Americans in Germany Drinking Whiskey

These things actually exist? This week we’re talking about strange, cool, surprising things that we did not know existed until we moved to Germany. One of the beautiful things about living abroad is being constantly surprised. We’ve come across machines, food and items that we had no idea there was a need for. Some are very useful and we wish they were more wide spread, but others we can definitely do without. Have you heard of vomit sinks, fresh sausage from a vending machine, or poop shelves? We know you want to hear more, so let’s go!

The AGDW podcast is back and we think the best way to start 2021 is with a classic “German Shuffle.” This is a series of episodes in which we focus not on one topic for an episode, but a wide variety of unrelated topics. It feels like a good ol’ fashioned variety show! This week’s episode will cover: the phenomenon of well trained German dogs, U.S. taxes as an expat living in Germany, the differences between U.S. & German beer packaging, popular German brands most people pronounce incorrectly, and more!

During this week’s episode we both look back at our move to Germany and the many years we’ve spent living in Berlin. Our goal is to find what we did wrong, what regrets we have, and how we might have done things differently, knowing what we know now. We hope our honest reflection and advice might help anyone who’s considering a move to Germany or has recently made the trek abroad. In addition to being a nostalgic look back, this is also our last episode of 2020. But, don’t worry, we’ll be back in a few weeks on January 6th!

The title says it all! During this episode we will present to you our list of the most frustrating things about living in Germany, also known as “pet peeves.” Obviously, we enjoy living in Germany or we wouldn’t have stayed all these years. However, Germany is not perfect (who is?), and during our daily experiences we’ve come across a few things that continue to annoy, frustrate, and downright irritate us. Have you ever felt trapped in a grocery store when you don’t buy something, experienced the horror that is German customer service, or wish your windows had screens on them? Come along as we describe those little things that sometimes our brains just can’t understand.

It’s December and the holiday season is upon us! Celebrating Christmas in Germany can be a magical experience. This week’s episode will explore the German Christmas traditions that make the holiday different than what you may have experienced in the USA or elsewhere. Did you know that the act of bringing a tree indoors to celebrate Christmas was a tradition started in Germany? We’ll discuss the history of the holiday and also the fun ways Germans have turned Christmas into a month celebration, rather than just a single day. Put on your snow boots and let’s go!

On this edition of the “Expat Files” we interview Prayag Thakkar, an Indian living in Berlin. We will discuss his journey from Gujarat, India all the way to Germany, which in fact was the first time he ventured out of his native land. We’ll begin with a cultural misunderstanding with a German exchange student in India and then lead into his experiences navigating a new culture abroad, while trying establishing himself in the German capital.

It’s time to introduce you all to the German Shuffle. What is it, a dance? Not quite! The German Shuffle is a new type of episode in which we will focus not on one topic the entire episode, but a wide variety of smaller unrelated topics. Over the course of making this podcast, we’ve had many ideas we wanted to talk about with you, however they were too small to fill an entire podcast episode on their own. We’ve decided that instead of throwing those ideas away, we’re going to roll a few of them into one variety show. This week’s episode will cover: how have Germans changed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, how we get our fill of German news, the pluses and negatives of an American becoming a German citizen, and more!

Most of us have traditions that are important to us and we try to keep alive. Some we’re taught to us by our family, some are from the culture around us and others are the traditions we create on our own. During this week’s episode we discuss which traditions from our lives in the USA we’ve continued after moving to Germany and those new traditions we’ve adopted after arriving. To help us we have as our guest Mari Tischner, the host of the YouTube channel “Adventures of La Mari.” She is an American-Peruviann author from the USA currently living in southern Germany.

The Mythbusters are back! Ok, maybe it’s not the famous pair you were hoping for. Regardless, we have created part 3 of our ongoing series and we’ll be brining you more myths, stereotypes & misconceptions about Germany and its people! Do Germans really love David Hasselhoff? Is it really a big deal if you wish someone, “happy birthday” the day before? We’ll crack these myths and more, in this week’s episode.

Learning a new language takes a lot of commitment and hard work. We all have such high hopes for a speedy road to fluency, but some of us unfortunately fall short. In earlier episodes, we’ve given advice on learning German and what steps we would suggest someone takes when they first arrive in the country. However, we didn’t dive deep into our personal experiences learning German and what we did wrong. This week, we’re going to give a very honest picture of our language learning journeys, in the hopes that all of you learn from our mistakes and improve your German skills faster than we did. Sprechen Sie Deutsch?