one of the best things about having visitors from the philippines (or probably from anywhere else, too) is that, for a few days, i was able to see germany and my life here from another perpective. little things that i don’t pay attention to anymore suddenly come to light again, as if seeing them for the first time. for example, i re-realized (am i coining a word here?) that there are no doorknobs in germany. we have levers on the doors instead. the toilet flush can take a wide variety of possibilities: it could be a button, a knob, a lever, a panel, a motion sensor or a chain. it may be located on the water tank, on the wall, or on the floor. when you go grocery shopping, not only do you have to bag your own purchases yourself, you have to even bring your own bag. or it may be that when you buy a couple of books, you’ll be asked if you’d like to have a bag. it’s not like at the national bookstore, where you buy a ballpoint and they automatically wrap it in a plastic bag and seal it with a foot of adhesive for added measure. in restaurants, a glass of water is not served by default; you’ll have to ask for one (and pay for it), and you’ll have to specify if you’d like normal mineral water or you’ll most likely get carbonated water. iced-tea is not commonly served, unless it’s summer; apple juice is the classic beverage for kids. gummi bears and rice wafers are the classic kiddie junk food. mcdonalds’ menu meals are composed such that you pay the same price no matter which meal you choose, so that for four-something euro, you can either have two cheeseburgers or one big mac, plus fries and cola (yes, it’s called cola, not coke). driving around is not so difficult, as long you have a map in tow. if you know a bit of german geography, you may even simply follow the signs and directions along the autobahn. if you do get lost, no worries, every two kilometers on the highway is an emergency phone you can use. oh, and yes, sorry, but driving even at 180 kph doesn’t give you the license to stay on the leftmost lane.

oh, there are so many more little things. but apart from that, having stayed close with my sister’s family for nearly 5 whole days, there were also behavioral differences i’ve noted: they have a more spontaneous tendency to laugh, to enjoy, to let their happiness bubble to the surface, than the people i’ve grown accustomed to. given their rigid itinerary (frankfurt, venice, florence, rome, paris, london and athens in 22 days), they were relaxed and carefree. they were easy to satisfy and didn’t make fuss when things (or the weather) didn’t go as expected. they were… pinoy.

uh-oh. now, i’m getting homesick.

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