Merry Christmas Everyone

So it's been month since my last Blog post and I know you've all been craving an update from Planet ERASMUS.
In the last month I've traveled, partied, and just generally had the craic. However I will be recounting these exploits in bullet-point format for 2 reasons.
1. Bullet-points get more views
2. I'm so lazy that even typing a small block of text eludes me.

So this is what I've learned:

• Zurich, though beautiful, will require you to take out a small loan to stay there for more than 5 hours.
• If you go out the night before a trip only 1/3 of participants will get up on time and will ultimately have to make a mad dash for the bus.
• Contrary to my previous opinion, Starbucks is awesome. (Starbucks English breakfast tea to be more specific.)
• I may never get the Alpaca I so desperately want.
• The German punctuality stereotype doesn't apply when it comes to rail travel.
• Rice isn't all that bad.
• A 2 liter bottle of wine deserves to be hugged.
• If you're at an international meeting of minds in a Greek bar be prepared to drop €100.
• Wine and hats go hand in hand.
• The Nürnberg Christkindlesmarkt is pretty amazing and, most importantly, full of delicious food.
• The view from Nürnberg Castle is well worth the climb. 
• If it comes to a showdown between an DSLR camera and cobblestones the cobblestones will win. Every time.
• The combination of standing for an hour on a train and drunk people will make Rhys a little homicidal. 
• German in a Welsh accent can and will reduce me to tears.
• Drunk people are insanely entertaining at long as you don't engage them directly.
• After travelling for 8 hours there is no place nicer to be than your own bed.

Only a week after travelling to Nürnberg I traveled home. I guess I'm just a sucker for punishment as it was the single most stress-filled tear inducing trip I have ever taken. However as I sit in my bedroom on Christmas Eve typing this very blog post I know for a fact I would do it all over again to get home.

I wish each and every one of you a safe and Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year for a whole host of new shenanigans. 

Stuttgart

So, not content with the spoils of Konstanz, last Thursday I decided to take it up a gear and have myself an adventure in Stuttgart. Now as excited as I was to get to there, had I had the option of going back to bed at 5am I would have gladly taken it. I have to stop going on trips that revolve around 7am buses as I'm sure the sound of me blundering around the apartment before dawn isn't something my flatmates enjoy waking up to.
Now my intention was to go back to sleep on the bus pretty much immediately, unfortunately not everyone agreed....initially. Don't worry, they eventually came around to my way of thinking. Upon arrival in Baden-Wurttemberg's  Hauptstadt we made our way to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. I had reached paradise, or at least a shiny highly polished version of paradise full of vintage roadsters....and the Pope-Mobile, so If you're wondering what to get me for Christmas.

(Photos courtesy of Rory and Rhys. I most definitely asked permission..)

The New Castle - Stuttgart

We emerged from the museum to a very cold and grey Stuttgart. The cold part became a major factor in the latter part of our day as we spent it wandering around the city. It wasn't so much a guided tour as 'oh that looks interesting lets look at that for a while'. We opted to have our wander narrated in German not because we wanted to challenge ourselves but because the translator was a lot like Google translate, she had the right idea but it wasn't quite decipherable. Her efforts were still appreciated.
I must say, even though you probably associate it more with industry Stuttgart is an incredibly beautiful city.

So there we are in the capital city of Baden-Wurttemberg with a hour and a half to ourselves to do whatever we wish, we can go see anything in the entire city! We spent it in Starbucks. Like I said, it was cold.

We did however manage to warm up considerably once we  got into the 'Landestag' or Parliament of Baden-Wurttemberg. We sat in on a discussion about care for the elderly and afterward got to speak with a man from the Green Party. I will be honest and admit that this is the point where I began to think about chips. It was this thought that kept me going on the 2 and a half hour journey home and just like children after a school tour we rounded the day off with a trip to McDonald's. All was well.

I Have Been Educated

Over the past two months I have learned a few things. None of which are of any academic use.

