It may seem all glamorous and wonderful living in another country but its not always "tea cakes and scones". (Or in my case, schnitzel and noodles). There are things that you have to come to terms with while you're out of "America".
~ Your refrigerator is small. About the size of a kitchen cabinet... As a matter of fact, that's usually what it looks like too!
~ Closets are not part of the vocabulary in Europe. Ikea will become a necessity while living here.
~ Gasoline costs an arm, leg, kidney and part of your liver. Never run out of gas after the on post gas station is closed or you might as well sell your first born to pay to fill your tank.
~ Air Conditioning is a myth. Europeans think its frivolous and unnecessary and will laugh if you ask them about it. (Silly Americans! Why be cool and comfortable when we can sweat to death?)
Which brings me to ceiling fans...
~ You will have a hard time finding a house with them and when you do, they are there because another American family installed them while they were here.
~ Window screens are another of the frivolous American things. Who needs screens? I mean, there's no air conditioning or ceiling fans so we will open the windows and get eaten by Mosquitos the size of your hand. Sounds logical...
~ Bugs and critters are bigger here. There's no bug spray to kill them, no screens to keep them out and if that doesn't help you sleep at night, I don't know what will.
~ Everything is taxed. Road tax, tv tax... You own it? There's a tax for it.
~ Europeans love their pets. My neighbor has 3 dogs, 3 cats, 2 bunnies, 2 guinea pigs and a partridge in a pear tree. Dogs go everywhere. Want to go out for dinner? The couple in the corner has a dog sitting next to them at the table. Yep.
~ Deodorant is not widely used. Going grocery shopping on the economy is "scented" with sweat, swamp butt and under arm funk. It's wonderful.
~ Washers can fit about 4-5 bath towels (if you really squeeze) and take about 3 hours to wash (and 2-4 hours to dry). Blankets and large items must be driven to the closest laundromat on post to be washed. But when you get there its survival of the fastest. Midnight - 5am is your best bet for getting an empty washer.
~ Trash runs every 2 weeks and you can fit 2 trash bags in your "wheelie bin". Why? Landfills, recycling and money... Recycle, recycle, recycle.
~ Parking with your big American vehicle is difficult at best and if you happen to find a spot big enough to squeeze into (and I mean park, climb out the back window and pray that you can get back into the car) you will have to pay by the hour to park. Wanna park without paying? That'll be about $100 in fines.
~ When ordering a drink, ice is not a given and water is not always "flat". If you order "water" you'll get a glass with room temperature sparkling water, a slice of lemon and no ice. Blech!
It's not all bad though. There's tons of good, but it's definitely a culture shock in the beginning. I'm not sure what I'll do when I finally get a closet and some central air conditioning...
No comments:
Post a Comment