Not the only clueless one

Every so often, amidst the general clueless feeling you get living in a foreign culture, you see someone else slogging through the same morass of novelty and confusion*, and you think "Ok, so I'm not a complete idiot".

Last year, on P.'s first day, I intrepidly led my kids and in-laws through the village to the "Protestant church behind the school" as it was described to me. Now, in all your German classes, you learn that there's a Catholic church, a Protestant church, and the Islamic church representing German culture. It's usually impressed on Americans that there's just one Protestant church, instead of the innumerable variety we have in the states. Imagine my surprise to discover the church deserted. A bit of reconnaissance led to the discovery that they meant a Protestant church 1/4 mile down the street. We hot-footed it over and made it in before the first blessing. All the Germans seemed surprised at my mistake - they had said, after all, the Protestant church, not the FREE Protestant church. When I asked how a foreigner would know that "Free" wasn't just some name like "Sacred Heart", they admitted it would be confusing.

Last week, helping to set up the coffee and cake for the new parents attending the 1st graders' welcoming ceremony, a family, from appearance, dress and accent probably African, approached the principal to ask where the chapel ceremony was being held. Apparently they'd made the same mistake I had. I sidled over and assured them I'd make the same mistake. The principal, showing her lack of understanding, looked at me like she couldn't understand anyone else making such a boneheaded mistake.

Amazing how sometimes I can feel more solidarity with people from a half a world away than with the Germans I've lived with for years, just because we're both outsiders, in that moment, together.

- the d.h.


* Look what happens when I try to get literary - it gets messy.