Two things I like about Germany:
1. Taking a cab and entering the front seat like a duck takes to water. One thing I would never dare to do in the Middle East. In Germany I think nothing of doing so. Every taxi driver would consider me vain and snobbish not sitting next to him and chatting about the weather, family, jobs, whatever. Besides the sight is a lot better than from the back seat. In Egypt or elsewhere in the Middle East taking the front seat would most likely be understood as an invitation to harass me.
2. Imagine a crowded place in Germany, a placid evening, everyone chatting, smoking, trinking. And in the middle of this urban scene imagine a small cat searching for food in the rubbish. Apart from the fact that there would hardly be any rubbish bag lying in a German Downtown - it would be unthinkable for anyone to kick the cat for all the world to see. Not everyone may love animals, but no one would dare to torture an animal in public. I have seen incidents like this not only once in the Middle East. I always wanted to hit or kick the animal abusers back. But I never did because I was on my own and not any one of the passerbys would have understood why I was angry, arguing and certainly screaming. In Germany it would not only be me showing the bad ass that he is doing terribly wrong.
There are certainly more important issues to discuss about, but both are about respect.
Respect between men and women.
Respect for any living creature.
I do not claim that Germany is perfect. I do not claim that respect is present everywhere, for everything, for everyone.
But still I realize the small contrasting things I love my homeland for.
1. Taking a cab and entering the front seat like a duck takes to water. One thing I would never dare to do in the Middle East. In Germany I think nothing of doing so. Every taxi driver would consider me vain and snobbish not sitting next to him and chatting about the weather, family, jobs, whatever. Besides the sight is a lot better than from the back seat. In Egypt or elsewhere in the Middle East taking the front seat would most likely be understood as an invitation to harass me.
2. Imagine a crowded place in Germany, a placid evening, everyone chatting, smoking, trinking. And in the middle of this urban scene imagine a small cat searching for food in the rubbish. Apart from the fact that there would hardly be any rubbish bag lying in a German Downtown - it would be unthinkable for anyone to kick the cat for all the world to see. Not everyone may love animals, but no one would dare to torture an animal in public. I have seen incidents like this not only once in the Middle East. I always wanted to hit or kick the animal abusers back. But I never did because I was on my own and not any one of the passerbys would have understood why I was angry, arguing and certainly screaming. In Germany it would not only be me showing the bad ass that he is doing terribly wrong.
There are certainly more important issues to discuss about, but both are about respect.
Respect between men and women.
Respect for any living creature.
I do not claim that Germany is perfect. I do not claim that respect is present everywhere, for everything, for everyone.
But still I realize the small contrasting things I love my homeland for.
