A VIEW OF THE GERMAN TAPESTRY THROUGH THE LENS OF PFORZHEIM

In 2018, I wrote a personal essay for the Kalahari Review; an African online Magazine. The essay covered what travelling meant to me, and succinctly began with a dirge sung to my travel life; this was the part where I confessed that I had never travelled out of my home country, Nigeria.

Well, from that time until now, I have now had the opportunity to see other countries of the world.

As my feet touched German soil, I was warmly welcomed by the ‘staring culture’; people did not avoid eye contact here which was almost familiarly African. But as the weeks progressed, I realized that their reason for staring on that particular day was not as familiar as I thought, the closest interpretation could be that they stared to understand the strange new phenomenon that was me.

For one; I was brightly draped in pink from head to toe, and was clinging tightly to my winter jacket. Wearing a winter jacket in the summer of the United Kingdom is not completely out of place, as the weather could be quite, capricious; chilly summer mornings, and possible tantrums of rain, snow and sunlight in one day.

Germany on the other hand was reassuringly warm in the summer, like a mother figure, but I did not see the country as a woman. Germany appealed to me as a ‘macho’ man, raised by a single mother who gave him her all. A man who had decided to be better, thus was blunt about his feelings, did not send mixed signals of cold and warmth, had a preference for beer and old wine, did not purchase flowers wrapped in paper, took pride in his sausages, unapologetically loved football, courteously addressed the women first when he walks into a meeting and most likely drove a Porsche. You can very easily tell that the Country’s history played a role in its modernity and its rich blend of cultural heritage. 

I was subsequently opportune to meet Prof. Ingela Tietze; a meeting which was courteously facilitated by Prof. Steffen Kroschwald. Prof. Ingela is an expert in Sustainable Energy and Economics, and I enjoyed a spirited conversation with her, which I found to be both invigorating and pivotal in the realm of academia as an LL.M student of Natural Resources and Environmental Law and Policy from the University of Bradford. We had discussed about the Circular economy, Germany’s Moratorium on the exploitation of unconventional natural gas, Carbon taxes as an instrument of responsibility in the era of climate change, and her opinion on the choice of using recyclable materials over single use biodegradable materials in a bid to conserve energy. 

Within the four walls of the Class room, we had taken courses on International Business Law, Business Ethics, International Economics, Intellectual Property Law, European and Intellectual Law and Information Security Assurance.

I enjoyed the wealth of Knowledge of the different lecturers, Prof. Kroschwald’s insight on the myths surrounding the Black forest and the discussion on the speed limit on the German highway; thus, I intend to drive a Porsche from the borders of Switzerland into Germany someday, and go as fast as possible; when Porsche goes fully electric of course, as we must protect the environment.

I was ecstatic about the opportunity to give a lecture on Climate Change in Prof. Barbara Lorinser’s class, and also the opportunity to discuss our various culture shocks. Thank you Barbara; I am sure the German students would gasp at this, as referring to older people by their first names is more British than German.

And a hearty thanks to Ms. Valerie Schnabel-Senst, who had introduced me to ‘the French dough’; the bread that added an ounce of sweetness into my life.

In this Program, I have learnt adaptability, tenacity, witnessed the beauty in diversity, and appreciated inclusion and a sense of community not dictated by borders. I hope to bridge the legal gap connecting diverse systems and cultures someday. Thus to the Universities of Bradford and Pforzheim, which had allowed me voyage on this journey of self discovery through a cross-cultural lens, Danke (thank you)!!