Angelika Fortunately, the hysteria surrounding the so-called swine flu has subsided somewhat, and we didn't all have to go into quarantine. In San Francisco, I occasionally saw people wearing masks when I rode the BART (subway), and at the Cinco de Mayo festival in Dolores Park, there was a tent where people could get examined. Desperate employees of the San Francisco Health Department also appealed for people with flu symptoms not to show up at hospital emergency rooms, as they were temporarily overwhelmed by the influx.

Michael Not all immigrants in the USA have a valid residence permit. It is estimated that there are about 12 million illegal immigrants in the country, of which about 5-6 million are Mexicans (as of 2007). Often, they have left a village in a Latin American country, paid a smuggler (called "Coyote," pronounced "Ka-y-ote" in American English) about $1,500, and then marched through the desert for up to 40 hours to find work somewhere in the USA and try out the American dream. Often, they work in restaurants, moving up from dishwasher to busboy, to salad preparer, and maybe to grill cook.

Michael Illegal drugs are indeed prohibited in San Francisco just like in Germany, but the consumption of marijuana is practiced so openly that one might think it was legal. For example, I recently met our former neighbor on the street, chatted with him a bit, until I noticed that he was smoking a marijuana cigarette! Or when we open one of our windows, it's not uncommon for suspiciously smelling smoke to waft in. Or recently, when I was driving our car on Divisadero Street and had to stop at a traffic light, clouds of smoke even drifted in from the side window of the car next to me! Outrageous!

Angelika We couldn't believe our eyes: Last year in the fall, diligent little elves covered the street cleaning signs with a sticker in our neighborhood, which suddenly indicated that street cleaning would only take place twice a month. It wasn't a prank by frustrated parkers who were tired of having to move their cars weekly to avoid the street cleaning vehicles or paying a now $50 fine. No, the city had decided to save money and send the street sweeper through certain streets in 20 selected neighborhoods only twice a month ( Rundbrief 05/2008 ).

Michael Germans traveling abroad are known to avoid other German travelers. You often hear, "Don't look over there, there are Germans!" or "Oh my God, the accent of that simpleton is so embarrassing!" However, after a few years abroad, even the most hardened expatriate seeks contact with like-minded people.

Michael I like to eat a few apple slices now and then, but unfortunately, I'm usually too lazy to cut up whole apples. Recently, I was browsing in the kitchen appliances section of the Target supermarket and found the apple slicer from the company Kitchenaid. A great device that slices apples like a charm! Of course, like almost all kitchen utensils and tools in the USA these days, it's made in China, but the quality is impressive, and it's also dishwasher safe.

Angelika We've already explored quite a few places in California since we've been living here, but there are still some blank spots on our map. Although we've zoomed past the gigantic Mount Shasta on the northern border of California many times by car, or caught a glimpse of it from an airplane, we haven't really been there yet.

Michael I am really open-minded when it comes to new products and usually buy anything that sounds even remotely interesting. I'm also happy to try a revolutionary new cleaning product, but I haven't been able to bring myself to buy the outrageously overpriced cleaning cloth "Shamwow," a product supposedly from Germany.

Michael You probably already know that in America, a period is used instead of a decimal comma. If something costs one dollar and 99 cents, $1.99 is written on the label. By the way, you never write 1.99 $; the dollar sign always comes before the amount. Conversely, in long numbers, a comma is used to separate the thousands: An American writes one million as 1,000,000, unlike the German convention of 1.000.000.

Angelika San Francisco is known for often taking a leading role in environmental protection. For example, we recycle diligently ( Rundbrief 02/2006 ) and the city has even banned plastic bags ( Rundbrief 04/2007 ). Today, I want to introduce you to an ingenious non-profit organization in San Francisco that not only benefits the environment but also helps financially strapped teachers, educators, artists, and other creatives: SCRAP , the "Scrounger's Center for Reusable Art Parts.