Home sweet home.

Around 1am this morning I arrived back home. The house looks just how I left it and it feels like I’ve only been gone a few weeks rather than months. The journey was long. I set off at 7am (CET: Central European Time). Because of the craziness surrounding travelling this week I booked myself on a much earlier train to Brussels which started in Frankfurt rather than Cologne.

My suitcase was really heavy since I’d filled it full of Christmas presents so it was a real pain having to take it on and off buses and trains and up and down the stairs (I still hate Marburg train station for not having a lift/escalator/ramp!)

I took the ICE from Frankfurt to Brussels. God that train is so comfortable. I had tons of leg room and the top of the chairs are cushioned with a little pillow. I had probably the best nap I’ve ever had on a train.. The train conductor had to repeat ever announcement in 4 different languages (German, French, Dutch and English) which was a little annoying. My favourite part of the journey was that the moment we crossed the Germany/Belgium boarder everyone in the carriage received a text message. There was also the most adorable little kid sat in front of me who was singing Christmas songs in German. One of which went like this:

In der Weihnachtsbäckerei
gibt es manche Leckerei
Zwischen Mehl und Milch
macht so mancher Knilch
eine riesengroße Kleckerei.
In der Weihnachtsbäckerei
In der Weihnachtsbäckerei

I had a five hour wait in Brussels, which really dragged, but I guess it was better than arriving with little time to spare. I was shocked at how different it was leaving Germany for Belgium and leaving Belgium for the UK. Going to Belgium was the same as travelling fro Marburg to Frankfurt. You just get on the train and hop off the train. Going to the UK was ridiculously strict. We could only check in at a specific time. We had to have our passports checked twice, if you were non EU then you had to fill out a landing card. My bags were scanned and I had to walk through a metal detector. Then we had to wait in the area between security and the doors to the platform as no one was permitted to enter the platform without permission. So strict! On the other hand the waiting area past security was quite fun. It was UK themed. They even went as far as having red telephone boxes.

The Eurostar train was a dump! Maybe I’m too used to the generally well kept and modern German trains. Not only was the interior shabby but there was no space to even move. I didn’t dare fall asleep in case I kicked someone. The journey was longer than it should of been due to a speed restriction (stupid snow) but to be honest I didn’t care how long it took. I just wanted to be home in time for Christmas.

It’s very surreal being back in the UK. I’m finding it a little difficult to adjust. When I bump into someone I don’t apologise, not because I’m rude, but because the word sorry in that situation is so foreign to me now that by the time I think of the word its too late. Maybe I should just go with my instinct and say “Entschuldigung” and “Es tut mir Leid” haha. Also I realised I wasn’t being as courteous as I would have been a few months back when it comes to getting to where I want to as fast as possible. I’ll need to retrain myself to hold doors open and offer to let people go in front of me.

Anyway I don’t know how often I will be writing for the next two weeks. But I promise that as soon as I get back to Germany I will be posting away as usual. So Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year :D

I miss you, thank you for your friendship

One of the hardest things about the year abroad is saying goodbye. You meet so many wonderful people from all over the world, you click, you have a great time together and then reality hits you at their farewell party. As you take another sip of your drink, the music’s load, everyone’s dancing and you realise you are probably never going to see them again.
The world is simply too big.
On Tuesday 4 of my Japanese friends returned home. They were only here for 3.5 months, and god have they flown by. Saying goodbye was so difficult because it felt like I’d only just said hello. I still remember the first day I met all of them, the first conversations we had, the first time we laughed together, the first party we went to…. And now they’re gone. I’d love to visit them in the future, in fact my plan is to save up money and take a trip to Asia after I graduate in 2012, but things and priorities change. I’m going to have this same dilemma when I leave in February with the American, Taiwanese, South Korean, and the remaining Japanese friends. They were some of the first people I met here, and the most welcoming. I hate the thought of our friendship being cut so short.
I’m happy to hear that my friends arrived safely home. I’m happy that they enjoyed their farewell party on Sunday night, it sure was…eventful. I cried as we said farewell in the snow. I continued to cry in my room and on the bus the next morning. Going through something as stressful as a year abroad, you can’t help but get attached to people. I know life will move on and I hope that we will meet again, but for now Marburg seems very empty without them.

Will I get home in time for Christmas?

When I posted about the possibility that the snow could effect my travelling plans this thursday that was all it really was: a possibility. A few days later and I have to admit there is a high chance that I might not get home on Thursday. I went to the train station today and booked myself on an earlier train to Brussels in hope that I can check in early enough to get on my train (if my train is even running), because after watching and reading about the commotion in London and Paris yesterday I am terrified that I am going to be left either without space on the train or the train will leave without me because of the queues. 

The most frustrating thing out of all of this, apart from the fact that there is nothing I can do, is that everyone is reporting on Paris and London. The is barely any information on Bruxelles-midi. Is that a good sign? Or is it because the UK press isn't too bothered with the goings on in Belgium. Either way I am pooing my pants about Thursday. I have looked at trying to get a flight home, but there is little guarantee of the flight not being cancelled. 

I just want to get home. Even if I arrive home on the morning of the 25th I really don't care, as long as I get to spend Christmas day with my family. 

Please keep your fingers crossed for me and I will do the same for all of you who are also having difficulties getting home. Urgh out of all the years to have a white Christmas, Mother Nature just has to choose this year!

Opened the Giant Kinder surprise

I thought I’d quickly update on the surprise within the Giant kinder egg I bought on Monday. It was indeed a penguin. Also if you look into the igloo from the top the bottom becomes like a fly’s eye and you can see multiple on whatever you are pointing the igloo at. This is how exciting my Sunday has been so far.

