Preparing for Germany

When I decided to move to Germany in 2016, I really didn't know what to expect....
Hi! I'm Kelly and I am an American who lived in Germany for 18 wonderful months. While I lived abroad before in Turkey and had done quite a bit of traveling beforehand, those 18 months in Germany definitely broadened my perspective of Germany, Europe, and even the US in so many different ways! I wanted to share my perceptions with you guys through KZbin so that maybe you can gain context to things you've heard about, or learn new information or a different perspective, or maybe this is everything you've heard before and further confirms your world view. No matter what the reason, I hope that you enjoy my videos! Don't forget to subscribe to my channel and turn on notifications so that you always know when I'm posting new content :)
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[@Kellydoesherthing]

Thank you for all the support you guys have shown this video! I’m so incredibly grateful to see such positive feedback in the comments ❤️

[@Kwicdrawmcgraw]

Me an American in German my first few days: Sprechen sie english? German person: A little. Then goes on to speak English better than 3/4s of Alabama. Me: Stares in American.

[@xar1234]

Germans want do be perfectionists.

[@shieldsluck1969]

Do you or did you ( if you moved away) enjoy living here? 😎

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Exactly!!!!

[@Kwicdrawmcgraw]

@@shieldsluck1969 I loved it. I lived there in 2016 and can't wait to go back.

[@shieldsluck1969]

@@Kwicdrawmcgraw At the moment i think it's difficult to travel from the states to Europe, isn't it? FYI the 2020 summer in Germany is quite well tempered. I mean almost 10 degrees colder than 2018. 🐧

[@emiliajojo5703]

Immigration crisis had huge impact for my life .discovered a syrian restaurant,never had more delicious food.awsome friendly people

[@Kellydoesherthing]

That reminds me - there was a really good Syrian restaurant I loved to go to in Mainz! You could eat and then smoke some shisha/nargile - I loved it!

[@der_bruehl]

You should have seen the Aldi cahiers before they had the scanners. The scanners slowed them down, before that they just had to type in 4 digit Numbers and knew those by Heart. So usually they would "scan ahead" and type in stuff which they had not touched yet, and they pushed the whole stuff in your cart.

[@SeriousAce2kX]

Cashiers in the 90 had some Speedrun skills back then

[@Kammreiter]

That is the dark side of the capitalist’s moon 😮

[@deadbeef16]

Yes but back then there was actually some space were all your goods could piled up before you baged them.

[@durrcodurr]

Haha, I still remember the days in the 1970ies when there was no ALDIs (in our area) and grocery stores had those clunky big electromechanical cash registers that didn't make "beep" but "chunk" noises and when there was a bell ringing when the cash register opened. You always had to count your return money and had to estimate your payment beforehand, because mistyping and/or cheating was very common. Then in the 1980ies or so, the electronic cash registers came (which were a bit more tamper-proof), camera surveillance, and laser scanners not long afterwards. ALDI was *very* resistant to indroduce scanners, for the reasons you stated. Still, I always keep my receipt, just in case, and pay electronically whenever possible.

[@caccioman]

Früher war alles besser 😭

[@ManfredAckermann]

Heavy stuff always first into the bag, light soft stuff and eggs on top ;-)

[@Hans-gb4mv]

Don't worry, eggs can take some weight.

[@ManfredAckermann]

And that's also the way you put stuff on the belt. Heavy first.

[@WeLLeSaMa]

Also, plan the begging bevor you put the items on the line! so you can crab them while the casher is scanning and you have it easier to put them back in the cart or bag!

[@nordwestbeiwest1899]

Also wir Deutsche haben schon mal ein Trecker oder war es ein LKW auf die Eier gestellt .Keine Sorge die halten was aus ! grins .........

[@dirkdriessen1133]

@@nordwestbeiwest1899 Dafür muss man schon seeehr deutsch sein. Ne Folge Wettern Dass... von Anfang bis Ende gucken? Respekt

[@billtooke6642]

These sketches are fun!

[@andrewkazakevich8611]

And the woman is ok

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Thanks, Bill!

[@billtooke6642]

thing You're welcome! Very good job

[@weilwegenisso79]

But only a little piece of that all is "kind-of-true"

[@durrcodurr]

Just a quick comment: No reason for anxienty in grocery stores! :D Y'know, ALDI in Germany often has those bagging counters behind the cash register area. I simply put a bag into my pants when I go shopping there, and then, at the cash register, I simply put everything into my cart. Afterwards, I go to the bagging counter, pull out my bag, and then leisurely pack it (although they have now signs up that tell me to be speedy with it for sake of distancing -- I simply go the furthest spot from the cash register lanes so people cannot bump into me). With other grocery stores like REWE, I also simply put all my grocery back into the cart, and then pack my bag (which is on the back seat of my car) on the parking lot. When I walk (i.e. not go by car), I move the cart to some free space and pack my bag there. No problem! ;)

[@swanpride]

I am now doing the bagging at my car. Outside, more than enough space, it's the safest thing to do.

