Making Friends in Germany

One of the best things you can do when traveling or living abroad is make friends. I guess this is true even in your homeland, but it can be even more challenging and intimidating in a far away land. I think there are two main challenges that I had when it came to making friends in Germany as an American. The first is simply…where do I even find friends? The second is, how do I get over the language barrier as someone who doesn’t speak German? Here are my findings so far in my first few weeks living in Germany.

Where can I even meet people? Well, this is a hard one. Especially if you’re someone like me, who is naturally a shy and introverted person. The best that I’ve come up with so far is to start with one person. That person probably has at least ONE other friend, so then you become friends with them, and you continue the process. I’ve been able to meet a lot of amazing people so far by just meeting friends of friends of friends. It’s challenging, and you really have to make an attempt to put yourself out there, but it works.

The second way is to join a club, team, group, or maybe just people you work with. I got invited into an anime club by one friend, and met other friends there. I know of an American making friends by joining an “English speaking club” which, of course, they use to improve their German while others speak English. If all else fails, join a recreational soccer team.

So, if you meet someone how do you get over the language barrier? Well, you’re in luck. Most younger generations, millennials and younger, have been learning English in school their whole lives. They consume American pop culture and at least have a very basic English vocabulary. Now, that doesn’t mean they’ll always want to use it. In fact, most are still very hesitant to break out English on a whim. Usually it takes some warming up before they’ll feel comfortable enough to try it with you. The good news is, they have all the same thoughts running through their heads as you do while attempting to speak German! They’re worried about messing up, saying the wrong thing, not knowing the right word, not knowing the right pronunciation, etc.

My findings so far is that, if you’re able to, a few beers goes a long way in people’s foreign language skills. After a few beers the German starts to flow more for me, and the English starts to flow more for them. Before long you will build a rapport with them and you will both feel more comfortable speaking the other’s language at any given time. The number one tip is to just put yourself out there and try, you never know what you could be missing.