Was ist dann passiert?

Viel zu viel!

Last months of Erasmus were both good and bad. Maybe a bit more on the bad side when it comes to health. More like skin issues. (My skin cannot take any shit from "kalkhaltiges Wasser".) It was a shame because I looked like freakin Einstein but I couldn't be bothered towards the end and it is all fine right now...

I kind of failed with this blog. But at least I am going back to my old blog and it is a lot better than this Erasmus blog.

Anyways this is my closure, and I do not know what to add on. So this is it and I think everyone who needs to know, knows the details and the closure.

Goodbye Heidelberg. I got great memories and some great friends. I think six months (actually five months) was enough.
:)
<3

Mach mal Pause!

The last two weeks, all I have heard is "Mach mal Pause!" from here and everywhere. I seriously need a break from this student vacation life. Erasmus shouldn't be so demanding but really; I'm trying hard to do things right and it just won't work for me. Not necessarily that it is impossible. I just find myself being exhausted, almost fatigued, about 90% of the time. It's a bit distressing now...

Either way, I have not been a fun camper the last week since I came back home from Stockholm. First! I did not notice how much I miss home and friends until I was home for a weekend and actually met my special people. Second! Being home was nice and not to mention c-l-e-a-n. Third! I ended up procrastinating the whole weekend because I just wanted to enjoy being home and walking around very sunny and warm Stockholm. So now I have about two weeks procrastination ahead of me and I still have not finished my part for Wednesdays presentation. Does anybody hear me say "shit"?

However, it is nice being back. Finishing up what I started and traveling with fun and sweet people. Recently some trips have been booked. Like the next trip (oh yeah, yesterday I was in both Cologne and Bonn) is on Sunday we should be at least five people going to Luxembourg. Then the 17th-19th of June I am leaving for Portugal. So much fun! I really cannot wait. I am already so excited about traveling that I am even considering squishing in Liechtenstein this weekend too. There might not be much to see there, but heck I need to go while I am so close.
We have some other holidays coming up soon so I just might make sure that I also manage to visit Belgium and Hungary; it needs to happen. Traveling is the best and it is really my "feel-good" medication for the moment.

Another idea that I need to push through is my "three-countries-one-weekend" plan. One of these Thursdays we'll be off the hook due to holidays, so I will make sure that I leave for Dublin on a Thursday, leave to Edinburgh Friday and then either Saturday or Sunday leave for Oslo, to then return to good old Heidelberg on Monday. How awesome wouldn't that be!? I will just have to be fliessig with school.

Schweden und alles fühlt sich wie einen Traum

Sleepdeprived (no news) and stuck in a German mode, I made it home to Stockholm which is currently blossoming. Summer is soon here and I absolutely love Stockholm during summer - everything is so perfect and bright!

Either way, I am going to be home for the weekend which should be really awesome. I actually never wanted to go home during my stay but I am quite glad that I decided to stop by anyway. I have subconciously missed Stockholm and home. Today when I got in through the door I felt the smell of home. Pretty tacky but whatever...

I think I really need this break from Erasmus. Not that I do not like it but getting a way a bit is never bad. The strangest thing though is that Erasmus feels like a dream. It feels like I have just been home the whole time and that I dreamt about all the people I got to know at my Erasmus. I can admit now though that I am looking forward to Monday and going back to Heidelberg. I am already calling both places home, which is a bit awkward.

A funny thing that happened when I got out of the airport today, was that I started speaking German with the bus driver until I noticed that "I'm in Sweden. They don't speak that language.."


Wow - I am at home.

Walpurgisnacht auf der Tingstette

Saturday the 30th of April was quite a long day. It started with an early excursion to Regensburg and the Donau, that ended up at some Kloster. All this in Bayern! So up and early at 5am to catch a bus from Bismarcksplatz at 6.30am.

It was quite pretty actually. Regensburg was quite smocked with tourists, which I didn't expect at all. Then we had this really boring tourguide whom I never payed attention to but everything was nice really and we had somewhat luck with the weather. Other than that not much more to add on. Nice nature in general...

