Two years ago when I was studying at the College of Charleston I had my first awkward situation… I was waiting for the bus. In Germany usually, no one talks to each other while waiting for the bus. So I was not prepared for it. A boy asked me if I go to the outlets and told me that his mother is working there. I had no idea who he is and why he thought I would be interested in knowing where his mother works. After a few situations like this, I started to research about the American culture. I found out (Source) that I am a coconut surrounded by peaches. What does that mean? The German culture is a very serious and hard culture. If a coconut meets a stranger there is normally no talking or smiling. This is the hard side of the coconut. When time goes by and coconuts get to know someone better they are getting more communicative and friendlier. The soft part is just for friends. Because of that friendships develop slowly but (in my experience) last longer. Peaches are very friendly to strangers and it is not hard to start a conversation with someone you don’t know. But people from the peach culture have also a hard pit where they stop sharing information’s and protects themselves. To know this helps me not to be confused when the cashier at Target tells me that she works since 8 am and it has been a long day or someone tells me that he or she likes my shoes. Also, I don’t see the American culture as superficial anymore. Which is a common stereotype a lot of Germans have about Americans? I am getting used to it and I got a lot better at small talk.  🙂

Cross Cultural Communication Small Talk