No. 110/2019

tries,” analyses Nanay. Before they can begin to really like the particularities of their host country, they go through a phase of accultur- ation stress. They are forced to keep asking questions and learn to find their way around by having good and bad experiences. Because of the way our specific culture has shaped us, combined with the mere-exposure effect, we always see our host country through the eyes of our own experience. We compare childcare options, professorial supervision and our contacts with other academics with an internalised cultural standard, believes AlexanderThomas. “For someone fromChina, for instance, the way you are supervised by a professor here would take some getting used to,” he says. “In China, work and personal life are interwoven. A Chinese professor also has a pastoral role and is the go-to person in emo- tional crisis situations.” COUNTRY OF DEADLINES AND MILESTONES Typical German cultural standards can also be distilled from the feedback provided by the various different nationalities, according to Thomas. The world of work here in Germany seems highly structured. Time-planning involving deadlines and milestones plays a major role. Collaboration is governed by many, in some cases unspoken, rules. Politeness norms require communication to be direct and truthful. A member of staff may, for instance, openly adopt a critical attitude to a professor’s suggestion. In the Arabic speaking world, this would often amount to a defama- tory revolt against authority. Only when you spend more time somewhere do you come into contact with different cultural standards. Var- ying thought and behaviour patterns are then revealed that cause confusion when encoun- tered. “Visiting researchers need to be pre- pared for unexpected reactions and unfore- seen behaviour,” says Thomas, “and they need to come equipped with a good portion of tol- erance and empathy in order to gradually set- tle into the other culture.” UNCONSCIOUS CODES OF VALUES In the course of our lives in our own cultural area, we acquire an unconscious code of val- ues. It comprises highly complex, unwritten rules of behaviour and language: a kind of tra- ditional, constantly evolving book of everyday etiquette. We know who to hug when we meet them, how to introduce ourselves and what a doctoral degree ceremony involves. But all for- eigners – be they British, French or Spanish – are initially at sea when it comes to the com- plicated, unwritten code of values in Germany. A French welcome kiss would certainly con- fuse a German host. To lean over the table to chat to the people at the next table, as happens in Italy, would raise some eyebrows, and to get up and dance at the least suggestion of Span- ish music in any bar, with or without a dance- floor, would definitely constitute a minor sen- sation. Many fellows regret to note that it is hard to make contact with Germans. Good as Ger- many is as a research location, it gets much lower marks on the personal level. Which is no surprise, there are the language barrier, the unfamiliar code of values and the German ten- dency to keep foreigners at arm’s length. A ste- reotype that Alexander Thomas has often encountered offers some consolation: “Once you have finally managed to make friends with a German, you have a friend for life. This piece of wisdom about us does the rounds in other countries, too.” PROFESSOR (EM.) DR ALEXANDER THOMAS is a Humboldt host and emeritus professor of social and organi­ sational psychology at the University of Regensburg. He is the author of standard textbooks on the cultural standard con- cept, which he established, and on intercultural competence. Photo: Markus Meilinger Good as Germany is as a research location, it gets much lower marks on the personal level.” “ FOCUS 26 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 110/2019