survival tips
survival tips information
My husband is getting stationed in Stuttgart, Germany in October. Any survival tips to avoid culture shock?
I have lived a pretty sheltered life, so moving to Germany will be a HUGE change. I’m afraid it will be too much for me, any tips anyone can give me would be very much appreciated!
Edited!
Wow that’s great. We just recently PSCed to Spangdahlem Germany. It was a little over-whelming at first but we just love it here now. We have been here since October 1st. We have seen so many unbelieveable things. There are castles just about everywhere and the Christmas markets are really great. It is so beautiful.
A few of the others mentioned that restaurants will be the biggest thing. That is true, you can’t always eat at the restaurants you are used to. But we have Taco Bell, Burger King and Popeyes so we’re all set with fast food. It took us a little while to work up the courage to try out our German. I would say that the language barrier is biggest problem for most people. To help that situation, I would start learning some basic phrases right now. Even though many Germans do speak English they really appreciate it when you try to speak their language. It is very helpful to know your numbers, and how to say Good Day (Guten Tag) Hello (Hallo), Yes and No , Thank you and then how to ask for directions and how to order food from a German menu etc. There are some great phrase books out there but it really helps to hear how the words are pronounced. It is easier then it seems at first. Here’s some links to free language websites.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/
www.german.about.com/library/
www.deutsch-lernen.com
Small fee websites : www.babbel.com
http://www.byki.com
www.rosettastone.com
The best thing you can do is just be open to new experiences and as soon as you can, get out and see this beautiful country. Some people come here and then just stay on base the whole time because they are scared to go out and do anything. If you do that then you will hate it here. Now of course keep in mind that it will take some time to settle in. Waiting for our car was the worst, But there is a bus here and taxi’s of course. There are some differences in just about every aspect of everyday life. For example always hand a tip directly to your waiter/waitress. It is an insult to them if you put it on the table. They have quiet hours from 1 to 3 here(atleast in the villages near us they do.) Meaning if you live off base you can not mow your lawn or blast music etc during those hours. Oh and make sure you always keep Euro coins in your pocket. Most restrooms have a small fee, normally from .30 to 50 Cents(Euro) But in my opinion it is totally worth it because in my experience the restrooms have always been extremely clean. ;o) Also in most stores, in order to use a shopping cart, you have to insert a .50 or 1 Euro coin in the shopping cart to unlock it from the cart in front of it and then when you bring it back and put the lock back in the cart your coin pops back out. Again , a bit of a hassle, but atleast there are no lose carts rolling across the parking lots to slam into your car.
I am not sure about the Stuttgart area but here it rains quite abit. We left Baltimore at 89 degrees F. in October and arrived to a chilly and rainy 33 degrees. So just check out the weather before you come so you can be prepared.
Okay assuming I haven’t bored you to tears, I havea few more things to say. There is a lot of walking involved here, so bring your walking shoes. Finally, don’t take to heart everything that people tell you about moving overseas. Some people have really bad experiences and then scare newcomers to death with their horror stories. The best way for you to come into this is to expect things with your move and then when you arrive here to NOT go as planned. That way IF they don’t you will be prepared and you will be able to deal with it better. Now of course by that I mean any little changes that at the time seem to be a BIG DEAL but only because you are anxious about getting you stuff packed and getting to your new home. And while you are here, TRAVEL and see as much as you can. The sooner the better. I really got more comfortable with it here when we got off base and saw some of the beauiful sights.
Sorry for the extremely long entry. I probably told you way more than you wanted to know but I was in your position this time last year. And I was really nervous but nobody really answered any of my questions.. So I hope this helps. And good luck at your new base.
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feel free to email me if you have any other questions or if you just want to talk about your move. Moving anywhere can be stressful especially if you don’t know what to expect. I really think you will love it here.
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