Thursday, June 7, 2012

America vs. Germany Part IV.2 - more randoms.

Hallo Ihr Lieben,

first of all I want to thank you guys for all the lovely comments on yesterday's post! It really means a lot to me that you enjoy reading my posts and take the time to leave me a comment. You are so wonderful and I am happy that I met you! Since I started blogging I have met so many fabulous people, I love reading your blogs and your comments, you are all so wonderful and it means so much to me that I can share my thoughts with you! You rock!

Every day is an adventure for me, there are so many differences between my two countries, some are weird, some are funny but it is always very exciting for me to discover all these things that make my life so special.  

You can find number 1-5 here.

So here are some more random facts about America and Germany. I know that many things in America are different from state to state so I can only talk about my experiences.

                                        An American in Europe. He does not look excited!

6. the flag and pride.

Okay, I can see a big difference between the two countries here. Lots of people have the American flag in front of their house, you see the American flag on postcards, paper plates, stickers on cars, clothes...everywhere! People are completely excited to be American and they show it. I like that! I mean, it is cool that they get so excited about it, I like excited people. Americans love their country but they also love other countries and want you to tell them more about the place you come from. 
In Germany you barely see the German flag. Sure, you see them in front of government buildings but that's pretty much it. People don't have the German flag in front of their house. It's completely different to America. I mean, Americans can say that they are proud to be American. But honestly, I don't think that Germans can say it like that. It's our history. When you say that you are proud to be German then people think you are a Nazi. That is kind of sad. Yes, we have that history. But it is not like that anymore. Germany is a nice country and I like to be a German. Would I say that I am proud to be German? Probably not. Because it sounds weird. I think the only time you see German flags everywhere is during the World Cup or the Euro Cup. People go crazy, paint their faces in black-red-gold (yes, me too), have flags, wear the shirt of our team and we all watch the games together in front of a huge screen. It is called "public viewing". I love it. People are proud to be German during that time because of the Fußball. We don't show it the rest of the time. 
The same applies to the national anthem. You don't sing the German national anthem without a Fußball match. I hear the American anthem all the time. 



7.movie titles

I have talked about this before but sometimes it bothers me how stupid German movie titles are. I feel a bit ashamed when Germans translate the original title to something completely stupid. I mean, there is no need to do this. You can just keep the original title like other countries do. But I guess Germany can't because they have to show that they can dub every single American or English show or movie. Personally I can't watch most of my favorite shows in German. It just sounds weird. One of my most favorite shows is "Friends". I have watched all seasons several times. But the German version is so NOT funny. I don't know who translated the show but these people had the talent to ruin most of the jokes. And the voices just sound weird. I prefer to watch the original version of the shows and movies. 



No, I won't watch "Meet the parents" tonight, I will watch "Meine Braut, ihr Vater und ich" (My bride, her father and me) because the title sounds so intelligent.


8.bread

America, you are a great country but I have to say that your "bread" stinks! Sorry, but it is true. I am used to have really nice dark bread, with a yummy crispy crust and lots of grains it in.  That's what I am talking about:


I am not really satisfied with your soft weirdness you want to sell me as a bread. For me it's toast because I have to toast it first to get something crunchy. Plus: No grains. It tastes like paper. It really does. 
I am sure I would be able to find a good bakery somewhere, maybe even a German bakery. But unfortunately not here in town. I am thinking about baking my own bread. I miss my German Brot, I really do. 

9. holidays and vacation time

David always says that we Germans are lazy because we have so many vacation days and holidays. Today is a holiday in Germany by the way. No work. At least in my state. So yeah, we do have many holidays in Germany and we have at least 30 vacation days every year.. That does not mean we are lazy but I guess our whole life is not just work. Wouldn't it be nice to have some more vacation time? Do you really like to work that much and have only 15 vacation days a year? Yeah, I thought so. So that's a big plus in Germany. It is a question of "live to work" or "work to live". Sure, lots of people like to work and love their jobs but there is more in life than just work. I prefer to have some more free time for traveling, doing things with my family, read books or just relax. I really do. And I am sure every American would be happy about some more holidays and vacation days. 



10. shops are always open. 

