These streets will make you feel brand new, these lights will inspire you

Yet again I have succumbed to the cardinal sin of blogging: absenteeism. To be fair, I have actually been really busy---not sure how I can be so bored and so busy at the same time. Working two menial jobs, completing applications to grad school, harassing non-respondent recommenders, and Christmas shopping seem to do the trick though.

Thanks to the generosity of the airplane gods though I was granted a 300 dollar voucher for a flight and decided to ring in the new years and my birthday with one of my favorite people. With an 18 dollar flight and free diggs, it's a vacation even I can afford.

Normally people tend to flock to island locations when they want to get away from it all--given the desirability of warmer climates and a slower pace. But I am sort of aiming for the opposite. And to be honest, I think two weeks in New York is the only cure for 3 months in the suburbs. Having spent longer than the week I can normally stomach trapped in an incredibly public transport unfriendly locale sans car, where the average ages seems to be 60, I am more than ready to cut loose in the city that never sleeps.

I have to admit that previously I had a bit of a grudge against New York. I just tend to generally distrust anyone or anything that claims to be the best, and New York is so frequently proclaimed to be best at EVERYTHING, hence my skepticism. But I am now fully open to the idea that it really is as great everyone has been saying.

I am extra excited, because due to an early and unexpected invitation to an interview at UC Santa Barbara (which has an excellent school psychology program btw), my confidence has taken a huge boost and I am more hopefully considering the possibility of attending Columbia next year. I am partly considering this trip a possible preview of next fall.

I am of course mostly excited for the largeness and loudness of it all. The hustle and bustle, the legendary night life, and the amazing art and food scene. I know I will live it up being the typical annoying tourist, of the variety I often love to grumble at myself. Having lived through the confusion and cold of Munich I'm sure I can cut it in the Big Apple, despite my fears of spending too much on a pair of designer shoes or becoming irretrievably lost because of my fear to ask any New Yorkers for directions.

Really though I am stoked to reunite the dynamic S & M duo and embark on more spontaneous adventures in the vein of the shenanigans perpetrated this September.

Only a couple days until I can start feel brand new...

TYSKAB #3- No Lines

Germany is rightly known for being bureaucratic. More so than common sense or imagination would dictate. You have to register your address everytime you move if you want to be able to do anything, like get a library card or a bank account. 60% of all German literature is written about their tax system. You even need to get some sort of a license to have someone ELSE petsit your dog or cat.

Maybe this penchant beuracracy and the common belief that everything must really be done by the rules has led to the anomaly that is lines in Germany. Perhaps it's a rebellious act, or just a general impatience, I'm not sure.

But a line is a foreign and unknown thing here. And I mean everywhere. If you go into McDonald's for example, it's really more about how you can negotiate yourself around the mob. There are multiple cashiers who take your order, make your food, and ring you up (not very efficient I might add), and it's all a matter of making eye contact and squeezing up to a free person the quickest. If you tried to wait in line, you would wait your whole life. To me this is also grouped together with the idea that most German seem to have that you do not need to let people off a train or tram or subway before getting on. Especially on the train (deutsche bahn) you must literally fight your way off.

I really loved Germany, but this was one of the things that irritated me the most. Maybe I'm just a stickler for good manners, but it all just seemed incredibly rude---and it never ceased to irk me. Eventually the pushing and shoving became second nature and I could fight my way through like the rest of them, but the contrast from back home really amazed me. And even though it bugged me, nobody else seemed to be upset about it---so I guess if it works for you then what the hay. Just make sure to bring you're shoving elbows if you visit lovly Deutschland :)

*I feel like this is typical of all of Germany and not just Bavaria, which is why I referred to it as such.

The Best Thing Ever

If you are having a bad day, this will make it a good one. If you are having a good day, it will make it better. I laughed out loud several times---enjoy!

Things You Should Know About Bavaria #2---Nordic Walking

If you spend any time walking around Bavaria, you will probably notice some crazy-looking old people with what appears to be ski poles.

It's been a huge fad for the oldies to walk around with these giant sticks. Apparently it's known officially as Nordic Walking. I think it's supposed to be healthy or something, although to me it still just looks like crazy German people holding large unwieldy poles.

I'm just glad it hasn't caught on in the U.S...

Why I'm Glad I Don't Have a Car

Enough said.

Things You Should Know About Bavaria #1---Trachten

So I've been inspired by my friend Sarah's visit to Munich to talk about all the weird different things about Bavaria that I started to take for granted after living there for a year. I say Bavaria instead of Germany, because they really are 2 different animals--but I'll tackle that in a different post. I wish I had written about these things earlier, but when I'm out doing new things I tend to be too busy experiencing them to have coherent thoughts about them, especially not ones that can be written out.

But now that I'm home I'm happy to share :)

Well, the first inspiration for this post was Sarah's amazement at dirndls and lederhosen.

A dirndl (pronounced DURRN-DULL) is a traditional dress worn in Bavaria (southern Germany), Lichtenstein, and Austria.




Lederhosen, much more commonly known, are the male counterpart to the dirndl.



