Cultural Differences: Earth Day Special

As you most likely already heard: Today is EARTH DAY!

I think we can all say "YAY" for our planet on Earth Day, since we are all pretty much skewed without it... So please! YAY! Thank you!

The planet not only has to be here for us to enjoy, but it also needs to be maintained in a way that allows future generations of flora and fauna to flourish... Sounds cheesy... I know.... I don't know what is up with me today... Call it cheesy Earth Day mood!

Well anyways, it's time for an apology to Mother Earth from this little human. I have been a bad human! I haven't watched my carbon footprint too closely lately and on top of it, I neglected recycling A LOT. Or like my parents plus brother put it several times during their stay at the house: "You completely forgot your upbringing!" I went down the slippery slope of convenience way too often lately! Bad human!

Where are the cultural differences come in, you ask?

• Recycling: In Germany you have to separate recyclable from non-recyclable waste and collect it in different bins. Most people also collect paper and glass waste separately to take it to public recycling bins, this way they don't fill up their trash bins too fast, because you pay for every pick-up. Around here (I can only speak for GSP because I assume it's different from at least state to state), I can just throw everything in the two trash bins we have at the house and it's getting picked-up every week for a convenient flat rate per year. BUT! In Greenville County we actually have the option to collect recyclable waste separately, we just have been too lazy for it.... THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE! I PROMISE and you are my witnesses! (Turns out that I DO have more than three readers, so this is not just an empty statement! ;-)
• Plastic Bags: Paper or plastic? Is plastic okay? No, no, no! A bad human indeed. In Germany, there are no free plastic bags at the grocery store. You bring your own bags or you pay and those bags ain't cheap. Around here it sometimes looks like you get a bag per item in the store, but I recently noticed that a lot of cashiers try to stuff the bags more and I also told them before to stuff the bags as much as possible. But even better would be, if I would just remember again to bring my own reusable bags and don't accept all that plastic and I used to be better with this too! AND I WILL BE BETTER ABOUT IT AGAIN!
• CO2 Emissions: I could research the whole industrial CO2 emission shebang and present it to you, but there are things that you can influence so much faster and so much easier as an individual. Get rid of your gas guzzler and get a more fuel efficient car. I have an SUV, but I really thing that I get a decent gas mileage out of this puppy. But we also have TWO trucks in our household. One of those has got to go. Unfortunately, the market to sell big old trucks these days is not very good, but we certainly have it on our to-do list to replace one of the trucks with a nice fuel efficient car. In Germany, fuel efficiency is one of the biggest selling points for a car in the first place, because the gas prices are so outrageous.

Some changes for the better (especially when it comes to environmentally friendly changes) just seem to finally work with people, when you push the topic over the wallet like charging for plastic bags in stores and gas prices.

PS: My family arrived home late last night (their time)... From Madrid, they flew to Paris and from there to their final destination. It was a long trip, but they made it and didn't have to pay anything extra.

Picking My Battles

Have I mentioned recently what an awesome fiance I have (Oh yes, in case you didn't know yet, we got engaged a couple of weeks ago!)? Well, in case I haven't, I just wanted to let you know that he is AWESOME... Taking care of me a lot.

This morning for example while I was in the bathroom, he took my assorted crap (purse, snacks, external hard drive that a co-worker lent me) that I haul to the office on a regular basis, started the engine and worked on getting the ice of my windshields. AWESOME, RIGHT? YES! And since I know he does this with the best intentions, I didn't start up our age old discussion about letting the engine run while the car is just sitting there. You know, sometimes you just have to pick your battles in a relationship and this one wasn't worth discussing one more time because there are just some basic cultural differences that creep to the surface sometimes and we both won't waiver from our position.

Even though I think of myself as mostly aware of these intercultural differences, sometimes stuff just slips out way too harsh (... in my Germany military tone ;-). But I don't seem to be the only one overreaching in this matter. I think it was in the February 2010 issue of Runner's World were Bernard Lagat described an incident while at the training camp in Germany. He returned from a trail run and started his car and let it warm up while stretching. According to his description a German was yelling at him and because of the language barrier he didn't know what happened until he told the story to some Germans that explained it to him. A co-worker on a business trip in Germany once told me a similar story.

