It was a gorgeous day for Germany to celebrate its 20th anniversary of unity. When I biked to Under den Linden, an iconic boulevard in the central part of Berlin, I saw the stage was erected right behind the Brandenburger Tor, the former city gate. This tourist attraction is always well visited, but I have never seen so many people. The crowd stretched from the gate down to the Siegessäuler for more than one kilometer. I bumped into three students who also didn't want to miss this occasion.
I then went to the Reichstag (the parliament building) early enough to occupy a good spot for the official ceremony. More students joined later, and we enjoyed a picnic style of gathering similar to my 4th-of-July experiences.
The security was very tight because many government leaders would appear in the event, including the current Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who was also known as the "Kanzler der Einheit" (Chancellor of Unity) and received standing ovation in the ceremony.
There were people standing in front of us. I thought when the program began, I could simply ask them to sit down, like I did so many times on 4th of July. However, I was totally wrong with the idea. When I politely asked them in German, the answer was also in German, " Wir sitzen uns doch nicht, Sie sollen aufstehen!" (No way we are going to sit down. You should stand up!) I was too naïve and thought things would be like in America. Students and I simply experienced a scene of cultural shock with some rude and unfriendly Germans!
Luckily, the program started. When the sun was setting down, there was a show with a helicopter and parachutes. Then, the music, dance, and light show started.
When I slowly biked back to my apartment, I knew that we certainly will take this scene as an example and discuss the topic of "cultural shock" and "cultural confrontation" in our class tomorrow!
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