I think Germany is moving in that direction. I remember that a couple of years ago stores closed at 4pm on a Saturday. Or even earlier. It depends on the size of the store. Now you can say that most stores close at 8 pm and they are always closed on Sundays. There are some exceptions to that. For example some stores are open the Sunday before Christmas. But that's usually only a couple of hours in the afternoon. Some stores are even open until 10 pm in some bigger cities. So yeah, that's different to America because all the major grocery stores are open 24 hours a day. And that is almost every day. That's okay but I really have to say that I don't need that. I never had the desire to go shopping on a Sunday. Never. And I don't need a new outfit at 10 pm. I really don't. Sure, it is nice that when you bake a cake on a Sunday afternoon and you are out of flour you can just go to the store and get some. But when does that really happen? I never needed that. When I wanted to bake a cake I got the ingredients on a Saturday. Or I went to my neighbor to borrow some flour. Sure, some people work every day and maybe they only have time to go shopping on a Sunday. Okay, I guess for those people it's kind of nice that the stores are open all the time. But how many people really need that? I don't know. Personally I like to have a relaxed Sunday without any shopping. Sunday is my day to read books, catch up with some shows, watch a movie, go hiking etc. But I don't need a new outfit that day. Or do my grocery shopping. Maybe it is just because I grew up with closed stores. But I can survive like that. I really can.




11. handshakes

Okay, I need your help for this one. I feel like in Germany people do a lot more handshakes. Especially in business situations. Or let's say: when you go to a doctor do you shake his/her hand? I shook a couple of hands here in America and I always felt like people look at me in a strange way. Is that just my imagination or are handshakes not a very common thing in America?

Okay, that's it for today. :) But there are still some differences left for more posts. 

I hope you are all having a wonderful Thursday!
Lumpi is asleep but he wants me to say hi to everybody!




Katrin







25 comments:

  1. Yes! Loved this one, too!

    6. American flags are everywhere. And I'm cool with that. Just not on my shirts. I don't need them there.

    7. I don't know an ounce of German. Not one.

    8. Americans love their white, processed breads. Not me! I'm with you on this one.

    9. I will take vacation any time, any where. Actually, I'll be gone for half of July. Can't wait!

    10. I always go to the grocery store on Mondays. I look at the flyers, meal plan, and shop. I don't go back until the following Sunday. It's a habit, I guess!

    11. I'm a handshaker. I do it all the time. Even when I'm at a party. Some girls look at me like I'm nuts. The guys are usually fine with it. I just assume anyone that is weirded out by it, was never taught manners.

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    1. 10. And by Mondays, I mean Sundays. Oops!

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    2. Glad you liked it, Alissa! :)
      6. Yeah, I am really find with the flags but I don't need them on my shirt either.
      7. Oh, I forgot to translate the movie title. It means "My bride; her father and me". That's what I mean when I talk about stupid translations.
      8. I really don't understand how people can even consider buying it. :)
      9. Yay for lots of vacation time! Have fun!
      10. That makes perfect sense to me!
      11. YAY! More handshakers! I do it all the time but people always think I am totally stupid.

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    3. This is so interesting! I really loved this post!

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    4. Thank you so much, Chelsea!

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  2. Hallo Katrin,

    this post made me smile once more. I just love these posts.

    I was never proud to be German but I don't think that has anything to do with our history. It's just the way I feel. I do think that people start to get over our history slowly and show more pride in being German. I am just not sure whether I would like to see the German flag everywhere.

    Movie titles. Oh yes, I totally agree on this one. I mean it is one thing to make up another title in German. But what I don't understand is why they chose a different title in English. I don't get that! And I also agree that a lot of content gets lost by dubbing. Too sad!

    Want me to send you some nice Vollkornbrot?

    You forgot the teachers! Our neighbors are teachers. They have 12 weeks of vacation every year. That's unfair! Well, at least this is one thing I would not like about living in America. I like having six weeks off every year.

    Shopping! How I loved to be able to go shopping whenever I wanted. I miss that! I used to go to the mall on a rainy Sunday and do some shopping or just sit and watch people. Or my friends and I went to the grocery store after the gym and bought a hughe container of ice cream. At ten o'clock at night. Fabulous!

    I don't remember a situation when someone I met did not shake hands with me. Maybe I only met really polite people.

    Looking forward to your next comparison post.

    Einen schönen Tag!

    Chrissy

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    1. Hallo Chrissy,
      I am so glad that I made you smile! Now you make me smile. :))

      Yeah, I think it is really weird to say that you are proud to be German. In the end it is just a coincidence that we are German. Haha. But yeah, I don't like to see the German flag everywhere. It is not very pretty.

      Ohhhh, Vollkornbrot! I miss miss miss it! Why don't they like that here?

      Right, teachers have even more vacation time. But teachers here in America have the whole summer off, haven't they?

      We usually do our grocery shopping on Friday or Saturday so I never had to go and get groceries on a Sunday. :)

      It seems like you only meet really polite people!
      Hab nen wundervollen Tag, Chrissy!

