More driving practice

Yesterday I drove the car (that we don't actually own yet) around some more with K to get more practice driving in Germany. While I drove she pointed out what rules I had broken, by my request, so I could learn what I am expected to do. It is impossible to look at all the signs, lights and paint patterns and sift out what is important and what to ignore, while driving an unfamiliar stick-shift, without practice. Particularly for me. Maybe it is because I grew up, and learned to drive, out in the country with hardly any signs, but for some reason it is not always obvious to me, with an unthinking glance, what signs are meant for guiding traffic and what are extra, like advertisements for businesses or where to get gas and things, even back in the US. Also, I tend to take sign directions literally, which can create problems in the US (the sign says turn right at the next intersection, when they really mean this intersection), but so far I haven't run into any literal/implied problems with signs here. I spend most of my time just trying to drive safely and not run over anyone or crash into cars; the signs, directions and rules are secondary for me.

Overall it went well. One thing to keep in mind, the bicyclers are very dangerous here for people used to driving in the US. They are much bolder and will come up quickly from behind you and blaze through an intersection while you are turning, which means you also have to glance behind you when turning right, to look for a possible bike passing you on the right (kind of like looking behind you for cars while driving in upstate New York, if you actually stop at a four way stop the car behind you assumes you have broken down and will immediately pull off into the emergency lane to pass you on the right, which has resulted in several near collisions for me while driving in NY, even if I had a right turn signal on).

One event stuck in my mind more than the others. While driving I was talking with K about German and American stereotypes. A lot of our stereotypes about Germany are wrong, and derive from growing up with old WWII movies, which Germans have worked hard to distance themselves from. Germans can have very romantic (in the sense of romanticism) ideals, try to be close to what they define as "nature," "enjoy life" again according to their definition, dislike guns and violence, and things like that. My mother noticed it and mentioned while she was visiting last December, that it was funny to her to see a German and an American walking together to work (two of my coworkers) and overhear that the American wanted to take the direct route to work, while the German wanted to take the longer route by the lake (the opposite expectation based on stereotypes). However, one stereotype is absolutely true, Germans love rules. On my first visit to Germany, and Europe, in 2002, apart from the language the thing that first stood out to me most was how people waited for a light to cross roads, even if there were no cars coming. Germans seem to feel like rules are "good," have a beneficial reason and are very trusting of authority. (Which, frankly, is scary given German's history.) Germany is also remarkably homogeneous in terms of national consensus on what these rules should be (and very bad about recognizing individual needs/differences, which creates problems when you come from a different culture, but that is another story). Germans also like to, or feel compelled to, point out what the rules are and loudly identify to the world when someone breaks them. While driving yesterday I accidentally turned down a dead end road that had an additional special sign that means only people that live on the road are supposed to drive there. I went down, turned around, and when coming back to drive out several little girls ran out of a yard to the road, some across the road to the other side, and yelled at me about what the driving rules were. It didn't bother me at the time, but it has been puzzling me since. They wouldn't drive for another 10 years, yet they somehow already knew these obscure rules. Also, normally children at this age are very shy and polite in Germany, but these girls boldly ran up, surrounded the car and were yelling. Lastly, this is what made them happy...? ...what they wanted to do? Perhaps identifying rule breakers acts as a release valve in Germany; it is the one socially prescribed time when you can approach a stranger and rudely yell at them, emboldened by the feeling that an entire nation of millions, minus one, are behind you.

By the way, I drove from our hometown all the way to the town where the kids are going to school, to practice the route. I did it in only 20 minutes! It takes V and the kids 3 hours to get back from school each day using the indirect bus route, and is expensive. I think (hope) getting this car will really help living here.