UTProf
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Thanks for answering, Mamba. I think you'll really enjoy it here when you visit. I grew up in a town not far from campus that was filled with German transplants who moved here in the 90s because of the German plants that were built. All of the families, adults and kids alike, loved it here and I had a lot of friends among them. I was blown away when tragedy struck and my dog (she ended up being fine so don't worry before the story ends) broke free and ran out into the road and was hit by a neighbor's car. That neighbor was one of those German transplants and he not only stopped but went to our house and was torn to pieces about what had happened -- a lot of people wouldn't do that but he was a good man. We were able to get her to the vet and she lived a good long life after because of what he did.
Tennessee is a very welcoming/friendly place and we are known even in the South for our hospitality. And the South itself is well know for its hospitality.
In the South, there's no such thing as a stranger as we strike up conversations with anyone and after that they're our friend. Some who aren't used to our friendliness and don't know that it's normal for us find this aspect off putting as we can come across as too nosy or too friendly and people think we must want something or why is this stranger treating me like I'm their friend/long lost relative? But that's just us. We are curious, overly friendly, and sometimes we ask uninformed or offensive questions out of curiosity when we don't know any better. It's usually due to genuine curiosity when we make culturally insensitive comments or mistakes although there are bad apples everywhere including here.
One thing you might find interesting (I did when I visited your country) is that the style of woodworking that we pride ourselves on (you can see this at folk festivals or in Gatlinburg - tourist trap that it is) as well as our style of glass blowing is identical to the woodworking and glassblowing done in the Black Forest region. Once I saw it, I knew for certain that's where it came from. East, TN has a deep German heritage although it's been forgotten/swallowed up by the Scots and Irish heritage. But that heritage is obvious in a lot of the old crafts.
My own grandfather was of German descent although he never talked much about the past or his family. I guess because he lived through when our countries were at war and it would've been painful to talk of such things and wonder about extended family. He was over 6 foot tall when people simply weren't tall. That's how I wound up being tall myself and how my brother ended up being 6 foot 6!
We are happy to have Jakob but we're also happy to have you here! I love learning as much as I can about other places too. And I've started learning about Stuttgart. Ferdinand Porsche would be impressive enough but oh my you can claim Hegel too! And that barely scratches the surface.
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