People here are also very race-tolerant. If I was ever hassled here in Jena for my race, they were by people NOT from Jena. The large student population, and consequently large foreign student contingent, helps.
I think the reason that Jenaers are warmer and friendlier that the people in other German cities I've visited is because of it's small size (100,000 inhabitants), and their Socialist background. They actually have a name for people who don't want to mix with other people--"Asi" or asocial. If people call you asi here, that means you're unfriendly. If you don't want to hang out with your friends because of a lame excuse, then you're asi. People here think there is something really wrong with you if you want to be alone too much. It sounds very Brave New World-ish, I know, but it does remind me a lot of Filipinos. The down side is, that also means that people also like to poke their nose into your business, but it isn't as bad as it is in the Philippines.
In a way, Jena is a very different, but also a familiar environment for me. I mean, sure, it ain't as swinging as Manila, but it has its own charm as well.
I'm taking a page from The Satorialist and posting pictures of people who I thought looked cool. It was a Thursday afternoon at the City Center.
The great thing about living here is that people can wear whatever they want not because they want to look cool, or because they are in desperate need for attention. They really do it for art and self-expression.
Oh, and the in thing for chicks here nowadays are huge-ass tatoos, nipple rings, and piercings on the lower lip or on the upper lip, the piercing resembling a beauty mark mole ala-Lorna Tolentino or Marilyn Monroe (depends on who your point of reference is, I guess).
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