We were on the line at the supermarket near to our house. There were two ladies in front of me, one made a major shopping, the other didn’t even need a shopping basket.

I was putting my products on the belt: a diet Coke, potatoes, cream cheese, some salty junk food. A man in his 30′s was standing behind me, holding only a bad with cold cuts. “If you have only this, you can go in front of me,” I told him. He gave me the same response I get every time I make this offer: a refusal with the shoulder, then a gesture with the mouth asking me if I am sure, and then a constant smile, once they are ahead of me.

The cashier finished the scanning of the products of the first lady on the line. It was eighty something Euros. The lady handed her a credit… weiter lesen

Every day I check our mailbox. Actually, what I do is check the mailbox to make sure it is empty. There are only bad news coming in the mail in this time. Usually you owe someone money or somebody want something from you. Good news travel electronically. If there are any envelopes in the mailbox, I check them quickly and leave them to the Frau.

But the other day there was this mysterious envelope coming from the employment office. I left the other bills in the mailbox and took only that one. I tore the top of the envelope and learned that the employment office wants to meet with me.

When the Frau came from work, I handed her the letter very proudly. I have two degrees from universities in New York, I am fluent in two languages and I have a document showing that I passed my German course… weiter lesen

I noticed today, as we were taking our kids from Kita, that they installed parking meters in PBerg. I must say that parking meters in Berlin are one of the most peculiar cases I ran into in the city. And I really need an explanation for this. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.

I mean, it is a great idea. The public transportation in Berlin is great and anyone who opts to drive in with a car should pay for it. And the city is so poor, it really needs any kind of income. But this is how it works: the meters are chargeable from Monday to Saturday. Eight in the morning until ten in the evening. It is two Euros for two hours. expensive, even more than New York, but hey, someone must support all these people sitting in the cafes doing nothing.… weiter lesen

There are many things you witness in Israel where it is obvious that they were copied from the German system: education, welfare, healthcare and other public infrastructures. But there are also many things in Israel that are obvious testimonies to the fact that Israeli society had done everything possible to turn against its German heritage. There is no “Sie” in Israel, just “Du”, even if you speak to the president, there is a complete disbelief in authority unless it proves otherwise, and in Israel improvisation is the structure.

I can understand that. Actually it was something I would expect Germans to do. To understand that everything that happened before 1933 was up to doubt. I am still amazed by how much rules of behavior are important here. I mean: I am sure that people that had excellent table manners had executed kids after their lunch, why should I care to… weiter lesen

(I know it is Holocaust day today, but since I dislike the notion that I am supposed to remember the Holocaust on one particular day, I will write about something else and I promise to dedicate the next post to Holocaust)

When Maya was born we were so confused, we were basically going to stores, emptying the shelves, paying, going back home, meeting new parents, realizing we forgot something and returned back to the store to empty another shelf. That’s why we have about 38 unused bottles in one drawer in the kitchen, 397 white linens, and, this is not even close to exaggeration, 13 bottle cleaners. And three buckets where Maya was supposed to take shower as a baby that we never used.

We also asked friends of ours from New York, also new parents, to send us a baby package. with what, they asked. with everything a baby need, besides a bed, we… weiter lesen

I think that last night’s game between Germany and Argentine should leave many Germans worried. Not only their team played an awful game and their goalkeeper made an idiotic mistake, but their best striker is black!! What would happen in the NPD nation (mean the supporter of this party, not all of Germany) if this striker will score the winning goal in South Afrika? how are they supposed to celebrate? didn’t they have enough of Klose?

The game reminded me of the World Cup four years ago, when the Germans really made an effort and pretend to be nice to foreigners. What a wonderful month and concept that was. I remember that midway through the Welt Meister I completely was rooting for the German national team and even wrote about it for a local newspaper. It was the new Germany, Klinsman Germany, Berlin Germany of opneness and multi cultures as opposed… weiter lesen