India Vs Germany

In the recent past, I had the opportunity to spend a month or so in Germany. So naturally, given the cribby nature or my blog, I had to write one comparing India and Germany. Now, since my childhood, German efficiency has been praised and admired around me. So I was quite interested in finding out exactly how the heck people are more efficient than other people. The second thing that I was told that I will have lots of language problems. And the third thing told to me, albeit by very few people, was that I might have to face some racial discrimination.

Frankly speaking, I was disappointed on all the three counts. They seemed to be just as lazy as the next Indian you are likely to find. The only difference that came across is that they seem to take a pride in their work, which results in the work getting done better. In India, there is a tendency to just get the work done. No one really bothers about the quality of the work. And of course, there is less corruption and less chaos than what exists in India. I actually had a German policeman smile at me, a feat which I have not seen in India in 26 years of my life! And when I treated him like an information bureau, and asked him how to get to a certain place, I actually got the answer. I have never dared ask anything to any Indian policeman, so I don’t quite know what happens next.

About the language problem, well, I have live in Bangalore for more than 2 years, so I am practiced against all sorts of language trouble. You know the sort, when people understand you, but they pretend not to. Or the one in which if you don’t speak their language, you might as well as be a snail. And in reality, I had more trouble making people understand in Bangalore, then I had in Duesseldorf. Which is really sad!

About the racialism, I really didn’t find any proof. Most people I met were nice and smiley sort of people. And even if some of them looked at you longer than they should, it was an open look and a look of curiosity. This does not include some old ladies, though. They looked at me like they would like nothing better than hitting me on the head with their umbrellas!

And do I need to speak about German girls! Man!! Even if I discount the propensity of the Indian male for fair skin, they were hot! I rarely saw a girl who could be said to be ugly. Most of them were in good shape, with great skin and nice hair. And they were nice too! They smiled back if you smiled at them! And there was this one college student, who waitressed in a restaurant I frequented for dinner. (for obvious reasons!) She was blond and had blue eyes and a great smile. When I walked in to the place, she gave a big welcoming smile which literally made me go Aaaaahhhhh!!! And when she tried to explain the menu to me in her broken English, I wanted to get up and do things, which would in the least, just get me arrested! But there is one thing which as an Indian I have to state. All of them were beautiful, but all of them were beautiful in the same way. In India, though all women are not beautiful, all of them are beautiful in their own ways. Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit are both beautiful, but just try to lay down the common parameters of their beauty!

The next thing most Indians would enjoy is German beer. There are so many sorts! I mean there are different sorts! There is the normal beer, then Wiesenbier(I am not sure about the spelling), then the Duesseldorf specialty, Altbier, which is really bitter and awesome! But the best was the Cologne beer, Koelsh! It rocked!! In Duesseldorf, calling the Koelsh better than Altbier would have gotten me lynched, but the truth’s the truth! Or at least, a matter of opinion is a matter of opinion!

And If you are a non-veggie, and open to new experiences, then Germany can offer you quite a few things. I actually had zebra and crocodile to eat!!! And, the fun part is, though you eat so much meat and drink so much beer, you don’t get acidity! Which is something I haven’t quite fathomed. I tasted French, Italian, Chinese (German Chinese, in this case), Korean, Mexican, Mongolian, German cuisine there and actually ended up losing some weight!

I actually had a great time in Germany, and might even have considered being born in Germany in my next life, but for only one thing! They don’t like cricket there!