The Nicest Kids in Town

Before leaving for Germany, I was warned by many to be on guard and to not smile at anyone. Germans don’t smile on the street and everyone will hate that you don’t speak German. Germans are strict and harsh; you won’t find any room for error while there. This was even addressed at my excursion day visit. My INEMA partner directly asked the ladies leading the excursion about their stereotypes and asked what preconceived notions they had about her as an Egyptian. What about me or Kate as Americans? As we all know, Americans are fat and lazy from eating so much McDonalds and Egyptians like to ride camels all day to the Pyramids of Giza. Right?

I honestly was so uncomfortable when this was directly brought up by my partner, but with it out in the air, things could only get better from there. By addressing our stereotypes and preconceived notions about one another, we were better able to understand each other on an individual basis and to contradict those stereotypes permeating our experiences. I’m not advocating calling out the next person you meet on the street with stereotypes. I’m saying you as a person need to take the responsibility as a fellow human to recognize your biases, challenge them, and learn from them.

You know what I found on this trip? The nicest people I’ve ever met. When I was lost trying to print my train ticket, a lovely German lady came up and assisted me with not just printing my ticket, but finding my platform (which was at platform 9 but sadly not 9 and three quarters). While on the train to Heidelberg, a German couple gave Tiffany and I travel tips for the city and later, played peek a boo with a child in the seat across from us. Fun tip: German peek-a-boo is adorable and much quieter than my version was. Sticking your tongue out at a child and making faces at her WILL make her cackle and everyone on the train will wish your stop was next. Even at the soccer game when we wore the opposing team’s colors, we were never discriminated against. I mean, no we definitely didn’t make any friends that day, but everyone was still mostly kind and understanding.

In this opportunity of a lifetime, I’ve learned so much about cross-cultural norms, language barriers, and the general kindness and warm-heartedness of people in the world. When it comes down to it, we help each other and want the best for one another. If I walked away from this trip with nothing but that knowledge, I’d still feel like the luckiest person alive.