Arriving in Germany

I left South Africa on July 31, 2012 and arrived in Frankfurt, Germany on the morning of August 1 on what was my first trip overseas.   I went there as part of a group eleven professionals from Southern Africa.  There were four South Africans, three Zambians, two Zimbabweans, one person each from Swaziland and Malawi.  I was the only one from the Western Cape and the other South Africans were based in Gauteng.   The majority in our group, seven in total, were economists.  The group varied in age from just over twenty years to just over fourty.  We were part of a one year program called the International Leadership Training in Regional Economic Development and Trade.  Four months of our time in Germany was to be spent as interns in different companies and organizations.  The program is organized and hosted by the Deutsche Gesselschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).  

I had planned to use that year to learn in the seminars but also outside of them.  It was my year of exploring Europe as I was reminded that it will cost more to do it with South Africa as my base.

The four South Africans, two Zimambweans and the Swazilander travelled from Johannesburg.   As we were just moving off the flight I was singled out and confronted by police who asked for my passport, in English,  and wanted to know what I was doing in Germany.   I have heard of how strict customs police could be in European countries but still I wondered what attracted them to me.  I actually got to later learn that I was the only person in the entire group of eleven who had to deal with that.  I still don’t know why and I decided that I will not let it bother me and I moved to collect my luggage.

I found that, different from South Africa, you are required to pay a deposit of 2 Euros before you get a trolley at the airport. This was roughly an equivalent of R20 and it was explained to me that it ensures that people bring back the trolleys.   Maybe we should consider doing it in South Africa as I never think seriously about where I leave the trolley after using it.  It made sense but still strange when compared to my experience.   The amount was not really an issue but I did not expect to pay for anything before getting out of the airport and thus had no Euros.   It was good that one of the Zimbabwean ladies had Euros that she got in one conference she had attended.  I was loaned the Euros and paid them back later.

Before I left South Africa I was informed that the Germans tend to stick to their language and thus speaking English might not help me.  Ja, I got the confirmation of that before I even left the Airport.  My little Deutsch was seriously tested.  I studied the very basics in Johannesburg with the Goethe institut and I was told that this was a requirement if you are to spend more than three months in Germany.   I wrote examinations with, among others,  someone from Limpopo who had to take the course because she was appointed as an au pair.  There was also a woman who says she had failed the exam before and could not join her husband who is working in Germany.  I felt sorry for her and I wondered whether as a country do we require foreigners to study at least one of our official languages before allowing them to spend an extended time in South Africa.  Why can’t we do it if other countries do it or did it a la Lennox Sebe?  

We travelled by a kombi from Frankfurt International Airport to Saarbrucken in the state of Saarland.  I was soon to learn that the German Federal Republic has got sixteen states and Saarland was one of them.  Saarbrucken is the capital city of the Saarland.  It has an interesting history as it was under France for twice in its lifetime (it is situated about 5 kilometers from the border with France).   It is said that Adolf Hittler was so happy with Saarbruken  when it voted to rejoin Germany that he built them a theatre.   People here make it a point to mention that the theatre was not bombed when Saarbrucken was heavily bombed in the second World War.  There were still reminders of the war up till that day.   I was told that the area I was accommodated in used to be a forest that had to be cut down to build people houses after their areas were destroyed during the war.