Though I have to admit an ever increasing number of details are getting fuzzy as they fade into the rear-view mirror of my attention.
As a foreigner fluent in German, with a very diverse set of German friends, and years of experience living there, in three very different regions at different stages of my life, I will make the bold claim that I understand Germany, even if I probably understood it more in the past than I will in the future.
I’m sure there are many people who understand it better, deeper, more completely; but I’m not sure any of them are Germans. Ask the fish about water, etc.
I think this kind of sounds like hubris. I plead guilty, but with the mitigating circumstance that my claim to understanding isn’t any more hubristic than the next guy’s.
Austria, on the other hand, is a complete mystery to me.
I wouldn't go that far, but I understand where this comes from. To some level and in some ways, I can confidently say I understand where I live (Tallinn, Estonia) more than most of my friends.
I moved here almost 6 years ago and I have been enthusiastically trying to follow and attend events, follow news, travel inside the country, discover new restaurants/bars/museums/activities as much as I can. As a result, many of my local friends have told me that they have never been to a city or venue that I mentioned.
OTOH, as most my friends are between 20-40 years old, they have that much experience inthis country and there are many things they know that I don't: like deep command of language, local history/experience (especially in soviet-post soviet era) books/literature, nature, handicraft, songs, etc.
Though I have to admit an ever increasing number of details are getting fuzzy as they fade into the rear-view mirror of my attention.
As a foreigner fluent in German, with a very diverse set of German friends, and years of experience living there, in three very different regions at different stages of my life, I will make the bold claim that I understand Germany, even if I probably understood it more in the past than I will in the future.
I’m sure there are many people who understand it better, deeper, more completely; but I’m not sure any of them are Germans. Ask the fish about water, etc.
I think this kind of sounds like hubris. I plead guilty, but with the mitigating circumstance that my claim to understanding isn’t any more hubristic than the next guy’s.
Austria, on the other hand, is a complete mystery to me.