Culture Shock #1: Germans don't mind their own business

Since arriving here, I have noticed that strangers in public like to stare at each other for prolonged periods of time, which I find incredibly disarming. Living in the U.S. has made me a master of carefully avoiding eye contact with strangers on the street. Funnily enough, it seems everyone here in Germany has the exact opposite mission. Suddenly every public excursion is an improv game I didn't consent to participating in designed to teach players about the importance of eye contact: "Try to make eye contact with the one person who is trying to avoid it!!!!! Try it!!! It'll be fun!!! Yes, keep staring!!!! You will definitely not make this poor person think they unconsciously pooped themself in public and now the poop is everywhere!!!!"

I also often receive unsolicited advice from random strangers in public. For example, the woman sitting across from me on my train ride from the Frankfurt airport who told me I should stop cracking my knuckles, as this leads to arthritis in old age. I'm not sure what about my jetlagged, rashy, sweating, and shaking self said "Please Give Me Advice About Old Age!", but I know she was just trying to be kind.

Most of the time, I find the fact that Germans cannot mind their own business quite endearing. A couple weeks ago, I was swimming in the lake by my apartment, and a woman walking by called out to me, wanting to know if I thought the water was "colder, warmer, or exactly 21 degrees". I decided to combat her German desire for precision and accuracy with a dash of American spontaneity: "Jump in and find out!", I replied. She reluctantly tip-toed in, and we ended up swimming together for a bit. I still don't know how cold 21 degrees is, or why 21 was this woman's Magic Swimming Number. I figure, if she really wanted to know how cold the water was, she should've brought a thermometer with her. She'd probably just forgotten her swimming thermometer that day. 

Sometimes, the fact that Germans can't mind their own business can be dead useful. One time, my train ticket got stuck in the train ticket vending machine. Not ten seconds later, a German man was at my side, brandishing a fountain pen to stick halfway up the machine and dislodge my ticket for me. For these ten seconds, I was straight again.

Above all, the fact that Germans can't ever seem to mind their own business makes me feel seen. Although it can be a lot sometimes (see: "Did I Poop Myself?") or get on my nerves (see: "Advice for Old Age"), I appreciate that Germans want to interact with me. It makes me feel like a part of this community, like I belong here. I'd much prefer feeling seen to feeling invisible.