Die erste Nacht mit meinem Gepaeck
First night with my teddy bear, Glottis. Yay! Soooo glad the luggage is with me in my room. And my phone charger (and so in time! My phone just went out of batt when I was at the Hauptbahnhof!), and my warm clothes. My fingers do get dumb occasionally, so I'm so glad with the amount of warm clothes I'm finally having.
Abendessen
Currywurst for dinner. Aaaaah... Curry in Germany!! Of course the taste is weird; more sour than spicy, haha. But still the taste of curry. Oooooh... The sushi is bloody ex - 5 to 6 Euros per small set. When it's around 2 bucks back home. Ouch.
Hauptbahnhof
It was evening when class ends. Went to the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) to buy my German Rail Pass and make reservations for the weekend trip to Bayreuth and Weimar. Gosh, I was so nervous! Cos I know no one there speaks English, so I cannot insert English words in my sentences due to lack of German vocab! BUT I MADE IT. Phew... Yepz. Be thick skin and ignore their impatient looks.
Der Unterricht
And back to the school, it was lesson time. Class was... eh... confusing... Everyone speaks tremendously fast, and hence my mind switched off now and then. And it's definitely a bad idea, when the class is small and the probability of me being picked on randomly is naturally high.
Stadtspaziergang
The "City-Walk" tour is in German! Imagine, isn't it an overdose of German? Lol, but I can manage it by now. Everytime I got out of my hostel I'm cruelly reminded that I'm in Germany, coz you would be immediately eavesdropping on a conversation in German. Anyway, back to the tour. Very very nice. I hadn't had time to tour the city centre yet coz I have no mind to do so during the lost-luggage period, but I'm definitely up to it now.
We walked pass the Sendlinger Tor, then visited the
Asamkirche, which its interior was BREATHTAKING. It's a church (kirche = church), so I didn't scream "WOW!" in there. We walked pass the
Neues Rathaus, Viktualienmarkt and the Max-Joseph-Platz, where the Residenz stands. Oh wow. Residenz. I plan to visit there for their operas. Okay, for your information, the Residenz was the former residence of the royal family of Munich in the past. In the present, it has been transformed into more than three museums, a treasury, and an opera house. So imagine how huge it was. Then the Theatinerkirche, which I find a tat too yellow, ahaha. I think I missed out a lot of the other places, but these are the ones more worth mentioning. The city center is too huge! The weather, however, was the party-pooper. Imagine: ten seconds of sun. then another few minutes of rain. Followed by fine weather but no sun. The heavens totally cannot make up their mind, lol.
And there was a period of time when I couldn't even feel my fingers. It was that cold even though I was clad in a shirt, overcoat, scarf and long pants. Brrrrrr weatherrrrrr...
Gute Nachrichten
A great piece of news - my long-lost luggage arrived in school yesterday evening!!!!! Hooray! You don't know how relieved I am. I came early to school to register for a school tour, when the receptionist informed me about my arrival of my luggage. She pointed to the familiar-looking object a short distance away from the desk and smiled: "Is that your luggage?" That really brightens up my day! But because I have to join the tour (a guided walk around the Munich city center organized by the school) later at ten, I decided to leave the luggage where it was and decided to only bring it back to my room after class.
Ganz kurz...
No news of my luggage, my Glottis, and my Franz portrait! Hmm... I began to worry... But at least I had my stationeries and German notes with me so I don't have to hunt for cheap notebooks and stuff. Things here are pretty ex.
Had Turkish food for breakfast... But... I don't really like it. Don't think I'll ever try eating Turkish ever again.
However, my class started today, and I finally received
a lot of allowances from GI (as promised from my scholarship) and yes, I can get better food finally!! The first day of school was great. I was one of the better speakers (as praised by the teacher) in the class, but I thought everyone spoke more freely than me. Wow. Some were sooo fast!! But perhaps because my German carries no accent at all? I can only make wild guesses.
