little white truths

I'm going to start this post with a bit of my background. If you'd rather just scroll down to the quirks list, please do so : )

I've been fortunate enough to have done a good deal of travelling - fortunate in the sense that this is where most of my disposable income has gone in the past, and I don't regret it. As part of these travels I've lived for a few months in Florence, Italy; Seville, Spain; and New York, Yemen (had you there for a second...; ) ).

My husband and I also migrated to Berlin for just shy of two years at the beginning of 2012 and returned to Melbourne in late 2013. We had hoped to stay longer - or even indefinitely - but in the end we just couldn't handle the weather (weaklings we are!); the job market was too tough and hence living there wasn't sustainable; and at the risk of sounding rude or alienating some readers, we just couldn't handle the local mindset (which of course was as much to do with our background/mindset as it was to do with theirs).

When I've lived in other countries I've always done my best to learn the language and embrace the culture, and I think that's the way it should be. However, when it came to Germany - nowhere in any country I've ever visited or lived in have I received so much attitude when doing such shocking things as ordering a sandwich, asking questions at the train station about which train to take/ticket to buy, or inviting the neighbours over for a drink.

A qualifier: not all German people are like this and many were lovely and very helpful - but in our experience at least, the locals generally seemed so unhappy with their jobs, so unlikely to smile and so damn suspicious of migrants/foreigners. Maybe there were good reasons for this; maybe not understanding those reasons was a shortcoming of our own. I will say though that my husband (who was born and raised in Mexico) and I weren't alone in feeling this - we had a community of people from other nationalities over there and the verdict was the same: we felt judged and disliked. But maybe migrants/foreigners feel that way in Australia too? I really hope not.

But I digress. Over my travels I've made notes about truths and quirks I've discovered and I wanted to share them. I'd be excited if anyone wants to add to the comments below about their own travel truths and quirks. They always make me smile, and please note: they're meant well and not meant to be taken the wrong way!

Nowhere else in the world does washing strung high between windows look so amazing as it does in Italy.

Greece: I totally agree that a large bottle of beer should cost less than a small bottle of water.

Laughter sounds the same in every language.

Dear Germany: there's more to life than potato, cheese and sausage.

Dear Australia: there is no need to treat your citizens like two-year-old children and over-regulate to the point where breathing the wrong way may soon be a punishable offence (which of course will carry an extortionate fine that most of us can't afford to pay).

If we all smiled as much as the locals in Thailand, the world would be a happier place.

Mexico... Where every salt shaker is filled with salt, and every pepper shaker is too.

The Swiss embarrass me. They speak better English than I do.

German is a useful language when one is in a foul mood.

Egypt: I get that tipping is standard when you provide good service in restaurants. I'm not sure the same applies when you remove all the toilet paper from the cubicles in public bathrooms and then hand it to me in scrunched bundles, expecting payment for this 'service'.

So Canada... What's with the gross yellow cheese? You know that's not the only cheese on the planet, right?