Week 3: Germany Didn’t Choose Me. It Happened to Me - Laura Soto

00:00:00: Thank you.

00:00:04: Bienvenidos to the first edition of Plus Ready Nine in twenty twenty-sixth.

00:00:08: I have no idea how

00:00:10: we got to

00:00:11: mid and almost the end of January, but here we are.

00:00:16: My name is Sigrid Arteaga and I'm so happy to be back with you again.

00:00:20: Today we're going to be talking about innovation and entrepreneurship with Laura Soto.

00:00:26: She's the Cal founder of Speachy Lift and a consultant guiding impact founders from ideas to a validated business model.

00:00:36: But first, let's take a quick look at what is changing in Germany in twenty twenty six, especially what matters for us.

00:00:44: Let's start with work and income.

00:00:46: The statutory minimum wage rises to thirteen euros and ninety cents per hour and the mini-job monthly limit increases to six hundred and three euros which affects mainly students, freelancers with side jobs and newcomers entering the job market.

00:01:05: For families, child benefit increased to two hundred and fifty-nine euros per child per month.

00:01:12: And tax allowances for children are adjusted upwards, helpful even if modestly.

00:01:18: A major shift is happening in social benefits.

00:01:22: The Bürgergeld will be replaced by a new Grundsdicherung.

00:01:25: The system becomes stricter, with tougher rules on appointments and sanctions, which is relevant for anyone navigating unemployment support.

00:01:35: In health and insurance, statutory health insurance, additional contributions will rise on average and contributions see links for pensions and health insurance will also increase.

00:01:48: Meaning high earners will notice slider higher deductions.

00:01:52: Mobility also gets more expensive.

00:01:55: The Dutch on ticket now costs sixty-three euros per month, something you might as well already know.

00:02:01: Fuel prices rise again due to the higher prices and Berlin Brandenburg communes should

00:02:07: brace for

00:02:08: new rail disruptions and long-term construction projects throughout the year.

00:02:14: On the positive side, because there's always a positive side, consumer rights are expanding.

00:02:20: The AU's right to repair, strengthens warranties, product transparency improves and misleading sustainability claims will no longer be allowed.

00:02:30: And finally, an important digital note.

00:02:34: AI-generated content must be clearly labeled, and software providers fall under stricter liability rules, a big deal for tech workers and entrepreneurs.

00:02:46: Now for something sweet and surprisingly political.

00:02:50: Let's talk about the Berliner.

00:02:54: If you walk into a bakery in Berlin and ask for a Bellina, you might get a polite correction or at least an raised eyebrow.

00:03:02: Because in Berlin, this pastry is called Fankuchen.

00:03:06: Travel south to Bavaria and its a Krapfen.

00:03:10: In larger parts of western and northern Germany, it's a Berliner.

00:03:14: Same pastry, fluffy.

00:03:17: kind of dough, fried and fat, filled with delicious jam, and dusted with sugar.

00:03:24: Different names and a strong regional feeling about it.

00:03:28: Because this isn't just food, it's identity, as a lot of things here in Germany are.

00:03:35: As you already know, Germany is a country where regional culture matters deeply, and language is part of that.

00:03:42: Calling the pastry by the wrong name instantly marks you as an outsider, or at least as someone who didn't grow up there.

00:03:51: Traditionally, Berliners are eaten during Carnival season, especially around Rosenmontag and Silvesta.

00:03:59: There's even a long-standing joke tradition of feeling one Berliner with mustard instead of jam, a prank usually reserved for colleagues or family members.

00:04:10: And of course, we can't talk about Berlinners without mentioning one of the most famous sentences ever spoken in this city.

00:04:19: In nineteen sixty-three during a speech in West Berlin, John F. Kennedy said, For years, the myth persisted that he accidentally declared himself as a jam-filled doughnut.

00:04:35: But in reality, Berliners knew exactly what he meant.

00:04:39: I stand with you.

00:04:40: The grammar was correct, the message was clear, and the joke was only working.

00:04:46: if you already understand the cultural analysis, which makes the Berliner the perfect symbol of Germany.

00:04:53: Simple on the surface, layer underneath, and full of rules no one can really explain.

00:05:02: It is our first interview of this year.

00:05:05: I've always started with Happy New Year, even though I have no idea when you stop saying

00:05:09: Happy

00:05:10: New Year, but in this case I'm going to say it Happy New Year.

