Post-China thoughts.

Well readers I hoped to update before I left China but alas here I am 3 weeks later. It would appear I like to be fashionably late with my blogging nowadays.

After taking a couple of weeks to settle back into life in Glasgow I’m definitely feeling the Post-China blues. I miss Beijing Normal University, my dorm plus my lovely roomie Sarah, my Chinese Laoshi’s, My Chinese host family and I think I even miss my daily look of disgust at folk spitting all around me. I surprisingly miss the food too, well mainly eating with chopsticks. It’s funny to think how much angst they gave me before I left for China and now I actually prefer them to a knife and fork. I miss practicing my awfully pronounced Mandarin in the uni canteen and having the dinner lady smile and laugh at my efforts. I miss taking taxis everywhere and not having my wallet feel incredibly light at the end of the day. I miss the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and all other amazing places I was lucky to visit. I could go on for days, maybe even weeks.

I realized in my last post that I didn’t share some of my favourite photos, depicting some of my most favourite moments of the whole programme. Some are educational whilst others are well…not. But I thought it’d be nice to dedicate my last post on China to them!

These photos are from my day spent with a lovely Chinese family at their home. Litang, Shu Ge and their son Mark (5) made Jake and I feel so at home and what was even more amazing was just how competent their English was! Even little Mark could understand a lot of English and would happily shout “hi” and “bye” at us constantly, which was unbelievably cute. As part of our visit we got to help make dinner, which involved making pork dumplings from scratch! My technique at the beginning was dreadful but after some pratice and lots of encouragement from Shu Ge, my dumplings became top notch. Afterwards we sat down to a huge meal together, which was really delicious and chatted about lots of different things. I even practiced some of my Mandarin that I’d been learning in class such as “xie xie” and “Ni hao ma?”. On the walk to the subway later that evening we came across a group of people dancing in their neighbourhood and of course Jake and I felt obliged to show our best moves. This was without a doubt one of my absolute favourite days in Beijing. The family were so welcoming and I had so much fun. I’m so eager to return to Beijing and visit.

Our first evening out! We decided we wanted to see what Chinese bars were like and ended up in a bar called Stepps, which also resulted in trying Shisha for the first time. To make it clear I don’t smoke so I don’t fully understand why I was so up for this but let’s just blame it on the Beijing buzz. This night was really memorable for me because after a couple of hours I remember the waiter coming over and saying something unintelligible in Mandarin, us being very confused and him then taking the pipe out of my hand and taking a long draw for himself. Everyone was killing themselves laughing and I was amazed at just how much of a pro he was. Definitely the coolest bar staff ever. This night was also great because our little group of pals all got to know each other a bit better and I think it was a really fun albeit hazy way to begin our journey in Beijing. Even if my voice was considerably croaky the next day.

Our late afternoon visit to the Temple of Heaven was a very cool but also very memorable part of the trip for me. We arrived around 4pm straight after our classes and unfortunately couldn’t actually go inside the temple but still managed to go for a walk around the beautiful park surrounding it. That day we’d noticed the sky was literally raining cotton (from the trees we think?), which was incredibly bizarre for us as we’d never experienced this before but it was a pretty regular occurrence in Beijing. After inhaling my fill, I decided I’d invest in my very first face mask, as modelled in the photo above. It was probably the best decision I could have made because less than an hour later the sky was practically black with smog and people on the streets were holding their hands over their ,mouths and running indoors. We were in a taxi by this point so luckily escaped the worst of it but it was still very surreal and we couldn’t help but be amazed at how people can become accustomed to such stark pollution. Later we discovered that there had also been a sand storm, which explained a lot. I swear to God that day looked like it had been conjured straight out of an apocalyptic movie.

I’d like to end this post by encouraging anyone who is thinking of spending time abroad to seriously consider the Study China programme. I was very happy to get my first choice of Beijing but you can also apply to Hangzhou or Shanghai, two amazing cities, which I would love to visit in the future. The programme supervisor Lucy took great care of us while we were out there even in the midst of various health crises that did occur while we were there. The student volunteers also helped us out a lot on campus, in writing down the characters for various places and coming with us on all our trips. I feel incredibly blessed to have been selected for the programme as China was always a dream destination for me and having one of my dreams fulfilled at this stage in my life is an amazing feeling. If like me you enjoy being culturally challenged and like new experiences then this programme is definitely for you!

I don’t know when i’ll write again but I’m sure I’ll be back sometime in the future with more travelling exploits to share!

Till then,

Emma x

Beijing Huan Ying Ni! (Beijing welcomes you – I think)

Hello my lovely readers! So as you are aware I’m currently in Beijing, China!

I’m sorry I haven’t been able to post something earlier but I have been so unbelievably busy! We have classes 5 days a week and excursions at least twice a week so there’s so little time to sit and write a blog post. So I thought instead of my usual long accounts of my adventures I thought I’d post a selection of photos from the past two weeks, which basically sum up what I’ve been up to.

1. Mandarin Classes

If I haven’t mentioned before part of this programme requires we take 40 hours worth of Mandarin classes over 3 weeks. I’m in the beginners class and the first part of our lesson was being given our Chinese names. This was something I’d been soooooo excited to do but unfortunately the situation itself was a tad anti-climatic. The first two parts are basically my surname with Chinese pronunciation and the last part means “love”, which is admittedly sweet. I was happy until I heard Huang Laoshi (our teacher) refer to me as “geng ai” and discovering it sounds remarkably similiar to “gunky eye”. Devastating. Everybody else got a good laugh though.

What made it worse was when I went to spend the day with a Chinese family and they looked pitifully at me when they heard it: apparently nobody in China would give their child this name.

On an even funnier note as part of our graduation ceremony we have to do a performance so we’ve opted to do a combination of the  famous “tian mi mi” with EXO’s “call me baby”. This is going to be hilarious.

