Why Kulturshift: Decoding the German Experience Through Story
Why generic advice fails and how understanding the “Why” helps us move from surviving to thriving.
👋 Welcome to a ✨free edition✨ of Kulturshift. Every week, I decode the quirks of life in Germany 🇩🇪 to help you move from confusion to connection. If this story resonates with you, consider subscribing to support my work and follow Sourav Dey for more honest expat insights. 🥨
“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” — Muriel Rukeyser.
When you move to a new country, it often feels like the world is made of paperwork, confusion, and awkward silences rather than stories.
As we close the chapter on this year, I’ve been reflecting on the journey of Kulturshift. Since launching on July 10th, we’ve shared 28 stories, grown to 111 subscribers, and racked up over 4,000 reads. The numbers are great, but they aren’t the point. The point is the realization that led me here: listicles like “10 Ways to Survive Germany” act as bandages, but stories are the cure.
The Bubble and the Burst
I grew up in a bubble in Kolkata, India. Until I was 22, I thought I had the manual on how humans behaved. Then, I moved to Bangalore.
On paper, it was just a move to a different state within my own country. In reality? It felt like landing on Mars without a spacesuit.
I remember being kicked off a public bus midway through a journey because I couldn’t communicate properly. I recall colleagues telling me to my face that I was there to “steal local jobs.” I was labeled a foreigner in my own nation because I didn’t speak Kannada.
Looking back, my reaction was the problem. I shrugged it off. I put my head down, focused on my career, and ignored the noise. I didn’t ask why they felt that way. I didn’t try to understand the cultural nuances. I didn’t integrate; I just existed. Because I was single and young, I survived it. But I didn’t thrive.
The German Déjà Vu
When I landed in Germany years later, that familiar feeling of alienation washed over me again. It was the Bangalore vibe all over again—the cold stares, the incomprehensible rules, the feeling of being an outsider.
But this time, I was older. I was wiser. And crucially, I had a family with me. I couldn’t just “survive” anymore; we needed to belong. I realized that to make a life here, I had to embrace an ancient piece of wisdom:
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” — St. Ambrose.
I decided to swap my defensiveness for curiosity. I started asking “Why?”
Take the infamous German customer service, for example. In my early days, a clerk at a counter simply barked “No” at a request I made. My Kolkata brain screamed, “She is being incredibly rude!” My Bangalore trauma whispered, “She hates foreigners.”
But my new “German lens” forced me to pause. Was she rude? Or was she just... efficient?
Cracking the Code
I stopped looking for discrimination and started looking for patterns. The breakthrough came when I shared my struggles with my Sri Lankan manager. She didn’t give me a generic pep talk. She handed me a book: The Culture Map.
Reading that book was like someone finally turning on the lights in a dark room. I learned that German communication is often “low-context”—meaning “No” means “No,” not “I hate you.” It’s about clarity, not cruelty. Understanding these scales of communication, leadership, and trust-building didn’t just help me in the office; it saved my sanity.
From Surviving to Thriving
Today, my reality is different. We don’t live in an “expat bubble.”
I’ve built a genuine rapport with my German colleagues.
I don’t feel the desperate need to seek out Indian teammates just for a “safe” coffee chat.
When I need help, I often turn to my German neighbors before I turn to the “Indians in Germany” Facebook groups.
This isn’t to say I’ve abandoned my roots—far from it. But I have realized that integration isn’t about erasing who you are; it’s about learning the grammar of a new culture so you can write your own story within it.
Why Kulturshift Exists
This brings us back to Kulturshift.
We live in a world where 90% of content feels AI-generated and soulless. But the confusion of an expat is deeply human. I realized that the “daily cultural confusion” we endure—the feeling that we are constantly missing the joke—is often dismissed with “Just learn German!” or “Just smile and nod!”
That advice is insufficient. I knew I couldn’t keep these realizations to myself. As William Faulkner famously said:
“If a story is in you, it has to come out.” — William Faulkner.
Kulturshift exists to explore the why behind the what, to move beyond surface-level tips and dive into the deep end of cultural psychology.
A Look Ahead
Thank you for being part of these first 4,000 reads. Whether you are a new arrival struggling to buy groceries or a veteran expat navigating office politics, I hope my stories offer you a mirror to see your own experiences more clearly.
I’d love to hear your story. Drop a comment, send a message, or share this with a friend who is currently staring at a German letter they don’t understand.
Here is to a year of asking “Why,” finding answers, and feeling a little more at home. I wish you a very happy and healthy 2026.
New to Kulturshift? Here were our top 3 stories from 2025:
Love these stories and grateful to have been a small part of them. Looking forward to more in the year to come.