From time to time some people ask how many countries I have visited. I was always thinking about the correct answer. It´s not that I was facing lack of memory. It´s more that I was thinking about the following: Shall I include my home country? I have finally figured out that from now on the answer will be: Yes. Here´s why.
When I started traveling I felt kind of a proud feeling after leaving a specific country due to recognizing myself saying Now I know Czech Republic even though I only spent four days in Prague. That´s when I realized that I should be careful when sharing opinions and interpretations when people ask „So, how was Czech Republic?“. Do I really know about Czech Republic? I recognized that I´m still facing the same issue related for Germany, my home country.
Germany consists of 16 more or less independent states which e. g. state significant differences in terms of the education you receive in public schools. The salary which you´ll receive as an employee is affected by the state you´re registered in respectively in which area you´re living. In addition in the past the German population was faced with two different political and economic systems. The effects are still present in a variety of (minor or major) aspects.
Having this in mind I feel that even for a German local it´s challenging to create an opinion about „Germany“. I have visited all of the 16 German states. I have talked to a significant amount of people from all areas across Germany however I´m still trying to be considerate when it comes to questions when foreign people want to know how Germany „is“.
Why I consider my home country as a travel destination
This is the reason why Germany is on my list of traveled countries. The variety of differences in people´s behavior while being confronted with daily situations when I was traveling the country for private or business reasons restrict me from saying I was born here so I know everything about it.
So, if I consider my home country as a travel country, the question is: What is my real constitution? Am I a full German when it comes to my personality and my behavior when interacting with other people? Probably the answer is No. Some years ago I thought about the following: How about deriving the values which are mostly connected to a certain country (meaning that they are present there at least over-averaged when compared to other countries) and then to determine if I´m sticking to these values. Sounded interesting.
Based on this I concluded that my „German percentage“ can be assessed with 40%. 30% I will give myself to Asia, especially South East Asia and East Asia. 10% is with the US, Portugal and France each.
Let´s get this a better overview.
My German personality
Some characteristics which are over present in Germany and which I have experienced when being confronted with my own personality in daily situations are that things need to be in order and structured in a certain way. I enjoy planning and organizing. In addition I value high quality. Germany has become the fourth largest economy worldwide mainly by providing high-quality products related to the pharmaceutical industry and in terms of mechanical engineering, cars in particular. German brands and it´s manufacturers are present worldwide. I value the detailed view a thorough engineer brings with.
The phrase that Germany has focused on providing high-quality products in the past came up to my mind when I was confronted with the following: Germany sells by quality, the US sells by marketing and China sells by price. Although this may be a bit superficial I was not able to get this out of my mind. Additionally I did not receive a lot of counterarguments when sharing this phrase in daily life.
My Asian personality
As I already mentioned China that leads to my Asian characteristics. Saying so means that I have experienced the following characteristics being more present within the Asian region when compared to Germany or in sum what most people will call the „Western World“. By traveling a lot of Asian countries I have experienced a strong need to achieve harmony in private life as well as when it comes to business related topics. In order to achieve a present state of harmony it seems that a high level of tolerance is required.
That being said it seems that awareness is one of the key driving factors in order to achieve tolerance in daily life. As the countries I have traveled across Asia are mainly collectivist-driven it seems that acting as part of a constant social network not necessarily brings out but at least supports the characteristics mentioned above. Or maybe the mentioned characteristics can be deemed as supporting factors in order to establish a collectivist-driven environment. As I feel close to the mentioned characteristics I´m not able to make a hard decision in terms of individualism is better than collectivism which would be the obvious conclusion when referring to my „German“ personality.
My American personality
On the other hand I cannot deny that my need to act as a free-spirit and liberal-driven person takes up a high proportion. I conclude that these characteristics are mainly present within the US. I value independent decisions and freedom of speech. Being able to live out the mentioned characteristics I determine as a meaningful milestone in terms of human civilization and cultivation. It´s tough to argue against this. In addition from a German perspective US economy is primarily perceived of large companies which started up by saying: Just do it. There´s nothing to lose. If you fail, stand up again.
Sounds lovely. I feel a deep sympathy in terms of this attitude. By contrast a German driven mind typically is more likely to tend to the following: There are restrictions and it will be very hard work to dissolve them. You should just stick to what the law allows you to do. Do not break the rules. You can thoroughly think about changing something but do not change it in real. Just think about it. Oh, you started something by your own? You failed? Loser. I want to emphasize that firstly I consider that way of thinking primarily related to the mind of people rather than being an immutable personality aspect and secondly just on average. There are great and successful founders all across Germany who have proven the opposite.
So I have figured out 80%. What´s left?
In 2014 it was my first time to visit Portugal. I still feel the spirit of discovery I perceived while I was standing at the monument close to Lisbon´s coast of the Atlantic. This in combination with the melancholy aspects which I experienced to be part of the Portuguese culture are two aspects which I feel related to in a certain way.
How about France? Actually I never realized that I do not look like a „typical“ German. I was just made aware of it when going on travels. In most cases we were introduced by the following: „Where do you come from?“ After a while I deemed it as being more interesting to simply say: „Guess.“. And what happened? 80% named „France.“. Interesting. In addition what a lot of people told me is that French people in general enjoy being themselves which I consider as an indication of a certain kind of self respect. The mentioned attitude is highly in line with my need to act as an individualist who respects himself which I consider as the potential of generating expanded capabilities to respect other people too.
Me being me
I doubt to consider this being a complete overview. In terms of the most listed aspects these reflect my narrow self-perception. An individual investigation with me being the research object. No valuation. No good or bad. At least from my side. Me being me.
Would I have experienced all of this if I had only traveled my home country? Nearly impossible to answer.
Do I feel happy or sad about the fact that Germany is not my entire home? At least I do not feel bad. Additionally I´m pretty sure that I will never have visited such a variety of different places all across Germany if I did not feel related to my home country.
Why I have written this down instead of going for swimming?
Holy words
Within this article I mentioned the terminology of „change“. My US-driven personality will advise: „Change yourself.“. My German-driven personality will reply: „Change is difficult. Tough work. Sometimes impossible. No need to change anything.“. Both seem to be valid in a certain way.
When it comes to what has been written in here I assume that being aware of the main aspects which seem to be inherent part of my personality in combination with knowing my dots related to the aspects mentioned as part of the Big five is one of the basic steps in order to achieve self acceptance. Knowing about these aspects brings the potential to achieve self-set goals more efficiently. Additionally that knowledge contributes in preventing any behavior which hinder the efforts in a disproportionate manner. Personality aspects which based on my genes are „set in stone“ do not require change. Ways of thinking which are being influenced by an unconscious acting mind are allowed to be changed.
Now I´m ready for sports activity.
Any thoughts on this can be sent privately to send@realthoughts.me or publicly via the comment function below
Martin