That was the beginning of Sabrina and scarves. Since that fundamental day back almost nine years ago, I've been experimenting and changing my scarf style, in an effort to look more chic and European. As popular as scarves have become in America in the past few years though, we just don't seem to be able to keep up with the capricious Europeans and their scarf styles! From my observations, Americans seem to be stuck in the era of scarf styles that Europe hit back in 2008/09 or so. A nice pashmina with a nice design and some nice colors, draped around the neck kind of like a necklace.
 |
| necklace style in New Orleans in Jan. 2011 |
 |
| Isntabul Apr. 2011- still the necklace style |
It was this style that I displayed for the first few years of college...and then I went to Germany to study abroad for a semester. I arrived in February, so it was quite cold, and realized that those capricious Europeans had amended their style! They still seemed to be hanging on to those lovely pashminas, but the scarves had changed from being more of a decorative hanging necklace, to now more of a thick choker. I noticed now that the scarves were wrapped very tightly around the neck- and I realized this made more sense, as now I was actually protected from the cold when my coat was on. But even once the temperatures began to climb, the Germans continued this choker style of the scarf. Naturally, I adopted the style, and all of last fall and winter back at school in Boston- this was how I wore my scarf. I looked around me though, and really only saw the droopy necklace style around me.
 |
| Last day in Istanbul- evolved to the choker style! |
Flash forward to this past September. I made my way back to Germany, with all my trusty scarves in tow. Went to town, went to work, went traveling- all while wearing my choker style scarf. Quite soon though, I began to notice yet again, a new kind of scarf style...and new scarves! I had been gone just over a year, but they went and changed their style again! And here we are...the temperatures dropping as we hit the cold temperatures once again.
 |
| still holding onto the choker style on a visit to HD in Sept. 2012 |
The new style of scarves is a giant wooly knit thing, that is just a big giant circle. You put it on like a giant necklace, and then wrap it as many times as you can around your neck, until only the top half of your face is visible. At first glace, I thought this style looked absolutely ridiculous, but I've grown to like it quite a bit. Perhaps to the non-German, I look like one of those medieval men of Shakespeare's time wearing one of those giant white collar things that we look at now and wonder what on earth they were thinking. Maybe in 100 years, my great-grandchildren will look at pictures of me and say "wow- what was Sabrina thinking when she wore that thing around her neck?!" But in the here and now, it keeps me quite warm.
 |
| the circle scarf on a trip to the Weihnachtsmarkt in Bonn |
 |
| Like seriously- it's just a giant poofy thing around my neck! |
 |
| I mean, it's practically got a mind of its own |
Moving on from der Schal though...
There are a number of other Germanisms and German trends and ways of doing things that I'm adopting, now in my third month of being back. Some were things I adopted in Heidelberg, and some are new.
Sneakers.
This was something I had to come to terms with when I got to Heidelberg- Germans love their sneakers...or basically any shoe that ties. They would never be caught dead wearing exercise or running shoes when doing anything besides exercising or joggen, but they love their stylish and colorful sneakers. This is what prompted me to buy my bright pink Keds look-alike sneakers when I was abroad. Those had to be trashed before I came back to the States, because after climbing up to the Thingstätte a few too many times and some big hills in Istanbul, they were absolutely destroyed. I bought a new pair though- they're kind of like high tops, they're brown, and they're super super warm. Warm shoes were a must since my purple uggs weren't going to work so well in Germany....
 |
| So German. |
Scarves.
Don't worry- this is just a side note I failed to mention in my verbose discussion of European scarf styles. Besides adopting the trend, I also feel naked without a scarf. Like actually. It would be like the equivalent of walking around with no pants. One evening a few weeks ago, I went into town and didn't wear a scarf, and I was actually feeling just short of anxious the whole evening.
Bäkerei.
Ugh the bakeries. Biggest love-hate relationship in my life right now. And biggest weakness in my life right now. For some reason I never really got with the whole bakery thing until the last month or so in Heidelberg, but this time around, I've been hitting them up nearly every day since I got here.
It's awful.
Bakeries on every corner- all serving delicious vollkornbrötchen and käsebrötchen and brezeln and the little Ditsch pizzas and the little mozzerella-tomato sandwiches from Kamps. Notice nothing I'm listing contains anything filling- it's all carbs, so I'm constantly hungry throughout the day, hence my problem. I just keep eating baked goods! I'm into my fourth week of half-marathon training, so luckily I can somewhat justify this intake of carbs, but just like in Heidelberg, I've accepted the fact that I will be returning to the States with a few added pounds...just in time for beach season!
Whatever. Worth it.
My Diet.
No, I'm not like...on a diet. I just mean what I eat on a daily basis. Everyone thinks of Germany as sausage-land, and thinks that everyone just eats meat all the time. But when I was in Heidelberg, I actually ate a lot less meat than ever before in my life, and the same is true now that I'm back. I'm honestly just too lazy to ever cook meat, and will have the occasional döner or bratwurst if I'm out in town and hungry, but other than that my diet mainly consists of fruits, veggies, bread, and cheese.
Oh yeah. And chocolate.
But we all knew that was going to happen, right? This one goes without explanation I think. 50 cent bars calling out to me every time I set foot in a grocery store? Every flavor variation under the sun? Amazing chocolatey goodness that doesn't exist in the States? I saw an Überfact on Twitter last month comparing the intake of chocolate bars by Germans versus Americans. Well, let's just say... I'm much closer to the German figure.
Münster.
Finally feeling like it's my home! Aka- Rae and I are now recognized by the döner guy across from her flat where we go almost once a week. He knows our orders and now gives us discounts! And while she has a smoke outside, I'll sit inside and chat with the guys who are always there. And I always go to the same stand to get my fruits and veggies at the market, and the guy there now recognizes me and now gives me a discount! #solocal.
The Bike.
Just like in Heidelberg, my bike is a piece of crap and I fear for my life every time I hop on it, but I'm growing fond of it. After almost three months of biking in the German capital of bikes, I'm feeling much more comfortable. I've started biking faster (still not as fast as the crazy Germans though. Where are they going?!) and have gotten better at becoming aggressive on the bike. Not in a dangerous way, though. It's more of a passive-aggression...kind of like my driving. Whoops.
Staring.
This was a culture shock that took a while to adapt to when I was in Heidelberg. I remember the first few days, when we were all at the Center, and Dr. Heckmann and Eric telling all of us not to be alarmed when the Germans stared. We didn't really know what they were talking about, and then within a couple weeks, it was like...ohhhh. This time around, I was totally ready. It still took a month or so to get used to it again, but now I've gotten to the point where I can do it right back. Although staring at people is just such an antithesis to American culture, it's kind of fun to do it, because you can just stare at people and it's okay! I can't hold my gaze quite as long as the Germans, but hey, I've still got more than six months left! Just watch out- when I get back, I'll be staring all y'all down! (Yeah, lately, I've been using y'all a lot...)
And there were just a few noteworthy Germanisms I've been adopting. And of course, a history of scarves. We're now approaching the apogee of the Christmas season, and the Weihnachtsmärkte are alive and booming. But that'll be a post for a later date.
No comments:
Post a Comment