nicht so gu

yesterday was nicht so gut!  there were parts of the day that weren't that bad, but overall it was a straight up a german day.  i really mean no disrespect to germans or the country as a whole,  just the really grumpy, bad tempered mean people that i encountered yesterday!


im trying to show my mom germany and my daily life and i guess that she really got a taste of it.


the weather does not help with my mood here!  yesterday was gray!  gray sky, gray buildings...really just flat out gray.   it wasn't a good day to sight see but a good day to get some errands done...lipstick, my mom needed lipstick.  i personally don't understand why she needed to buy the lipstick in germany as opposed to the u.s., but she did.  so she asked a simple question, "dena, where do you buy your lipstick?"  "america" was my response.  i then tried to explain to her that i really, really tried to avoid buying anything in germany.  i feel frustrated when i can't communicate with the sales clerk, i feel frustrated because you can't just run out to one store and get your groceries and lipstick, and i feel amazingly frustrated when i know that i can get the same thing for half of the cost at home.  it's an effort and lately i seem to be avoiding anything that is too much of an effort--oh that's not good, is it????  well as we walked thru the department store, low and behold....there was revlon lipstick.  score one for the american!


so, we get on the train to head home, and i quickly explain to my mom that she needs to be a bit more "aggressive" and not just step aside when someone pushes by her, but stand her ground.  you would think that i was sending her off to tackle mt. everest, not just taking a twenty minute train ride.  it was on the train that i really took a look around.  the people seemed grey yesterday as well.  there is no ideal chit-chat, no smiles, no happiness.   oh, this is nicht so gut!


what worried me the most was that my least favorite errand was the one that i had saved for last.  yep, my expat friends know...the post office.  now, i had really had it yesterday, so no one was going to get to me in the post office.  my guard was up as i spoke with the man behind the counter.  i didn't even pretend that i spoke german, i went straight to the "sprechen sie englisch?" he did and he was very, very helpful.  maybe the day was getting brighter.  then i heard it..."ugh, sigh, ugh".  the lady behind me seemed to be in a very big hurry and had to have something really wrong that she had to continually click her tongue in annoyance.  well, little did she know that i was done.  i did a full body turn and stared her down, just as many german's had been known to do to me.  she didn't look away, but she did stop with the hurried drama.  possibly another win for the american?


as i went to sleep last night i really tried to not think of the grey, but the bright points of my day.  spending time with my mom, lunch with a friend, an enormous bouquet of bright tulips and a fun night full of great conversation with friends.


as grey as it can be here, i try to remember that i would have gray days anywhere that i may live.  in germany, i just have to make sure that i wear my full body armor when i go out for the day.