[@GuentherBN]

The stress starts when you are putting the goods from the shopping cart to the belt. Somehow I developped the behaviour to already sort the goods when putting back into the cart: My daughter calls this Shopping Cart Tetris.

[@swanpride]

@@GuentherBN I am doing it too as much as possible, but it is a careful balance, because if you sort too obvious, the cashier will actually warn you to not hold up the line. No kidding, that happened recently to me.

[@GuentherBN]

@@swanpride Well, that's why my daughter calls it Shopping Cart Tetris. You can't control the speed of the blocks dropping and you have to be fast.

[@DieAlteistwiederda]

Unless I have less than 10 items I always do this too because while I am quick even I am not that wu9ck and properly putting everything in bags so it won't break. I also don't have a car and do all my shopping on foot so I also have to keep in mind how to split the weight because its just more comfortable to carry one bag on each shoulder instead of trying to carry everything on one.

[@manfredlemke4671]

About "paying their servers a living wage" - it's technically true, but the wage is usually at rock bottom, so in Germany, to give a tip of about 10% is considered to be good etiquette - unless you are extremely dissatisfied with the service.

[@fragganoia]

Depends on which Restaurants you go to. You usually dont get one of 'em stares for just doing the very german 'rounding up'

[@tanjaflormann1073]

As a German who lived in the States for half a decade, I think it's a great summary! Well done! Greetings from the western part of Germany

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Thank you!! Greetings from DC!

[@Sophie_the_Tallest]

1:45 Thats a big beginner mistake, when you only take one item at once you never beat the cashier :D

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Good tip!!

[@arnoldkegebein2147]

I just take my time. And the cashier can take a little break (they are paid by the hour, not per customer) and have a little chat with the next customer (yes, sometimes they might do that).

[@Sophie_the_Tallest]

@@arnoldkegebein2147 I know, I'm from Munich. It was only a joke about Kellys Joke

[@folkehoffmann1198]

@@Kellydoesherthing I often take one thing with one hand, put it into the other and that other hand puts it in the cart. In that time the first hand can already take something else. So I let my hands work like a chain. I do that quickly and sometimes I'll actually beat the cashier. And when you pay by card you can also put one or two things away while waiting for the paying process to be finished.

[@Lexor888]

20 years ago bagging my items was always very stressfull to me until I learned that they keep making the bagging areas smaller and smaller by design just to highten the pressure on the customer to be faster and clear the area. This knowledge totally removed my stress and lead to me packing at my prefered speed.

[@RustyDust101]

Hahaha, loved the ending. But heck, again, nobody listens, so I got to repeat myself. Get yourself a Klappkiste, a collapsible box for shopping. Have it unfolded in your shopping cart. While shopping load all your items into it, so you also get a pretty good overview if your carry capacity is exceeded or not. Don't worry to do it neatly in the shop, as at the cashier station you usually won't have enough time to bag/stash you stuff neatly either. Load the conveyor from your cart as usual. When it comes to 'bagging' the large rigid opening of the box allows you to easily place everything into the box, AND you can use both hands as you don't have to use one hand to hold open your bag. Today, I actually had to wait for the cashier to finish checking out the last few items, as everything else was already stashed in my folding box. That totally reduces the stress level at the cashier to easily manageable levels.

[@lazyperfectionist1]

"Wait. You're from the future. So you know who won the Election." "Oh, yes. It was Putin."

[@Phelie315]

A commercial started right as future Kelly turned to do the stare into the camera and that was peak comedy XD

[@iNPUTmice]

As a German, who loves to watch people parallel park, I can confirm that Mexican food in Germany is the worst.

[@moonlighter6]

So very true!

[@LythaWausW]

Whole kidney beans instead of refried? WTH Germany!

[@swanpride]

Well, it's Germanized. The German palette doesn't do spicy.

[@LythaWausW]

@Pustekuchen I appreciate how wierd it must be as a German to hear Americans constantly whining about this. I am the winning whiner on this topic. But imagine you were from the UK and lived in Japan. You come across a scottish restaurant and you get really excited, only to discover it's awful. Now I admit living in vs. travelling to are different, but you got all excited for nothing. Perhaps the problem is you *can* find Mexican food here in Germany; it might be preferrable if it simply didn't exist in any form. Then you get to forego the massive let-down. I have a friend from Colorado who visited Germany for ONE WEEK and she complained that there were no tacos. That is *ridiculous* because you should be able to go without a taco for a few days of your life. It illustrates how hung up we Americans are about this type of food. One more thing - Americans in general do not travel to Mexico for the food: )

[@LythaWausW]

@@swanpride There used to be a great blog called Nothing for Ungood and he complained about the curry. He said all over the world when you eat curry, you expect a certain spiciness. When you eat curry in Germany, you get something .....yellow. *lol*

[@CarinaCoffee]

