"How not to embarass yourself in Germany"

This little table is actually fairly accurate. 

One thing you shouldn't be embarrassed about? Staring. Every single non-German living in Germany that I know has a story or a comment to share on this topic.

Just last night, while traveling home on the U-bahn, a man sat directly across from me when he could have chosen to sit in any of the other empty seats (this is another topic covered by many). I stared out the window while he proceeded to stare directly at me. I could see, and sense, that he was starting at me without having to look. When I had enough, I stared right back. We locked eyes and I non-verbally told him to stop looking at me. But the stare-down brought us no where because a German will always win a stare-down.

Staring, for any reason, is 100% accepted. You don't have to put on sunglasses or pretend you aren't looking. This is the positive. You can stare at weirdos (and there are plenty) with zero penalty.

{In this example, to be fair and not näive, he was checking me out. But the principle is the same: stare -- for any reason, as long as you want.}

In summary, I'd add an extra square to this table called STARING: Go right ahead. Seriously, don't hold back.

link to image

http://twitpic.com/c5zfx4