Lifeswap is a series of short animated Skype conversations between two young men, Jörg, 27, from Münster, Germany and Duncan, 27, from Wellington, New Zealand. Facing their respective quarter life crises, Jörg and Duncan decided it was time for a change. They spontaneously bought plane tickets to the other side of the world and are now signed up to live each other’s lives for a whole year.
Their monthly Skype conversations, which function as the framing device for every episode, illustrate the adventures and misadventures of their cultural experiment. Jörg and Duncan allow us to witness their delights, frustrations and misunderstandings as they discover the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of each other’s cultures. Complex, “typisch Deutsche” rubbish separation rules are only the beginning of a wonderful and funny adventure, discovering life in the other’s country.
The producers of Lifeswap, German designer, animator and marionette maker Steffen Kreft and his partner, teacher, writer and puppeteer William Connor fondly refer to their project as “the dance between the jandal and the Birkenstock”. Lifeswap is not only designed to be a meeting point for Kiwis, Germans and their friends but it is also meant to celebrate the excitements and surprises of cultural exchanges.
Excited? Curious? Find out more by following Jörg’s and Duncan’s most recent Skype-conversation about their adventures in “Good Old Germany” and “The Land of the Long White Cloud”.
Do you want to use Lifeswap in your German class? Click here for teaching material.
