Dating in itself is a very personal and sophisticated matter. Any advice
can hardly be appropriate here. According to Lynne, an American living
in Germany, " ... if there's any genuine connection between two people,
it'll survive whatever differences may arise in the early stages of dating,
and if those differences seem too overwhelming and/or the relationship
doesn't survive for other reasons, trying to make too many adaptations
in the early stages is NOT going to help! The most that any such "advice"
can normally do is perhaps to spare an occasional bruised feeling that
might result from a minor misunderstanding. And where German and American
cultures are concerned, the potential for culturally-based misunderstandings
is relatively negligible, so if two people aren't open-minded enough to
try to work through such insignificant differences, the relationship doesn't
stand a snowflake's chance in hell of surviving anyway."
However for most people whose sweetheart is German, a foreigner, there
are plenty of cultural nuances and minor difficulties resulting sometimes
in an alienation. Why not try to avoid it? Let's listen again to Lynne,
the expert in human relations in general and in relations with a German
man in particular. Being an American, she has unique experience of successful
dating and communicating with a German. Here are her practical recommendations
and advice for American women dating German men (can be vice-versa: for
American men dating German women):
