There's a lot that I expected from Germany and Germans and a lot that I was told. Some of it's partially true, most of it isn't.
I was expecting German professors to be a lot worse than they are. I had this image of an 80 year old man with a bent back, coke-bottle glasses ( or preferably, a monocle ), an ear trumpet, an incomprehensible dialect, and a dislike for students. He would likely also have a cane for whacking students who asked any questions with. While that image is a product of my own skewed, ageist imagination, it was backed up by American profs telling me that German professors are less accessible than American professors and probably also seeing The Blue Angel ( I jest ). Granted, two of my professors were hired by the AYF program and knew they'd be dealing with Americans. They're both well under 80 years old and very exciting about their respective subjects and willing to help students. My only "true" class at the University of Freiburg this semester is taught by a Dozentin ( like a teacher's assistant ), to whom I can talk shortly after class and is patient with my horrible German
( though I think I've got a strategy going with this - speak enough in that class so that when I present my Referat, none of the students will dare ask me a question for fear that they will need to listen to my answer ).
Not to mention the people at the library are extremely helpful! Talk about service. There isn't any handy map that I've found that tells me where all the sections are ( although there are a few signs here and there ). The Info Desk has answered a bunch of my questions, helped me fill out a form for permission to borrow books, and helped me find out where articles in journals are ( and I had to state several times that I simply didn't know any useful information, except the title and author, which left the woman at the desk to do all the work for me ).
The topic of libraries bring me to the next myth; Germans are very organized. Maybe individuals are, but let's talk about the cataloging system in the library. Forget Dewey Decimal! Here, it's all the rage to organize books by the year they were bought. Which makes expanding the library easier, but makes browsing impossible. You are totally reliant on their electronic catalog to find books. You can not simply look to the right and the left of a book and find other books with similar themes or topics. If you do, it's probably a mistake.
Also, street names. One street to me is four streets to Germany. So while there may be more street names than I find necessary, I guess it's better than the American system, where a street may have many names, but they're not all official, i.e. not on any street sign you'll ever see. 13 to 16 Mile Streets? I'm still not sure which is which if you call it by another name.
And I've run into no American-haters, though a Canadian floormate of mine ran into a guy at a bar who asked him if he was American and then began to rant. Another floormate of mine was happy to practice her English with me during Christmas break because she has some distant relatives who are from the US.
Sometimes it's funny the reactions you get when people know you speak English or you're from the States. A couple asked me for directions into town via Strassenbahn once and the man interrupted me midsentence and asked "What language do you speak? English or French?" I speak English. But please, I am trying to help you by giving you directions so you can get to the Weihnachtsmarkt and you want to interrupt me? Wait a few seconds while I try to organize words into a comprehensible sentence. I know, it takes a while, but please be patient and hold all questions until the end of the tour. Someone else asked me directions while I was in town and I pulled out a little map and pointed to the street ( right around the corner! ). She asked me where I was from and then told me I had a wonderful accent, which I sorta have to laugh about. Accents in the US can make people swoon, but I have no idea what my accent sounds like to German ears. A few friends of mine where at a Russian goods store and were told that apparently the "th" sound is sexy. What? I guess English speakers and Barcelonians got it going on, then.
Anyhow... that's all my thoughts for the moment.
