auslander

There is a word in German, Auslander, which means literaly, "outlander," or "outsider." When I was in Mexico, I was a Gringo. When I move to Germany, I will be ein Auslander. I've been reading a book about German character and cultural expectations. This book suggests that that Germans, like the Japanese, tend to divide people into either part of the group or outside of the group, and the relationship, language, and expectations are wildly different depending on what side of that line you are on.

Actually, I wonder what I will think of this post a year from now, having lived in Germany. From my experience of reading about Mexican culture and character, and interacting with Mexicans, it is fair to say that differences within smaller groups are greater than the larger ones. The differences are greater between a Mexico City resident and a Jalisco resident, than between a Mexican and an American. Within Mexico City, the differences between someone in Tapetio and Polanco, are going to be wider than the differences than the Mexico City dweller and the Jalisco dweller. All the way down to the level of an individual. People are the ultimate idiosyncrasy- in my experience, people are who they are much more by their personalities than by larger social characteristics.

So I have to take all of this with a grain of salt. Especially in Germany, which wasn't even a coherent whole up until 200 years ago. Anyway. There are some things generalizations are good for.

What gives Germans a reputation for humorlessness and formality is a supposedly a demonstration of that divide, which stands in exceptionally sharp contrast to American visitors. The book claims that Americans tend to be more network driven- our bonds of friendship are loose and wide and transitory. I'm guessing that there's something about the egalitarian ideology of Americans "treat others as you want to be treated" to this as well. Germans tend to be very stuck to where they grew up, and very closely tied a the small circle of friends, with correspondingly higher expectations of trust, obligation, and responsibility to the group.

The main messages I'm getting from this book are

1. Be clear, expect bluntness. Germans are driven by clarity- in everything.  Anything which is clear, is generally good. Clarity in responsibilities, clarity in relationships, clarity in design, in organization, etc. etc. Modernism, which was born in Germany, is founded on the ideal of clarity in design. "The house is a machine for living in." Except that it's not. Which is the problem. Logical clarity in urban design was a really, really, awful idea. I cannot express how bad this was. And apparently Germans can be sold on anything if you can show a logical basis.
2. Follow the rules. I remember laughing with Chase in Munich because Germans wouldn't cross an empty street without the lit walk sign. Germans partly follows rules because it makes relationships between things clear (see part 1) but also because Germans are willing to sacrifice more personal liberties for societal benefits. Actually, according to the author, Americans are some of the most individual rights focused group in the world. I can't argue it- the US is a place with a few horrible realities precisely because Americans prefer ideological fantasies.
3. Expect competence, deliver competence. In Germany, as Saori says, things just work the way they're supposed to work. Work is done competently. People are expected to deliver on what they say they're going to deliver. If you tell a client "we'll try to get it to you by friday," you had better get it to that client by friday or be prepared to suffer a massive loss of credibility and trust. Note to self: under-promise and over-deliver (and fine tune towards exactitude as you go).

Anyway, I'm looking forward to meeting more of them, although like I said before, you have someone in front of you, you are looking at someone who is defined first at a Homo sapiens sapiens, second at a unique personality, and maybe 12th or 15th as a nationality.