00:05:14: I am right now today with Andrea Famil, who have you already heard a couple of times.

00:05:19: She is the co-host from now your favorite podcast, hopefully.

00:05:25: But we also have with us Laura Soto.

00:05:28: Laura Soto is our interviewer.

00:05:29: And of course, we always start with the first question that goes with, why Germany, Laura?

00:05:35: What brought you to Germany?

00:05:40: Honestly, I didn't choose Germany.

00:05:42: Germany chose me.

00:05:43: Basically, I was doing... Okay, I think like many women, I came to Germany for love.

00:05:53: I was working in Brazil and I met a German.

00:05:56: And my dream was always to go to Italy.

00:05:59: So I went to Italy, I did my master, because I'm a designer, I did my master in Milan.

00:06:05: And we were seeing each other and I was like, okay, this is working.

00:06:09: i'm gonna try germany.

00:06:10: and then i came to germany to do my internship from that master and after the master i tried to stay so just to be with him.

00:06:19: i love germany.

00:06:21: i was looking for jobs.

00:06:22: then it came corona and we broke up and i was like what is this?

00:06:30: so i could not go back to colombia and i was stuck here.

00:06:33: i could not get a job.

00:06:36: and I was like okay if I cannot work I will study.

00:06:39: so I did a second master in Germany and this is how I like life brought me to stay in Germany.

00:06:48: you know I did my master it was in German and then I got a job and I was like okay I like Germany.

00:06:53: I will just stay here and see how it flows and I think I'm not in the mood to move again to another country.

00:07:01: now it was enough.

00:07:05: I think we can relate.

00:07:07: The case of André was a little bit different because André, you came here to study here and you've been already, what, almost twenty years?

00:07:14: More than twenty years.

00:07:15: Twenty-one, twenty... Something like that.

00:07:20: But yeah, Germany chooses you.

00:07:22: You have

00:07:22: no... It just happens.

00:07:25: It's life, I don't know.

00:07:27: You get trapped in the ice.

00:07:30: Yeah, and the COVID.

00:07:31: Would you get trapped in the COVID and in the ice and then a little bit of a mixture between that?

00:07:37: Yeah, life happening now.

00:07:39: It's good, so why not?

00:07:42: And you're

00:07:44: a founder.

00:07:46: Yes, I am a founder.

00:07:49: Say it with proud.

00:07:50: Say it with proud.

00:07:51: I'm a female founder.

00:07:53: This is also very important.

00:07:54: Yeah,

00:07:55: it feels weird, you know?

00:07:59: My whole life was about supporting founders and now I'm a founder.

00:08:03: So it's like, what?

00:08:04: I can also support myself.

00:08:07: But yeah, I'm creating a startup with two co-founders more.

00:08:13: We are trying to use digital tools to support speech development for children, which in German is really hard to get.

00:08:24: because of how the system works and the health insurances work.

00:08:30: The therapists have a limit of agenda and there are not enough therapists for all the children and the children are just waiting for speech therapy six months, one year, and when you're growing up, this is not like something that you're like, yeah, I can't wait two years.

00:08:45: It's like, I need to get it now.

00:08:48: So we're seeing how we can use the digital tools to make it more accessible for children.

00:09:00: Yeah.

00:09:00: We're speechless.

00:09:03: I don't know, maybe I can explain to you how I end up being a founder.

00:09:06: Yes, please.

00:09:09: And specifically, why did you arrive in this?

00:09:13: topic?

00:09:14: because do you have kids on your own?

00:09:17: No,

00:09:18: I'm so far from the topic that I was like, okay, why not?

00:09:24: So I always support, I met, I started working with startups in Brazil, as I told you, I was working in a co-working space and we were doing a lot of events for startups and I was like, wow, I love this environment, I love startups.

00:09:39: But I realized that they were not so good at understanding the customer.

00:09:44: So I decided, okay, I'm gonna use my skills, which is design skills to support them to understand the customer.

00:09:50: And my goal in life, let's call it like that, is to support founders to understand really well the customers and really solves the problem of the customers.

00:10:01: And in that process, I went to Italy, I did my master, I came to Germany, I was working in a company as an innovation entrepreneurship consultant, always doing my goal in life.

00:10:11: I never thought I was going to be a founder until I met someone who wanted to be a founder and he told me, hey, I really like how you work, I really like how you think and the way that you are like approaching this topic, I would like to create something with you.

00:10:27: And I think it's like Germany.

