I've been back in Washington for a little under a month. The majority of my time I've been working for some friends and family doing mainly roofing and yardwork. Though some may hate manual labor, I actually enjoy it.
Over the last five years, thanks to school and internships, I have not been able to do much of this kind of work. What I like about it is I get to be outside, using my hands, working my butt off, and building up a sweat. There's nothing like being done after a hard days work and looking back on what you've finished. I sure as hell didn't get that feeling from sitting at a desk all day!
Well, today I was handing down shingles to be nailed on, and I was taking notice of my surroundings. One thing was the neighbor next door was trying to have an in-depth conversation amidst the repetition of the nail gun and slapping down shingles. Another was a bunch of the neighbors just shooting the breeze and watching us work. Noticing these, and the general thing of working in the yard, and it got me thinking... How would this situation look in Germany? Would this situation even happen in Germany?
I'm gonna think about this for a sec. From what I've heard, Germans are a much more reserved people. Small talk between strangers is fairly unheard of, and it takes much more to develop friendships and relationships.
From these, in a similar situation in Germany, the neighbor would not be out trying to have a conversation, let alone small talk. Also, the other neighbors down on the street might not be shooting the breeze with the other neighbors, but would probably be interacting with people they are more familiar with (who could in all possibilities be other neighbors, I don't know).
But would this kinda project be done in the first place? Are Germans a handy people? Do they like to do their own yardwork and home improvements? This, I have a feeling will vary greatly between people and families, just as it does here in the U.S. For example, even in my family, I enjoy this kind of work, but neither of my sisters do. So imagine there's quite a bit of variability between people like that.
Long story short, I would be interested to get a taste of home improvement, and how it is done in Germany. Could be pretty interesting to compare my experiences to new ones there!!!
Anecdote time. We started the roof on Friday. All tearing out the old roof to start. I could feel my skin getting a little warm towards the end of the day. Got home, showered, and holy cow did I have a wicked tan on my arms and neck (wearing a sleeveless shirt all day). As an experiment in the shower, I turned the water on to pretty cold. Not mountain spring cold, but pretty close. I let the water hit me right on the shoulder and trickle down my arm. When it got to my hand, the water was already luke-warm. Quite the sunburn I'd say.
Original Publish Date: June 29th, 2013