Then when we returned to Heidelberg we decided to go to an amazing and legendary party at the top of Philosophenweg. It happens once a year and polices and ambulances are ready on almost different parts of the mountain just because a lot of kids get wasted and injured. So it was insane but amazing! Loads of people were gathered at this amphitheater at the top of the mountain, apparently it used to belong to the nazis. And there were people dancing with fire and just so many people gathered around everywhere. Everyone was freaking drunk but having such a great time!
Pretty amazing stuff, quite an experience...

In der Nacht mit'm Fahrrad

Heidelberg is such a tiny town, that it feels so safe to me. Apparently, that feeling needn't always be correct. Like tonight for example, when I left Ziegler's early (due to some real load of crap music, and a bit lack of energy) and decided to go back through Hauptstrasse, just to find my bike; I somehow got chatted up by some random stranger who just wouldn't give it up. It starts with a "Hey, I think I know you. Mind if I talk to you?" (note: all auf Deutsch). Obviously I did mind and said "Sorry, hab' keine Zeit." yet that didn't help so the man starts talking to me anyway. What do you anyway say in these situations!? This led me to lie through my teeth. I gave him false information, the same false information I always give and last time I used it was in Amsterdam. The story goes that my name is Emma (sometimes Anna), I study Law, I have a boyfriend and I am heading to his place because of _____________ (whatever stupid excuse comes up in that precise moment).
So this time "Anna" was in a hurry to get to her boyfriend because he was feeling sick and was completely alone (now that I think of it; it is the crappiest excuse ever!). Anna also studied Law and was in her fourth semester. Well... when that part came up (because he asked me what I studied and which semester I was in), he said "How come you don't know me!? I'm also in my fourth semester!" Hmm... maybe because I am lying through my teeth right now? However, I think he was too. Luckily he left me alone!

So as soon as I saw my bike, which now is again finally repaired, I hopped on it and peddled away along the then dark Neckar.
There are so many things that I love about biking at night in Heidelberg! Not only do you get to different places quickly but there are other things I notice when I bike than when I walk or even less, take the bus.
To list some, the first thing would be the quite empty streets in the calm quarters close to our residence in Feld. Beautiful houses with great big windows that I adore, clean smooth streets, pretty cosy street lamps and so on à la Wisteria Lane.
I also love biking, and then looking up at sky, trying to find star constellations. So far I can almost always find Orion's Belt and The Big Dipper - not that it is hard to find them in general. Then I recognize parts of constellations but I never remember the full pattern or the name either. Often when I stare up at the sky while the bike is continuosly rolling down the road, I need to remind myself to look down and focus, there were some times when I came close to knocking something over.
Then there are a couple of ponds on our Feld Campus. And after midnight, more like after 1am or towards 2 am, you can hear this massive noise of frogs "ribbitting" away in the night. Their voices just echo and bounce off all the building walls; it is pretty cool!

One sad thing that I just figured out is that I have a problem with lactose. I am not lactose intolerant but I do have some form of allergy. I get spots on my face when I eat an excess of lactose. And that happens quite often. Yoghurt and cheese are two of my most favourite food to eat! So I have to cut that out of my eating habits now..
Second my only pair of black pants are quite ruined, somehow when I bike the colour of those particular pants ware off, resulting in them having a very lighter shade of black on my pants' bossum, in a nice shape of my bike seat. Wierd isn't it?


PS. Mom do not worry about the Hauptstrasse-thingy..

Das Erasmusleben macht mich müde

Also! (My favourite word and I think most of us know why...)

I have been sleeping these past days - like literaly sleeping between classes or the whole day long. I have absolutely no clue why I am so tired, and homeworks that are simple and take about five minutes to complete; are making me want to vomit. However, I did manage to get all of my French homework done today and I am through half of my "Language Acquistion"-homework so no problems there. All that is left is the translation paper.

Something that continuosly shocks me is the placements by our professors at Max-Weber-Haus. For the preperatory language class, I was signed up for the Mittelstufe II class (the supposed equivalent to B2) when I clearly stated that I was a Mittelstufe I (B1) student. Then for the evening courses I expected to stay in Mittelstufe II because I do not even know my Konjunktiv II and my vocabulary is so embarassingly petit. Little did I expect, that the lady (with whom I fixed my enrolement) blurted out Oberstufe (should be the equivalent to C1). I was pretty gobsmacked and thought "You're joking." She wasn't and she also persuaded me to stay in that Stufe, so now I seriously need to grab Konjunktiv II by the horns ...or is it ears? Oh well, people should be able to get my point.

