Appliances
Topic: The House
I was spoiled in Germany, to an extent. I had an American washer and dryer, and it was good. I also had an American fridge. My oven and stove were a weird hybrid that had a German design, but was as big as American ones. The range was electric - which I hate - and the oven was marked in degrees that seemed to match up with neither Fahrenheit nor Celsius. You also had to turn about three different knobs to just the right settings to actually work the thing. I knew people who lived on the economy who had German appliances, and the main thing I heard about them was that they were a lot smaller than American ones, and took a lot longer to do their jobs (with the exception of ovens, which were still smaller, but cooked things in a fraction of the time). Here, I have a gas range which is great, but a tiny oven. Larry had to buy smaller cookie sheets since the ones we had wouldn't fit. The thing that's really been vexing me is our washer/dryer. Yep. It's a combo. We don't have instructions for it, so that makes it all the more interesting. (I need to see if I can find some online.) The washer/dryer has a very small capacity, about what most Americans would consider a small load of laundry. It doesn't take too long to wash, but it takes FOREVER to dry. We don't know how to add fabric softener (although as I write this it occurs to me that we could add a dryer sheet at some point during the drying process), so the clothes come out wrinkly and full of static. There also doesn't seem to be a delicate cycle. I am by no means complaining, simply describing. I am happy to at least have something, and I consider this an adventure! As far as the fridge goes, the only thing besides space constraints is that it seems to either freeze things when it shouldn't, or not keep things cold enough. Oh well. We'll get it figured out. Also, the freezer is on the bottom. I know some units in the States have that arrangement, but I never have had a fridge like that before. While I'm at it, I have to mention an oddity in one of the bathrooms. Instead of a light switch, there's a knob hanging from the ceiling that you pull. I think that's sort of funny. We're supposed to be getting a dishwasher tomorrow. I'll let you know what that turns out like!