German Duders... I am joining you!

Guten tag!

Hello my German friends, I am moving to Germany from Ireland in a few months for work and will be there at least a year (longer if things go well).

I will be moving to the seemingly lovely town of Unna , to work in a bar.

I am a little worried about the language, even though I did six years of German in school (that was about ten years ago, and I have forgotten most of it). I have been to Germany about four times over the last three years, and each time after a week I feel like I have been able to understand about 40% of the conversation, but lacked the language skills to say much myself. I am a quick learner though, and will try hard to pick it up.

My job will entail dealing with a lot of people every day, so I have a few questions for any German duders up in here:

1) I have noticed that a lot of German people speak a serviceable level of English. Is this true across most of the country? I will be trying very hard to learn German as quick as I can, but I hope people will recognize I am learning and speak with me in English sometimes.

2) Any major cultural things I might have missed? I don't feel like I have made any mis-steps when it comes to this, but you never know what things are deemed appropriate / not appropriate in different countries. Obviously I am not stupid enough to talk about the war, etc, in an insensitive fashion.

3) I have observed in the past that Germans seem to be quite responsible drinkers (compared to the Irish at least). What are your own experiences of drinking in Germany versus other countries you have been to? I am interested in the way Germans socialize as a pub is where I will be spending most of my time.

4) And finally, if anyone knows Unna or is indeed from there, or somewhere close to there, I would love to hear your impressions of the town and anything cool that happens there. I spent a week in Brilon, and Schutzenfest was in full swing. It was an amazing week. You guys know how to party!

That's all, any kind of advice would be appreciated!

Danke schön!

Wie gehts? I'm an American who currently lives in Switzerland, and has lived in Germany three different times in my life. So my advice my not be the same as a native German's, but I have some experience.

Most Germans don't speak enough English to hold a conversation, but most do know a bit in the west. Generally speaking, try talking in German as much as possible, and people will respond positively. Sometimes you'll even want to speak German and someone who speaks English well will insist in talking in English. So it goes. Also, there are assholes everywhere, but I found Germans to mostly be nicer than other countries.

There aren't any major cultural differences, just thousands of small ones. Idioms will catch you up, but that's true of any language. Just avoid "Ich bin warm / heiß." Those are sexual terms. The ones you want are "Es ist warm / heiß."

Germans drink like masters. Clubs open until 5 am, popping caffeine pills to keep going, knocking down trays of half-Euro shots. Okay, so not all of them do that, but I worked in a Soviet themed discothek in Freiburg am Breisgau, and consequently I got very familiar with that scene. They just have the appearance of responsibility because A) they've been drinking since their teens, B) they rarely get into fights or altercations, and C) they are respectful abroad.

Sorry that I'm too far away to hang out. My only other advice is to use something like DuoLingo to practice your German daily, and be open to learning about the people and their culture. The lame joke is that it takes a long time to earn a German's friendship, but once you do you have a friend for life. It's (sorta) true.

Have fun, duder.

I feel you. I was in a similar situation, I moved from Mexico to Guam to work in a taco stand.

Hey there @splodge!

First of all, welcome to Germany, I'm glad to have a fellow duder join us here in the wonderful Ruhrgebiet.

Language-wise, I don't think you need to be worried too much, most Germans know enough English for you to be able to safely buy a beer or get something to eat. So on that front you should be good.

As for Unna as a town, I can't tell you too much, I've only been there when I was visiting a friend who lives there. I myself am from Bochum, which isn't too far away and if you would be interested, we could meet up at some point and i could try and give you the lay of the land around here, at least concerning the rest of the Ruhrgebiet, Dortmund, Bochum, Essen, Duisburg etc.

Hit me up if you want to get together of if I can help you in any way

Thanks all for your advice and help!

@gerriam I might PM you in a few months when I am finding my feet over there! Thanks duder. The bar I will be working at is going to be re-vamped as an Irish bar, and the exciting thing about it is that my buddy who is opening it is finally going to be in charge and get to run it the way he wants. There will be three genuine Irish bar men and plenty of music (we are all musicians... well, I'm a singer but the other guys are excellent). From what I have seen in the previous bars he worked in, the Germans love a genuine Irish pub.

@dudeglove That's good advice about the radio and the crappy TV shows. My friend who I will be staying with is also Irish, but is fluent in German so he will be teaching me too.

@biffmcblumpkin At first I was like "Why would he...", but then I got it ;)

@viking_funeral One of the things my friend mentioned to me is in that three years of running bars in Germany he has only seen two fights, one of which was more of a heated argument. It's one of the reasons I am looking forward to it. I love my own people, and my country, but too often when Irish people get drunk the atmosphere in a pub / club can change dramatically and become hostile. I have been involved in some pub fights myself (never an instigator, but sometimes you have to stop people from attacking your friends), and I am pretty calm the majority of the time, even when drinking. Hell in Brilon I was even able to sit down and have a conversation with two reformed neo-nazis about politics and their experiences. These guys looked so aggressive, and drank their asses off, but there was nothing but jokes and good times. Socializing in Germany seems to be exactly that - social experiences with other people. Irish pubs tend to get kind of clique-ish and people don't talk to others outside who they went there with all that much.

Hey,

welcome to Germany I guess :) ... I hope you'll like it here.

1.) English is taught in schools. In general: The younger the person you meet the more likely they speak/understand at least a basic level of english. You probably won't have an in-depth discussion about philosophy but basic conversation should be fine with most people around 35 or lower.

Just keep in mind that most people don't speak english on a regular basis. I consider myself somewhat good at reading/listening to english since I consume most of my media (games/music/podcasts/movies etc.) in english. You still would probably catch me off guard if you asked me to have a conversation in english. Just be a little patient and don't talk too fast.

2.) We are probably in general a little more serious than other people (depending on the area you are in), but honestly, I think most of the stereotypes you might know are just that ... stereotypes ... especially among younger people. You should be fine. It's hard to judge that stuff about an area you grew up in though.

3.) Again ... mostly depends on the age. I've seen my fair share of people who can't judge how much they can/should drink. Especially younger people. The people in my age group (35 and up) usually are a little more responsible with alcohol.

Can't tell you anything about Unna since I'm not from that area.

Have fun :)

@splodge: Sounds like a plan. The pub you're describing sounds like a really fun and potentially very successful endeavor, so I'll do my darndest to make it out there and check it out. Maybe I'll get my friend who's living in Unna and come visit you and your buddies some time.

Otherwise, as you've already said, just shoot me a PM when you're here and we'll make things happen.

Will do!

I'm not german but welcome to mainland Europe! Ich habe keine ahnung wo der Staubsauger ist!

@trafalgarlaw: Der Staubsauger hinter der Bibliothek!