There is no place like it... Home

Home.  There are lots of different definitions of it, but I usually use the on that is "Wherever you feel at home",

I have a few places that I consider Home. Sunderland is my second Home.   I have made some amazing mares there.
but the other one is that place I grew up in.  Where my parents are.  and , In less than 75 hours. That is exactly where I will be!

I had a small taste of it last weekend, I flew to Sunderland to see one of the two people I call my "Best Mates" . The weekend was one I will never forget for a lot of reasons. But one of the main reasons was the sheer Horror that I had with Public Transport.

Being clever, I decided to choose the cheapest. This was with KLM and it was from Frankfurt to Newcastle with a change of flight in Amsterdam.
As a lot of people will tell you , I plan everything down to the last second. It will be followed to this plan, and If it goes astray, then, the world may aswell end.
I knew that this was especially important here, because of the change over in Amsterdam, which I had less than an hour for.

The way there was not too bad.  Big Shout out the the "best mate" I was visiting who told me to sit at the back of the plane.   Cheers mare !  We were swapped onto a rear- engined plane...  it was awful! But , in true mate style..  he found this Hilarious!

My 'Window' is hidden.. its behind the engine... -_-

I got to Amsterdam with the constant ring of D# in my ears..  Then, I had to go for it .
- Check in to next flight
- Passport control
- Security Check
- the 7km (well, that is what it always feels like!) walk to gate D24

sorted! got to the flight in time, and made it to Sunderland.

Typical LADS weekend really:
- Beer, Steak, Football, Half of Batman  (inside joke!)  and buying DVDs that are on the 2 for £10 at HMV
(although, that can be baffling at times, too..  )   (another inside joke!)

I Enjoyed the weekend. Seeing my mate, and being back 'home' was night. I did speak German to people and I forgot that the cars come from the other Direction.. but apart from that..   fine!

It was on the way back.

Dear god.
I think I lost about 10 years off my like due to this trip.

Set off from Newcastle, Slightly late (don't know how, only about 4 planes go there) and Arrived in Amsterdam late too.  Had 50 mins to get to my next flight...

GO!

- Check-in was terrible.. machine was very slow and  took about 5 attempts -_-
- Passport control: some advice - if there are well over 500 people queuing to have their passoort checked..  maybe it worth opening a second line??     just a thought
- Security.... well..   do I have to say anything??   I chose the one queue where no matter how much they checked..  that guy still sets the scanner off..    annoying..

then..  Gate..

E89     ..  I was like Basil Fawlty!
"Well, that is just perfect!"

Off I went..       and got to the plane late..  the plane held 100 poeple..  I had 99 of them starting at me..and then an announcement..
"Sorry ladies and gentlemen, we are going to be delayed slightly, as we have a passenger from Newcastle who's bag needs to be loaded on"

THAT WAS ME!

got to Frankfurt late, Schedule was Ballsed and I really needed to get home.  I was pleased with KLM. None of the delays were their fault, I was late in and they waited for one passenger.   I would recommend then to anyone!
I got on the train from the Airport to the main station, I got the platform and could have Waved goodbye to the driver.   SHIT..  missed it..

Double Shit...  Last train of the night...
triple shit..  what the hell do I do now...

see...  no train....    :/

I was a minute too late.

I, being smart, went to the pub!  It had Wifi and I could form a plan!
Wifi was broke..  luckily the pump wasn't - I could have drunk it dry.   partially for missing the train, partially for doing that thing that Mr Bean does  on "Mr Bean's Holiday" when he did the same.

Well, I had no choice, I was stuck..  I was going to spend the night there, but how and where?
there were 3 options

1- the 24hr Mcdonalds
2- sit in the station and listen to music
3- find a hostel.

I went with number 3. Reluctantly. After being in the pub it was now 1 am and the first train was at 5:26 am. But I was tired, slightly fed up, and it had begun to rain.
I found one, and got my head down for a few hours kip.  Caught my first train, and managed to do a day of work too..     How.. I dunno..  well.. I do..  I had Irn Bru from the UK!


