What is it like to be a German-American?

Since my primary focus is on German Heritage in the United States,  I wanted to go deeper with the topic by getting a little more personal with my research. What does that entail? Conversing with German-Americans of course! So I sat down at Café Allegro in the University District of Seattle with Jan and my friend Victoria. From what I have observed, many of the teachers and TAs in the Germanics department congregate in this hipster-esue café in the afternoon. I had a set of interview questions for both of them and they were both very eager to provide me with answers. Next week I will talk about Victoria, but this week's focus will be on the life of a German-American in Jan's perspective.

Jan (top left)  is a Graduate Student in the Germanics Department at the University of Washington. He taught a German Play production class that I took last year. He moved from Germany to the United States when he was eleven years old. After the class was over, I continued to keep in contact with him and the other students who took the class.

Me: Was the immersion into American culture difficult for you?

Jan:  It was very difficult because I had basically no knowledge of English. It was also difficult because my parents put me into an American school immediately. I remember not being able to understand anything. But I picked up the language rather quickly—within a year or so.

Me: Did your diet change when you moved to the United States?

Jan: (Laughs) No, my mom continued to cook traditional, German meals. We definitely retained the German cuisine so my diet didn’t really change significantly.

Me: What was the most extreme change that you experienced when coming to the USA?

Jan: Something that still affects me ‘til this day is American television. I was exposed to American television before I could speak English. I remember understanding the violence. I think it affected me in a really profound way. Reality TV shows scared me the most because we didn’t have those in Germany at the time.

  

Me: Tell me a little about your family and your way of life while growing up.  Did you have siblings? What languages did you speak with your family?

Jan: With my sister and my mom I always spoke German. My half siblings understood German, but they weren’t forced to speak it. When we talk with one another, we go back and forth between English and German--“Denglisch” so to speak.

Me: What was unique about your household when compared to average American families?

Jan: I remember eating together almost every night. I feel like it's not part of American culture to do that. 

Me: Did your family celebrate typical German traditions while living in the United States?

Jan: We celebrated most of the typical American holidays, but it was Christmas that was different for us. My mom definitely preserved the German Christmas traditions in our household.  We would always celebrate it on the 24^th .  On Christmas Eve, My mom would always have a bell that rang when it was time to go into the room and open presents.
 And St. Nikolaus tag—now that was SCARY. When I was young and still living in Germany, a man in our town dressed up as St. Niklaus and would visit all the houses in the neighborhood. If you were good, he would give you candy. If you were bad, however, he would stuff you in a sack. I remember crying because the thought of being stuffed in a sack scared me!

Me: What do you miss the most about living in Germany?

Jan: What I miss the most is the freedom to do certain things. In Germany it is legal to drink outside in the park or at a festival. You can’t do stuff like that in the United States. I also miss having the freedom to explore. There are a lot of rules placed on teenagers here. Like, unrealistic expectations. In Germany you are able to explore more of your own way of life because there are less restrictions.

Oh! And I also miss gemötlichkeit. I miss being able to sit down in the middle of the day and have tea and cake. I don’t think Americans value gemötlichkeit as much as Europeans do.

Me: What was your opinion on Americans before moving to the USA? Has your opinion changed since then?

Honestly, I was too young to have a strong opinion. The USA was always kind of a fog to me when I was living in Germany. What you understood about America is what you saw on television. I have really done a lot to break down stereotypes of both (German and American) cultures.  My dad thinks that Americans put their feet on the table and have no table manners. I, on the other hand, don’t think that all Americans act like that. America is so vast that you can’t categorize it in one way.

Me: In my blog last week, I talked about the definition of Heimat (home).  I asked numerous people what home is for them. Was ist Heimat für dich?

Jan: What is home?  I feel very torn between two countries. So, I have to tell you, defining Heimat is very difficult for me. In a philosophical sense, I would define Heimat as an imaginative sense of loss. In other words, it is something that only exists as a loss and not as an object.

Definitions:

Gemötlichkeit—  N. relaxation, comfortableness 

St. Nikolaus Tag— is a holiday that is celebrated on the 6th of December. In Germany, children put a boot called a Niklolaus-Stiefel (Nikolaus boot) outside the front door on the night of December 5th. If the child is good, St. Nikolaus will fill the boot with gifts and sweets overnight. If the child is bad, they will have a tree branch root or a lump of coal in their boot instead.

Denglisch— N. is slang used to describe the incorrect usage of English by Germans and vice-versa. Can also be used to describe a mixture of German and English.

Bis Montag!
Hilary