Dear snow, please do not ruin my Christmas

I’ve been pretty tolerant of the snow. I haven’t complained about it. I haven’t made too much of a fuss about having to walk home in snow because the buses refuse to travel further than the Hauptbahnhof. I’ve enjoyed admiring it’s beauty and the Christmassy atmosphere it creates. However this will all change if I cannot get home on Thursday!
 So listen up snow, calm it down until the evening of the 24th December (“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” anyone?) and then we will be fine. But if you continue to disrupt the trains in both the UK and Germany then we are going to fall out! I don't want to be stranded in Germany or worse Brussels during Christmas :(

PDAs: Get a room!

I’m not sure whether this is a German thing or a continental thing, I don’t know whether it’s to do with my conservative British upbringing or my subconscious wish that I could do the same, but public displays of affection are really getting on my last nerve!
Nowhere in Germany is safe from them. The train ride back to Marburg after a weekend away, the bus stop on the way to uni, the bread aisle in REWE, the reading area in the history library, the dinning area in the mensa. Everywhere I go, everywhere I look there is at least one couple groping one another, with their tongues truly lodged down each other’s throat. It’s not even as if they are trying to be private about it, they are in FULL VIEW of everyone.
I personally feel like people should have grown out of this hot and horny phase by now. I understand to an extent a couple of teenagers acting like this. They’re young, the live at home with mum and dad, they’re underage. They have nowhere else and no other way to relieve themselves of their built up sexual frustration. But at 20-25 years of age you can copulate freely in the privacy of your own bed!
I’m not suggesting that I’ve seen people having sex in the middle of the street. That would warrant a complaint to the Polizei, I’m sure. I’ve just seen a lot of things that seem to be on the boarder of making out and foreplay. The sounds, the movements, the VIEW! It’s not what I want to see while I’m trying to eat my lunch.
I really cannot wait to go back to frigid ol’  England, where only the brave couples walk hand in hand, and the really ambitious have a quick peck when no one is looking.  

Random trip to Bad König

A few weeks back, if I remember rightly it was on the way to Cologne for the start of Karneval, I spotted a place called Bad König on the map of Hessen. I decided that the name was hilarious and thus I needed to go visit it asap.

What’s in the name?  

Its only really funny if you see it in both an English and German way. Bad in German means bath, however I ignore this fact and keep the English meaning. König means King. So in my mind I like to believe that the place is called “Bad king”. Dorky I know, but it keeps me entertained.

So today me and my friend J went to visit Bad König. We posed “bad” in front of the sign for photos, bought a postcard, had a short walk around, realised that most of the shops were not open/there wasn’t anything to see really anyway, and then hopped onto a train to Darmstadt.

Random day, but a busy one at least. 

Was für eine Kinder Überraschung, check this bad boy out!

Me and my friends were walking around Rossmann today and then “whoa!”. My friend hands me a giant Kinder Surprise/Überraschung egg. I HAD to buy it. I haven’t opened mine yet but after seeing my friends’ surprises I’m expecting some sort of penguin. I’ll have to update you guys later about it, I’m surprisingly (pun pun pun) not in the mood for chocolate tonight.

Secret Santa

I know it’s not very German, but me and four of my friends are doing secret Santa this year.

 (For those who don’t know, people randomly choose a piece of paper and on the paper is a name. That’s the name of the person who you need to buy a present for. It is anonymous so until the day that you exchange gifts they will have no idea that you are buying them a present and you will not know who is buying for you)
I’m really excited because a. this will be my first time! b. Because I managed to pick the name of the person who I really wanted to get.
I already know exactly what I’m going to buy her. But shhhh it’s a surprise.

An eventful Tag

I didn’t have the best start today. I woke up at 11am, 4 hours after my alarm. As a result I missed my first class and had no time for breakfast or to print off the PowerPoint slides for my 2nd class.

Despite not having the slides my second class was relatively successful. I managed to understand most of it and learnt a lot. I then made my way to the library to finally activate my Ucard (a multifunctional university card which can be used to pay for food, printing etc) so that I can finally take books out of the library.

But then the woman behind the counter tells me that I need to show her some sort of official ID and that my driving licence just will not do. I have this problem a lot in Germany and it drives me (no pun intended) insane. In the UK your driving licence is as valid as your passport. Luckily after I played the “foreign card” and pleaded with her she caved in and activated my card for me.

After reserving a book and printing out the hand out from the class I missed I made my way to the bus stop to catch the number 10 bus to the train station. Two buses arrived, neither of them were the 10 and were in fact scheduled to arrive after the 10. I blamed the time table change which came into action yesterday. But then, here’s the exciting bit, a 9 seater taxi arrived and told us that the number 10 was cancelled that he was the replacement. Crazy. In England you’d just have to wait 30mins for the next one. 

I then took the train to Giessen (a city in between Marburg and Frankfurt) to try and find a Brithday/Xmas present for my boyfriend. I now have a very big whole in my pocket where the money should be.

So basically a disaster of a morning, turned into an interesting and successful afternoon. Lovely.

LDR: Long distance relationships on your year abroad

Everyone gets home sick on their year abroad, I know a thing or two about THAT, but what makes it more extreme is knowing that you’ve left part of you at home.

I’ve been with my boyfriend for three and a half years now. I never wanted to have a long distance relationship, in fact I was always a sceptic when it came to them. I didn’t believe that two people could stay faithful to each other when the temptation to cheat and not get found out was starring you in the face. But here I am, stuck in a long distance relationship, until I go back home in July.

