1. German chocolate/food/bread I have already touched on my German food experience, but I don't think I've adequately expressed my appreciation for the chocolate and bread. I am 100 percent positive this will not come as a surprise, but German bread and chocolate are amazing and for someone who could live off of both, it's particularly delicious. Bremen has its own famous chocolate maker, Hachez, which is not difficult to adore. Fresh bread almost every day is also a bread-lover's dream. The other day I bought a "monche-baguette" on my way to a movie night at my language school. I really have no idea how a monche-baguette is different from a normal baguette...Normally at the baker I simply pick a sign in the vicinity of the bread I want and usually I receive the opposite of what I intended--Bread adventures! Either way, the bread is always good and when I bit into my piece of the monche-baguette I actually involuntarily thought, "Thank you, God, for inventing white bread." I kid you not--My bread obsession might actually be a fetish now. I'm definitely in trouble.
2. When Bus 33 comes instead of 34 When I take 34 I have to walk 7 extra minutes to my house, but with 33, it's almost as close to my house as the school bus was in those sad, school-bus-taking days. When you're exhausted and are walking roughly as fast as a unstable two-year-old, the 33 bus is really appreciated.
3. Charly the Dog My host family has a dog Charly, and while he's not as awesome as my two puppy-dogs, Charly is a pretty good second for the year. Charly is a big, red, Irish Setter and he has definitely become my pal. Charly and I run together, I give him treats and I always pet him when I come home; therefore I am also Charly's pal. It's nice how easy it is to win the affection of a dog. Charly is also an impressive dog. I'm most impressed by how he can open doors with a flat handel instead of a knob. I discovered this one day when there was I thunder storm and I was alone. I was in my bathroom and the door was closed and next thing I knew the door was opening and in came Charly, much to my surprise. At first I thought it was the Japanese student that was living with us at the time, but no, it was poor Charly, afraid of the thunder.
4. Talking with my host family It is a kind of funny thing when the most exciting part of your day is talking with your host family in German, but on so many days it really is. It is an amazing feeling holding a conversation in another language and realizing halfway through that you're actually doing it. It's so satisfying and it makes it worth the mass amount of effort. It also is such a happy feeling being included in conversation and feeling that the family is interested in me. Living with a host family is a really strange concept, when one really thinks about it, and little moments of conversational victory are really important. A definite Kleinigkeit.
5. Rittersport Slogan Rittersport is easily some of the BEST chocolate I have eaten. The variety of flavors and unbeatable deliciousness of each one is one of the biggest perks of living in Germany. To make Rittersport even more lovable, though, is its extremely German and extremely funny slogan, "Practical. Square. Good." For those of you who have never had Rittersport, it comes in a big square and the packaging makes it easy to break the chocolate exactly in half while simultaneously opening the plastic. This packaging is indeed practical and yes, it is also indeed square. These are two things one could easily observe and perhaps would not be advertised in the US. However, we're talking about Germany and in Germany practicality and logic are highly valued. This would explain why instead of advertising how unbelievably delicious Rittersport is as the first characteristic, the chocolate company has decided instead to advertise just how logical its chocolate is. Needless to say, the Americans in my group find this extremely amusing, especially after observing other ways Germans promote practicality and logic in most facets of life.
6. Getting a bike Most people would probably be indifferent about getting a bicycle, but not me. No, when I got my bicycle I was definitely as excited as a 16-year-old getting their first car, crappy or not. My bike arrived and I instantly wanted to ride it. Waiting for my host dad to oil it and tune it up was like a little kid waiting to open presents on Christmas--in short, I was very inpatient. My bike is a funny little thing, too. Until last night, the squeaking of the handle bars negated any need for a bell (which all bikes need here--see post about Amsterdam). When I rode down the street I always passed people looking directly at me and my squeaky bike. As I rode past I heard mutterings, which I strongly suspect were about my squeaking, peace-disrupting bike. It really is a wonderful thing to have a bike in Bremen, considering it is so flat and having a bike makes it much easier to get around. My house here is relatively far from the middle of the city and normally I have to time my trips carefully around the bus and tram schedules. Not anymore, though, I've got wheels and I feel the freedom. :)
7. Peoples' hair colors In the last two months, I have truly been impressed and also slightly appalled by some of the hair colors I have seen here. Not only do some of the hair colors defy the laws of nature, but they also only match other unnatural things, such as Crayola markers. My personal favorite colors have been the dark purple and florescent pink. I have also see neon orange, but I prefer the pink and purple. Clearly some people in Bremen have a lot of confidence to choose those hair colors, and for that I suppose I should respect them. That's not to say, though, I can't laugh behind my book, too.
8. Werder Bremen fans Just like any proud city, the people in Bremen are very proud of their sports teams, more specifically the soccer team Werder Bremen. I myself am becoming a Werder fan and I even have a scarf, which means I can be a real fan! Soccer fans are famous for their passion and perhaps more famous for their insanity. I understand this more and more every time I see a two-year-old wearing a Werder hat or jersey. A little boy I now babysit for even has a metal Werder bread tin that he carries in his teeny-tiny Werder backpack. This little boy also likes to dance to the Werder Bremen fan songs. In short, the little mini-Werder fans are much cuter and lovable than the big, scary, German-screaming fans, but I love the spirit all the same.
So there you have it, a little taste of what I see from day to day or what makes me smile. People always say it's the little things in life that are important; I am finding that that is never truer than when living abroad.
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