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| ich vermisse meine vitun horot! |
[ 06/09/09 on Tue @ 10:13 A] |
So I have firmed up my travel plans after the exams and these are the places I will be travelling to:
June 17-23: ITALY - Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Milan
June 3-9: FINLAND - Jvaskyala, Helsinki and probably other cities
June 13-17: Vienna (Austria) and Budapest (Hungary)
June 18: Back to Singapore!
Inasmuch as I wish I had more time to spend in Europe, I also think that I'm ready to meet my family and friends back home again. Mixed feelings about my numbered days here in Europe; there's so many places which I've yet to see and I feel like I haven't even had the chance to explore Germany fully; that, which I'm planning to do during the days when I'm not abroad.
We said goodbye to Karo and Anukka yesterday, and an emotional one indeed. Andreea and I were rather calm and composed when we sent Anukka off first, but then with Karo, it was a different story. See, we tried to be corny and do it like how they do in (quoting Karo) "bad romantic movies" - she hopped onto the high-speed ICE train, and we ran along with the train so that she could see us trying to keep up with her, but when the train finally picked up speed and rolled away, we turned to each other and started hugging and crying.
But we will be seeing the girls in Finland at least! However, if saying goodbye this time round is bad enough, what about doing so in Finland - when we finally say goodbye for good? I'm going to be so heartbroken.
Pictures, once again, on Facebook! I swear that when I have the time I will have a picture post chronicling my months here in Europe! :)
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[ 05/02/09 on Sat @ 10:52 P] |
It's so surreal to think that we are more than halfway through the semester here in Mannheim, while those in Singapore are close to ending theirs (good luck for the exams folks, and hang in there!)
So much has happened within these 3 months. Some things, I would rather choose to forget. But that's what I try to do - sieve out the bad, and keep only the good. It took a while to grapple with my newfound freedom and independence - I've led pretty much a sheltered life back home and coming here to Germany has really made me open my eyes and see the world beyond. To some extent, having absolute freedom here is somewhat akin to wielding a double-edged sword. (and yes, excuse the abstractness of this whole sentence) Maybe the things I do sometimes warrant some form of (bad) judgement. But that's what I've come to learn - that I am the only one accountable for all my actions, and I choose to take responsibility for whatever I do, whether good or bad.
And then I have friends from all walks of life; each with his/her own amazing story to tell, a different culture, a different language ... but somehow, we are all intertwined and united together as one. These are the friends whom I've grown to become very close with, and I cannot imagine how devastating it would be when the time comes for us to say goodbye. As it is, we have our farewell party this Tuesday - and then that's when everyone else buckles down and starts studying for our exams. It's going to feel strange, not looking forward to any international parties on Tuesdays. Well, maybe we could still gather our own friends for parties still, but it's going to be different I suppose.
Musings and reflections aside, what have I been up to lately?
- I met Florian(German friend I got to know last semester back in NUS) who's back in Germany after completing his exchange programme and internship in Singapore. We drove up to Stuttgart to check out the Spring Festival; a carnival event. It was my first time hitting close to 200 km/h and the feeling of doing so on the AutoBahn is SO liberating!
- Spent way too much on my Easter holidays, which is why I am not travelling around for the time being.
- Lost my hostel keys, and till now I have no idea why and how it happened. I might have to pay up to 300 euros for that, and I want to crap in my pants thinking about the amount of money involved.
- Shopping too much. Have ammassed at least 10 pairs of shoes in my cupboard at the moment.
- Photos from Easter break over here.
Okay, that's all for now. I know I'm such a git; sloth has gotten the better of me, which is why I hardly ever update these days. Will try to do so more often (I know I keep saying that!) and take care you all, stay healthy what with the imminent swine flu pandemic!
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| the lowdown |
[ 04/02/09 on Thu @ 06:39 P] |
; My dearest friend, Suqina, appeared on Don't Forget the Lyrics earlier on ... and yours truly and her sister were on the show as well! (As back-ups...mein Gott, I'm pretty sure I looked terribly unglamorous on NATIONAL TELEVISION) But that aside, I am really, really happy for Suqina, because the $50,000 she won was money well-deserved. I hope you guys tuned in to Don't Forget the Lyrics earlier on! Our gang was over at Suqina's place earlier on to watch the show and damn, how I wish I could have been there to catch the show with everyone else as well! Never mind, there in spirit at least ;)
; For the first time since my arrival, I walked around in just t-shirt and jeans. You can't believe how happy I was to have been able to do so without any coat/jacket/cardigan - the weather was so glorious today, what wih the sun shining brightly, feeling the heat, watching long, snaking queues for ice cream (which I wanted to have as well, but I didn't want to have to queue up) ...spring is finally in the air! And just about time too - enough of the gloomy cold weather in Germany. Give me more sunshine and warmth, bitte!
; I met Neh, my classmate from Meridian Junior College, last Saturday in Strasbourg, France. (it's a city near the German border) I was so happy to meet her! I passed her chocolates for her to pass back to 05A106 when she returns to Singapore for the Easter break ... but alas, I forgot to pass her the postcards which I wrote to a few friends back home. So A106, time for you all to have a class gathering and help yourselves to some Ritter Sport chocolate!
