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Last night Kelsey (the other girl that lives here until this weekend) took me to meet some of her friends at a local wine bar. Since none of them have cellphones, she explained their method of meeting at the train stations. They will wait up to ten minutes for everyone to come, then they just leave, and those who are late are shit out of luck. She really stressed being on time - in fact I was in the kitchen making dinner when she asked me, "Do you know how long that's going to take?" I told her I'd make it quick.
Once we arrived, the 10 of us went inside and each rented a wine glass for one Euro and sampled our first glass. This isn't your typical bar - it works on the "honor system," meaning that they trust you to pay up. If you're like me (straight up American), then you have a hard time explaining how places like this exist. Americans are act-now-trust-later types - ones who want money up front. Two glasses and a few good conversations later it was time to leave.
After having been here only 3 days, I've noticed some other dissimilarities between America and Germany. People here are extremely efficient. They go out of their way to take used bottles back to the grocery store (each earns about 30 cents), drive cars that could fit 4 times in the volume of a Hummer, and enjoy physical activity. On my daily morning runs, I frequently pass several hundred other runners/bikers/walkers/people not sitting on the couch. Also, everyone speaks at least 2 languages. I've begun to realize that the lifestyle here is much more akin to mine than what I'm used to back home. If only I could bring my friends and family here...
On a lighter note, I practiced more German today, both listening and speaking. Opening a bank account required both German and English, as did finding an international SIM card for my cellphone. Obtaining an U-Bahn card for the month required going through the on-screen options in German, and activating my SIM card called for reading directions not available in English. Thank goodness people here are willing to help!!
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1 comment:
Hey Ryan,
Greetings from Mexico City! Enjoyed reading your blog. The contrasts between an European country and a Latin American one seem quite stark. For example, here, in Mexico, efficiency is not valued as much as, say, social and cultural interaction. Guess it's the differences rather than the similarities that make the world an interesting place. Aufwiedersen. Love, dAd.
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