Reading Comprehension #3

How is living in Europe different from living in North America? What are some little things that one experiences on a day-to-day basis?

Christopher Webb, lived in The United States of America

I'm from California and have lived in Germany for many years.  I can't say more than any tourist could about other places; so, I'll stick to these.

Everything here in Germany is scaled down.  The streets are narrower, the cars and houses smaller, the shops smaller, etc.
Most people live in rented apartments.  The more prosperous mostly live in connected row houses.  Free-standing houses are less common, as are big lawns and yards.  In California, most people live in separate houses with plenty of space around them, even in less affluent neighborhoods.

Many people here don't have cars.  Those who do take good care of them and tend to opt for more expensive makes.  There are many more BMW's and Mercedes' everywhere.  In California, even poorer people often have two cars, even if they are old.  Gasoline here is several times the price in California.

Germany is colder and densely crowded.  California is pleasantly warm most of the year and, although the major cities are gigantic and spread out, there's ample open land in between and much more in the way of nature.



In California, manual and menial labor is done mostly by ethnic and racial minorities.  In Germany, the cleaners, garbage collectors, gardeners, farm laborers, taxi drivers, construction workers, etc., are largely indistinguishable, to me, in point of ethnicity.  I was surprised at this, and surprised how I had just taken such segregation for granted.

In Germany, there is little evident poverty and neighborhoods and schools are mixed.  California has a large and visible underclass and racial and economic segregation in neighborhoods and schools.

In California, huge shopping complexes are the rule, and people drive miles to get there, usually doing all their shopping for the week at once.  In Germany, the stores are mostly smaller and people often walk there and shop every day.

Here, people take off their shoes when entering a house and put on special shoes just for indoors.  This is rare in California.

Here, you answer the phone by just stating your last name.  In California, you say hello, then wait for the caller to identify himself.

Most younger and professional people speak fair English, although this is not the case outside the cities.  In California, while there are many who speak Spanish at home and in their neighborhoods, English is universal, and few people learn a foreign language.

People still write checks for everyday transactions in California.  In Germany, all banking has been electronic since before I came here in 1997.

People here address one-another by their last names and use titles like doctor most of the time, even if it has nothing to do with their job.  In California, people use first names after they've met, and only physicians, dentists, older professors and the like use their titles, and then only when they are on the job.

Radio service here is very meagre, with just a few stations, compared to hundreds in California.

Teens here can drink alcohol at 16, but drive only at 18.  People can drink in public and it's common to see kids drinking in groups everywhere.  In California, they can start driving at 16, but only drink at 21, and public consumption is strictly forbidden.

Nudity in parks is allowed here, but forbidden in California.

Swearing is common here, even among little kids, and not particularly frowned upon.  This may have changed, but when I was growing up in California, it seemed much less common and was a mark of vulgarity.

In Germany, Mexican food is exotic, not easy to find, expensive, and the flavor a pale imitation of the real thing, while in California, of course, it is ubiquitous and cheap. 

Italian food here, however, is more like that of Italy than in California.

There is more quality casual music in public places and night spots in California.  Here, there's not so much happening on the streets, apart from the kind of solitary performer with his hat out, and music indoors, even in small places, usually means a scheduled show and a ticket purchase.

Everything connected with the arts is well-supported and abundant here, including training.  Even the small town where I live (pop. 22,000) has a good music school, a civic theater, and a concert hall, with a regular program each season.  Only in much larger communities in California would something comparable be found.
 
Well, enough for now.  Maybe I'll add more later.