When in Germany...

One thing that is very different about the German culture (if you ask me, I'd say it's the whole European culture) is the way the people will openly stare at you. Watch Fellini's film "Roma" and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's a full-on, 180-degree, as far as their heads will turn stare. And the more different you look, the more they stare.

Now consider the fact that I have very large tattoos on my chest and arms, something that is relatively unseen here in this quiet, conservative little town in southern Germany. Seriously. I have been here for 2 and a half months and I have only seen 3 guys with big tattoos like mine and one girl, who I'm guessing was a tourist. So now that the weather is amazing, I find myself outside quite a bit in tank tops and dresses......and getting quite a lot of stares.

This has been something that's been very hard for me to deal with, ever since it started last summer. It was particularly bad in Rome. Where I grew up, staring is rude with a capital "R". Very very impolite. If you catch someone staring at you in the States, what happens? The second you catch them, they look away as quickly as possible and try to pretend like they hadn't noticed you. Not here. The stare goes on and on.

I know,I know, if I don't want to be stared at, why did I get such huge tattoos? Someone with tattoos like mine is just asking for it. Even with that in mind, I found the German stare to be profoundly disturbing and it used to make me very angry. Sometimes it still does.

But what I try to keep in mind is that even though it is considered rude in my country, I am not in my country. I am a guest in their country. It's me that needs to adapt to their culture and not vice versa. And that's what study abroad is all about!

Struttin' our stuff in Empfingen, Germany

Big tattoos in Barcelona, with my sister and my boyfriend