Germany and America are very different in some ways, I’ve noticed. I mean, that’s probably obvious. We are across the ocean and have a different language. But even with differences like that, people are the same everywhere. We’re all humans, you know? But there are actually big cultural differences. And I think it’s really cool to learn about all this, it’ll be one of the high points of this whole experience, just talking to people from other countries and living in a non-American environment.

One of the big differences is the attitude towards alcohol. Germans are so incredibly relaxed about it. Instead of being confined to bars and restaurants and inside someone’s home like in America, you can pretty much get a beer and drink it wherever you want here. So you can just sit at a little outside cafe in the city center and order one or two beers during the afternoon while shopping or just wandering around. It’s just as cheap as water, after all, so why not drink beer?

And if you’re lucky, there’s a Biergarten near you. Those things completely epitomize the German way of drinking. There’s one in Tuebingen right on the Neckar river, which is also a restaurant, and also brews its own beer. But in the Biergarten part of it, there are rows and rows of nice wooden picnic tables surrounded by trees and hanging lights and a few canopies just in case it rains. You can either bring your own beer or buy some at the counter on one side, and it can even be a family affair. Bring the kids. If they look like they’re about 14 or older, they can get some. Without being carded. Really, it’s just beer here, there’s no American uptightness about it. And there are young kids in strollers too, and some running around chasing birds or each other.  It really is amazing, and incredibly relaxing, and I vote that we bring the tradition back to America.

That’s the thing about Germany. They work hard when they work, and are very serious about it all. But they’re also very serious about their free time. Hours on businesses and restaurants and stores are very restricted. And almost nothing is open on Sundays, so you have to make sure you have enough food for the weekend by Saturday afternoon. It’s very unlike the customer-focused competitive consumer culture of America, and it’s actually very relaxing once you get used to the fact that you have to work your own schedule around the stores’ schedules.

So that’s what I’m doing this semester. Learning to relax in Germany. And learning to just sit back and enjoy the ride.