Sunday, November 16, 2008

Seen and Heard, a collection of Random Comments and Observations



--So just how many Smart Cars can you fit in a parallel parking space? Legally three, but we've seen more. They just pull into the parking space, leaving room for as many more as care to squeeze in.


--"Is that boy from Argentina?" (In German. A man who stopped me in the grocery store while I was shopping with Micah. He had been to South America and swore that Micah looked like he was from Buenos Aires.)

-- Failure to yield right-of-way is a criminal offense in Germany (Drivers Handbook and Examination Manual for Germany)

-- Quiet hours are 1-3 daily, from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. and all day Sunday. They are strictly enforced. (Our lease. This is a common clause in German rental agreements).

--New president Obama will tell Americans to stop the war, to stop running their air conditioners and to stop building big houses.(In German, DJ on a rock radio station).

--"Every woman in Europe has the right to wear a bikini!" (a European friend of mine at the pool).

--Residents are responsible for sweeping the sidewalks in front of their houses. Instead of waiting for the leaves to fall, I've seen many German housewives beating their front bushes with a broom handle to get the leaves off faster.

-- "I'm not so Michael Phelps." (a woman at the pool commenting on her lack of form. In German, it sounds like "Ich bin nich so Michael Phelps."

--Overheard: A man from Germany, from Korea and from Portugal, arguing in a restaurant in their common language of English if "kindergarten" is a word in English. The German guy insisted it was stolen. The Korean guy said it couldn't be an English word because children don't grow in gardens. The Portuguese guy said he didn't know because he didn't have kids.

--German mail carriers deliver mail on bicycles with three large, bright yellow panniers.

--It is illegal to talk on a cell phone while riding your bike. (Drivers Handbook and Examination Manual for Germany)... sorry Todd.

-- Cabbage is everywhere. In all shapes and sizes and colors.
--People actually smoke here.
-- "An American without a TV? I didn't know there could be such a thing!" Comment in my German class.)
-- Small dogs in Germany wear sweaters.



2 comments:

domandkat said...

Response to a German woman's right to wear a bikini:

Every woman may have the right to wear a bikini, but not every woman ought to wear one!


After having been on a few topless beaches, I'd say the same goes for that issue too...

And short shorts...
And low-cut jeans...
And halter tops...

But NO ONE should have the right to wear their trousers low enough for anyone to see their underwear!

Two weeks 'til move in day and counting!

Beth said...

Did you call and ask the German DJ if he'd ever spent a summer in Texas or Arizona or Florida? Stop running their A/Cs? I don't think so.