3 Steps Toward Simplicity I Learned in Europe

It’s no mystery to Martin and me that living in Europe has had a profound connection to our choices to simplify our load so we could enjoy living more.  I was a little surprised this summer to find that while we’re back in the United States, there are some of those ol’ European habits that came back with us.  They’re stubborn little guys.  And frankly, I’m so glad that they are.  Here are three very non-American habits we’ve sticking to in our path toward simplicity.

1.  We use a 24-hour clock.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever accidentally set your alarm clock to go off at 6 pm instead of 6 am.  (My hand is waaaaay up!)  In Germany, there is no such thing as 6 pm; that’s 18 o’clock.  I still remember pulling the mouse of my computer up to change my computer clock to 24 hours last year.  You know the old saying:  when in Rome, you’ve gotta do what the Romans are doing.

All of the signs on Berlin shops were on 24 hour clocks.  My classmates in German class all spoke in 24 hour time.  It was really hard to adjust to a 24 hour clock for about a week.  I kept messing up 6:00 pm with 16:00 (which is 4 pm).  Now I’m never going back.  And I’m also never going to accidentally set my alarm clock for the wrong time of day ever, ever again, which was so worth the week-long struggle.

2.  We buy whole fat foods.

At our grocery store here in the US, everything is labeled “fat free!!” and “low fat!”.  But have you noticed?  The more fat companies take out, the more sweeteners and salts they usually add to our food.  I think if I had asked for fat free yogurt at our German grocery store, they would have given me a hard kick right out of the place.  (The “low fat” milk there is 1.5% fat.)  Some fats are really good for our bodies.  I happily buy the high fat yogurt (which is dang hard to find in the US, unfortunately).  It tastes sooo much better.  It isn’t full of sugars, though you have to read labels to be sure.  I think the Germans know what they’re doing with this fatty food business.  (Have you seen how SKINNY they are?!)

3.  We walk more.

The 8-year-old little girl down the road asked me, “Why do you always walk?”  She’d seen me walking the long dirt road to the mailbox several times.  ”I like to,” I told her.  ”And it’s good for me.”  She just shrugged and said, “Oh.  We just drive.”

So there you have it!  Too American to be German.  Too German to always feel American.  Have any of you picked up simple habits that raise the traditional 8-year-old eyebrows in your neighborhood?