The hard times

It’s definitely not easy being apart for so long. Some days are worse than others. At the moment I’m struggling because there is so much beauty in this country and so many wonderful things are happening to me and all i want to do is share it all with him. It at times like this when I begin to feel incomplete.

It’s also difficult at the moment because he is too busy to talk. Skype is a wondrous creation. I love coming home in the evening and telling him everything I’ve done. It’s almost as if he’s here with me. But he’s in his last year of university now, and there are a lot of deadlines coming up. He’s in the library most evenings and we can go for days without talking. I admit I get angry sometimes. I blame him for not having started his workload sooner. I tell him he is a bad boyfriend and that if he loved me then he’d MAKE time to talk to me. I never mean any of these things and I know it is wrong for me to blame him for concentrating on what is important.

This leads me onto my next point. Our emotions become so exaggerated with the distance and time apart. We argue a lot more and it’s always a lot more heated and angrier than when we argue at home. Being able to hang up and turn off the computer and mobile during an argument does not help to settle the matter.

Good times

I think my positive view of this LDR is that I see it as a test to see if our relationship really is the real deal. In a few years time we are going to be entering very important stages in our lives where the question of marriage may come into play. I think that if we can survive this and it is a good sign that we are meant to be together. Missing each other to the extreme of tears, although I hate it, is a good sign that we are still very much in love with each other.

Cheating really isn’t a worry for me. I trust him 150%. I know you are probably thinking “yeah, yeah everyone says that” but I do. I know that a lot of people break up with their partner before the year abroad so that they can have “a bit more fun” and I have also seen a fair few people, who are still in relationships, playing the field here in Germany; but none of that interests me. I admit that sometimes when I’m out at a party and I see people getting together I get jealous and I wish it was me. But here’s the important bit, I wish it was me and my boyfriend.

Although I miss him, I must admit that it is good to have some time to myself. I depend on him a lot back home. We go to university in the same city and basically live inside each other’s pockets. By living without him I’ve finally had that push to grow up, fend for myself, be independent and so on. I’ve even killed a few spiders by myself. I’m coming up for 21 now and I think it is about time that I learn to stand on my own two feet. Am I worried that I’m going to come back to the UK as the Destiny’s Child like “Independent Woman”, haha no.

I know that this post is probably cheesy. You are probably reading it thinking “get a room” (something I think on a daily basis with all of these German public displays of affection). However I know that this is an issue with does worry a lot of people in the build up to their year abroad so I hope it helps. Writing this has definitely helped me, it’s been a hard week this week but reminding myself of the positive aspects has returned me to my cheerful self.

If you visit just one Christmas market in your life time then go to Nuremberg

I’m going to start by letting you guys know that I’ve already written this post but the computer crashed as it was uploading. Urgh hate hate hate. But lets begin again…
I’d told myself before I came to Germany that I needed to  visit one of the big Christmas markets while I was here. I then told myself in October when I visited Nuremberg on a Sunday (big mistake) that I need to go back so that I could actually buy some souvenirs. Put the two together and what have you got: A trip to the Nuremberg Christkindlmarkt.
I was a little worried that I was going to be expecting to much from Nuremberg. I’d read that it was one of the biggest, oldest, most famous Christmas markets in the Germany and I think anything less than that would have been a disappointment.
The journey to Marburg took just over 6 hours. We could have gotten there a little quicker if we had used the ICE, but my purse preferred the option of buying the €28 Bayernticket which allows up to 5 people to travel around Bavaria on regional trains from 12am-3am the following day from free. Originally four of us where supposed to be going but one of the girls fell ill and the other had been invited to a farewell dinner. Nevertheless I only needed to pay €14 for 6 train journeys.
  We arrived in Nuremberg at 1.15pm and both the train station and the street leading up to Hauptmarkt were crowded. Once we arrived at the Christkindlmarkt I could see it was bigger than some of the ones I’ve been too, put I wasn’t impressed by it. 5 hours of walking around the stalls later, I took it all back. The place is huge. They have managed to compact so many stalls in such a tiny space. There are also 3 markets to visit. There is the Christkindlmarkt which is where the majority of the stalls lie. Here you get your food, Glühwein and German themed goodies. Then there is the Weihnachtsmarkt der Partnerstädte where each stall represents the many different twinned towns of Nuremberg. One of them being Glasgow, where you can purchase tartan ties, Walker’s shortbread and Fudge. (I’m fairly sure fudge is actually from southwest England but whose really complaining). I also loved the Venedig (Venice) stall. It was full of ceramic carnival masks. I really hope I have the time to go to carnival in Italy, I’d love to wear an authentic venetian mask.  The third market is the Kindermarkt, which as the name suggests is geared towards the little ones. Oh it was so sweet. There was a carousal and a Ferris wheel, a post office where you can write and send your letters to Father Christmas, a house where you can meet the man himself and a house full of Playmobil for the kids to enjoy. A childs paradise for sure.
 
But back to the main Christkindlmarkt. My main aim of the day was purchase some Christmas tree decorations and the all important German nutcracker. I was really lucky because in Nuremberg I was spoilt for choice. Every other stall sold Christmas decorations. I’ll let you in to a little secret…I spend almost €100. All I can say is thank God my Erasmus grant and university bursary arrived this month.
Another aim of mine was to eat the typical Christkindlmarkt snack: 3 Nürnberger Bratwürste im Brötchen (3 Nuremberg speciality sausages in a hard bread roll). It was delicious. I also bought myself a cup of Glühwein (hot malted wine) made from Heidelbeer (I don’t know what type of berry they are but they tasted sweet). I’m not a big fan of Glühwein but I felt the need to buy some because a. I need to have the authentic Christmas market experience b. I wanted to steal the cup (more on this crazy in a later post).
All in all I had an amazing time. I got my decorations and a very handsome nutcracker. It is definitely the best Christmas market that I’ve ever been too, I haven’t been to the other hyped up ones like Erfurt or Dresden so I can’t really compare. I hope though that I’ll be able to come back for a weekend next Christmas and visit the Dresden Christmas market. Nevertheless I look forward to more, local, Christmas markets in teh days prior to my trip back home (11 days away). I really recommend a trip to Nuremberg for anyone who can, it really was worth the half a days travel.
  

