I am back from a three week trip to Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The possibility to take this journey came about quite unexpectedly and was a wonderful gift as well as an eye opener. It had been a long time for me, more than four years, since I last was able to travel to Germany. And I had never been to Switzerland or Italy before! So I spent 10 days in Germany with my father, stepfather, and friends, and then another 10 days with my boyfriend in the Italian part of Switzerland, and northern Italy.
I was extremely curious about Switzerland and Italy. Needless to say, it was also a place where I didn't speak the language (at the end of the week I managed to say that I don't speak Italian, and that one may talk with me in English, German, or French). I realized that since childhood I had never traveled to a place where I didn't speak the language at all - I'd always get along with one of the other languages I had learned. Now that was a new challenge, but an enjoyable one. In between of some French, distant memories of Latin, and lots of "inner tuning in", I found that I could understand more than I expected, and Italian is certainly a most charming and "happy" language.
The one thing that struck me most during this entire trip, and in all three countries, is the difference in quality of life between the average Middle Class American and the average Middle Class European. The standard of living in Europe is very high compared to the United States, and certainly somewhat taken for granted. Houses and apartments are of a quality, both inside and out, that you just don't find here in the US (or maybe you do, but you'd have to pay A LOT for it). What about stone houses, fully tiled bathrooms and floors, hardwood floors, etc ? To give a concrete example, the apartment my dad lives in with his girlfriend costs less than 500 Euro rent per month. It is not very large, but comfortable and the quality of everything is top notch. Here, you could reasonably expect to pay somewhere between $2000 or $3000 per month to live in such quality. Amazing! Had I not seen that before, or did it take almost 12 years of living in the US to realize that? Or did it indeed change? Did life become more expensive and more difficult for Americans over the past decade, while it stayed comfortable for the Europeans? I don't really know the answer; it would require some more research. But it was obvious that life there is far less stressful than it is here. To make another extreme example; a person on welfare in Germany would have about the same standard of living (or more, because everyone has decent health insurance there no matter what their situation in life) as many people here who I know are working two jobs!! How can that be! A person working an average full time job can expect to have a comfortable and secure life (and full time, by the way, is not 40 hours but the standard week consists of 35 hours. Plus a minimum of four weeks paid vacation, plus GOOD health insurance, and so on). Of course, the perspective of a German or Swiss person on this matter may be much different because they are used to a much different standard and system as it is in America.
Another interesting and remarkable things is the by now extensive use of wind energy in Germany. In the rural area where I grew up, there are hundreds of windfarms today. When I was 18, there were only three! I heard that up to 14% of the entire energy needs of Germany are currently created by wind energy. That is a remarkable figure. Also, I saw a surprising number of solar panels installed on the German roofs. If misty Germany can do this, why not America with it's sunfilled deserts? Why still the debate and bickering about oil and other fossil fuels?
I was extremely curious about Switzerland and Italy. Needless to say, it was also a place where I didn't speak the language (at the end of the week I managed to say that I don't speak Italian, and that one may talk with me in English, German, or French). I realized that since childhood I had never traveled to a place where I didn't speak the language at all - I'd always get along with one of the other languages I had learned. Now that was a new challenge, but an enjoyable one. In between of some French, distant memories of Latin, and lots of "inner tuning in", I found that I could understand more than I expected, and Italian is certainly a most charming and "happy" language.
The one thing that struck me most during this entire trip, and in all three countries, is the difference in quality of life between the average Middle Class American and the average Middle Class European. The standard of living in Europe is very high compared to the United States, and certainly somewhat taken for granted. Houses and apartments are of a quality, both inside and out, that you just don't find here in the US (or maybe you do, but you'd have to pay A LOT for it). What about stone houses, fully tiled bathrooms and floors, hardwood floors, etc ? To give a concrete example, the apartment my dad lives in with his girlfriend costs less than 500 Euro rent per month. It is not very large, but comfortable and the quality of everything is top notch. Here, you could reasonably expect to pay somewhere between $2000 or $3000 per month to live in such quality. Amazing! Had I not seen that before, or did it take almost 12 years of living in the US to realize that? Or did it indeed change? Did life become more expensive and more difficult for Americans over the past decade, while it stayed comfortable for the Europeans? I don't really know the answer; it would require some more research. But it was obvious that life there is far less stressful than it is here. To make another extreme example; a person on welfare in Germany would have about the same standard of living (or more, because everyone has decent health insurance there no matter what their situation in life) as many people here who I know are working two jobs!! How can that be! A person working an average full time job can expect to have a comfortable and secure life (and full time, by the way, is not 40 hours but the standard week consists of 35 hours. Plus a minimum of four weeks paid vacation, plus GOOD health insurance, and so on). Of course, the perspective of a German or Swiss person on this matter may be much different because they are used to a much different standard and system as it is in America.
Another interesting and remarkable things is the by now extensive use of wind energy in Germany. In the rural area where I grew up, there are hundreds of windfarms today. When I was 18, there were only three! I heard that up to 14% of the entire energy needs of Germany are currently created by wind energy. That is a remarkable figure. Also, I saw a surprising number of solar panels installed on the German roofs. If misty Germany can do this, why not America with it's sunfilled deserts? Why still the debate and bickering about oil and other fossil fuels?
There is also a fascinating solar power project I heard about while in Germany. It is called the "Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII)" ). This is an ambitious idea of 12 German companies who intend to build a huge solar power plant in the North African Sahara desert. These solar plants are to supply about 15% of the entire energy need in all of Europe by 2050, and also produce a substantial amount of energy (and revenue) in the participating North African countries. The project is still in the planning stages and in need of clarifying it's financing, but I am impressed that there even is a real effort being made to produce clean energy large scale. It is time for this - and apparently, Europe leads the way. Why not America? It seems Americans don't even hear about it - I doubt that this project even made it in the news anywhere. The United States would have an enormous geographical potential to create efficient wind and solar plants. I know this is part of President Obama's plans, but what resistance there is from the lobbyists of the oil and coal industries! While all this bickering goes on here, good old Europe quietly makes it's own plans, and if Americans don't pay attention, Europe will soon surpass the US in just about everything, from health care to education to clean energy to quality of life to life expectancy!
If I seem passionate about this, then because I can't understand why such a great country like the US - great in every way, geographically, in population, in potential - lets itself slip away from the world stage in all areas. President Obama's efforts are absolutely recommendable, but why is there such resistance from, generally speaking, the right wing? Sure there are powerful interests of several industries at stake, from the oil & coal industries to the insurance industries, but should it not also be obvious to them that things are changing? Things are changing in the world, and I am not sure how much America is paying attention. Like the proverbial frog being slowly cooked and not realizing it, most Americans don't quite realize just how much they are taken advantage of by a powerful oligarchy in this country, and how much they are falling behind in comparison to the rest of the industrialized world.
Sources (Desertec Project):
http://www.stern.de/wissen/natur/desertec-projekt-so-soll-der-sahara-strom-fliessen-706128.html#rss=wissenschaft
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