*Guys and Capris*

You know a guy is German/European when they are wearing capris. No American guy would be caught dead in capris.

*Smallpox Shots*

A lot of Germans have this scar on their upper arm, closer to their shoulder, where they had smallpox shots as young children. How come we don't have those? I'm sure we had the vaccinations.

*Going to the Bathroom During Class*

For some reason, students have absolutely no problem getting up in the middle of class to go to the bathroom. In America, we'd probably say that by that age, people should be mature enough to be able to wait unless it's an emergency. It surprises me every time. It seems rude. You have an hour-and-a-half class and ten people need to go the bathroom and it has to be during that time? Wow.

*One Euro Coin*

Remember to always have a one-Euro coin with you. You'll need it if you want to study in the library (you have to lock your things away), or if you want to use a shopping cart, but most importantly, if you want to use the toilet. Otherwise it's on a tree.

I guess it makes sense to charge so you can keep your bathroom clean, but it gets a little uncomfortable when there's a bathroom attendant who sits there with the coin box and constantly cleans up after you.

Usually, I just hold it until I get home or to the university. But if you're traveling, you're going to have troubles unless you're on the train often. I remember seeing a hole in the ground in Italy with footmarks on both sides and thinking, "I'm getting back on the train in an hour. I think I'll wait until then."

As for the library problem, I almost always forget and the bakery close to the library is not keen on giving change without a purchase. Luckily, yesterday as I met with a guy whose doctorate dissertation I'll be editing for moola, I told him my problem, and he gave me this:















I'd already had a plain white chip for shopping carts (attached to my keychain and courtesy of DeutschBank), but this thing is cool! As you can see, it is the plastic, but perfectly representative of the Euro coin. I don't know where you can buy something like this, but it's worth looking for.