Rummeckern

Yes, the title does mean "to bitch." (According to my all-knowing dict.cc, that is.)

As I've mentioned, my brother and I spent 8 and 7 years of our childhood, starting at birth, under the watchful eye of a German au pair named Birgit. She's in her forties now, married to a wonderful Turk, and since I've grown into some form of adult in the past few years, I've come to see her in a more analytic light.

Baby Taylor mit Teddybär "Freud." (Ich habe verschroben Eltern.)

For one, she is not afraid to tell you what she thinks. I never knew that characteristic was prevalent among Germans - then again, she may be outspoken even for a German. :)

Birgit an der Universität Michigan.

A couple of phrases really stood out to me, as someone who is decent at reading people and thus resents dancing around topics: "'Come over to my house and we'll have tea,' means that you should start planning a date and time for that pleasant event. It is not to be confused with the Anglo-American 'We should get together sometime,' which means 'I hope I never see you again.'" It would be super toll to say what you meant. Rings especially true for me since I've been trained in technical communication, in which you are expected to make your point and leave no room for surprises.

In general I fit in fine as eine Amerikanerin, but sometimes I wonder if I'd feel more comfortable in ein Land wo, it seems, the majority of the population thinks like I do and has the same Sinn für Humor.