Interesting class. And interesting combination of nationalities - Korean, French, Italian, British, American, Swiss, Hungarian. Hmm, what else I cannot remember. But on the first day, we had a listening test!! o_O Very difficult was that...
At the end of the day I suffered from German overdose. So badly I couldn't speak proper English and well, writing Chinese character was now a daunting task for me. I could hardly imagine what will happen to me by the end of the month.
And for dinner...
since I got my allowances finally! Had a typically German dish for dinner - a plate of sausages, sauerkraut and potato!! Ooooh... So ex...
But not my money... Ahaha... It's around 12€ for that. But I fell in love with Sauerkraut and Weißwurst straight away! Yum... The sauerkraut is gooood... Oh, and so is their honey mustard. I sensed a hint of alcohol in the sauce - I was rather drunk (I really took a lot of it from the jar) after paying the bill. Ahaha. What fun. Now if only my luggage was with me as well... Oh well... Zzzzz...
Die Wohnheim
I have to go to my hostel myself, and found the front door locked. Hence, putting my German into use, I finally got someone to phone the person-in-charge from my hostel to open the front door for me. Nice people though. I guess sometimes there's a privilege looking different in a foreign country. Lots of house rules, but I'm okay with it. I had to pay the €50 Schüsselkaution before I could view my room. But - I looooooooove my room, so that's the only good stuff on this day. The scenery from the window was great (full of greeneries) and the house was really quiet and peaceful. Like the environment a lot, except that Germans smoke EVERYWHERE. Still, look who's got a bathtub! :)
And around evening when I returned from some shopping (because of the stupid luggage lost) I received a phone call from GI (Goethe-Institut) that I'm instead, placed in B2.1. Dotz... They can't make up their minds!! Or rather, that horrible teacher from my placement test lost his battle. Ahahahahahahaha. Because I passed my ZD, it was the white-and-black proof that I shouldn't be placed lower than B1.4. *raspberry at the teacher* Well, it's good that I finally got promoted to a higher level, but now I end up in afternoon classes. Darn again. Less time to explore Munich when I have to go for class in the afternoon. And shops close at 7pm here...
Lastly, because I'm so exhausted, it's easy to sleep.
Die Prüfung
And because of the panic of running to and fro between the two airport terminals in the morning (gosh, each of the terminals is HUGE!) and the lack of sleep, apparently I didn't do so well for the placement test - got placed in B1.1 (back home I had completed B1.4). I got de-graded. Bad eh? Firstly they gave me the map for my hostel, then ushered me to the rooms to take my placement test. It began with the oral exam first. I could see that the teacher whom I had to speak to didn't really like me! I hated his eyes. Then the written paper, which I also suck. Multiple choice + sleepiness and wearied from panic in the morning = all answers looked the same to me. But I think I impressed him with a short essay I had to write at the end of the exam. That was why he couldn't made up his mind whether to de-grade or upgrade me. Ahaha. Love his dumb expression. I could tell you, I really hated him at the end of the day. Anyway, he made up his mind: B1.1. Okay, fine fine. Do whatever you will. Bad day so far.
Abfahrt
My flight was at 11pm, so only left home in the evening (before 8pm). Pandora and family, and the other relatives came to send me off - thank you!! I was really very touched!
The first flight was to Amsterdam on KLM. The food was actually good! But the 13 hours on board were hard to bare, especially the attempt to get some sleep when the tv monitor is so bright! I wasn't prepared for it actually... Bleh... But at the end of the day, I SURVIVED THIRTEEN HOURS ON BOARD!! There was nothing to be proud of, but still, first time, first experience. I should have worn more comfortable clothes if not for the exam I have to take shortly after my arrival in my school.