Since I anyway am on the topic of courses; my Erasmus coordinator in Stockholm seems to find it okay to e-mail me after more than a week when my purpose of e-mailing her was quite important! Two e-mails and a response after more than a week. I might be a bit screwed because I don't have a literature course. Seriously though, none of the literature courses seemed to be exciting - more like boring or a "been there, done that" type of course. I am hoping though, that this one course will accept me. It is called "Magical Realism", which sounds really gay but the literature list was quite interesting; two books by Jeanette Winterson. I have already read one of her books and it was pretty good. So fingers crossed that I can still be accepted to the course!

I have missed travelling a lot and I am wondering where to go over Easter. I would like to visit Portugal, e.g. Lissabon, or maybe even Budapest. I could also go to Ireland or Scotland, but it depends on my finances and who I can convince to come along. Some friends of mine, aka. Hamad, Jenn and Mariana (now you are finally mentioned!), have decided to travel to Belgium and Luxembourg in one round which I really would like. So that will happen some time after I have returned back from Stockholm.


Hmm, I am starting to get some serious "resfeber"...

Jetzt fängt es an

Yesterday was Helen's last day in Heidelberg, which also happens to be her birthtown and the town where she was raised.

Having Helen here was a lot of fun. She if anyone really knows what Erasmus is about! We saw a lot of Heidelberg and got to know a few people who apparently live in my building. I must say that I am very pleased with where I ended up at. True, Feld does look really communist and worn down but this is where everyone is and we have our own pub in our basement (Bar 3). It is starting to get cosy here.

Other than that, classes are starting and I am not all too excited. Hanging around doing nothing for two and a half months in Stockholm really killed my studious and ambitious side. And now I am not sure if I will be able to find my way back to it!
What bothers me the most is not my English courses, because I know that it will all be taught in English. However, I do worry about my French classes since that will be taught in German and it is not like I am completely fluent in that language yet. Hmm, it should be okay though...

Oh! And I am such a "Pechvogel" (kind of meaning "I have a lot of bad luck"). My bike has got a new flat tire and this time I am so not paying for it, so they better give me a new wheel. Last time I actually complained in German and this time I will complain bilingually (if that might have a better effect). The flat tire that I have now might not be a new damage because last time they changed my tire they didn't fully repair it. It was more like them using glue... Talk about no quality.

Das Trio ist jetzt ein Duo

Yesterday was a good day but could have been so much better than it became. I was meant to pick up my beloved Louise at Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof yet to recieve an early-morning message saying that she missed her flight. Now, it was not her fault that she missed it - it was the stupid cab's fault. Somehow they just did not have a cab for her, even though she had booked one well ahead!
So jetzt gibt es keine Louise. Aber bald kommt Helen - and that is also great! I was hoping for the little trio to unite, however we are now a duo. That works too though and I am quite excited about showing Helen around (even though this is her birthtown). Only five hours left and I will be seeing a Mutti at the Haupbahnhof - awesome!

Besides just hanging around, being lazy and doing nothing, I have signed up for classes. As I looked through the classes they offered, not many were appealing to me. I did however get accepted to "Approaches to Second Language Acquisition", "Vocabulary and Idiom" as well as "Advanced Translation (from German) into English". These three classes actually tickle my fancy and I especially look forward to the first named class. Other than Anglistik, I have decided to proceed with German courses and also pick up my French again. However, classes will be held in German, so when it comes to French I think I might as well start over from the beginning...

I also should mention that my eating habits are getting so much worse. I know that I eat like a pig at home, but here I have nothing to entertain myself with besides food! So we have our daily trips to Aldi or Lidl and I just keep spending my money on food! And if not food, then it is clothes. Not good, but what can I say - I guess I am not as disciplined as I thought could be.


Oh! and P.S. I cut my hair last week - oh my God, it is so short (at least for me)!