About the heat, I feel like in the last 20 years we had many hot summers. Those really really hot summers are accumulating thanks to climate change. I moved to the most humid part of Germany for uni and it's killing me. 2019 was really awful and now _A LOT_ of people are starting to buy mobile a/c units or even get the wall mounted ones installed. Apparently the companies that do those installations are booked up completely and I remember last summer mobile a/c units were sold out everywhere or only available for really high prices online if you found any. But yeah, the standard still is double or triple glazed windows, rolling shutters and fans to combat the heat. I studied abroad in Southern China for a year and I remember it was really hot and humid too (2 weeks on end of 30°-33° plus and within those two weeks usually 3-7 days of temperatures around 36°-38°), but a lot of places including my flat had a/c so it was way more doable. Here in Germany the temperature used to fluctuate more (so maybe you had 3 days of 33°+ weather, but than it would drop again), but recently these heatwaves have been sticking around longer (for example this week was always around 34° during the day). And when it doesn't drop below 25° at night sleeping is just hard to do and that makes you even less productive during the day. This week my flat was always 27°-29° plus 75% humidity, even though I aired it out during the night (these last two or three nights got colder and windy enough) and I use a dehumidifier (when the windows are closed obviously) it is just awful and will take multiple days with lower temperatures to lower my flat below 25°.

[@thth2850]

as a German living in the Southern US for over 25years, I love these "face-off" videos

[@sabinesteinberg-uzoma3888]

So so true... every time I return to Germany I miss the relaxed food shopping and the huge parking lots! And mexican food is just not so common. Try - apart from german food - greek and arabic restaurants, you'll be amazed.

[@swanpride]

To be fair, usually we only have two to three really hot weeks in Germany too. The last two years we had unusually hot summers. Thankfully it looks like we are spared this year....at least in my area we have avoided the 30 C mark so far. Extremely happy about that.

[@Pyrochemik007]

She said she live in winery area, that should be the warmest.

[@SOUKOKU-SUPREMACY69]

Well surprise!

[@swanpride]

@@SOUKOKU-SUPREMACY69 Yeah, I know, I am already grumpy, but at least the heat wave started (for me) in August this time around and not like last year in early July! But the next three weeks will be hell!

[@SOUKOKU-SUPREMACY69]

@@swanpride Same for me, but at least this year I don't have to drive with the S-Bahn because of this quarantine thing

[@heldengrab8312]

Hi I Just subscribed. I watched a lot of American KZbinrs talking about Germany. Your Sketches in which you are talking to yourself realy Stick Out from the crowd. They are very entertaining and clever. I know it must Take a lot more time than other videos but I really apreciate them.

[@Al69BfR]

It helps you packing your groceries into the bag, if you put them on the conveyor belt already sorted from heavy to light. 😊 (for people who go grocery shopping in Germany for the first time, if they don‘t want to use a shopping cart)

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Very true - good tip!

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Your videos are so cute! What a fun way to talk about what you need to know to go to Germany!

[@Guenner8685]

I use to grab the groceries at the cashier with the right hand, hand it over to my left hand, and my left hand puts it in the bag while my right hand already grabs the next item. That's very fluid if you're trained😜

[@petervonderahe]

Really love your videos, this one is my favourite so far. Great effort.

[@silviosantos6553]

Great vídeo again Kelly. Congrats!

[@bernhardneef7996]

Great Video and a perfect idea switching between future and past. Very well done. And I laughed about the grocery Olympics 😀

[@sie4431]

Wow I can't believe this channel is 4 years old, thought it was much older! Also can't believe that 2016 Kelly didn't know about German wine, I'm a non-drinker and even I know about Gerwertzraminer and Reisling

[@carola-lifeinparis]

2016 Kelly is in for a surprise. Please keep these sketches up. I liked the content you had before, watched it every few videos but now this is something to look forward to. :)

[@peterpritzl3354]

I grew up in Germany with parallel parking, and I am pretty good at it. But I once saw a guy parallel park a BMW with about 3" = 8 cm in front and behind. I actually walked over to him to tell him how impressed I was. But that was in the days when cars still had real bumpers, and you used them to push another car when it would not start, only worked with stick shift though.

[@Gannen]

I also fancy beer over wine, and also moved to Hessen , since then i befriended some locals and they took me out sometimes, they introduced me to the local apple wine and i fell in love with it, i highly recommend a try. They serve it in a big jug called a ''Bembel'' with a bottle of carbonated water, you and friends can mix your own cider with the proportions you like. At christmas time i recommend a try of the ''Glühwein'' (Spiced Wine) they sell at the christmas market.

[@QemeH]

Hey, hey, hey... There *definitively is* a line in the bakery! We just don't need to physically stand behind one another to keep track on who is "dran" (up next), okay? If you enter, take note of who is there - and if they have all ordered and the shop clerk looks expectantly around ("Bekommen Sie schon?"), you step up and order. Anybody who entered after you, will wait for you. But they will only wait for about as long as french people wait for a car that has the right of way, which is to say 1.3 seconds at best. So, don't miss your spot! ;)

[@B.Ies_T.Nduhey]

Hi Kelly, thatbwas really great, and I would like to see much, much more of it! Very interesting look at yourself from hindsight! And you know what? Right after you ask your 2020 self about the elections, I had a McD ad... and found that hilarious... But much more hilarious was your expression afterwards... Love, and go on💛!

