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Barbara Bylek
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- Enlarge image
- Barbara Bylek
- (© Gunter Klötzer)
Barbara Bylek
Photo Editor at Associated Press
Upper East Side, Manhattan, NYC
Born and raised in Munich
Portrait: June 29th, 2003
How important are factors like work, residence, relationships, and family to you?
I can lose myself in my work. My apartment is a place to relax in, where I can just let go. I find it exhausting to go through life without a partner, but by now I also find it very difficult to embark on a new relationship.
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- Munich - New York
- (© Gunter Klötzer)
Do you consider yourself German?
After fourteen years in the US, I’ve changed more than I realized. I’ve become a stranger in my own country but I never became an American either.
Where do you see German influence on America?
A quarter of all Americans is of German extraction. Over the centuries, this influence has definitely left a mark. Currently, however, in my opinion, it’s working the other way around.
What do you appreciate most about American society, and what don’t you like about it?
Americans are usually very open to everything new. I like the American hands-on and
can do attitude. What is sometimes lacking is a sense of responsibility, awareness of history, and looking at intellectual matters critically.
What do you see as typically American?
"You can do anything if you work hard enough."
Do you identify with the US and the city where you lived?
I certainly don’t identify with the US, for political reasons if nothing else, but I do with NYC. Because that city is full of exceptional people from all over the world, who are all pursuing their goals single-mindedly, and are struggling every day just to survive.
Where do you see American influence on Germany?
All trends that start in America get to Germany a few years later. Germany is more Americanized than it likes to admit.
Have you returned to Germany for good? Why?
After fourteen years in America, I’ve come back to Germany. I somehow just didn’t want to grow old in NYC. Sometimes I missed the European mentality. I can’t tell whether it was the right decision after just six months. But I already miss NYC...