; I will be off for my Easter holidays tomorrow - will be going to Amsterdam, Brussels, Brugges, Luxembourg, PARIS(!!!), Madrid and Barcelona :)
; Will be back on 19th April! xoxo
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[ 03/13/09 on Fri @ 02:51 P] |
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To err is only human, but to reveal everything with nary a bout of respect/regard for the other party, totally inhumane.
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| tongue-in-cheek |
[ 03/11/09 on Wed @ 09:39 P] |
Different reactions from fellow Germans/exchange students when I tell them that I'm Singaporean:
- "I'm sorry, but where is Singapore again? Is it somewhere in China?"
- "Wow, for a Singaporean your English is pretty good! I thought all of you only speak Mandarin?"
- "Singapore? Isn't that the place where you can go to jail for chewing gum?"
- "Singapore? Isn't that the place where you can get the death penalty for the slightest offence?"
And almost every other day, I get random strangers saying "Konnichiwa!" or "Ni hao?" For the record, no I don't come from Japan (although I often mislead other people into thinking so because I always wear my Adidas Nippon jacket out), nor do I come from China.
Interesting observations of Germany so far:
- At the end of every lecture/tutorial, people drum their fists on the table or clap their hands in order as a form of acknowledgement. We only really clap our hands at the last lecture of the semester here in NUS, no?
- Germans take their conservation efforts very seriously. In many public places, there isn't only one generic dustbin for you to dump your refuse at. Instead, dustbins are separated into different sections e.g. "Paper", "Plastic", "Glass" and "Others". Also, for many bottled drinks that you purchase, you need to pay an additional 25-cent (Euro) deposit such that when you return the bottles next time round at a supermarket, you get a voucher (sort of) which can be used to offset the cost of your purchases in the supermarket. More often than not, plastic bags are not supplied for your purchases there too; you have to bring your own grocery bag or pay about 10 cents for each plastic bag. I really do appreciate the recycling efforts here though, I do hope this concept will catch on soon enough in Singapore.
- In supermarkets, there are dividers that you place at the front and back of your items in order to allow the cashier to distinguish the pile of items belonging to you and the next person in line.
- Toilets are really very clean, much cleaner than those back in Singapore. Also, back in Singapore, an open toilet door indicates an available cubicle but here, it is common practice to close the toilet door even if not in use.
- People drive their cars at such fast speeds here. And because the traffic direction is the opposite of what I am used to in Singapore, I always need some time at the traffic junction to orientate myself with the traffic. Every time I cross the road it always feels like it's going to be my last, what with cars hurtling out of nowhere at such fast speeds.
- These groceries are very cheap here: Yoghurt, beer (naturally), chocolate and pork. Lol.
- German people are punctual, but the German transport system isn't. I waited 8 minutes for my bus the other time, and on another incident, the bus totally bypassed the stop I was at and that information wasn't even conveyed on the real-time bus/tram information screen! Pfft.
- Here in Mannheim I see more international restaurants than German restaurants. Namely, Turkish restaurants.
- Which brings me to my next point: You will eventually realize that doener kebabs exist with your typical German diet of sausages and potatoes.
Life as an exchange student:
- "Studying" is not in our dictionary, "Partying" is. I party on average ... twice a week? And that's not alot compared to my other friends! Last night's party at Zimmer was great and (sober haha) fun, followed by Ritzz. And then we had an afterparty in Christian's kitchen and it was insanely fun, jumping around on the couches, boogeying to silly dance music ... and staying up till 7 freaking AM just talking. I went to bed at 730 am, got up at 1130 am ... and have been awake since then.
- I am learning Spanish, in German! Haha.
- And I am taking a German language courses as well. That makes it 7 courses (both language and business) I am taking here in Mannheim University.
It is really too troublesome for me to upload all my photos here, I'm sorry. Please check out my albums on Facebook to have a better idea of what I have been up to the past 1 month here in Germany.
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[ 03/03/09 on Tue @ 04:25 A] |
Updates have been very abysmal here, simply because I update more on Facebook (through pictures) and uploading pictures here take quite some time. So, I will be lazy and just stick some links here for you all to view the photos I have taken of Germany so far:
Heidelberg (pics)
>> I took a trip with Anna (from Sweden) and Andreea(from Canada) to nearby Heidelberg during my second weekend here in Germany. We checked out the Body Worlds exhibition (an exhibition of real parts of human bodies preserved through plastination) and it was quite an eye opener; among others, to see aborted foetuses in various stages of development, different parts of the human anatomy, the preserved structures of human beings with their exposed anatomies ... it was like seeing through your very own body through the exhibits. I also wondered about the identities of the dead people and who/what they were like while they were still alive and, to some extent, pondered over how possible it was to maintain dignity in death; to have so many people all over the world gawking at the dead people's bodies and different organs. Thought-provoking, I guess.
