6 Things I (A German) Love About America, And 5 Things That I Find Incredibly Weird

These are my experiences and opinions, not a universal concept of America!

1. Love: The generosity I’ve experienced in the US.

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As a German who lives in Berlin, this is quite an unusual thing.

2. Weird: Why do Americans use Fahrenheit?

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What is the logic behind it? I’ve asked multiple Americans and no one was able to explain it.

3. Love: The small talk.

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In Germany, this is not a thing. If you don’t know each other well, you get down to business. One time when an American came over he was shocked that I knew so little about a women who lived near me. We only waved at each other and didn’t stop to talk.

When I was in the US, there was a lot of talking, even with people you had hardly met. It was a completely foreign concept to me. But I love it!

4. Weird: Why don’t you use the metric system?

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Again, I don’t see the logic in the American system and no American has ever been able to explain it.

It just doesn’t make sense.

5. Love: Bagels and Regular Cheerios

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I am addicted. Sure, you can get bagels here and they’re decent, but you can get one for the price of six American ones. And I’ve seen more expensive ones, too. Cheerios you can get too, but I’ve only ever found the honey nut ones. And, unpopular opinion, the regular ones are better.

6. Weird: Why does it cost so much to go to school?

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I know this is a common topic, but why do you need to get yourself into crippling debt to get an education? I know scholarships exist, but it’s not like everyone gets one.

7. Love: Nature

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It still amazes me that you can have huge (and I mean huge) patches of woods anywhere. It shouldn’t be weird, but it is — not in a bad way.

8. Weird: Why do you say the month, then the day, then the year?

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This one really gets under my skin for some reason, it doesn’t add up to me. Where’s the logic behind it? Why not go from smallest to largest? Day, month, year?

9. Love: The serving sizes

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I know lots of people complain, but honestly, I like it. I like getting a lot, and then if you can’t finish it, you just take it home. You can usually take it home in Germany, too. But it’s not a normalized thing.

10. Weird: Chips for dinner

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Chips are a snack food, not a dinner food. This is so strange to me! Did I just have a weird experience or is this an actual thing?

11. Love: The helpfulness

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In the US, I've had many good experiences with people. When I needed help they wouldn’t get annoyed and make it as short and unhelpful as possible. This is not to say I haven’t had bad experiences, there were just an overwhelming amount of really helpful people.

Or maybe I have low standards after living in Berlin, which is a wonderful city with many great people, but helpfulness is not a quality that I see often.