After living in Munich for over a year, I stopped finding these traditional clothes so noteworthy.

The most common time that this style of dressing (known in German as Trachtenmoden) comes around is during Oktoberfest. BUT it is not uncommon to see it during the rest of the year, especially at any of the other beerfests or other formal occaisions. Little kids wear them a lot more, probably because they just look so darn cute in them.

Here's a few things you should know about Trachten:

*The original dress was long, but dirndls now also come in medium and short length, with varying types of blouses, aprons, and colors. Also, the dirndls from Austria are a different style from those in Bavaria. I'm not sure if Lederhosen vary by country all that much, but they do have different lengths and slightly different colors, plus the shirts are different too.

*They aren't cheap. My dirndl was very cheap with everything included for 99 euros, with most costing around 200 hundred to 300 hundred. Lederhosen, since they are made of leather, cost even more. Especially since they have more seperate parts (shirt, shoes, socks, sweater). Dirndls are cheaper when you buy them as a package (blouse and apron included) but the nicer ones usually come in seperates, which allows you more freedom to customize your dress, but also will cost you more.

*Dirndls are a whole fashion trend of their own. There are loads of different styles and every year there is a different Dirndl trends. A lot of people who live in Munich buy a new one every year. And if I wasn't leaving, I probably would have bought another one, because you can only wear the same dress so many times before it starts to get annoying.

*Don't assume that all Germans were Dirndls and Lederhosen. They are only from Southern Germany, and you will tick off a lot of Germans if you think otherwise.

*What Sarah found most shocking is that there are whole stores dedicated to the sale of Dirndls and Lederhosen. In fact, most major department stores have at least a small section devoted to Dirndls and Lederhosen (which is how I got mine so cheap).



*The best and most important thing is that Trachten look good on absolutely EVERYBODY. They are flattering on all body types, and if you are bigger they let you own that in a dignified and snazzy way. Lederhosen looke pretty dignified on Bavarian men with large beer bellys, and pretty hot on nice tall German boys. Dirndls are especially great because they make your boobs look big and show off your legs, while hiding any physical flaws you may have. Plus at least in Europe they are a guaranteed boy-magnet.



Caution: When wearing in the U.S. be careful because the average Joe-dumbass may think that you are dressed as a "beer wench". These people should not be associated with at any cost.

TIM TAMS

Holy Shit!

My diet is in serious danger, given the fact that I just realized Pepperidge Farms makes Tim Tams in the U.S.

What, you may ask, is a Tim Tam? Well it's pretty much heaven on earth. It's this chocolate cookies thing, that I'm not very good at describing. If you've ever been to Australia, you realize they are pretty much the only cookie in the world worth eating. I'm also convinced they are the sole reason I gained 10 pounds when I lived there---but it was totally worth it!

I've heard a rumor you could get the originals at Cost Plus Market (a store where you can get lots of cool foreign imports) but never put the effort in to actually search.

But now that Australia's number one cookie (Australians apparently eat 400 million Tim Tams a year!) is available easily in the U.S. I may be in trouble ;)

Oh and important tips:

-They come in a bunch of different flavors, but the original (or chocolate creme I think they call it in the U.S.) trumps all others by a mile.

-If you see me and bring me some Tim Tams, I will show the secret paradise known as the Tim Tam Slam. All I will say is that it requires a Tim Tam and a cup of tea...and it will rock your world.

Here's a link to the website if you want to start up your obsession.

Oh and this may have happened like a year ago, but us world travelers get a little behind in the times on occaision :)---and I still felt I needed to spread the word.

Ireland

This is a bit belated, but I'd still like to reminisce about my time travelling around the Ireland.

I blogged a bit about my time in Dublin, but I think that Dublin and the rest of Ireland are different enough to merit two posts.

For me, Dublin is really the only real city in Ireland. Or at least the only one with that real city feel to it.

While I think Dublin has a good amount of fun and drinking to offer, my true love is the rest of the country. It really lived up to what I had always thought of as Ireland in my mind----beautiful rolling green hills and majestic watersides.

I've always loved the part of germany that my family is from because of how green the scenery is---I actually felt the bay area was hideous the first time I came home. But this. Wow. I really believe Ireland has to have the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen.

These pictures speak for themselves.









I love that they have all these bogs too. Apparently they use these brick things for fires, although since they are sorta running out from what I understood. They seem cool but I'm not a fan of their distinctive smell, kinda like tar.



There were plenty of cool castles and monasterys along the way.




One of my most favorite places was the Cliffs of Moher. Cool fact for fellow Princess Bride fans: The Cliffs of Moher are the Cliffs of Insanity.





Also I kinda enjoyed going to the Blarney Castle and kissing the Blarney Stone, even though it was totally not what I expected. When they said a stone, I thought they meant it was small. Actually it's this huge brick/boulder thing attached to the Blarney Castle. And you can't just walk up to it, there is this guy who greets you and then hoists you upside down and kiss some dirty old normal looking stone that 5 million other tourists have kissed (thankfully there are bars making sure you don't fall to your doom). Also apparently, what you get isn't get isn't good luck (again I was misinformed) but the gift of gab---which pretty much is the ability to talk a lot and to talk a lot of shit in a convincing way. Despite the disgusting over-touristy aspect of it, the grounds and castle were beautiful and I still enjoyed mself.




