After three weeks in Germany to
celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve with family and meeting friends, we are
back in Minnesota now for a month. My nose has already adjusted to the slight smell of chloride the tap water over
here has (luckily not as bad as in Houston, but of course worse than the
natural water from my parents’ own fountain). And so did my scalp which awfully
reacted to the combination of dry and cold weather at first, making my hair
look awfully greasy. Hum, working on that.
Further, I am now a patient of the
very huge Mayo Clinic: Got a general
check-up and all kind of blood tests taken (mostly because of my thyroid
malfunction). And I have started taking a Spanish
class (provided by Rochester Community Education) and want to continue that
since I love (learning) foreign languages. And though I mostly let Alex drive
when the two of us are on the road especially with the snow and unsure road
conditions, I really enjoy the more relaxed way of driving here. And meanwhile,
we also got our Minnesota plates:
Good Bye, Texas plates!
 |
| Standard plate: Minnesota (land of) 10,000 lakes |
Upon our visit in Germany, we were
asked a lot of questions about living in the USA. Some prejudices could already
be eliminated by showing some of our photos: “Look, there are wind power
plants!” (Somewhere in Iowa.) Though
I must admit that most of my born and raised in the countryside friends were
highly impressed by pictures of downtown Houston.
So here they are, our very personal
FAQ from Germany, asked somewhere between caring and winking.
FAQ1: “What do you eat?”
A lot. Containing a lot of fat. And
we do always eat. So far the cliché. In fact, nothing has changed that much
about our diet. Since we have moved to Rochester and it is everything but too
hot to use the stove, I enjoy cooking as much as I did back in Germany. Mostly
soups or stews because they perfectly match the cold weather. Casseroles or a
hearty “hot dish” would also be typical for Minnesota, but I haven’t tried one
yet (and am just wondering why).
 |
| noodle soup with meat balls |
I have even started baking my own
bread because I do miss bread which cannot be squeezed (and then pops up
again): a healthy 3-grain whole wheat flour bread with buttermilk – a recipe my
mom gave me. And I want to try another German recipe with carrots and walnuts.
But the local grocery stores like HyVee or Trader’s Joe (organic) also offer
some good quality “like German” bread. We even have an ALDI food market here!
Great for stocking up the pantry, but also offering some German products
including Spätzle (Swabian noodles)
or Pumpernickel (really dark rye
bread). And the selection of reasonable priced cheeses is great.
But we adopted several things from
over here: oatmeal (but made from scratch
and milk, please!) or waffles for special occasion breakfasts (we usually
have some toast). Alex has discovered peanut butter, while I prefer to stay
with (Canadian) Nutella. In Germany,
we mostly had warm lunch and a cold dinner – that has changed now, too.
 |
| German Bread can't be squeezed! |
FAQ2: “In the supermarket, you can only buy everything in huuuge
containers.”
Well, that is true – but I am
getting used to it. Half a gallon of milk is what we mostly buy, the usual German
size would be one liter – a little more than a quart. But milk – and orange
juice as well – is also available in close-to-four-liter containers. I have not
bought frozen pizza yet (and don’t think I will), but the standard size seems
to be larger than the German one – and I am not talking about a family pizza. I
don’t think I would be able to finish a standard pizza over here on my own.
Eggs usually go by the dozen (10 in
Germany). Cheese and cold cuts are in size comparable to Germany, at least in
the quality we usually buy. And that is mostly organic, especially when it
comes to eggs, milk, potatos and salad. If the farmer’s market is going to be
more frequent, I would shop there, too.
And comparing prices for eggs from cage
system housing (which is, by the way,
forbidden in the European Union) to those from organic growth – well,
though I like to eat chicken: I simply
fell pity for the hens whose eggs are worth less than a dime…
 |
| Huge for German standard: flour and sugar are usually sold in 2 pound packages (1kg) |
FAQ3: “You have a huge car, that’s for sure. Everyone does.”
Pictures often tell more than words,
don’t they?
 |
| It still drives ... |
But no, that is not our car! But that
is what they could look like, especially for www.peopleofwalmart.com. Duct tape
helds either the trunk or the whole backside of the car in place, the car is
obviously rusty and – not to be seen in this picture – the tire on the back
left was a lot smaller.
But well, compared to the Renault
Twingo we had in Germany, everything is bigger. We now are proud owners of a
sedan which would be a perfect car for senior citizens on both sides of the Atlantic
Ocean in color and size: a golden Kia Optima, nine years old. It came with an
automatic theft control – commonly known as manual transmission. We have no
plans of purchasing a SUV since we invested a lot in that car. For example, we
needed a new crank shaft sensor after our road trip.
 |
| Kia, back in Houston |
FAQ4: “Have you already purchased a gun?”
No. And that won’t happen that fast.
If I am informed correctly, we would at least need a green card for purchasing
one in a store. And though hunting is a common hobby up here in the north, we
have no plans of buying. (By the way: After
the shooting in Connecticut – what a tragedy – in December, the sale rates for
guns have risen, mostly because people are afraid of stricter laws.)
FAQ5: “How about folks?”
Well folks, folks is different. As
different as in Germany! Not all Germans drink beer, eat sausage and love
eating kraut all the time while listening to German folk music. And not all
Americans shoot from while driving their Ford V8 pick-up. It is more likely
they would be texting or talking on their cell phone. But however, on both
sides of the Atlantic, there are such folks.
When it comes to the Upper Midwest,
the people here are best described as being “Minnesota nice”. That implies
being kind of friendly in general, based on the principle “Don’t believe you
are better than others.” So far, we have not have the chance to get to know
people better – except for the Auton family. On first sight, most contacts are
made by either having children or church. Both things do not apply in our case.
We still feel not comfortable with how important church and faith over here is,
therefore we don’t involve in church. You would say “keep your fingers crossed”
or “wish me luck” in Germany, over here it is called “I pray for you”. That
still feels strange, even to my German Lutheran heart and soul.
I am sorry it took me so long to post …
