That is so German!

I can't believe it, but some of these things I had actually forgotten about! 

1)  You are not going to get away without paying for a drink.  You will pay, even if you ask for water.  In fact with 6 people you will pay close to $10 for the privilege of drinking water and there are no free refills- ever!  And don't even ask about ice!   One fine, cheap day, I ordered 3 glasses of water and the lady looked at me like I was crazy- since there were 6 of us!  We shared and used our own water to keep refilling the glasses!  hee hee!

 

2)  Get ready to see some really disgusting Speedo's and a bunch of cute butt nekked kids!  But not half as many as there used to be!

3)  You would think with the German ingenuity and amazing cars that their technology would be top notch.  You would be wrong!   Most internet providers still run on DSL.  Um,  Hello, 1990 is calling.  Unfortunately your using the computer, so you can't answer the phone!  Cell phone coverage is spotty and plans are through the roof.  Oh and by the way, they don't believe in families having phones.  No family plan for you!

4)  Cobblestone roads are amazing and everywhere!  I love the designs and am amazed at the work that must have been involved in putting them together.  Running on them, however is hazardous to ones ankle, knee and kidney health!

5)  The bus drivers aren't as mean as they used to be.  20 years ago even if you were there just as they were closing the doors, they would continue closing them and drive off as you pounded on the side of the bus.  Of course, many of those jobs are now taken by Turkish and Greek immigrants.  The other day, Emma got on the bus to come home and had a Beavercreek shirt on that said "Go Creek!"  The bus driver asked her what it said and she told him and he said, "Greek!  I am Greek!  Greek is good!"  She started to say, "um, no creek..."  but then she just smiled and said, "Yes, Greek is good!"  When she got off, he said, "Bye, Greek!"

6)  Soccer is a religion.  You will also find it in your religious buildings!  The other day I saw a team of soccer players outside of a church and I thought they were just waiting for a bus or something.  They were still there a couple hours later and that's when I saw the wedding decorations- in the same colors!  They must have been the honor guard for when the bride and groom came out!

7)  When a place says it closes at 6 pm, be prepared to pack up and leave at 5 pm, because that's when they start shutting everything down!  We didn't realize this when we went to LEGOLAND.  Luckily we met a family from the ward there and they told us.  I have to admit, we still didn't believe them until we saw all the rides start shutting down at 5 pm and the food places boarded up!  When they say they close at 6, what they really mean is, the last employee will leave the premises at 6 pm!

8)  Man capris and Man purses!  Man capris are just wrong- wrong!  I see the value of a man purse when you travel, especially with all the pickpockets, but that doesn't mean I am not going to giggle at you for wearing one!
Oh, it is so fun to get acquainted with another culture (or reacquainted!)  I am sure they are having some good laughs at our expense, too! A couple weeks ago Rob slaughtered the word for cinnamon roll so badly that the lady charged him double! Ha ha!  Yesterday, I am pretty sure the checkout lady at the Real store was saying something like, "fine, you don't want to talk to me.  I'll just talk to myself then!"  But I can't be positive!  One of these days I will understand more than 2-3 words per sentence!  We have started a phrase a day policy.  Everybody gets to choose the phrase they use the most and then we learn it in German.  After that, you always have to say that phrase in German.  Hopefully, we will keep that up for more than one week!  So far we have:

 

Do you have your ID cards?-   Haben Sie Ihre Auseweise?

Stop touching each other!- Stoppen Sie, beruhren einander! (Umlaut on the u in beruhren)

Get off!- aussteigen!

Do not slam the door!- Schlagen Sie nicht die tur!(Umlaut on the U in tur)

I don't like that!- Ich mag dass nicth!

I love you! - Ich Liebe dich!

Dad, check those and see if they are right.  We just used a translate app.  You know they don't always get them right or the way that they are actually said!  And yes, we are learning everything in the Formal tense.  We figure, for the most part we will only be talking with strangers!  Sunday is the test to see if we can remember all the phrases for the week!  We will see how we do.