Howdy, Y'all!
So I have been keeping an ongoing list since I arrived in Germany of all the things that I have noticed are different from how we do things in America. Some of the things I like better, but others I am still getting used to! Without further ado here is my comprehensive list:
- Butter and eggs are not refrigerated here.
- I have heard of people not refrigerating eggs before, so I was not super shocked when I saw this (and have even been practicing this storage method since I arrived here), but when I first walked through the door my host mom greeted me with different breads and butter, and I was shocked at how soft the butter was! I cleaned up after myself and asked her where should I put the butter up and to my surprise she told me to leave it on the counter! I found that very interesting and the next time I buy butter from the store I will try this method.
- American songs are not censored on the radio.
- I have heard multiple American songs playing both on the radio and in restaurants and I still cannot get over hearing the F-bomb just playing in a public setting! I asked my host sister if German songs were censored in public settings and she said, "for the most part, yes".
- Non-carbonated water is much harder to get here, although the tap water here is EXTRAORDINARY!
- Every time I go somewhere and I am purchasing water I have to specify that I want "still" water as this just means non-carbonated. The preference for sparkling water is not something I understand all the way yet, but maybe by the end of the trip, I will!
- Also, back home I REFUSED to drink tap water no matter how filtered it was I would always taste the difference (my friends even set up a blindfolded experiment for me once and I was able to taste the difference lol), but here the tap water tastes completely clean and fresh.
- There are no paper bills that are smaller than 5€. There are 1€ and 2€ coins but it is not paper money.
- I both like and dislike this. Unfortunately, I have been encouraged to spend more money this way because in my American way of thinking coins are always less than a dollar, so you are not actually even spending a lot of money when it is in coins, but eventually, this adds up.
- Microwaves and dryers are much less common in households.
- My host family has neither of these gadgets, I was not that phased by the absence of a microwave, but having no dryer is not a bad thing it just requires meticulous planning. I often have to remind myself I cannot just wash something the night before as it may take multiple days to fully dry.
- Some people leave food outside to keep it cold, but there are hardly any bugs here (due to the weather) so the food is not really threatened.
- I have literally seen less than five bugs anywhere since I've been here.
- Ovens.
- The ovens here require you to choose the temperature you would like your food cooked as well as what setting you want to cook the food on. However, there are no words on the different settings just symbols and I have already burnt one pizza.
- Also, I have noticed here that a lot of German households leave their cooking pans in the oven 24/7 and when you want to cook something you just lay the paper/foil on top of the cooking pan, begin cooking, take out your food, dispose of your trash, and put the pan back in the oven. I am a BIG fan of this feature, and I think I am going to implement this into my everyday life.
- To save power escalators don't move here until you approach them, then they begin moving (motion sensing).
- The first time I saw an elevator not moving I assumed it was broken and took the stairs and as I was halfway up I noticed someone riding that same escalator and I did some deductive reasoning to figure this out lol.
- Front doors automatically lock once you close them here.
- When my host sister was showing me around for the first time, we went out the front door, and I asked if she needed to lock it and she laughed and explained it to me.
- In academic settings, Germans knock on the table instead of clapping.
- I read about this online, but I also saw it in a German movie that I was watching with my host family.
- Toilet Etiquette
- I have not used a single German bathroom that has been dirty yet and I LOVE this! Every single bathroom I have used here (public or private) has had a toilet brush scrub next to it, and I believe it is customary that if you leave a stain in the toilet you should use the brush and clean it up right then and there. I already have a brush next to my American toilet and practice this method myself, but I wish it was as culturally implemented in America as it is here because that is such a great habit to have!
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