Go ahead and laugh...

...because honestly, life here is hilarious sometimes.

Like the time I was at the Kita to see about Ariana starting there. The head lady invited me into the office and suavely offered me some water after we were seated. Water sounded like the best thing in the world because I was thirsty, so of course I said yes. But when I got it to my lips, it wasn't what I would call water at all. Try club soda? Perrier? But not water. So here I am trying to look equally suave and not choke on the stuff. I set it down and don't drink any the rest of the time. So embarrassing after my obvious enthusiasm over the water. And I keep wondering how they stand this stuff. Or how any of them have any teeth left if their main source of moisture is highly acidic. Ah, the mysteries of the universe. (...oh wait, there's always alcoholic drinks. Truly the main source based on my observations.)

Then we invite over dinner guests from our ward at church. And guess what, they didn't even touch our bottled water the whole time they ate. We buy our water bottled in France so it has no carbonation, and the package gives it away. It's one of the only ways to get truly regular, good tasting water around here. If you buy a local brand, even if it is labeled natural, it still hisses when you open it, and carbonic gas is listed in the nutritional facts, only in smaller quantities. We were trying to be fancy with bottled water instead of tap, but I guess I forgot to cater to my guests' tastes.

In fact, one of the first things I learned how to say when we arrived in Germany was "ohne Kohlensaeure," without carbonation. The second was "ohne Zwiebeln." I use that phrase almost every week. It means no onions.

So admittedly my tastes are a little different than your average European. But I'm getting over it...with lots of laughter.