Word of the Day 10/01/2011

Today’s word of the day: der Zeitraum

Direct translation: time room

English translation: period of time

Example: Ich mache in einem Zeitraum von zwei Wochen einen Sprachkurs 

~ My new years resolution is to post word of the days more frequently :/ ~

A few pretty photos of snow

All I seem to blog about at the moment is snow. I do apologise, Hopefully I will have more exciting things to blog about after my trip to the Nuremberg Christkindl Christmas market tomorrow.

But for now I will leave you guys with a few photos of the crazy snow fall we had last night, and the aftermath this morning. I’m not lying when I tell you that this is the most snow that I have ever seen in my short 20 years of life.

About midnight last night the stairs leading up to my Studentenwohnheim had disappeared

 

The quantity of snow resembled smoke

Has anyone seen my feet XD

Beautiful, no?

Marburg Schloss and Oberstadt sprinkled with snow

View from the library

My Favourite: Spiegelust Tower looks magical in the snow ☆

A laundry related disaster ending in a foul mood

Today was supposed to be a relaxing day at home. I was going tidy my room, learn a bit of German and do my laundry. Well the managed to do the latter at least. Basically when I took my clothing out of the washing machine it was complete soaked, I was able to put a lot of it in the tumble dryer, but there are a few items that I had to hang up in my room. Well my floor was soon covered in puddles from the dripping clothing,  the room is like a sauna because I have the heating up as high as possible in hope that it will speed up the drying process and basically I’m collecting the water in pots and pans. I’m fairly sure that the clothes are going to smell awful when they finally dry and I will end up having to wash them again. It just really stressed me out and now I have no drive to do anything. Days like these really make me glad that I’m going home soon. 

Happy 100th Day to me

I can’t believe it but I have been away from the UK for exactly 100 days. That’s 100 days of living in a foreign country, 100 days of speaking German and 100 days of not going home. I’m extremely proud of this achievement but also very scared at how quick it has gone. In just over two months I’m going to be leaving beautiful Marburg behind and setting up a new life in Italy. But lets not dwell on that for the moment. :)

Referat done…mmmm cake

Yesterday morning I had my first ever Referat (academic presentation). I’d started doing the reading for it weeks ago and then writing the thing took a week so I was so relieved when it was over.
It didn’t go to bad either. I fine out what the Professor thought on Thursday, but the class appeared to understand what I said and their only questions were about religious terms such as the Eucharist  and Transubstantiation. I basically went up and presented it with the opinion that I was foreign and they knew I was foreign so I should just try my best and that is all I can do. If only I could tell myself that when I do presentations back home.
Afterwards, as a treat to myself me and my friend went to get pizza and then cake. I do love German cake cafes, they have such an air of sophistication, and obviously the cakes are delicious. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to go to Vienna for Kaffee and Kuchen. .  
Today I’m treating myself further by travelling up to Göttingen to visit my friend from my home uni. Ciao.

Word of the Day 07/12/10

Today’s word of the day: sich erleichtert fühlen

English translation: To feel relieved

Example: Ich fühle mich erleichtert, dass ich mein Referat  getan habe.

~ Phew ~

Fröhlicher Nikolaustag, Happy St. Nicholas Day

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days. I've got an important presentation tomorrow morning so it's kind of taking over my life at the moment. But I thought I would take quick break and say "frölicher Nikolaustag". 

For those of you who haven't got a clue what I'm talking about, my boyfriend included, this morning lots of children all over Germany and some other parts of Europe woke up to find their shoes filled with presents. On the night of the 5th December children are expected to polish their shoes and leave them outside their door for St. Nick to fill with presents. Fruits, Chocolate, maybe a new mobile phone if you've been reeeeaaaalllly good this year will be there waiting for you in the morning. Naughty boys and girls get a whipping from St. Nicks friend Knecht Ruprecht. Ouch.

Unfortunately St. Nick was unable to get into my building last night, but he left a yummy Lindt chocolate Father Christmas in my friend's shoe for me. Danke. 

now back to this presentation :(

Word of the Day 3/12/10

Today’s word of the day: der Finderlohn

Direct translation: Finder fee/pay

English translation: A reward for finding something that is lost

Example: Für mein Fahrrad biete ich einen Finderlohn von €50 an

~ Germans seem to be a lot more generous with rewarding people who find their items than in the UK. ~

Cartoon facebook fever finally hits the UK.

