Nail studios - in America you will find them in every nook and corner, in every strip mall, even in small towns or tiny villages. I do not have many female friends in the U.S. not getting nails regularly done in some studio. Not sure about men … Plus, acrylics are top-notch – these thick artificial plates on your nails – perhaps because they are easy-maintenance?
Until a couple of years ago you wouldn’t find many nail studios in German cities - the only service available was "medial pedicure" for elderly ladies executed with electric planes and rough files and other brutal tools. Nobody would have spent a thought to have his (or mostly) her nails done by somebody else. My mom did her own nails until she was about 83 and couldn’t almost see them anymore or bend down to her toes.
Now, in our neighborhood, which is still predominantly blue-collar (textile industry was big here formerly), at least five nail studios are to be found in a 3 km-perimeter – second most to hairdressers. You would think people in a down-to-earth neighborhood like ours can’t afford or wouldn't think of having nails done, but apparently not so. Seems like I am one of the few still using my own scissors and nail file every weekend.
Perhaps people don’t even know anymore how to do it ? Which reminds me of an article I read recently about kids today not being able to tie their shoe laces anymore. Shoe industry changed their production line in the meantime and offer more shoes with hook & loop fasteners. Manual dexterity to tie shoes is going lost, same with using zippers or buttons. Seems like kids' fingers are getting converted to use touchscreens, keys and mouses, but not to do „real“, haptic things anymore.
When shopping baby stuff with a friend of ours in one of these overwhelming huge baby superstores - the first time I’ve been inside such a store! – I was wondering about baby strollers. In America, where kids are mostly transported by car, strollers can’t be highly popular. While in Germany moms are pushing their strollers through pedestrian malls and around neighborhoods (and using them as weapons on densely populated streets or in shops), in America kids are sitting in fancy child car seats, and carried from the car to child care or to activities and home. In Germany cafés are a popular gathering place of the so-called "latte macchiato moms". Berlin and Munich are especially reputed for that. Sure sign of such an establishment is a collection of strollers blocking the entrance, mostly high-tech buggies, one of them probably more expensive than a bike.
Greek yoghurt has become popular in the last couple of years. Formerly it was tough to find "Total Yoghurt" produced by the Fage Company, a dairy out of Athens, other than in special deli stores or markets. But now, Greek nonfat yoghurt? I saw it first in the U.S. and, unfortunately it’s also available in Germany now. To get things straight, having traveled in Greece for many times: 1. Originally greek yoghurt is made from sheep’s milk (in the rather sparse and dry greek landscape it’s hard for cows to make a living) and 2. it’s fat, 10 %, smooth and thick and creamy like heavy cream and that’s the reason it is so good.
Also, in Greece yoghurt is yoghurt and doesn't contain anything else but milk, no additional fruit or other additions. In former times (and perhaps still on markets in rural areas in Greece) it has been sold out of the big bucket weight-wise. As a dessert or for breakfast it’s been served with an extra spoonfull of greek honey on top, perhaps a couple of nuts or pinenuts, but that is it. A 0 % greek yoghurt must contain a lot of conservatives and other artificial additives to still have the general consistence of greek yoghurt, though not the taste. I persistently refuse to eat any 0 % yoghurt, either the real stuff or none at all. Can save calories at other places, for instance by not eating anything fried or sweets. Wondering whether eating 0%-yoghurt is good for your nails?
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