Differences

September to November 2013

For my 100^th blog I figured why not do something special. And also because I did one for England I figured it would only be fair to do one for Germany. So here is the blog entitled Differences of things in Germany compared to America.

To begin with of course the language is different, but even translated words can be difficult because you cannot translate everything word for word and sometimes it is funny to listen to the Germans trying to do that.  Some little things in Germany are different for example when going to the doctors or the dentist, you sometimes book an appointment, sometimes not and every time no matter if you have an appointment or not you sit and wait in the waiting room, could be even for hours lol. Very strange. Also, you say hello and goodbye to everyone in the waiting room when you arrive and leave. And everyone responds to you! Not only are doctors’ offices different but the schools are very different. We both work in kindergartens so basically like preschools however, there is almost all play and sleep and food, and rarely any learning. Throughout the day the children sit down and learn for maybe an hour, sometimes and hour and a half and that is it. The whole rest of the day is spent eating, sleeping, and playing. And don’t forget brushing your teeth after your meal! Also the children eat their lunch in the classroom, with real plates, forks, knives, spoons. You always say Enjoy your meal and Thank you same to you before eating and you are silent when you eat. The food is completely different- always potatoes usually some sort of meat, and some random vegetable or salad and eaten all together covered in gravy. Back to food a little later, continuing with the school. Kids are hard core around here and teachers are really lax on safety. Even parents are lax on safety. The kids punch each other, hit each other, fight and no one intervene. They can go on field trips without telling a single person, trips where they walk with one or maybe two teachers for the whole class, crossing roads and everything. Kids are left in carts alone in supermarkets. They are very trusting here. You sometimes don’t pay for things until you are done with them, so you could leave at any point and not pay but they trust you not to. Not only are they very trusting but most people are very nice. They would do anything for you and say hi to and try to help you out in any way they can. It is very nice to see. Grocery shopping is different as well. Almost all places require you to bring and bag your own stuff, as well as pay with exact change as much as possible. And they always double check your cart to make sure you are paying for everything. There are also specific sections dedicated to meat- about 1/3 of the store, and alcohol- about 1/3 of the store and everything else goes in the last 1/3. Driving is very different here as well. Not only did I have to learn to drive standard which in itself was a challenge but most road signs are different, the right of way makes no sense here. On the highway there is no speed limit and some cars take advantage of this. There are lots and lots of tunnels and lots of people ride bikes or walk places. However they ride bikes in the road and get in your way. Even old people who you think would not be able to ride a bike very far, ride up major hills! The toilet rest stops along the highway are not very nice, unless you find a rest stop where they have a gas station and in that case you probably have to pay anywhere from .30 to .70 cents to pee! If it is free then it is literally a port a potty but inside a building. Completely gross and you don’t like to use them unless it is an emergency. Eating out at restaurants can be difficult, especially with the language barrier and the differences in meals. Most meals contain sausages or some type of meat and always with some sort of potatoes. You are not required to tip, although we usually do and they leave you after you eat to stay as long as you please and even some more as you literally have to flag them down to get the bill. Lots of people here smoke, despite the fact that it is very expensive, and no one chews tobacco. You can smoke in most places so usually people are smoking inside. They also have lots of hookah bars. People also pay to get their hair dyed and cut strangely even though it is expensive and generally do not care what they look like. They are very laid back with looks and most people have tattoos, piercings, dyed hair- like pink or green, and usually strange haircuts- shaved one side or a design shaved into their hair. Most of these are parents at my school! Words are very different here. Their words are so long! You could say a simple sentence like I went to the store and translated it could take minutes to say! This sometimes makes translating words difficult, although some words are very similar and sometimes you can figure out what someone is saying based on context and body language. Holidays are different here as well. There are tons of Halloween decorations in every store, and we even want to one of the biggest Halloween parties in Germany where lots of people dressed up…yet we saw no trick or treaters anywhere on Halloween and nobody mentioned trick or treaters. Very strange. Christmas is their biggest holiday…although why not since they invented the Christmas tree. They celebrate it on Christmas Eve though and there are Christmas Markets in most towns as well as Christmas decorations everywhere.

Overall it is a very fun, but different experience living in Germany and we are learning a lot about Germany culture.

Until next time,

¬D¬