Mein Patensohn hat seinen Kindergartenabschluss gemacht

Yesterday our orientationsdays began and it will last until tomorrow. I seriously did not find yesterday or this morning helpful at all! We have all already done everything there is to do and we have fixed each card, each registration there is to register - there's really nothing left to do. Then somehow the people who are responsible for us exchange students find it witty to hand us all helpful information, about 4 weeks too late. Yeah... Moving on! I decided to skip today and spare myself some boredom and make my time useful. I finally came around to buying a present for my godson. I went with a pirate theme and bought some books. I think it is about time that he starts learning how to read and so on. He is such a bright kid, it is insane how proud I am of him! (Happy godmother over here!)

Janosch: "Little Tiger, Get Well Soon!", Capt'n Sharky on Prison Island, an eyepatch, and then letters to spell his nickname. :)

Soon I will be having some awesome company! Only one day left - can't wait.

Keine Zeit für verschiedene Dinge

Also!

Wow, blogging really has not gone as I've wished. So much has happened! I got a bike which I in total have paid over 100 Euros for, which annoyingly has been needing three repairs during the first week I got it. This bike store at Bergheimerstrasse 101 is SO NOT worth your money... Unfortunately, I always end up taing the expensive path, whether I do it on purpose or not.

This weekend I was in Strasbourg - beautiful city! Really cute, very German, yet the people spoke French. What was a bit fascinating was that I started remembering some of my French and somehow the five of us travelers decided to take up our French again (once we got back to Heidelberg). Honestly, French is harder than German...

Soon I'll be having my first visitors over: Helen and Louise. I am looking forward to it so much, I seriously can not wait for them to be here with me! Obviously I will be breaking all dormitory rules but hey - it is my Erasmus (and everyone is doing it too).

So that is all for now. Usually I would go in more detail but since it has been a while I can't remember all the details of everything, so this will have to be it.

Tschüss!

Guten Morgen Sonnenschein

Heidelberg is absolutely wonderful and sunny! Weather is nice and when we are at the Mensa, we sit outdoors eating our lunch. Food here is pretty cheap, at least for a Swede, and I am quite happy that I don't have to starve myself with a student budget.



This weekend I went to Bremen to celebrate Helen's birthday. It was a little bit too crazy than expected. However, it was loads of fun and I also got to experience the real Deutsche Bahn experience.
On my way to Bremen the train was 80 minutes delayed, which annoyed me so immensly but I survived (eventhough the last two hours I had to stand because there were no seats left, and I had no reservation for the journey there). As I got off the train, I was greeted by Helen and Anja who came to fetch me, and back at the HHMA commune; really yummy mini-pizzas were awaiting!
Then came the party the following day, but first with a fantastic brunch at Piano and an almost 10 hour sleep. Like I mentioned; the party was pretty crazy and we can leave it at that...

Travelling to and from Bremen, it takes about 6 hours one way. Sometimes you have to "umsteigen" (switch trains) but I was lucky to have a direct train home. A nicer train and with a seat reserved for me. On my way home I was thinking about how small Heidelberg is and if I would meet two of my close friends on the bus from Haupbahnhof - which I did, funny enough. We (Hamad, Jenn and I) met up with two more friends towards the night for great dinner at Moshmosh (kinda of like a Wagamama feel).

Meine Wochenende

Things are happening really quickly at the moment and I barely have time to update the blog.

My German teacher is constantly giving us tons of homework and I try to do them but I always end up choosing to go out and party. I now fully understand the Erasmus lifestyle and what it's REALLY all about.

This weekend the floor beneath me had a Faschingsfete (sort of like a masquerade party) for the entire building. Really loud music, crowded but many familiar faces. It was pretty nice and I went as a leopard. For once it is nice to not have to think about when the last bus leaves and if I need to find myself a sleeping place.



Saturday was IKEA day and I took two person's IKEA-virginity. Loads of fun! We ate meatballs and Daimtårta before doing our shopping. Felt like being home, just with German headings and text everywhere. Oh well, it was good enough for me and I got what I wanted to make my room a bit more homey.



Sunday we went to the Heidelberg Zoo which was a bit of a disappointment. Not too big and some animals were just a great bore. I ate my first Currywurst since Bremen last year - God I have missed it!
after the zoo we took a walk through Neuenheimer Feld to the Neckar (by the river) and had ourselves some icecream and beer. And as the rain was about to fall we managed to get back home and bake some carrot cake.



