I would first like to thank all my readers for their support, this site just passed 200 fans on Facebook! Thank you thank you thank you thank you for reading!
I’ve gotten a couple emails with questions recently, so I thought that it’s about time that I do another Q and A post. Got a question for me? You can ask about Germany, about being a parent, about cooking, anything! Fire away in the comments section and I’ll do my best to answer everyone’s questions in the next post.
For a preview of what may be to come, or some ideas on what to ask, check out my answers from 2008 – part 1: books, movies, music, etc and part 2: living in Germany, living in general, and kids (can’t believe it was two years ago, I swear it hasn’t been that long!).
I can’t wait to see what you guys are curious about!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Christina, here’s my question: what’s your recipe suggestion for a meal that is:
1. Among your favorites
2. Fast & easy to cook
3. Ingredients readily available in DE
.-= Dave´s last blog ..5 Most Critical Items in my Backpack =-.
Christina,
You’ve mentioned you are fluent in German. Do you still have much of an accent? Was much attention paid to pronunciation in your German class? Do you feel it’s sufficient to just be fluent or can having an accent make you feel an “outsider”?
The reason I’m asking is that I had quite a few years of German both in high school and college, but not really much practice other than occasional visits to Germany and Austria. So I’m trying to see how important this is.
Thanks.
.-= Maria Guzenko´s last blog ..Doctors and lawyers =-.
Hi Christina,
I have an odd food one:
1) Do you like the canned herring fillets in sauces?
2) What’s the yummiest way to eat them? On hard bread? Fresh outta the tin? ; /
And then a language one:
Did you speak German before you moved there with your husband? What got you over the hump from German student to German speaker? (I’m learning the language now as an adult and it’s slow-going!)
Vielen dank and I love your blog!
Sarah
I’ve been reading for a while now and you’ve tempted me out of hiding. My grandparents came over from Germany and wanting to learn more about my roots is how I came across your blog. I really enjoy it and like your writings. So I haven’t been to Germany and don’t know all that much about it but I hear arguments all the time on tv here about how Europe has a better social system but people are taxed “within an inch of their life”. Do you feel overburdened or stifled by taxes? Thanks.
Do you do the dinner at noon thing with a light Abendbrot at “dinnertime” or do you still do American-style “dinnertime”?
.-= Kelly´s last blog ..Still here. =-.
This relates to consumer goods. You’ve blogged extensively on how to cook American food favorites, where to find certain foods (baking soda?) for cooking, what consumer products you miss (toiletries, condiments, etc). from the US. While you’ve found suitable replacements for most of your needs, is there anything you miss (consumer good-wise) that you cannot get or replace so easily in Germany? And alternatively, are there things you love (consumer good wise) in Germany that are not so easily obtained in the US?
I’ve got one question as well:
Comparing yourself with other (white) American Expats in Germany that you talked to, what differences in your experiences, your treatment or the general attitude towards you, based on the fact that you are Asian American, did you ever encounter?
I’m really curious about that one, since it’s a fact that there aren’t as many people of asian descent in Germany and that hence people aren’t as used to seeing asians (or also blacks) as they might be in the US.
It’s a question of even more relevance to me, since my girlfriend is Asian American, and I was wondering, what problems she might face if she’d ever decide to live in Germany.
Another one: Are there maybe even differences in treatment depending on which state/region an American Expat in Germany is from (East Coast, West Coast, South, Midwest)???
Christina,
I’m a Ph.D student in engineering in the states, and I am thinking of moving to Germany after I finish. I’m fluent in German, and I’ve worked there before and enjoyed it. However, I was wondering if you think, as a foreigner, it would be difficult or impossible for me to be promoted over time to a higher-level position in a German company, as I would in a company back here? Would I always be the foreigner, and never really get anywhere?
Best!
Michael
Hi Christina,
Just wondering if your little boy is starting to talk yet? Does he speak English to you? I know you’ve spent time back in the States, which I’m sure did wonders for his two languages. Anything special you do to make sure he doesn’t forget his mom’s culture and language?
I just visited the US after 4 years away. Did you have any reverse culture shock during your recent trip back to the US?