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  3. interessant :)

    und hübscher blog! :)
    würde mich sehr freuen wenn du auchmal bei mir vorbeischauen würdest und bei meinem gewinnspiel mitmachen würdest ♥
    ttcybeauty.blogspot.com

    liebste grüße ♥

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    1. Danke Dir! Ich werd mal vorbeischauen! :)

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  4. I've been following your blog for a few weeks now and I really love your unique style (like mixing up German and English) - it's always fun reading your posts. And I especially love this one.
    I absolutely agree that it's stupid that movie titles get changed in Germany. It bothered my boyfriend and I just this week, because they chose a different title for a movie, but it's still in English. Why!? It was "New Year's Eve" which is called "Happy New Year" in Germany. Don't get it.
    And we love watching Friends too...but ever since we watched an episode in English there's no way watching it in German again - just not funny ;)
    I can relate to everything else too, because during all my visits to the U.S. I noticed the flags everywhere, I missed the German bread, loved that shops were always open and there was rarely any handshaking. I'm so happy we have so many vacation days here in Germany :) How do you survive with just 15 days?

    Looking forward to your next post already.
    Have a great day!

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    1. Thank you so much, Beate! That means a lot to me!I am glad you like my blog and I am glad that you decided to leave a comment because now I can check out your blog too. :)
      Some movie titles are just so ridiculous! Sometimes I see a movie on a German website and don't even realize that I already read about it in English before. And yeah, I could never go back to Friends in German!
      15 days is just not enough! It's really sad.
      See you soon!

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    2. Thank you so much for your sweet comment on my blog :) It put a huge smile on my face! I'm so glad you like it.
      I'm an animal lover too. My boyfriend sometimes thinks "It's just a ladybug, or it's just a snail...can we keep on walking?" cause I'm always thrilled to find animals around me ;) Our landlords have two cats (one of them sleeping right next to me this very moment) and they like to sleep in weird positions just like yours :D
      Hope to talk to you soon again!

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    3. I like it a lot and I will come back. :) I follow you on GFC now and I can't wait to read more about your animals!
      And I exactly know what you mean...I stop for every rain worm, snail etc. I have already seen one of "your" cats on a picture. So cute!

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  5. I love these posts of yours, they're so entertaining. I never really thought about it but Americans really do like to fly that America flag, dont they? haha Our next door neighbor actually has three of them up right now :/

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    1. Thank you, Lin! :)) Yeah, Americans like their flag! :)) I guess it is so obvious to me because you don't see that many in Germany. And wow, three flags! Not bad. :) He must be really proud!

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  6. Your cat sleeping is amazing!!! Love this post too...oh bread....why do you suck here in America???
    And being a teacher, yes we have summer off--sort of. I go back August 1. (we do have breaks, but we do work with crazy people--AKA kids:) )
    Xoxo

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    1. Haha...yeah, I am sure you deserve a break from the crazy kids! :))
      I should really try to bake some good bread. It can't be that difficult! I wish there would be a German bakery!
      My cats always sleep in very weird ways, it's too funny! Hugs!

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  7. Hey Katrin! I have to say, that I got addicted to read your posts! They are really awesome, kind of funny and interesting. Love your comparisons about the quirks of the two countries!

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  8. Loved this and can so relate! I, too, hate the German movie titles, they are really stupid sometimes. And about the bread...well, in our 3 years there I baked our own bread most of the time or went to Corner Bakery to get some good bread. And about the handshaking, yeah, I guess the Americans aren't that much into it, but neither am I, so I was perfectly fine with it!
    Great post! xxx

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    1. Thank you, Chrissy! :) I should really try to bake my own bread! Maybe I should open my own bakery to show the Americans some good bread. Haha.

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  9. a) My family here always says the single one thing they miss when they are in the US is the bread, and I don't blame them. I used to avoid bread as much as I oculd but it's impossible here because it's just sooooo good!
    b) SOOOO pumped for the game tomorrow!!!!!! I have my jersey and face paint ready
    c) I haven't noticed the handshake thing here, but then again I'm awkward and too often go in for the hug, which makes some Germans very uncomfortable
    d) there is like a holiday every week in germany and i find i tawesome. Like seriously, I never want to come work in the US because I love all my holidays here haha. I do hate how things are closed sundays though

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    1. Yeah, I guess you just can't avoid it in Germany! David liked it too when he was there!
      I am a big hugger too. :) I hug all my friends. A handshake is a more formal thing for me.
      I really miss all the holidays. It is great to have so many! And I am sure it is hard that the stores are closed on Sunday when you grew up with stores that are open 24/7.

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  10. I always loved shops being open longer hours. I wish I got 30 vacation days every year!!!! My mom baked all of our bread at home when I was a kid so I got really spoiled and picky about bread. I can't stand Wonderbread, no, there is nothing wonderful about it. I look for the nine-grain kind at the supermarket, that's a little better at least.

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    1. Oh, I am sure your mom baked some wonderful stuff. Sounds heavenly! It is really hard to find some good bread in America!

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