But anyway. Though my ell with public transport makes me want to walk home, My flight is at a good time, I will be on the first train I can be after work so I definitely don't miss the flight, and the flight is a direct Lufthansa flight.   So - hopefully, no issues!


I cant wait to go home. There are some aspects that I can wait for - and not always the ones that are always there, but I need a break, and I need to say hello to the Family.  It has been the same amount of time as it would have been at University, but taking in all that I have, from the sights, sounds and smells of Germany, to the Culture, Language and routine. I am tired.   I am pleased that I had a visitor halfway through, cause It broke it up and Im always happy to see a good mate :)

I feel weird about it. Im looking forward to it (my suitcase is already packed) but I know that I could stay here If I needed to, easily. I guess after the tough weekend of transport before, and the taste of the UK.. I am pretty ready to head back to the family.

So. I hope this week goes fast, I hope that I can get home and Enjoy a beer with my dad and see my brothers again.  I have a small trip planned for Xmas, but the plans need to be finalized there.

I don't know when this will next be updated.. but If I don't see you, or write another one...  then Have a good Christmas.. and all the best, for 2013

2013 is set to bring a lot. F1, more Germany, the start of my final Uni year and some other stuff that I am very excited about too.  It is gonna be hard at times..   but - if its easy, where is the point?

till next time!

Its the start of a 365 page book.. When you write it, make it a good one...

What Im here for

ODDLY - half way through this the formatting changes...  I dont know why and cant be bothered to change it...and..
In a brief moment of being pathetic, I would like to say before I start, that after having a mate over for just a few days the other week.. It made me realise how BORING living by yourself can be..  !  so, if you ever want to come back mate? :D

Well, 
I have decided that I am going to do a post on the reason I am here :

"To improve my language skills and to gain necessary cultural experience by living in the foreign country"
according to my module guide!

I have (luckily) begun to dream in German now... which must be good...   I still get people in school saying
"you speak English all the time"
well yes - Im here to teach it - to students and the teachers - so I kinda have to -But the rules are
1) In school - English with the students all the time, unless necessary clarification is needed...  (its never necessary)
2) After school, German with the students, unless they speak in English first - then they have decided to have that conversation in English it is therefore their fault if it becomes difficult... they had the chance!
3) Teachers - either or, depending on the situation - if its general chat, German - complaining about other staff or students, English !
4) German all the time to non-school Folk..  don't assume that this shopkeeper can speak English.. go for German every time (excluding the Irish bar!)

I guess that this will mean, that to certain colleges, I only speak English  but tough!!   Im here to help them too! :D  
To my wonderful students who read this...   forget number 2 please..  if i know you have caught on to this you will get English 24/7!!  :D

  
Anyway!.. I have been here now long enough I think to have enough experience to deal with it, so here goes.

 The Culture
During our second year at Uni, we had a module (MFL111) which I know that all Sunderland students are now sniggering at, that was supposed to prepare us for coming abroad, and dealing with different situations that may arise
some of which were:
- going to a party - etiquette, should I take something and how long should I stay for
- out and about - dark places, new people and whole new surroundings
- what is that? - discovering the differences and how to deal with them.

well..  I paid £3320 for my tuition last year, and did 7 modules.   that makes £474.28 per module. 
MFL was a waste of £474. (there were some useful aspects, hence, not a waste of 28p)

We are all put together, German, French and Spanish, so it would be tough to do, but this would have been SO much better if they had brought a former Erasmus student from each language to tell us what they found shocking/ hard/ new/ different.

It meant that I was not prepared for some things in Germany, and I have had to adjust myself to certain things.

- Germans are really direct. There is no beating around the bush like in English. They are not rude with it, just to the point!
- Sorry is not said at every slight inconvenience, whether it was you or someone else that caused it
- "danke" (thank you) is not used as often.  basically, you only use it when someone has gone really out of their way for you, and not moved their trolley so you can get passed!
- The word 'sofort' (immediately)   that stereotype about it - its true..  sofort means sofort!

but there are other things too..

