Smoking Forbidden
Today I was running home from HBR (at this point I had already run 16 miles), and I saw these 2 kids (7-9 years old?) up ahead. When they saw me, they turned around and tried to hide something. Not fast enough! I had seen that lighter!
I came up to the boys; they had lit the end of a small stick on fire and pretended they were smoking. I said, “Kinder! Was ist das? Das ist schlecht!” (“Children! What is this? This is bad!”). They tried to make excuses. I told them that smoking turns your teeth yellow. One of them said it was “Kuhl” (Cool). I said, “Nein! Nicht Kuhl! Schlecht!” (No! Not cool! Bad!). They crumpled the stick and threw it on the ground. I almost said something about starting forest fires, but I couldn’t think of anything quickly enough. I left, and I’m sure they just picked up right where they left off with a new twig.
Smoking in Germany is very common. Smoking in public places was banned a couple years ago, but it is a way of life for many people. The two kids had probably seen lots of smokers, thought it was cool, and wanted to try it out. Hopefully they will realize soon that it is not cool!