2. Food

  

Eating in China can be a wonderful but also confusing experience. Since most of us don’t speak much Mandarin we rely heavily on pointing and hand gestures to order food as there are often no English descriptions. On the rare occasion there are English descriptions they tend to be weird/hilarious translations, which still render us clueless.

This has often resulted in us having no idea what we are eating but so far I’m happy to say I’ve enjoyed most dishes! The style of eating here I’ve come to prefer to how we do it in the West. Here instead of everybody having a big plate of food to themselves, everyone orders a variety of small dishes to share. It’s great because we all get to try a bit of everything and if you don’t like one dish then there are plenty of others to choose from. I’m also getting far better at using chopsticks! At the beginning we were dropping things constantly and it took us what felt like a year to eat a meal but in two weeks I’m a lot faster and my fingers don’t ache as much! 🙂

3. Visit to the Migrant Workers Museum

As part of my social development module we learned about internal migration in China, which involved a trip to the migrant workers museum in the migrant village of Picun. Internal migration in China has been defined as the largest movement of people in history and has had a profound social and economic impact on the country as a whole. The museum aims to showcase the stories of those at the forefront of China’s economic boom and highlight the extreme challenges they have had and continue to face. What I found particularly moving was the goal of recognizing the value of labour, in the effort these people have made to China’s development. However it was horrifying to see just how dangerous conditions could be for them and how little they have actually benefited from their work. What was most interesting to learn about was the consequences of the infamous Hukou system, where Chinese citizens are registered to a certain province of which from only there can they access free schooling, health care and welfare etc. This has had particularly damaging consequences for migrants with rural hukous living in urban areas as they often have no social protection and their children are not able to go to public schools. This visit really opened my eyes to the many challenges China still faces despite it’s enormous growth in the last 30 years.

4. The Great Wall

 

We went to the Great Wall! All I can was it was incredibly surreal to be at one of the wonders of the world. The smog was pretty bad that day, which unfortunately made the visibility not so good but I still managed to get a few nice photos. We went quite early in the morning, which worked out great as when we were leaving the wall began to get really crowded, which would have killed the atmosphere a bit. It’s made me convinced that I’d love to come back to China and hike for a couple of days along it.

5. The Summer Palace

This was without a doubt one of my favourite day trips here in China. The summer palace, which was the summer residence for the emperors of China is located in a very beautiful, scenic area of Beijing, surrounded by a huge lake. We arrived early afternoon and started off by taking a pedaloo ride on the river, which was really fun and the scenery was just incredible. Afterwards we rummaged in and out of lots of little buildings along the lake, taking lots of photos and being stopped by folk wanting photos with us. I feel like such a celebrity/alien sometimes.

6. Some thoughts.

China really is a spectacular place. The culture is incredibly different and diverse, yet I often feel very relaxed here. I guess in a way I am living in a little study China bubble but having tried my best to live like the other Chinese students here, I don’t find it altogether that difficult to adjust. Okay the men constantly spitting in the street/out car windows isn’t pleasant but after two weeks I’m not as outraged as I was before. We’re all enjoying the relaxed/encouraging attitude towards burping here, which I never realized I needed to do so much before. I also picked up a knife and fork for the first time in two weeks the other night and I genuinely had to think for a second as to how to use them. Mind blowing.

The general attitudes towards us foreigners has been far more welcoming than I participated. I never expected abuse or anything but I didn’t expect countless people to shout hello and welcome to us from across the other side of the street, or to be shepherded into night clubs past the queuing Chinese folk without having to pay. I’ve never felt more aware of being different than here in China but overall it’s been a really positive experience. The one thing I find really irritating is that taxis regularly reject us here yet are willing to take any Chinese people standing near to us. Frustrating.

So I’m now in my final week of my time here in Beijing. I’ll hopefully update just before I leave but I am so glad I chose to take part in the Study China programme. It’s got me thinking so much about coming back to China in the future and has even made me consider focusing my dissertation on Chinese politics. I’d very much recommend doing this programme.

Till next time!

xx

I’m back! (with new adventures on the horizon)

Well hello there! I can’t believe it’s been 9 MONTHS.

After returning from my first big adventure/existential crisis of living in Germany I thought I was going to put this blog to rest. Fear not readers I have more exciting plans afoot!

First I’d like to share with you my general thoughts on being back in Glasgow. Overall I’m perfectly content to be back home. I moved back in with my parents full-time, whch has been in general good. I’ve enjoyed the huge reduction in living costs and being around loved ones but I am definitely missing my independence. My parents are very laid-back and liberal but there can be no comparison made to 9 months of having my own place and being able to go out/travel at whim. I’ve adjusted as best as I could to being back but I do feel that next semester I will realistically move out.

On another note returning to being a full-time student has been fraught with stress, fun, anxiety and intoxication to name a few. It’s been great seeing all my friends again and hearing their travel stories and getting to brag about mine of course. I definitely feel that I’ve become far more comfortable and accepting of myself warts and all. I feel far more open to change and more passionate about the things I’m interested in and care about. The independence referendum here in Scotland was an incredible time for me regardless of my disappointment at the result. I see my generation far more politically engaged and interested in the world around them like I’ve never seen before. That can only ever be a good thing. Especially for the many challenges we have here ahead.

I’ve at times found myelf doubt my degree choices, particularly in regards to German. I struggled with just how intense Honours classes are and felt so much like a fish out of water sometimes. However I persisted and my dad encouraged me to adopt a different approach to my studies: instead of constantly fixating on grades and future careers, I’ve been more relaxed and accepting of my capabilities. As a result I feel so much more motivated and this semester has frankly been my best since I started studying.

Outside of studying I got a part-time job! I’ve been working for H&M since August and I surprisingly really enjoy it there. My colleagues are a lovely bunch of people who’ve been brave enough to withstand my constant barrage of questioning at the beginning.

You may be wondering why I all of a sudden decided to resurrect this blog. Well…

I’M GOING TO CHINA.

