Germans at the breakfast tables! (or Vaterlandsverrat!)

Breakfast between 7:00 and 8:00 in the hotel's restaurant is usually a time for people watching. With so many nationalities here, it can get quite interesting. Of course, I do NOT go to the individual tables and ask the people where they are from (Not yet, anyway ;-). But Japanese can be reasonably easily distinguished from Chinese, as can be visitors from India, Africa, Central and South America, and Europeans. 

A list of impressions that are just mine and hopelessly incomplete (yet):

Japanese have their breakfast quietly.

South Americans (Given their European ancestry I always assume they are Chileans, but maybe they are from Spain?) are not quite as quiet, but not loud, but they always smile, occur in groups of at least 3, and laugh a lot (Where ever they are from will be added to my list of travel destinations!). They also eat a LOT of fruit!

Today I was sitting next to a table of 3 30-50 year old business travellers. Everything was OK until they started talking to each other.  Here I am in wonderland, barely able to keep my mouth closed because of all the amazing things I see every day. And what do I hear discussed in that Frankfurt-region accent (Doesn't anyone speak high German anymore?)?  Banking business here and in Shanghai. All in a flat tone without any trace of exuberance or other emotion.  I almost fell asleep while eavesdropping! Given a choice of which group to accompany for a day, I'd pick those Chileans or Spaniards any day!

The double Expat ;-)