*ahem* excuse me

To open up this post, I offer for you consideration several observations of the German "Privatsphaere" or privacy sphere.  Yes, we're talking about personal bubbles here.  There are definitely some differences between American and Deutsche privacy spheres, and I've already mentioned a few in previous posts....there's the awkward elevator silence, all the room doors are always closed (ALWAYS! so different from an American dorm), people do not acknowledge you on the street....unless they're homeless and want money....and the person sitting against you on the bus who doesn't acknowledge your existence for the ten minute ride.  And the list goes on...it's not a bad thing, it's just a cultural difference....

...a cultural difference that I experienced last night in a McDonalds restroom in Koeln (Cologne).  Men from back home will agree me on this:  there is a certain set of unspoken rules that follow the use of urinals in the the bathroom.  For example, if there are three urinals, man shalt not conduct his business in the central urinal.  It's unspeakably taboo.  No.  And if someone is using a urinal, and there are multiple urinals available including one that is not directly adjacent  to the one in use, man shalt not place himself unnecessarily close to the other party.  SHALT NOT!  That means if there are five urinals, and you're the first to enter the situation, you take the one on the far right, and the next person take the urinal on the far left, leaving a moderately comfortable space of three urinals between you.  This is man law.  

So I enter the McDonalds bathroom and survey the situation: three open urinals.  No problem.  I honored the man law and do not even consider taking the one in the middle (see first example).  However, no sooner was I ready for action when another man entered the bathroom...no cause for alarm, it's a common occurrence....I didn't think anything of it until he passed the urinal on the far left and placed himself at the urinal directly next to me...a clear violation of man law and apparently my own personal bubble, and didn't that he was singing to himself a little.  I was really working hard not to smile or laugh...I think if you noticed someone with a bemused smile next to you at the urination station, you'd start to wonder.  One way or another, the situation was awkward enough that I was having difficulty completing the mission that I came in to do, which meant standing there longer....and apparently my neighbor wasn't having much success, because the situation held for several minutes, until I finally couldn't take it any more, chalked up the bathroom run as a failure, and left.

Cultural difference?  Personal situation?  Random experience?  There's insufficient data for me to make a good conclusion, but I think it's one research project I'll skip : )

Cheers!