than their children. While children usually don't mind their parents, the car never fails to obey the commands of it's driver. And let's face it, a convertible Mercedes does look more attractive than some little kid with ice cream squished all over his face.

Real Germans are in love with their jobs. A German without a recognized profession is a nobody. A poor life have professional nobodies in Germany. Those are the people who did not qualify for some profession, like me, because my academic credentials where obtained in the U.S., which all Germans know are inferior to REAL German learning institutions. Even though a German may be unemployed for a substantial amount of time, he is still somebody, because he has learned a profession.

Real Germans are worry-worts. Female Germans excel in this trait. Worrying is almost a full-time job, because daily there are lots of things to worry about in this country. Will Germany ever live it down that they came in second place in the World Soccer Cup? Will another airplane crash over my head if I live near Lake Constance? If the poor Soviet people come to Germany to claim the horrid broken bodies of their children, will they want to stay in Germany and never go home? Will I lose my job because the Euro is making everything more expensive? If I leave work now, will there still be a parking place available at the supermarket?
Want to make a real German turn white with shock? Just tell him, that where you live you don't have liability insurance, you aren't too concerned if your kids don't have a registered place for pre-school, and if your landlord evicts you - hey no big deal, you'll just move.


Real Germans hate "winging it". They like pre-planned programs with lots of little details. They can usually be the first people to point out that you made a mistake in your planning.

There is a rumor that Germans have no sense of humor. This is absolutely false. They do have a sense of humor, in fact there is even a non-translatable word for their sense of humor, "Schadensfreude". There are two words stuck in this word. The first one is "Schadens" which means "misfortune", "damage", "injury". The other word is "Freude" which means "joy", "happiness". In other words, it literally means "joy for another's misfortune", which is why Mr. Bean is more popular in Germany than in Britain. Germans do not feel any sympathy for Mr. Bean. They are not laughing with him; they are laughing at him.

For real German profanity is anal and not coital. Germans do not say "F*ck!" when they are angry or disappointed, they say "Sh*t!". Likewise they do not describe a person they are not particular fond of as a "M*ther-F*cker!" but instead as an "A**hole!". Some say it was no wonder that Sigmund Freund "discovered" the concept of anal fixation; his first patients let out their frustration in the German language.

Next page > Real Germans and cleanliness, education, Hausordnung, holidays, and Vereine > Page 1, 2

   
 
 

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