Yesterday I did some shopping (read: bought a Dirndl!) and sat alone at a cafe to read my magazine (The German Press seems to love Kate, too!) As I sat there, I realized how at home I felt. How calm, how confident I felt sitting there alone.
After a few minutes I was asked if I could share my table with a few guys on their lunch break. I didn't mind; not at all. I actually was glad to have a bit of company. The only problem I had was that they spoke with a strong, Bavarian accent. I then explained that I can speak German, I just can't understand Bavarian so well. (In the North, I understood perfectly fine!) They laughed. A lot. Yet, nevertheless, continued to ask me questions. In Bavarian.
So I asked politely for them to speak slower and they did what every person in the universe seems to do when someone asks them to do so: they talk louder. This is a phenomenon. And this happens every time.
But don't worry, because after I finally understood what they were talking about (which was how often we renew our car tags in America, oddly enough) we had a pleasant chat.
Also, I came to this conclusion after they, of course, said how much fast food Americans eat: Americans don't have such a long time for lunch. We work through it, most of the time, in fact. It's not that we love necessarily to eat fast food everyday; it's cheaper, and it's exactly that, fast.
I explained and they both were surprised to hear of this. But I also admitted that, even if I had four hours for lunch, I'd most likely go to Wendy's; french fries dipped in a Frosty? heck yes.
