NC-17
I’ve been asked what different or “strange” things I’ve found in Germany. The Germans I’ve encountered would probably tell you that I, myself, am one of the strangest things about Germany. I walk around the grocery store staring at food I don’t recognize (hazelnut butter? canned kiwi? 79 varieties of sausage?) and after 30 minutes I finally wander to the check-out counter with my bottled water. I spend my time in line fervently hoping that the cashier will not speak to me, and when she does I just smile and nod. Today, I think she might have asked me if it was OK to keep part of my change, but it was worth the price just to escape without being shouted at. Last time, I slunk out of line after being sent back to find someone to weigh my grapes. I’ve since given up eating fresh fruit and vegetables altogether.
I lied when I wrote that I can understand only two TV channels in our hotel. In addition, we get pay-per-view “previews,” which means, as I flip through the channels, that I can view 10 seconds or so of whatever happens to be playing on PPV at that moment. This usually constitutes an anatomy lesson for me, one that I can understand just fine. I’ve stopped flipping channels while I’m eating, though.
