You know you live in Germany...


I borrowed these 30 reasons from a FB friend~Patrick Bradley~that is a member of a FB page called American Expats in German!  The comments are mine.  Hope you get a chuckle!


Reasons you know you're a Family Living in Germany (or have lived in Germany)...

1. Ausfahrt isn't funny anymore, and roundabouts are second nature.  Okay, when my Dad came to visit last year, he actually said..."Wow, this Ausfahrt place must be huge, there are a lot of road signs to it!"  Ausfahrt means "exit" in German... Love you Dad!
2. You no longer mind the person behind or next to you only giving you half an inch of space. Not only do I not mind, I wonder if I smell bad when they don't!
3. 2 hrs for dinner is "fast food".  Again, I go back to my Dad.  When he eats out, he wants his food and he wants it quickly.  Had to warn him in Germany eating out is an event, and sometimes a looonngg event!
4. Jumping across the border to get away for the day is no big deal.  I grocery shop in Holland and can be in Paris in 3 hours, pretty cool.
5. You reach for the Jägermeister instead of Pepto Bismol.  Or the Killapitch for a cold.
6. You think family pictures taken at a castle are "so cliche."  We have two castles in our village and my kids are oblivious to how lucky they are to have this history at their doorsteps. 
7. You forget how to flush a toilet that doesn't have a push button.  Or for that matter a small and a large button-think about it!
8. 100 MPH seems like you're driving really, really slow.  When we first moved here, my limit for my husband on the Autobahn was 160km or 99.5mph.  Now I am fairly comfortable at a constant 200km or 125.2mph.
9. You no longer think it is strange that beer and water are the same price.  The beer is cheap, strong and delicious.
10. Even at home you don't put ice in your drinks. You never go shopping without a shopping bag.  Cold drinks can not be found in Europe, and good luck finding an ice tray.  In Germany, you pay for your shopping bags if you forget them-take note America.
11. You NEVER shop on payday or the day before a German holiday.  There will simply be no food in the stores, long lines at the register and a whole lot of grumpy people.
12. You think anything with chocolate sounds like a good breakfast.  My kids will eat pumpernickel bread if it has Nutella on it.
13. You answer the phone "Hallo" instead of Hello.  Have to saydo this one.
14. You need a power drill and sledge hammer to hang a picture on the wall.  I thought I would beat my son the day he decided to hang his own pictures.  The holes in the walls and concrete on the floor almost gave me a heart attack.
15. You rig your lawnmower and vacuum cleaner to give you an electrical shock if you try to operate them on Sundays.  Yea so Sundays in Germany are a day of rest.  Absolutely NO stores are open and you are not allowed to do anything noisy outside.  I have heard rumors that kids are not even allowed to play outside between 1-3.
16. You no longer even want ketchup for your French Fries. Maayoonaise.
17. You sing "Tschüss" instead of say Good Bye.  I now do this when I spend the summer in America and people think that I am crazy!
18. Your children no longer say please or thank you ... it is bitte and danke.  Goes without saying.
19. You wear a scarf every singe day .... even in the summer.  I know own more scarves than I do shoes.  


And last but but not least, my favorite ....

20. You no longer need google translate at the grocery store!  I used Google Translate every day for 18 months, and have to say that I am so relived that I only have to pull out my phone and type a German word in every few trips to the grocery store!

What makes you realize that your host country is actually becoming home?

11 comments:

  1. A friend of mine posted this on FB the other day and I'd agree with you... it's pretty accurate. I have a ton of scarves, almost never order anything besides beer at a restaurant, and got annoyed in the States when a check came before I asked for it. I'd add Saturdays to the shopping thing though, at least here in Nuremberg where the entire old city is jam-packed on the weekends. But #2 is my exception... I don't think I'll ever get used to my personal bubble being violated while I wait in line. Makes me crazy!

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    1. It's spot on isn't it Heather! Have to say that I LOVE the scarves, and the beer. Hate it in the US that dinner is not a long, lengthy process like it is here and the Saturday shopping is almost as bad isn't it?
      And okay, may have to agree with the whole personal space annoyance as well.

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  2. Interesting reading, lot of reflection. It would be fun to turn it around and also see how a person not from USA share their reflection over how it is to live there. And for me, would love to hear how it is to live in Sweden when u not from there. Guess I have to send some one, but who????

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  3. Oh that would be a fun experiment...send me, send me!

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  4. This is so funny! I’m a new follower of your blog from the Monday Mingle Blog Hop! Would love if you could stop by mine. Thanks :0)

    The Three Whiskateers
    http://thethreewhiskateers.blogspot.com/

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  5. hahahaha love lists like this!

    The scarf popularity always cracks me up, I get it in the winter, but so much in the summer too ?!

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    1. I think maybe it's easy "style". It can so be overdone though! You can find some cute scarves for dirt cheap here!

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  6. Ha, I love #14. There's a reason there's almost nothing on our apartment walls....

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    Replies
    1. White, blank walls...bit sad isn't it??
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. Interesting post. I love how you can grocery shop in Holland and spend some time in paris as well. Pretty cool INDEED.

    www.momints.wordpress.com

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