The next transfer flight (from Amsterdam to Munich) was, this time, on Lufthansa. I almost missed my flight actually - because I couldn't find the counter to get my boarding pass; the Amsterdam airport was soooo huge! But still, I made it on the plane, breathless and panting of course. On board, the food... wasn't up to my expectation. Such a contrast! From delicacies to plain white bread with ham and cheese. And I used to have such good impression about the airline since the prices are always so expensive! Hmm hmm.
Bad things never come to an end. I arrived in Munich Airport - without my luggage. I DON'T KNOW HOW, BUT THEY LOST MY LUGGAGE. The experience was real bad when I arrived ALONE in the airport, waiting for my luggage on the conveyor belt which was never to come. But luckily I had read of such incidents from the travel guides, which advised me to make a lost baggage report (in German) right there. I hope for the best and left the arrival hall.
It was almost 11am when I figure out which is the right S-Bahn (subway) ticket to purchase to get me to the city center. A strange woman approached me to hand me a "Tagesticket". I understand what the ticket is used for now, but back then I was totally confused. Anyhow, I paid the right amount of money to get me to my destination, costing me €4,80. Tja.
Alighted at Karlsplatz (Stachus), but lost my way in search of Sonnenstraße, where my school is located. Took me more than 30 minutes to reach the right street, and that was when my placement test start.
Bald... es ist bald...
So tonight's my last night here... AND WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING ON THE NET, YOU CRAZY SILLY GIRL?! GOE SLEEP! GOE GOE SLEEP!!
Right.
Erm, okay, I should be sleeping early (but all efforts in vain). I feel guilty - that my room still has room for my bed, but the living room's in chaos. Lol. Less than 24 hours, luggage 98% packed, and
nothing planned for the 4th week. Oh bother. I'm tired. I'm sick and tired of planning.
I should just quit at that and goe study for my placement test. Yes, another test this coming Monday. What a nice way of making you feel welcome in Munich. But okay. Studying is still better than planning
shit travel routes. And that my main reason there is to study. As a student, not a tourist.
Before lights out, I would like to make an announcement:
THIS WILLL BE THE LAST POST here at blogspot. I will try to reply emails and post entries online when I get the chance there. Hence, you can contact me via
beeluke@gmail.com whilst all journal entries will be posted
here. Because blogspot takes a long time to publish posts and yahoo is
langsam.
Lastly, I would like to thanks everyone who gave their blessings. Thank you - they meant a lot! A journey to the unknown awaits me... Apprehension, yet anticpation.
Anyway, a last good night from home to everyone!
Ziemlich fertig, aber ich denke, dass ich brauche noch mehr Zeit
This is a rough guide to where I might be going to next month. At least I managed to draft up something, which is long over-dued.
1st Saturday - Bayreuth & Weimar
1st Sunday - Weimar
1st Monday - Weimar (morning), and perhaps a trip to Wuerzburg? Perahia is performing at the Mozartfest there!!!
2nd Saturday - Fussen
2nd Sunday - Oberammergau
[ya... the travel guides had made me a King Ludwig II fan. Oh dear.]
3rd Saturday - Chiemsee
3rd Sunday - Berchtesgaden
4th Saturday - Salzburg
4th Sunday - Vienna
4th Monday - Vienna
Lol, from my 2nd and 3rd week you can see I'm a nature lover. *grins* Those four places are around the Bavarian Alps! The only pity is that I can't visit the Zugspitze at Garmisch-Partenkirche - cos it's so expensive!! A three-part climb to the top requires over 44 Euros!! That's too impossible for me (and my pocket). And I can save for more concerts back in Munich, haha.
I've checked a little of the concert ongoing in Germany, and sadly, no Mozart operas in Munich. Sigh... Hopefully there will be some in Vienna (have not checked yet). Still I'll try some operas in Munich. Some by Donizetti (why not Rossini!! ;__;), can't recall the rest from my list. Oh, I remember! They are soooooo performing Beethoven's
Fidelio in Munich! Not my favourite piece of work, but at least something familiar. :)
Kein Titel, weil ich zu gluecklich bin!
