Thursday, September 4, 2008

My Pledge

So as you read this, I am now back in Canada, preparing for my next semester of school. I've had a great 4 months away in Germany, but now is time to face the real world again.

I've known other students who have lived abroad for a while, and often they come home with the "_____ is better than here" attitude, which tends to piss off everyone around them to no end.

Although while in Germany I have found a lot of things are really interesting when I compare to how things work back home, I know that talking about how certain things are better there will piss some people off to no end, and so here I make a promise to not be that guy.

I pledge:

Not to go on and on about the football - er- soccer teams and leagues whenever sports come up
Not to complain about the food and wax nostalgic about bakeries and bratwurst
Not to go on and on about the more liberal, accepting atmosphere one finds in Western Europe.
Not to change my entire tastes in music to German music.
Not to constantly put down the English language in favour of the German one.
Not to complain (too much) about the quality and price of beer.
Not to constantly compare cultures and talk about how Europeans are better than us here.

I do ask for some understanding as it will take some time to get used to gas-guzzling cars, crappy sports, lousy food, insensitive people, country music, and the flaws of the English language. You wouldn't understand. My European friends would, they're naturally better at this sort of thing.

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