Why I'll Never Be German

Here it is- the home stretch.  We're now into mid-June and I've got 18 days left over here in dear old Germany.  I've lived in this country now for nearly a year and a half (nonconsecutive) and with two and a half weeks left I just now realized why I'll never fit in with the Germans.

You ready?

I can't wink.

Yep.  That's the sole reason why.  Haha kidding.  It's not the sole reason, but it is a pretty big reason.  For those of you who have lived abroad, particularly in Europe, or who communicate frequently with Europeans, you'll notice that they really abuse the emoticons, most notably, the winky face.

;)

See, in American texting and chatting culture, those two characters, the semicolon and the end parentheses are quite daring to send.  You usually send them if you're trying to flirt or be suggestive, or if you're making a joke or implying something suggestive to one of your friends.  I've been told by Germans themselves that this connotation does not exist at all behind the infamous winky face.  It's basically an equivalent for the :) face.  These two are also interchangeable with the tongue face :P

I look at my texting and chatting conversation history with Germans and emoticons are used multiple times in one message.  That's how I knew I had really adapted to the culture- for so long I refused to use these stupid smileys unless they were really deserved, and now I abuse them like the rest of Germans.  When I get home and start texting regularly again with Americans, people are going to think I'm crazy or just forward every single day.

Regardless, the winky face emoticon is easy enough to type... a real wink, though- now that's a different story.  Again, if you wink at someone in America, it's usually seen as some kind of flirtation-- not with Germans.  I don't really see them associating the two together.  Sometimes when I'm at school, I'll see a teacher in the hallway and I give a smile and they give a wink; today, Karim and I were at spinning class and it was a particularly tough class today and we looked at each other and I gave a face of exhaustion and he winked; and then when I was leaving the gym, the gorgeous guy that works at the gym (I should say one of the gorgeous guys because they're all insanely attractive) said to take care and shot me a wink.  Now, here's a time I wish a wink would mean a little more! Hahahahaha.

And this is the sad story of why I will never be German.  I can't wink.  I can't do most normal things that people can do with their faces.  I can't wink with either eye, I can't roll my tongue, and you know, there's my infamous squinty differently sized eyes.  Next to the Germans and their perfect symmetrical faces, well....it would just never work! ;)

(Perfect example of abusing the winky face that I now do right there above...)

 Germans and Europeans... take note of the above GIFs.  Americans have a lot of anxiety over such faces and then you guys go and throw that anxiety in the trash! :P (what could I mean by the tongue face?  I don't even know.)