Magic People, Voodoo People

My 2 roommates, at my first hostel in Berlin, were from Israel. When I told them my name was Umair, I could tell he put up his guard, as he asked “Like Omar? Where are you from?” I told him I was from America. His response was humorous to me – “That is a Muslim name. I hope you don’t have an issue with Israeli roommates.” I laughed and told him it didn’t matter to me. He said he didn’t know where I stood politically because I was raised Muslim and “you Americans seem to have a lot of opinions and issues with everything”. I did not take it personally. I, in fact, am always fascinated by international perception of America and its people.

Yesterday, I moved to a cheaper hostel too. I am having an incredibly hard time with the language, especially street signs and directions, so I figured moving to a hostel is centrally location will help. Thankfully, a lot of Germans speak enough English to help out. Whenever I asked them in Deutsch if they speak English, they always say “very little” and always turns out that they know it perfectly.

There are several other things I have noticed about Germans. Most of the time I don’t get a “thank you”, or even eye-contact if I open the door. They don’t say “excuse me” when moving through a crowd. They just go through it, or say “move” in German without hostility. At first I thought Germans are stiff and rude, but they always greet me, always say thanks when any exchange takes place, and when leaving, they always say farewell. It doesn’t make them rude, because that is just the way it is. Manners in different cultures are always different. It’s a very matter-of-fact culture. I like that.

Here is a weird observation though. I get some unfriendly looks from whomever I try to get info from, when I have my black beanie on. If I have it off, people are much nicer to me. I don’t look that scary or intimidating. But I guess that is debatable. Ironically, the black beanie I own is one of my favorites, and was in the letter’s of the Nazi ‘SS’ soldiers. Creepy huh? I didn’t know that.

Tomorrow I will get into my tour and pub caul that happed toinight, with lots of pictures. I for some cool pictures. YES!