Friday, January 05, 2007

Things I learned on Christmas vacation

1. American homes are full of delicious treats, against which I cannot defend myself. This is supported by the fact that during my vacation, I gained 5 kilograms.

2. German cars are really small, and American cars just keep getting bigger.

3. The term "SUV" means "sport utility vehicle". I prefer to call them "super useless vehicles" because they are big beyond the point of being sensible or useful, and are incredibly wasteful in terms of gas use, but...

4. ...gas in America is cheap! We filled up the car when it was empty for under $40. Compare that to a fill-up in Germany (with the same size gas tank) for around €80.

5. You really don't ever need to learn how to walk, as long as you can use your feet well enough to drive a car. America is designed so that you drive everywhere and walk as little as possible. You can even borrow a little motorized cart to drive around inside some stores, completely eliminating the need to walk!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I gained 7 pounds (3.2 KG) over the holidays... know how you feel. My Mom is all about leaving bowls of chocolate around the house. I also got a taste of how whacked out American culture is on the automobile. I sold my car, well, gave it away really and walked to and from work every day and I remember how people looked at me like I was Ted Kaczynski while on my way to work.