REGINA: Standing out

I think that Berlin was an ideal city for us to start our stay in Germany in. Because many people in Berlin speak at least a little English in addition to German, I think that it was easier for us to start getting used to German but also enabled us to fall back on English when it was necessary for us to do so.

It’s interesting that I felt much safer walking around Berlin than I do when I walk around downtown Spartanburg. Obviously, there are dangerous people wherever you go, but it seems as though German people want to screw each other over a lot less than Americans do. Even the way that Berliners (and, I assume, Germans) drive is, while seemingly more hectic than our driving in the states, more considerate in regards to other people using the streets. For example: at home, even in the less densely populated Spartanburg, I would never think of riding my bike around, even in my own neighborhood. Hit and runs seem to happen so frequently, and it just doesn’t seem safe. Biking is much more acceptable in Germany, and it surprised me how many people simply biked around. I was envious of the way Berlin is set up; it’s fairly easy to get everywhere, and things aren’t so distant from each other. Things that are spread apart are still easy to get to, with public transportation in Berlin set up the way it is.
I think that the idea of standing out and being your own person is more accepted and valued in Berlin. People can pretty much get away with wearing whatever they want, and dyeing their hair crazy colors, and often don’t get so much as a passing glance. People who do this in the states are considered outcasts and unacceptable, or immature. It seems as though in Berlin, you can be whatever and whoever you want to be and face a lot less judgment than you would in the states. I envy that, and I hope that one day, the United States will be more open and less judgmental, like Berlin seems to be.