In 2024, Hannah Mayinza joined our team as student assistant. In the blogpost below, she describes the differences in practices between Germany and her home country Uganda. Thereby, she shows from an everyday perspective how places are shaped by practices and how practices are shaped by places.
The two states being different is common knowledge but the intensity in the differences is what blew me away when I came to Germany for the first time. Of course, I prepared myself by watching YouTube videos to learn a few things, for example how to buy a ticket at the train station, but despite preparations things do not always go as planned and one has to learn to navigate the unexpected.
When I first arrived in Germany, I immediately encountered a number of practices that were very different from Uganda. These particular practices were essential and needed the utmost attention to make this adapting to a new country and a new university easier.
The first difference in practice struck me when I arrived at the airport. In Uganda, we do not use trains as a mode of transportation. Being unfamiliar with the system, it was a challenge for me to buy the right ticket and to get on the right train, but I was assisted by the train station officers and I managed to get to Eichstätt safely. And, of course, as I was transiting from the plane to the airport to the train, I had bought a few snacks here and there. I kept the trash with me throughout the entire journey in order to dispose of it properly as I was afraid of getting fines, I watched YouTube video on how you can get fines here in Germany and I was afraid of that.
The trash separation system was a major difference in practices, that’s to say I had to learn to carefully separate the trash between gelbe Tonne (plastic), Papier (paper), Biomüll (biodegradable) for example. Even though I have finally figured it out, I am still learning. The separation of waste is one of the big differences as we do not do this back home in Uganda. Back home we put all our trash together but then we separate the paper and plastic and burn them at home. Sometimes food waste can be used as fertilizers in the gardens at home if one has a garden in their compounds. But the trash is not separated and collected as intricately as it is done here in Germany. When I realised that the differences even included the separation of trash, it dawned on me that I was in for bigger and tasking hurdles. For instance, I was wondering how to get my phone running so that I can tell my parents that I had reached my house safely and alleviate their worry.
So, getting my sim card and running was my next task. This also proved to be very different in Germany. In Germany, you can simply buy a sim card from the supermarket. Then, to get activate it, you have to register (anmelden) your address at the City Hall (Rathaus) in order to get a registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung). Subsequently, you take this document to the post office, your sim card is then activated and you can make calls and use the internet. In bigger cities in Germany, you must make an appointment at the City Hall to register your when you move. Luckily, since Eichstätt is a small town, you can just walk in and registration can be done that day. After dealing with the sim card, I had to take care of the Wi-Fi. Tethering my laptop all the time was not ideal and was very inconveniencing.
To get Wi-Fi for your apartment in Germany, you have to choose a telecommunication company that suits your needs and then decide between cable, DSL, or a mobile router. I also had to figure out which form of Wi-Fi is compatible with my apartment. At the time, this was too complicated. I found this frustrating because again I was learning everything first hand which takes time and can be extremely unnerving at some point. In Uganda I just had to choose a telecommunication company like MTN or Airtel. They are two of the largest telecommunication companies in Uganda. All you need is a National ID and a passport for foreigners. That is it! Sometimes you can even buy a sim card in the markets or on the road side, which is, of course, not advisable but can be done.
My next step was to get a bank account to cover my monthly expenses like the Wi-Fi. And opening a bank account was another difference compared to Uganda. In Germany you make an appointment at the bank. You can get this appointment in one week, two weeks or even longer. Luckily I got my appointment in one week and then then at the appointment I had to go with documents like my passport, registration certificate that I got from the City Hall, the environment in the bank was the same as back home in Uganda but the only difference was that everything was in German which was a huge issue but I requested help from the International Office and a representative from the International Office came with me to my appointment and translated everything which made opening an account easier. After opening the account, the card and PIN are sent through the mail at separate times, the process of trying to open an account to getting everything and the account running can take up to a month depending on where you live in Germany. In Uganda, to open a bank account all you need is a National ID again and you do not need an appointment, all you do is walk into the bank of choice and you can open an account and the bank will call you to go pick your card and pin after a few days, as documents are not usually sent through the mail in Uganda.
After going through all these processes, it was finally time for what actually brought me to Germany; Grad school. And, of course, studying in Germany is also very different from studying in Uganda. In Germany, a course can be divided into a lecture and seminar. During the former, the lecturer or professor gives a presentation. In a seminar, on the other hand, students are expected to contribute and discuss the texts provided by the teachers. In Uganda, both formats are combined. You would listen to the professors giving their presentations. Afterwards, you asked questions and discuss the text, all within the same class.
Looking back, one hurdle snowballed into another because everything in Germany is very connected. You need one thing in order to get another. Moving to a new country can be nerve wracking and exciting at the same time. Sometimes, to grow and learn as a person, one has to get out of their comfort zone and be uncomfortable. This can be terrifying at first but it does become better. Remembering to be patient and kind to yourself and taking one day at a time is something Germany has taught me.