Parlez Vous...
When I talk to expats, I come across two schools of thought - those who want to learn German and those who don't. Members of the first group will take the six-week course prescribed by the company or organization that moved them here. They will make attempts to order their own food and find their way around. Members of the second group also take up language courses but then they just retreat back into their safe, litttle bubble and say: "What's the use - I am moving back in x years anyways." They will usually first speak in English to natives before using their acquired German skills.
Since I learned four languages very early on in life, it is difficult for me to remember how long it takes to master a language well enough to feel confident for use in everyday communication. But I have become aware of how essential it is to bridge cultural differences. Of all aspects of a culture (politics, religion, economics, etc.), the most important aspect for an expat to understand is language.
I think, if you have had the choice to move to Germany and you see it as an adventure, the adventurous spirit needs to include using German skills at every opportunity to understand the culture. If, however, you are an unwilling/trailing spouse or partner or you were thrown into the situation of living here, the argument could be made that you do not need to force yourself to embrace the language, especially if you have no talent for it.
I have conflicting thoughts about learning different languages. Once you understand a different culture and a different way of life, it messes with your identity. When you learn about an advantage one culture has over your own, you grow dissatisfied unless that benefit is easily exported. I have not yet found a country where I have enjoyed all the benefits of a multi-cultural life.
I have a concrete, but trivial, example: I love to eat German bread. In the US, not even the most artisan or hand-made bread in the supermarket comes close to German bread. I would have to go out of my way to find German bread (usually made by a German baker) or bake it myself. This is just one tiny aspect of German culture that has not been successfully exported but it is a quintessential part of German culture and it makes for thousands of discontented German expats in the US.
My point is, what do we as willing/unwilling expats take away from the experience? Is giving up part of our identity worth the adventure?
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4 comments:
I think you've missed a group - those of us that are not moved here by an organization or company.
I find that we do tend to learn the language and more about the culture than the ones you've mentioned and also military families. However, I do agree with you. What you get out of your 'experience' is what you put into it.
Hi J,
I also realized I left out the group of celebrities that vowed to leave the US if Shrub got elected
:-) As a multi-lingual person I struggle with cultural identity because there is no flag or military to represent this type of group. As a repat-expat, I think I just have to be content with the here and now.
I think you've tapped into something important here. I am thinking of my first return to the States after a semester abroad in 2000, and of the year I lived with two housemates who had just returned from a year in Germany.
One is so "gung-ho" and you come back to where you were before and it's like being caught in a rut. Most other people just aren't interested and there are not enough bins for you to sort your trash! Perhaps I was lucky to already be in my 20's. The kids who do an exchange in high school are changed by the experience on a deeper level. I don't know if ever do get completely reacclimated to your home country.
It took me 20 years to get a grip on German, so much as I piddle around in my Spanish I book, there is just no progress and there probably won't ever be. I guess I can't blame people for not feeling like the language is worth the work. When I faced the prospect of returning to the States for good (which never did materialize) I was pretty bitter about having acquired a "useless" skill.
Annonamoose,
someone once told me that it takes just 3 years living in another country and when you return home, nothing feels the same. I'm reading Bill Bryson's "The Lost Continent" - his journey through 38 US states and the quest for an imaginary and idyllic town called Amalgam. Bryson lived in the UK for 10 years and returns to find the US to be very different from what he remembered. Very funny book. Highly recommend it.
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