Amusing Lessons Learned

This is sort of a silly post, however I try to express how I see the world around me and share many of the things I find interesting. One of the many benefits of living overseas is it reminds me to not take life too seriously. There are so many positive rewards to living here in Germany; however, there are also challenges as well. First and foremost, my life here can not be compared to my "normal" life back in the States.  The two lives are completely different. For example, my family and I now live on the 3rd floor in a tiny apartment that is less than half the size of my previous home in North Carolina.  Our downsized living space presents many problems, specifically regarding the lack of closet space; think hotel room size closet here vice walk-in closet and you'll have an accurate picture of what I am dealing with. Seriously, I knew I was in trouble before our movers came with the majority of my stuff when I unpacked my suitcases and the clothing I had traveled with didn't fit in my new apartment closets. Yikes!! I know I do have a "bit" of clothes but seriously the size of my apartment closets here are ridiculous. Apartment living with our 100lb German Shepherd Lucy has also been a blast. Luckily for me, taking her out is one of the few jobs that doesn't fall under my list of duties. Thank heavens!

Some other small inconveniences that differ from our state-side lives are; the 8 Armed Forces Television channels we are so blessed to receive (slight sarcasm here), the telephone and internet odyssey that took several months to resolve--we didn't have internet or telephone service for our first few months here (that was fun), how gas costs $8 a gallon once we travel outside of Germany (we can buy gas on the Army base here and at Esso stations in Germany at close to state side prices but have to pay local economy prices when traveling anywhere else); how the dollar continues to decline in value against the Euro--it now hovers around .70 US cents for every 1Euro. If you move here and spend too much time thinking about the conversion rate you will never venture out and do anything. It could make you a very tight walleted person, luckily for me I don't have that problem...maybe not so lucky for my husband who always wants to think about the rainy day.

I could go on and and on; however, these are just mild inconveniences and truly for me the rewards of our European vacation far outweigh these tiny hiccups. I guess I've learned to become unattached to the normalcy's of my previously "normal" life. For example, I happily now have the lowest tech cell phone available, my husband and I share one car, & I can't run to the mall, Target or Marshalls for a quick shopping fix (every business is closed in Europe on Sunday) but instead I have to order everything online and wait up to six weeks for the item to arrive. Hopefully I like the item once it does arrive (six weeks later), hopefully it fits, hopefully I still want it. Again, I could go on and on but these inconveniences are all little reminders for me of what really matters and more importantly how little control I have over all of this.

Another blessing about living in Europe is the amusing differences in our cultures. My family and I have learned so many lessons from experiencing these differences. Many times, my husband and I will either start smiling or start laughing out loud at something we find so amusing; I know silly Americans. Sometimes we wish we could take a picture of the funny experience and share it with our friends and family. Actually, truth be told, we once took pictures of complete European strangers at LegoLand because we found them so darn funny, but then we realized we might be mistaken for stalkers or perverts so we decided against future random pictures of strangers.

Europeans have a freeing sense of self when it comes to their bodies. From my last experience living overseas, I remembered the topless women on the beaches. I vividly remember while vacationing in Spain and the Canary Islands, I was the only one on the beach wearing my bikini top. Now, before you get too far ahead of yourself, keep in mind this is much more appealing in fantasy than reality.  In reality, not only will you see beautiful Italian women without a top, but you are also guaranteed to see their grandmothers as well. To my husbands displeasure, my bikini top stayed firmly tied, however I felt liberated by these woman's acceptance of themselves and their bodies and the whole experience made me feel more beautiful in my own skin. Europeans aren't as concerned with hiding their imperfections; conversely they seem to embrace the beauty of their bodies no matter their age, size or shape.

Europeans willingness to drop their clothing in public has caused many a smirk or chuckle in my household. Silly Americans. While living in Frankfurt (last time we were here), we lived right next to a public park deemed "the naked guy park" by the many Americans in our neighborhood because of all the naked guys who would drop their clothes and lounge in the park whenever the temperature broke 70 degrees; amusing and liberating at the same time.  I've encountered many European adults who insist on changing their clothes in public and have absolutely no qualms about doing so right in front of you, your children or anybody else for that matter. Recently a middle aged woman took us completely by surprise when she stripped down to her undies and changed into her softball outfit right in front of us. Hello!

However, my all-time favorite (so far) is our experience at LegoLand. We visited the park on a relatively hot (for European standards) day and were totally taken aback by the sights we saw. If you've ever been to LegoLand you know the park has a few water rides. By water rides I mean the potential to get wet exists but isn't guaranteed--think log or rapids rides at any traditional amusement park.  Well, the POTENTIAL in Europe has a very different meaning than it does to most Americans--everywhere I looked adults and children alike were systematically changing into their swimsuits before going on the water rides. My husband and I thought--why in the world would you need your swimsuit at an amusement park? The European answer of course is to go on the "water" rides or frolic with their children in the park's many fountains. Silly Americans. Have you ever seen an adult frolicking in a public fountain in their swim suit in the States? Me neither; again amusing and liberating at the same time.
 Lastly, it is very common in Europe to experience someone relieving themselves on the side of the road, hopefully facing away from you but maybe not. I used to think it was only the children, but throughout our travels on the autobahn it is just as common to see adults creating a roadside restroom as it is their children. I'm not talking behind bushes here, I literally mean right on the side of the road for the world to see. Moms will literally hold their kids legs up and the kiddos, girls or boys will go right there in front of you. Now, I will freely admit that this is a bit weird for the girl who has public restroom issues, but at the end of the day-- who am I to judge.

Getting ready for the water ride!



At Legoland pants are optional!

I find this all so interesting, because we Americans would never be so comfortable with ourselves as our European friends have demonstrated time and time again. I cannot and will not tell a lie, I do miss the days of lounging in my backyard, swimming in my pool, and enjoying the spaciousness of my North Carolina home, but I have also learned to embrace and appreciate my new European normalcy too. Don't worry, I won't be wearing my swimsuit to LegoLand the next time we visit, and I won't be shedding my bikini top on my next summer vacation and I definitely won't be relieving myself in public on my next road trip. I will however, continue to see each European experience for what it is: a reminder of how cultural differences shouldn't be considered bad, just different and how simple life can truly be.