Studying in Germany, how to interact with Germans

First of all, don’t look down on Germans: Germans are very serious, and being too serious can lead to seeming rigidity. You can treat these experiences as jokes, but don't try to take advantage of them, such as lying or using deception to achieve your own goals. It can be said that due to the poor performance of some Chinese people in the early stage, some Germans already have a bad impression of the Chinese. And deception is one of the most intolerable qualities of this nation. So maybe you have the chance to deceive them ten times, but once they find out once, you are guaranteed not to get the next chance. Your losses in Germany will be far greater than your gains.

Secondly, don’t look down upon the Germans too much. This wording is to make it easier for friends to accept. My original intention can be explained with two simple examples:

1. Don’t say ja (Chinese: yes) to Germans easily: Among the Chinese friends I see, there is one that is easy to make The mistake was that in the early stage of language, because my hearing was not up to par, I was nervous when chatting with Germans. I often think to myself: I am chatting with Germans in German! So when I don’t understand or understand at all, I smile and nod, and keep saying ja, ja, as if I understand. . Although the combination of facial expressions or body language makes you think that you can understand a lot more in face-to-face communication than in pure listening exercises, this does not mean that everything you think you understand is correct. It should be said that most of the time you don't understand at all. The direct consequence of this is that first of all, Germans will not take you seriously, because even if they want to take care of your German when they speak, they will inevitably use some colloquialisms. After they finish speaking, they will know that you do not understand them at all. If they see you nodding and jaing at this time, they will think you are a little ridiculous. Then when you are eager to communicate with Germans, you ignore the most important point: communication at this stage is to master the language, and you jaded a hundred sentences speciously, but did not catch even one sentence; on the contrary, if If you just shake your head matter-of-factly when you don’t understand something, the Germans will explain it to you many times in an easier way. Then in the end, after you fully understand it, in addition to mastering this expression, you will also learn related and similar usages. . Compared with the first attitude, maybe you and the Germans have only exchanged ten sentences in a real sense, but these ten sentences will become something in your memory.

2. The problem of giving gifts to Germans: When every Chinese student comes here for the first time, there will be small gifts in his luggage ready to be given to Germans. Of course, it is appropriate to give some gifts when visiting a German home. However, if you give them away when you shouldn't, you are looking down on the Germans too much. Sometimes it's just the opposite. For example, for a normal job in Germany, some Chinese students will bring you some small gifts after they issue you an extension of your admission letter or registration certificate; or they will also give you gifts after the Foreign Affairs Bureau extends your visa. You should think about it, is he your friend? They are working normally and have no right to accept your gifts. You have to pay money when you extend your visa, so they should be thanking you. I can now see red Chinese knots in many offices of German foreign affairs departments, and of course they are all from Chinese students. As a result, when Germans receive similar gifts under similar circumstances, they feel a little strange: Is there any problem with the visas of these Chinese students? Do they have to give something to express gratitude for the extension?