- Shopping - if you want pickled stuff, you are in luck!  if you are looking for a 13 min microwavable lasagne for one...  tough luck..  but also, in Germany, shopping is done by type of food...   meat from the butcher, break from the baker etc etc  so you cant just nip to one shop!!   also   DON'T FORGET YOUR BAGS!!  only very few places offer plastic bags, and the cheapest I have seen are 19 cent paper ones 

I Love tegut...

- to further that note - shop etiquette. 
"Schonen Tag noch" or 'have a nice day' is said really often..  reply "ebenso" or "gleichweis"  (likeways, or back atcha!) because that's the thing to do! and not doing it appears really rude..  you can see it on people's faces if someone doesn't say it! 
- saying Hello...  if you read my post about the German Health system (opens new window)  then you will get a good sense of how that works through an emphasised point of view..  but also see the point I make about people saying 'hello'    - but its not just at the doctors.. its everywhere!  pizza shops.. wherever.. people walk in an announce themselves with a "hallo"
once place I went the other day - the person didn't get a response the 1st time, so cleared their throat and said it again, louder. to get a response! 

- Sarcasm...   well...  when on form, I can be VERY sarcastic.. this should only be done with people who have spent time in the UK..  otherwise, they are likely to take you seriously..  because everyone is direct
I was joking the other day saying that if my students spoke German, then I would throw them out the window..  she then asked me "is that allowed?"  -_-

the other major thing.. is this 'du' and 'Sie' thing,  Both ways of saying 'you', but one of them is formal...
whoever invented that needs to be strung up! For  person who's mother tongue only has one form, this gets confusing..  I didn't use the 'sie' form the other day in a shop (I was very tired, and not feeling 100% -better now though, thanks for the concern) and I was treated like I had just shit in their kettle..   I didn't realise it at the time... but I do now.  I realise that it is like me going up to a person in Tescos and saying   "you, chips, where, now?"  but I didn't at the time realise the gravity of it..  and now - im over using it great!

my last major point for now.. is recycling.
Pfand is amazing..
(watch the format change!...)

basically, a bottle of coke or whatever will have a price show like this

€1,00 + 0,25 Pfand.

you pay a total of €1.25 at the till.  BUT when you take it to a recycling place, you get the 0,25 back, to encourage plastic bottle recycling!

a machine to collect your 'Pfand' back

This applies to plastic (and I think glass) bottles...

BUT.. you also have to sort out your rubbish int bins, like the UK.. 

oh dear..    its even coloured to help me!

however.. here .. is it treated almost like a life and death situation..

sort them wrong and suffer the wrath!!    I have obviously been doing it a few weeks now.. and all of a sudden, a very stern notice has appeared on the door to the bins telling us how to do it!

I think its aimed at me!



This is a long one eh?
Now the language..

There will be another blog on both of these topics, im sure, so this one is about the one thing I find most stark

ENGLISH
Centuries ago, English was made..  not the most creative language.. most of it was stolen from other people.. 
but , now, it appears that the other countries are taking stuff back.

there are so many words that have been derived from English that know about.. most are technology or new advancements.. but they even have phrases that they use..

for example

Ich werde es googlen - im going to Google it
Ich habe es gegoogled - I googled it

Man muss das im Facebook liken - you need to like that on facebook
dass habe ich geliked - I liked it

I mean really - geliked? that is taking an English verb and making it VERY German, grammatically!
other words - geaddet (added) / gestalked ( I mean c'mon!)

but there are loads - some can be found here (new window)

My favourite English word made German is 
angepissed - to be pissed off

du siehst ein bisschen angepissed aus - you look pissed off!!

but also phrases...

Germans will actually say

"you don't Say" as a phrase!    as a response to something shocking..    
someone used it to me (Jerome!) and I was like.. OK English now!!..  He was totally baffled...  because Germans use it!!

