'Merrica

Prompted by a blog from a classmate who is ending her time studying in Spain soon, I decided to do my own version or her recent post which can be found here. She began by saying: "You can never truly appreciate your country until you leave it for a significant amount of time. This is how I feel. There were things about the US that I didn´t even know I loved until I didn´t have them any more." I'm feeling the same sentiment while living in Germany, but my time here is just beginning it seems. I also made a post about some of the differences here.

So, here's a basic list that will probably grow over time of the differences I see between America and Germany. Not all of these items are bad differences, but it does seem that these ones are having the most impact on my life right now, generally in a negative way. 

1. Germans are ALWAYS punctual
2. Germans are very private
3. Germans can be some of your best friends once they open up
4. Germans have fairly good customer service, especially in restaurants
5. There is no such thing as a free refill in Germany
6. It is rare, but sometimes there's free water, usually you have to pay though
7. It is acceptable to smoke nearly wherever you want in Germany, however, they did pass a similar law as in the US to prohibit smoking in the workforce and in restaurants
8. Most restaurants have a 'smoking room' still that is blocked off by doors.
9. No matter where you go, you can find a German smoking
10. Air conditioning is not common in a lot of buildings
11. Trash is always all over the street and parks but there are people who drive around in carts and pick it up
12. Drinking is a daily activity
13. There's always fresh bread and a bakery on nearly every corner
14. McDonald's and Burger King are just as popular here, if not more so, than in the US
15. For a lot of Germans, breakfast is just coffee
16. There is no concept of personal space here in Germany, I think this is a European thing
17. Stores in Germany close at 6 PM at the latest though you can sometimes find a store open until 8 PM but they're rare
18. Religion is very important in Germany and work is prohibited on Sundays
19. To be prepared for the weekend, you must complete your shopping before 6 PM on Friday
20. Pedestrians truly have the right of way in Germany
21. There's always bikes, every city has them, and it is common for you to see all types of people on a bike
22. French fries and bratwurst are very common, every festival has them
23. Graffiti is everywhere and a lot of it is in English
24. Mayo goes on everything
25. Ketchup for your fries is curry flavored
26. Mustard is only used on meat
27. Potato chips aren't available in 'normal' American plain flavor, it's Curry, BBQ, or sometimes Sour Cream and Onion
28. Potato chips are extremely expensive
29. American music is popular here, but so is Spanish, Polish, and music from other nationalities
30. There's laws about when a song can be played due to copyright
31. YouTube cannot play many American songs because of this law
32. There is nearly no such thing as a public restroom in Germany the ones that they have you must pay to use and the ones that are free are not a place you want to visit
33. Shopping bags aren't free, you have to pay for the plastic ones and you have to pay even more for cloth or reusable ones
34. There are different levels of deposits on bottles for drinks due to the material that it is made of
35. Bathrooms never have paper towels, and some never have toilet paper
36. Europe only has roll-on deodorant
37. You can buy peanut butter but only in very small jars and it doesn't taste nearly like American peanut butter plus it's quite expensive
38. Eating in a restaurant is quite expensive but buying your own food can be just as bad, especially when you want a 'taste of home'
39. Germans are obsessed with Americans, they think it's so cool that I'm from the US
40. The first question I am asked when I say I'm from the US is always, "what's different here than in the US?"
41. August is officially German Vacation Month, when everyone goes away to wear overcoats on cold Scandinavian beaches and be really excited about it.
42. Germany uses the 24 hour clock
43. .............

I hope to revisit this list at least once a month until I leave. I plan to edit it for contradictions I have found and to add differences. Hopefully I can do like my friend leaving Spain and make a final list before I leave.