00:10:30: It came to me, I didn't look for it.

00:10:32: Like many things in life, I think you just need to be open and be like, okay, why not?

00:10:37: Like many things I have done.

00:10:39: And I say, okay, why not?

00:10:40: Let's try.

00:10:42: We apply for a grant that it's in Germany.

00:10:45: Maybe you don't know that it's called Exis startup grant, which gives you one year of support.

00:10:51: It's really good opportunity.

00:10:53: We apply, we got it, and now we are in the middle of that process.

00:10:58: of the grant and doing the market research, developing the product, bringing the product to the customers, and seeing how we can monetize that.

00:11:09: So this is how I ended up being a founder.

00:11:11: I didn't look for it, but my life again brought me to that decision and I was, I tried to be always open to be like, okay, why not?

00:11:19: let's try?

00:11:20: Let's see what it comes from that.

00:11:23: Once again, something chose you.

00:11:25: Yes.

00:11:28: Yeah, how hard

00:11:29: or how different has it been for you to understand the customer in Germany to what you were accustomed to?

00:11:37: to what?

00:11:37: to Brazil?

00:11:38: to the Latin American public?

00:11:41: Can you compare

00:11:42: that?

00:11:44: I think I would say Latinos.

00:11:46: we are more open to talk.

00:11:48: Like if someone approached you and they're like, hey, I want to get to know you I want to do something good for you.

00:11:55: People are like, okay, why not?

00:11:57: In Germany, they are like, that and shoes.

00:12:01: Why?

00:12:03: You know, they're more like not so

00:12:05: open

00:12:06: to, yeah, it's not so open to to talk with you.

00:12:12: Most of the people we have talk is because they we know someone that knows them.

00:12:16: You know, it's mostly like, I think Germany works a lot with connections, like.

00:12:22: They are just open if they know someone knows you are a safe person or you are not crazy.

00:12:28: So I think this is mostly in market research.

00:12:33: And also when you are trying to launch a product, people are also more skeptic than to try something new than in Latin America.

00:12:42: I understand.

00:12:47: I'm trying to process.

00:12:49: Again, I think it's part of the speech.

00:12:56: But also the whole, I mean, we just heard that for the first time in a couple of months and years, the startup industry in Germany has been growing again.

00:13:09: And of course, the expats, the internationals are the one who are right in front of that.

00:13:15: And we are the ones who are sort of thriving in that area.

00:13:22: But you do work a lot with Germans and also in this startup world where probably German is a little bit different than the rest of your previous experience.

00:13:35: Can you share your thoughts about that?

00:13:40: Honestly, from my experience, most of the founders I have encountered are not purely Germans.

00:13:50: let's say they're second generation immigrants or they're first.

00:13:56: they just move here to Germany.

00:13:58: maybe they're working with the German because it helps with the language and culture and a lot.

00:14:06: but from most of the startups that I know there is someone who has some international background and I think this helps a lot because From what I perceive, the culture of Germany is not really open for risk.

00:14:23: And startups are full of risk.

00:14:25: Startups are full of

00:14:27: try

00:14:27: and see what happens.

00:14:30: It's really a lot of uncertainty.

00:14:32: And I think in the German culture, they love certainty.

00:14:35: They love to know that everything is going to work out.

00:14:39: From my experience working in companies, they love to plan.

00:14:41: Like they spend more time planning than doing.

00:14:45: And in the startup world, it's the opposite.

00:14:47: You have to do and like, yeah, plan it, but do it like.

00:14:52: We are doing it.

00:14:56: Yeah.

00:14:56: And change, but from the culture, they love to have everything ready before they go for that.

00:15:03: So I think there are a few startups that are purely German and they are like in some specific industries where.

00:15:13: this kind of working culture is needed, but most of the startups that I have encountered are really international and you need that, you need to be open for new possibilities.

00:15:23: And I think we as immigrants and people who move to another country, we need to be more open to other perspectives.

00:15:32: We are like, I think, culturally, Germany is like a little bit more black and white, like good or bad.

00:15:40: and when you move you are like okay this is not normal in my country but apparently it's normal here.

00:15:46: so I have to learn to accept it or navigate it.

00:15:50: yeah and this is a lot really useful for startups because in the startups like you're building something new you you don't know what's the normal in that culture.

00:16:01: so you need to be really open for new perspectives.

00:16:06: I totally agree with you.

00:16:10: What would you think?

