There were many things in Magdeburg that we saw for the first time in our lives. Being a developed country, it had the best infrastructure, roads, lights, huge shopping malls, and supermarkets, which were just making an entry into India back then. Germany had been reduced to ashes and rubble as a result of the Second World War, but through sheer determination and hard work, they had risen to become one of the world's most powerful countries. When we went to the supermarket, we were surprised to see 10 varieties of yoghurt, as well as milk, cheese and bread and almost all food varieties. We were not used to having so much variety back in India. We were always confused whenever we went shopping in Magdeburg. We tried almost all the varieties of milk, fruit-flavored yoghurt, cheese, etc. Once, we were travelling to some city by train and stopped to buy a sandwich at one of the bakery stalls at the train station. I clearly told the person on the counter to give me a vegetarian sandwich. She started asking me if eggs and fish were fine to put in the sandwich. I vehemently said no. I just told her to put cheese and tomatoes for me. She frowned at me and gave me the so-called vegetarian sandwich. From that time, I realised that eggs and fish are considered vegetarian in this strange country, and everything I had to go out to eat, I had to tell them that I ate no fish, eggs, or meat. Many times I got strange looks at this statement, because it was a task for them to offer me something that didn't have any meat, eggs, or fish. I was astonished by the amount of meat the people consumed and the amount of beer that they just drank so easily. I could never bring myself to taste the beer or sing songs about how tasty a particular beer was. I couldn't just appreciate the alcohol there as I was not used to it at all.
Another surprising discovery we made was about "Waschsalon". There was a room with 8 to 10 washing machines and dryers, and one could just walk in with their clothes to be washed, make a payment, and start the machine; wait for an hour or two; or come back later and put the clothes in the dryer; take dry clothes back home. We never knew that dryers existed in this world and that clothes could be dried in them. In India, there is so much sunlight that we only know to hang clothes on a clothes line in a sunny area, and the clothes are ready to wear in two hours! We often took our clothes to this washing salon and tried to divide the payment and the clothes to save money.
Water, the greatest source of life, could be procured only after making a payment, be it in restaurants or supermarkets. We were aghast by this. Paying for water and that too in such a developed country where there is abundant water? We could not understand why. And also, there were two varieties of drinking water available everywhere, one with gas and one without gas. Water with gas? Really? Why would people drink water with gas? What's the objective? Sometimes beer is cheaper than water in Germany. That is something that I can't digest even today. Though the tap water is consumable here, I have seen most of the people buying crates of water from the supermarket.
We often came back home late at night when we were invited to parties or with friends. We never felt any fear, although we were girls and in our early twenties. Nobody ever caused us any discomfort. We always felt secure on the roads, with or without people. The only thing that troubled us sometimes was the stare of local people, be it on buses or at bus stops. No one came and sat next to us, though the seats next to us were empty and the bus or tram was crowded. Maybe they were not used to seeing so many foreign faces in Magdeburg in those times, when it was not common for foreigners to go there. We never faced any discrimination, but we could also sense that we were not welcome there. Once, we accompanied a blind boy to a tram stop. My friend caught his left hand and I caught his right hand, and we walked a small distance to the tram stop. Upon reaching the stop, he asked us in German, "Are you not from here?" "Are you from Greece?" We said no, we are from India, definitely not from here. I'm curious how he knew just by the feel of our hands. I have no clue why he thought we were from Greece. I should have asked him that time, but I was not outgoing then like I am today.
to be continued...
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