• Menthol tissues are amazing
• Old style alarm clocks, however useful, will shave years off your life
• All you have to do to stop someone climbing out a window is keep pressure on their sternum
• Alcohol is a powerful painkiller
• I enjoy being called 'poppet'
• 'Anything but clothes' parties in November are a terrible idea
• I rely on pizza to keep me alive far too much
• Tutorials will scare the living daylights out of you
• Satsumas are my new best friends
• Beer is far too cheap in Germany
• Bacon sandwiches have healing powers
• Whatever bacon can't fix tea can
• It's much easier that I had previously thought to do nothing with your day
• Eating potatos 6 days out of 7 is odd
• Jello shots are dangerous
• Never leave the house without a dictionary
• Chocolate is also far too cheap
• Erasmus friends will tell you if you need to sort your life out
• There really are no words to describe the madness

Homesickness

Until today I hadn't intended on writing a post on homesickness simply because it hasn't played a major role in my. as I've decided to call it 'Konstanz Life'. As I may have mentioned once...possibly twice.... I absolutely love it here. The place, the people, the socializing, the......ahem.....academics, everything. It's already one of the best experiences of my life and we're only 2 months in.

Now obviously it was a very different story before I got here. Even the thoughts of leaving was enough to have me a blubbering mess. (Soon the thoughts of going home will have a similar effect but that's a whole other post) Of course the first two weeks were pretty tough. During the day I held things together pretty well but once I closed my bedroom door I was pretty inconsolable, just ask my poor Mother.
My advice? Meet people.

For me it just started off with small talk with people in my class, general boring 'had we homework?' kind of stuff but this led to socializing and general funtimes. Soon homesickness wasn't an issue. Obviously I miss my family and friends (even though they tend to ignore me for FIFA 13 and Halo 4, you know who you are) and cannot wait for them to come and visit, but in my day to day activities I don't dwell on home.

So what got me thinking of home today you may ask? Well a handwritten letter is enough reason for someone to feel a little homesick, right?

I've As Much Chance Of Being A Spy As A Satsuma

So on Sunday I turned 20.
Pretty unremarkable I'm sure you'll agree and I wasn't expecting any major celebrations. Just a few drinks or something. Did my fellow ERASMUS students agree? Oh hell no!

They began their scheming. To a worrying degree. Facebook groups were formed, messages were exchanged and it was decided when everybody was going to go to town. Everything was running perfectly fine until this Gobs*ite right here decides to get the same bus. Now I saw nothing, absolutely nothing, but apparently I cut about 5 years off their lives. What can I say I'm nothing if I'm not COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS.

Now hindsight is a powerful tool. As I sit here typing this I have to ask myself how I didn't suspect anything. Everybody was acting incredibly strange. All morning. Alice's horrified expression when I arrived at the door being a prime example. Also being dragged out for a walk in the snow was slightly odd too, but it lead to some nice photos.

Upon arrival back at base this is what awaited me:

To say I was shocked and delighted is an understatement. Granted I can now never trust anyone again but it most definitely for the best of reasons. 

So thank you Orla, Kiara, Ivan, Rory, Ashton Alice, Katie, Wes Phoebe, Sean, Judith Rhys and anyone else who had a hand in this for giving me a Birthday I really won't forget in a hurry.

Today Is The Day I Got Schooled

Today was the day I got one hell of a lesson in German efficiency.
Now you may not think this is all that efficient but when you come from Ireland, where we have meetings about organizing a meeting, it's pretty damn impressive.

It was decided our apartment needed a cleaning rota. Perfectly reasonable, nothing odd there. So we sat down to discuss what would happen, who would do what etc etc. Still perfectly fine. Then it's mentioned that the entire flat should be cleaned before we implement the rota and BAM. Next thing I know I've half the fridge emptied and the place is in chaos (granted it was the good kind of 'it gets worse before it gets better' kind of chaos but still!)
So now I'm sitting in my lovely clean flat with everything immaculate instead of having the prospect of gutting the place looming over me like it would undoubtedly be like at home and I gotta say there's a lot to be said for just getting stuck in.

Tonight was also the first night I spent an extended period of time with all my German flatmates at once which was lovely. Unfortunately I finally realized how far I have to go with my German. If I was addressed directly I understood every word but anything other than that I was lost, so it was easier to not say much at all while everyone else chatted away.

I have to admit, tonight is the loneliest I've felt in a while.

