— Sane, ordinary people talk to themselves out loud in public all the time. They discuss which tram or bus route would be the quickest to their destination. They debate which brand of cotton balls to buy in the cosmetics aisle. And they muse aloud about advertisements. And, no, they're not just on hands-free cells. I check every time.
— I know this is contrary to the last one, but Germans, by and large, are incredibly quiet. When riding a crowded tram I often feel the need to whisper, that's how quiet they are. I forget how strange this is until we have guests from America who are shocked by the silence in crowded public places. I'm positive this will be one of the hardest things to leave behind when we return to the U.S.
— Males, but especially elderly men, often walk with their hands clasped behind their backs, which doesn't sound like a strange thing until you notice how many people are doing it in a crowded area and realize that doing so makes a person look very, very suspicious.
— Germans are FANTASTIC drivers. One of the greater thrills of my life has been riding on the Autobahn with a German behind the wheel. They drive so fast and so precisely that it's almost artistic. I usually spend the first part of the ride feeling like I'm going to die and eventually surrender myself to that and then am able to enjoy the real skill that goes into driving like that.
— East Germany has an inexplicable love affair with strange hairstyles. You see ultraviolet hair on housewives and attitude lines on every other male on public transit. People often don't believe me when I tell them how bizarre the hair is here. So here are a few photos I've compiled (you'll have to forgive the blurriness, I'm a bad spy):
Nothing defines East Germany for me more than this photo, concrete block housing and a grim-looking little old woman pulling her wheelie bag ...
... with hair the color of Care Bear fur.
Sometimes it works. I once saw a pretty young woman with what I can only describe as a sideways mullet — clipped really close to the head on one side and then blended longer and longer until the other side ended past her shoulder. She wore it so well, I briefly considered getting one myself. Ultimately the risk of it not working on me was too terrifying. I mean, really, where do you go from there?
There are certainly more (Germans are rife with deliciously subtle quirks) but I think I'll save them for another dark and dreary German day. However, if you want more, go here: germanyfromanamericanperspective.blogspot.com. It's full of juicy stuff from another American girl living in Dresden's sister-city, Leipzig. I recently met her IN REAL LIFE. It was awesome.
JEM