The video below below is in German and English combined (called Denglisch)

It doesn't matter if you don't understand as an English person... because to be fair, you will see how many English words and phrases there are! some words have been changed to make them conform with german grammar, but when you hear them, you will know which ones?

I will warn you - the song is average, but may get stuck in your head
This is called 'Denglisch' by a band called 'The Wise Guys'...  they use no instruments, so everything you hear is done by mouth



So.. ill put another language and culture blog up sometime.. but now yet eh? I think it will be about German TV - that is 2 birds, one stone!

Frankfurt, Kollegenausflug and the week ahead!

The Last week has been interesting.  Though I haven't really done much, at the same time, I kind of have!

Last week, I managed to Squeeze in more lessons that usual, just to help out a Colleague who couldn't make it into school.  I didn't mind, in fact, I really enjoyed it! :D

I have also got a lot of lessons to do for next week. I have booked myself to teach the full lesson for most of my lessons, which I am really looking forward to! :D  The lesson is the same for everyone, but it can be made easier or more difficult...

and it revolves around The Simpsons! :D


The main reason for updating this today, was to talk about Friday really.

Friday, was our Staff trip.

Now, this is not what I expected to be honest.  

We went to a place called Glauberg (to start) where we were dropped off on what can only be described as a back road and we walked for what I would say was about a mile and a half to a shack at the top of a hill. Nice views though!

View From Glauberg Hills

Frankfurt Skyline form Glauberg Hills

Here, we were served Brotchen (which are like sandwiches, but without a top on!) and drinks, ranging from water to apple juice to beer!!  (typical German!).  We then continued to hike for a further mile and a half to a museum, which was about Celts  (Woo!)

We had a guided tour..
to paint a picture..

1)I was tired..  having had a stressful week with home stuff, I fell asleep at 2 the morning before, and was awake at 6
2) I had just walked 3 miles, not amazingly far, but after 12 hours sleep over the last 4 days..  pretty tough
3)i was walking and listening and talking German. Some people struggle to understand, that the mental capacity to Listen, translate, understand, formulate response, translate and speak all so that the conversation doesn't lose flow is OK in bursts, but after 4 hours of it....  its tiring..   (hopefully fellow FSAs will know what I mean here!)

so .. the guided tour....

She spoke with a general speed of about 25 words per second, and similar to Faust, by the time I had translated the first sentence, she has then gone on to say around about 4 more so I understood some of it...

Big shout out to the teacher though, (and it did make me laugh) who then asked for a summary of the tour...    He is an English teacher, and must have been able to read my facial expression like a treat!

The View from the Museum Cafe

After this, we went to a town (I suppose you can call it) Called Budigen and had a coffee , then went to a Restaurant for a Meal.

Budigen 'town' center

Very nice restaurant!

I enjoyed this part...  we had a nice meal and I sat with the younger staff , enjoyed a few beers and talked about nothing sensible.  Which was nice!

On Saturday, I went to Frankfurt , and met up with another FSA.  He was pretty desperate to do something called the Ebbelwie Express , (translated as Apple-wine Express). This is an old tram, that costs EUR7.50 . With this , you get a ride of about an hour round trip, a bottle of apple wine and a packet of mini pretzels.

Not bad really!

Well, it can't exactly be called a sight-seeing tour. The tram (obviously) has to follow the tram lines, which in Frankfurt are more for practicality that tourism. There is one good view though...

The View from the Tram

What I can say it is, is a fairly relaxing hour on a tram that isn't very discreet (it looks like a circus on wheels!), that plays very loud, garish and stereo typically German Music. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable.

The Tram!

Apple wine, by the way, tastes very similar to a not-too-dry Cornish Cider.  The leaflet actually says "This Cider is now a world famous Wine" ..   Well..   Okay then!

We also went back to my Little corner of England in Germany (in the form of the Irish pub) and had a pint.
After the Pint, I clearly had some Dutch Courage and decided to go up the Bloody great tower.
The Lift travels at 20kph  and once you are up there..  its pretty windy..  but Frankfurt at night...