“Campaign Against Child Violence by UNICEF - Change your facebook profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood and invite your friends to do the same. Until monday, there should be no human faces on facebook, but a stash of memories. This is for eliminating violence against children.” <—This is what I found on my facebook news feed today. Déjà vu anyone?
If anyone remembers my post “Join in the fun and change your profile pic to a childhood cartoon character” http://survivingayearabroadineurope.blogspot.com/2010/11/join-in-fun-and-change-your-profile-pic.html then you’d know that this “phenomenon” hit Germany (and Italy so I hear) two weeks ago.
Not only is the UK two weeks behind us, but from the December 1st we all changed our profile pictures back therefore  the hope that there will be no human faces left on facebook is now highly unlikely.  Schade
Nevertheless I don’t want to discourage anyone from the UK or wherever not to take part, it was good fun trying to guess who was who without looking at the name. I look forward to seeing which characters my friends back from morph into. :)

UPDATE: Today statuses proclaim that the charity is NSPPC (how confusing)

UPDATE UPDATE: Now people are saying that is all a conspiracy to get children to accidently add paedophiles, since they won't be able to tell how old the person is by their profile picture. I personally think that all of this is hogwash, along with the NSPCC and UNICEF reasons. Why do people have to turn something which is fun and harmless into a serious issue.

Word of the Day 2/12/10

Today’s word of the day: die Plattenfirma

English translation: Record company

Example: Die Plattenfirmen werden eine Menge Geld pro Jahr verloren wegen Filesharing

~ This may come in useful during translations ~

T-shirt love ♥

 

I finally found the Wirtschafterin and collected my beautiful Vettel t-shirt. Not only do I love it because I’m a fan of Vettel, but I love it because it marks a moment in history than I’ve been lucky enough to witness here in Germany. The amount of Vettel hysteria here at the moment is unreal. Anyway I’m a happy girl today :)

Tandem Trauma

I had my first ever tandem this week. For those who don't have a clue what I'm talking about it is when two people of different mother tongues meet up and talk a bit in one language and then switch to the other. I took part in an English-Italian tandem (by English-German tandem partner doesn't seem that keen to meet up with me haha) and it was very embarrassing. I know that I've forgotten a lot of Italian since being here, but I didn't realise that I had forgotten THAT MUCH! She was lovely though, and wrote down all of the phrases and grammatical rules that I had forgotten, but it was just so frustrating. In my head I just wanted to scream at myself "you know that! why didn't you remember that mancare is used in the same way as piacere" So yeah, Italy is going to be interesting. But in the mean time I need to improve my German, so if my E-G tandem partner is reading this, let's meet hey?

Word of the Day 1/12/10

Today’s word of the day: die Schneeflocke

English translation: Snow flake

Example: Ich fange gern Schneeflocken mit der Zunge

~ Snow is falling, all around me ♪ ~

I love German Advent Calendars

Happy Advent everyone. I hope you’ve all enjoyed opening that tiny window and scoffing that equally miniscule piece of chocolate.

Here you can see my beautiful Kinder Friends Calendar:

Many of my friend received advent calendars in the post from the UK, but I’m making the most of the generous selection of calendars here in Germany.

I can’t even begin to explain the variety of advent calendars in Germany. You have small ones with the usual suspects splashed across them (Hannah Montana, high school musical) then you get smallish ones from Milka, Kinder, Galaxy etc. But wait there is more, both Kinder and Milka do more than one type of calendar, they have the reasonably priced €4.99 calendars and then ones which reach the €15 mark. In the case of Milka it is a huge purple Christmas bauble, and in the case of Kinder instead of receiving a piece of chocolate each day, you receive a Kinder surprise TOY!!!

If you think the Milka one sounds extravagant then check out the A3 sized Advent calendars, some of which are made my Lindt. These ones are a lot more mature looking. They resemble paintings rather than Calendars. Talking about “mature” Advent Calendars do not forget the sexy Advent Calendar that I blogged about a few weeks back. http://survivingayearabroadineurope.blogspot.com/2010/11/effects-of-nudity-on-little-children.html

My absolute FAVOURITE advent calendars in Germany have to be the Haribo and Nimm2 ones. I’d always thought of Advent calendars are being restricted to chocolate and toys, but gummy sweets as well…wow. In fact I loved the Haribo one so much that I bought two and sent them back home for my brother and sister to enjoy. 

MMM my mouth is watering now…time to open my calendar :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

Word of the Day 30/11/10

Today’s word of the day: der Zusammenbruch

Direct translation: Together Break  

English translation: Breakdown / collapse

Example: der Zusammenbruch der Bank Lehman Brothers

~ I’m sure this will come in handy academically ~

ROC Race of Champions Sunday 28th November 2010 [Edit:Now including Video]

It’s been a few days now since I went to watch ROC in Dusseldorf and now that I finally have a few minutes spare I thought I’d recap on what was an amazing event.
Doors opened at the Esprit arena at exactly 12 o'clock, there was a fenced off area just through the gates where you queued for less than minute and could have a look at some of the cars. Inside the arena had a quick look around for any stalls selling merchandise, there were a few ROC stalls and people giving out VW flags and Nürburgring key chain straps. We sat down about 12.30 and watched Vettel’s world championship winning car doing a test run of the circuit. (I’m not entirely sure if it was Vettel or someone else in the car. From the helmet I think no, but I could be wrong). The car was a little too big and much too fast for the track and he did crash into the wall a few times. Bless him.
There were a few “exhibitions” before the race itself began. This included a rather mediocre cheerleading display from the ROC Grid girls, who may I add

must of been freezing. As well as an impressive Red Bull motorbike stunt show. I’m not a big fan of motorbikes, I think they are very very dangerous, and I was very scared watching them flying through the air but I actually did enjoy it. 
The first race was Heikki Kovalainen against Sebastien Loeb. Loeb won but seconds, if not even that, after the cars crossed the finish line Kovalainen crashed into the barrier and took a considerable amount of the track with him. He didn’t race again after than that, although no reason was given. I found out today though that his Beifahrer (passenger) was his girlfriend and that she had to be taken to hospital to be treated for concussion, so I’m pretty sure that’s the reason. Nevertheless it was a shame, because I was quite looking forward to seeing him race a bit more.
While the track was being mended stunt driver Terry Grant kept us entertained with some “donuts”. This video will explain more:

