The international airport.

There is no better place on earth to watch your own kind. It’s like a zoo, really. Species from all over the world are penned up in a relatively small space, watching the real world through thick glass, surviving on a limited choice of food and walking around in circles while dreaming of home.

When I returned from my recent trip around Thailand I had a fourteen hour stopover at the Abu Dhabi International Airport, together with a plane-load of other Germans. And since I couldn’t just tap my heels together three times to get home I turned into a sociologist and watched my own kind… be.

This is what I noticed:

If you are Deutsch, you know the unknown airport within minutes. You have done your homework and you know the way to your terminals, your gate, Mc Donalds, Starbucks, toilets… everything.

If you are Deutsch, you have a weird taste in fashion, for instance you like to wear zip-off-trousers and - if in a couple - dress in matching clothes, preferably beige.

If you are Deutsch, you wait in silence. We Germans are considerate. We don’t want to bother anyone. BUT: Please don’t bother us either and keep the noise down, else we will give you “the look.”

If you are Deutsch, you will be waiting at your gate not only on time, but actually at least fifteen minutes before the gate opens, so you get to be the first one on the plane. But - God forbid! - if someone jumps in the queue! That is the moment when you will actually break the silence and say something.

If you are Deutsch, you talk to others about your holiday destination as if you were a local, but in fact, you know perfectly well that you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

If you are Deutsch, you tend to not shave your armpits.

If you are Deutsch, you shake your head in disbelief upon the sight of other Deutsche acting just the way you do.

Now, I am aware of the fact that some (if not most) of these notes sound like typical prejudice. And I studied this behaviour with a mixture of different feelings:

50 % were amusement.

30 % were embarrassment.

The remaining 20 % lead to todays article. And they were a bunch of questions.

I couldn’t help but wonder: Is this me? Am I like this? Can people tell I am German? Do I do things that are typical for my country? And if so - is that a bad thing? Or should I be proud of it?

And now it’s your turn: How do you feel about your nationality? Are you proud of it? What other typical prejudices do you know of? And where are they even coming from?

I would love to read your opinion in the comments below!