You see... It's actually against the law to do that in Germany out of noise pollution and environmental considerations. So if you get up in the morning and your windows are covered with ice, you scratch the ice of your windshields and then you start the car. If you have to wait at a railroad track for longer than 30 seconds, you are required to cut off your engine.

Did you know, that letting the car run on neutral for 5 minutes uses up as much gas as if you had driven for one mile? Just sayin'.

Well, people here are complaining about gas prices night and day, but let me tell you something... you'll never hear me complaining about gas prices in SC - EVER!!! Why?? According to this web page the lowest gas price in the Spartanburg of the last 72 hours has been 2.37 USD/gallon for regular gas. If I compare the gas price around my parent's house to that with 1.379 EUR/ liter ( 7.86 USD/ gallon with a 1.5 exchange rate) you might see why I am pretty relaxed about gas prices in SC. Besides, I don't think it's a basic human right to drive an V8 and if you hear yourself complaining to much about gas prices, you might wanna think about getting a more fuel efficient car.

This aside, there are just some things ingrained in our brains, based on where we grew up and how we have been brought up that won't ever change. For my (awesome) Terry, it is convenient to warm up a car and he thinks it's better for the engine to do so especially in cold temps. For me, it's just a whole lot of waste of gas and money plus it harms the environment.

People have a lot of opinions all the time and for that you must not even have grown up on different continents. Some things will always remain a hot topic and other things we just have to agree to be different... Not better or worse, just different.

Winter Vacation Recap: Runner's Paradise

With fresh memories of our Germany vacation still in our minds, Terry and I do a lot of comparing of living in Germany vs USA. The contents of these conversation would fill at least one blog post and I might just go into more detail one of these days and write that post. Also, we both didn't necessarily agree and what is to be counted as a pro vs a con all the time. One thing we did agree upon was that Germany is a RUNNER'S PARADISE!

You don't believe me? Here are some visuals for starters!

Chapel on top of the hill... Great for hill repeats!

Amazing views and trail after trail after trail.


View from my room at my parent's house. Even with snow, great trails for running!


I step out of the house, head through the village on sidewalks and then go from there on the bike/ multi-purpose trail. Long runs with ever changing scenery without even having to use the car is a piece of cake. Given that the trails are better suited for bike touring than road bike riding, but that's why this post is called Runner's Paradise! ;-)

The trail network in the Kraichgau is miles and miles long (I actually tried to find the number, but wasn't lucky) and if the Kraichgau is not enough for you, the trails connect to neighboring regions as well. Actually, Germany has such a well established trail network that you hardly ever have to go on the road when traveling by bike or foot. On top of that, if you have enough of the beaten paths, you just take a random turn and find your own route, through the woods, fields, meadows or vineyards on farm tracks... Most of it is public property, so you welcome to walk or bike there if it's not clearly stated that it's private.

How does that sound you??? ;-)

Giving Thanks for...

Happy Thanksgiving.

Whereas Thanksgiving (Erntedankfest) in Germany is more a celebration where the giving thanks for the harvest is done during a church service on the first Sunday in October (not a very fancy affair), the American version of the festival has evolved into a MUCH BIGGER event. Of course the focus is supposedly still on giving thanks for things we have been blessed with, but it's also a time for family reunion, TONS of food and.... football. (Surprise!) As well as the shopping frenzy on the Day after Thanksgiving also known as Black Friday and the official kick-off for the Christmas season.

I want to share what I am thankful for:

Today, I want to give thanks for my family and friends, to the fact that I always feel loved and supported by them, even though I don't see a lot of them very often. I want to give thanks for meeting Terry and that he sticks with me through all the ups and downs that life has thrown at us in the last couple of years. Thanks for a healthy body and mind. And last but not least, thanks for having a job in a rocky economy.