That basically sums it up. Yes! I’m heading to Beijing for three weeks on Saturday! I’m taking part in the Study China programme managed by the University of Manchester. It involves studying Mandarin and some other modules at a university in the city we are allocated. I was so over the moon to be given my first choice of Beijing. It’s a city I had only ever dreamed of visiting and now it’s finally coming true! As part of the programme we get taken on excursions to the Great Wall, to the opera, to the theatre and to a couple of museums as well as getting to plan our own activites. I’m unbelievably excited/terrified.

I know it will be an incredible experience but I’m making sure I’m as well read as I can be on Chinese etiquette. I understand from my general interest that the customs are very different and that I will need to be as respectful as possible. Most of us that are going are reasonably well-travelled so I can’t imagine there will be many problems. I of course don’t speak Mandarin, which will inevitably lead to many misunderstandings and funny incidents but it doesn’t put me off at all. I’m there to take classes and learn from experience plus I’ll have people there to support me so I know it’ll be fine.

I still just can’t believe it. I have yet to start packing plus I still need to sort a few things out but I’m far more comfortable with the bureaucracy of travelling now after my year abroad. Maybe slightly too comfortable…

Anyway I plan to up-date you guys with my experiences of life in China so look forward to many awkward encounters and humiliation for me.

Till then!

Tschuesssssss 🙂

Home sweet home.

With my feet firmly planted back on Scottish soil I am happy to report that it’s good to be back.

Of course it’s taken some time to really feel confident in saying so.

Rewinding back to my final week of year abroad my sister Becky came to visit! Having never been to Germany before she was eager to meet the country I’d fallen head over heels for many years ago. We spent one lovely week in Dresden where I got to show her the finest tourist attractions such as the Frauenkirche, Bruehlsche Terrasse, the Zwinger etc and we spent many evenings sampling some good food with the highlight being persuading Becky to try a medium steak as opposed to the normal bone dry well done. She’s a fussy eater so getting her to try anything new is worthy of a medal for effort.

We also took a half day trip to Leipzig where we met with Lauren first for some Indian food then we embarked upon a tour of the zoo which turned out to be a great idea.

On the Wednesday Uta had organised a little goodbye event in a local pub and had invited all of the other English teachers. Becky and I turned up that evening to find only one teacher there who I wasn’t that familiar with and Uta ended up being 10 minutes late. Three of the teachers at the last minute couldn’t make it so what followed was a rather awkward evening of reminiscing over the last 9 months and Becky being subjected to a goat cheese salad that Uta insisted on. At least they had apple cider.

On the Saturday we woke up at the crack of dawn and prepared for our exciting day trip to Prague! It was a wonderfully sunny day with temperatures reaching 25 degrees. From my November post you can see I’d already visited Prague before but it was sublime to be seeing it in the late Spring and not in the midst of an icy winter. Becky had her heart set on visiting the Communist museum after I’d described it to her and so this was accomplished. I was surprised to find a new small exhibition they had outside on a rooftop that described the state of North Korea with particular attention paid to the labour camps. After our visit we walked to Wenceslas Square the heart of the Prague Spring in the 60’s and the home to the national museum.

We also visited the famous Charles Bridge, the Astronomical Clock (where I thought someone was trying to rob me) and the castle which was an ardous trek for the two of us in the blistering heat but we made it! and it was certainly worth it.

A very wundervoll day.

The Monday saw me pack up my stuff and leave my home of Dresden to head to Berlin for the last 4 days of year abroad. Saying goodbye to Berni was tough but I’m sure our paths will cross again one day! What followed was Becky and I trying desperately to lug three suitcases and two heavy backpacks all the way to Berlin which was definitely not the happiest moment for the two of us. I can confirm though that we made it and we will never be doing that again as long as we live. Word.

Berlin is my favourite city in the world as I have previously written and I was beyond joyful to spend my last few days in Germany in this remarkable city. Although I’d visited the city an astonishing 12 times before I did a lot of things I’d never done before. We took the free walking tour provided by Sandemans which I would 100% recommend for anyone travelling to any major European city. They have tours in most big cities so I would definitely try them out. The tour took us to the Berlin Wall, Hitler’s Bunker, Checkpoint Charlie and loads of other historical places of interest. The weather was great, the guide was very well informed and hilarious and we generally had a brilliant time.

The next day we visited the Neues Museum on museum island which displayed artefacts from Ancient Egypt, Rome etc which was very interesting if not slightly overwhelming due to the sheer size of the place and lack of organisation. Afterwards we headed to Treptower Park to meet Erin for lunch where I had the best salmon of my life and we rode pedaloos along the river Spree.

Blissful would be the best word to describe my thoughts at that time.

Our last day was a tad rainy which was extremely fitting as we took a tour of Sachsenhausen concentration camp around 40 mins outside of Berlin. From my previous tour of Dachau in Munich I felt that I already sort of understood what the experience would be like but I was certainly wrong. The size of our group was between 30-40 people due to a shortage of guides which I did find to be little off-putting throughout the experience. However we made the most of it by standing closer to the guide so we could hear and trying to soak up as much information as possible despite being shepherded quickly in and out of every room. I left that day feeling very emotionally exhausted but also far more informed and conscious. A concentration camp tour is certainly not anyone’s idea of a fun holiday excursion but personally I find it essential for my education and my understanding of myself and the world around me to delve a little into the past and to examine the suffering and cruelty that has taken place. I think we all have a responsibility to remember history even if it didn’t directly concern our country in order to ensure such events never be allowed to happen again.

The following day we got on our flight back to Glasgow and now here I am three weeks later settled back into my normal life. I say normal life because I realize now just how extraordinary an experience the last 9 months had been. Nine months of living in a foreign country, speaking a different language and being paid so much money to travel. Not many will ever have the chance to experience this and I overall feel incredibly lucky and grateful for having been granted such an opportunity.

