Mannheim vs Leipzig

Hi Ya’ll,

So it has been a while since I wrote about anything.

Well todays piece will be about the slight but big differences that I have experienced living in Mannheim and Leipzig. Where Mannheim is a cross between a melting pot of cultures well mostly Turkish, German and East European. Leipzig has an interesting feel to it. One would thing that it has its own culture as a whole.

The above sentences might seem wild and a bit far fetched but, coming from a country where we have to observe other peoples cultures in an attempt not to offend anyone, I try to assimilate to any environment that I find myself. Moving to Leipzig about 9 months ago I came to the realization that even though I moved within Germany the atmosphere felt a little more relaxed and less stressful if you will as compared to that of Mannheim. It could be just because I was at the Business School in Mannheim (mostly although I was part of the School of Business Informatics and Mathematics) and the pressures of graduate school were floating amok in the air.

A classic example of this was my first day at the University of Leipzig’s  Mensa (Cafeteria), now I am not saying that there is a dress-code at Uni Mannheim but there is some inherent rule or rather unspoken expected form of dress-code; Smart casual or official in some cases. Well the most common thing is usually skinny jeans (green, red, yellow), different colored shirt, shoes and shirt to create some form of color blocking aesthetic look. Now coming into the Uni Leipzig, mind you this was the main Mensa; all I saw was different colored hair, sweaters and some other pieces of clothing I have never seem before. Oh the shock I received, but it was a nice feeling. Coming from an IT background it reminded me of the good old day when, how you looked didn’t matter much.

The above example just goes to show how small differences in dress-code can be assimilated to town culture.

Now now I must admit my writings are mostly based within the student life, well mainly because I am a student..oops I was a student at the time of experiencing said event.

BTW: The food in Uni Leipzig main Mensa was far better than that at Uni Mannheim Mensa also it was much more “günstiger”.

Well that was just a small scenario that I thought interesting to share. The next post will be about my neighbors in Leipzig (don’t miss that one).

Laterz,
G!