So I'm Back In College

So I have just realized that in just over a week I will have been living in Germany for (the majority of) 2 months, which is, by anyone's logic, quite a substantial amount of time.
I have also realized, to my horror, that the ERASMUS programme is conducted for the academic enrichment of the students taking part. I had forgotten this fact until I was (literally) rudely awakened on Monday morning.
I have officially returned to studying, essays and deadlines. Oh happy days.

I kid, I kid. Though I'm not crazy about being back to the books I must admit the modules I've decided to take seem pretty interesting. I'm particularly looking forward to 'The Political System of Germany' and with any look I won't be one of the 20% of failing ERASMUS students that we were informed about within the first 20 minutes of the opening lecture. Sometimes optimism can be a little difficult...
The language course also seen like they'll be worth their weight in gold. Who knows, by the end of this year I might actually be able to speak some German.

Of course for all of you at home the beginning of College only means one thing, Freshers Week. A week of madness, mishaps and general mayhem. Unfortunately this years Freshers Fest was for me incredibly tame to the extent of being non-existent. We attended some introductory lectures and that was pretty much it. From my experience to date there's no Students Union to the extent we have at home which means no clubs societies day. A massive shame considering that's usually where I do my annual stationery shop. We did have a party organized for us for the following Monday but I think all I'll say about that is I did the Irish stereotype proud. Very very proud.

To conclude: Am I happy to be back in College? Yes and no. Am I going to enjoy College in Konstanz? I think so Yes. Am I going to become the responsible student I ought to be? Who knows!

First Day Of 'Real' College

So I have just returned from my first official day of College.

I will take this opportunity to be honest. Yesterday, the idea of becoming re-acquainted  with my academic life was nothing short of soul shatteringly depressing.
I mean seriously considering running away with the circus depressing.

However studying aside, which tends to happen to me quite often, the Uni itself is amazing. It's quite a bit smaller than home which made up for the fact that trying to find your lecture hall is on par with undertaking a quest through a labyrinth.
The fact that classes are at least 90 minutes will also take a bit of adjusting to. It may just mean that my in-class power naps have been extended.

Oh yeah, the most wonderful part? I've a 4 day week. Jealous much?

Less Confusion Than Last Time...

Just a quick update, (a very quick update)           

Bank stuff has been sorted. ID card has been received. Modules still have to be selected. Konstanz is awesome.

Unnecessary Confusion

Now don't get me wrong, this post isn't me slamming on the Uni. I understand that there is a lot to deal with behind the scenes. I know that there's plenty going on and an immeasurable number of problems to fix but I would have thought that rule number one would most definitely to be communicate your message clearly and without delay.
I shall explain..

There have been quite a few incidents of unnecessary confusion and stress due to apparent bureaucratic errors.
1. ID Cards: We were informed that our student ID cards would be ready to collect on Tuesday September 25th. They weren't. We were then informed that they would most definitely be ready to collect on the Friday. Again, no joy and 2 weeks later, still nothing. The frustrating part, no ID card = no student number. No student number = no registering for seminars. Granted this isn't the end of the world as there is an whole other semester to register for but plans have been seriously thrown out. It also makes travelling on the bus with a student ticket much more difficult.
2. Banking Errors: This has been the biggest source of stress in  my life for the past 2 weeks. The morning I leave to go home I get a letter stating that my deposit of €500 hadn't been paid. Now that's a worrying thing to hear at the best of times. You can imagine how I took it at 4am after an hours sleep right before I headed back to Ireland for 10 days. Yeah, not well. Cue a barrage of emails and phonecalls and general panic hoping I would actually have a place to come back to. I got a message yesterday stating that everything was in Ordnung. Yay place to live!
However, dear reader in the past week I have had to deal with not 1 banking mishap but two. I was contacted stating that I had not paid the €58 contribution. An issue that has yet to be but will hopefully be resolved. Hopefully.
3.Incorrect Information: Fairly simple I would have thought, tell the students when the term starts. Apparently not. The college website posted that lectures were starting on Monday (yesterday). They weren't. They are infact, as a few extremely disgruntled students who had made the trip to the Uni were informed, beginning next Monday.

I know that these were just mistakes and no one is to blame but my god did it lead to unnecessary stress.
Hopefully next week will be like a Summer's breeze.....I highly doubt it.

The Awesomest Group Ever!

