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8 Things meme
Aug. 10th, 2007 10:26 amI've done a similar one in the past, I think, but Natalie at http://italianmoments.blogspot.com tagged me, so I'll play. Since her blog is largely about life as an American in Italy, I'll focus mine in Germany, specifically, eight things about me that would make a German's hair stand on end:
1. I don't iron. EVERYONE in this country irons. Even if they have them, Germans don't use dryers like Americans do, so you can't iron-dry. And, I noticed when I brought textiles back to the States last time, their cloth doesn't come out ironed from the dryer, anyway. So they iron everything--including sheets and underwear.
2. I don't long for whole-grain bread. By "whole grain" I don't mean brown-colored bread from Costco. I mean "bread" made of assorted grains all stuck together; i.e., not ground into flour. I like baguettes (not sourdough--it's an American heresy to believe that European bread is all about sourdough--it's NOT), Turkish flatbread, chewy bread with crusty exteriors, soft American dinner rolls, light, chewy German dinner rolls, bread made of spelt flour, and any number of yeast products. But I don't care how healthy it is, if it doesn't have flour, I have a hard time classifying it as bread.
3. I don't let my toddler prepare dinner with a paring knife.
4. While there may be fine art uses, and while I find them fun to play with, I see no real-world use for fountain pens. My grandfather made them professionally--and he was born in 1893. Times have changed. We have ballpoints and, you know, computers and all.
5. I have never and will never beg my child's teacher to please, assign more homework, especially on the last week of school.
6. I believe that there's nothing wrong with wearing red and blue together. As far as I'm concerned, the colors match.
7. I think that if you're in charge of a large dinner (50-100 people) and there is no available dishwasher, it's okay to use disposable dinnerware, even when it's a formal event.
8. I don't think kids need six layers of clothing to be warm enough. Especially not in August.
(Note to any Germans reading this: I LOVE Germany. I just find it amusing how the deeply ingrained ways of seeing the world vary so much between cultures. Iron away!)
I tag anyone who hasn't done this one, but especially if you've lived in a foreign country.
1. I don't iron. EVERYONE in this country irons. Even if they have them, Germans don't use dryers like Americans do, so you can't iron-dry. And, I noticed when I brought textiles back to the States last time, their cloth doesn't come out ironed from the dryer, anyway. So they iron everything--including sheets and underwear.
2. I don't long for whole-grain bread. By "whole grain" I don't mean brown-colored bread from Costco. I mean "bread" made of assorted grains all stuck together; i.e., not ground into flour. I like baguettes (not sourdough--it's an American heresy to believe that European bread is all about sourdough--it's NOT), Turkish flatbread, chewy bread with crusty exteriors, soft American dinner rolls, light, chewy German dinner rolls, bread made of spelt flour, and any number of yeast products. But I don't care how healthy it is, if it doesn't have flour, I have a hard time classifying it as bread.
3. I don't let my toddler prepare dinner with a paring knife.
4. While there may be fine art uses, and while I find them fun to play with, I see no real-world use for fountain pens. My grandfather made them professionally--and he was born in 1893. Times have changed. We have ballpoints and, you know, computers and all.
5. I have never and will never beg my child's teacher to please, assign more homework, especially on the last week of school.
6. I believe that there's nothing wrong with wearing red and blue together. As far as I'm concerned, the colors match.
7. I think that if you're in charge of a large dinner (50-100 people) and there is no available dishwasher, it's okay to use disposable dinnerware, even when it's a formal event.
8. I don't think kids need six layers of clothing to be warm enough. Especially not in August.
(Note to any Germans reading this: I LOVE Germany. I just find it amusing how the deeply ingrained ways of seeing the world vary so much between cultures. Iron away!)
I tag anyone who hasn't done this one, but especially if you've lived in a foreign country.
