(The Super Special List Edition.....)
(Moritz Bastei)
(As seen in a Goth club....)....but they're fun lists, I promise.
Everytime something in Leipzig made me laugh, or made me angry, or made me roll my eyes, I usually just put it somewhere in the back of my head, trying to keep it as a mental note of cultural differences for the next time something like that might happen here. At some point in my recent long runs and walks, they started to compose themselves into organized lists. Apparently even the inside of my head is just as OCD and has as much of a need to organize as my conscious thought processes do haha. But yes, in no particular order....
Top 5 Things I'm Slightly Embarassed I do in Germany and Probably Won't do in the States...
1. Follow Americans around. Yeah I know, I'm sketchy. This isn't hard core stalkage I swear...its more like if I hear people speaking American English in Starbucks I'll go sit next to them. It's hilarious too because I can tell they have no idea if I'm German or American... watching their confusion and surprised reactions when I speak English on the phone or over Skype in Starbucks is also hugely entertaining.
2. Listen to country music obsessively. It reminds me of home. Leave me alone. And Carolina Rain is the most addictive, wonderful band ever, I don't care what anyone says.
3. Talk to myself. Hey, I have gone days without talking to anyone else in complex English before. Sometimes you have to be your own best friend.
4. Go to Goth/punk clubs. It's Leipzig. Do as the locals do. : )
5. Shop pretty much exclusively at one store. H & M. It's really all I need out here. I will miss it dearly back in the States.
8 Things in Deutchland That Would Never Fly in America
1. Ride-Sharing. AKA organized hitch-hiking. Yes, this is legit. There are organized networks and web-sites devoted to organized hitchhiking. It's a lot cheaper than taking the trains (10 euro each way to Berlin from Leipzig for example vs. like 25 Euro on the train) and a lot of people do it. I think that Germany is small enough and safe enough and has enough general respect for the law for this to work, but there's wayyyy too many weirdos and serial killers and paranoid people in America for that to ever work there.
2. Coach-Surfing. Again, this is legit. Organized networks online where you sign up to sleep on a complete strangers couch. This isn't just Germany too - this is a European thing that's actually really, really popular. And again, lots of Stanford kids have done it. I just can't. I don't have enough anxiety meds to do that and escape with my mental health intact...
3. The 3-strikes Rule. I hate this ish (pardon my French). Germans value their privacy laws and anti-fraud laws very highly, but they can be difficult for foreigners not used to them. Basically, my code name "the 3-strikes rule" refers to when you get three strikes at passwords (for debit cards, credit cards, internet access) and then they ban you from whatever you were trying to access. If it happens to me your Deutsche Bank (debit bank card) card, it just stops working and you have to PAY for them to send you a new one. They also can't just tell you your password or give you your card there in the bank. Oh no, that would be way too convenient. They have to send you your bank card that you have just had to pay to replace even though you didn't want to (which can take up to a week), and then send you your PIN number in the mail 3 days after that. And no, you don't get to choose your PIN. This is Germany. They give you your PIN. You get what you get, don't throw a fit. My most recent experience with this has been with my home Internet. My Number Lock was on as I fruitlessly tried to enter in my password 3x, only to find the fourth attempt (when I had figured out the Num Lock key was on) that I was "hereby banned" from the Internet access of the Studentwerk Leipzig. Thanks guys. That is why I am currently writing this blog from Starbucks...
4. Lack of Selection in Grocery Stores. Particularly discount grocery stores. Maybe 5 kinds of cereal at most? 10 at the big stores? Americans would throw a hissy fit over their lack of choices.
5. No Ice. Or really, really expensive ice. It's a luxury item here. Meh.
6. No Air-conditioning. Except for Starbucks. Or the nicer department stores. Which is again why Starbucks is the best hangout spot ever in this summer heat.
7. No Window Screens. Hello large flying beetles and mosquitoes. Of course, the window is open in the summer heat... so these large bugs have been keeping me company lately. It's alright though, I've gotten really good at catching them and setting them free. If they come in again though they end up in the trash can. That is my 2-strikes rule haha.
