A Russian girl born in Latvia being a teenager one day decided to move to Europe. When Latvia became the part of EU that dream came true: during her studying in Latvian State University, Olga went to Leipzig.
Why Berlin?
After Leipzig, there was a break (I went to Ecuador) but then returning to Europe I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere. I tried to come back to Riga but shortly understood I’ve outgrown it. I didn’t want to go back to Leipzig as well because in a small town without a good knowledge of the German language there are not many interesting vacancies.
Berlin allured me not just because it was easier to find a job there but also because of its cosmopolitanism, cultural life, and its possibilities. This city is alive, there is always something happening. Freedom is the main motto of Berlin. No one cares how you look like or what do you do. All people are equal here.
Expectation and reality
My expectations were based on the stereotypes I had living in Latvia. For example, I considered Germans to be a punctual people. That’s a nonsense! Or that they are interested in structure and processes. That is a fib as well. Or that Germans are well-read, but statistically they prefer video-games.
The differences
The first difference that jumps out at you is a style. Maybe, Latvia is not Russia, but it’s still quite similar in its mentality. And so every time I come to Latvia I see the extent to which Berliners get dressed more high-colored. They wear bright socks, shining skirts … all these things add colors to the life of the grey concrete city.
And one more distinction: no one wears heels or peeps. And in Latvia all the girls in summer are on heels, long-haired and face-painted. I needed a lot of time to stop associating my womanhood with heels and long lashes.
Again women here are more emancipated. They get married much later, they travel a lot, build a career… I think a Russian woman still stands behind a man’s back, and the ideas of equality and feminism are not so popular in Russia
Men
A Russian man is not a man if he doesn’t pay for a woman stead and stall. German men don’t give a rat’s tail about it. If a woman has her own money she can pay for herself without any crack-down on man’s masculinity.
The German men, on the other hand, are not very emotional, there is “a lack of life” in them.
The tradition I would bring from Russia to Germany
The tradition of doing the honors of the house is a thing Germans need to learn from Russians.
That drives me nuts
A hand-labour is really bad and expensive in Germany. Everything regarding a service always has a low quality but a high price.
Without an insurance, you can’t get a job, the quality of a medical service is third-rated: there are no good specialists in Berlin, you can wait in a queue for months, the medical inspections are done carelessly. But you still need to pay for the insurance.
Hard to get rid of
I had to wean away from some Russian jokes, so now I’m more politically correct. It took a long time. I had to learn how to be tolerant and to see after my language and vocabulary.
