Q&A Time!

After fielding the same questions from my relatives when I skype with them, I figured that you, my readers, probably have the same questions as well. So here's my answers to the oft-asked questions, sometimes with a hint of sarcasm, based on the unanswerability of the questions.

1. How is Germany?

A: Do you mean, "How is German doing politically and economically?" If that's the case, they're doing quite well; Germans are very industrious and orderly, and it's paying off in the long run. They keep giving money to Greece and Spain so the Euro doesn't collapse, but other than that Germany is going very well. There's no riots like in other cities, and everyone's pretty much gotten over WWII (and yes, WWII jokes here are appreciated among the youth- it's been neat to share them). Oh, you mean, "How do you like Germany and are you doing there?" In that case, please read all my previous blog posts. Sigh, ok. You've already done that I'm sure. I'm enjoying Germany and everything it has to offer. It's been great to visit the cities and the country and get a full perspective. Being from the country myself, I don't see how one can visit any country and not spend some time with the normal people in the country (bend your mind around my use of the double meanings of "country"). I've enjoyed traveling, but I've also enjoyed getting to know the people at the seminary here. So overall, things are going well.

2. How is German coming?

A: It's going well. I can converse with the other students, and while I can't understand them at times, I can usually follow a conversation based on the words that I do know in their context. There's much more that I need to learn, though. The professors are much harder, though, because they use more difficult words and phrases.

3. This question is more of a surprise to me, it's been asked by both sets of grandparents and various aunts who are worried about what I eat, "How is the food there?"

A: The food is very similar to America, to be honest. It's not like I'm visiting China where absolutely nothing is recognizable. Our diets are different, but the food is almost the same. I eat more wurst (like hot dogs and sausages) but less beef and chicken. Pasta is a staple, as is rice, and there's lots of soup. One thing I've never seen before is wurst in soup. One cuts up the wurst and eats it with the soup. All considered, the food is quite delicious, even if they do use less sugar, which is one complaint I have of American food- we put way too much sugar in our food. Finally, one difference I've noticed is in the prices- bread is much cheaper here, as is food in general I think. Clothing is very expensive though.

4. How's the beer?

A: Haha...this would follow the question about food. I have two answers to this question. If you only drink the light American beers and are used to watered-down beers, German beer will strike you as heavier and tastier, and it is. But if you're somewhat of a beer-snob (which I am, admittedly), there's not much variety here. Everyone drinks pilsners, and only pilsners. I'm used to buying good beer in America, and by "good beer" I mean stouts, porters, IPAs, and a few brown ales. (In that way, American beer tastes are closer to the English than to the Germans.) My dad brews beer, and I often go to micro-breweries to sample their taste. So in a way, German beer has been a bit disappointing. It's cheaper, and I like that, but there's just no variety, at least, not much variety between the 20 different brands of pilsners that one can buy. I did go to an Irish pub, though, and had a Guinness from the tap- it's almost making me want to go to Ireland myself and get one there. It was so delicious, and much better than the bottled Guinness in America.

Side comment, while we're talking about alcohol- their hard liquor ("Schnaps") is very, very sweet- almost sickly sweet. I'm used to a bit of a kick when drinking straight whiskey or other drinks, which is why Americans often need to combine it with Coca-cola or juices to get them down. I remember a quote from someone, but I can't find it online- it goes like this, "How do you know that it's bad for you, if it doesn't hurt going down?"

5. How are classes?

Honestly, see my previous blog post on this- not much has changed. Understanding the profs is still a bit difficult.

6. What's travel like there?

A: Germans are known for their punctuality and order, and it pays off in their train system. The network is fairly fast and quite punctual, so I've never had a problem getting to a place on time, given that I've planned my trip out beforehand with the Deutsche Bahn app on my iPad. And even if I get lost somewhere, I just need to look for the (H) sign nearby, get on the bus, and find my way to a train station. That's in the cities. Traveling between cities is very easy with the IC (inter-city) and ICE (express). If it's not too far away, I take the RB (regional bahn), because it's much cheaper. I miss my car and the freedom it provides, but I'm adapting here just fine. There's a lot more walking, though, which is good.

Those six questions just about cover more frequent questions I get. Feel free to comment below and ask more.

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