I've Become Germanized

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Intro 0:00
One 0:34
Two 1:22
Sponsor 2:50
Three 4:22
Four 5:07
Five 5:49
Six 6:41
Seven 7:58
Eight 8:57

[SvenScholz]

You know you became an adult when the monsters moved from under your bed into your post box

[Space_igo]

"you have to put signs up to make sure germans don't get naked all the time"
I laughed to hard at this 🤣

[NotJustBikes]

The walking, the groceries, and the taste buds are all interlinked.

Most Americans drive to get groceries. In fact, the number one question I get from Americans, when they find out our family doesn't own a car, is "but how do you buy groceries?!" This is because it's uncomfortable, impractical, or impossible to walk in many American cities, which is why most Americans don't walk much.

But driving to buy groceries kinda sucks and it takes a long time, so you don't want to do it often. I still get comments from Americans on my videos about grocery shopping, saying how they'd hate to "have to" buy groceries every day, because they don't understand how convenient and easy it is to pick up groceries around the corner from your house when you're already walking.

So American grocery trips are few and far between, but this means that the products need to last longer. And that changes what kind of products can be sold, and it results in Americans eating much less fresh food. I'm sure you've noticed that things like bread go stale way faster in Germany than they did in the US. Because the groceries and produce sold in Europe are often fresh and meant to be eaten within the next few days.

There are also foods (cheese curds are an example) that just cannot last long, and need to be consumed shortly after being made before they degrade significantly. Sure, you can buy a big vacuum-packed bag of anything you want at Costco, but the natural flavour has been destroyed by the time it gets to you (and certainly before you finish it), so sugar is added to make up the difference.

All of these things come together to mean that Americans very rarely walk, they buy huge amounts of groceries in bulk, and they eat much less fresh food that needs to have a lot of sugar, salt, and fats added to "make up" for the loss of taste.

And your taste buds definitely adjust to this. Many years ago, when I was poor and unemployed for a long time, I was making all my food fresh and home. I decided to go without any salt or sugar in anything I cooked, and after a few weeks I got used to it, and other flavours started becoming more noticeable. The day I got a job I "splurged" on a higher-end fast food burger that I was craving, and I couldn't finish it. It was gross. The bun tasted like candy and the patty was so salty I had to throw it out.

[holger_p]

You explained the fear of the mailbox perfectly. That's the result of digitalisation. All the good news from friends, birthday cards, greating from vacations, letters from grandma are gone. It doesn't come by mail any more. So what's left is the news from authorities. The bad news.
No wonder people dislike their mail.

[anikatri]

I am a one towel girl and I am often the most chubby girl in the room. Despite being ashamed, I always tell myself that I have the super power to make everyone else feel better about their rolls.

[TheGaMePlAyEcKe]

I swear to god the reusable bags under the sink is the most German thing ever

[knownothing]

My theory is not that you're more easily pleased by simpler flavours, but rather that the nuance in less sweet-indulged and artificial stuff-packed is now easier to even pick up on in the first place. It's like buying a cucumber from the store and then trying one from grandma's garden. The quality disparity doesn't have to be big at all, but it still makes all the difference.

[Todesnuss]

I feel like making a daily walk to the grocery store a highlight of your day just means you've adapted to the central European lifestyle.

[lesparks]

As an American expat living in Germany (5 Years), many of these things feel normal. I have been doing the Monthly money bit for 30 years now. I have spreadsheets detailing my large and fixed expenditures going 20 years. Never was a fan of small talk, get to the point etc. However, I do miss my BBQ and Mexican food! My wife, who is of German Heritage, chides me for being more German than her, Lol.

[constanze]

"One towel guy" that one made me laugh 😃
Thank you for your insights

[noduj]

Its not only salt and butter, Brezel has its own taste, atleast if you buy a good one.

[kidgibnick]

As a Canadian in Germany for the last ten years, I could really relate to all this…and how my Germanism has followed me back to Canada 😅😂

[Carol_]

It IS an eye opener when family sees you (or even talks to you on the phone) after you’ve lived here for awhile. You don’t even notice the changes yourself until they point it out to you. Great video. Relatable!

[marmotarchivist]

The frequency of grocery shopping isn’t so much a cultural divide between the US and Europe, in my opinion, but depends heavily on the provided infrastructure. In a city, with many stores and smaller apartments and fridges, people shop more frequently, while in rural areas they buy groceries in big quantities and store them in their houses. So a New Yorker will shop frequently like a European, while a European from the countryside will take the car and buy groceries in bulk in the next town that has a store, like in the US.
The money measurement is interesting. I was shocked, when I first learned that the monthly measure of salaries and also the monthly payday is not a standard around the world. I just never questioned it, but it’s one of those things that you grew up with that make sense to you, and you can’t imagine it being any other way, but logically they don’t have to be universal.

[MrLuddis]

You are so right with the mailbox! What a relief, if nothing is in it.

[wkdj]

I can very much relate to all of these. After having lived in Germany and come back to the USA I've found I've retained much of my germanization, but only the things I consider better -- bringing shopping bags or a backpack to grocery stores, biking to places whenever possible (in fact I don't own a car), buying fresh food more and shopping more often, separating trash and recycling, etc. I bought a condenser/heat pump dryer (Miele) and German toilet with dual flush, and am less weird about nudity and sexuality (although I try to be sensitive of americans' hang ups) I Don't go to the sauna, but speaking of towels, one thing I do NOT "do Deutsch" is buy 2mm thin towels and dry them on a Badheizkörper to the point they are essentially glorified scour pads! When I get out of the shower I want that fluffy soft 4cm thick american beach-towel! lol By the way, I use metric. English units are just... stupid. I totally agree about not needing sugary fatty american food, and German pastries and cakes are just way better anyway. Same with the bread, fruits and vegetables, chocolates, etc. I'd never say I'd adopt the German taste buds, though. When I eat thai, tex-mex, indian, pakistani, etc. I want the spiciness and full flavor. "Scharf" rarely if ever translates to "spicy."

[Pauleeeee]

You‘ve been shown in my recommendations since I moved to Schwäbisch Hall last year and you became my favourite YT Channel since then! It‘s always a highlight, when I see that you uploaded a Video. It makes my evenings better because its feel good content!

Keep it up! You deserve much more views!

[GrBuccaneer]

going grocery in short periods is a great thing, allways the stuff is fresh and nothing gets bad

[leonie.christina]

Haha had to laugh about the fear of mail. It's actually true for me it's usually either a bill or a speeding/ parking ticket😂

[Holzeis]

To be a one Towel guy you just have to live by the german phrase "jemandem nichts weggucken / es wird dir schon niemand was weggucken", in the end of the day a naked body is just a naked body