Aside of the scenery, I really loved the whole cultural environment. Maybe it's because I spent so much time in Germany or maybe I just had the benefit of being a native speaker of the language, but every seemed much much friendler here. Even getting directions to how to catch a bus into town resulted in more friendly banter than I ever experience in Germany. Plus I also really love the casual pub culture. And the accent still makes me swoon :)

The only real downsides were the cost and lack of mobility. First off, I've always thought Munich and San Francisco were pricey but daaang, this tops it. Paying 4-5 euros (and sometimes more in Dublin) is just crazy. I would have loved to stay longer than a week, but honestly I couldn't afford it.



Also, given the fact that it isn't very industrialized, there's really no cheap and convenient way to get cross country with public transportation. And renting a car, especially when you are under 25 but even when you aren't, is outrageously overpriced. We found it cheaper to go with a tour bus, and ended up choosing the crazy green Paddy Wagon. What I liked about it was that it was cheaper than renting a car, that our guide told us a lot of cool stuff, and that I didn't have to worry about directions or falling asleep on the bus. On the other hand, as to be expected, they tend to cram a bunch of stuff into one day, which after 3 days really gets to be exhausted. Plus you end up being surrounded by a bunch of random wierd people and you don't have that much control about how long and what exactly you want to see, even though they did hit most of the important things. I sort of like to savor a smaller area for longer as opposed to hitting up everything when I travel, so I'd definitely love to go back and see things in a more in depth fashion after already having a lovly taste.

Cleaning Time

Since I've been back from Munich, especially now that the horror known as the GRE is over, things have been going at a slower pace. Usually I keep myself swamped, but since I'm living at home for a little bit and holding off on the job search so that I can put in my first grad app before the too-soon-approaching deadline.

This and the social isolation of the suburbs has given me some time to reflect. Consequently, I have come up with two new life resolutons/directions.

1) To keep up with my current good dieting ways.

I have never been able to diet, mostly because I think I love food too much and I can't put up with being hungry for very long. I found this really cool app for my ipod touch, called LoseIt!, which helps track your calories in a cute organized way. It tells me how many calories I need to eat and the diet isn't super extreme. I've already lost 2.5 pounds, and hope to keep it up as well as my daily exercising.

2)To be more assertive/discerning.

I wouldn't consider myself a weak person, but I've been noticing of recent that I have been putting up with a little bit too much. I know that I naturally have a temper, so I've learned to only make an argument about stuff that I feel is really worth it. Well, not everyone thinks like me and I'm sick of my generosity and willingness to let things slide let people think they can treat me like a doorstop. From now on, my bitch side is going to become a little more prominent.

I'm also extending that to eliminating all relationships (both friend and more-than-friend) that are below my now heightened standards. Narcicists, super avoidant flakes, sleazebags, douchebags, and any other variety of tool are no longer welcome in my life.

Pretty much trying to purify myself physically and emotionally. We'll see how good I am to sticking to it all though :)

Airport Feelings

At 315 AM, Thursday, October 1st ---with four very overloaded bags, I caught a train from Munich to Frankfurt. 3 planes and one car ride later I was back in the good ol' U.S. of A.

I've been MIA from my blog, because I have learned a few lessons the hard way:

1) Although drinking will make your cold feel better temporarily, it is in fact, not a type of cold medication

2) When experiencing a cold, it is not the best idea to head straight from the Wiesn (locals name for Oktoberfest) to a train and then 3 planes.

3) Apparently, flying with a cold is bad. The pressure changes can affect your hearing.

The whole flight experience was pretty much insane, since I went straight from partying in the tents to a train. In all of my ultimate wisdom I forgot to take a shower---so I was pretty much an untouchable, seeing as I smelled like some horrible combination of smoke, beer, and sweat. Nice. Also, as soon as soon as I came down from my first flight, I immediately lost my hearing. I spent most of the time walking around feeling like I had head phones even when I didn't. Annoyingly, every time the plane went in the air my hearing would go back to normal, but as soon as we landed it would be gone again.

On a positive note, I ended up with a 300 dollar flight voucher for volunteering to take a later flight, even though this extended my home journey time to over the 24 hour mark. But now I have an excuse to celebrate my birthday and New Years in New York. :)

For the last 10 days or so I have been home I have mostly been hiding out and trying to rid myself of this horrible head cold/regain some sort of reliable hearing. My GRE test date has also been looming over my head, so I've tried to spend most of my conscious time at least pretending to study. After the 20th, things will be a lot less stressful. I am healing a bit and will try to post more about my summer travels, Oktoberfest, and Germany asap.

Plea from a Serial Loser

So this past weekend, in the typical style of Oktoberfest (well actually, also in the typical Melissa style...), I managed to rid myself of my phone, keys, approx 10 euros, and my driver's license.

I am of the opinion that actually I got robbed, since I definitely didn't take all that stuff out of my purse at any time and my phone was mysteriously turned off. But I went and checked the lost and found anyway, to no avail.