To prove I'm not lying through my teeth about everything.
September Course Group H.

1 Month Reflections

OK, so I felt this was necessary. I have reached the 1 month milestone and I felt it was time to evaluate my experience.

I don't like to be wrong. I hate being proven wrong and will argue my point until there is a lot of indisputable evidence in front of my face. Any and all of my friends would be willing to testify to this statement. There is however the odd occasion where I am willing, if not happy to concede defeat. This is one of them.

For the best part of the last 2 years I have done everything to avoid the reality of moving to Germany. I just pretended it wasn't going to happen and on the off chance anyone around me brought it up I used my failsafe and burst into tears. Guaranteed to stop any and all attempts at conversation dead. Tuning out at our weekly ERASMUS preparation class was also a pretty regular occurrence. I really think that I still wasn't truly facing the fact that I was heading away when I was actually on the plane.
Of course I got, what I perceived as the standard pep talks from family and friends. I lost count the the amount of times I heard 'you'll have a great time', 'it'll be the best experience of your life' or 'you won't want to come home'. To me it was all rubbish. To me all that was happening was I was leaving my family and friends to spend a year on my own. Something that is a major fear at the best of times.

Well I was wrong. Very very wrong. I have had the most amazing 4 weeks. Obviously I have missed everybody at home and there have been times when I've felt quite homesick but overall everything had been incredible.
The Uni has been more than welcoming taking us through every step in getting settled and preparing for what we'll have to deal with for the year. The September Course itself was worth every cent. It helped me grasp grammatical sections I've been having trouble with for the past 5 years. I can't recommend it highly enough. It was also a major motivator to speak to new people, simply because there was no other choice.
The main reason I love the place so much is because of the people I've met. Mainly people from places that I only hear about when the Eurovision is on. I have met and made friends with people from England. Wales, France, Spain, Costa Rica, Finland, Belgium, Mexico, Russia, Estonia, India and believe it or not Germany. It sometimes feels like we're in a U.N meeting. If the U.N met in an Irish pub.
I've had deep philosophical conversations about nonsense. Gone walking at night with people I've known for a few weeks and had the best laugh, travelled to Munich with people I barely know and the most amazing time. Obviously I've become a bit lax with the whole stranger danger thing.

In short, ERASMUS is amazing. People are crazy. German is hard yet enjoyable. I am having the most amazing time and can't wait to continue.
1 month down. 10 to go.

A Merry Trip to München

I have been writing, rewriting and editing this post in an attempt to capture what it was like to attend Oktoberfest in Munich pretty much since I got back. I have however come to the conclusion that it would be an impossible feat to do it justice.
It went without a hitch considering it was a relatively spur of the moment decision. We got the 07:20 bus to Munich. It was truly incredible to see the world at that time of the morning, a sight not commonly seen by us student types. Once on board my fellow thirsty companions and I settled in for a 3 and a half hour conversation only interrupted by falling asleep.
Upon arrival we were, for the briefest of moments unsure of where to go, until we saw lots of men in Lederhosen. Following them was probably a safe bet, and sure enough it was as we were greeted by this:

As you can probably guess I knew I was off to a good start....and things got even better when this happened:

In conclusion, Oktoberfest is incredible. I mean completely astounding. The fact that everybody dresses up in small leather pants or long aproned dresses to spend the the day drinking and enjoying a day of general merriment is something that is quite unparallelled as far as I've seen. If any of you ever get the opportunity to go, and I sincerely hope you do, grab it with both hands!

Oh and before you ask I did get suckered into buying one of the many pieces items on sale (exclusively to trap unsuspecting tourists like ourselves):

After our adventures we made our slow (and for me wobbly) way back to the bus. I wish to use this forum to make an apology and issue a thank you. As I tend to wander off on a good day I wish to thank my companions for shouting me back in the right direction, I also wish to apologize to my new friend who had the displeasure of sitting next to me on the bus. Expect apology tea and gingerbread.

This May Not Be The Best Idea...

I've decided to go to Munich, the day before I have to go on a 5am flight.
Watch this space.

Furstenberg Funtimes!

So Thursday we went on a brewery tour. For €10 it was a bit of an oul bargain.

