First Impressions

1. Germans really are crazy drivers! Crazy, but very good! I have yet to see an automatic vehicle. People park in the most absurd places. Most streets have cars parked on the sidewalks. But most of their cars are small enough that it's ok to squeeze them into the tiniest spots available. But needless-to-say, they drive FAST. =)

2. Most Germans are extremely kind. They are much like Nebraskans I've noticed. When they go to a business they talk to the workers like they know each other even if they don't. "How are you? Has your day been busy? It's finally sunny today!" Things like that. It's comforting and reminds me of home. And being nice to people makes business much easier.

3. Speaking of sun, I looked out my window when I started this blog and it was a prospectively delightful day. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. Now it's raining. It rains pretty much all the time. At least part of every day I've been here so far.

4. Architecture is amazing here. The houses and buildings are so old and beautiful. There are plenty of pictures on www.getjealous.com/cultural.cultivation that you can check out.

5. A lot of things here are American or at least found in America. But they are all much more expensive. Ford vehicles are not quite as affordable here. Converse cost twice as much. etc. About 80% of there movies are American with German voices so the lips aren't moving with the words. That's a little annoying. They listen to a LOT of American music including oldies. That's another one of those comforting things.

6. Food portions are much smaller here unless you go to an American restaurant. The food isn't that much different than America, though. Breakfasts are almost always toast or really good bread with marmalade or nutella or something. Nutella is a hazelnut version of peanut butter that is super delicious, but pretty sweet. They also use their butter knife a lot. Usually when they eat they have their butter knife in their right hand and their fork in their left so they can cut all their food with the knife instead of the side of a fork like a lot of Americans. Then they use the knife to pack the food onto their fork for each bite. It's interesting but I'm getting used to it. It's actually quite convenient if you can train your hands to coordinate your utensils in such a way.

7. Schaumparties are REALLY fun. It's a club where the dance floor is covered in foam. It's like having shampoo suds all over you. By the end of the night you are completely soaked! My host brother Kolja took me to a schaumparty last night with a few of his buds. It was a really good time! I'll post pictures on getjealous!

8. The students and people at the club stare at me a lot. I haven't figured out if it was because I just look like an American or if they heard me speaking English or if they found out I'm the exchange student. Or maybe I'm just a really bad dancer. =) But they are all very interested in America. I hung a flag and a map in my room and my host family really liked looking at my map and seeing places they've heard of. Interestingly enough, politics rarely come up.

These are some of the first things I've noticed about Germany. I'm sure there are many more to come!

P.S. It's sunny again. Strange.