Ich finde es ein bisschen komisch, dass...

I find it a little strange that...


There are a few things that I have noticed over the past week that I've been here that are a little different from the US. They aren't things that caused me to suffer intense culture shock, but they are just little things that made me go, "Huh. That's different."


1. Basically everyone walks their dogs here without leashes. I'm always amazed that the dogs don't run away! But they are SO well behaved here, they just trot along with their owner being just the perfect little well behaved German dog! 


2. Groceries are CRAZY CHEAP! 1 container of yogurt: 35 cents. A box of pasta: 85 cents. I went to the grocery store and bought a good amount of stuff and it was 8 euros all together. They also sell alcohol in grocery stores and it's ridiculously cheap as well. You can get a bottle of wine for about 4 euros and you can guy beer by the bottle for about 2 euros. Ganz billig! 


3. Also at the grocery store you have to bag your own stuff. It's also a good idea to buy a re-useable bag because if not you have to pay about 10 cents per bag...and then bag it all yourself. I find that people don't go to the grocery store and do a huge shopping trip and get tons of food like we do here, but they just go a few times a week and get what they need for the next few days. Also, sometimes you have to pay a euro to use a cart...but you get the euro back when you return the cart.


4. At drugstores and grocery stores and even some other types of stores the cashiers are always sitting down. This must be so much better than standing on your feet for 8 hours straight like we do in the US.


5. Germans don't  bother with small talk. Cashiers at stores don't ask you, "Hi, how are you doing today?" because really, if they don't care why would they ask? I find this better because really, how often does someone who's ringing up my shampoo and mouthwash care how I'm doing today?


6. Everything at the drugstore comes in smaller bottles. I bought the biggest bottles of shampoo and conditioner the drugstore had, regardless of what brand it was, because all of the other bottles are so tiny! They have most of the same brands of shampoo and whatnot, but the bottles are just much smaller. 


7. Milk also comes in really small containers. No gallons of milk here! And it comes in a square cardboard container. Also, fat free milk pretty much doesn't exist here. 


8. I look German. Haha! At least that's what I like to think. I've been asked on the street a few times for directions, so that much mean I look like a Berliner, right? Too bad I didn't know where the street was they were looking for...Es tut mir Leid, ich bin Amerikaner!


9. Parks in Berlin are HUGE! There's so many and one of them is right near my apartment. It's called the Volkspark Friedrichshain and it's so beautiful. It puts the Boston Common to shame. After I had a Currywurst yesterday (mmm so delicious!) I decided to go running for the first time in Berlin. I made my way down to the Volkspark and had a lovely run for about an hour, discovering all the different paths I could take around the park. Then I decided to head back. BUT OH WAIT, I can't figure out how to get out of this ginormous park! Yup, so I walked around for another hour and 20 minutes until I found my way out. Oops. When I came back to the apartment Natascha looked like she was about ready to call out a search party for me and even said she was about to get on her bike and come find me! I guess I will have to pay attention next time. But really, for anyone who knows my sense of direction...this is nothing new.


10. The public transportation here actually funtions WELL! Really well, actually. No more waiting 20 minutes for a green line train to come to the Northeastern stop! Trains come about every 5 minutes and there's even a screen that tells you in how many minutes the train will be there. I love it!


Das ist alles!


Gute Nacht!