The past few months have been a whirlwind of new situations and people. From going to church to being the first exchange student ever at my school, becoming acquainted with Germans has become a regular part of life, and so has lots and lots of small talk.
Small talk is not my favorite thing in the world, but I’d like to believe it’s a necessary evil. It also helps that when your German level is the same as mine, it’s easier to keep up with a conversation about the weather than the German economy; and oh boy can German people talk about the weather. I suppose it is a never exhausted topic. After all, today’s weather is probably different than yesterdays, and even if it isn’t you could talk about that. I know we talk about the weather a lot in English, but I’ve never been in a conversation that’s gone so deep into the climate rabbit hole as to compare the Northern versus Southern weather in fall. While most conversations in English that begin with the weather tend to veer into something different, German small talk can turn into a weather conversation. There’s no passionate feelings, just a long recap of the past few days or weeks. This often turns into predictions of the future to come, and whether one looks forward to it or not. Frequently, I’m then asked what the temperature currently is in my region, or to describe the climate in general. This was never something I contemplated before.
It may be because the weather outside has a much greater affect on the weather inside, since most German schools and homes don’t have air conditioning and open the windows often, if not all the time. That being said, if it’s humid outside, it is also humid inside. In many ways it’s impossible to escape the weather. Especially in small talk, we speak about what we’re experiencing at the moment. People meeting at a dog park will probably start off talking about their dogs. Germans shivering through school will probably talk about how cold it is. Of course, I’m exaggerating the amount that Germans talk about the weather, but I myself have noticed that it is more frequent here than in America.
One of the principals of small talk is to be general, brief. You don’t want to get too deep into the statistics of your work, family etc; because that would be boring. I was actually warned about this one before I arrived. That more often than not, Germans want to know the numbers. They want the dimensions. How many square feet? How many years old? How many students? I was told by AFS to learn the number of people living in my town, and how many kilometers I was from the closest major city. I know this now, because I’ve been asked so many times. Especially because I live in such a small area, people want to get an exact idea of how big my home is. I love shocking them when they find out my high school has 3,000 students and my grade has the same number of people as my village. The whole conversation isn’t just exchanging facts, the statistics given are usually followed by questions. For example, when finding out how big my town is, a common response is, “why did you come here?” This leads to a broader discussion about exchange because I can then explain that I actually find the culture and people here quite fascinating.
I don’t hate German small talk any more than dislike English small talk. I’ve learned how to take it in the direction that I want the conversation to go. I’ve also gotten pretty good at it, so it’s no longer a struggle. As my German has progressed, so have my conversations beyond small talk. One of the most rewarding things about living in Germany has been getting beyond the basic level that apps like Duolingo and school teach you. Essentials like asking for the bathroom and ordering at a restaurant. Going further than that and actually talking to people is so interesting and gratifying that the struggle is almost worth it.
P.S. I went to Berlin on Saturday so expect a article about that soon with lots of pictures!
BEA'S YEAR ABROAD 