So, it is SNOWING today. For those who don't know, I have not really seen snow properly since I was about 5 years old. There was of course that snow / ice storm when I was 8, but nothing like this. I woke up this morning in a "must I get up now?" mood, opened the balcony door to check the temperature, and was utterly taken aback by the winter wonderland that lay before me.
It must have snowed for most of the night! As we headed over to JYM this morning it was still snowing, and then as we walked out around noon it was still snowing. As I wandered around Koenigsplatz for a bit, the sun was coming out and I was kinda bummbed. But now I'm writing this and watching the snow fall still, though blue skies are on the horizon.
Photo: "Callabike" bikes in StuSta.
Photo: "Callabike" bikes in StuSta.
I also wanted to write some Top 5s, in honor of my being here one week and one day and also in honor of High Fidelity.
Top 5 Things I Love about Munich / Germany / Europe:
1. The U-Bahn. Getting around is so easy. I like the public transporation / bike / walking culture here. Of course, it means you can't really wear cute but impractical shoes unless you are very interested in being a cripple for the rest of your life.
2. The general culture here is so private--you're very much free to do what you want. No one would bat an eye if you strolled past them with blue hair and orange polka dots on your skin (only if it was contagious would they worry). On the other hand, this means that there is an attitude of "I have no vested interest in your well-being."
3. All the history, statues, churches, crazy beautiful buildings around every corner.
4. Having my own room / kitchenette / bathroom, however small it is. It's wonderful to have a space that is so utterly one's own. I can take two showers a day if I want (I still have my concerns, however, that the Hausverwaltung is going to find out and be like, "no, crazy American, you can't take two showers a day just because you're cold!" But this is merely paranoia.)
5. I like the fact that men here dress nicely. Well, it's not so much dress, as their general attitude. I'm not speaking of university students so much in particular, as men in their late 20s and early 30s. They tend to project, by dress and manner, a sense that they know what they're doing for the next 5 minutes of their lives, which is not always the case in America. I don't get the sense that there is a perpetual "Guyland" for men in their 20s and 30s here. Not sure what cultural differences to chalk this up to.
2. The general culture here is so private--you're very much free to do what you want. No one would bat an eye if you strolled past them with blue hair and orange polka dots on your skin (only if it was contagious would they worry). On the other hand, this means that there is an attitude of "I have no vested interest in your well-being."
3. All the history, statues, churches, crazy beautiful buildings around every corner.
4. Having my own room / kitchenette / bathroom, however small it is. It's wonderful to have a space that is so utterly one's own. I can take two showers a day if I want (I still have my concerns, however, that the Hausverwaltung is going to find out and be like, "no, crazy American, you can't take two showers a day just because you're cold!" But this is merely paranoia.)
5. I like the fact that men here dress nicely. Well, it's not so much dress, as their general attitude. I'm not speaking of university students so much in particular, as men in their late 20s and early 30s. They tend to project, by dress and manner, a sense that they know what they're doing for the next 5 minutes of their lives, which is not always the case in America. I don't get the sense that there is a perpetual "Guyland" for men in their 20s and 30s here. Not sure what cultural differences to chalk this up to.
Top 5 Things I Miss about the U.S. :1.
U.S. price scale: free, almost free, very cheap, cheap, moderately cheap, moderate, moderately expensive, very expensive
Europe price scale: moderately expensive, expensive, very expensive, very very expensive
2. People smiling and having a general open attitude toward others. Of course, the other side of this is that they can be nosy, which is true. I've yet to see a European actually grin, as in, bear all teeth, in a smile. This may explain gratituous alcohol use.
3. American customer service. Our government is very much "hey, good luck, Chuck!" as the government here isn't that way at all, but our private enterprise is hyper, hyper, hyper efficient. I lost my wallet on Friday, an experience I didn't want to relive again in writing it here, but calling Visa was crazy. "Ma'am, we are so, so sorry to hear that you lost your wallet." Then, when I got my Visa card in the mail practically the next day, I had a customer satisfaction survey in the mail. Did we send it quick enough? Was everyone very, very kind and very, very helpful? Europeans don't tend to this side of scale at all. Here, you get rushed while bagging your groceries and paying at the same time, while in America it's more like, "well, we are so HONORED you chose us for your services. HONORED." Europe: Well, duh. You need food. We sell it. End of story. Hallo und auf wiedersehen.
Photo: Antike Sammelungen (antique collections, i.e., Roman) building, Koenigsplatz, covered in snow.
4. Mexican food.
5. "The American Dream," or the idea you can be whoever you want to be when you grow up.
I'm not sure how to word this, but in America, it's very sink or swim. No one will drown you, save you from drowning, or teach you how to swim. You're all on your own. It's true, income inequalities are much wider in the U.S. than here. Some of my readers may say that this is due
to racial / social discrimination, pure luck, or choice, and I won't go into that. We can all agree, however, that the American government doesn't bend over backward to save people from drowning, nor does it make much attempt to stop those going forward (in comparsion with Europe). In Europe, they really want to make sure everyone stays afloat. So what I see as an "unfair" school system (since I speak as a classical liberal, I see "unfair" in terms of opportunity) with the Grundschule --> blue collar job, Realschule --> low level white collar job and Gymnasium --> University / professional job route, I think the Germans see as integrating everyone into society, and they see that as more fair than the American system, where people are just generally tossed into system and may the best man win. They are judging fairness in another term entirely: how close are people faring to the "average" (i.e., they want everyone within only a few standard deviations of the mean--the fewer deviations, the more "fair" society is).
Photo: heartbreakingly beautiful votives lit before St. Judas Thaddeus and a couple other saints (sorry, nameless ones) in stunning St. Ludwigskirche, on Ludwigsstraße near the Universitaet.
I'm not sure how to word this, but in America, it's very sink or swim. No one will drown you, save you from drowning, or teach you how to swim. You're all on your own. It's true, income inequalities are much wider in the U.S. than here. Some of my readers may say that this is due
to racial / social discrimination, pure luck, or choice, and I won't go into that. We can all agree, however, that the American government doesn't bend over backward to save people from drowning, nor does it make much attempt to stop those going forward (in comparsion with Europe). In Europe, they really want to make sure everyone stays afloat. So what I see as an "unfair" school system (since I speak as a classical liberal, I see "unfair" in terms of opportunity) with the Grundschule --> blue collar job, Realschule --> low level white collar job and Gymnasium --> University / professional job route, I think the Germans see as integrating everyone into society, and they see that as more fair than the American system, where people are just generally tossed into system and may the best man win. They are judging fairness in another term entirely: how close are people faring to the "average" (i.e., they want everyone within only a few standard deviations of the mean--the fewer deviations, the more "fair" society is). Photo: heartbreakingly beautiful votives lit before St. Judas Thaddeus and a couple other saints (sorry, nameless ones) in stunning St. Ludwigskirche, on Ludwigsstraße near the Universitaet.
I'm off to do some work on picking classes at Ludwig-Maximilian.
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