Now is time for me to live my life here in Glasgow again, speaking English again primarily and having to cope with more expensive beer prices. How will I live?

I pause occasionally and am startled that no one is speaking German. There isn’t a Lidl round every corner nor buses coming every 10 mins. I have definitely felt a little out of place being here again. But that’s a sign for me that as much as I did struggle at times in Germany, I overall adapted and made a little life of my own there which I will cherish forever.

They say home is where the heart is and I know that I’m happy to be in Glasgow but I think a small part of me will always belong to Germany.

Bis spaeter Deutschland!

xx

 

 

Some Zeit for reflection.

I’m now firmly within the final month of my year abroad here in Dresden, Germany and I can say with some confidence that this year has truly flown in. It still doesn’t feel quite real to think I’ll be leaving here in under a month. This year has been without a doubt the most interesting and most challenging year of my life so far. Of course I expected that in moving to a foreign country for 8 months I would learn a lot, but I definitely could never have anticipated learning as much as I have.

Here’s the main things I’ve learned this year:

1. Germany is a fantastic country with an abundance of stunning landscapes, nature, vibrant cities and friendly open people.

2. German beer is without a doubt the best beer in the world. With a brewery in practically every city, town and village you can tell they take their beer and its production very seriously.

3. Language learning in Germany far outshines that of in the UK. All lessons are conducted in the language being studied and most teachers can speak English to near fluency. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told my students how jealous I am of them.

4. I love the outdoors. I’ve always enjoyed exercise but I haven’t really done much outdoor sport since I was a kid but since coming to Germany I’ve discovered a love for hiking. Having been hiking in the Black Forest and twice in the Saechsische Schweiz during my time here I’ve grown to love huge green forests and cliffs with stunning views over the horizon. I like feeling the burn in my thighs and the sense of achievement when I master a hill I thought I’d never manage. I’m now planning on spending some time exploring the north of Scotland in the future which I had never imagined doing.

5. I can live well without the safety blanket of my parents. I’m not saying that I’ve never had to ask for their advice or cried over Skype to them about how tough times have been cause I most certainly have. However I’ve learned how to work our battered old DDR washing machine and even fix the handle when it fell off as I brushed past it, all by myself. I’ve been able to think on my feet when our oven and two of our hobs died and I wanted to cook something, all by myself. I’ve been able to stay strong and persistently harass my flatmates to do something when we had a gas leak in the flat and I thought I was going to die. All by myself. Sometimes I think I’ve been hit with the tougher end of the stick as my first experience of living in a flat was in a foreign country with people I didn’t know. However I’ve always got back on my feet and been able to do what’s necessary to fix any problems and that in itself is a huge accomplishment for me.

6. Public transport in the UK is really the most extortionate in Europe. In Germany Deutsche Bahn is publicly owned and people here would say it can be expensive but you can get really great deals if you book in advance. For example, when I went to Prague for the weekend back in November a return journey only cost me 30 euros which was far cheaper than I thought it would be. In addition here in the East you can purchase a ticket which allows you to travel within Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thuringen for 22 euros for the whole day and you can have up to 5 people on the one ticket. I’ve been able to travel to Leipzig, Halle and Erfurt for almost nothing with this which is a great help. There is also an extensive bus network around Germany with many companies offering trips to other cities for as little as 9 euros one way.

7. I feel deep pity for those who have to learn English. Working as a Language Assistant for the last 8 months means I’ve spent 4 days a week immersed in my native tongue in a way I’ve never been before. Watching students struggle to pronounce certain words and having to think about why we use certain prepositions after certain verbs has been a challenge for me even though I’m a native speaker. The worst part is knowing that they won’t be satisifed with the explanation that “it’s just the way it is”.

8. I love teaching. Ever since I was a kid I’ve had people tell me I’d make a good teacher cause I’m good at explaining things plus I love the sound of my own voice. True dat. I get such a rush from standing up in front of my students with an aim in mind and seeing it be achieved by the end of the lesson. I’ve really become quite attached to most of my classes and most classes go smoothly because everyone works and even if some don’t I’ve learned over time how to deal with it. I never really took the idea of becoming a teacher seriously and I can still say I have no clue what I’d like to do but it’s definitely something I’d love to do again. This job has done wonders for my self-esteem and finding out that I’m a good public speaker has been a very pleasant discovery. I’m definitely going to miss this job.

9. Travelling really does enrich your life in every way possible. I’ve spent almost every weekend of my year abroad in a different place, in a different country where the people speak different languages and the scenery is different. I’ve concentrated a lot on exploring as much of Germany as possible travelling to cities such as Berlin, Halle, Magdeburg, Hamburg, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Munich, Erfurt, Cologne, Freiburg, Baden-Baden etc. I’ve found that Germany being a large country is full of different cultures, different accents and dialects plus varying landscapes. I’ve spoken to many locals in many different places and found most to be very accommodating and warm and always eager to know about me. Living in the former DDR means everyday I’ve mixed with people who spent a great deal of their lives living with greater restrictions and challenges than those from other parts of the country. I will never forget when one of my colleagues took me for a walk and told me about her childhood in the DDR and how she couldn’t go abroad to study but also about the sense of community that she feels this part of Germany has lost since then. This year has really made me so much more conscious of the world around me and in the beauty and charm that lies everywhere. But also of how much humanity has been and continues to be shaped by our experiences and of where we live.

10. I still have so much to learn. I’ve learned some pretty tough lessons this year and had to deal with a lot of stressful situations but what I’ve taken from these experiences has made me stronger and made it easier for me to be happy. I realize even more now that my life is pretty amazing, I have a wonderful family and friends and I’m thankful for the opportunity to have learned all of this. The tools I’ve given myself on this year abroad I will carry for the rest of my life and use them to make me become a better person.

So yeah. These 8 months have definitely been more different than I expected but in the end I think it’s worked out exactly as it should have. I’m content and promise to make this last month a great end to my time here in Germany.

