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The joys and trials of a German-Kiwi exchange 













"Lifeswap" is a series of short animations that illustrate the adventures and misadventures of two young men, Jörg, 27, from Münster, Germany and Duncan, 27, from Wellington, New Zealand. Sensing the onslaught of their respective quarter life crises, they have found each other’s profiles on www.lifeswap.net, spontaneously bought plane tickets and are now signed up to live each other’s lives for one year. We witness their delights, frustrations and misunderstandings as they discover the idiosyncrasies of life in the other’s culture through the lens of their own.

The framing device for every episode is a monthly Skype conversation between Duncan and Jörg featuring flashbacks to memorable moments since they last spoke, like the day Duncan was told by Jörg’s flatmate that he must sit to pee and the shock Jörg received when he learnt that he should call his bank manager “Dave”.

"Lifeswap" is a meeting point for Kiwis, Germans and their friends - for anyone who has ever said quietly to him or herself: "That is so German" or "Typisch neuseeländisch!" It is the celebration of a cultural exchange we could fondly refer to as “the dance between the jandal and the Birkenstock."

9 comments:

  1. This is fabulous! I can't wait to see the results. We just had a holiday with a German friend and the bathroom practices conversation came up. Nice work! Tara

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  2. Brilliant, can't stop laughing , love it keep it coming :-))

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  3. this is great!

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  4. This is absolutely spot on. You guys are nailing it!

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  5. You did really great job, you made me laughing!!! Hope you will make some new episodes! Cheers Martin from Te Anau (originally Czech)

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  7. My wife and I are New Zealanders currently living in Saarbrücken, and we've found your videos absolutely brilliant! You've done such a good job of pointing out the differences between German and Kiwi culture :) We watched some with an American friend, who has now shown them to his English class, so you're getting exposure over here in Saarland, too! Keep up the great work!

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  8. Such fantastic videos! I am from New Zealand and have recently moved to Germany to be with my German boyfriend. The two of us met whilst travelling in Bali. We have watched the lifeswap videos multiple times, and have thoroughly enjoyed each one! They capture beautifully some of the quirky differences that our cultures bring into our relationship. Awesome work. Would love to watch more of your videos in the future!

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