Uncle Fritz wants YOU! "Draft", German Style

I uttered the words the other day (Sunday, a day which will live in personal infamy) that should strike fear into the heart of an Ex-pat in Germany. . .Es zieht. In my defense, with the draft, it was cold enough that I had to put my jacket on in the cafe which was doubly frustrating because outside, it was almost warm enough to take one's jacket off.

Zugluft
Every beginning German student thinks they have this situation under control, and yet German life throws a wrench in the works. Zugluft is not
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Zugluft is a draft, of which Germans live in deadly fear. This position is bearable in all seasons except late Spring, Summer and Early Fall -the seasons in which the North American perceives a warm breeze as pleasant and in point of fact, preferable to non-moving air in the absence of any means of air refrigeration, i.e. air conditioning. For about half the year, the German and the Ex-pat can tolerate one another's mistaken views and live together in harmony.

Well sortof, in Winter, we encounter the whole Thou shalt not leave the house with wet hair. A professor was lecturing me about this in front of a classroom of students. A science professor! It is not a situation in which one can say, "Excuse me, honerable Mr. Prof. Dr.-Ing. H., but would you perhaps be open to having a quiet word about germ theory after lecture? I hear it is all the rage in scientific circles these days".

Then staying in the home of a friend of my mother's - Thou shalt not go to bed with wet hair. (I don't blow dry my hair so my only alternative would appear to be refraining from washing between Sept. and May, yech!) Aparantly one is also to wear t-shirts under one's sweater. I am usually cold and I don't like paying for dry-cleaning, so I do this anyway.

I have also been lucky enough to find and marry a completely a-typical German who bikes to work with his wet hair freezing about his little kraut head and who enjoys (Deo gratias) excellent health. He does have kidney issues, though - no one is perfect!

So thanks to PapaScott for getting me started and I will have to leave the Hörstürz for another day- I read this article and had a strong reaction to it. Yes, Yes I have experienced this, too! What is wrong with these people?! On the other hand, I don't deny that stress can cause a host of ills, so I guess I should be asking, why is it that people are suffering psychologically to such a degree that it manifests itself so markedly. Rather sad, actually.