Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Eg, in Britain and the US, it's perfectly "acceptable" to walk into a shop, have a look around, and walk out again, while ignoring the serving staff. In France or Germany, if you don't say "Good Morning" (or whatever) when you walk into a shop, you'll be thought of as being amazingly rude!
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Well that depends on where you do that. For example, if you're in the countryside in a town that has 200 inhabitants, when you walk into a store, you have to
buy something. Walking in, looking around, walking out ... that's a big no-no
Most stores in big cities do not require you to interact with the staff unless it's necessary. Mom-and-Pop stores in urban Austria or Germany do
Quote:
Originally Posted by cassidym
Finally, I learned to drink beer all day and not get drunk. German women pushed carts selling milk, sandwiches, pretzels and bottled beer around the factory floor all day. And most the workers kept a bottle by their work station starting around 11:00 taking sips all day. Yet I never saw anyone drunk.
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I can't say this with absolute certainty, but apparently Beer is not considered an alcoholic beverage, but rather a "meal". Blue-collar workers are allowed a number of beers a day during working hours.
If you take a sip every couple of minutes, you'll end up with 2 or 3 bottles in your shift, which is not too bad. After a week or two of "training", you get used to it.
The only thing you need to take care of is not getting a beer-belly
Says he who is sitting in his office at 7:38pm ... with a beer
Quote:
Originally Posted by riwnodennyk
haa… i believe this story however it looks like all Germans are simply impolite and all Anglo-Saxons are courteous  paying no attention at the country of origin |
Germans are not implite, they are honest. They don't tell you that you smell like a dead skunk. They might mention your "intense" odeur when you ask them, and say it's "interesting ... strong yet ... wild"