It is nice that that have this sort of thing at Oktoberfest, and also that there is a lot of things that actually do get returned.

That part is sort of heartwarming actually. Sometimes it feels like it's hard to do good in the world, but merely turning someones belongings into a lost and found I think sends a lot of good vibes out there.

As someone who has lost pretty much 90% of things she has ever owned, I can personally attest to how great you make someone feel by doing something so simple. Not to be over dramatic, but it sort of restores your faith in humanity---it's nice to know that someone that doesn't even know you at least empathizes and cares about you a little.

None of my things, other than the 10 euros, were really of value to anyone else, yet as is true of most things, I think we all tend to get a little apathetic. If my stuff wasn't stolen, it was more likely found by someone who was too lazy to turn it in or was not discovered until the hungover person was too far away to bother.

And I totally sympathize. Once I found a driver's license in the bathroom and picked it up intending to give it back, but instead just forgot about it. It sat on my mantel for a while as a guilty reminder. But then again, I also once found a class ring in lecture and turned it in.

But dammit people! Put a little bit more effort in! Make someones day, its not hard.

UPDATE!!!: The angels of Oktoberfest heard my bitter pleas, and when I went back to the Lost and Found a few days later, my keys were there! No sign of my phone or driver's license, although the guy said they would probably show up later. Not sure if I believe that, but all I cared about was the keys anyway. Happy days!

Stollen!

So today I was suprised to see a loaf of Stollen in the Supermarkt near my house. It's traditional German christmas bread, something I usually eat anyway every year since you can get it in the states. It's pretty much sweet bread with different things inside and powdered sugar on top. I think the best kind is when it has Marzipan inside yumm. (FYI Marzipan is a potato paste thing they eat in Germany, often times inside of chocolate. I used to hate it with a passion, but after years of exposure have come to really like it).

And lucky me, this one does have Marzipan inside! It's just funny because since Germany has no Thanksgiving or Halloween to market, they always start up on the christmas stuff ridiculously early. They even had Glühwein out. Kind of ridiculous I think, but at least I get to snatch up some of the best German christmas treats before I leave!

New Hairdo

Yess! After an embarrasingly long time not getting my haircut, I have finally said goodbye to split ends. I even got my first professional highlights too! And the best part being that I got it all for free (pretty much Dennis is the BEST!).

It definitely destress me a bit and I am happy to be no longer mocked by children (its embarrasingly when a children are telling you you have spliss (split-ends) and you should get your haircut Ms. Prince hahah).

New hair-cut, new outlook :)

(photos to come soon!)

Dublin!

The first week of August was my first week of vacation, and I spent it in Ireland. And I have to say that it was everything I had hope it would be.

I spent my first and one of my last days in Dublin, and it's interesting to contrast it with the rest of Ireland.

When I think of Ireland I always think of all the green countryside, which isn't how Dublin is. It is definitely more of an urban center, even though its not so huge. There is a nice park not that far away, but its definitely on the more concrete-y side. It's also interestng, because tourist-wise there's not all that much to do. The main things I did was go to the Guinness factory and check out the pubs, which were both great, even though in places like Temple Bar you can end up paying 5€ (!!) for a pint of beer (in Germany you can sometimes get a whole LITER of beer for that price!).

The Guinness factory was definitely worth a trip though. It is huge and tells you all these cool things about how beer and Guinness and particular is made. Plus you get a free pint at the end!




I had the choice of getting one one top at their cool ceiling bar, but decided to get mine at the bar where they let you pour your own! I even got a certificate for it--how cheesy!



Dublin is definitely has a cool young vibe to it though. Think it would be great to study there, especially because Ryan air is based there, so you could get lots of cheap flights to travel from there---as long as you can put up with the crummy weather!

Camp Lessons 2

4) Crying girls is like the yawning effect to other little girls---it gets them all going.

5) The country sucks because stores close at 6, a bell goes off every morning at 645 AM :( and the mosquitos feast on you everyday.

6) Many children do not know how to control the volume of their voice, especially in the mornings

7) Threating to send them to bed early works amazingly.

8) Despite my complaining I still really like kids, just not 30 of them for a week straight!

Back to normal life (or the closest assimilation) in 1.5 days...

Camp Lessons

Right now I am spending five days with some of the kids from school at a Hostel near Ammersee. And here are some of the lessons I have learned so far.

1) It is not a good idea to send your kids to camp with knives or bags full of candy and coffee-filled candy bars

2) Kids will literally turn into wild animals in the dining room if you let them.

3) Scaring noisy kids at night is fun :)

I'm sure there will be more lessons in the days to come... :)

Whirlpool

Woah. Traveling for 3 weeks (aside of the killer cold that kept me in bed for a few days half way through) was great, but now I am back to reality--- and it is harsh.

With my flight even now not locked in, time is taking on strange qualities for me. Even though I will mostly have about a month left, it feels like I have about 72 hours. Also time is weird in that even though I seem to be slaving away for hours, absolutely nothing happens, aside of the fact that i run out of time. I clean my room, throw out a bag of things I hope I won't need, and suddenly its four hours later and when i turn my head the room is in same mess it was before.

