Are they … retarded!?

There are a couple of things that piss me off pretty much here. These are either intercultural differences, or some people here are retarded and/or downright stupid.

I would like to get a gym membership. Half a year-long stay here is enough for this idea to be sensible. However, it’s far from being that simple. The first problem is that most (all?) fitness clubs require you to sign up for a certain amount of time, like 12 months. Some of them allow 6 months-long memberships, but then the second obstacle sets in.

In most cases it is impossible to look up the price on the website. It pisses me off soooo much. I am an Internet guy, I won’t call them, I won’t drop by to ask about the price. It is their damn business to inform me. It’s kind of similar with language schools. There are some that don’t list course prices on their websites. Are they ashamed? Is money some kind of a taboo here? I dunno. But it is so weird…

And yeah, language schools have their own quirks. Most of them offer intensive courses as their main product. Intensive course is usually 20 hours a week, e.g. 5x 4 hours. I wonder when do you start to puke with German. There are regular evening courses that are usually 10 hours a week. Still, it means that a working person has no opportunity to buy any food, because shops close at 8pm. I just distinctly remember that 4 hours a week, if you take them seriously, can generate a hell lot of work.