In Germany, nobody smiles. Being gregarious is not a cultural value. People just walk around with hard looks on their faces and ignore everyone. Smiles are not trusted and laughing is unacceptable.
Or at least that's how it seems to us Americans. I smile a lot and have a voice that carries, and consequently have been getting dirty looks on the U-Bahn since I've been here. No one I hang out quite understood why, and decided that Germans must just not like happiness.
Our perspective changed tonight. Three of us went out in the city and were taking the U-Bahn back when a whole bunch of loud, drunk Americans boarded. They were falling all over the place, yelling to each other across the train, and laughing at jokes that just weren't funny. My first instinct was to say something to my friend that these people couldn't understand, so I leaned forward in my seat and quietly said something in German. It was then I noticed the completely cold face on my normally friendly companion. As I looked to my side, I noticed our other group member was frowning, too.
Now I understand.
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