Here’s installment number three in what is growing into becoming a long series of cultural differences between life in Germany and North America. This week’s entry is designated to the points I have previously forgotten…it’s important to be thorough!
At the Movies
27. When it’s your turn at the ticket window at the movie theater, it’s not as simple as purely saying which movie you’d like to see. You buy a ticket for a specific seat here, and they range in price too. The cost that is advertised is for the seats in the first ten rows of the theater, and if you don’t want to physically move your head back and forth to catch all the action you’re going to have to cough up another euro for the middle of the theater and two for the rear. Don’t you dare sit in a seat that’s not represented by the ticket you hold either—the German who bought that seat for the next couple hours will boot you out. And the law of diffusion totally does not apply here…if there is a whole theater of empty seats but the couple that just walked in is headed you way, don’t expect that they will necessarily sit a couple of chairs away. If they belong in the two seats exactly next to you they will end up there, despite the fact that you have never or will never see them again and can’t quite make out their facial features even now due to the dimmed lights. Rubbing elbows with a complete stranger in a completely empty theater IS as weird as it sounds.
28. About 96% of all Germans sit through the entirety of the credits following a movie. My guess is that they a) really want to get their money’s worth, or b) really want to see who the “2nd Unit’s Assistant Production Supervising Manager’s Caterer” is.
29. Also, it’s rare here in Dresden to see people leaving behind their popcorn and drink trash in the theater. Generally everyone makes the extra effort to deposit their own leftovers into the trash in the lobby.
Fast Food Joints
30. I forgot to mention earlier that the most confusing part of an American-style chain fast food restaurant is that most of the menu is in English but one is still expected to order in German. How I should have known to order my Subway sandwich as “Turkey, Ham, and Roast Beef mit Honey Mustard” but then say “Mayonnaise” the German way is beyond me. It’s even spelled the same way for Pete’s sake! As far as I’m concerned, all native English speakers are probably doomed to failure on this point.
More to come!
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Sunday, March 20, 2005
It's Called What?!
"[God said,] 'Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.'" -Genesis 11:7
More cultural differences to come; here's some great German words in the meantime:
Schmuck - Jewelry
Fahrt - Trip
Rock - Skirt
**********************************************
Literally...
You buy bread at a baekerei (bakery), meat at a fleischerei (butchery), books at a buecherei (bookery), cake at a konditorei (cakery) and dye for your clothes at a faerberei (dye-ery).
************************************************
Germans like to compound their words. Here's the best example I've seen so far:
der Vierwaldstaedterseedampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftsverwalfungsratspraesident.
No kidding.
***********************************************
An update-chen* on life of late:
- I received my ATM card! It's wonderful to have access to my money again (especially to start paying Amy back-!)
- My health is back to normal! Thanks to all for the prayers and encouragement.
- I love living here in Dresden! Spring is in the air and the 6-month blues have worn off, life really couldn't be better.
*the ending -chen is used mostly on the end of already-existing German words to indicate a smaller version...get it?
***********************************************
And a couple great quotes to end with:
"Das Satz war wie Kartoffelsalat." (That sentence was like potato salad. [translation: all mixed up]) -Frau Marklofsky, my German teacher
"I said hi to you in the Waldpark the other day, only it wasn't you." -Gerald, a guy from church
More cultural differences to come; here's some great German words in the meantime:
Schmuck - Jewelry
Fahrt - Trip
Rock - Skirt
**********************************************
Literally...
You buy bread at a baekerei (bakery), meat at a fleischerei (butchery), books at a buecherei (bookery), cake at a konditorei (cakery) and dye for your clothes at a faerberei (dye-ery).
************************************************
Germans like to compound their words. Here's the best example I've seen so far:
der Vierwaldstaedterseedampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftsverwalfungsratspraesident.
No kidding.
***********************************************
An update-chen* on life of late:
- I received my ATM card! It's wonderful to have access to my money again (especially to start paying Amy back-!)
- My health is back to normal! Thanks to all for the prayers and encouragement.
- I love living here in Dresden! Spring is in the air and the 6-month blues have worn off, life really couldn't be better.
*the ending -chen is used mostly on the end of already-existing German words to indicate a smaller version...get it?
***********************************************
And a couple great quotes to end with:
"Das Satz war wie Kartoffelsalat." (That sentence was like potato salad. [translation: all mixed up]) -Frau Marklofsky, my German teacher
"I said hi to you in the Waldpark the other day, only it wasn't you." -Gerald, a guy from church
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
The Joys of Germany
Y’know what’s really fun in a foreign country? Inserting your ATM card into an ATM machine and then not only getting no money out of it, but no card back either. And THEN to call your trusty American bank only to hear that someone had reported it stolen and all you can do is wait a few weeks until the new card arrives, and then a few more days when its PIN follows. The only sense that can be made out of this silliness is that when I called the bank last week to confirm my change of address (after 6 months, whoops) the lady must have thought I said “stolen” instead of “Germany” or “lost” instead of its homonym “new address.” Sheesh.
But anyway, despite this total lack of access to my money here is the second installment of what’s so different about this land of Germany. These ones require a bit more explanation…!
Food/Grocery Stores
15. Grocery carts here don’t just have two wheels that swivel for steering purposes, all four wheels are capable of 360 degree movement. This makes for major fun and easy maneuvering, well until you have a full cart and some speed (which means huge inertia) and need to swerve around a tight corner…you have to throw your whole body into it if there’s any hope of not smashing into everyone within 5 meters.
16. If you’d like to pack your newly bought goodies into anything besides your arms, be prepared to add a few extra cents to your bill. Germans are a highly recycling people, and there are many rewards to reusing the bags you bought last time (well, you don’t have to pay for new ones).
