The More We See, The Less We Know

As we get more settled in here, it has occurred to us how astonishingly little we know.  Back home, most of what we do is relatively routine.  We go to the same grocery store, the same gas station, the same barber shop...we know what to expect 98% of the time and don't think much about it.  Here, we're novices at everything.  Literally.

For example... Yesterday, I took the garbage out at our new apartment for the first time.  That shouldn't be too complicated, right?

There's a really cool system here for separating glass, paper, containers, compost, and trash.  On the street outside of our apartment, there are underground receptacles for each of these.  People who live in the area get a card that automatically opens the bins.

By really cool, I mean once you know what you're doing, it's really cool.  Before that, not quite as much (it's tough to look cool when you're standing on the street staring at trash bins for twenty minutes with a bag of garbage in your hands as people walk by... it's even worse when you have the bin open and can't figure out how to get it closed).  In defense of the system, the bins are color-coded and clearly labeled, and I'm sure that works well for people who aren't color blind and/or know Slovenian.