My name is Miriam. I was born in Argentina and raised in Buenos Aires, where I went to kindergarden, elementary school and high school downtown. After that I completed a three year training course as a tour guide, because I've always wanted to travel and get to know many languages and cultures.

In the beginning of 1983, at the age of 23, I visited Europe with my partner and a backback, after having already traveled through Latin America. First we spent time in Italy, Spain and France, before coming to Germany in August 1985.

We visited West Berlin for a few days, which I found absolutely interesting. From my experience I would consider Italy, Spain and France to have more of a 'Latin mentality and culture', which is beautiful, but I was more interested in the very different language and culture of Germany.

One year later we moved from Paris to Berlin. Although Paris was really nice, it felt cramped and kind of small, in contrast to Berlin, which is really comfortable. It's very spacious, also I adored the old building apartements, lakes, forests and I especially appreciated the possibility to get everywhere you want with your bike.

It took me about 3 years until I had learned the language well enough to feel comfortable and be able to read in German, listen to the radio and watch TV, in addition to doing so in English, French or Spanish.

My partner at that time also lived in Berlin.

Life in Berlin fascinated me. Buenos Aires is only half as big but has ten million inhabitans. Many West Germans have asked me: 'What are you doing here? Do you feel comfortable?'

If I answered 'yes' I was told that I couldn’t get out. I answered that in Buenos Aires you have to drive two to three hours to get to the countryside. Also my apartement wasn't close to the wall, so it didn't bother me.

Berlin is a big city. The old building apartments are huge. Affording an equivalent apartment in Paris is impossible. I lived in Charlottenburg until 2018 as well as in a shared living close to Ku-Damm, for a short period of time. In comparison we always had small apartments in Paris and Rome.

There was a large variety of cultural possibilities and free activities, especially for and from artists, like museums. The nature in the 'green city' enchanted me as well, this didn't exist in Spain, Rome and Paris.

From day one I tried not to get into a 'Latino clique', so I could learn the language and culture better. After some time I was able to, but not right at the beginning. The biggest challenge was learning the language and not falling into despair and a doomsday mood when being faced with difficulties. My first success was being able to read a book, the newspaper came later. Frankly it also depends on what kind of newspaper you read.

Living in the city as a city person wasn’t a problem. At first Berlin was just another stop on my European tour, but then I felt so good as a female in this society. This freedom to get anywhere with your bike. I couldn't do that in Buenos Aires, Paris, London or Madrid - the places where I might would have stayed. I also appreciated the safety and independence of women. Other societies are more macho or family oriented, or they used to be. At a certain age you belong at home with your children or in the family business and it's a rare sight to be on the road alone as a woman. At least that’s how it was in my generation. It could be a little different nowadays.

In order to learn German it was important to come into contact with Germans, in addition to the adult education courses I took for three semesters. Since I started to work immediatly I had to speak German somehow. It was the same in Italy, just easier for me than in Germany because of the similarity in languages. It's important not to stay in a language bubble with your native language.

I always liked the adult education courses, because they were financially acceptable. Language schools were generally more expensive and possibly of higher quality, but it's also important that you are lucky with the teachers. As I was working full time, I attended evening classes at the adult education center.

I feel at home in Berlin, eventhough I wasn't born there.

Argentina and Germany are the two places where I feel at home and at the same time I am not a hundred percent at home anywhere. In Argentina I think to myself: 'Why do they do this like that and don’t think first, whereas in Germany I miss the ease - people create problems when there aren't any, and they are insecure about profanities. But when I compare Berlin with a village in Germany, I feel more at home in the big city for sure. Eventhough it's nicer in a tiny town and I tend to get along better with the 'village-people', I still don’t know what they talk behind my back sometimes.

After my partner had inherited a house in Sachsen, I thought, if I dont’t work anymore, I could see how living in a big house with a fancy garden would be like in a village. That appealed to me. I also gained access to different people and feel integrated by now, but the difference is extreme, like between big Cities like Buenos Aires and Berlin. If I had to live in a tiny village in Argentina, I would feel the same.

