Things I've Learned

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Proper care of one's feet is essential...even if it means having to actually touch them.
2. I can swear in several different languages. Always useful.
3. Auburn is the greatest! (I already knew this; this is more of a confirmation of something I already knew)
4. Germans make better beer than Austrians or the Swiss. But the Swiss make better chocolate.
5. Never, never, never take airconditioning, free ice water, and free public toilets for granted. I had to pay 2 francs to use a Swiss bathroom. And let's not even get started on the AC problems...
6. When asking for a train reservation, inquiring about the possibilities of NOT sitting next to a disgusting person with phlegm problems certainly can't hurt.
7. I can actually eat tomato soup.
8. Stores in southern Germany do not carry Kinder Eggs during the hot summer months. Don't even bother looking.
9. The port-o-lets in Switzerland are extremely clean.
10. I can no longer refer to beer as "bubbly apple juice," because carbonated apple juice, or Apfelschorle, is a standard refreshing (nonalcoholic) drink in Munich.
11. Men of ambiguous origins who ask if they can touch your hair do not take kindly to a negative answer.
12. Capri pants are good from a practical standpoint. Cooler than pants, not as revealing as shorts, and the hem doesn't get soaked when you are walking in the rain - I can dig it. However, from a fashion standpoint (since I am wise about all things fashion), they still strike me as rather silly.
13. Women in Prague do not shave their armpits. I personally find this problematic, but they don't seem to be bothered.
14. If you choose to see a film in another language (without the help of English subtitles), it is best to stick with the action flicks (e.g. Mr. and Mrs. Smith). You have a better chance of deciphering what is going on.
15. Don't drink water from the tap in Prague.
16. When backing up your digital photos, have someone else do it for you. That way, when something goes wrong, you can blame them instead of torturing yourself for your ineptitude.
17. I am a fan of the health care system in Germany. Just waltz right in to your friendly neighborhood Apotheke and tell him your symptoms. He'll give you some stuff that makes you feel GREAT, for a fraction of the cost of the drugs around here with all of the scary side effects. Germans can even cure The Black Lung.
18. Just because a person can understand some conversational German does not mean that she can understand conversational Swiss German. It sounds like German with a French accent.
19. Learning a new language in a foreign country is a mind-altering experience. Rather like drugs, I highly recommend it to everyone.
20. Only scary people ride night trains.
21. There is nothing quite like that first glass of sweet tea after weeks of deprivation.
22. Sometimes, doing the scariest thing imaginable can prove to be the best decision you will ever make.
23. I am still scared of planes. And now I am scared of trains, or, at least, the people on the trains.