The rest of the races were not AS dramatic. Although over high points was the race with Schumacher (I don’t remember who he was racing) but the other guy gave up and drove into the exit halfway through the race. The audience were confused, the stewards were confused, Schumacher was confused. Another race full of high excitement was the quarter final of Schumacher versus Vettel. It was very close. Vettel was leading on lap one, then Schumacher, then it was neck and neck and they final lap..YES! Vettel beat the 7 time world champion. Unfortunately this was followed by a very low point, as Vettel was unexpectedly knocked out of the semi final by Filipe Albuquerque (who went on to win ROC, beating Sebastien Loeb) The whole arena went silent as Albuquerque crossed the line ahead of our hero Vettel. I can’t even begin to explain how big Vettel is here in Germany at the moment. He is the national icon of the moment. The country worships him. But fair play to the Germans, they didn’t boo the Portuguese driver, instead they gave him a well deserved round of applause. 
So what was my favourite part? Without a doubt it was during the break when Vettel came out in his F1 car. This time there was no crashing or getting the car stuck. He drove like a pro and it not only looked amazing, it sounded fantastic. I’m not going to lie, I found it a little bit arousing. (*^-_^*) However Sebastian, as an asthmatic, I did not really appreciate the blanket of dust that you whipped up into the air. But I’ll forgive you this once. :)

So yes, it lived up to my expectations, if not more. I would recommend anyone who has a chance to go in the future to do so. Even if you are not a big motorsport fan, it is a really good day out and you really do get to see the drivers and cars up close. I’ll leave you guys with a pic of Vettel and Schumi each. ☆

I

Walking in a winter wonderland

It hasn’t stopped snowing all day here in Marburg, and the rest of Hessen for that matter. The temperature is going to plummet in the following days and we will be in for more and more of the white stuff. In the mean time I’d like to share a photo I took today during my emergency shopping trip to Frankfurt.  

Word of the Day 29/11/10

Today’s word of the day: der/die Seelenverwandte

Direct translation: Soul relative  

English translation: Soul mate

Example: Endlich, nach einer langen Suche, habe ich meinen Seelenverwandte gefunden

~ Romantic ♥ ~

Where did all the snow come from?

I came back from Düsseldorf just a few hours ago and was welcomed home by a blanket of snow on the ground.This was definitely a surprise and I did feel a little disorientated. I leave Marburg, no snow, come back, a fair bit of snow. Interesting.

More snow is forecast and I have yet to buy myself a sensible pair of boots. Scheiße a better hop on a train to Frankfurt asap for some emergency shopping. 

Marburg b(u)y night, Christmas is on it’s way

Today Marburg hosted an event called “Marburg b(u)y night”. The event is marks the start of the Christmas season, with the opening of the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market), shopping until Midnight and the illumination of the town.

The night started with a fire dance performance. Then all of the children were invited to press the “big red button” and bam on came the lights.

Some of the lights were really creative, and it was a lot of fun trailing around the town trying to find them.

 

My favourite had to be the Luftballoon (Balloons) in front of the Mensa.

Although this is by far my favourite photo of the night. Here you can see the Christmas lights in the trees, the yellowy orange Pfarrkirche and a blue Schloss (castle). On my bus journey I saw the Schloss change from blue to pink to white to yellow to green. Wunderschön ☆

This was my first time in an echte deutsche Weihnachtsmarkt and although Marburg’s is very small it already knocked the socks off of the ones in England.

We ate Bratwurst and drank Glühwein.We admired the little hands and crafts stalls and I ate some Zuckerwatte (see word of the day 26/11/10), which was very messy and sticky.

And to top it all off there was snow!!!! Yes I wandered around a German Christmas market whilst beautiful snow flakes fell elegantly from the starry sky. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆I couldn’t have asked for a better night ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Word of the Day 26/11/10

Today’s word of the day: die Zuckerwatte

Direct translation: Sugar wool   

English translation: Candy floss/ cotton candy

Example: Zuckerwatte ist immer so klebrig

~ yummy ~

The Pound is getting Stronger, finally.

 

I just logged onto caxtonfxcard.com to top up my card before I go away this weekend and to my surprise the conversion rate is 1.1610, this is the highest it has been since I’ve been here. I’d been so disheartened previously with the pathetic 1.09 conversion rates but finally it’s on the up. Of course it is nowhere near as strong as it was a few years ago when our pound was basically worth 1.5€, but as long as doesn’t go down then I’m happy.

Do Americans have the right to have a day off on Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers out there, which according to my Stats there are a lot of you out there (whoo I love Stats!). Now I am aware that what I’m about to say is pretty controversial and you may not agree but please if that’s the case then leave me a little comment, nicely explaining why you think that my opinion is wrong.
So the hot topic of the week has been should Americans take Thanksgiving off? In America thanksgiving is a national holiday so there is no class or work. I'm aware that a few of the Americans here did not go to class today.
 I understand that Thanksgiving is important to Americans but I have to stress that it is a national holiday. It is not an international holiday nor is it a religious holiday, taking Thanksgiving off in a foreign country is like me taking the day of Prince William’s and Kate Middleton’s wedding off (it’s going to be a national holiday I hear). I just wouldn’t do it. Maybe my British way of thinking is not attuned to American patriotism.
For me it conjures up the question, if Americans are taking Thanksgiving off, then do they not get a day off during German national holidays? If the answer is no, then it looks like the Americans are being a tad greedy, but of course its going to be no because you cannot go to university if the university is not open. 
Please do not get me wrong, I’m not trying to pi ck on Americans. I’d feel the same way whether it was us British trying to take a day off or even people from Timbuktu. I understand that where we come from is important, and I’m all for celebrating Thanksgiving in Germany (there are a lot of Thanksgiving dinners here tonight) but to take the day off of school, I just don’t understand it.

