Those Germans...

I've been thinking about a blog post about the differences between Uhh'mericans and Chermans for a while now. This list will hopefully grow, but here's what I've noticed (and remembered so far)

- Americans are corner-cutters. If we think we can get away with riding the bus for 10 minutes without paying, by God we will! Germans NEVER Schwarzfahr (ride trains, busses, trams etc without paying).

- Americans have places to be; we will J-walk at any opportunity. Germans will absolutely not j-walk, even when no cars are in sight; they will wait in the snow/rain for the little light to turn green. Weirdos.

- In some cases, Americans are more in Ordnung (in order) than Germans are: lines (at grocery stores etc) are sacred. In general, we do not cut in line- Germans definitely do. It's not punk teenagers, either: it's middle age moms and old people. I have no idea what to say about this; we Americans are still flabbergasted.

- There are formalities. Most of the time, people can bring a +1 friend with them to any party/gathering and it's not even thought twice about. Here, you MUST ask the host if it's okay if a friend can show up, too. Also: if you say you might meet a group later (perhaps at a bar, or karaoke or at the Christmas market) but you end up not going, you must let them know, even if you didn't give them a clear "yes" or "no." This one was a tough lesson to learn.

- Germans are not impressed with snow. Only the Americans have been playing in the snow so far that I've seen. We probably look ridiculous to them, but we don't care!

- An obvious one: Americans keep their bedroom doors open, so people can come and go, and Germans keep theirs shut. The same amount of welcome is waiting for you at each room, the door is just simply shut for privacy.

- I'm not sure how to explain this one, but it feels like German social conversation is very structured and similar to discussions in the classroom. Things are analyzed and argued, like a debate, even if the topic is "skiing or snowboarding?" I actually really like this. I can't remember how American teenagers communicate, but this feels more involved and genuine.


Anyway, that's all I've got for now! I'm going to go on a walk with Cat in the gorgeous sunshine. I think later we're all gonna go play with Becca and her visiting boyfriend, Aiden.