[@cassrailroad5358]

Really great video, loved how you did both of you 👍👍👍👍.

[@stephan11575]

👌👍👍👍👍👍 ich mag deine videos!!!! Schön das du da bist!!!!😘

[@BlissLovePeace]

really well done ... the end was great too ...

[@andreaslauer8770]

Love it. Keep up the good work!

[@CarinaCoffee]

I guess I was lucky that growing up my mum worked for a proper bakery-confectionery, because I hardly ever had to experience the queuing problems that way, but you're right, I never heard anyone else mention that particular example before (usually foreigners talk about lining up for the bus, etc.), now that you mentioned it I get a little bit of PTSD of going to the bakery, people really do like to cut!

[@Ron-hd7ov]

Danke für deine Videos, ich freue mich jede Woche auf ein neues.. Es ist sehr unterhaltsam dir zuzusehen 😉😄

[@Kellydoesherthing]

aw danke schön!!

[@sinusnovi3826]

4:40 I am German and I never have eaten mexican food in Germany. I even don't know a shop or restaurant to get some. Why should I? There are way better posibilities in Germany to eat good food (spanish, italian, greek, thai, vietnamese, chinese, french, african, yugoslavian, arabian, turkish, indian...). And the best of all: I live near Mannheim/Germany and all of that kind of different restaurants are in a radius of less than 40 km around. So why I should eat mexican food?

[@ninaradio]

Authentic Mexican food is truly delicious and different from all the cuisines you mentioned. When you get a craving for it, none of those others would satisfy, no matter how good they also are.

[@sinusnovi3826]

@@ninaradio I believe you, but unfortunally in my region there is no mexican restaurant. And I love hot spicey meals.

[@LythaWausW]

Take it as our warning to you - don't try it here. Hey, you didn't mention Ethiopian, something I really miss.

[@TomTom-lh1jm]

Also hilarious, when US Americans travel to Germany, they basically speak English to everyone immediately without asking if they speak English at all. They are also people here in Germany who regard such behavior as rude, just as a little travel tip. 😉

[@Ann-bc3ge]

It is rude!

[@rikkidgermano9640]

This is not only rude but ignorant. Wherever I travel, beforehand I learn a few basics of the language because locals appreciate it very much. If you travel to Latin America, most people do not speak English at all so you better refresh your Spanish you learned in school or get one of the various apps that prepares you for your trip.

[@jessicaely2521]

@@rikkidgermano9640 its easy to do that when you go to one country or countries that speak the same language. I went from England to Netherlands to Sweden to Norway to Poland to Czech Republic to Russia. Yes you can first ask if someone speaks English before talking to them, but you arent goimg to learn it in 5 different languages.

[@berndhoffmann7703]

Tom Tom nein eher nicht. It is just holding things up and creates confusion, when someone explains in German, that he is not able to speak German and if conversion can continue in English, at least when speaking to folk younger than 70. Furthermore when speaking as little as one sentence in German the sentence is obviously not true 😂. Facial expressions and hands can help, even when not speaking the language

[@Ann-bc3ge]

@@jessicaely2521 "Yes you can first ask if someone speaks English before talking to them" -> That is the key

[@Orgelsolo]

Kelly's entire channel in a pretty entertaining nutshell! You've really brought your content to a new level! :D

[@kevinkerkhoff6670]

I love ALDI for the cashiers speed. It's the main reason why I shop there.

[@korbiniangoller1934]

Love these new formats of yours (might be new to me because I haven't seen some of your older videos) where you are making great and important points through comedy such as your video on the current pandemic in the US and Germany. Keep up the great content, I am sure many future visitors to Germany will highly appreciate it. This is coming from a former exchange student to the US who would have loved and cherished such content 😊. Though here is a recommendation from someone who has lived abroad in Thailand and the US: DON'T over prepare and research the country and culture you are going to live in, especially if it is vastly different from your own. There may be exceptions for families and professionals who need to plan ahead and are reliant on a smooth transition for kids and workplace. Yet, there is a magical beauty in finding things out for yourself. You may feel more anxiety but it is a small price to pay in return for astonishment and awe that only comes when you figure things out as you go. There is no harm in making mistakes and getting things wrong the first time. Locals love showing you their culture and your honest first reaction to it. Having seen and read about all sorts of customs, places, mentalities and so on will make them less of a revelation and it won't feel like you have earned or fought for their understanding yourself. There is power in adventure and moving to a different country is after all one of the greatest adventures there is. 🙂 To all of you you are already on that journey, preparing for it or even considering it: Enjoy the ride and don't worry! It's all going to be fine in the end and if it isn't now, it's not the end. 😊

[@leahegeloh8929]

"Grocery bagging Olympics" that made me laugh my ass off 😂😂 Cause would that really exist we would win every damn time😂😂

[@akisauchiha1063]

If im right that actually exist...

