Culture Shock: Reversed

I learned a lot in my 8 months in Russia and didn't realize how Russian (and by Russian I should be fair and say Muscovite) I'd become until I came back to Germany. Within the first hour I was in culture shock that is still subsiding. (Although I did answer the cashier in Russian just two days ago.) Perhaps this is what you'd call reverse culture shock? The shock of the realization that you have adapted to a new culture and are now back in familiar territory. There are a few places that really seem to highlight the culture difference: 1. The grocery store. 2. The roads. 3. The public transportation 4. The home. But now that I think about it I haven't really gone anywhere else so I don't know that that's fair to say. But let 's start at the beginning.

The grocery store:
No one glared at me, although I did have to stop myself from sending out general scowl vibes.
No one's head turned to commence staring upon hearing me speak English.
I didn't have to play gladiators with my grocery cart to get down the aisles.
The cashiers are all ridiculously cheery and friendly. For anyone who thinks German is a harsh language, go to a small town grocery store and you will hear your error.


The roads:
I drove. And it felt fantastic.
I never once feared for my life
Nor did I get car sick.
No one drove alongside the lanes of traffic
People don't really honk, and when I did hear it for my first time back it was a short "toot" with no accompanying shouting or offensive sign language.

The public transportation:
I didn't quite know what to do with the buzz of chatter and laughter surrounding me which was so opposed to the stony silence I'd grown accustomed to (except when I stirred things up and caused a ruckus).
No pushing involved to get on the train.
One girl even had a short exchange with me about the broken ticket machine

Home:
I feel quite rebellious when I occasionally wear shoes in the house (which isn't actually generally acceptable in Germany)
No one panics that I will fall ill or become infertile if I sit on the floor.
Sometimes I whistle in the house and boldly push through the internal panic that someone will scold me for doing so (Russians believe that you will lose all of your money and your family's money if you whistle indoors; therefore it is a whistle-free country. My friends and I have our theories regarding the source of this superstition, but that's a story for another day)

And in general:
I understand what people around me are talking about.
And I do not feel the need to justify an occasional cough, sneeze or sniffle with excuses: I just have allergies/I swallowed wrong/the smell of your hairspray is too much for me/it's dusty! Nobody panic! I am not sick and will not infect you!

But ok, Russia, in spite of your idiosyncrasies (or maybe MY idiosyncrasies...?), you'd grown on me a little. Russians (or should I say, Muscovites) are like coconuts: Hairy (in the winter) and hard as all get out on the outside, but once you crack 'em open all the juice spills out and you discover they're also a little bit fruity (and by that I only mean quirky). And that's not necessarily bad. Although I'm still going to whistle and sit on the floor at will.

I'm not sayin'; I'm just sayin'.