8. Passive voice, and too many clauses, and longggg words. In English, conveying a lot with few words is best. In Germany, they love their long complex clauses, their passive voice, and lack of active verbs, and repeating the same words many times. Example of an English sentence: I jumped and ran around at the park. That in a German sentence: I have jumped and have run, very quickly, for many long hours, at a park, which was closed at 8:23 pm. Alright, I'm exaggerating slightly but hopefully you catch my drift.
My Top 10 Favorite Things About Deutschland
1. German Work Ethic. I am to stranger to this because I have large portions of German family myself, but I really still find it admirable. Things work, things are hugely efficient, everything runs on time. People are on time. The country's economy is currently holding up the Euro. Whenever I go to countries where this is not the case (cough SPAIN cough), I found myself getting hugely annoyed and wondering why they just couldn't get it together like the Germans.
2. German Food. Real sugar, high quality bread and meat and cheese. Germany has really high regulations for food quality, ESPECIALLY regarding animal products. None of this high fructose corn syrup mess that they have in the States. Really, the FDA needs to get it together. All those chemicals and low-quality processed American food is a huge part of the reason why everyone's fat in my opinion.
3. Berlin Night-life. Enough said. One of the night-life capitals of the world that I just happened to live in for 6 months when I was 20. Hugely fabulous timing.
4. Bavaria. I love Bavaria. I love the Catholic churches and the lederhosen and the huge pretzels. And the Bavarian pride. I love Munich.
5. Watching Germany heal its separation wounds and put itself back together. Particularly in Berlin with the East Berlin and West Berlin divide. It is particular up to my generation, who was born when the wall fell, to repair the divides that have separated their country and the city of Berlin for so many years. It is a problem unique to Germany because every other country was either just in or out of the Soviet Union. And it is very interesting to watch at how those past differences manifest themselves in the country today.
6. Nuss-Nougat Creme. AKA Nutella. Or Nuskati, or Nusspli. I love them all. I have tried at least 7 different brands of Nutella and can safely say I consider myself a Nutella addict.
7. Moritzbastei. Probably my favorite place in Leipzig. It is this awesome underground brick complex that was first part of the ancient city fortifications, then made into a World War II bomb shelter, then made into a youth center during the time of the GDR, and now is a cultural center that serves as everything from a club during the weekend to a public viewing spot during soccer games. It also has an awesome cafe, bars, and shows movies during the week.
http://www.moritzbastei.de/site/service/english_info/index.php
8. Döner. Yum. But only Mustafa's. The web-site is possibly one of my favorite parts about Mustafa's haha: http://www.mustafas.de/
9. Good shoes. Europeans make way better shoes because they walk a lot more.
10. German beer. Enough said.
Top 5 Things I Miss About America
1. Not Being Stared At. It's not rude to stare here. I still think it's rude. STOP STARINGGG!!!!!! One of my favorite pasttimes is now to stare back in a super rude big-city Berliner fashion until they look away. But the inevitably as soon as they do, theres another German staring. Exhausting.
2. American optimism. And American unlimited thinking. And thinking outside the box. Germans can be a little limited in their thinking. Which makes sense because their country's a lot more regulated and follows a much more distinct track than American life does. But I mean, that's why America dominates the world media. Creativity is not only allowed but encouraged. I miss that dearly.
3. Unlimited Access to Mtv.com and Youtube. I will not miss those messages that say, "We're sorry. This is not available in your region." I'm not on Mars damnit. Let me watch my damn music videos : )
4. Mexican food. And Corona and lime. And fro-yo. And the Coffee Bean. And all of those other things that are so distinctively and so deliciously Southern Californian.
5. My Family and Friends. Duh. You're clearly #1. I think about you all the time I just try not too because then I get too sad. : ( .
Love you and miss you all!!!!!!!!!!
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