In the mid-80s....on my 2nd tour into Germany....I got into a discussion one night in a college class (my University of Maryland days). It centered on the amount of effort required to really assimilate into Germany.
In my mind then, and even today....it requires a lot of effort and enthusiasm. It's not about language alone. You have to grasp how certain things are important to a German, and how you rank priorities in life.
I always found there were certain Americans who went full-throttle and gave 100-percent effort. There were also the accidental-assimilated guys....who had 700 German phrases they'd memorized, some idea of German food/beer, and weren't in a state of fear about driving a car on German roads/streets.
The good and bad parts of the American assimilation 'game'? Most walked in and played the game of the 'good guest'....meaning they stayed out of trouble, and continually tested themselves on the lifestyle. The bad part? With a few beers or random acts of stupidity....got themselves deep into trouble.
In one particular year (1979), I made it a priority to test out the twenty-odd German menu items. In 1984, I decided I'd test at least one-hundred different German beer brands over the year....then realizing that a dozen-odd beers were crap (Bitburger got on that list). 1984 was also the year that I gleaned all understanding of German train schedules, and the value of 72-hour train passes.
2017? That was the year that I did the German integration class, and mostly found it lacking.
But to be honest, Americans have trouble assimilating into movement to other US states. Just moving from Louisiana to Montana....with no language change...it'd be a challenge.
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