To end here are a couple of photos from hiking yesterday!

Tschuess! ❤

 

A trip ostwards.

Well my lovely readers I promised I would return to rub my travelling exploits firmly in your face. Never one to disappoint.

I WENT TO AUSTRIA AND SLOVAKIA. 

The end.

Haha jokes. This weekend I braved the treacherous 9 hour overnight train journey to Vienna to visit my friend Fiona who is currently working also as a language assistant. The journey was an adventure/nightmare/challenge in itself. In order to save money I opted to just book a seat instead of a bed (never again) as in the past I’ve always had an amazing ability to fall asleep in and on anything. Unfortunately I overestimated myself and spent most of the journey wide awake trying to avoid the mentally unhinged guy next to me who couldn’t seem to remember what country he came from and couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t give him my number. He was definitely over the age of 40 and the above mentioned facts I think speak for themselves. Still makes me shiver to this point.

How thankful I was when 06.20am arrived and I could disembark the train. After meeting Fiona at Wien Meidling we headed back to her flat so I could catch up on sleep and prepare myself for a wonderful day of sightseeing.

To begin we headed to Schoenbrunn palace which is probably the most famous tourist attraction in Vienna. A wonderful baroque masterpiece of a palace which had belonged to the Habsburgs and was used as a summer residence for centuries. It has now been given the status of a world cultural heritage site which is evident from just one look.

Fiona thought it was a little boring but she had to agree the views from the top of the hill were incredible and I would love to re-visit this place. We saw many joggers and I still can’t imagine how exhilarating it would be to go for a morning jog in a place of such beauty and historical significance. One day I shall return with my trainers and jogging bottoms. 

Afterwards we headed into the city centre and visited the famous Naschmarkt filled with an abundance of stalls showcasing lots of traditional foods and products from many different countries. Fiona and I had no intention of buying anything but were quickly persuaded by a friendly Egyptian man to purchase chocolate. He kept giving us free samples to taste so of course we were obligated to. Afterwards Fiona insisted on showing me a local British American shop which she informed me sold Irn Bru so as a Scottish person I felt my soul reaching out to it. 

 

#heaven.

Our sightseeing trip took us to many interesting places including the parliament building which is designed in the shape of a Greek temple. The weather was warm and the sky was bright and we even enjoyed a game of ball (albeit a plastic bag) with an adorable little boy as we relaxed by the parliament. A wonderful day.

The next day involved more travelling and new places as we took a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia! Being only an hour away from Vienna and costing less than 20 euros for the journey this was a definite must. Arriving at the train station we were met by Fiona’s friend Gabriel a native Slovakian who kindly offered to take us on a tour of the city. 

I had no previous expectations of Bratislava and I can report that the city definitely captivated me. At first it appeared a little grotty in places and rough around the edges but quickly this changed to cobbled, pretty streets with an abundance of shops, restaurants and lots of people from all corners of the world. We visited the Presidential Gardens first and then headed into the centre and stopped at a little cafe for some good Slovakian coffee. I was gutted though to discover my coffee wasn’t going to cost only 20 cents. Stupid menu and it’s confusing list. Much thanks to Gabriel though for treating us. We ran into a stag party in which one of the guys was dressed ridiculously (definitely in a girl’s tank top) and asked for 50 cents in return for a photo. Naturally we obliged and of course I took one for the team.

Charming guy.

Afterwards we walked around the city, stopped for beer on top of a hill which of course turned into us sampling the local shot. That was interesting and a bit of a shock to my system. We continued our ascent up the hill and arrived at a stunning castle with gorgeous views over the Donau and the city.

Here Gabriel asked us to “give some passion”. Of course being in my presence was too much for Fiona and left her unable to properly stand. It happens.

I have to give a special mention to Gabriel who was a fantastic tourist guide and I haven’t met anyone that I felt that comfortable with so quickly before. Cheers for being a top guy Gab! 

Overall another wonderful day in another wonderful city.

If I could live my life like this I think I’d be the happiest girl ever. Alas it will soon be time to return to good rainy Scotland and get back to real life. I am definitely looking forward to being with my family again and being surrounded by Scottish accents but with the abundance of amazing memories such as these I’ll definitely miss this year of relentless freedom and opportunity. 

Bis naechste Mal! 

xx

 

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts” – Marcus Aurelius

So simple yet so true. My thoughts lately can be compared to a roller coaster ride: constantly changing and forever making me jump in surprise. For a while there I was suffering from the worst bout of homesickness I’ve had so far and it was really tough. I couldn’t leave my flat without wanting to burst into tears and speaking German was a monumentally stressful task for me. However I’m glad to announce the worst of it is over and i’m feeling more positive and eager to make the most of these last 9 weeks.

It really is all to do with my frame of mind. I’ve always been an over-thinker and a perpetual worrier and when placed in a foreign country and having to speak a non-native language these traits can be a royal pain in the butt. However I also know that I have a lot of faith and that even in times where I feel I’ve hit rock bottom and it seems as if I’ll never escape, I know there’s always a way. Of course after I’ve had the mental breakdown and don’t have the energy to have another one. I’m only human.

On a more happier note I’ve returned to what I do best after a short break due to lack of funds…TRAVELLING.

Last weekend Helena, Eliza and I decided to go hiking in the Saechsische Schweiz which is near the border with the Czech Republic a mere 40 mins outside of Dresden. This was a particularly proud achievement of mine as I’d been DYING to go since I first arrived in Dresden and watched Berni disappear there most weekends.

