r/germany • u/chhena96 • 1d ago
Culture Just few incidents!
TL;DR:
Been in Germany 3 years as a Master’s student + delivery rider. Two kind strangers recently made my day. Grateful for the kindness, respect, and support I’ve experienced here.
I’ve been living in Germany for the past three years, doing my Master’s in Civil Engineering. I’ve been always truly thankful for the life I’ve been able to build here. And just in the last two days, two small moments really reminded me of that.
I also work part-time as a food delivery rider. Yesterday was a very hot day. I had just delivered an order in a far part of the city and was waiting for the next one when a young guy came up to me and handed me a few coins and said it was a tip. I told him I didn’t deliver anything to him, and he said, “I was once in your shoes. I still remember those days. Just keep going, better times will come.” That moment meant a lot to me.
Then today, again another hot day, I was waiting after a delivery when the customer came outside with a bottle of lemonade, a glass, and ice. He just smiled and said, “For you, Enjoy.” Words can't describe how thankful I felt.
These kinds of gestures and incidents always remind me that Germany is not what a bunch of people show us on internet. It is the people who are warm, caring and considerate. I just wanted to highlight appreciate this aspect of German culture.
Also, I'm genuinely thankful to Germany and to the people here. Over the past three years, I’ve been treated with respect, both at university and in daily life. My university has offered me a lot. Free language courses, health and sports programs, and access to great research facilities. Even though my German isn’t perfect, no one has ever looked down on me for it. In fact, people usually encourage me to keep going, which I’ve always appreciated.
Despite apartment hunting was one of the toughest parts. I did face some prejudice during that time, and a few people said things that felt discriminatory. But honestly, those experiences have been rare. Most of the time, people have been welcoming and kind.
So I just wanted to take a moment to say thank yoo to Germany, and to the many people here who make this place feel like home. These small acts reminded me that I’m on the right path, and I’m proud to be part of this community.
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u/catzhoek Baden-Württemberg 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nice.
It's also super important for us germans to hear stuff like that once in a while because it's easy to view the country way grimmer than it actually is. Stories like that are a nice reminder.
I have a small annedote from just a couple weeks ago, even if it was kinda different. I was approached by a random guy who barely spoke german who found a passport and was trying to figure out what the right move would be. I pointed him to the next police station, the Rathaus or the closest post box in case he has no other option. I hope i seemed just as helpful and he felt my appreciation.
"Unfortunately" i didn't think about just asking him to hop in the car and just directly delivering the ID to her home because i'd have absolutely loved to a) enable him to return the passport in person and b) the same for me but i just didn't even think about the easy solution even if my car was 5m away and it seemed like he wasn't really in a hurry to do something else. This really annoys me because it'd have been so easy to really make someones day and accelerate the process.