Ich habe meine ZD-Pruefung gut (ich glaube...) bestanden!!! Obwohl die Punkte der Pruefung fuer Hoeren und Muendlich etwas schlecht sind, ich habe die Uebrigen gut gemacht. 75/75 fuer Lesen!!! Es ist sehr schoen!! Eine Fehler fuer die Sprachbaustein habe ich gemacht, und nur 3 Punkte zu verlieren fuer dem Brief!!! Ich weiss, dass mein Deutsch nicht perfekt ist, aber ich bin so froehlich, wenn ich die schwierige Pruefung bestanden habe. Jetzt kann ich die Probe fuer die Musikhochschule (in naechstem Jahr) vorbereiten!
:D
For my dear English-speaking friends: here's a summary of the above. Our dear beloved German teacher actually presented to us (I don't think it's allowed actually, but he's so nice) the overall marks after our last paper - and Empress passed her exam!!! :) I thought the marks were quite good, so, me happy!
I was actually deciding to retake the exam if my marks turn out sucky, but okay... Look like there's no need now. I have to concentrate on my Musikhochschule audition after I return from Munich. Well, first obstacle passed. Yep. ^_^
Morgen habe ich Pruefung?! Aber ich denke an sie nicht!!! Hohoho~~~~
WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
I RECEIVED (FINALLY!!!) THE ADDRESS FOR MY ACCOMODATION IN MUNICH!!!!!
And what what what what glee - it's only five minutes from my school! XDDDDDDDDDD
*I WANNA SPAZZ SO MUCH MORE!!!!!!!!!!!*
Meaning I can wake up half an hour before lesson starts. *evil grin* Aah! And I have been expecting the worst, like I still have to take a bus to school or something. And yeah! Yeahzzzzz!!!!!
And it's near the main station!!! Aaaaah... I love the trains, I love the trains!! My main transport of escapism! Whahahahahaha!! Yeah!
*I REALLY CANNOT SPAZZ ENOUGH!!!!!*
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!
Fuss-schmerzen!!
I can't believe locating Liszt's grave took me more than three hours to locate! It's sad to know that it's not highlighted on maps meant for tourists. In the end I have to barge into a couple of Germans' online journals to
firstly obtain the address of the Bayreuth City Cemetery. Then it's more detective work with finding a suitable website that provides a thorough map fo Bayreuth that
lists everything!!
But, after locating my Immortal Beloved, it is all the more rewarding. Very soon, yes, very soon. I really can't wait.
My feet hurt
a lot from standing for hours in front of the lappie. It's at an levitated height now, so sitting is impossible. On other matters, I've decided not to visit Prague in the end. The shopping for music scores was a bait, but once I studied the travel guides the city seems dull (in my opinion) to visit. And the maps and names are all in a mess at first glance.
So perhaps it's Paris or Austria for me then. Only that I've a phobia for Austrian's German.
Die Pruefung war schrecklich
The three German papers are over, but I really don't want to talk about it. But I feel fortunate having Mum and Pandora around - thanks to them I actually felt better. Only that I also knew, when I wake up tomorrow, the whole nightmare will hit me right in the face, all over again.
I have to try focus on the last paper, which is oral (and I fear
oral), which will be on next Saturday.
Why must such woeful post be my 200th post?Anyway, here's what I've written in my personal diary yesterday (with some editing of course, for online viewing): thought you might want to know what I'm been up to ever since I went "MIA" cyberspace-wise.
Whoa, perhaps this is the first time I tried to suppress myself to my limit. To prepare for my German papers I had tried to restrain myself only to the German language, with the occasional animes in Chinese and Japanese (but I have also cut the number down per day in extreme). For two whole days I sat in front of the television listening to Deutsche Welle (the German channel), and when my ears are tired I "imprisoned" myself in my room, equipped with all my German notes, laptop and two German dictionaries. And when my eyes are tired, I'll approach Deutsche Welle on television again. So this is the typical rotation for these two days.