I have so so many things to sort out before I leave, especially since I am leaving the land of beauracracy. A hostile rooming situation has also led to me probably leaving a week earlier than before.

But at the same time I am overjoyed. To be honest, I definitely feel that the German chapter of my life is coming to a necessary close. Although I am sad in that it feels like Europe is my young adventerous life and that that part is coming to an end, I am also stoked to get on with a new adventure and chapter in my life, even if it means I have to spend some hard time living with my mom and sleeping on the couch.

I am currently trying to continue my training in seperating my attachment from physical objects. I never want to throw anything away. But the when I do I almost never miss it. Yet I'm having the common problem where you always remember that one time you threw away you know that crazy popsicle stick holder you thought you'd never need and then you were kicking yourself about it a week later when for once in your life you really DID need it.

Well, at least I probably don't need those shoes with the gaping holes in them...but maybe...

Ireland!

I have officially begun my 3 weeks of paid (!!!) vacation. The kids are all out of school and I feel the same. And it's nice :)

Tommorrow I am heading out to Ireland for the week. Starting out in Dublin and then heading out west. I am excited for the accents, the green, and the guiness of course!

Updates when I get back hopefully!!

Hope everyone is having a good vacation :)

xxx

Ha Ha Ha

I have had holes torn into my pants, but thankfully never like this! hahahah






Poor guy, at least he managed to do a half way decent time anyway.

Ending or Beginning?

It's funny how I've been agonizing about the direction of my life, but now that I feel I have made some sort of decisive action, I am once again doubting myself.

It's funny because a lot of my friends are going home in a few days, and the vast majority of them are excited. And it is resulting in the opposite reaction in me, I am feeling a giant tide of dread about eventually going home.

Maybe it's because my social network at home has fled the scene, I don't know. It's not that I dislike home, not at all actually---going abroad does also help me to appreciate what a special place I had the priviledge of growing up in. And I get along with my family, and look forward to seeing them. As well as my cat.

But there is something just terrifying. Like I don't want to stop exploring. And I know that going home doesn't mean that, but then again somehow it still feels like it. I wouldn't even start school in a year and still might go crazy and try to bartend in Greece or something for the summer.

Seeing all the new people arrive, with a whole year of adventures ahead of them makes me scared to end mine. Guess the thought of responsiblity and the "real world" is a bit overwhelming. But then again I know that I am really just sick of crap jobs, and am looking forward to having something fufilling and challenging eventually. Hope I can get excited about my future and not so freaked out. Maybe I just need something to stress about though.

Happy Teeth

So last week I mustered the courage to actually go to the dentist. I haven't been in an amount of time that would horrify most civilized people, and given my temporary access to decent and affordable health care I figured I should take the chance.

And I managed to make it out alive.

But I have to say it was a strange experience.

I mean it was nice, because the visit didn't cost me anything. But then again, it wasn't like the typical dentist visit I used to have at home. They only picked at my teeth with the hook thing and then bufferred my teeth with funky toothpaste that tasted faintly like black licorice (yuck).

What was different to me was that the whole thing was much shorter and more business like. It was sort of like here's a taste of the dentist, now would you like to spend a lot more money? With a subtle-but-not-so-subtle hint that otherwise your teeth will all fall out and that you will look like crap. All this to try to sell me a 350euro teeth bleaching, a 600 euro partial crone for one of my teeth, and a 150 euro electric toothbrush. Just because it had this neat little timer---even though all cheaper models also have 30sec timers built in duh--. And she said she sold it cheaper (150 euros vs. 169 euros), but when I went to the store, it was the same price.

Then again, she did scare me enough to buy an electrical toothbrush, since my gums are sorta sensitive, but at least I was smart enough to pay only 40 euros for one. It's probably a good investment anyway, plus I think they are quite nifty anyway.

Overally I'm happy that I got my teeth cleaned, feels so much better!

Closets

I am making an effort to reorganize in hopes that it will help me to unclutter my life. And although I have to say I am generally much cleaner than in my college days, one major impediment to my cleanliness success is the complete lack of closets in my apartment.

Yupp, in a fact that would horrify most American women, we have absolutely no closets in our entire apartment! I mean, ok, we have one tiny pantry-like thing in our kitchen, but it is not very large or deep, and contains mostly a dustpan and some plastic bags. Not so exciting.

What's weird though is that it is a sort of normal feature of German apartments. No closets. It's one of those weird cultural differences, that no one really knows about unless they live somewhere and no one can really figure out.

The problem at hand though is to figure out where to put my excess clothing (damn you, oh so tempting european fashion!) and important papers...

Burg Eltz

This past weekend I visited my relatives up north, which was nice and relaxing...a calming distraction from my currently stressful life.

Aside of spending a good amount of time lounging, eating hearty german food, and playing with the cat Oscar, we did make a little trip out to a cool castle, Berg Eltz.

Although I've seen quite a bit of castles since I've been in Europe, I still enjoy them. They are all different and have their own interesting stories. Plus, I just find it cool to see things that are so old, since thats something you don't really get to see in the U.S.