The scenery was breathtaking, the air was so fresh and I could have stood at the Bastei bridge for hours just staring wistfully into the distance. The picture above was taken by a jolly German man who thought we were Norwegian. Of course once I said I was from Scotland it became clear to him why he had mistaken me for a non-native English speaker. I’d love for him to meet my mums side of the family…

After a wonderful morning of hiking, our legs were feeling truly done in so we decided to head to the nearby town of Bad Schandau. My impression of the town was that it felt like a ghost town. There were hardly any people around and it was eerily quiet at times. What was interesting was hearing from Helena about how badly the town and the surrounding areas have been affected by persistent flooding over the last 50 years. A lot of buildings have markings on them depicting how high the waters reached and I was horrified to see that in 2002 the waters had almost reached the roofs of many of the buildings. The city centre of Dresden and nearby suburbs were also horrifically flooded. Quite a kick up the arse to any climate change deniers.

That night we headed out on the town for a night of cocktails where I even tried a “rauchender pink daiquiri” which is basically a cocktail with dry ice at the bottom that is literally emitting smoke.

Was sehr lecker!

The following Monday I joined two classes on a school trip to Freiburg in the south of Germany for 4 days. Initially I had tried to get out of the trip seeing as it was going to cost £250 euros but after some negotiation with my mentor teacher I was able to delay the payment til I could afford it. The trip overall was hectic but really enjoyable for the most part. I hadn’t taught half of the pupils before so naturally there were some awkward moments and the inevitable language barrier did cause some confusion but I’m happy to report I spoke only in German and was even told my German was really good!

The trip saw us visit not only the beautiful city of Freiburg but also Basel in Switzerland!

We were given a walking tour around the city by a lovely little Swiss man who also took us on a boat ride over the river in which two pupils and myself sat trying to translate a French sign which I was pleased to find I could understand! Basel in itself was a nice little city. Not as pretty as other places I’ve visited but definitely charming in it’s own way. The next day we returned to Switzerland to visit the technorama which is basically the Swiss version of the science centre. It was really cool to try out all the different experiments and I was even followed around by a student who wanted to make sure I didn’t read the instructions in English. Afterwards we went to Leibstadt to go on a tour of a nuclear power plant which was very interesting even though I couldn’t really understand a lot of what the guide was saying. I was reassured by a student though that they couldn’t understand a lot either.

That night we headed back to our hostel where I was invited to hang out with the students that evening. Feeling rather nervous but eager to get to know them better I mentally prepped myself for a night of plentiful German speaking. As some of the girls were getting ready in their rooms I joined a group of guys who were playing poker. Of course I’ve never played poker in my life seeing as I don’t really like gambling plus I have never understood how it works. The guys though were all really friendly and funny and were pleased to find I prefer to drink “normales Bier” which I think gained their respect. After the game we all gathered in one of the bedrooms and I was bombarded with questions about what I think of Germany and why I wanted to come here. The most random question was whether when I listen to music I prefer songs with good lyrics or a good sound. Germans do seem to be fascinated by our music tastes as since we can understand all of the mainstream music, does this mean we prefer lyrics or is the sound also important. Having never really thought about it that way I’d say both are important.

The next day I was particularly excited to hear we’d be going to Strasbourg to visit the European Parliament!

It was a beautiful, sunny day and as a politics student I was inwardly buzzing. Seeing as I’ve considered a future career involving the EU and languages I felt blessed to be able to visit. One negative for me though was that I wish I could have been able to have the tour in English so I could have really been able to experience it to the full. I’m not complaining though it was a really great experience.We sat in on a debate for 10 mins which was about Sweden’s handling of the economic crisis. I was gutted though that we had to leave just when a representative from the Ukraine was about to start talking.

After the visit we headed into the city centre and went for a walk around the city.

I fell completely in love with Strasbourg. The peaceful yet quick pace of the city was enthralling and I found myself remembering so much of my high school French as I inwardly translated signs in my head. It’s a place I’d love to re-visit and experience for more than a couple of hours.

Returning from the trip yesterday evening it’s nice to have some time to myself and I’m looking forward to returning to teaching next week and then heading to Vienna next weekend to visit Fiona!

Please return for the inevitable OMG LOOK WHERE I WENT! post.

Bis dann!

xx

A beautiful chain of events.

Keeping this blog up-to-date with my experiences is unquestionably a challenge so apologies for the length of this one.

Having arrived back in Dresden less than 24 hours ago I thought I’d take some time out from re-adjusting to reflect on these last couple of weeks. First I thought I’d begin by talking about my trip to HAMBURG.

I’ll admit to having had no previous knowledge of the city besides the famous harbour which of course was a top priority for that weekend and the Reeperbahn (red light district). To summarize I’d say I was very pleasantly surprised. Helena and I took the train from Dresden which took around 4-5 hours and went to check in at our hostel before heading to meet Lauren and Eliza. Hilarity mixed with fear consumed us when we walked in to find an empty room with a sole blazer hanging on the wall with the words “International Association of Scientology” engraved in gold lettering. What followed was 30 mins of sitting in Starbucks sipping coffee and researching Scientology on Wikipedia involving an intergalactic space alien God called Xenu which of course made us feel a million times better. Our Scientology pal turned out to be a very quiet middle aged woman from Denmark who we only briefly encountered for 10 mins. So aye Helena was very relieved to have not been kidnapped by aliens.

After meeting Lauren and Eliza we decided to try out the hostel bar which escalated into many beers, brief encounters with the many stag parties and later heading to the Reeperbahn with a couple of Scottish blokes we met for a hilarious night out. The next morning though was a bit rough as we headed out for a round of sightseeing. We ventured for a walk around the city and I found it to be surprisingly very pretty.

Eliza also decided to come to the rescue of this poor, helpless, naked man statue by the river. She’s a good lass.

Of course after heading for lunch and witnessing Lauren unable to stomach much food I realized she was definitely still feeling shit so we headed back to the hostel to relax (if Lauren is unable to eat something there’s definitely something wrong). Despite us both feeling a bit rough we decided not to learn and headed back to the bar that night to continue celebrating well just being alive this time let’s say. The night took an interesting turn when we met a few English guys who of course had to bring up the topic of Scottish Independence.

