The Germany Experience

In order to better understand the music tastes of Germans, Craig from Scotland joins me to look at the top 10 selling musical artists in Germany. This includes German and international acts who have sold the most albums since the BVMI started certifying albums back in 1975.

You can find the list on Wikipedia...

Tania was born in Kenya and has lived in five different African countries. After a short time in Thailand, she’s landed up in Germany, and she feels like this is somewhere she can stay for a longer time. 

Some of the reasons for this include feeling safer in Germany than in Kenya, and having the safety net of social help that is available in Germany. And yet, despite her contentment in Germany, her heart still belongs to Kenya...

Amy always had a dream of living in Germany, and even happened to marry someone who felt the same way. So living here has kind of been a dream come true. And generally, Amy is really happy here -- she admits that she was "right" about wanting to live here.

But making friends with Germans is one aspect that has been a challenge...

Being the spouse of a diplomat comes with a very specific lifestyle: you move around a lot, you don't stay in a country for long, and you never know where you'll be moved to next.

Alexandra Paucescu is a Romanian married to a diplomat, and she has been based in Germany for several years...

Sarah Jane Scott is an American who has had success as a Schlager singer in Germany. But how does an English-speaking "Ausländer" become a Schlager star?

Sarah Jane explains her path to Germany and her Schlager success, talks about what it’s like to be a Schlager singer, and about how she is currently evaluating her next steps. We go into the unhealthy record label/artist relationship, and talk about systemic misogyny and exploitation in the music industry...

Christy is a southern liberal who opened a coffee shop in Germany. Over a Pfälzer Weinschorle, she discusses how she tried to integrate herself the “right” way, how Germany is not the best country for special needs children, not going back to the States for 10 years, and how Germans are racist in a “I didn’t mean anything by it” kind of way. We also talk about her coffee shop. 

Find Christy on Instagram: ChristyTheExpat and ChristysCoffee...

Carmen is a trilingual Italian living in Munich, Germany. She speaks Italian, German and English fluently, and joins me to discuss her path to becoming trilingual, how she balances three languages, and the effects of learning multiple languages on her native language. We also talk about Italian words that German has adopted - and subsequently used in different ways to the original Italian meanings.

Carmen also hosts two podcasts...

Beth from the USA moved to Germany to be with her husband, and she found that her adjustment period resembled the 5 stages of culture shock very closely. We talk about how she dealt with each stage, and where she is now on the curve. We also talk about how fencing is actually the perfect coronavirus sport. And, her cat makes an appearance...

Jessica is a German African American who has lived in Germany since she was in kindergarten. She joins me for this episode to discuss the recent events that started with George Floyd, and the racism that she deals with on a regular basis here in Germany.

Follow Jessica on Instagram.

The Trevor Noah video I mention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4amCfVbA_c

Links to more The Germany Experience episodes, my newsletter, and my social media: thegermanyexperience...

Recorded from a Facebook live stream to celebrate one year of The Germany Experience podcast. I answer listener questions, list my top 5 highlights of having a podcast, and talk to previous guests on the show.

Dwight's YouTube show: I, Skylab
Follow Nina on Instagram.
Follow Sisy the Hamster on Instagram.

Links to more The Germany Experience episodes, my newsletter, and my social media: thegermanyexperience...