Here's to hoping the weekend has successfully cleared my mind...though. I wonder.

Well, enjoy a few nice photos anyway...

I knew there was some kind of trickey going on...

Cats 'exploit' humans by purring

Nap Cab!

So, apparently they recently installed Napcabs in the Munich airport. It's a little shack where you can lie down, relax, listen to music and use the internet.

Apparently some students at the TUM came up with it, and I have to say I think it's a pretty awesome idea. I have had several experiences where I had to spend extended time in an airport, freezing my ass off and sleeping on uncomfortable airport chairs---and I know I would have loved to have something like that then. It's cool too because its right in the gate areas so you don't have to rush around.

I think the only downside is the price. Depending on the time it is 10-15€ per hour, which in and of itself isn't too bad, but unfortunately the minimum charge is 30€. As a lover of privacy and ocmfort though, I think I might just have to give myself a luxurious treat when I eventually fly home to the U.S. though :)

4th of July

It was an interesting experience to celebrate the 4th of July out of the country for the first time. And actually it's a lot more fun, aside of the fact that there aren't really any nice fireworks, just some bootleg firecrackers.

When you live abroad, especially in a country where you aren't fluent in the main language, you tend to cling to your nationality for identity. I mean, I don't think people are normally as excited about the 4th as we were. It also sort of becomes special, because not everyone is doing it.

We all ended up having a BBQ at the Isar. Was lots of fun to run around in the sun drinking beer covered in American flags. Best of all, there were plenty of British people there,so I had many chances to wave my tiny American flag in their face and yell you suck! :D

Hmmm

It is a truth universally acknowledged that as soon as one part of your life starts looking up, another part falls to pieces- Bridget Jones

It's amazing how perceptive a romantic comedy can be haha. Well, just trying to roll with the punches, business as usual.

Happiness

Just enjoying a bit of alone time in my apartment and savoring the re-reading of my favorite book. This quote made me happy.

"'People always think that happiness is a faraway thing,' thought Francie, 'something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up; a place of shelter when it rains - a cup of strong hot coffee when you're blue; for a man, a cigarette for contentment; a book to read when you're alone - just to be with someone you love. Those things make happiness.'"

GRE :(

Due to some sudden developments in my life plans, I will need to take the GRE by October/November of this year. dfkasdkfsdkfksdfksdfkj. blah.

I hate hate hate standardized testing and am dreading SAT the sequel, even though I don't do that poorly on them usually.

Continuing these sort of tests is more annoying, since admissions officers, educators, and the testing people themselves (although they won't usually admit it) know that these sort of tests are not a valid or accurate measure of intelligence or a future predictor of success in graduate or any other sort of education. All they are a measure of is your ability to take a bullshit standardized test.

Yet the majority of universities in the U.S. still use them...

You would think that psychology and education programs at least would be wise enough to not use such a pointless measure in their considerations... but they do. Which means I have to take it...sigh...

Pretty much I have to learn a bunch of vocabulary words I will never use in my life and remember how to do math without a calculator (oh god...). And somehow fit studying into my very important schedule of 3 weeks vacation in August and Oktoberfest (end of september to early october)....oh bother...

p.s. it seems like every princeton review book has a picture of a smart looking asian girl. wtf. weird.

I told you I was freaky...

I absolutely love the Flight of the Conchords. And some of their songs are so darn catchy. This one is especially hilarious and I keep humming it all the time (even better on the cd version because they leave the best part out in the tv show unfortunately, but still a good video).



Also, hope I am not the only one who thinks that Brett is kinda cute...maybe that's because he looks a bit like my boyfriend though :)

In search of a disorganizer

Why is it that in every freakin' job you have to be a super organized person?!?

What about us poor imperfect souls who have dirty rooms and crumpled papers and lose anything without some sort of homing device attached to it?

Isn't there any hope for us...?

Sardinia=Paradise

So at the end of May my boyfriend and I were able to snag some cheap Ryan air tickets to Algehro, which is on the north west coast of Sardinia (a beachy island off the coast of Italy).

I have to say it pretty much lived up to my expectations. What was nice is that we camped, so it cost only 10 euros a night, and we were right on a beautiful beach. (Although by the end of the trip I was looking forward to a nice warm bed free of sand)

We spent a good amount of time just browning our selves on the beach, but also decided to rent a moped (since the cheap cars were all sold out) and went exploring a bit up and down the coast. There were plenty of windy roads and beautiful ocean views. We went snorkeling and also ate lots of pizza (its a lot cheaper than pasta weirldy enough---you can find a decent sized cheese pizza for €4.50!).

I'd definitly reccommend it as a vacation spot, especially during the off season (we went the end of May), since everything was cheaper (camping, mopeds, and free sunbeds) but the weather is still great (lovely mid 20s to early 30's!).



view from the road





look down onto a small town called Bosa from their fortress



mopeding it up :)

Back to Reality

So I just got a scary email in my inbox today. It was from the chancellor of UC Berkeley talking about budget cuts.