[@akisauchiha1063]

But if I'm right it's called championship not olympics

[@petergertzen4488]

@Kelly does her thing Lets start up a german (organic!) bakery in your town someday. The real german bakery type of today. Cheers and a great trip 😎

[@rheingold4885]

Very funny and spot-on. Well done.

[@tobiastogerin3598]

Great Video, as a German I had great fun.

[@ernestm.4388]

Q: Why would they stare at me?? A: You'll never know! Hilarious

[@xX2x2ist44Xx]

Hilarious but true xD Here in Germany people really stop and stare at you, but only if you somehow become conspicuous.

[@peter_meyer]

@@xX2x2ist44Xx Oh, no. We stare. Full stop.

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Ernest M. I just don’t know if they thought that I wouldn’t be able to successfully park so they wanted to watch in case I crashed into a car or for their own entertainment or....?

[@peter_meyer]

@@Kellydoesherthing Did you approach the parking lot head-banging listening to Rammstein?

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Peter Meyer lol!! I should’ve...might as well make a show of it if people are going to stare anyway!

[@Jay-in-the-USA]

I love your sketches 😄😄

[@tasminoben686]

Jo, da hat sie sich was wirklich lustiges ausgedacht! - Oder muß es heißen: ..haben sie sich beide ausgedacht? - 😉 Grüße Ben

[@Zino027]

Lol. I had such a bakery encounter last week. An old lady just walked infront of me and ordered. As a german, i was shocked 😂😉😘

[@Maxtherealone]

This was awesome again!👌🏼😁

[@HattovonHatzfeld]

Mexican food in Germany?? I never has come into my mind to go out to a Mexican restaurant. Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Greek, Croatian, Indonesian or Indian restaurants (and American fast food), yes - but a Mexican restaurant?

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Why not?

[@Tiegerbock5]

@@Kellydoesherthing well obviously because it's not that good here in Germany :')

[@claudiociotta8501]

But also Mex are quite rare in D. But there are a lot of good Thais. I assume that is related to German travel habits. But then you may think, ok, then there should be a lot of Spanish restaurants. Another assumption: many Germans that travel to Spain tend to stick with German food. ;-)

[@jornwagner4603]

Ja, das gibt's schon hier und da. Usually als "TexMex" 😆. Aber wenn es selbst schlimmer als Taco Bell ist...

[@Phelie315]

Kelly lived in Mainz, I know of at least two Mexican restaurants there and a third one has just opened recently :D but now I'm curious, I've never had Mexican food outside of Germany before, so if I ever make it to Mexico or at least the USA somewhere with a huge Mexican community, I'm definitely intrigued to try it there :)

[@deltatrash]

Good one 😂 so much truth. Especially the cashiers. Being German I don’t understand that cashier rush either. It’s just a useless hurry.

[@zepzosorox6823]

Kelly, the world is a better place because you're in it. Thanks for the smiles & the laughs! 🤣😂 👍😄✌️

[@joergpranger]

I can´t even say how much I love your sketches! They are so gentle and fun to watch! And your humour is on point! 😄👌 Will you return to Germany soon? 😊

[@fafnirdrache1210]

These sketches are wonderfull. Really, Aldi-cashiers where the fastest in the entire world. Aldi had a prize-system. E.g.: 0,29€;0,99€; 1,99€; 2,99€. So the cashiers only had to remember the prizecategory and to have fingers at lightspeed. So the scanners really slowed them down. And honestly I have to admit that I put my products already grouped on the checkoutlane. Heavy first and e.g .: eggs and chips last. Every time it's a challenge to be as fast as the cashier. I like it!

[@KlausZanetti]

Great idea, to create a video as a lady in retrospection (with many experiences) and also as a lady with many expectations and doubts, traveling to a foreign country. Well done !

[@user-fb5lj9cz5l]

Mexican food in Germany is what is Olive Garden to Italian food. ;-) @ shopping carts: Instagram has tons of videos of people who who leave their shopping carts in the parking lot and a guy with a camera asks them to bring it back. That´s when serious arguments begin. I prefer the German coin system.

[@claudiociotta8501]

:-D

[@emilyhorch]

Excellent job! As an American living in Germany, you had me screaming "Yes! Yes!" and my screen. Oh, the Mexican food. The only thing I miss about California. And the salsa DOES TASTE LIKE KETCHUP. Ugh. And the air conditioning thing. Currently sweating through my 8th German summer where everyone says, "It doesn't get that hot here so we don't need it". Yeah, right. But also the good things about Germany which is why I'm very happy to be here despite lack of mole and cool air. Well done and looking forward to discovering your other videos!

[@zambianyoutuberx]

I love your work! and I love you!