Smaller towns lack the cultural offers and diversity, which hurts me the most. When joining certain activities there, I feel like being part of the community, because I participate in a lot of things. But when certain things are talked about I feel that I still live in another world. I think to myself: 'Dont’t they listen to the news?' And you have to be very carful about how you talk about things or adress them.

I never had this problem in Berlin. Maybe because I was immediatly surrounded by a multicultural landscape, and not tied to a specific group.

I never felt harassed or wished away in Berlin. Appearance may play a particularly important role in that regard. Other ethnic groups, for example black Africans, who aren't even living in Berlin anymore in some cases, probably have more problems, because everyone can immediately tell where they come from. And the first thing people often ask is: 'Where do you come from?'

The process of integration into the german culture has been severly screwed up. This can be observed in turkish families for instance, where lots of people speak german very poorly. Why have they been denied access to the working space? Why can't people work, who have been living here for five, six or seven years and who have been locked up in an effective ghetto the whole time?

I blame the goverment. Even in the eighties there has been discrimination in West Berlin, just like nowadays. I know some people, who told me about it.

My major criticism about the german society concerns the lack of a german culture "for everyone," like we need to enable these people, in order for them to break free of these ghetto like circumstances.

They shouldn't feel like losing their ancestral roots, rather they should get the feeling of being an asset to the german society. Sure, there are projects and organisations like your one (Chance, Ed. Note), but nothing is happening on a larger scale, like in kindergarden or in school for example.

I still feel safe as a woman, even using the awesome public transport in Berlin, but I prefer getting around by bike. On the countryside however I wouldn't take my bike in the evening, as it's pitch black - that's when I feel insecure.

Frequent travelling has shifted my perspective on politics. In Argentina I had already developped a certain interest in politics, even though the years prior, I wasn't blessed with a deep insight on current world politics. When you had to deal with a variety of problems in your own little world, the rest of the planet didn't seem that dreadful anymore.

The years after I followed up with the local politics of the countries I visited of course, and step by step I went over and beyond. As of now I would say I have a greater scope and try to stay informed. I don't read the newspaper, preferably I listen to 'Deutschlandfunk' and take advantage of the occasional free subscription.

A german stereotype would be drinking beer for instance, or standing in line, just to get a 'Currywurst'. Constant complaining as well, like 'nag nag nag', always focussing on the negative. Shifting focus to the positive seems to be a rare quality in people.

Another thing is the omnipotent need for secutity - this is an 'insurance-society!' Everthing has to be insured, the house, the car, your death as well as your new E-bike, and so on...

Typical for Berlin would have been it's former exceptionel location, resembling an island, with all the border patrols. And the financial generosity towards Berlin from the rest of the country, having tried to make sure everyone was able to live here comfortably.

Nowadays it's different of course, the city has become tougher, louder and more cramped.

I dream of finding a balance between my city life and my country life. That's my current challenge, my major goal. Otherwise I would probably have to do without alternating between city and countryside and manage to spend the summer here and the winter there, or the other way round.

What I miss the most about Agentina are the culinary things, which can't be found here. Sometimes I try to create them myself from scratch, but it isn't quite the same. I also miss a certain coffeehouse culture. There are enough cafes and other opportunities here, but they are more sophisticated or exotic. The old coffeehouses are disapearing. The same is happening in Buenos Aires unfortunately, but there are still enough old coffeehouses yet.

From time to time I miss certain spontanious activities, especially after moving, as I'm in the city less often. Almost all of my friends from back in the days are gone too. I only have one female friend left in Buenos Aires, all the others live spread out in Europe or America. There's also the possibility of groing apart gradually, when you don't share many similarities anymore.

When it comes to nagging, I would rather complain about important, concrete insufficiencies. With the inflation rate at a hundred percent and prices constantly rising, I can understand that there's not enuogh money left for rent. But most people are bitching about such irrelevant things, when I feel like we're living in luxury here. Someone without a job will get support. That doesn't exist in third world countries. Without a job you've got nothing. The german health care system in particular can rarely be found elsewhere in the world.