Post 6: Home for the Holidays

           So for the holidays I made the decision to go back to the United States to be with my family and friends from home. It was a great time, getting to see everyone for Christmas. Everybody was so curious about how my time in Germany had been going. For me going home was a very eye opening experience. I had not realized how much I had become accustomed to the way of living in Germany.

            Although it was only for a short time I definitely had to adjust to being back in the United States. There were somethings that I totally had to readjust to that I had always taken for granted when I was back I the United States. The most common thing I would do was every time I had change when it was less than five dollars I would put away my wallet, only to realize I would be receiving one-dollar bills, rather than the one and two euro coins I had become accustomed to.

           I also had to get used to driving myself everywhere. Even though when I first came to Germany I missed my car, after being at home I realized how nice it was to be able to hop on a tram or bus anywhere in the city and not have to worry about parking or paying for gas. Another little unique USA cultural aspect that I had to remember was tipping, as well as sales tax. 

           Remembering these little things definitely made me realize how much I had grown accustomed to living in Germany. When I am living over there I slowly adapted, but coming home was a big culture shock just to see how much had changed.