The list of things that baffle, frustate, interest, excite and scare me or that I miss in California (to be reviewed in one year)

1. Dude, the plastic bags. They are thin. Here you call using two bags, one in the other, double-bagging" (which sounds vaguely pervy to me). I have become very antibag because it annoys me so much. You can't really reuse them since they rip at the slightest movement or pointy purchase, and I do not see why our garbage must contain around 30% plastic bags.
   
2. The driving, the street conditions, the speed limits, the on and off ramps.... Driving in California scares me. Signal, would you signal? Well, if you do, be prepared to see the guy behind that slot pick up speed to close the gap you so obviously want to move into. How dare you! And WOAH, beware of those merging on, you better be aware that they will speed up, and overtake you so you might not make it off (or will crash into the trianglypointy section between off-ramp curve and on ramp end). Americans are competitive drivers.
3. Cars. Why do so many people need such BIG cars? We have a VW Touareg and Germans think "whoa, big car," but the thing looks like a medium-sized family car next to the huge cars here.
4. 91 octane. Seriously? That's the best you have? And: gas-guzzlers are cheaper to buy than the more environmentally-friendly cars. Yes, in the long run maybe not, but we did not have the long-run money all at once.
5. Fussgaengerzone. A car-free city center. That is so AWESOME in Germany, I did not realize it until I moved away.
6. The eating out. We eat out more, and we love the options. Nice. And, sorry Germany, but we can have a very good meal for well under 30 dollars (not Euro - dollars). Also: Sushi? Vietnamese? sooooo goooood.
   
7. The large supermarkets. With nothing in them. What can I say, I have learned to love Trader Joe's(I love you, TJ, Aldi brothers) because I feel more comfortable shopping there. Walmart et al frustrate me as I do not ever find what I am looking for (a drip thingy for hand-washed dishes, one that has something catch the water? I know they exist, a friend has one). The large supermarkets seem so, well, sad.
   
8. Bread. I will not say more.
9. I love the whole heirloom thing here! heirloom tomatoes (beautiful and delicious), anyone?
10. Wholefoods. Very pricey, but such lovely things to buy.
    
11. Pita chips are fabulous. (I have to stop with the food rave)
12. The secret tax on bottles. Bear with me, maybe I will see this differently in time, but the "recycle" places where you can return your bottles (5-15 cents a piece) are hard to find and grungy. Online search? Oh, no dear, that would be too easy. But by asking at my Trader Joe's, then driving to a different place because the guy was wrong, then understanding the days (closed on Tuesdays, or Wednesdays, or ARGH), I have found a place. This is still neither easy or anywhere near where I buy the bottles, that would be too smart. Check out those cool machines in Germany, people! In the supermarket! In the beverages department! wow, totally efficient Germany there, right (no, just a simple idea, the customer has it easy, not the recyclers).
13. Wine. Your wine is too fruity, Cali.
14. My neighborhood. It is beautiful. honestly. And the neighbors are not nosey, but they are helpful. Good combination.
15. We have a garden with a fountain. Exciting! Something non-bird-bee-raccoon poisonous that kills mosquito larvae would also be good.
    
16. The books. This country, dear Germans, has beautiful, interesting, wonderful book stores. Secondhand, rare, new, whatever you need. And the libraries are something to see. Honestly, I think my visitors will have to go see our library.
17. The vegetation - exciting! It's so new, so different! Suddenly, I realize that I actually recognized and could name the trees, plants and small animals in the German forests. I can't even name 90% of the flowers in the garden, let alone the bushes and trees I see on hikes.
    
18. I miss the mountains. Dear family in the south of Bavaria, your view, I miss your view. And the hiking in those mountains. Austria, I miss you. (qualification: I was not there every weekend or whatever, but often enough to miss those mountains, it seems). Switzerland, Zurich, you are but a dream.
    
19. We can be at the ocean and beaches in a 30 minute drive. Yes, you can now be envious.
    
20. The time difference. Skype is great, and emails and facebook are good communication tools, but still... Talking to my mom and friends there is not just grabbing the phone. I used to try not to call when they had dinner or where putting kids to bed, but know, we are all so unsure, irritated by the time difference: now, could I call now? Is she at home? Too, late, too early? The rhythm that we had for calls is gone, and it's been hard tov reestablish.
21. The tapwater tastes very different. I miss German tapwater. Weird.
    
22. I also find it strange to live in a house, as compared to an appartment. I had serious problems in the beginning, I did not feel safe. We live in a one-story house with 2 doors and french windows into the garden. Entryways for bad people! Locks that I might forget to check! Check again! Again!
23. I also would like to add a list in the list of things that I find hard to do without consciousy prepping myself and going through the steps (did you know that I blush easily? A lot of cashiers and other car drivers do.). Swiping the card, where does the basket go, getting gas, placing an order at a restaurant, answering the phone, saying hi to the neighbors (what's too long, too short, to personal, too much about us and not them?), greetings (so, do I say "how do you do" back to the cashier every time? What is the rythm? Eye contact is also mysteriously different (look way, smile, look back, ? No, that was not flirty? It was? help?). Inviting people over (please just come over? no? Send out a written invitation? Email? Say "Do come by soon? Will they?).
    
24. Vocabulary. I do not have the active vocabulary for many situations. I sound like I grew up here, but I am not as quick to speak as I am used to being (my friends would be very surprised). Job interviews will be so much fun with that handicap (what is the font for sarcasm?)
    

Ok.

I just have to laugh so hard. Today I found that I actually still have this blog. wow, who would have thought!

I now live in California, am searching for a job (but procrastinating very much because the process frightens me), and trying not to feel guilty that I lead such a life. California? For a few years? And then go back to Germany? Let me just add that we have September 30th, the sky is blue and we have 25 degrees (Celsius. N, Fahrenheit has not become my scale, sorry).

I will just update this and see if I can use this to inform my dear German friends and family as well as friends here in the US... Those who are not harassed my my all-too-frequent facebook posts, I mean.

my first blog post.. wow, so little to say! I have been out there reading blogs and loving it, and the main reason to start this is to list all my favorite blogs and just post once in a while. I do blog for my workplace (an intranet blog), so I am familiar with the medium... but not in the big wide open of the internet!

I do have a reason for calling myself Germerican, and I do want to write about it, but for now I just need to decide for myself: Do I want the husband to know about it (yes, would be really stupid otherwise; but why do I feel shy/uncomfortable about it?); do I want anyone else to know I am writing this, I mean, who I am in "real life" (actually, no, not right now); do I want to be so secretive (no, not really, which goes against all I decided in before, that is the predicament). So, I will progress and find out! No one will read all this anyway (well, I can't see why/how right now, there is nothing there), but maybe this is a good way to write down stuff to decide on, clear up feelings, and someday communicate them to people who I would like to have here.

So: let the games begin!