august: cleveland county

Things to Take to Germany

If you can find Alexanderplatz, you can find a drugstore because that area has two.

Pinterest always tries to recommend posts to me about packing tips for a trip to Europe. However, most of these posts seem to be under the impression that Europe is a third world continent without drugstores. Germany, for example, has two successful drugstore chains called DM and Rossmann. Both carry very similar (if not the precise same) products as American drugstores, and the prices are usually quite reasonable.

There are also a few large grocery/superstores in Germany where they carry drugstore-type items as well - I usually got my stuff from Kaufland. The most important thing to know is that pharmacies and drugstores are different types of stores in Germany, so you won't be able to purchase toiletries at a pharmacy. (Or if you can, they'll be more expensive.) Rossmann and DM are even in some larger train stations, so you should have no trouble finding most toiletry items. Most stores are closed on Sunday, but if you go to a train station, you should be able to find a shop that's open.

It's been a few years since I've been abroad, but based on my past experiences, these are the things I would take with me if I were to go back.

1) Tampons. German ones are different, and most are ob brand.

2) Sunscreen. They sell sunscreen in Germany, but I found that the types sold there were a bit confusing, especially if you don't speak the language. Also I like a high SPF due to my kreideweiss-ness.

3) Contact solution. For some reason contact solution is sub-par in Germany unless you go to the eye doctor for some Bausch and Lomb.

4) Over the counter medicines. These things can be difficult to obtain in Germany, especially if you don't speak German.
5) Anything you're super picky about. If you only like one certain type of a product at home, bring it with you.
6) Brown sugar, if you're staying for a while and like to bake. Brauner Zucker is just sugar that is brown in color - it doesn't contain molasses. I think it's easier to find up north, but I was in the eastern part, where brown sugar hasn't really caught on.

Erfurt's Hauptbahnhof - another place where you can find a drugstore.

I hope these tips were helpful! If you're going to Europe, know that you'll be able to find most things in a store, so don't stress over packing.

10:41 AM
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Month in German - May

aldi

The end of this month's "Month in German" post has taken a sharp turn away from German towards "things I found interesting online this month." Apologies.

After the first round of elections in Austria, Austrian vlogger Anna Laura Kummer mentioned her disappointment with the results at the beginning of this video. I found this interesting because lifestyle vloggers often try to avoid political messages, but she went for it!

Quite a few of my links this month are grocery store-related. I really like going to grocery stores when I visit someplace new - grocery stores show off what sort of things a culture prioritizes and how that place is different from the US.

Aldi Sued is trying out a new concept for its stores. (For those of you keeping track at home, Aldi Sued runs Aldi in the US, Aldi Nord runs Trader Joe's in the US.) This concept makes them look more like the Aldi locations in the US.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung tested a variety of apple juices to find the best one in Germany.

Europe is gearing up for the Euro 2016 soccer championship. I'm so excited to watch it - the last time this tournament was played was when I studied abroad in Munich! (The first day I met my host family, we all sat on the couch and watched Germany lose in the semi-final. This situation was rectified when I sat on the same couch two years later and watched the same team win the semi-final of the World Cup!) Pegida, however, embarrassed itself when it slandered Kinder for making chocolate with minority children on the packaging. They didn't realize that the children featured were the current national soccer team as children. Also, ESPN did a lovely profile of Manuel Neuer ahead of the tournament.

This photo history of Angela Merkel with robots is so sweet. She seems delighted.

The proposed Monsanto/Bayer deal is hilarious to me because the school I worked at in Germany did an entire unit over how Monsanto was an evil corporation, which included a colleague telling me that I might see adverse health effects from growing up on GMOs later in life.

Der Spiegel looked at how Germans voted in Eurovision. Additionally, Stephen Colbert offered a humble song as the US entry for next year.

Finally, to two pieces of non-European news. I loved the BBC's coverage of the North Korean party congress this month. The amount of control that North Korea tries to exert over journalists is amazing.

I'm in Oklahoma, a state that has such weird politics that even The Economist took notice. I found it odd that they didn't mention that in addition to having poor teacher pay, many districts in my state are going to 4 day weeks with limited bus capabilities next year due to budget shortfalls. Experienced teachers are also being encouraged to retire so that new teachers who require lower pay may be utilized instead.