Hakan Acikgoez é alemão com descendência Turca, tem 23 anos, está fazendo mestrado em Contabilidade na Alemanha e veio para a Austrália estudar inglês por apenas quatro meses. Ele aluga um quarto lá em casa e semana que vem ele já volta para a Alemanha. Queria tentar entender se a visão do brasileiro sobre a Austrália poderia ser muito diferente da perspectiva de um alemão, um país mais “frio“ se comparado ao Brasil tanto no clima quanto nas relações pessoais.
Confira você também as palavras do Hakan, em inglês, do jeito que ele escreveu e sem correções.
Na foto abaixo ele está ao lado do Rio Brisbane.
Why did you choose Australia to study? What attracted you the most?
After high school I was very interested to go to Australia, but because of several reasons I have to postpone this journey. Here are the reasons why I like Australia:
- Australia is far away from Germany.
- I am able to take care for myself and I want to be sure, that nobody can follow me.
- I thought that distance is one of the most important things, if you will have a break after 3,5 years studying and to develop yourself as a person (e.g. your own character).
- Other English speaking countries like Great-Britain or the USA did not seem attractive enough to stay for a longer time period.
- Australia because of its unique environment and great weather (as I arrived we had quite cold and rainy in Germany, while it was the beginning of spring).
- Furthermore the wildlife in Australia is one of the most amazing one worldwide: The Idea to meet a Kangaroo or Koala was, I think, one of the most desirable aims for me.
Another reason was that I hoped to meet people from different cultural backgrounds and gain a great deal of experience. To find new friends all over the world and have fun with them. Or maybe have a serious conversation with somebody else and get an idea about different point of views to a certain topic.
When you got here do you think Australia was the same way that you expected it to be?
NO! It is much better as I expected! The trips which I had were amazing! And I am happy that I found some very good new friends, with whom I spend a great time here.
What are the main differences between Germany and Australia?
The people are more relaxed and are not in hurry like in Germany. Everybody is very friendly (I do not mean now that Germans are unfriendly). Maybe the better weather is one reason for it…
In Germany nobody say “thank you” to the bus driver and the usage of “thank you” and “please” are not so common like in Australia.
What do you dislike the most about Australia?
Alcohol is too expensive! I did not expected that Australia is in several areas of daily life so expensive. And if you go out during the weekend, the people are extreme drunk (I ask myself all the time, “how can they afford this?”). Also after six weeks, staying in Brisbane became routine.
What do you like the most?
At the beginning I was very skeptical about the Australian sense for sports. But now I can understand that AFL and Cricket are really interesting sporting activities.
What do you think about Australian people? Are they very different than Germans?
Australian people are very slow (or sometimes too relaxed). Sometimes I think: “to stay in a queue seems like an important part of the Australian Way of Life”. For instance: A small chat with a Fast-Food cashier seems to be usual.
Because of the history, most Australian people have an European background, the differences are not so huge.
Do you miss home?
To be honest: A bit. Sometimes I think, ”why I cannot share this great moments with my friends or family?”. Particularly, if you are travelling alone you are missing this people. Sometimes you will have a small chat or if something funny happens and you know that your friends will laugh with you together, because they have the same sense of humor. And of course I miss the well prepared meal of my mum.
Is there anything Germany can learn with Australians or vice-versa?
In my opinion, every country should try to conserve their customs and traditions. And the way people behave is a part of it. The only thing maybe, which the Germans should learn from Australians is not to complain too much.
Would you move to live in Australia if you had the chance? Why?
Definitely YES! I hope to work here in the future as an Accountant or Auditor. On the other hand I am not sure if I would be able to stay for the rest of my life here. Everything would become too far and it’s important to be surrounded by good and friendly people. Money and great weather is not everything in life. For me social contacts are more important. All in all I could say, if the envoirment around me fits, I see no reason to not live here in Australia.
Now asking about yourself...
Your family is originally from Turkey and they moved to Germany. How is to live in a different country than the one your parents are from?
My personal problem is, that I had never a clear idea about “to be at home”. In Germany I was always treated as a foreign and when I was in Turkey during my summer vacations my relatives called me “German”. So as teenager you ask yourself: “Where do I belong?” But you learn to handle it.
Do you feel yourself more Turkish or German? Why?
I feel myself definitely more Turkish. I have a Turkish name, I look like a Turk and I grow up with the Turkish culture. When Turkey plays versus Germany (in every kind of competition) I support Turkey. Furthermore I think that Germany missed the opportunity to have me feeling belonging to the country. In some situations I was threated inequally in school by teachers or students. Sometimes in daily situations you have moments in which you feel not welcomed. I often hear the sentence: "OH! You speak German very well!” At this kind of moments I answer: "Oh my God! I was born here, went to school here in Germany; why do you underestimate me?”.
An other annoying moment was when an old woman saw me and said to me directly, before I say anything: “Do you speak German? If you want I can speak slowlier.” She asked me this because of my appearance. So I have been confronted very often with prejudices. After several situations like this, I gave up. I can do what I want, you will always find people who thinks you are not a part of "their" society.
In some parts of my personality I can find some “typical” German characteristics like to be critical or skeptical; or try to be more rational instead of emotional (maybe that’s one of the reasons why Germans are called as people with a “cold” character). This does not mean that I am not a spontaneous person (it depends on the situation). This is maybe more my Turkish part of my character.
Australia is a very multicultural country – you can see people from everywhere in the world here. Is Germany like that?
If you are staying in a metropolis in Germany it is not unusual to meet people with different cultural backgrounds. As I studied in Frankfurt I met and partied with people from several nationalities, for example with Brazilians. In smaller villages maybe the number of foreign people will become rare. I think it is the same all over the world.
And because of history (during the 60’s employees from Italy, Portugal, former Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey were “imported” as workforce to Germany to serve the demand of the fast growing German economy) the Turkish community is the biggest foreign community in Germany. In Germany live more than 2 million Turks. And with satellite TV and Internet we are up-to-date about the happenings in Turkey.
Haka nas Blue Mountains, no estado de New South Wales.
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