Word of the Day 25/11/10

Today’s word of the day: Macht’s gut

Direct translation: Do it well  

English translation: Bye, take care, see ya (use with friends)

~ More of a phrase of the day than word of the day.~

Wirtschafterin wo sind Sieeeeeeeeee!?!?!

My Sebastian Vettel “Weltmeister” t-shirt arrived on Monday while I was at University. Instead of taking it to the post office for me to collect the post man decided to give it to the Wirtschafterin. The Wirtschafterin is a mixture of an a warden and a cleaner. She is only on sight from 9-13 everyday week day. I had a class to go to Tuesday morning so I wasn’t able to pick it up, and yesterday I needed to go to the Stadtbüro so although I had a quick look out for her and I didn’t manage to catch her.
So today is my first real attempt at finding her and it is impossible! She is nowhere to be found. And to make matters worse there is a sign down stairs saying that she will not be here tomorrow (Friday), that means today is my only chance to collect my t-shirt in time for Race of Champions on Sunday.
I’m not impressed. Seriously where are you woman!!!!

Word of the Day 23/11/10

Today’s word of the day: zuckersüß

Direct translation: Sugar sweet  

English translation: sickily sweet

Example: Ihre neue Hundchen ist Zuckersüß.

~ finally an adjective, I’m so sick of nouns~

Intergrating with German Students, my struggle continues.

I think it's fair to say that one of the aims of the year abroad is to have contact with the natives. It's the undoubtedly the best way to improve your language and cultural understanding and the contacts you make could come in very useful in the future.
Now I know that I am not the only one who has been having trouble making friends, or even speaking to, my German classmates. In fact 95% of the people I speak to have told me that they are experiencing the same problem. However as I am fast approaching the halfway point of my Year Abroad in Germany, I really feel that I need to step up my game and get some German friends.
I decided that the best bet was to tackle the people in my one and only seminar. Seminars are smaller and the people do enjoy a good chat as we wait outside the classroom. I have an American friend in the Seminar, we are the only foreigners, and I do notice that we segregate ourselves from the group by waiting at the otherside of the corridor and speaking English (something that I HATE). So I asked my friend today if we could stand with the group and maybe try to get to know them. "No" she said.
I could have gone and talked to the Germans by myself, but I didn't. I regret it and I hope that next week I'll be stronger, more independent and do what I want to do. I have a week to prepare myself and fingers crossed I'm successful because I'm really running out of time. 

A few German graffiti fails (Warning explicit language)

One thing that annoys me about Germany, so German readers, is the amount of graffiti. I don’t know whether Germans do graffiti more than the British or whether its that the Germans are not so anal about it and thus do not clean it off. One example is the mass of graffiti on the interior and exterior walls of the university. If someone defaced my university at home there would be a university-wide uproar, but here it really seems to be the norm.
As I;m faced with Graffiti on a daily basis, I do get to find some very funny graffiti fails. From poor attempts to write in English to very weird messages. I thought I’d share a very small selection of them with you.

Ihr B*****s seid nur hohl und sonst nix? Peace out Pigw****s?
  (You B*****s are only hollow and nothing else. Peace out Pigwhores) What???? What does that even mean. And that the heck is a Pigw****????

 

F**** here
Now this is either someone who hates this part of Munich or permission to have public sex

 

 

I kill all the white people, Guns don’t kill people, eh eh, I kill with guns
I found this one today on the desk in the lecture theatre, unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me. Either someone is very angry with the world, or they are just trying to show off their English skills. My favourite part has to be the “eh, eh”. I makes me thing that the writer is some type of gangster rapper wannabe. Also it reminds me a bit of the Goldie Lookin’ Chain song “Guns dob’t kill people, rappers do”.

 

Fat ass pizza
 Although this isn’t graffiti in the sense that it is written or painted, it is defacing by sticking stickers on public property and most importantly it is funny. I love pizza but the words FAT ASS PIZZA doesn’t attract me in the slightest. Can F.A. Pizza really taste nice?

