Lessons Learned

As promised, before beginning the chronicle of my new adventure, an overview of the wisdom I gained from my last excursion, which will hopefully enlighten this and future journeys.  So, without further ado,

What I Have Learned About Germany (Working List):

• When Germans walk into a room, they greet everybody, whether they know them or not (usually reserved for closer-knit situations such as a church or special interest group, or the workplace)
• Nobody asks "How are you?" - it's a serious question here, not a simple pleasantry (now I could get used to that!)
• Filler phrases differ greatly by region: for example, OK in North Germany is "Alles klar" (all clear) whereas in Bavaria (South Germany) you're more likely to hear "Ach so" (~all right)
• I still haven't gotten the clothing thing down - six dresses is still about four too many for my main uses...
• Germans don't walk past each other without eye contact - you see someone, you say hi (actually, this seems to be true of Europeans, but being a paranoid young American woman/reserved Mainiac/after traveling to Russia where eye contact brings unwanted attention, this is taking a LOT of getting used to...)
• Americans aren't supposed to be able to speak German, at least not well (and not without a good excuse - "Do you have German family?" "Have you lived here?")
• Most everyone understands a little English, even if they're shy to use it - can be very useful in crisis situations
• The whole Du vs. Sie (informal vs. formal "you") dichotomy isn't as big a deal as they made it out to be in my German class.  In informal situations and with people of your own age, it's automatically "du"; "Sie" is generally reserved for official situations (though when meeting new people they occasionally ask before using "du" right away)
• I am a quick learner and a fast worker... but I think these are things I already knew about myself.  Patience isn't exactly one of my strong suits, and I've always been a good mimicker.  This came out most strongly to me last year with square dance and my internship work, respectively...
• You never have as much free time as you think you do, particularly for things like keeping in contact or reading...
• German hospitality tends to be ridiculous and over-the-top by American standards... or maybe it's just the amazing Christian people God keeps placing in my path...
• Germans are racist - or at least, more biased than we in PC America are trained to be, and not nearly as afraid to show it.
• A beer is no big deal in Germany - no Puritanical stigma (and at this point I have even been offered significant amounts of alcohol by fine, upstanding members of the church, something that I don't think would ever happen in America...)

Yes, all very interesting things that almost without fail have stories behind them... but you probably read all about them already in my blog last year.  Now on to fresh adventures... :)