We are leaving for Germany and some time with friends
and family in a week from today. The flight is long, but however – usually the
entertainment isn’t that bad. It’s a night flight, too, leaving at 8:00pm, so
we hope to be able to sleep a bit on the plane.
Meanwhile,
we have pretty much adjusted to most things that still seem strange to someone
living in Germany. The variety of bread isn’t too small at all and if we have a
real craving for bread with a crust – well, I bake a loaf myself. But there are
some things I’d really like to bring from Germany although there are
limitations – like costums or the lack of practicality. So this is my (partly) imaginary shopping list of
“German” things I’d like to bring here.
A hair cut
Okay –
this is easily achieved. Maybe it is my lack of vocabulary when it comes to
hair and styling, but somehow I usually don’t look like I wanted to when
leaving the hair dresser. Or maybe she’s just not very good at her job.
However, I want to have my hair cut in the two weeks in Germany. Where I had my
hair done for our wedding. Nothing more, nothing less.
Deodorant
In the
US, I ended up buying deo sticks which are quite uncommon in Germany. We mostly
use roll-ons. I have no idea why this difference exists, but however. I want to
restock our supplies, especially for my husband. First and foremost: Roll-ons
have the big advantage of not ripping out armpit hair … and secondly, I am kind
of addicted to the smell of the German brand Nivea for men on him. ;)
Bath tissue / toilet paper
Okay,
let’s dig deeper into toiletries: 1-ply or 2-ply in the US vs. 3-ply or 4-ply
in Germany! And why less plies are more expensive – again: no idea! I miss
4-ply paper from time to time and will definitely enjoy using it in Germany. (Yes, I know why weird this sounds.) Once
I have read a study about the way of using bath tissue in different countries:
folding vs wrapping vs clewing. I am a folder, most Americans are supposed to
be “clewers” – maybe that’s why my husband and I like our hiney paper thicker?
Coffee pods
Alex
and I have a single serve coffee maker called Senseo. This system is quite
popular in Germany where we have had one before, coffee pods are sold in every
supermarket. However, since the system is far less popular in the US, we are
forced to purchase our refills on amazon. But we always restock our coffee
supplies in Germany, too.
Dad’s smoked ham (in German: Schinken)
How I
would love to introduce Schinken to
our bacon loving Texan friends! But unfortunately, costums don’t agree. It is
not allowed to bring meat products into the US. *sigh* But well, at least Alex
and I are most likely to be fed with all the good German meat stuff while we
are there …
Mom’s strawberry jam (Erdbeermarmelade)
I’m
not sure if it is allowed to bring canned fruits into the US … Last time we
did, packing the jam in socks and then forgot to report them on the costums
form. Actually, we really forgot.
Actually, I also miss Quark - Greek yogurt is quite close, but not the same. But bringing a dairy product is nonsense.
German-Spanish dictionary
Since
I am planning to continue taking classes at community ed, a German-Spanish
dictionary would be much more helpful to get the nuances. Though it is fun to
learn a language based on my second language, I sometimes need to go back to my
mother tongue. For the same reasons I now know that calling a Radiergummi rubber (BE as learnt by me
in fith grade) causes at least irritation among US students. Especially in
junior high it might be better to go by eraser in order to avoid giggling.
Optional: Dress up for work!
Though
my husband would call that not necessary, I might order some more tops and
pants suitable for work. Especially tops – so far they have mostly been either
expensive or too short in length. Maybe I’ll be lucky and make a good bargain.
And I also have to learn some more math vocabulary on
the plane in order to prepare for my teaching job …
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