It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do, that and the fact that I could be getting a new car very soon. That really does work wonders. With 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep, I feel like a new person, that and the thought of getting a new car. There are few things that get me up in the morning and getting to a car dealership is one of them. I will be up and ready to test drive as soon as I jump out of bed. I will be there at 8am, bright eyed and bushy-tailed. This could make life A LOT easier.
As an American, it makes me terrible cranky to walk everywhere I go. I can’t drive the car in the garage because it is a standard. Believe me, I have tried by taking countless driving classes with a no nonsense German instructor named Dieter breathing down my neck. I finally had it with him at the last lesson. He was practically yelling at me because I slammed on the brakes. He seemed really upset and his hands were shaking. When he dropped me off at home I should have told him to lose my number but I was cordial and just said bye. I’ll just learn it another way. Nobody made him God of the Autobahn.
In the course of my travels, I noticed the Germans aren’t exactly into customer service. While very savvy about lots of things, they don’t seem to understand that though the customer may be an idiot, he is always king. They are life and death to a business. While Bavarians are on the average very sweet, I have gotten very irritated with the people doing business here. Not that there aren’t bad businessmen everywhere but they have a lot of nerve here. I was reprimanded by a sales lady for trying out the massage chairs at the Segmüller, a well known furniture shop. I refuse to buy something if I can’t try it out. I wasn’t in the market to buy one but she didn’t know that. I can understand if I had my clothes off and was writhing around massaging my whole body but I was just sitting there and she jerked the control out of my hand. I think I reported her. I can’t remember. On another visit to the same store my partner asked a salesperson to help and she told him she was busy. I just looked at her in disbelief. She was standing there thumbing through a book and had a smug look on her face which I felt like slapping off. We both could not believe it. We found another person to help us and my partner said he would refuse her help if she asked. I have been trying to learn how to tell someone off in German. I hope it doesn’t get me deported.
On a trip downtown with my best friend and her nephew, we went to a big department store, the Kaufhof, which I love going to. I ventured off while the nephew was trying on sunglasses. A sales lady came and jerked it off his face and put it back on the rack. Really, I cannot believe the nerve of some people. He wanted to buy the glasses and what was it to her? Did she really want those blindingly yellow colored lenses to herself? I told him just to go ahead trying the glasses and that I would take care of her. While my best friend loved Germany, she got irritated that people took the liberty of getting in font of her nephew at checkout with no qualms whatsoever. She was also upset that they accused her of trying to runaway with the drinks when she was just looking for a place in line. I told her you have to be quick here. Quick and aggressive. My parents noticed that too but it did not keep them from shopping or mom dragging me to the House of Amber and every other amber shop in town. They did love it here and made the most of their trip. I’m glad my friends and family all made a point to visit. Despite the few annoyances such as the ones mentioned above, it is wonderful here.
Standards are just different everywhere. I am from America’s Deep South and though their ways are different here, I have learned to accept it. It’s two totally different worlds merging, making it distinctly my own – Deep Protestant South meets Catholic Bavarian Germany. Their country Bavarian dialect is hard to understand just like my strong southern drawl. There is German and there is Bavarian. It’s a whole other language. Living here I have learned the difference. I think that’s a good idea for a future blog if I don’t get sidetracked in the meantime. Well, with that, I’m off to seize the day. Ciao Ciao 
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