Smiling...

So according to almost everyone, smiling at a German is bad. First we get told that making eye contact for too long with a stranger is considered a come-on. A smile in Germany is the same as a wink in America-forward and an invitation to flirt. A wink is an even higher level of an invitation. Which is obvious. Anyway, my point is smiling at strangers is bad.
In Texas we consider smiling to be friendly. You smile at everyone-people you know, people you don't know, people who open doors for you, people you pass on the street. Especially at A&M, where smiling and saying "Howdy" is why we're considered a very welcoming campus.
According to Frau Pillartz, if she sees someone smiling at her she thinks they're ridiculous and fake. In the morning at least. She said that in that case a smile is just a cover over a normal attitude, like you're trying too hard. I don't know if this has anything to do with what we've heard about Germans being traditionally pessimistic while Americans are traditionally optimistic, but I personally don't think that a grumpy attitude is normal. It definitely isn't for me at least. Unless I'm really hungry, I'm usually generally optimistic and in good spirits. Yes, even in the mornings. And if I'm not having a good day, laughing and smiling usually makes me feel better. As most of you have figured out, I'm only grumpy when I'm hungry. I do my best "mean German" face when I'm hungry. So I guess by Frau Pillartz's standards I'm only 'normal' and not 'fake' when I'm hungry. That's weird.
I'm practicing my "bored European" face so I won't stick out so badly as a smiling, optimistic American. But I do have to say, one thing I miss about Texas is being able to smile at people without thinking about it.