Here are some funny quotes that highlight the importance of food and football for Thanksgiving:

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.
~Irv Kupcinet

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are
consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is
not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck

It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a
pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a delectable necessity of the
Thanksgiving board and that turkey is uneatable without it. ~Alistair
Cooke

On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the
same moment - halftime. ~Author Unknown

Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each
year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty. ~Michael Dresser

Coexistence: what the farmer does with the turkey - until
Thanksgiving. ~Mike Connolly

Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants. ~Kevin
James

The funny thing about Thanksgiving, or any huge meal, is that you spend 12
hours shopping for it and then chopping and cooking and braising and
blanching. Then it takes 20 minutes to eat it and everybody sort of sits
around in a food coma, and then it takes four hours to clean it up. ~Ted
Allen

The thing I'm most thankful for right now is elastic waistbands.
~Author Unknown

I love Thanksgiving turkey. It's the only time in Los Angeles that
you see natural breasts. ~Arnold Schwarzenegger

All these quotes are taken from one website (this one) and they also have some more sincere and somber quotes, if you are looking for those! ;-)

Have a happy Thanksgiving Day with your family and friends, enjoy the food and the football and GIVE THANKS!

Traffic Offense Here and There

I live in the US since 2005, but I had another FIRST last Wednesday. A court appearance due to my expired registration. The ticket was worth USD 113.- but the officer told me that if I appear at court at the given date and present a current registration, this ticket will most likely be waived. USD 113.- I thought was worth taking off half a day from work and so I showed up there, plead guilty (I am not kidding!), presented my new registration and was dismissed without paying a cent. As a US citizen, you might shrug your shoulders at this point and wonder, why I even mention this and as German citizen you may wonder how a registration can expire... In the name of intercultural understanding, let me highlight some differences in the constitution and handling of a traffic offense in Germany compared to South Carolina (I am sure there a are differences from state to state and so I can only refer to SC).

The thing with the expired registration. In SC your registration is valid for one year. Each year, after you paid your property taxes for you vehicle, you receive a new registration along with a sticker to put on your licence plate. Whereas, in Germany, you just pay your taxes and that's it. I know about how it works around here, but I guess it's not completely engrained into my brain, so that I completely forgot about it and didn't even notice that the new registration never reached me.

In Germany, there is a catalogue which refers every common traffic expense along with the fee. You get a ticket and most of the time you pay and then you are done. Around here, you can show up at court, tell your side of the story and have pretty good chances of lowering your fee. Fascinating. For example, a woman turned into a one-way road the wrong way round. She stated that she hasn't been in the area for a while and was a little confused by all the changes that have been made since she has last been there and just didn't realize that she wasn't supposed to turn. The judge cut her ticket in half. Fascinating, once again.

Being it my first traffic offense here (or any offense for that matter), I really didn't know what to expect in the court room. I kinda of thought that there will be only traffic offenses handled and everything will be pretty much straight forward and we'll going to be in and out of the court room in no time. Well, not so much. Most of the cases where right along with mine... Normal stuff... Nothing exciting, tickets got waived, fees got cut in half, nothing special. But every couple of times there was tough stuff, stuff that I never expected to witness this afternoon. Disorderly conducts, open containers, littering, domestic violence, underage drinking, threatening a teacher... It was a mix of all kinds of stuff. Who needs Judge Judy, if you can get this kind of entertainment live and in color at your local municipal court. Don't get me wrong, most of the things were just sad, but a couple of these cases were hilarious... The whole court room chuckled at times...

Anyways, I am glad that whole thing is off the table and I don't have to think about it anymore. I am sure next year, I will notice, if my new registration is once again lost in the mail.

That's all for now. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday.

So not a real post, just a quick comment, because I was way too busy eating cake and letting people sing to me and going out to dinner... :-)

This is my fifth birthday in the USA and the first year, I made the mistake that all the new peeps from Germany make. We bring our birthday goodies to work. In Germany, you as the birthday kid are supposed to provide your co-workers with food on your birthday. I have to say, I like the American way much better and that your co-workers make sure, that you have a birthday cake for your big day.

This is a picture from last year. I wasn't fast enough to get a pic from this year's cake.

How is it in your country?

This is the first question BF's 10 year-old niece ever asked me. I have to say, it took me a little by surprise. It's the first time ever, a child asked me that. The question, that I learned to expect over the years is "How do you like it here?" and normally it's adults asking me that and by now, I have a standard reply to it...

