Culture Shock 1: An American Fails at Asking for Permission to Take a Picture of an Electric Car

26-hannover-germany-renault-twizy-electric-car-charging-at-rathaus
Look at that thing. Just charging itself all the live long day.

On September 9th, 2012, The Wife and I took a tourist walk through Hannover known as “The Red Thread.” We didn’t finish the entire tour, but we did end up at the town hall building, where we saw a Renault Twizy electric car being charged in the parking lot. I was so impressed I had to take a picture, but the owners, an older husband and wife, walked up right at that moment. Wanting to be polite, I asked permission.

“Entschuldigung Sie bitte. Darf Ich ein bild aus deine Auto nehmen?” I asked with an American accent so thick you could hear the baseball and smell the apple pie. Luckily, the man’s gesture in response let me know I was welcome to proceed. As we were walking away, I asked my wife if I had spoken correctly.

“He understood you,” she replied. “But in Germany, we say ‘make’ a picture. Also, ‘aus’ means ‘out of,’ and ‘Auto’ is a neutral noun, rather than feminine.”

Dammit,” I said, clenching my fist. “So, basically, I just asked that man if I could steal a picture out of his she-car?”

Click here to learn more about the term “Culture Shock.”

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