00:16:13: Because I am always thinking, what is something that I would have liked to know about Germany before coming here?

00:16:21: Is that something that you would have liked to have known?

00:16:25: that Germans are structured, not always open to change, not always open to something that has not been planned?

00:16:41: What are the things that you think Germany, that you would put in a manual?

00:16:53: I think what she was saying before that, it was like the Latinos are the startups in Germany.

00:16:59: That can maybe work.

00:17:02: I mean, not just the Latinos.

00:17:03: I think every immigrant who has to move their country and has to open their minds to new perspectives are more open to create companies.

00:17:15: In the manual, I will write something like... I don't know if it happened to you, but when I arrived here, I put myself down.

00:17:24: I tend to be like, oh, you're German, you're right.

00:17:28: Yeah?

00:17:29: Yeah.

00:17:30: And I was working in companies, I was getting feedback, and then I realized, wait, I mean, you're not right.

00:17:37: Like, it's just different perspectives, yeah?

00:17:40: it's different culture.

00:17:44: so when you think that you have to be like them this happens to most of us when we arrive here we are like oh I have to work like them I have to behave like them.

00:17:55: first you're hiding yourself and you stop being authentic.

00:17:59: so this is really not good for your self-esteem and how you show yourself to the world and it's also what I do now is to be like.

00:18:09: okay I'm not like you but it doesn't mean that I'm less or more than you just different.

00:18:15: so for example when I work with Germans and they give me feedback like yeah but you have an accent or who are you to tell me that I'm like okay if you don't value what I'm saying it's your problem because I know what I'm worth and I know what I'm saying because from my experience

00:18:36: It's so far away from what we're used to in Latin America.

00:18:45: We take everything personal.

00:18:47: We're always debating and feeling like if you don't agree with me, it's because it's personal.

00:18:52: And I do believe that Germany is the hardcore therapy group that you didn't thought you needed.

00:18:59: And then suddenly you're here and you have to learn how to How to put limits?

00:19:06: Yeah,

00:19:07: I didn't know that existed.

00:19:08: and how to

00:19:09: how to put yourself first.

00:19:11: Yeah, I think

00:19:12: that's so incredibly important what you're saying.

00:19:15: It's like Like not submitting yourself to an idea of what is perfect.

00:19:24: and Germany has this this name that It works perfectly.

00:19:30: It's organized.

00:19:31: It's planned and so on so forth and It's important to know that we are also like that.

00:19:43: We just work differently, and our planning is different, and our organization is totally different.

00:19:52: It's maybe not like tables, it might be circles that get together

00:20:03: at some point, but we also get the thought.

00:20:05: Yeah, sorry.

00:20:07: Just think that Germany is perfect.

00:20:08: It's a lie.

00:20:09: Like, get out of there.

00:20:11: No country is perfect.

00:20:13: And I realized that here, I was like, okay, Germany has its goods and its baths.

00:20:19: And we know they both.

00:20:21: And back home, it's the same.

00:20:24: Like, at least Colombia has goods and baths.

00:20:26: And now I realize more of the good things that my country has than when I was there.

00:20:32: So... It's not like, oh, Germany is perfect and it's better and now I have to be like them because they are better than me.

00:20:38: It's more like

00:20:40: we are

00:20:41: different and I think innovation, because it's the industry where I work, needs that difference.

00:20:47: Because if you end up all being the same, you're going to end up doing the same.

00:20:52: But you need these different perspectives and you need to stop thinking, oh, because I'm different, I'm wrong.

00:20:58: just like, okay, I'm different, I can bring new perspectives, I can bring, I don't know, push a little bit more the ideas, expand them, you know, help them also to get out of that box.

00:21:12: It's funny, it's funny that what you're saying, because that's something that figured, and I have talked a lot about, that there are like, if you, if I think about it, about my situation when I came to Germany, or the faces that I have been through, and this time I always think of different phases and it's like when you get to Germany it's like oh my god everything's so amazing.

00:21:42: wow

00:21:43: and

00:21:44: you go you you are open and you are curious and so on so forth.

00:21:49: then you go to a to a place to a strange place where you will start comparing Germany to your home country.

00:21:58: And when you think Germany is better, Germany functions better, Germany is like this, blah, blah, blah.

00:22:03: That was my experience.

00:22:05: And then

00:22:06: it was

00:22:06: exactly the opposite.

00:22:08: I had this curiosity about Mexico that I didn't have before and that being a way a long time opens for me.

