I am not an economic migrant, in fact it was not even a conscious decision to come to this country or even to emigrate. It was 2009, I was then offered a job here and I thought: Why not? I can always go back. But I am not so confused as others, things are actually pretty clear in my case. I am from Germany but my homeland is now Spain.
And that is not because I have never liked Germany. I miss the seasons, the green spaces, even small things like drugstores. But all I am saying is that at this particular moment I cannot imagine going back. I don’t feel well in Germany anymore, at least I would need to wait some time. I have the feeling of not belonging there and feel kind of strange. Also, I would miss the sun just too much. Not to mention that the center of my life (home, family and work) is here now. I try to go back to Germany twice a year to visit my family and friends there or take city trips with my husband and / or friends. But the interactions with people I know are increasingly odd. Some respect me a lot or show admiration that I emigrated alone. But as a general rule, I am usually the “Exotic” and often the surprise guest at family celebrations and the like. It is oftentimes hard to talk about Spain because so many Germans still have this stubborn prejudice that the Spanish are lazy – quite wrongly as a matter of fact. Some feel a certain distrust of the Spanish and of Southern Europeans in general. But I guess, overall, there is comparatively a good image of the Spanish in Germany.
I was lucky to be able to enter into this society with the right foot. But even, as it was in my case, even if you have a job and speak the language to some extent, you still need to be willing to engage with something new without constantly comparing everything with your own country. (And the ones who are just looking for more sun and want the Spanish to adapt to their own ways, they might as well not come).
Despite being an open person, coming here has still changed me a lot. I have become more confident and independent, because I had to face so many things alone here. It was probably the hardest part to be alone, without really knowing the language. That with the language is a huge handicap. Although I had learned three years Spanish beforehand, it was shocking to notice how little I still remembered. And I must say, I have adapted fairly well, becoming even more spontaneous and somewhat more relaxed, and guess what, even less punctual than when I was.
I feel very integrated here, many say I have little or no accent. Even before that was the case, my experience was that the Spanish are very patient. I always had the feeling that they are happy that someone is trying to learn their language. (Because it is generally more difficult to learn foreign languages for them, they have respect for it.) The only moments when I feel “left out” refer to discussions about “things of the past”: music, movies, celebrities, series or whatever that I do not know, because at the time I was in Germany.
I feel at home here because life here is loud, loose, family-oriented. Less strict than in Germany. There is always time for a chat, whether there are 20 people waiting at the supermarket checkout or on the park bench. There is great respect for the old, sick and children. Family comes first and relatives are often enough responsible for taking care of children and the elderly.
These are things that I really like about here, together with so many others: The sunshine, the beautiful landscapes, rich culture and the social aspect: The Spanish love to be together. In its majority, life takes place outdoors, public spaces fill up quickly with chattering and laughing people. As mentioned above, life is relaxed, friendly, less anonymous. And last but not least: the gastronomy is great.There are things that I of course do not like: the health system, sometimes the way they parent their children, too hot summer months.
A Spanish sees the Germans as very accurate, disciplined at work, punctual and inflexible. A lovy way to call Germans here is “cabeza cuadrada”, squared head. At the same time I think they often feel a certain admiration. Because Germany is a rich country with a low unemployment rate. And for many, Germany serves as a political model because corruption is punished immediately and there is a certain moral that simply misses in Spanish policy. They also very much appreciate the German industry with its famous brands.
And since we are comparing Germany to Spain: Hats off to Germany, I very much hope that the “new right” will disappear fairly quickly. In regard to Spain, I find it shameful that this country has completely closed its borders and does not accept refugees. Society is quite ready for it, but policy -makers are not. In the situation of migrants in general, it is highly dependent on your origin. There are many migrants, mostly from Latin America and North Africa. However, the least are in my opinion truly integrated. And then there are Northern Europeans, to a large extent, older, and mostly coming after retiring. Most do not integrate or hardly to make efforts to learn the language, they prefer to keep among themselves and have very little contact with the Spanish.
Photo credit: Sunset Smoke, by Kirk Olson, Flickr CC 2.0
Economic Migrants 