17. So once you’ve remembered to bring your own grocery bags, don’t expect the nice lady ringing up your bill to set anything into them, that’s your job in Germany. It’s because of this fact that I recommend using the buddy system and never shopping alone unless you have less than 5 items. It is no less than impossible to keep up with the practiced-to-perfection pace of the cashier, which quickly becomes frantic if you haven’t been mentally preparing since entering the store.
18. Cheddar, mozzarella, marble…these are the three main types of cheese I’d expect to find in any North American grocery store. It’s hard to come by any of these here, but instead you can find about 500 other types of cheese. Cheese that goes with white or red wine, cheese from Switzerland or Denmark, cheese from goats or sheep, stinky cheese, cheese that tastes like rotting dirt (I know that one from experience)…it can be quite overwhelming.
19. There are two places to find milk in a German grocery store, in the refrigerated section, or on a regular shelf. Apparently the stuff on the shelf is pasteurized and lasts for weeks before it’s opened compared to it’s cooler counterpart—that stuff is fresh milk. I haven’t noticed a huge taste difference but I just can’t get past buying milk off of a shelf…
20. Apples? Tomatoes? If it’s in the open produce section you are required to weigh and price your own. It’s especially fun to be searching for the exact picture of your veggies on the scale while a line of impatient shoppers grows behind you (and somehow causes me to be slower).
21. I’ve been drinking bottled water lately but it’s tricky to find in the drink aisle because it’s surrounded by millions of bottles of sparkling water. If it says “still” on the bottle, don’t be fooled, that just means it has less “gas” in it. And surprisingly, many restaurants and stores don’t even carry plain, noncarbonated water!
22. Be careful what drinks you do buy because some bottles have a refund on them. That means you will pay extra for them when you buy them and be reimbursed only when you return the bottle. It isn’t such a big deal until a pile of 20-1.5L bottles accumulates in your kitchen and you finally decide to cash them in. Lugging them back to the store you bought them from is a delightful experience, especially when you happened to have picked them up at different places-!
23. The largest size of soft drink bottle is 1.5 liters. 2L bottles are non-existant.
What’s That Called…?
24. Cell phones are phone booths here. That small phone in your pocket is a “handy.” When I write you a text message, Europeans call it an “SMS.”
25. For you Diet Coke fans, keep in mind that you’ll have to order a “Coke light.”
26. A bathroom here literally has a bath in it. If you want a toilet, ask for it by name (or if you still can’t bring yourself to do that, “WC” is also accepted).
Can you think of any more?
Stay tuned for differences with driving and bathrooms coming soon…
But anyway, despite this total lack of access to my money here is the second installment of what’s so different about this land of Germany. These ones require a bit more explanation…!
Food/Grocery Stores
15. Grocery carts here don’t just have two wheels that swivel for steering purposes, all four wheels are capable of 360 degree movement. This makes for major fun and easy maneuvering, well until you have a full cart and some speed (which means huge inertia) and need to swerve around a tight corner…you have to throw your whole body into it if there’s any hope of not smashing into everyone within 5 meters.
16. If you’d like to pack your newly bought goodies into anything besides your arms, be prepared to add a few extra cents to your bill. Germans are a highly recycling people, and there are many rewards to reusing the bags you bought last time (well, you don’t have to pay for new ones).
17. So once you’ve remembered to bring your own grocery bags, don’t expect the nice lady ringing up your bill to set anything into them, that’s your job in Germany. It’s because of this fact that I recommend using the buddy system and never shopping alone unless you have less than 5 items. It is no less than impossible to keep up with the practiced-to-perfection pace of the cashier, which quickly becomes frantic if you haven’t been mentally preparing since entering the store.
18. Cheddar, mozzarella, marble…these are the three main types of cheese I’d expect to find in any North American grocery store. It’s hard to come by any of these here, but instead you can find about 500 other types of cheese. Cheese that goes with white or red wine, cheese from Switzerland or Denmark, cheese from goats or sheep, stinky cheese, cheese that tastes like rotting dirt (I know that one from experience)…it can be quite overwhelming.
19. There are two places to find milk in a German grocery store, in the refrigerated section, or on a regular shelf. Apparently the stuff on the shelf is pasteurized and lasts for weeks before it’s opened compared to it’s cooler counterpart—that stuff is fresh milk. I haven’t noticed a huge taste difference but I just can’t get past buying milk off of a shelf…
20. Apples? Tomatoes? If it’s in the open produce section you are required to weigh and price your own. It’s especially fun to be searching for the exact picture of your veggies on the scale while a line of impatient shoppers grows behind you (and somehow causes me to be slower).
21. I’ve been drinking bottled water lately but it’s tricky to find in the drink aisle because it’s surrounded by millions of bottles of sparkling water. If it says “still” on the bottle, don’t be fooled, that just means it has less “gas” in it. And surprisingly, many restaurants and stores don’t even carry plain, noncarbonated water!
22. Be careful what drinks you do buy because some bottles have a refund on them. That means you will pay extra for them when you buy them and be reimbursed only when you return the bottle. It isn’t such a big deal until a pile of 20-1.5L bottles accumulates in your kitchen and you finally decide to cash them in. Lugging them back to the store you bought them from is a delightful experience, especially when you happened to have picked them up at different places-!
23. The largest size of soft drink bottle is 1.5 liters. 2L bottles are non-existant.
What’s That Called…?
24. Cell phones are phone booths here. That small phone in your pocket is a “handy.” When I write you a text message, Europeans call it an “SMS.”
25. For you Diet Coke fans, keep in mind that you’ll have to order a “Coke light.”
26. A bathroom here literally has a bath in it. If you want a toilet, ask for it by name (or if you still can’t bring yourself to do that, “WC” is also accepted).
Can you think of any more?
Stay tuned for differences with driving and bathrooms coming soon…
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)