Top 5 Items I Missed While Traveling Through Germany:
1. My family and friends, of course. Thank goodness for Facetime. 2. Ice cubes in drinks. I think I only had this one or two times, and it was very missed on the hot summer days. 3. Air conditioning. My hotel rooms both had air, but nowhere else did, not even the hotel lobbies. We happened to visit during the worst heat wave Germany has experienced in years. One day, Berlin was the hottest city in all of Europe. The citizens there were certain it was a true sign of global warming. You see, Germany sits at the same latitude as the middle of Canada. It tends to be far more tolerable in the summer than we are used to in the Midwest. 4. As stated in my foodie blog post, I missed chicken and beef. Pork is by far the most common protein in Deutschland. I had chicken a few times, but I do not think I ate beef one time. I think Europe does not have enough land space to raise much cattle. 5. My blow dryer. Even though I brought it with me as well as an electrical outlet adapter, the appliance drew too much power. I blew fuses every time I tried to use it. So natural, air-dried hair was a must the entire trip. Top 5 Items I Miss Since I Left Germany: 1. Mass public transit. It was so convenient and clean and easy. I especially loved the bike culture most. 2. The very fresh, clean food. I felt so much better while there. Everything I've tried eating since returning to America has made me feel crummy. 3. The variety of cuisines. I know part of this issue stems from the fact that I live in such a rural region, but it is not just that. Germany is such a short drive to all other European countries that it not only has lots of restaurants, but it has very authentic, immigrant-owned food specialities. It is better than just a large US city. I tried so many new foods while in Germany, and it will be hard for me to get these cuisines now that I am back home. 4. Such responsible children. German parents and culture expect so much more of their kids than we American adults do. They do not expect them to mature to early. Instead, the trust them more, which in turn makes them more responsible. Traveling around town, being in a room without the teacher present, completing better academic assignments with more writing and speaking, and learning in a shorter period of time -- these are just a few specific examples of child responsibilities in Germany. In general, though, it was refreshing to see such independent children, much like we remember from back in the 1980s and 1990s in America. 5. My travel companions, our tour guide, and my partner teacher. They were all such progressively-minded, innovative souls. They were true inspirations. It was so refreshing to spend such a long amount of time with these thoughtful educators. I am so glad to have made these friendships, and I am thankful we are all remaining in contact moving forward.
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AuthorSophie -- a teacher, mother, wife, traveler, reader, camper, and Mizzou Tiger Archives
July 2022
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