I told of Soljanka/Solyanka some time ago and that all my three T´s were from East-Germany.
And maybe some of you thought, "what? - 'East'-Germany?! Is Germany not united since 1989???"
It is.
On paper.
I remember a school-colleague.
Her parents were "rich" and came "to The West".
And she complained!!!!
In GDR someone would´ve told her what to do with her life.
Become a baker. Butcher, whatever.
(Now we do it as in "The East", thank you, Corinna. Pic taken yesterday in Braunschweig.)
Well in "the West" no one TELLS you what to do!!!!
You have the freedom of the world!!!! You CHOOSE! But that´s also responsibility for your life and she hated that.
Mind you, I struggled, also. Made a test and they said "you can study anything you want, according to this."
a) not helpful
b) not true (ME in mathematics or such, forget about that! I can count to three, and that´s about that - Calculus, what we call Infinitesimalrechnung was nothing I enjoyed)
What shocked me truly was... she hated democracy. She hated West-Germany. She hated (or feared) FREEDOM.
By golly, I took the wrong choice but can proudly (???) call myself a graduated engineer (now without a job).
I started all over - and likely again, too.
Hopefully.
But to grow up in a place... well, we get an idea, thanks to Corinna.
Some things are not available. Period. Shelves empty.
Wonder what became of her?
I do cherish freedom, I have an idea of other places - I luckily only read about but also see here.
Women in a burka and even worse, a hijab, I see that here in ("West"-) Germany, in Braunschweig, in "our" quarter.
The "husband" carrying the purse, the woman is packed with groceries, walking behind him. And yes, she is smaller. What is love? Not caring, obviously...
To freedom, says Henry 🦁
Now, this is soooo long ago, but it stuck to my mind. How this girl hated/feared freedom.
20 comments:
Can you imagine that life in West Germany was a thousand times better in the 80s, than in some countries of the Eastern Bloc?
No, I disagree ... no one can hate FREEDOM! Because of all the restrictions, it is sometimes difficult to understand freedom or ... you misunderstand it!
Corinna, in the Netherlands, did not take care of the empty shelves (in the supermarket) but for the closed shops, cafes and restaurants!
Oh, Henry ... I want to play with you ... 🧡🥰
Enjoy your weekend my 🐘
Ich hab dich liiiieb !!!
xoxo
Freedom, one of the most imporrtant things in life
Ella, well, she used the words like that ... But you are right, maybe it was fear, rather, not understanding.
Oh, yes, with three Ts I heard many a story... Also Ingo has some, he had relatives there and they visited a couple of times.
Here Corinna causes lots of empty spaces in some parts, others are well stocked.
I never expected to experience anything like it, and for so long.
Henry in all in! 🧡😘
You, too, enjoy your weekend, ich hab dich liiiieb, mein 🦋 xoxo
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Bertiebo, I agree!
It does seem hard to believe Iris .. but I guess there are some people out there that have grown up with their lives being organized for them and it could be scary at first.. but surely after a while oui?
Freedom rules.
Grace, I sadly don´t even remember her name... I hope she did well in the end.
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Laurie, well, I think it´s rather sad...
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William, yes!
When you are born in captivity it is difficult to cope with freedom.
That's an interesting story about your childhood friend. It is easier to be told what to become or do. But what if you don't like it? That system doesn't allow you to make your own mistakes on the road of life. Maybe that's not true as I don't really know. Thanks for the morning thoughts Iris. Happy weekend.
...you have to wait for the butcher, but Tattoo shop hasn't a line! Take care Iris and enjoy your weekend.
magiceye, yes, I think you´re right.
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Erika, oh, no, she was not a friend. She was an arrogant, rich girl...
Luckily we don´t know how it really felt growing up behind the curtain.... A happy weekend to you.
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Tom! LOL, the Tattoo shop certainly is closed... Corinna!
A butcher is essential, I think a tattoo-shop is rather not - have a nice weekend.
With freedom comes responsibility and you learn who you are. I feel sorry that she needs to be told. Rules are good, necessary, even. But to not be able to make certain choices feels so alien to me.
Well, that was 1990 or such, I hope she made up her mind. But she was nasty speaking against democracy and how she hates it all.
There were many like her.
I think it's more what one is familiar with: if one is raised to rely on the Government for everything (East Germany?) then it can be a shock for one to be required to do everything for oneself suddenly (after moving to West Germany). However, I recently saw a comment where someone compared going from a US covid-19 Lock Down state to Florida as feeling like they had gone from East Germany to West Germany in the 1960s. I'm sorry you're having problems finding a job as an Engineer. Here in the US, companies claim there is a shortage of technology workers, thus they need to hire foreigners using H-1B visas, while they subtly use ageism discrimination to not hire older American technology workers who are out of work.
I think freedom for someone who never had it can be scary but eventually enlightening. Enjoy your evening!
Many, many years ago, when I was in high school, I had a school trip to Germany at the time still divided between East and West. I remember a long bus ride from Munich to Berlin and having to sit in assigned seats on the bus with our passports while East German border guards boarded the bus to inspect us. I thought that was very scary. We had a day trip to East Berlin passing through Checkpoint Charlie. Everything in East Berlin seems drab, grey while it was very exciting in West Berlin with shopping and visiting a discotheque. I suppose for your friend it was just what she knew and grew up with. Just like I don't think I could live in a place where I had little or no choice. Enjoy your weekend.
I recall east and west Geramny.
Coffee is on and stay safe
I can see how she would dislike/fear freedom after living in a restricted life. It would be difficult to all of a sudden have to depend on yourself, when she didn't have that before. Freedom does bring on responsibility, duty, and thinking for yourself. I have a friend that moved to Alaska from Russia. It took her a very long time to realize all the goodness. Have a great weekend.
It is hard to imagine anyone not liking freedom, even many who were not born "free" manage to adjust and realise they are better off, but for some people who truly prefer the other way, then they are better off being not free. It comes down to where you feel most comfortable.
What a contrast you created. First the rich girl who didn't want freedom and the woman who had to walk behind her husband who probably WISHED for freedom (from what I'm sure was an arranged marriage).
I LOVED the photo of all the math symbols. My kind of "art."
Anne, yes, I hope she made her way. It was just so annoying how she spoke badly of democracy - she was very, very arrogant, too.
Hmmm, reckon ageism is my problem here, also...
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Bill, arrogance was the main problem for me.
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CJ, yes, those guys from controlling vehicles were scary indeed!
That arrogant kid was not my friend. I understand she maybe was scared, but the arrogance tipped it off for good....
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Dora, it´s still here...
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Nicole, yes, sad what a system can do to you!
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River, many went back to the East, freedom took over much slower there.
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Elizabeth, YES! That Muslim woman had to give him kids, too, luckily for her it were boys... Sad.
Yes, I thought of you publishing the math-pic :-)
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