The do's and don'ts of Deutschland

Good evening,

Today was a very nice day and I promised myself I would use as much German as possible, but you are all an exception. Classes are going well enough. I have two different teachers depending on the day and they are complete opposites. One is slow and loves to have us talk and wants us to work on spoken German while the other is very fast, very complicated and is a grammar freak. My thought is, at least I'm getting both ends of the spectrum and maybe I'll come out in the middle. I think that's pretty logical.

Thinking back to before I came here, I decided I would like help out others that come after me. Because honestly, I was terrified. Remember in my first post I said I was going to try and not make a complete fool out of myself? Learn from my mistakes and let these be some guidelines for Germany or another foreign country.

1. Know how the toilets work: This is very important in "green" countries like Germany and much of Europe because they can be rather complicated in order to save water. Some have different buttons for different settings, as I like to think of it. Do you need lots of water? Use the big button. Just a little? The smaller. And please, only hold down the button for as much water as you need, not more. Or perhaps they don't want you to flush at all, but how are you to know this? The sign is in German. Well, I'm here to help. Perhaps there is what looks like a compartment in the toilet? Yes, that means only flush if you're going to leave something unpleasant in there. If not, go ahead and just wash your hands (please!) and leave happy knowing you're helping save the environment.

2. Why are there so many trash cans?!?: As you may have figured, Europe is very environmentally friendly and their trash is no different. In airports, train stations, houses, even in the middle of the sidewalks there will be many canisters that are color coded; green, blue, yellow, brown and gray. These are to separate your glasses, paper, plastics,  bio wastes (don't worry, it's just called "bio" in Germany because it means leftover food items) and the rest of the items that do not fit into those categories. But don't worry, before you get too overwhelmed by all of your options, just let me tell you that each of these has a picture of what should go into where.

3. Be weary of the elderly: Be absolutely certain you know which trash can you're using and don't just absentmindedly throw something away because, although they look friendly, elderly Germans have absolutely no qualms about jumping down your throat for your mistakes. Toss a piece of paper into the bio? Get called a louse by the old guy sitting on the park bench. Cross the street without having permission from the Ampelman? (He's the green or red guy on the crosswalk lights...Not to be trifled with.) Get told by the Oma talking a walk with her grandchild that you're setting a bad example for the children.
All I can say is: You've been warned.

4. Get acquainted with your vocab: This is a personal experience of mine. If you don't know quite what a word means, DON'T use it. Sure, you may have heard it in a very precise context that could not be taken any other way, but that does not mean there may not be a double meaning. It can make for very awkward dinner conversations. Rule of thumb: Until you've heard the word used by at least three different people in different situations, leave it be.

I'm sure along the way I'll find more valuable lessons to be learned, but I think that's all for tonight.
Bis bald