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Italian
Living in Berlin, is like living in the whole world. The buildings, the stores, the streets, the food, the art: everything here speaks many languages. A French breakfast, while talking in English, with a Spanish friend. Absolutely normal here.
Berlin is an open minded city, free from prejudices, friendly with foreigners and migrants.
Berlin is not a “tolerant” city, as tolerate means to accept something generally disliked. It definitely is not the case here, with great open minded and amazing people everywhere!
Living in Berlin, it’s just incredibly easier than living in other places.
- Nobody cares about your outfit: if you wear the most expensive jacket, a burka or a pyjama, you will feel comfortable anyway. If you come from abroad and you’ve lived your life paying a lot of attention to appearance , well, you could feel a bit dazed in Berlin. It’s not uncommon to meet peculiar individuals with blue, green or purple hair, dressed as if they came straight out of a Japanese manga.. or wearing clothes so oversized you can’t even see their body!
- Eating the best food of all over the world: willing to try the local food? Wishing to taste a pizza as if you were in Naples? Or to try the typical Indian dishes? No problem at all in Berlin. You can choose from several options without any efforts. And it’s not just a “quantity” issue: wherever you go (most of the time) you will also find good quality and attention to detail.
- Melting pot: a simple walk in Berlin can reveal hidden wonderful treasures you’ve never imagined before. A small Tajik teahouse in a secret courtyard in Mitte, with Asiatic flavours and quaint walls. A big Vietnamese market in the heart of Marzahn, where nobody speaks German, and where it’s possible to buy all sort of Asian delicacies. A piece of the Berlin wall, standing alone to remind us who we are and where we come from.
- A new Babylon: don’t be surprised if you bump into kids that are able to talk at least three languages. In Berlin it’s a rule, the rule of multiculturalism. Children can normally communicate with the language of the mother, of the father, and in English too, because they speak it at home as the “common language”. But what if the parents come from the same country? Well, the kids will learn German in school, and they also have the possibility to attend a bilingual Kindergarten from the beginning, where English is also spoken.
- Don’t forget where you live: even if Berlin gives you the opportunity to feel like at home, be always respectful towards the people and the local culture. German is not easy, that’s true: but try to do your best to learn it, or you will feel always a stranger in your new homeland. The Italian cuisine is the best of the planet Earth, that’s right. I’m not telling it because I’m Italian (wink, wink). But try anyway to discover the traditional food, taste it, enjoy it. Don’t avoid it because of a prejudice, try instead to live the local soul fully.