Cosy weekend. :)

Die ersten Tage

Major update!

I came to Heidelberg for exactly a week ago and things started really badly. For starters; I thought I knew my way around Heidelberg by staring at Google Maps in Stockholm - apparently I was in for a shocker when I got here.
So the first day was very exhausting. Imagine pulling four suitcases with a total weight of 50+ kilos and having another person to look out for. Also, being a bit uncomfortable with speaking in German to all the Germans was not too ideal for me.

I eventually adapted to my new standard of living and have already started to speak more German. Now when I've settled in, I actually find it more fun to speak the language and I get by pretty alright!

Since I've gotten here I have had my Einstufungstest, which was alright. I found the second part with the two essays easy to write and apparently I was placed in Mittelstufe II. Hmm.. Mittelstufe II is pretty fun and a challenge, I just never thought that I would have so much to catch up on since everyone in my class seems to have studied German for more than five years and I posses German knowledge of six months. Oh well, I will just have to fight some more.

Friday night ended with a Kneipentour and I found about three favourite pubs! We were also introduced to our Erasmus bar "Brass Monkey".

Saturday evening, all the exchange students met up at the Spaghettisäule for a Stadtfahrung. Instead of listening to our guides (who were very kind) me and the others whom I got to know a bit better were busy getting to know the people we were walking around. I love meeting new people!

Back home in Sweden, most of the Erasmus students attend Quiz nights at pubs. Well, I am really happy that I found two pubs that host such events. So I gathered a group and we formed a team and attend these quizes. Sweet prizes and last time we got a free round of Baby Guinesses. Not bad.


I might have started off harshly by not liking Heidelberg at all, but it is slowly growing on me.

Meine süßen Kolleginnen und Kollegen

My co-workers gave me a plastic bag filled with Swedish candy and etc. It was so sweet, and my boss left a small note and told me that I could still return to them.
So sweet!

Die Bürokratie! Oder einfach nur viel Papier...

Since my departure is quickly closing in, I have been busy double checking the Erasmus-handbook that I was given via post. I thought I had most of the paperwork handled before I even recieved my letter of acceptance; however, I forgot that it is Germany I am moving to, therefore there will be more paperwork upon arrival.

To calm my nerves and to reassure myself that I have everything under control, the back end of my Erasmus-handbook is cluttered with notes and a list of things to do once my feet are on Baden-Württemberg soil. My top priority (or first Erasmus-mission) is finding an insurance company that can give a me an exemption, because without that paper of exemption I will not be able to register for classes and do my Erasmus.

Along side paperwork, I have been educating myself within German music culture. I have been singing along to Andrea Berg (currently I randomly burst out singing "Die Gefühle haben Schweigepflicht" because I think the lyrics are so smooth to sing) and trying to rap along with Fanta Vier and Fettes Brot.
Fettes Brot has one song titled "Meh' Bier" which I really like, and need to learn because it shall become my Biergarten and Kneipen song. It will also be a song that any visitor of mine will be forced to learn and sing, or else no Kneipen, no Bier.

Der Beginn

~ "We'd like to send you to Heidelberg, if you are interested."


If I remember it correctly, I was standing in Dorothy Perkins with Louise.

I was in London, visiting Louise while skipping my lectures back home in Stockholm. She had just started her first semester at King's College and met me down town after her classes. It was raining and my paperbag (containing newly bought autobiographies of J.M.W.Turner and Klimt) broke, causing them to fall in a small puddle of rain.

We were just looking around the shop when my phone rang. The phone call was from Anja, one of our student co-ordinators from the English Department, and it concerned my Erasmus application. I was not expecting to be sent on an Erasmus because my personal statement was weak, as well as my interview (not to mention that I only applied for fun without being serious about it). Everything I wrote was last minute... correction; last second.
However, she called to let me know that I was accepted as a candidate for an Erasmus in Heidelberg, Germany.

So that is how I suddenly ended up on this path to an Erasmus adventure!
Unfortunately, I will be forced to study English II eventhough it is German that I really want to study. Yet I can see this Erasmus as "quite giving"; because I will be getting credits for English II, while I will be taking German language courses, and will be living in freaking Germany for half a year!

My German should be quite fluent by the end of August, no? I guess I will have to wait and see.