Tuesday, May 17, 2005

I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you this...

I just came home from my German conversation class, and I'm happy to report that I broke the news to my German teacher that....Europeans stink!!!
The topic today was "Man and Nature", and we somehow began talking about water conservation. The teacher asked if we thought it is an important issue, and both me and this Canadian lady in my class both took the position that it is important but the Swiss go overboard when it comes to water conservation. He kind of started talking about how Americans use so much more water than Europeans, and I felt the need to come back with an "...at least Americans and Canadians don't smell." He seemed shocked until the other three people in my class - Canadian, Thai, and Malaysian - sided with me. I said that I rarely smell body odor in America and Canada, but I smell it in Basel about every 15 seconds during the summer. The Thai woman chimed in with "...the Swiss stink!", and the Malaysian man followed with a "...worst body odor I've ever smelled in my life".
We assured the teacher that not everybody in Europe (including him) stinks, but he seemed a little taken aback. I hope I didn't ruin his evening. Better yet...I hope he tells one of his stinky friends, and they reassess their hygiene regimen.

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