(pictures from this exhibition are unavailable, as photography was not allowed)
>> We hiked up to the Heidelberg castle as well ; the ruins of this 13th-century castle sit 80 metres approximately above sea level and the ascent was VERY steep. I felt like such an old geezer hiking up, huffing and puffing all the way. And it was also snowing on that day so the snow made it even harder to climb up. But it was all worth it because the view from the top was really majestic. We also checked out the Heidelberg church - my first time stepping foot into a church and it really felt so serene and peaceful in there; the feeling you get when you are in any religious sanctuary, for that matter.
>>To sum it up, Heidelberg is a small but colourful, vibrant old town. Heidelberg feels really different from Mannheim; because of the former's old-world rustic charm ... not so much in Mannheim's case, because we're largely an industrial town and a relatively younger one as well.
Munich
>> Vibrant, bustling city full of culture and heritage. Nice buildings here and there e.g. the Rathaus (Civic Centre) at Marienplatz. Had dinner at the legendary Hofbraeuhaus - that is the one place you need to dine at while in Munich, because that is where you get to soak in German culture at its best! Men dressed up in Lederhosen (leather pants), women in Dirndl, musicians playing Bavarian music ...
>> And then we also went to Hohenschwangau Castle (Lake of the High Swan) and Neuschwanstein Castle - the latter in which Disneyland was famously modelled after. It took us 2 hours to get from the Munich Main Station to Fuessen Station; a town outside Munich. And from Fuessen Station, we had to take a short bus ride to get to the foot of the two castles. The ascent up to Hohenschwangau Castle wasn't too challenging; it took us all of 10 minutes to do so. But Neuschwanstein was another story altogether ... we could opt to ascend the castle by foot (a 20-minute hike though) or by a horse-drawn carriage (10 minutes for that). We opted for the latter, but even then the carriage could only take us up to the base of the castle - we still had to walk up for another 5 minutes; so much walking around! Well that's because Neuschwanstein Castle is about 200 metres above ground level. And it was snowing as well; I was really freezing my ass off.
But the view inside the two castles was magnificent certainly - marvelling at 19th-century architecture, furniture ... and we even spotted preserved bread from the 1800s! (I kid you not). Alas, no photography was allowed as well.
>> On our last day, we went to the Dachau Concentration Camp. That was about 20 minutes away from the castle. We took a guided tour; unfortunately we didn't manage to cover much, but then again, there were lots of (written) exhibits, so much so that I believe you need at least an entire day in order to take a look at the exhibits thoroughly. The rainy/snowy weather could have been what you would call a pathetic fallacy; a manifestation of the gloom which you feel when inside the concentration camp. But honestly, I did not feel as sad as I thought I would have. Although I did tear a little when we watched the documentary on the Holocaust ... but other than that, I guess seeing so many other visitors around kind of made me desensitized to any strong emotions.
I have yet to travel around ... although on the 19th, I'm going on a skiing trip to the Black Forest. Might spend my easter holidays touring Romania/Bulgaria/Greece? with Jennifer and Andreea but plans are still quite tentative at the moment.
I probably still have alot more to update about, but, das ist alles fuer heute. Or, that is all for now :)
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[ 02/20/09 on Fri @ 08:56 A] |
Off to Munich tomorrow! Have yet to update about my day trip to Heidelberg as well, but all in due time after I return! Places on our itinerary include:
- Neutschwanstein (sp?) Castle
- Hofbrauhaus
- Marienplatz
- Dachau Concentration Camp
- Shopping!
Till then xoxo
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| Herzlichen Wilkommen! |
[ 02/09/09 on Mon @ 10:36 P] |
Okay, I confess - I've been feeling rather lazy to blog so after close to a whole week of procrastination, this is my account of Germany so far:
( Klicken Sie hier )
Okay, that is all for now. And I am catching Jason Mraz in Mannheim baby!!! :)
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[ 02/02/09 on Mon @ 01:50 A] |
Okay just in case you might all want to know, these are my flight details:
(Singapore-Frankfurt via Bangkok)TG410, Terminal 1 @ 9 pm, 3rd Feb.
Let's hope I don't put on a spectacular show of waterworks on that day itself alright? At this point it all feels rather surreal - like the past 1 month has just felt like an extended vacation break, filled with appointments aplenty. And now, in just a day's time, I will be on a plane bound for Germany. It's been a whole year of waiting, to the point that the whole process of waiting has become so mechanical; very second nature. I suppose the reality of leaving behind my loved ones in SG for 6 months won't dawn on me only until I've stepped into the boarding terminal.
Next update will probably come from Deutschland. In the meantime, be good (and I will try to be too haha) and watch this space, I will blog regularly! No more sporadic updates :)
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[ 01/28/09 on Wed @ 09:37 A] |
"I feel sad that you're leaving," Dad said to me over lunch on Sunday.
"You're sad because you won't get the chance to nag at me for the next 6 months right?" I replied.
I didn't expect my dad to actually say this aloud. Deep down inside, I almost feel bad for leaving him and my family. My Dad and I have never really managed to see eye to eye on most things, and at least we have been able to talk properly the past few days without screaming at each other.
But I figure, 6 months apart will reinforce my family ties, because absence WILL make my heart grow fonder.
6 more days!
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