College Parties in the US and Germany

Many countries have very specific stereotypes about student parties: US college parties are legendary for being killer awesome, while Germany’s student parties are… sort of not.

The most important thing to remember when partying as a student is to always follow applicable laws regardless of where you are. So remember that drinking alcohol is illegal in the US under 21 years old. For the purposes of this post, I am going to assume that you can legally drink.

If drinking until you black out weekend after weekend is your idea of a fun time, then the US is your place (however, dear reader, I am of the opinion that happiness is only real if shared and, just as importantly, if remembered…). And if that is the case then you can have fun anywhere, because regardless of where you are, you’ll always find other people ready to get carried away.

Here are five differences I’ve observed between college parties in the US and in Germany.

1. Drinking until you black out

In the US, this is a sign of a good party; in Germany it’s a sign of someone who does not know their limits. In the US, drinking to the limit is considered normal at college parties, and even expected. In Germany, throwing up from over-drinking is looked upon very negatively. So if you’re partying in Germany, make sure you NEVER drink more than you can handle.

2. Social drinking

The term social drinking refers to drinking alcohol in a fairly civilized and restrained way, while socializing. In America, especially at college parties, this pretty much never happens and is considered boring by some. In Germany, ‘social drinking’ will probably set the tone at most student parties. No one wants to be labeled as the guy who doesn’t know how much he can drink (or “American” for short).

3. Dancing

In the US, if you are at a party, you can dance with anyone (as long as the other partner does not expressly say no). In Germany, you can usually only dance with people if you are already on first-name terms with them – and only if they say yes of course.

4. Party time

In the US, parties start at 8pm and are done at midnight, when the people who can still drive home do so and the rest stay the night (this will vary depending on exactly where you are though).  Just a reminder, if you have had ANYTHING to drink, take a taxi or a bus; it simply is not worth the risk of driving drunk. Meanwhile, in Germany college parties start at 10pm and often go till 5am – starting with social drinking at someone’s house, drinks at a bar, and finally partying in a club. Virtually all people in Germany use public transportation to get to and from parties; it’s just safer that way.

5. House parties

We all have a different type of ideal party, but everyone loves house parties, right? And this is the same in the US and in Germany. So get a group of likeminded people together, have fun, be safe, and don’t do a Project X, because the idea should be to have lots of cool house parties – not just one epic party where the people you invited throw lawn chairs off a 10^th story balcony…

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