I guess this is what you call "extreme-studying". Extreme exam stress.
I'll never do it again.
I believe I almost "cracked" at around 10pm. After downing dinner painfully (I totally had no appetite nor taste buds whatsoever), it's another few hours of isolation in my room. I can't really recall what I did anymore. Anyway, at eight I went for a quick bath so that my hair will be dry when it's time for bed. Tried to sing in the bathroom (oops! HAHAHA...) but the tune I was carrying just faded away naturally; didn't feel like singing. Popped a supplement pill (the usual like I always do) before another couple of hours in isolation and cold silence... Read 33 pages of letters in German before I "popped" myself.
I found myself reaching for the bottle of pills and suddenly have the urge to take one. "Er, wait a minute, didn't I just took one just now? It's only twice per day, so that's enough", that's what I thought. But I popped one into my mouth anyway. And then my right hand reached out for the Vitamin C (coz it was just on the rack above me) pills. And I have a crazy urge to finish the bottle of pills plus the Vit C. This may sound real stupid and silly, but that moment, I was very afraid of myself.
Luckily I realised what I was going to do and realised this is not the way to suppress myself. Not anymore. This is indeed mentally destroying my usual self. So here I am, typing in English and J-pop loudly blasting though it's close to 11pm from my hi-fi.
Okay, this is better now. Studying German with Japanese pop; this is life. Indeed! :)
Liebe Freunde,
Es kommt bald...
Deshalb...
Ich habe Pruefungsangst,
ich habe Pruefungsangst,
ich habe Pruefungsangst!!!!!
Aber, warum jetzt? Jetzt ist knapp zwoelf Stunden vor die Pruefung. Und ich habe Angst.
Was kann ich machen? Was soll ich machen? Was darfe ich machen? Was
muss ich machen? Ich weiss nicht. Das weiss ich genau nicht mehr... Ich weiss nur, dass ich seit gestern fuer die Pruefung vorbereitet habe. Heute blieb ich vor dem Fernsehen gerade fuer drei Stunden, Deutsch zu hoeren! Und als ich spaeter Chinesisch hoerte, konnte ich fuer ein paar Sekunden die Sprache nicht verstehen. Finden Sie diesen Fall komisch? Das ist gut, aber auch schrecklich. Ich konnte abends nicht gut essen, weil ich zu viel Stress habe. Schrecklich, furchtbar, schade! Warum habe ich Angst? Habe ich noch nicht genug gemacht? Na ja, ich muss etwas Zeit fuer die Schreiben zu wiederholen. Aber ich mache das jetzt, haha!
Das ist eine dumme Witze... Nicht lustig ist das... Wirklich, ich bin verrueckt... Es wird umheimlicherer sein, wenn ich die mundliche Pruefung ablegen werde. Aber, ich habe auch gedacht: wenn alle vorbei sind, kann ich mich auf
meinen Urlaub meine Stipendium-Reise nach Deutschland freuen, und natuerlich plannen.
Ich habe noch Angst und Stress vor morgen (und naechste Woche), aber ich muss meine Wiederholung zueruckgehen.
Herzliche Gruesse und Aengste,
Kaiserin
[
P.S. I'm so scared...]
Pruefungsangst?
I'm suffering from intense stress - direct effects from my German exam preparations and DIY-tour planning. I don't know which one is worse - crash-course on letter-writing and the terrifying oral, or trying to plan a one-month travel schedule out of thin air (when my hostel's address and lesson time are only decided and given on the first day of arrival).
Tja.
So in deep shit. Many thought I might be feeling excited, but really, it's more stressful than fun right now. Maybe I'll feel differently in the last week, but right now...
...the
Requiem rehearsal is a bore,
...the exam preparation is a mess,
...the travel planning is chaos.
So there.
T_T
