This is my first year in Germany. Before I become fully integrated and stop observing the quirks in German culture, I thought I would record my thoughts on it. To be honest, some of the aspects of German culture are already in me. Hence the attaction to moving to Germany, I guess.

Timeliness

Let’s start with the most obvious one. Germans are punctual and methodical in their lifestyle. They like to plan things and stick to it. They have insurances for everything that could go wrong. They love their routines and respect the boundaries of work and personal life. Routines and timeliness helps them with this balanced lifestyle. Indians on the other hand, have no boundaries and no sense of time. We are notoriously late to everything. We bring personal life talks to office and office talks to personal life.

Food

Bread, potato, soups and sausages. The German food revolves mostly around this theme. Popular street food are usually sausages and Turkish Doner Kebabs. In contrast, Indian food ranges from naans, rice, curries, kebabs to samosas and paani pooris. The variety in spices and colours is endless.

Family

Just like most of the west, German family system is fragmented. Families are nuclear. Children leave the home during college and some families decide to not have kids even. On the other hand, India is full of joint families. Parents depend heavily on children after retirement and children stick to parents for long term.

Education

Probably the biggest advantage of German social services is the nearly free education. The government even provides financial support to couples with kids. Though education is primarily in German medium, the pedagogy is very hands on and practical. Indian education system is known to be stuck in the Colonial style of book worm approach. Children are encouraged to memorise and pedagogy is mostly theoretical.

Health

Employers always provide health insurance which makes the medical system easily accessible in Germany. In absence of employment, government provides alternatives in terms of social benefits. In India, private medical clinics are very expensive and the cheaper public ones are often corrupt.

Career

The opportunities in Career are quite good when you consider technical or automotive field. Lot of digital start ups are also cropping up in and around major cities. It is tough to getin because the companies here are notorious with slow decisions. But once you get in, you get government regulated pays and great job security. Be aware that many domains have language barrier. Being in Germany without learning German is not easy. In contrast, jobs are in abundance in India, easy to get and hard to hold on to. Though India is also good at job security, the pay is not good and highly scewd between cities and genders.

Festivals and traditions

Each region in Germany has a fixed number of festival holidays. Most holidays are based on Christian traditions. Some holidays are also based on regional specialities. Oktoberfest and Christmas festivities are particularly notable. In India, the festivals are not countable. Major holidays are around Hindu traditions like Diwali, Dessahra and Baisakhi. The holidays vary from state to state.

This is certainly not the whole picture of the German and Indian cultures. Some might say that I touched upon the stereotypical differences only. May be I will write a blog later on the commonalities. Different or not, we always have humanity in common. And love is a language that every culture understands.

Please leave a comment about your thoughts and experiences on this subject.