It's one of those things that totally bring you back into reality. Because living in Germany I am sort of in a bubble. The economic crisis that has hit the US and the UK so hard has sorta left Germany untouched. Well at least comparatively. I have no real worry of losing my job or not being able to find one, so I think I sometimes forget the reality of the situation.

The email said that there would be a hiring freeze at UC Berkeley, all employees would get an 8% cut on their wages, many would lose their jobs and student fees would go up a lot. The governer had even mentioned axing Cal Grants altogether (the only way I was really able to finance my schooling), but thankfully they thought that was totally unfair to poorer students and still want to offer them the opportunity to attend UC Berkeley.

My younger sister is just now entering college and it's interesting to see how different things have become in just 5 years. My sisteer has had to deal with a lot more budget cuts in her schooling and it has been harder for her year to get into schools due to the cuts and now harder to finance as well.

It kind of reminds me of this book I've been reading, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (READ IT!), which talks a lot about how people get successful (or don't) can depend on when, where, and how you grew up.

Interesting to think of the difference, especially since the differences my sister and I may experience. I mostly avoided the budget cut crisis so it didn't affect my college application and experience as much as it will hers, but then again I came out into the job market in a time when there are no prospects, while she may be lucky, and Obama-willing, the economy may have turned around by the time she graduates. I think it will be interesting to look back and see how the times have ended up shaping our career and life decisions.

Wetten dass...?

So normally I don't watch a lot of German television (other than Germany's Next Top Model, which is a million times better than ANTM and you can find on youtube with english subtitles here) since I don't own a television.

But a friend of mine showed me clips of this famous show on German television called Wetten dass...? (In english it means like do you bet that?...) and I have to say I am highly entertained.

It's a bit weird because the show only comes on once a month, but it'S still pretty cool. So people have some bizarro talent or skill (I mean like really too, it's creative what these people come up with) and then they bet they can do it in a certain time period or something. If they win they get money and sometimes a visiting celebrity has to do some sort of weird thingy as well. (If they lose I think nothing happens but I'm not sure actually...). There also some celebrity performances and stuff by actually well-known people.

I think the entertainment values though comes from the insane tasks people come up with.

My absolute favorite is this one. A guy bets he can guess a song just from looking at two muscle men flex their moobs to the beat. (I also like that one guy finds the humor in the situation while the other is all serious and german-like).



This guy who is singing an opera type song while 15 cars drive over him is also impressive (and he has really nice abs ;)



I foresee myself yet again wasting too much time on youtube...

Meeting Germans

My most recent goal is to start hanging out with more German people. Currently I mostly hang out with English speaking people. But since the majority of these people are only here for one-year stints, by the end of the summer I will have lost most of my friend group.

Plus the fact that a big reason that I came here was to improve my german, yet I spend far too much of my time speaking english.

One of the reasons is that I am both shy and lazy. Speaking to a group of people I don't know very well is already daunting, but speaking to them in a foreign language that I am far from confident in is like a fiery hell to me. Although I can understand most conversations, when native german speakers are speaking amongst themselves they tend to speak faster and about more complicated subject matters. By the time I have fully digested the conversation they have already moved on, and any way since my german knowledge consist mainly of conversations to be had with 8-year-olds, my chances of contributing something meaningful/witty/funny are slim-to-nil (although to be fair in English I don't usually fare much better...). Bars and restaurants also make it really hard to hear and understand anyone.

It's easiest for me to talk to someone one-on-one but at best I get a half-german half-english conversation because almost all germans have really good english (those jerks!) so when topics get more complicated it just gets easier to talk in English. *sigh*

Also, another problem is that I've noticed that Germans (and actually I think this is true of other Europeans too) are just hard to become friends with. For newcomers and outsiders like myself it's incredibly frustrating, but then again I tend to find Germanfriendships a lot deeper and meaningful than the American style.

Whenever I meet foreign people from abroad I am always fascinated and am eager to become their friends. I think that's more norm in the U.S., especially if you are from somewhere exciting like Europe.

And it's not that Germans won't be friendly or interested in you if you are foreign, it's just really hard to break into the friend category I think.

To be honest I think it has something to do with the nature of friendships. Yes, it is hard to really befriend a German but once you do the level of friendship is longer and stronger than anything I typically experience at home. Plenty of people around our age are friends for a half or whole decade at least and the bond is something much deeper. Which seems much more comforting than the fickle, flighty, superficial friendships I find myself most often a part of at home.

I'm hoping that by fall though my lack of options will finally allow me to come a little bit out of my shell and finally talk to some cool German, but we'll see...

The Alchemist

The Alchemist is one of those books you hear about a lot as being something you absolutely HAVE to read, that is so amazingly fabulous/life altering etc...

But honestly, it's got to be one of the most awful books I have EVER read.

SERIOUSLY.

It's a cheesy spiritual advice/ self-help-for-the-life-challenged type books disguised (barely) as a novel.

The basic premise of the book as that a shepherd boy from spain goes on a journey to find some ambigious treasure in the pyramids.

The premise is interesting enough and written by someone else it could be a very fascinating.

Granted the book is short, but for 167 pages he pretty much makes the same point over and over in the least subtle ways possible.