Frankfurt at night from the Main Tower 

 So a good weekend then really...   And the F1 topped it off.. a Second for Massa was great..  Ignoring the Winner and the non-finishing Ferrari.. :P


This next part, it to satisfy The University of Sunderland - as part of my 'reflective Diaries'

its not tough to live tough here
the language is fast
the Germans like beer
hate Lufthansa strikes
they have an unhealthy obsession with fizzy water
and their shops are weird

Oh, and all that Cultural awareness we did before we came??  total and utter Bull...   probably would have been better to teach us something useful??  

If that isn't reflective..

Just for you , Jo! :D


So.. Im not sure when I will next update this..  so - Stay safe all,
Turrah!

Typical Tourism!

Moin Moin!

Well, I thought I would update you all since the last few days have been pretty busy!

Well, Friday I was invited on a school trip with the 7th Grade to Frankfurt Zoo!   It is the second oldest Zoo in Germany and has a serious breeding program for rare and endangered animals.

There are some odd things about it..     1st - it is right slap bang in the middle of the city center. it is really odd looking at a rare frog or flamingo and finding that the ICE train to Berlin is flying past next to you! the second is that - there are very few fences!  some animals obviously need it - bird etc - but for most, they just have a moat between you and them - weird!!

The animals all seem happy though and they interact with the guests really well, like these little guys...

The monkey chasing a finger

The new Baby seal playing against the window

The zoo was a really good day - German children are the most difficult to understand because they talk fast, and with loads of colloquial words in their language too...it meant that I could really get to know the class - and everyday German!!     it ended up with the German kids telling me the words in German, and then me telling them in English!!
apart from that - it gave me the chance to see Frankfurt - and it is BIG.

But that was Friday - Saturday i got up and decided to go to Fulda on a day trip.  Armed with my camera I left at 9:30 and was there for 10 - I had a look around, took 3 pics and was on the train back to Frankfurt by 13:30.   I had decided to go and scope the place out - having enjoyed it on Friday - and it is HUGE!

I walked down the main shopping street - which if you don't know what you are looking for and where it is can take you about 3 days anyway! or a full calendar month for ladies!
I found (but didn't do this time) a skyscraper with a viewing platform at 200 Storys - so , one for the future.

Frankfurt has the label of being a very financial and ugly city, but it is very much a city of two halves..
I went see the Rathaus - which is really nice - it is like walking from a massive modern city into a typical German town. all around one square, umpa band, leather trousers..you know the drill..  the Rathaus is impressive anyhow...

Rathaus Frankfurt

The Rathaus is in a square, near to loads of churches and a cathedral.  Its actually a really great place and there are loads of resteurants around it with outdoor seating too!

German Band, Leather Trouders!

Having eaten an Ice cream and loved the Umpa band, I headed towards a shopping center that had a viewing gallery...   didn't want shopping, just wanted this...

Frankfurt Skyline

 Its pretty Special..
So it pretty much has everything.

The highlight of the day for me came at about 5:30PM, when i bit the bullet and went on the boat trip.

EUR 6 for 50 mins,  EUR 8 for 100mins..  cheap as chips!
the 100 mins wasn't running, due to the time of day, but the 50 mins I has were brilliant!

It gives you an opportunity to see the city from the river, and get pictures like this...

The Frankfurt Skyline and a Setting Sun

 yeah, im pretty impressed with that photo!
these were also boats like these (left)  they are like dinghies but they have an umbrella, a small motor and a BBQ in the middle - you can rent them!

I want one!!  :D





on the way home I bumped into an Irish bad - I 'Fell' inside and had a nice chat with an Irish bloke Called Anthony - cheers for the Pint, mate!

So - that was my weekend!!  awesome!!

today I have spend chilling, and eating eggy soldiers !
Bliss!!

anyway...

In a bit, Beef!