So this is one of my posts without a theme...or point. I've been in Germany for 6 months now. This is odd. I've only got 3 months left! Seriously where has the time gone?
Identifying the last 6 months as the best of my life is an easy task. I have had SO much fun this year and met some brilliant people. Also my German is y'know, getting better.
However I'm going to be honest, I'm not really the ferociously independent, culture-savvy girl I spend a lot of time pretending to be whilst hanging out in Germany (ok, you'd clearly figured that out already), and there are a few things I probably wouldn't have coped without to be honest. In no specific order...
1. The Scott Mills Show on Radio 1. It's hardly the most intelligent thing in the world and I would probs get more out of listening to German radio during my train journeys but sometimes the random banality that are the podcasts are exactly what you need. I mean like, on those days where its 8 am, you've been up for 2 hours already and haven't a soul to speak to (except for the kids from the special disciplinary school 2 train stops up from you, and that's not pleasant, believe me), its just nice to hear some familiar voices. The downside to this is it does occasionally cause me to laugh out loud on public transport, which is very much frowned at...
2. My flatmates.
What can I say. They've nicknamed me "Betzi", have endless patience for my stammering German and forgetful ways, mother me when I'm stressed and bake delicious bread. They're brilliant party buddies too (in fact much more hardcore than I). What more could I want? When I took the risk of waiting for their decision to take me for the spare room or not (read about that here) it was one of my über rare good decisions.
3. Internet-savvy parents, who are brilliant at keeping up an email correspondence, even if its a slightly odd one at times.
4. In contradiction, a best friend (shout out to Abs) who has the time, patience and good heart to keep up some good old fashioned letter writing. Nothing can cheer me up more after a hard day teaching and travelling than one of her kooky letters with its 5+ stamps waiting in the letter box.
5. Nice teachers. The ones at school who actually seem to give a damn about my presence, and are ready to help me with the little things.
- Example 1: the teachers who have agreed to sit in on my YARP interviews so I don't get suffocated by the red tape that surrounds researching involving children.
- 2: The teacher who came up to me and went "Do you know what, I've decided. Wales is much more interesting than England, I even bought a Welsh phrase book the other day out of curiosity".*
Day made.
6. My room. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I looove my room (and my bed) and can't imagine being happy living in a place I didn't like.
7. Trier.
Ahh, was für eine schöne Stadt! Big but not too big, with plenty to do and a nightlife in all shapes and sizes to match your mood. Highlights being:
- Cubi Culum a (miraculously) smoke free, friendly and reasonably priced bar and restaurant in an old cellar in the town centre.
- Die Grüne Rakete (the green rocket) which is Trier's version of Jesters, only slightly cleaner but on the downside you can smoke it in and they are slightly too-keen on nineties hip-hop. Still, if like me you adore Jesters then perfection is clearly not your main concern.
- New Mintons. They have €5 Schnitzel on Tuesdays, 'nuff said.
- The Porta Nigra. (see background picture on blog). Interesting historically, looks cool and at the end of the day its a very convenient meeting point. **
- The half Turkish kebab house, half bar on the Saarstrasse. 2 things I love about this place:
- it smells SO nice on my walk home from work/anywhere else in Trier basically
- its such an odd combination but it just WORKS. So you go in and the first half is typical Döner laden: a pile of lettuce, a vat of garlic sauce and of course the two friendly Turkish guys slicing off the meat. A few metres beyond however and you suddenly find yourself in the middle of a typical Trierian bar, with wizended locals drinking Bitburger by the barrel and screaming "Jawohl!!" and other things in their incomprehensible Trierian dialect at the Handball on the TV in the corner. Odd.
Say what you like about it, if Britain had a rail network HALF as developed, efficient and reasonably-priced as Germany's David Cameron could take half the year off for Good Behaviour and spend the other half dealing with the important issues, like the ratio of crisps to air in Walker's crisp packets, or finding the key to eternal life purely for Queen Elizabeth the second's use, stuff like that.
9. Whitney and Tylor, two of my favourite people I've got to know this year. We're doing a 9 day trip in 2 weeks time to explore some of eastern Germany, including meeting up with Southampton University's very own GerSoc in Leipzig and then heading on to Prague. You guys rock and I cannot wait!!
10. My laptop. LOL JK. I feel it needs a mention because I use it so much and I wouldn't have coped without one, plus it did survive The Attack of the Facewash back in October, but I do find myself longing for one with a working keyboard and one that doesn't regularly shut down without any warning.
How did I get to 10 already? Odd. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Bis bald! xx
*no I didn't make that up, he really said that to me! In English too, so it's not even a case of overly hopeful translation.
**sorry, I am joking, it has much more worth than a good meeting point, honest.
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