[@selina7150]

Hi Kelly, I remember commenting on your channel about the daily window ritual when I was also living in Mainz. I have since returned to Scotland but I miss Mainz especially Flamkuchen and Riesling. We have someone from Mainz visiting us tomorrow! Tchuss 👋🏼

[@tinkerwithstuff]

Strange, where I live bakeries do have lines. LineS. I.e. one per person behind the counter, which sometimes might look a bit chaotic when the space before the counter is constrained, but as much as everyone can follow what's what (depending on degree of overcrowding), the order within a line will usually be respected. It may look deceptively like "no line" when persons behind the counter move about, but they are being tracked and their "resting position" remembered, which is where a line supposedly starts.

[@mikereu1605]

I absolutely love your dialog vids. Great idea, very nicely done!

[@stephanteuscher6583]

Very interesting! I had no idea that mexican food is bad in my homeland. But that's probably because the only country I ever ate mexican food was Mexico. And that was really delicious! The fast packing thing in the croceries - very funny. And true of course. But that's the price you pay for cheaper products. On the other hand, I really enjoyed having friendly staff to pack my things in the U.S.. And to always use the credit card. Time to travel there again! Continue your work, Kelly. I love it!

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Thank you!! I’m happy you enjoyed it :)

[@siggilinde5623]

😂 Oh yes... When I went to England I was so confused when I tried to push all groceries in my bag as fast as possible (like usual...) and my friend stopped me saying “Slow down. We are not in Germany. We have time, we even can chat with the cashier :) “

[@jamesrbrindle]

Haha ..... ALDI! We’re used to having our shopping thrown off the end of the conveyor belt here in the UK. Loving these vids

[@blackforest_fairy]

But there are many people in Germany who do not speak English for real. Actually acording to statistics that is more then 60% of the population. Well of course that is more on the countryside than in the cities... And... Well we did have 2 or 3 hot summers the past years but usually it isn't as hot here too... And especially not for long... Well this year we are having the typical "middle european" summer (hardly ever more than 30°C) again. It feels so good after 2 tropical summers in a row...

[@patrickiii1693]

Well just like American food culture is shaped by Mexican immigrants, German food culture is shaped by Mediterranean immigrants from Portugal/Spain full circle to Morocco. Add local cuisine, the standard steak/burgers and sushi/thai places, and it´s getting pretty crowded. Just no demand for it.

[@peterkonradort]

As a German/American citizen currently living in the US, It constantly amazes me how americans don't realize how bad they have it, especially just when it comes to cost of living. We're permanently moving to Scotland in October and it can't come soon enough!

[@Kellydoesherthing]

If you never leave the US, it’s hard to compare it...even if you travel somewhere for just a vacation - if you don’t really try to immerse yourself and talk to locals about their livelihood, you’ll go back home not really learning this lesson

[@peterkonradort]

Kelly does her thing yeah it gets me every time when people who have never been anywhere talk about how the US is the “greatest country in the world”. I always tell them that there are many great things about the US, but none of them are exclusive to the US. On the flip side, many of the bad things about America ARE exclusive to America.

[@spielboy6931]

Scottish cuisine ... hmmm ... deep fried mars bar ...

[@BimBamHeidi]

I live in the Pfalz (we have the world's best wine here, just sayin'^^) so of course I grew up with Weinfeste and Schorle but I actually never drink wine when I don't want to get drunk so one day when I went to a Weinfest I decided to get a beer and I couldn't find one place that would just sell me a cold beer, or any kind of beer really. And that was a huge Weinfest! So I get the struggle of a beer drinker living in the wine region of Germany. 😂

[@svejobaron]

I really love your sketches

[@uhoffmann29]

Can I give 5 thumbs up? ;-) Awesome video ... had me cracking up multiple times while watching.

[@whattheflyingfuck...]

OMG the face at the end was awesome xD

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Lol!! Glad you caught that :)

[@Phelie315]

In relation to the foreign food... I used to live abroad in Dublin for a while and one weekend we really were craving some Greek food. So we googled, found nothing, asked around, still found nothing... Not one Greek restaurant in a city of one million people XD we found one that was like over an hour drive out if the city but we didn't have a car there, so... no Greek food for us. This was 2007 though so it might have changed :)

[@ThomasKossatz]

I stared at your Video for 10 Minutes, but then I stopped, got my mask and weapon and went to the groceries. When I finally watched it to the end, I noticed you forgot an important advice: In 2020, Germany only let's in Americans if accompanied by an adult. Kelly, at least one thing has changed since you visited us. In times of Corona, the pushing and fighting in lines at the groceries has become much, much better. In my EDEKA shop, they even draw lines on the ground to mark the required distance. Now that there is a rule, we follow it.... And since one of your recent episodes I do not only believe you have a sister, but I guess her name is Karen.... Oh, and just in case you have some left over time: Joe Biden is looking for a young socialist woman as his vicepresident. You can even work from home! Great Video, as usual. .... True, no small talk.

