Little annoyances

Before I become accustomed to these (assuming I become accustomed....), here are some things that are really strange about this part of the world.

• Spoons: they appear to come in two sizes: teeny, tiny or HUGE, GIANT. What's wrong with medium? A medium spoon would be like "one size fits most". Teeny, tiny are too small for cereal, the huge or giant are too big for a coffee cup. To say nothing about small children struggling with soup at school.......


• The 24-hour clock, or military time: How am I supposed to tell my brain what 17:13 is without doing a complicated math equation? How are my children going to learn how to tell time? A 2nd grader is learning math and I need to tell him that 21:00 is bedtime? Okay, 21 minus 12 = bedtime. And that would be the easy way because it's on the hour. Even the alarm clock is on this 24-hour thing. The bus schedule is the same. Annoying!


• Calendars start with Monday: I need my week to start on Sunday. I can't just change now to make Sunday the last day of the week. I'll be importing my calendars from the US.


• Colored toilet paper is sold in the stores. Didn't Slovakia get the worldwide news report that colored toilet paper is bad for the septic systems and water treatment plants? There are some items that don't need to match your decor--white goes with everything, right?


• No one puts your change from a purchase in your hand. It goes in a tray and you pick it up from the tray. I don't know why- germs, maybe? Whatever - I just feel so silly holding out my hand again and again (slow learner).


• B.O. (body odor) I hate to mention it, but it is so common with the population. It's bad enough being on a bus for someone who gets motion sickness......the unpleasant odor is really annoying.


• Pedestrians do not have the right of way at a marked crosswalk. Laws changed after people were not being considerate of the cars. (Just what does that mean?) I have to admit if I am pushing a stroller it is more likely that a car/bus/van will stop at a crosswalk


• No ice in beverages (except at McDonalds) I like my Diet Coke cold! Here's the nice display of flags in downtown Bratislava at our American institution.