So German ... #4

For our fourth interview on German lifestyle, we dug a little deeper and talked to one of our clients. Yuri Milyutin is originally from Russia and lived in the Ukraine before moving to Germany a year ago. He works as product manager of Berzin Archives, a website who explains and provides input on Buddhism. We did a relaunch of their website some time ago and we are still working with them on their brand.
Yuri has been spending a lot of time at our Berlin office, working with us on the project development.

What was your very first impression when you came to Germany?

The acceptance. People accept you; they don’t just judge you by your looks or expect you to fit into certain roles. The diversity in Germany is really fascinating, you can see any kind of people on the streets and nobody would judge them on their looks, preferences or beliefs.
Though, I have to say that by now I figured out that this is sometimes based on the lack of interest people show around here. Germans really live in their own world and are very used to people being different. It is quite hard to actually get to know someone, because people are often focused on themselves. It actually took a year until people at the Gym started talking to me, even though I go there often and they see me regularly. Still, I prefer people not being too interested and not judging, over people being so interested that they attack you or abuse you in the streets, if you don’t fit in.

What about the German culture do you think people should know?

I find it quite fascinating how Germans put a lot of time and attention into criticizing problems of society and social subjects, while most of them are really bad at adapting those criticisms onto themselves. It’s all about equality, fairness and respect on a social scale, standing up for eachother and being fair towards other people. They seem to have this “We are one” attitude on the outside, but often appear really insecure as individuals. I don’t understand how someone can stand up for social rights on a big scale, but be totally unsocial as a person.
Not all Germans are like that, though, it’s more of a vibe I sense from the culture itself.

I also find it really fascinating that there is so much criticism on society in the first place.
Germany is a very stable and safe country and people just keep on acting like it would be oh so bad around here.
I came straight from the Ukraine, where people get killed out in the streets on a daily basis and German conditions are just nothing compared to that. Diversity is a natural part of all living systems and in Germany I first got a chance to experience how people are fine with that. All nationalities, sexualities and sub-cultures are somehow accepted here.
And it’s really interesting that young people are aware of all that. They are much more tolerant and often interested in doing NGO work. I don’t think I ever met any young people who wanted to help this much, before I came to Germany.

Anything else about Germany on your mind?

I really like the German youth. They are usually very open and tolerant, want to help people and are very aware of the politics and the country they live in. For instance, they often are really good with money. Have their savings all sorted out and never spend more than they have.

That’s probably all the input I have on Germany. I like this place and I like the people. They can be socially awkward from time to time, but they are really reliable and also very committed. I can really recommend putting in the extra time it takes to get to know them.

Thank you very much, Yuri!!

Illustrations: Lucia Cosma