My Subtle German Life

My sister arrived here this morning and I chose to have us walk to the Heidelberger Schloss to help keep her awake.  My program did the same thing to me when we first arrived here, so I figured that seemed like a good idea.  I already went to the castle with my friend who visited me, so I didn't really see anything new, other than the fact that the leaves have fallen off the trees.  However, my sister doesn't get to go to castles in the US, so it was a worthwhile trip.

Through my sister being here, I have noticed a lot of little things that are different in Germany.  I'm not sure whether my friend who lived in Budapest was just used to these things from also living in Europe, or just slightly less observant, regardless it has been interesting for me to hear her questions.  One of the first things she asked was what was wrong with my toilet, as it had made a rather loud roar at her when it was flushing.  "You probably pushed the wrong button," I said, "the little button is for pee, the big one is for poop."  She seemed puzzled.  "It would just be a waste of water if you used the same amount for just little bits of toilet paper!" I continued, as if it should be obvious.  It then dawned on me that in the US, she had most definitely never encountered such a thing.  Why would it be obvious?  

The second thing I noticed was when she asked me if "all light switches in Germany are like the ones at the dorm".  Once again, I was confused.  I thought my light switches were fairly normal.  Once again, it wasn't until after our conversation that it dawned on me.  "Fairly normal" light switches in the US look a little something like this 

However, "fairly normal" here looks a lot more like this

I never even realized simple things like this were different!  I wonder what other sorts of things she can find, that I never noticed.  

EDIT: Inside sources have informed me that Caltech toilets are like the ones here at my dorm.  I stand by my statement that my sister would not have seen these in the US, though I stand corrected in my assumption that they don't exist in the US.