"You can do whatever want you just need to follow your dreams and really want them. By the way you should follow your dreams. And oh did i mention you really need to want to follow your dreams. Yeah following your dreams...you should definitetly do that" That would be my summary of the whole book.

The writing style itself wasn't too bad, because I am a fan of simple sentences that are not so flowery and Dickens like. But, it what he rights is positively obnoxious. Everything in the books is so 2D. The world is only black and white and no one has as much personality as a styrofoam cup in this book.

Coelho also likes to capitilize words in a pretentious annoying way....for example the books constaaaantly references people's Personal Legend, the Soulof the World, and the Language of the World.

One of the most annoying (and oft repeated) quotes is:

"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person realize his dream"

WTF. I mean seriously man. That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, besides being a child-like simplification on life. What I find most irritating is that it implies that anyone who fails just didn't really want it. urgh.

I know that people want to be inspired by books sometimes (myself included) but I think there are much better books out there---ones that are realistic, and deep, and filled with real characters with interesting plots and without a bunch of Personal Legend mumbo jumbo.

Beachy Hiatus

Sorry folks, but after tommorrow I will be gone for a bit....because I am going to go camping in Sardnia (a beachy island off the coast of italy) with my boyfriend.

The weather should be in the late 20's (early to mid 80's for you fahrenheiters), and I hope to get a bit of sun and surf...yup I know you're all jealous :)

will try to post a few things before I leave!

xoxo

Berlin!

I am going to an Education Summit for work...which means I am getting a free flight to Berlin!

The summit is only going on Thursday and Friday, but they let me fly home on Sunday anyway! Sweeet. Plus free flight and transport to and from the airport. Hotel only for the days that the summit is, but I'm still stoked.

I've heard a lot of different opinions about Berlin, especially in comparison to Munich, so I'm excited to forumlate my own views soon!

Oh so Taxing...

So German tax time is coming up. Unlike the U.S., the deadline isn't until May 31st.

But I spent 2 hours in a tax workshop (in English, Gott sei Dank!), and my head is still spinning from the whole thing.

Apparently 60%!!! of all German literature is written about the German tax system.

Germany definitely lives up to its reputation for beauracracy. And I'm glad I'm not the only one confused... But on the plus side I may be able to get a bit of money back, so I hope it will be worth the hassle...

Prague! pt. 2

As promised here are a few more pictures from my trip to Prague



Prague at night





I watched this really cool traditional czech performance. They wear sort of german clothese (dirndl and lederhosen type things) but they dance way cooler, with jumping and kicking and yelling involved.



Powder Tower



Example of some of the cool random building artwork they have



Europe's #1 over-rated tourist attraction--the astronomical clock (couldn't be fussed to wait around for it to actually go off, although to be fair it looks kinda cool)



they had lots of cool random jazz performances too

a few more photos to come...


a few more photos later...

Prague!

In Germany people get the friday before and the monday after easter sunday off. And I of course wanted to take advantage of this break, so I decided to go to Prague. It's a 6 hour train ride from Munich, so it was nice to have a longer amount of time than a weekend to go there.

We also thankfully didn't fall for Deutsche Bahn's scam for tickets to Prague. They try to tell people 60 euros round trip is a deal, but it is actually much cheaper to buy a Bayern-Bohemia ticket which covers travel up to the Czech border and then buy a ticket in Prague.

My friend Becca and I decided to go, but because of a lot of last-minute decision making, we were on our way without a place to stay or any idea about what we really wanted to do in Prague.

Luckily we ended up getting a hostel just fine, even though it was a busy holiday weekend (granted the prices were jacked waaay up).

This was truly and utterly amazing though. Probably my most favorite weekend trip I've had so far in europe...or maybe anywhere to be honest.

It's funny because everyone always raves about Prague, but when I got there my initial impression wasn't that great. To me it looked just like Germany except with an eastern European twist.

But once I actually got to really see the place, I totally changed my mind. It's just so freakin' cool!

The architecture is just really amazing there, because Prague has been conquered by and influenced by so many different cultures. There are building styles from every era and even ordinary buildings have cool artwork or statues on them.

The big castle is really awesome as well and there are a lot of nice places by the river and green areas too.

And a major plus is the extreme cheapness of Prague. Beer averages around 1 euro (although apparently locals and cooler in-the-know people can get it for about 80 cents!). And even when we went to a nice restaurant on the top of this big hill I ended up paying 8 euros for a beer and a huge meal, which would have easily been 15 euros in Munich. (Apparently Prague isn't that cheap compared to the rest of the Czech Republic but to someone from Munich its bargain city!)

It was really a fun adventure and somewhere I'd recommend to anyone who has the chance to go there



downtown



art noveau is pretty popular and they have a really famous artist from that style who comes from Prague.



view from the river



my real czech food meal. Kinda like german food---a knödel (dumpling) type thing with yummy meat and then some lemon with cranberry sauce and whipped cream---tasty, cheap, and it sorta reminded me of thanksgiving dinner.

gotta stop hogging the internet and let my roommate use it...so i will post a few more photos tommorrow