Serhat Dogan - His view of German habits
- Written by Portal Editor
Some Germans tend to have strange habits, says comedian Serhat Dogan: They arrange their furniture according to energy flows, listen to music with strange lyrics and explain the general traffic regulations to their dogs.
In Turkey, many things are so different, much simpler and therefore less complicated. In his demeanor, the blue-eyed full-blooded comedian Dogan has absolutely no typical Turkish macho demeanor, which is so common on German streets. His appearance is rather calm and relaxed, and he happily responds to clichés about the German-Turkish differences between kebap and cheesecake.
Graduated from Ege University Izmir
Although born on July 8th, 1974 in Cologne, Serhat Dogan made his first trip to Germany in 2004 without any significant knowledge of the German language. "When I was six years old," says Serhat Dogan, "we, my parents and five siblings, went back to Turkey. I went to elementary school there from 1980, then high school and university. In 1996 started my studies at Ege University in the field of sports, which I left in 2003 without a degree.
An important day for me was April 24, 2004, because that's when I entered Germany with a comedy visa. The backstory of my comedy visa is as follows: As mentioned before, we are five siblings. Both of my sisters are married to German men. One of my two brothers-in-law is called Moritz Netenjakop, a quite successful comedy author. When he was visiting Turkey with my sister, he saw me on a stage where I was performing animations. He saw that I could act very successfully on stage. He then asked me if I would like to come to Germany to work as a comedian there. He also explained to me that there aren't that many Turkish comedians in Germany. So he was sure that I could do comedy there and also be quite successful.
Hella von Sinnen, Cordula Stratmann, Marc Conrad
Since I am also a very sociable person, he told me that integration would not be a problem for me either. This thought was unrealistic for me at the time because I couldn't speak a word of German. His idea was this: he wanted to write me a five-minute program number and I should memorize this lecture program and play it during his wedding party as a wedding present. Then the two flew back to Germany. About 2 weeks later he sent me the lyrics and I memorized the lyrics.
In 2003 I came to Germany for a week for the wedding. I "performed" this number at his wedding party. Many comedians were present that evening (Hella von Sinnen, Cordula Stratmann, Marc Conrad...). They were all quite enthusiastic about my talent and asked me if I really wanted to come to Germany. I said yes. Then I flew back to Turkey three days later. Two weeks later I received a folder from Moritz. I should take this folder with my passport to the German consulate to apply for a visa. Five weeks later I received a letter from the German consulate. They gave me a comedy visa. I came to Germany on April 24, 2004 with this comedy visa.
Second solo program "Kückück" on tour".
I immediately started working as a comedian. I was at the adult education center for three weeks, where I immediately started learning the German language. I tried to learn the German language as quickly as possible because every year I had to prove to the immigration office that I was earning enough money with comedy so that I could live on it. In 2007 I premiered my first solo program "Thank You Germany". In the same year I received a residence permit from the immigration office and since December 1st, 2010 I have a German passport. I still work as a comedian and am currently on tour with my second solo program "Kückück".
Serhat Dogan has become so used to his new home that he even rides his bike in winter and stops at red lights. Even many drivers in Turkey don't do that in the summer. If a Turk then moves in with a social worker and observes the Feng Shui rules when hanging up his Fenerbahce pennant, then the term "integration" takes on a completely new and interesting meaning.
During his program, Serhat Dogan talks about Germans, Turks and German-Turks, men, women, wimps and cuckoo clocks in 90 fast-paced minutes and sometimes even dances a little.
On Friday, July 18, 2014, Serhat Dogan can be seen at the Kulturfabrik in Furtwangen.
Culture clash comedy program "Kückück", Kulturfabrik Furtwangen, 8 p.m
Am Freitag, den 18. Juli 2014 ist Serhat Dogan in der Kulturfabrik in Furtwangen zu sehen.
Cultur-Clash-Comedy Programm "Kückück", Kulturfabrik Furtwangen, 20.00 Uhr
And with a little more support from our sponsors on October 16, 2014 in Regensburg at the "German-Turkish Literature and Friendship Festival" in the Evangelisches Bildungswerk.
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