Spending a few occasions out to see the night life in Germany was genuinely fun and different but it wasn't exempt from shocks and differences. This stories are mainly from August 2008, early in my exchange year. A remarkable one was an elusive obvious and there were a few surprises waiting for me and for my other foreigner friends.
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This post and many more are related to my Exchange Year in Germany from 2008 to 2009. In this country I lived with various host families and learned German too. Click in the link below to read more.
Table of Contents
My first experience of Night Life
During the first days of August, I went out with my sister from Brück, her cousin and a friend Clara to a disco. They invited me to enjoy the night life and I was thrilled. What would it look like? I was not yet 18 but I was 2 months away from being so.
Showing a confusing ID
We went to a club near Ehrenfeld in the downtown of Cologne. When I was at the door, I showed my ID card from Ecuador and the guards did not understand it at all but they let me pass. Awesome! This was a purpose because my ID is written is Spanish and most germans don't speak it.
As far as I can remember, youngters from 16 and 17 years old are allowed to entered only until midnight. I don't remember if I came back at 12am that night or later.
How were they inside?
What were nightclubs and the night life like in Germany? I will describe them as ‘not-so-latin'. In essence they were “conceptually” similar to those in Ecuador:
- Dark rooms.
- Neon lighting.
- Bars for alcoholic drinks.
- Dance floors.
With a key difference: dances between couples were rare. I, along with the people I was there, danced in circles. I didn't get it in the beginning (and sometimes I think I still don't) but I played along anyway.
- Juditova: And how do you meet new people? {English}
- Host Sister from Brück: You approach people that you do know and then you make friends with their friends. {English}
It sounded too obvious but not very useful for a foreigner like me. “And how am I going to meet a girl if I can't take her to dance?” I wondered.
Synthesized Music
The music played was Electronic, maybe Techno or Trance, among similar genres. “Seriously?” I was wondering. I was still going through the culture shock process and I had to be patient until it became habitual.
This kind of music I used to listen while I was in the computer. My brother was a DJ apprentice, so I listened to such music from time to time. Parties dedicated to electronic music are called Raves and they were uncommon before I came to Germany.
The Elusive Obvious from Night Life
When my host sister from Brück approached to talk with some people, I came with her to also greet them. Normally I would something like: “Hello, I'm Juditova and I'm from Ecuador” since I couldn't speak enough German.
When these people left, I asked her:
- Juditova: Who were they? {English}
- Host Sister from Brück: My friends from the disco. {English}
- Juditova: What do you mean by “Disco Friends”?
- Host Sister from Brück: People with whom I only meet inside discos, parties. I never see them outside of these meetings.
Only inside the disco
This means that she would not feel at ease or comfortable calling one of these people to hang out or make plans other than the “disco” of course. They only talk to each other at this events or similar social gatherings.
Afterwards, perhaps the next day, I realized that I would not call everyone I know in my life to make plans, such as going for a walk in the mountains, going to the movies, or having them join me for lunch at a certain restaurant. So to speak, they are simply “friends of other friends” or people from social events.
This sounds obvious for me when I heard it but I had never conceptualized it. It was some kind of an epiphany for me. I had reflected on something so elusive because it has been in front of me all adolescence but I had never realized this.
As the months went by, I would find out more about myself in unexpected ways.
How was the Night Life in my Homeland?
Back in Ecuador, previously to the exchange year, you had to be at least 18 years old to enter to disco, when you are an adult in the eyes of the state. A few times I managed a way to sneak inside but once I had to hide inside the warehouse so the police didn't find me.
But teenage parties at someone's house were much more popular and teenagers were allowed. No fancy neon lighting, just the dance floor on the garage or living room and rum.
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