Dry French Fries

You know you have lived in Germany for a while when....

*You can name at least 10 kinds of Schnitzel in under 30 seconds- Before moving to Germany I couldn't even tell you what a schnitzel was...Now, not only have I eaten more Schnitzels than I though humanly possible, I can rattle off an entire Schnitzel menu. Ready...Jagershnitzel, Paramaschnitzel, Schnitzel wiener art, Schnitzel mit champinones, Wienerschnitzel, Rahmschnitzel, paprikaschnitzel, Cordon Blue, Kaseschnitzel, Rahmschnitzel...(Take that bubba gump!)

*You can eat an entire plate of French fries without ketchup- Since French fries are the side dish to almost every meal I have found myself eating them more frequently than I should probably admit. However, Germans don't see the necessity in dipping everything in ranch, ketchup, or any other condiment. At first this was hard to get used to. They tasted so....dry. You can ask for ketchup (if you want a dead give away that you are American) however you usually get one McDonalds size packet for a mountain of fries. So enjoy your bottle of hunts while you can!

* You still have something to drink at the end of your meal- Rationing is the key here. Since there is no such thing as free refills and anything other than a beer costs more than $4 (including tap water) you have to learn to conserve your beverage. When we first got here I would almost suck down an entire drink before the meal arrived...now I still have a few drops left to wash down dessert!

*The Salad dressing actually tastes good- one of the hardest things to get used to in Germany had to be the salad. Ranch is literally nonexistent, and to be honest I can't even describe the kind of dressing that they soak salads in (it doesn't compare to ANYTHING I have ever had on top of lettuce), so at first I chocked down my salad (because my momma always told me to eat my veggies). Although I still leave the pickled carrots and sauerkraut at the bottom of the plate, I have actually found myself enjoying the leafy greens again!

*You no longer giggle every time you see the word Ausfahrt- This exit sign can be seen ALL over the Autobaun and sadly is now only funny about 80% of the time

*You feel like you are driving slow at 90 MPH- Although it took a while to get used to the fast pace of the autobaun, and I am still not entirely comfortable moving into the "Fast" lane, there are times when you are driving along, look down and realize that you just hit 90 MPH. Oh and FYI only about 10% of the autobaun has no speed limit (contrary to popular belief)!

*You no longer stare at someone in lederhosen- although lederhosen is and always will be a Halloween costume to me, I am no longer take aback when I see someone sauntering down the street in knee high socks and bibbed shorts!

*You feel out of place in flip flops- I have come to the conclusion that Americans are lazy dressers. Germans however, would not be caught dead wearing flip flops, sweat pants, t-shirts, or shorts in public. Although I still wear flip flops (hard habit to break) I know that stepping out in them will immediately identify me as a foreigner.

* You are used to being stared at- You would think that after 8+ months of living in the same village our neighbors would no longer feel the need to stare out their windows every time we pass by. At first it was a little creepy.. especially because it is extremely obvious and even if you wave they don't wave back or even crack a smile. Although we still wave EVERYTIME, I no longer get an awkward feeling every time I see the peeping Toms.

*You carry a bag with you everywhere you go- I can't tell you how many times we were stuck at a store without a bag when we first got here (we got quite good at balancing merchandise in our arms). We quickly learned that carrying a bag with you is a must...you never know when you are going to run into something you just can't live without...besides who wants to be seen balancing a gnome on a tub of ice cream?

*You no longer scream every time you see a spider- German are much friendlier to creepy crawly house critters than Americans. They don't believe in spraying for bugs or extracting unwanted visitors. That being said on a daily basis we can find more spiders than I feel comfortable admitting enjoying our home- at first I was a little creeped out by this. After learning that everyone has this problem, and there is nothing that you can do about it, you learn to embrace the 8 legged creatures (and just hope that they don't make their home in your shoes).