To clarify I am completely 100% in support of independence for Scotland. I believe this would be an amazing opportunity to start over and put the fate of the country in the hands of the Scottish population and let us decide what kind of country we want to be. I am no longer prepared to even debate with anyone who tries to bring such ridiculous arguments such as anti-English sentiment or any other rubbish into it. I just simply refuse to stay part of a country where core essential values such as protection of the vulnerable and unlimited access to healthcare are being destroyed. The UK has the greatest regional inequality in the whole of Europe and a wealth gap twice as wide as any other EU country. 24% of British children will be living in poverty by the time of the next General Election in 2015. I simply think that Scotland doesn’t have to be like this. So that’s why I’m voting yes.

So yeah, of course a drunken “debate” ensued which was naturally very pointless but hilarious. I was told I was “arrogant” and “mean” which coming from an English guy who apparently had more right to an opinion because he’s older and fought in Afghanistan was decidedly a compliment.

The next morning Helena, Eliza and I got up at 7am to head to the famous fish market by the harbour which was really fun. It was great walking through and stopping by the stalls to examine the different products. I was seriously tempted to buy a huge basket of fruit despite the fact I don’t eat much fruit but just really wanted the basket. Then we opted for a walk along the harbour where of course this just had to happen.

Afterwards we headed to visit the Otto von Bismarck statue which was frickin’ huge and kinda scary looking.

Well cool yeah?

After cruising by the statue we headed for coffee at a really cool coffee house in the old warehouse district and had a little wander around taking photos and just being cray in general.

Overall a brilliant weekend with some hilarious people.

I’m afraid the travelling exploits haven’t ended yet my friend. Two weeks ago my best friend Elena came for a visit to Dresden for two days and then we went away to VENICE. I was unbelievably buzzing to visit this place. A floating city with canals instead of roads and an abundance of authentic Italian food meant this was going to be mind blowing. Mind blowing it certainly was but also different from what I expected.

Arriving at Marco Polo airport we quickly headed outside to the water bus station ready to be amazed. I was moaning a tad though because of the heaviness of my bag (of course only a little, Elena may say differently but she lie). Once aboard the anticipation was overwhelming on our 90 min journey to the island. However the moment the city sprung up from the water and was floating in front of us was beautiful. The days that followed involved plentiful wandering along the lagoon and in among the famous little side streets we’d heard so much about.

One thing I’d definitely recommend doing if you’d like to visit a few museums is to buy the day ticket (10 euros for students, 15 normally) which means you can tour the Doges Palace and visit some Venetian art exhibitions and other things. It rained a lot of the time we were there so was very useful for us!

One thing I was disappointed at was at just how expensive the place really is. Going out for a meal for two costed us around 50 euros and with alcohol being on average 5 euros it was definitely not a drunken trip for me. Whilst on our ridiculously expensive Gondola ride (80 euros for 30-40 mins) I asked our very lovely Gondola guy if he lived in Venice which was met with a laugh and the response that it was far too expensive so he lives on the nearby island of Murano. Not exactly surprised. If anyone happens to win the lottery and is eager to splash it then I’d definitely recommend a trip to Venice.

Overall I had an amazing time. Ross Anne joined us on the last day and as it was the beginning of the very famous Karneval we decided to join the festivities by buying our very own masks and painting the town red.

After returning to Germany I went back home to Glasgow for a few days to visit family and simply just relax. I realized I hadn’t had a single weekend yet this year where I didn’t travel or have someone visit so chilling out was a must. Coming home was such a relief after being constantly on the move and I hadn’t realized how much I missed my family until I stepped off the plane to see my gran and sister waiting with open arms. Leaving them after a lovely 6 days was really difficult but I have three months left here then I’m back there for the foreseeable future.

It’s scary to think that come June I’ll be back in Glasgow getting prepared to go back to uni and not setting off on an adventure every weekend. I know how unreal year abroad is in comparison to normal life and I think this is what I’ll miss the most. Year Abroad has definitely not been what I expected in many aspects. I’ve been through some really hard times in regards to losing my passport, the gas leak and troubles with friends but I genuinely believe that it all happened for a reason. Going home I remember my dad remarking on just how mature I’ve become and how much he feels I have yet to grow. I know that I still don’t deal with stress well and this is something I need to work on. I plan on taking a yoga class when i return home and hopefully learn some techniques on how to breathe properly and maybe even to meditate.

Year Abroad has definitely not been the party hard paradise that was sold to me but it has and continues to be the best thing to have happened to me in my life so far. As I mentioned before in a post I went through a pretty difficult break up before coming to Germany which saw me become depressed and not a very nice person. Leaving Glasgow and removing myself from the monotony of my life at the time was the best cure. Even the ridiculously stressful shite experiences that occurred were a blessing in disguise as I literally had no time to even think about my earlier problems. Before I left I didn’t feel very capable but now I feel like I can do anything with a bit of determination and a smile on my face. My main aim in life is to be a good person and live my life with dignity and respect for myself and others. I know this year will definitely contribute to this aim. So yeah thank you British Council for choosing me. Let’s make these last few months a blast.

Tschuesssss.

An unforgettable experience.

Two weekends ago I went to Munich. Munich is a city that until then I had only ever dreamed of visiting. There never seemed to be the right time, the right amount of money or the right people to take. Thankfully though the perfect time arrived in the shape of 2 weeks ago.

The train from Dresden to Munich took 6 hours and this left me ample time to sit and plan what I was going to do for the two days I was there. After meeting Ross Anne at the Hbf and settling in at our hostel we set off into the night to find Chinese food and see a little of Munich at night time. After stuffing our faces and awing constantly at the cute little Asian babies we ventured back to our hostel to get plenty of rest before our early start tomorrow.

We had made the decision to go on a tour of Dachau, the first concentration camp erected by the Nazis and which consequently became a model for all future camps. Our guide was a very friendly Australian who had been living in Munich for three years and was very experienced in leading this tour. On the bus to the town, Dachau which is around 20-30 mins outside of Munich I remember having very few expectations in my mind of what I was going to see. I was positive this was going to be a very important and enlightening experience for me but besides that my mind was completely blank. Arriving at the site, we were given a couple of minutes to sit in the cafe and unwind before things got moving. The anticipation by now was beginning to grow. 

