Oh the Things I've Learned!

• It is entirely possible to take German for three and half years and still not understand a word of German when real Germans speak.
• At German parades, almost everyone on the floats is drinking beer.
• At German parades, they not only throw candy. They also cover the crowd in shredded paper, hand out liquor, and pass out sausage.
• Do NOT dry to hop on and off trains with lots of luggage unless you intend to provide much entertainment.
• If you want an abundance of dirty looks, use two paper towels to dry your hands in a public restroom.
• Since all of the doors are always shut, a closed bathroom door means nothing. If you don't want someone to barg in on you, lock the door! Yeah.
• Every time I turn around, it is time to eat again. Good thing I have a 30 minute bike ride to and from school every day.
• Aldis is not a place to buy bulk food, rather it is a specialty grocery store where all the wealthy Germans can buy small amounts of food for a high price.
• Germans don't pass food unless they absolutely can not reach what they want.
• It is perfectly acceptable to reach across the table, stab an olive with your fork, and eat it.
• It is not polite to put either of your hands under the table during a meal.
• Germans spend the entire meal with their fork in their left hand and their knife in their right hand.
• I get along really well with 18 mo. olds. They can't speak very much and neither can I. When adults talk to 18 mo. olds, I can actually understand what they are saying because they speak slowly and clearly an use simle words.
• I am learning to question everything that I did without thinking in America.
• In spite of a little culture shock, I love Wittenberg.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, KINDNESS CAN EASILY BE COMMUNICATED WITHOUT SPOKEN LANGUAGE!