As I already mentioned, I was surprised and didn't know what to answer and especially I wasn't sure, what would be interesting and understandable for a 10 year-old. There are tons of things I like and dislike about Germany and there are tons of things were I make comparisons in my head all the time, but are those things really anything she would care about?

Basically, life for children in Germany and in the USA is not that much different. They go to school, do sports, watch Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers and their favorite food is McDonald's. Okay, that maybe describes a little bit of a stereotype, but that stereotype exists on both sides of the big pond.

For an adult, there are many differences... Some small and some major. For example, compared to the US, the college education in Germany is dirt cheap, same can be said for medical care/ health insurance, but on the flip side is, that the taxes in Germany are much higher compared to the US... Talk about major differences hmmmm? The smaller stuff has a lot to do with convenience and the Americans are the complete pros for that.... Drive through ATM, dry cleaners etc... You gotta love it. The Germans are the pros when it comes to food and drinks and socialize around it. We can spend hours and hours after dinner is done in the same restaurant, just sitting and talking. But all of those things, pretty minor to a ten year-old.

So I told her: "It's very similar to here, just the language is different!" And I was ready to elaborate from that point some, but this information was all her attention span could take and when I was still trying to get some smart sentences together, she already move on and played with the puppy...

PS: For the record, there are many more examples and as this blog goes on, I'm sure I will discuss some more! :)

"I can't wait for Football season…"

That's what I started saying last night to BF, when all of a sudden his eyes brightened up and he smiled in anticipation. I finished the sentence with "to be OVER!" and as quickly as the eyes brightened before, his face got a pained expression. "But it just started!" he replies. That is correct, but I just can't help it… Mentally, I am completely over it already.

In order to understand, where I am coming from, there are a couple of points that need to be considered.

1) What's the hype?

I didn't grow up in the USA. American Football was an exotic sport that was broadcasted on German sports TV in the middle of the night, when they didn't have anything else to broadcast. Nobody knew any of the teams, let alone the rules. Of course, we where "exposed" to it in American sitcoms and movies, but that was it. This has changed over the last decade or so, but I guess that was too late for me. I have German friends here in the US that are just as big a Football fan as the average American, but they are also soccer fans back home. This leads me to my second point.

2) Calm down alright!

I am just no fan material. Merchandise companies don't make any money with me. I don't have a favourite band, actor, athlete or team. I may like to listen to a band, even own a couple of Cd's, but don't asked me anything about their biography or even the name of the front man. I didn't cry when Take That split up or when KSC (the local soccer club) got sacked from the premier league. I don't sleep in front of the box office when Brad Pitt's new movie is coming out and not in the bookstore when the new Harry Potter is going on sale. I am maybe missing a gene or it's just the Y-chromosome… But on the other hand, I know tons of women that are die hard sports fans, I am just not one of them.

3) Live is live!

I don't like to spend hours and hours in front of the TV to watch the Sunday game or the golf match or whatever season we are in. What I do like, is seeing live sports. I haven't made it to a football game yet, but I have seen several soccer, ice hockey, handball and baseball games. I enjoy watching pretty much any sport when I am right there in the venue, ideally with a bunch of friends and a couple of beers. There are a couple of exceptions to that rule: Olympic games (summer and winter, every discipline), Superbowl, European and World Championship Soccer games with German participation and the Tour de France. The "ideally with a bunch of friends a couple of beers"-rule does apply to football and soccer games watched on TV as well.

4) Can't we all be friends?

The rivalry when it comes to college football games is just driving me nuts. Being exposed to it EVERY DAY of the week doesn't help. Our company is basically split in half between Clemson and USC fans with the occasional odd team of some imports. Yesterday for example, was the first game for USC and they won… The game wasn't against Clemson, but that doesn't prevent USC fans to talk smack about their team winning and the Clemson fans to talk smack about how lame the game was. I know it's all in good fun, but halfway through the morning, I was ready to hit my head against the wall.

And in case you wonder… Yes, there were donuts in the office this morning (it's Friday after all). Not one, but two boxes to celebrate the USC win… They were consumed by both Clemson and USC followers as well as the odd team fans and the non-fans (you know, who I am talking about). Maybe donuts are the universal "peace food" after all!! ;-)