As our tour began our guide provided us with some very useful information about the camps origin and informed us of how the majority of prisoners initially were political prisoners and that only as the war really began were Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies and others added to the population. He made us aware of the differences between this camp and later camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka which were camps set up specifically for extermination whereas Dachau was more based around hard labour although many were murdered and tortured. 

Approaching the main gate I began to feel quite anxious. As our tour guide said we were going to be walking in the footsteps of the prisoners themselves I couldn’t help but try to picture in my head what it must have been like and what they would have been thinking. I remember the gate being much smaller than I’d imagined for a concentration camp. However it was haunting to see the words “Arbeit macht frei” embedded in the gate, an image I’d come to associate purely with Auschwitz. 

 

The rush of horror was intense. So intense my eyes were fixated on the words for longer than necessary. After passing through and entering the grounds I looked ahead to see a mass emptiness. There were two barracks standing in front of us and various memorials at random corners but apart from that there was just a mass of open land stretching for what seemed miles. We entered the exhibition building where we were taken through the various rooms the prisoners would have been taken to be processed when they first arrived at the camp. There were many personal items taken from prisoners on display such as identification documents and personal keepsakes. We were shown the uniforms they had to wear and told that as the war intensified, money began to run out and uniforms were in short supply. There were other rooms which I wish I could erase from my memory and which I struggle to describe the horrors which occurred. There were also many pictures of prisoners on display, with details of their life and their reasons for being imprisoned. I thought this was particularly significant for me. I think sometimes in the horror of the Nazi camps and the images we’ve been subjected to we struggle to think about the prisoners themselves. We are disgusted and horrified by the numbers of victims and the methods of killing but we know little about the people themselves and the lives they lived before becoming one of the many slaughtered.

Being taken a walk around the premises and stepping into the living quarters of the prisoners we could see for ourselves how more rapidly depraved the Nazi’s became as the war intensified particularly when they began to realize they were losing. Initially there were 50 men in each room before the war but by the early 1940’s this number grew to over 200 with one or two toilets to be shared explaining the rapid spread of disease. 

We were taken at one point to watch a short film about the operation of the camp. We were warned beforehand about the graphic images but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for it. I’ll admit to having been close to tears at some points. Although I will never understand the suffering and pain of the victims the fact that human beings could be so cruel and depraved towards each other I think we can all grieve for. The idea that some could sweep aside their conscience in the name of duty is something I will always stumble over. 

Leaving that day I truly felt very different. I felt an innate sadness and grief but also hope. Hope that this world can become more kind, that people can think less of themselves and more about others. That we can stop being complacent with the evils of the world and realize we have a choice. We are all human and we all have the capacity within ourselves to be selfish, greedy and cruel but also to be friendly, loving and selfless. We just need to decide what part of ourselves we choose to listen to.

 

Honour the dead and remind the living.

It’s a beautiful, messy maze of a life.

Yet again faithful readers I have many exploits to inform you of. I hate to disappoint.

I want to start by admitting that the past week or so has been a difficult one for me. I recognize that sometimes in writing a blog particularly one to do with year abroad, the temptation to shout from the rooftops (in a literary sense) about how amazing life is and how much you’ve travelled is consuming. However I aim to start mixing more of the bad in with the good as not only has this experience so far been amazing, it’s also been a little shite from time to time.

I’ve been experiencing frequent bouts of homesickness since arriving back in Germany and I know it’s much to do with the fact I had a lovely time at home over Christmas. Even though I can say my German has improved considerably since arriving here, I still feel a little frustrated with myself often when I can’t find the right words in a conversation or when I’m asking people to explain a word to me. However I have started taking a German class at my school for foreign students and now having the chance to take part in lessons fully conducted in German is invaluable and I really feel that this will help. The teacher Frau Ebert is one of the most friendly little women I’ve ever met and speaks the most clear German for someone from the East.

Besides these little issues I’m loving teaching more than ever. All of my lessons have continued to go brilliantly and I have some real characters at my school that’s for sure. Yesterday I asked a class to take me on a tour of the school and of course they had to explain all the different departments in English which turned out to be hilarious as they began explaining to me what the stairs were for and said to use the elevator when I come in drunk. I’ll keep that in mind. I also had a class tell me they wanted to take me to see a film and today when I arrived to take my first class I was greeted by a student who gave me a big bag full of different types of local sweets and biscuits as a gift for teaching them. They are so sweet.

I never thought this would happen but I really think teaching is something I’m suited for and I would love to do this again at some point in my life. I’m already beginning to think about taking a course to become a qualified English as a second language teacher and perhaps living somewhere else for a year. It’s amazing how quickly your dreams and aspirations can change in the space of 5 months.

In terms of travelling I’ve certainly got about. Two weekends ago I went to Magdeburg, the capital city of Sachsen-Anhalt to visit my lovely Canadian friend Rachel. This weekend was when temperatures fell to -12 and Lara and I were dying whilst Rachel really couldn’t understand the fuss. It was all in all a fine, relaxing, lazy weekend spent drinking lots of beer and watching really bad German television. Oh to add we also decided to try out Magdeburg’s finest gay bar respectively named “Boyz N Beatz” though really should have been “Bitches N Beatz” (I’m so creative) as there were definitely more girls. It turned out to be a really fun night with lots of terrible pop music and even more terrible dancing.

Last weekend Ross Anne and I visited Munich for the first time which was incredible. I think I’ll dedicate a post on its own to this trip as we did so many things and visited the site of a former concentration camp so yeah next post shall be dedicated to that.

Tune in soon to hear of my exploits in Munich and how much I learned from such an experience.

Tschuesssiiiii