[@ReinholdOtto]

Corona also made accepting, using, even requesting (debit) cards much more popular. Also, I agree on the "Great Video". I like the "split personality" roleplaying Kelly started a couple of posts ago.

[@ThomasKossatz]

@@ReinholdOtto Nice to meet you here, Mr Pense ;)

[@HoldMySoda]

I asked the lady in the toll booth on the Pensilvania Turn Pike if I could pay with my credit card. Guess what she said to me. "this is not possible in the state of Pensilvania." Cash was king and the only way to pay the toll. Meanwhile you can pay with credit or debit cards at almost any mayor store, in Germany. Small businesses don't accept credit, sometimes. Or when you are in a more rural area It might become difficult if you want to pay with credit card. But most of the time they accept the so called "EC-Karte" which is very popular in Europe because almost everybody who' has a checking account owns this kind of card. Retailers also prefer this cars because the fees are much lower compared to the credit card fees.

[@Kellydoesherthing]

oh wow....that's disappointing to hear. i haven't been on the PA Turn Pike in yeaaaaars but I really would've guessed that they had changed that by now. Even stadium parking lots that require a fee will take credit cards haha

[@MHG790]

9:36 Fortunately, this is constantly changing. I am using cash maybe for 10% of my payments. Even bakeries more and more have the option to use contactless payment.

[@germangirlinthemid-west225]

Do you think Germany has gone more towards cards because of the virus? I'm in the U.S. and we have a lot of stores that are taking cards only.

[@MHG790]

Shirley Iwan I think this was Happening anyway but the virus gave it another push.

[@PAVx_]

Properly lining up (with 1.5m distance) is also mandatory at many bakeries due to the virus.

[@MHG790]

@@PAVx_ If people get too close: Cough at them. They will back-up eventually.

[@metalheadmetalhead4976]

@@MHG790 I've started telling them about all the fun you can have with respirators ...

[@ruthhunter3381]

👍 Fun. Thanks. 🏆

[@mizot84]

Like your "split personality" videos very much :-) Also, complement, you didn't change during the last 4 years ☺

[@_Briegel]

The most important thing in Germany: Take a carrier of beer with you every time you go shopping. This shortens the waiting time at the checkout when once again many people are queuing and the apprentice is just being briefed. You can also quickly start a nice conversation with the people in front and behind you. Every now and then somebody throws on his disposable grill (*) and another one donates some sausages for the grill. Germans are a very sociable people with a sense for the practical ;-) (*) this is by the way the reason why you never find industrial plastic floors in German shops, only heat-resistant tiles!

[@Pyrochemik007]

Opening windows in winters is not weird at all. Clean air. Our family even sleeps with open windows entire year, it is very healthy to breathe cold air, and a thin blanket over the thick ones is all you need to insulate yourself. We only close windows at night if daily temperatures drop below -10°C. The molding of walls is exagerated, modern buildings have no humidity raising up through walls, so a bit of air moisture is not enough to cause issues.

[@therehn]

Wow I never heard of this, I used to sleep with my window open in summer, but these days it seems to trigger my allergies too much.

[@Pyrochemik007]

@@therehn Well no one is alergic in our family to that point of inconvenience, only sister has a seasonal plantain pollen alergy, and that flower is not around house. Plus in winters you do not have to worry about pollen. If it is your house, try to remove what makes you alergic from your garden, and cut grass often so it can´t bloom. You may need to replace trees. Cities may react to petitions, to replace public greenery, for example in my country birch trees are removed from residential areas. Other than that, you may try some microfiltration technology to keep the clean air flowing in.

[@therehn]

@@Pyrochemik007 yeah unfortunately it is a block of flats and no access outside to the back. I have slept in the living room occasionally when it's hot but the pollen is too high in my bedroom. I am thinking of getting an air purified but not sure it will help 🤔

[@Pyrochemik007]

@@therehn There exist see through foils you put over your window, which prevent entrance of larger particles, like pollen, but allow air circulation. You may also chose the airconditioning, disable temperature and add filter into the system. But the first one is cheaper and probably healthier.

[@therehn]

Pyrochemik007 that sounds like a good idea, I will have a look, it’s warm where I am and a nice breeze would be good!

[@FabFunty]

So informative and yet so funny and again a new one of my favorite skits 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@MattyFeder]

Haha you're so entertaining. I' ver enjoyed it. Also youre other vids.

[@jorgschimmer8213]

You are amazing! Thank you. This two-way videos....👍🏽😍🥳

[@ocskm1406]

That was such fun to watch. Thx and continue !

[@durrcodurr]

Another one about payment options in Germany: *SOME* places like bakeries, and oddly, McDonalds, don't take cards, almost every other shop takes credit and/or debit cards (actually, debit cards, like the EC card are much more common than credit cards). Also supported nowadays in most places is contactless payment via card or smart phone. I *VERY RARELY* use cash, and most of the time, I don't even have any cash on me. And that since 1986 or so. :D (The first thing I did when I was 16 was to get a bank account and a EC card).

