Today's post is dedicated to some of the little (or not so little) American things that I have been enjoying since I moved back to the states:
- Storage. I love having closets and cabinets and shelves built in to every room. It certainly made unpacking and setting up the house so much easier.
- A kitchen. German apartments don't come with kitchens -- the renters bring in their own. Since we knew we weren't going to live oversees forever, we has our landlord put in a small kitchen for us. It included the smallest sink ever. (My brother-in-law claims he couldn't brush his teeth in it, much less was the dishes.) Now I'm back to having all of my big ol' American appliances, and I love them.
- The clothes dryer. Even though we were one of the few people we know who owned a dryer, it still sucked. Instead of being vented to the outside, as most American dryers are, the one we had in Germany drew the moister out of the clothing and deposited the water into a drawer in the machine, which needed to be emptied before each load. The biggest complaint I had about this process was that it took forever. Now, I can't express the pleasure I get when -- 36 minutes after going in -- my clothes are dry.
- Big parking spots. I never really liked to drive in Germany. One of the chief reasons was the microscopic parking spots. Going into a garage in Germany made my heart race. Not only did I worry about getting into the tight spots, I also worried about getting out of the car without hitting another car.
- Stop signs. Sure there are stop signs in Germany, but not that many. Instead, you have to learn that the car on the right always has the right-of-way. This was counterintuitive to me when the car on the right was pulling out of a small road and on a bigger one. (The German's claim this keeps people from going too fast in residential areas.) To me, however, it is much clearer to put a stop sign up. That way, there is no question about who has the right of way.
Posts
7 comments:
I cant agree more in all the points you mentioned!!
The thought of having to park our American-bought Toyota Camry (wider than most German-made cars) keeps me on my bike.
As for the dryer, we upgraded (i.e., spent a lot more money) and now drying laundry doesn't take as long as it did before. But, it still has a condenser, and so I'm still emptying the container and spilling water all over the floor.
haha, I agree with your post. The other things that I miss the most about North America are personal space and lines. Why do most Europeans need to stand so close to me and why can't they wait patiently in an orderly line?
American appliances -- I how I miss them!!
Jennifer,
You're so right about the problem with the lines. I lived in New York City for most of my adult life, so I thought I knew I thing or two about line jockying. Then I moved to German. No one can cut a line faster then a German house wife.
We are currently expats from the States living in Germany. On all accouts I can agree, we are lucky that our apartment came with a brand new kitchen, including a mostly American size refrig and dishwasher. The thing my husband says he misses most about the States.... the garbage disposal.
dfh
Post a Comment