Killing time

I moved out of my room today, so I've spent the past hour or so sitting in the kitchen killing time.

My last final went well.  Woot.

I feel like I haven't done an adequate job describing some of the cultural differences of Germany and the States.  While a lot of things are similar, I assure you that there are a lot of differences.  Please note that I speak for only the area of Germany in which I live.  Other areas may be different.

Stores

The majority of German stores close at 8 p.m., or sorry, 20:00 (Germans use the 24-hour clock.).  The mall nearby my dorm has a advertisement on the door that boasts that the store is open until 22:00 (10 p.m.) on Thursdays.  Most stores also aren't open on Sundays.  It's similar to America back in the old days of walking uphill both ways to school and white-picket fences.

Cars

This is probably more well-known, but the majority of cars here are small.  I have seen zero SUVS and maybe one or two pickup trucks.  Also, most Germans with cars own German-made cars.  Mercedes is a lot more common here than in the States, but they actually offer low(er) cost cars here and not just the luxury cars they offer in the U.S.  The majority of delivery trucks are also Mercedes, which was weird seeing at first.

Drinks

Drinks are expensive at restaurants here.  For about three euros, you can usually get 0.4 liters of Coke with zero refills.  Beer is usually cheaper at restaurants.

Bottled water here is carbonated a lot of the time.  I hate drinking carbonated water.  I just don't think it is refreshing.

Walking

You know how when you are walking down the sidewalk in the States and you will be on a collision course with another person walking the opposite direction?  And there is a mutual understanding between the two of you of "I'll go this way.  You go that way."?  Yea, that doesn't really happen here.  I've had to almost jump out of the way of people before.

That's all for now.  I'll add more later if I can think of some other things.

Until next time, Alles Gute.