[@petereggers7603]

At gas stations nearly 60 % of the customers pay by card(s)...80 % "EC", 20 % credit cards. Mostly women pay a bill of 10 Euro by card, while mainly men would pay a 100 Euro bill cash. 😁

[@V100-e5q]

What kind of McD do you frequent? I pay there with plastic for years.

[@durrcodurr]

@@V100-e5q Last time I asked ours, they didn't take any cards. I live in a small city on the countryside.

[@V100-e5q]

@@durrcodurr My town is also small (

[@swanpride]

@@petereggers7603 That's because gas is fairly expensive and you not necessarily have planned for it when you suddenly realise that your car is about to run out and/or the price is pretty affordable.

[@cutterboard4144]

i loled! thank you!

[@hansmeyer7225]

I love it! The last one was hilarious 😂

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Thank you!! 😂

[@elliel.8219]

Ohhhhmyyyygawwwdddd.... I‘ve been wanting to move to Germany for few years, up until you mentioned the things about Mexiacan food.... Thanks for the heads up

[@woodywoodverchecker]

The Italian food is better than in America, though. Plus, you can go to Italy easily. At some point in the future, at least.

[@catbabel]

So glad I only bought two or three things in ALDI when I visited. I could whisk it away while running.

Use a shopping cart (you have to in these Corona times anyway). Load it up. Then load it onto the conveyor at the checkout. Put every item back into the cart as the cashier scans it. Then… find a quiet spot and bag in peace. No anxiety. (Except when, like me, you often shop close to closing time… I'm working on it ;-)) The staring bit is way overblown. I don't stare, and rarely do I notice someone doing it… but *when* it happens, it's really annoying if not kinda scary.

[@lazyperfectionist1]

"Well, so, why will they stare at me?" It's a German thing. Germany is a country with a rich tradition for producing scientists, engineers and philosophers. They've got 42 political parties. They _love_ their nuances. Naturally, they have honed their stare. 🤷

[@mojojim6458]

Yeah, that makes sense.

[@mojojim6458]

@mininmalta 123 When it comes to staring, I have only an American side. I never stare. It's rude!

[@olivercopp4611]

This was amazing :-)

[@n3ff848]

There are things in germany called "shopping carts". So please don't start to stuff your goods into a bag at the checkout and make everybody behind wait for you.

[@Pyrochemik007]

If you make small shopping with just hand carried basket, those are returned at the checkouts, and you still have 20+ items easily.

[@n3ff848]

@@Pyrochemik007 you can just keep the basket until all your stuff is scanned and then put it back.

[@Pyrochemik007]

@@n3ff848 In our markets the small baskets are available inside the shop, so you leave them before checkout, where employees collect them and bring them to the entrance for new customers. Taking the basket would be like stealing it.

[@n3ff848]

@@Pyrochemik007 I never experienced that. Usually I can just keep them in my hands, put them on the end of the conveyor belt to throw my stuff back into it and then I can calmly pack up my stuff after that and put the basket back to a pile on the entrance. Maybe it's just my stores.

[@OkabexKurisu]

who cant bag their things at the same time they are scanned? idk...it seems so easy for me

[@peterhilbers3041]

Having conversations with yourself lately a lot :D quarantine shows its effect - just kidding, nice vids!

[@michaelmorgan9824]

Very good informative and your editing skills are superb! Without giving away any of the magic it’s excellent and you are a very good actor! Enjoyed it immensely! Stay safe!

[@HolgerKuhrts]

Actress , you`re welcome.

[@glaubhafieber]

I watch videos every day to see what to expect when moving abroad. I know my destination already, but everything will be a big shock for a swiss lol

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Exactly - I feel like you can try to consume everything you can but nothing can truly prepare you for experiencing it first hand

[@peter_meyer]

@@Kellydoesherthing That's nature. We are all alike, but everyone is different. Thank "whatever you believe in".

[@glaubhafieber]

Kelly does her thing that’s why i spent months there already. It’s shocking for all westerners the first few weeks. And i know people who gave up after a few years. I can always go back if it doesn’t work for me. I prepared for years now, have bank accounts and phone number from the destination, started learning the language, began eating spicy food etc. lol

[@IIIOOOUS]

Actually I need to put things first into the cart and bag it later in Aldi, to keep pace. Probably Edeka you can bag it right away. when you are quick.

[@TheRecht]

That was so much fun to watch and so accurate, its the same in Austria where I live.

[@Kellydoesherthing]

Thanks for watching :)

[@Vampilein]

Hey Kelly, once more a great video! had such a blast watching it... :-)

[@udothiel8009]

That is soooo great. Thanks a lot!

[@Psychedelic-Warrior]

I totally agree on the mexican food thing. In germany one time i ordered 4 tacos. They came in an alminium shell filled with salat and meat an in there were 4 softly, close to be total liquofied and sloppy taco shells in it. It was terrible, i was so hyped on my first taco and then came this dissapointment