00:22:22: I went to Mexico and I went to Mexico with this curiosity that I had when I came to Germany at first.

00:22:30: And it was like, oh my God, Mexico is so amazing.

00:22:33: I had forgotten about it.

00:22:35: And it's so rich, and it's so full of everything, and it's so chaotic, and it's so organized as well, and so on and so forth.

00:22:43: And then it came to a moment when I matched both.

00:22:49: sit both feeling and it was okay, Germany is not perfect, Germany has flaws, Mexico is not perfect, Mexico has flaws, but both countries are perfect.

00:23:01: And I think to come to that point is like, I think you come, you get peace on the inside and you get peace in being a migrant and in having to go back and forth and to say goodbye and I don't know.

00:23:26: yeah I think you try to get the best of both worlds.

00:23:30: like I live in Brazil and I love Brazilians.

00:23:34: they are like the kindest people you can ever meet and talking from Latinos that we are really kind like really they are so nice like even with them it's really nice.

00:23:44: but Brazil also has the best and one of the things is like working with them is really chaotic, serious structure.

00:23:52: It's like, for me it's the opposite of Germany.

00:23:55: But the creativity that you have from that, it's really good.

00:24:00: So I try to balance like, okay, my experiences in different countries, how do I use the German approach to plan and structure, but also the willingness to do the things, the audacity to just do it and see what happens.

00:24:14: That is more like, yes.

00:24:17: Like we.

00:24:18: we're not thinking do I have to pay taxes if I put a The shoots the?

00:24:22: yeah, yeah

00:24:29: before you even got to open the taco stand you already have like fifty different intrigue by Everywhere.

00:24:36: you actually asked your dog if you could go there.

00:24:39: Yes,

00:24:40: so we just jumped into it.

00:24:42: and here they think about it they plan and they try to avoid conflict.

00:24:46: so I try to balance this which is really hard because they are quite extremes.

00:24:50: but I think when you make with peace with these cultures like you said you just try to take the best and not be ashamed of what comes from that you know like not being ashamed of what comes from being a Colombian which we know the stereotypes.

00:25:08: We know the stereotypes way too well.

00:25:12: I think we are connected with that.

00:25:16: The good thing is that at the end we are living kind of the best of both worlds because we moved abroad, we had the courage to move abroad and even though I go for those four phases three times a day.

00:25:34: Sometimes I hate everything, sometimes I love everything, sometimes I want to go back to Mexico, sometimes I eat a quesadilla and never again.

00:25:42: But that's another.

00:25:44: But before we let you go, there's one question that we need to ask you.

00:25:52: Because we already know the status of the weather outside.

00:25:59: And of course, we also know that this is the moment where we are kind of feeling a little bit more lonely, maybe debating whether we need to go back or anything.

00:26:11: But I know that there are a couple of recommendations, a couple of tools that each one of us has to at least navigate this time of the year better.

00:26:23: What would be your recommendation or what is your secret tip?

00:26:30: I don't think I have mastered that art yet.

00:26:33: Don't worry me neither, but I'm pretty sure there is one.

00:26:38: I will say I have three.

00:26:41: The first one is really Don't forget about connecting with people, like not internet, like really leave the screens and just make a cozy, chill event with friends, I don't know something that Germans can enjoy.

00:27:01: Or just be with your friends, you know, like if you have two friends, be with them present, it helps really a lot.

00:27:08: for me the the other two are a little bit more expensive but it's like.

00:27:12: basically I decided I will not be the whole winter in Germany.

00:27:17: so I tried to go to Spain and to Portugal I don't know the cheapest place with sun because three months is too long and if you cannot go to sun maybe get a. I forgot the name of this like a fake sun therapy.

00:27:41: This come from my doctor, she told me like if you really cannot go to a place with sun go to this because it really helps like to feel warm again and in this weather it's really hard.

00:27:53: and the third one is something I'm working for.

00:27:56: that is like if you have a stable job I mean it's hard to do it but if you can go to your country and reconnect and mostly in Christmas and this time of the year where it's like really family Yeah, like you I need them like I need my family and I know Christmas here is beautiful But it's not the same as the parties in Colombia.

00:28:19: So I'm working for that.

00:28:20: I'm working that I can really Take the time the enough time off during this time of the year so I can go back home and get all the Colombian energy inside me.

00:28:34: Colombian sun just

00:28:36: fill up

00:28:37: yeah and the food and people.

