Differences

1. Water. When I ask for water here, the first thing that people give me is this mineralwasser that is carbonated. They have still water too, but the carbonated water is more common. At first I didn´t like the carbonated water, but now I have gotten used to it, and it tastes okay. My host mom drinks still water, so I always have it in the house to drink too.

2. The bed. No one uses sheets here. They have a fitted sheet over the mattress, but they do not have any sheet that goes over you. They just use a comforter. The pillows are also different. They are a lot bigger and not as thick. I really like my bed here though. I sleep good.

3. The windows. None of the windows slide up and down. They all open like a door. If you have the handle facing down, then the window is closed. If you have the handle pointed to the side, then the window opens like a door. If you have the handle facing up, then the window opens at the top. It took me awhile to figure this out, but it has gotten so cold here now that I never open the window anymore.

4. The restrooms. All of the toilets go into the wall. They do not have a tank, and the button to flush it is on the wall. I kind of like these toilets better than the ones in the U.S. None of the bathrooms ever have paper towels. They all have the stationary hand towels. You can press a button to try to find a dry spot, but you can hardly ever find a dry spot. These paper towels kind of gross me out. I always use my hand sanitizer that smells really good after touching these towels.