u/Present_Inflation454

I joined a small amateur choir in Germany. The first rehearsal was listed for 18:00, so I arrived at 17:56. By then, coats were hung up, folders were open, chairs had been adjusted and everyone inhaled for the first warm-up at six. Nobody complained, but I felt as if I had walked into a film after the opening scene.

The next week I arrived at 17:45. One member laughed and said I was becoming ‘properly German.’ I can’t tell whether that was aproval, teasing, or both. Where I grew up, 18:00 means people begin entering the room around then.

Is the normal German interpretation that the named time is when the activity itself begins, with setup happening earlier? Does the invisible arrival margin change for a casual hobby, a private invitation, and an appointment? I’m not building a punctuality spreadsheet, I just want to stop entering rooms at the socially strangest minute possible.

Jeg har gået hos den samme frisør i næsten to år, og hun er virklig god. Problemet er at hun også husker alt, vi taler om. Når jeg sætter mig, spørger hun straks til min søsters eksamen, mit gamle køkkenprojekt og den ferie, jeg nævnte én gang i februar.

Det er egentlig sødt, men efter en arbejdsdag har jeg mest lyst til bare at sidde stille. Sidst lod jeg som om jeg havde ondt i halsen. Det virkede, men nu spørger hun omsorgsfuldt om jeg er blevet rask.

Jeg overvejer at sige ved næste bookng, at jeg gerne vil have en stille tid. Lyder det som kritik af hende, eller er det en helt normal ting at bede om? Jeg vil helst ikke skifte frisør bare på grund af snakken. Jeg er også bange for, at stilheden bagefter bliver akavet, fordi vi normalt taler fra jeg kommer til jeg går.