What are you doing in Germany?

Not long after I got to Germany – close to three years ago – someone called me and, among other things, we talked a bit about what I was doing in Germany. This is a rough presentation of an interesting part of the conversation.

The Other Person aka TOP: So, what exactly are you studying?
Me: Anthropology.
TOP: Like Anthology of poems? (Part of the legacy of British rule is that we have to study English poems that are compiled in anthologies in secondary schools.)
Me: No.
TOP: Oh, sorry, that is different from anthropology. So, what exactly is anthropology?
Me: Ehm… It is the study of cultures and societies.
TOP: So you are studying the German culture and society?
Me: No, I am not. I will actually be coming back to Nigeria in some months to do the fieldwork for my PhD.
TOP: If your PhD is about Nigeria what are you doing in Germany?