00:28:39: and I don't know the colors because winter no color.

00:28:44: winter is gray.

00:28:46: yes yes black

00:28:47: is like black and white in Germany

00:28:50: and I will add the fourth one if you can wear colors because everyone is wearing black and it's like why are we all dressed black in these black gray days?

00:29:00: like if you need a puffer jacket getting I don't know, yellow.

00:29:07: Something that gives you some more than gray and also more than gray for the people around you.

00:29:13: It helps a lot.

00:29:15: Thank you so much, Laura.

00:29:17: It has been like really fun and you almost moved me to tears before, as you said, going to see the family.

00:29:29: I know what feeling.

00:29:34: I also agree with you with wearing colors.

00:29:36: That's why I'm wearing red and you too, I'm wearing gray

00:29:44: and black.

00:29:45: Let's all go into colors.

00:29:48: Let's make a campaign like all Latinos wear colors in winter.

00:29:51: I don't know.

00:29:53: Let's bring colors in winter.

00:29:55: Yes,

00:29:55: bring color in winter.

00:29:58: Thank you so much, Laura.

00:30:00: Thank you, thank you for your time.

00:30:02: It was really nice to talk with you, to talk about my culture.

00:30:06: I didn't know what was going to happen here, but I'm happy to share my experience and it was really a lovely conversation.

00:30:15: Thank you so much and we'll keep in touch and let us know everything about your adventure.

00:30:21: Yeah, I will keep you updated, okay?

00:30:25: Bye!

00:30:27: Bye!

00:30:30: Why do Germans go to Spain and Portugal in summer?

00:30:34: I don't get it.

00:30:35: It's like, it's forty degrees.

00:30:37: No one is there.

00:30:38: Not even the Spanish people want to be there.

00:30:42: The weather is better in Germany.

00:30:45: And all the Germans are there getting red and sweaty.

00:30:51: I don't get it.

00:30:53: There are a few very German reasons behind this.

00:30:57: First, reliability.

00:31:00: Spain offers what Germans value deeply in holidays.

00:31:04: Predictability.

00:31:06: You book sun and you get sun.

00:31:09: Flights one-on-time, infrastructure works and the holiday experience is well organized.

00:31:16: For Katra, the plans vacations months in advance, that matters a lot.

00:31:21: Second, climate logic.

00:31:24: While thirty-five or forty degrees may sound unbearable, many Germans experience summer heat very differently.

00:31:33: German summers can be humid, unpredictable and short.

00:31:38: Spain represents guaranteed summer, even if it's intense.

00:31:43: Third, history and habit.

00:31:47: Since the nineteen sixties and seventies, Spain has been one of the first mass holiday destinations for Germans.

00:31:55: Entire generations grew up going there.

00:31:59: What starts as a trend becomes tradition.

00:32:02: And traditions

00:32:03: are powerful

00:32:04: in Germany.

00:32:06: Fourth, structure within chaos.

00:32:09: Spain feels relaxed, emotional and spontaneous, but for tourists it still functions efficiently.

00:32:17: This balance between sovereign ease and operational order is very appealing.

00:32:24: And finally, Germans and

00:32:26: timing.

00:32:27: Germans travel when they are allowed to travel.

00:32:30: School holidays and fixed vacation windows, meaning July and

00:32:34: August,

00:32:35: are often the only option, heat or no heat.

00:32:40: So when locals escape the summer, Germans arrive with sunscreen, schedules and a firm belief that if it's vacation, it should feel like one.

00:32:50: And that's it!

00:32:51: We're at the end of our show.

00:32:52: Thank you so much for being with us today.

00:32:55: And of course, thank you so much, Laura, for talking with us about your time here in Germany and what it has been taking for you to make a business work here in Germany.

00:33:06: If you enjoyed today's show, make sure to follow us on social media.

00:33:10: You will find us at plus forty nine and all major platforms.

00:33:14: We will be sharing updates, cultural insights, and behind-the-scenes content from this show.

00:33:21: And remember, this is also your space.

00:33:24: If you have any questions for our Hermann the German in Ask a German segment about work, culture, bureaucracy, everyday life, or those moments that leave you quietly confused, send it to infoatplusfortynine.de.

00:33:41: No question is too small or too strange.

00:33:44: I'm Siri D'Arteaga, thank

00:33:45: you so much for listening, take care, stay curious and until next time.

00:33:50: Hasta la próxima!