Exchange Student 20

I was cautioned that it is normal for exchange students to put on a minimum of 20 pounds during their year abroad. Being an over achiever I've put on 20 in just 6 months.

Here is a look at the typical meals here. For breakfast we have tea/coffee and buttered rolls with cold cuts, cheese, jams and nutella. In the mid morning, Germans like to snack so that they do not expire before lunch. There is a 5 minute break every 45 min. in school, so that the students can eat a quick snack. and although most students eat breakfast before they go to school, there is also a half hour breakfast break on top of the lunch break so that students can eat a more substantial second breakfast. Lunch is the main meal. It varies but usually includes potatoes (Germans eat about 3 times as many Potatoes as the British who are also known for over indulgence in this area) and pork (Germans eat more pork than any other European country, 4.5 million tons of it a year or the equivalent of 5.5 oz per person per day.) and always is accompanied by rich cream sauses. Germans drench everything in sauce! My favorite thing is called Knoedel. It is similar to a dumpling but it is made out of potatoes. In the afternoon, we have coffee/tea and elaborate cakes layered with fruit, cream, chocolate, cream, sponge and perhaps a little more fruit. And of course this is accompanied with whipped cream. Our evening meal is usually similar to breakfast unless it is the weekend, then we eat a second warm meal. Then before bedtime, it "nashing" time or literally a designated snack time to insure one keeps night time starvation at bay. This is usually ice cream, chocolate, or some form of gummi type snack. And of course it is very rude to refuse and futile to resist. We often eat oranges and apples, but besides this fruit and veggies are left to be desired. I have been craving a salad! German food is much more than Bratwursts and sauerkraut. In fact this is not really German food, but comes from a region in Germany - Bavaria. Where I live, we eat alot of knodel, gulash, and bruletten which are similar to meatballs.

I think exchange students put on weight in Germany partly because the diet consists of fats and carbohydrates and little else, but also because of the culture. To the Germans, quantity is a must. Overdoing it is a German habit and not just where food is concerned.

I remember hearing that my Great Grandmother Gutrude Human used to wrap rolls from restaurant tables in a napkin to take home. The idea of throwing food away was unthinkable after seeing people die of starvation in Germany. Many older Germans share this feeling of horror at wasting food. Starvation was common and and poverty the norm before, during, and after the Second World War. After the the reparations for WWI were imposed (at such proportions that if they were still intact, Germany would be paying them off to this day assuming of course that they paid 100% of their capital income). The German mark lost so much value that the paper it was printed on became more valuable than the mark itself. There are famous instances where people would burn their money for heating while it was cheaper than buying wood. In 1914, it was 4 Marks to the dollar, but by 1923 it was closer to 1 trillion marks to the dollar.
When money returned to the German's pockets, and especially in the east when they were introduced to new consumer food items from around the world, Germans began to cook and eat in epic proportions. There is even a German word for this - Fresswelle which literally translates to a title wave of face-filling overindulgence which has lead to the double chinned German stereotype.

It is considered rude to not eat everything on the table. Often one does not even help themselves, but the meals come dished out in enormous proportions. It is expected that one eat everything on the plate no matter how full you are. All meals are served with bread to wipe up any last remaining crumbs or sauce.

Each corner is guaranteed to have at least one bakery and there are Germany boasts over 200 different types of bread, but Germans are very partial to whole meal hard crusted bread. When I first came here my jaw hurt just from the bread. But white bread is a growing fad and is usually served at breakfast. German bread comes in all shapes, sizes and colours.

To not accept seconds is considered to be a sign that you did not like the cooking and thus very rude. If I finish my plate more will be added even if I say I am full. Everyone wants me to try their German/Russian cooking. After 6 months, I have figured out to eat slowly and to respond when asked if I want more of something with a hmm... later (a more polite dodge) in hopes that the questioner may forget (but this is rare! :)). Maybe this will help me from gaining an exchange trip 40 *gasp*!

Works Cited:

Hyperinflation Post WW1 -- http://www.hubpages.com/

Xenophobe's Guide to the Germans by Stefan Zeidenitz and Ben Barkow