Sebastian Vettel’s homecoming

One of the biggest news stories to hit Germany, and particularly Hessen, was the long awaited homecoming of Formula 1 Weltmeister Sebastian Vettel.
As a huge Vettel fan, I must admit that, I was waiting in anticipation for the news that he was coming home. Vettel’s home town Heppenheim is in the same state as Marburg, Heppenheim, so not only was it not too far to travel to, it is also free for me to travel there with my Semesterticket.
I read in the early hours of the morning on Sunday 22nd November that he was finally going to make an appearance in Heppenheim at 14.30 that day. I had been waiting for a week to hear that news and didn’t think twice about going. (Even more shocking is that I went alone! Me, the former most unindependent girl in the world!)
I assumed it would just be some type of town hall ceremony, but I was wrong. I arrived at the Europaplatz in Heppenheim at about 12.10 and although there were not too many people there, I was only 8 rows back from the front, I could tell this was definitely bigger than a town hall ceremony. For a start the Europaplatz was a large flat area of land and erected on this land were numerous Redbull beverage tents, a TV reporters area, an ice cream stand (yes they were giving out free ice creams on a freezing winter’s day) and a bus that had been converted into a stage. On stage was a radio DJ from FFH who was blasting night club-esque party tunes from some very large speakers. Yes, it resembled more of a concert or festival than a homecoming.
I must have come at the right time because within half an hour of my arrival I could no longer see the end of the mass of Vettel fans. A lot people were wearing replicas of his famous Red bull beanie hat, or some other Redbull merchandise. As I was still waiting for my Vettel World Champion t-shirt to arrive in the post (it came today) I opted for wearing all blue.
After two hours and five minutes of dancing and putting our “Vettelfingers” in the airn the announcement of made that Vettel was here and was ready come out, 15 minutes before he was actually scheduled. Personally this was a shock to me, since its usually a perk for a celebrities to turn up on time, let alone early. He came on stage to a chorus of “SE-BAST-IAN! SE-BAST-IAN!”, something that we have been practicing with the DJ for the past two hours. Now I’ve read in the UK press about Vettel’s arrogance, but the young man who was stood up on stage was not only humble but in awe of everything. He didn’t shout or scream “YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” like some egoistic rockstar, he just looked out at us and took it all in. In fact the first thing he did when he came on stage was take a photo of us on his mobile so that he could remember the moment for ever. The presenter assumed that it would be going on his facebook page or some website for people to download but Vettel modestly replied that it was for himself, as a keepsake on his mobile and that maybe he’ll print it out and keep it in his bedroom.
He was on stage being interviewed for a while and a German comedian, who is supposidly a friend and big fan of Vettel, joined him. Now I must admit that I had no idea who Bülent Ceylan. was, but with the creaming reception that he got, I can tell that everyone else certainly did. They had a bit of a joke, it was sweet. There was also a present giving ceremony. Vettel signed the the not so infamous “Vettelheim, Heppenheim” street sign and then he left the stage to be interview for the TV and Radio. The interviews took literally five minutes and then he came into the crowd and signed autographs and were able, well kind of, to take closer photos of him. Because of the sheer quantity of people there it was unrealistic that everyone would be able to get their stuff signed so he threw signed postcards into the audience. I managed to catch one :D    
The venue emptied pretty quickly after Vettel left. I saw a few kids crying because they hadn’t managed to get to meet the world champion. I got back to Marburg at 8pm and saw one of my friend’s briefly in the train station. “Where have you been?” she asked. “Heppenheim!” I proudly proclaimed. “Are you being serious? I was watching that on TV”. “Yep”, I replied, “I was there” :) 

Word of the Day 22/11/10

Today’s word of the day: der Schüttelfrost

Direct translation: Shivering frost,  

English translation: a violent shivering fit/ the chills

Example: Sebastian Vettel ist ein hessischer Bub.

~ I though this was appropriate because of the ridiculously cold temperature today ~

Word of the Day 21/11/10

Today’s word of the day: der Bub

A word used in hessen dialect

English translation: boy, lad

Example: Sebastian Vettel ist ein hessischer Bub.

~ Vettel taught me this word :) ~

Pfand ist toll, I love Pfand.

 

On Monday 20th October I posted about “being ill in Germany”, where I gave a very very brief description of Pfand

http://survivingayearabroadineurope.blogspot.com/2010/10/being-ill-in-germany.html

In it I admitted that I had never actually received my Pfand back because I’d never given the bottles back.

Well today that all changed.

I forgot to buy some parcel tape today when I was in town, so I had to quickly get the bus to REWE at about 18.30 this evening. I checked my purse and realised that I didn’t have enough money. Then it hit me. I had a huge pile of bottles in my wardrobe, surely they’d be worth something right? Damn right! Those babies were worth €2.50. The parcel tape came to €2.99, but I had enough to cover that.

How does it work, you ask?

Basically the Pfand machine in REWE (it’s probably different in each supermarket) was in the actual shop by the drinks isle. You don’t need to press any buttons, you just put the bottle on the conveyer belt in the hole in the wall and when it disappears put in another bottle and another. You don’t need to remove the cap or lid, but you may need to blow the bottle up because if it is not round enough the machine will reject it. When you are finished you press a little green button and it prints you a voucher. You then use the voucher to pay for your shopping. BUT REMEMBER your voucher needs to be scanned before the shopping is scanned. 

Recycling really pays in Germany :D

Word of the Day 19/11/10

Today’s word of the day: die Milchstraße

Direct translation: The milk road/street

English translation: The Milkyway

Example: Die Erde ist ein kleiner Planet, der in der Milchstraße liegt.

~What a cute little astronomical  word~

Join in the fun and change your profile pic to a childhood cartoon character.

I log into my facebook and for the first 5 minutes I was a little confused. I was scrolling down the news page and there were a few people who I did not recognise. Has someone hacked onto my account and added random people?
Then I looked properly and realised that a bunch of my friends her in Germany had changed their profile pictures to cartoon characters.I managed to find this link and all of a sudden it is all a lot clearer.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=720747906#!/event.php?eid=145032082210622
The aim is for the whole facebook community to change their profile pictures to any childhood character until the 30th November. As I already said, the only people on my friends list who have changed their profile picture are either German or living in Germany. Thus I’m guessing that this phenomenon hasn’t reached the UK yet.
It’s great fun and I think it’d be really cool if it does go global, so please change your profile picture and share the message with your friends.

~Until it hits the UK: When in Germany, do as the Germans do ☆

Word of the Day 18/11/10

Today’s word of the day: die Klagewelle

Direct translation: Complaint wave

English translation: a flood of lawsuits

Example: Die Verletzung des Urheberrechts führt zu Klagewelle.

~A law themed word of the day. ~