The standoff between Germans and Americans has become daily warfare (of the friendliest kind) in the Holthaus home because with the arrival of our exchange student from Dusseldorf we now have two proud Germans under one roof.
Yes, my husband is 100 percent Deutsch.
Neither Tim nor Mike likes to be wrong about anything… ever. Spoiler alert: I’m buying them matching T-shirts for Christmas that say “Of course I’m right – I’m German.”
As my children are half “Heinz 57,” due to their mother’s varied heritage, they are suffering the brunt of it all. We English, Irish, Pennsylvania Dutch, Swedish mix…tend to wear our hearts on our sleeves and I guess we don’t fully appreciate the stoic German sense of humor (or lack thereof…ha-ha). Just between you and me “ha-ha” is also not part of German vocabulary.
In grade school the closest I came to German culture was Hogan’s Heroes where I learned the phrase Ja Dummkopf! from Colonel Schultz. A substitute German teacher in high school was not amused by my impersonation.
She told me I should have been born a blonde. It took me a full minute to understand her meaning, so I guess she had a point.
We did have a wonderful German full-time teacher who was very insightful. She gave me the German name Micheala. She had been born and raised in Germany. She came to America as an exchange student and fell in love with an American boy. Once he became a doctor he went to Germany and brought her back to America so they could be married. Thank goodness there were no amendments on the books banning marriage between Germans and Americans.
My husband Mike found this description of German culture while helping our exchange student study American culture. He swears that this is true. “If you want to compare German culture to American culture, then think of Americans as peaches, and Germans as walnuts. Americans are soft and sweet on the outside, but hard on the inside. And while Germans are hard to crack, it’s well worth the reward.
“While Americans are often extremely smiley, friendly and outgoing on a first meeting, it can be very difficult to truly be accepted and befriend an American. Germans, on the other hand, might not be as effusive at first. But once they get to know you, they’ll be your loyal and faithful friend for a long time.”
Direct from the German Professor. Although I am not sure I like being referred to as a “peach,” I will agree Mike can be “a hard nut to crack.”
Did you hear about the German who loved his wife so much he almost told her? This makes me laugh every time. You gotta love a Grumpy German.
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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