Random Bits of German Life

I never fail to notice the little tiny differences and nuances of life in Germany.

On the computer, everything on the Internet defaults to German. I miss being able to search American Google. Typing English phrases into German Google does not yield the same results. All of my Facebook ads are also in German, and so are Youtube ads. Not a lot of Youtube videos work here either, which is a bummer.

German computers are also just different enough to be really annoying. They have extra keys for special characters, which is great, but for whatever reason the "Y" and "Z" keys are switched so I always get really confused when typing.

I like how you get on any mode of transportation and don't have to show your ticket (except the night buses). Everything is so much faster and more efficient that way. There's no waiting to get on the bus. Honor system for the win. And for the record, I threw down 70 Euro for the Semester Ticket. I'm all for supporting public transportation and will not play "dumb American" and ride without a ticket until I get caught.

There is no service anywhere. Or at least, waiters never come to you. You have to actively flag them down to place your order and get the check. Maybe it's because they don't work for tips here. It's very different and even pleasant to not be constantly hawked over by a tip-hungry waitress.

This one isn't about Germany, but did you know Switzerland (or Swizzerland, as my ever-amusing professor likes to spell it) is abbreviated "CH?" I kept getting confused by it so I looked it up, and it's the abbreviation for the Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. Because Switzerland has four national languages, they decided to choose their official name in Latin, a neutral language. And the font Helvetica= Switzerland. Cool stuff.

I still do not understand why every beverage, including water, has to be fizzy.
I also still do not understand why it's frowned upon to ask for tap water.

The German grading system. Is different. It goes by numbers  and fractions and (1-5) and the lower, the better. Sort of like golf. Also, Europeans are apparently more interested in how many ECTS credits they get for a class than the actual grade. Or something.