All us international students gathered around thirsty for.....knowledge into the exquisite art that is beer making.
I elected for the Furstenburg brewery in the Schwarze Wald over the Rothaus brewery. My reasoning? They both make alcohol so who gives a flying fudge where we go.
We boarded the train right here in Konstanz, full of anticipation only to be forced to prematurely disembark due to the minor issue of us boarding the wrong train. It really brought the phrase 'couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery' to life.
Once we were finally on our way the journey was actually quite pleasant. The town of Donaueschingen was a very pleasant place, though admittedly who wants to sight see with a free bar on the horizon?

So we arrived. We saw (a brief history of beer making) and we conquered....baskets of pretzels.

 It was a very pleasant trip, one I would highly, HIGHLY recommend. Though I'm sure if you went you wouldn't have to resort to drinking a crate of beer in a park after polishing off the brewery bar's daily allowance...

Sonnenschein!

And a lot of it!
Oh glory days.

It has been pretty darn hot here over the last few days. Though I have been reliably informed: Winter is Coming.
I am writing this this entry as a means of procrastination, and for the love I bear for all my loyal readers. Obviously.
What are you procrastinating from I hear you ask? A presentation, dear reader.
I know. I have been here 11 days and it's already done 3 tests and am now preparing for a presentation. Hows that for putting you through your paces! These Germans don't mess around. All in all I'm enjoying the language class, as of yet I'm unsure if it was worth the €250 I paid for it but time will tell!

I've been meeting so many weird and wonderful characters! Everyone here is so crazy and so nice. I have yet to meet a genuinely nasty person.

Lots coming up in the next few days. Expect updates!

A Week Tomorrow.

About that frequent update thing, I lied.
Things have been crazy, I mean really crazy!
We arrived last Monday after a 2 hour plane ride from Dublin to Zurich and an hour and a half from Zurich to Konstanz so you can imagine the only thing I wanted to do was fall asleep however in true Irish fashion we located the nearest Irish pub and 'went for one'. During the course of 'going for one' we were offered a job. Point to Germany, definitely.
We were moving into our flats on Tuesday but of course they had to some form of difficulty. A water pipe had burst in my room and now instead of living with fellow ERASMUS students I live in a basement with 4 native Germans but they speak English too so it's not awful. I'm adjusting now though I do feel pretty out of place here. I hope that dies down over time.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we were in College for language classes. I was put in a higher level which was a major self confidence boost and already I can feel myself learning new things everyday I just reall really need to start speaking more German.
Bonding with out fellow ERASMUS students is a major thing here and I must say it's alot of fun! Thursday we did a crazy dash around the city with people we had never spoken to before followed by a pub crawl. It's a great place to get chatting to people, even if you can't quite remember their name the next morning.
Yesterday we took a trip to Meersburg which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been! See for yourself. 

I met the most people here, just wandering around. I forced myself out of my comfort zone and made sure I mixed with different groups and feel so much better for it.

Well that's the brief synopsis of my adventures thus far, what's gonna happen next week? You'll know as soon as I do!

Night Before

OK, so after all my preparations ans planning it's finally here. Tomorrow I board that plane.
(So prepare for this to be updated on a slightly more regular basis, scouts honor!)
I've been inundated with well wishes and good luck cards, which was a really lovely aspect to this, to put it mildly, stressful time.
If I got a € for every time I've been asked 'how are you feeling?' or 'all set?' I would be having a pretty good time in duty free tomorrow.
The generic response had been 'oh, very excited' or 'ready to go'. However I'm totally petrified.
Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited but I'm so scared about what's going to happen. I'm going with the attitude that I'm going to fling myself headfirst into everything that's thrown at me but I know I'm going to feel pretty damn lonely for a while.

To the airport! Wish me luck!

Alrighty then

Everything seems to be falling (slowly) into place.
Today I was assigned mt accommodation. Isn't it pretty! (Just squint and pretend at least)

To say it was difficult to get my details would be an understatement. After contacting the Konstanz International Office I discovered that they had misspelled my E-mail and had in fact assigned me my Accommodation a month ago! Oh well, alls well that ends well I guess. Final hurtle: Somewhere to stay for my first night!

Stress (and lots of it)

Dearest reader.
ERASMUS preparations are hard, I mean really REALLY hard.
I, in my blissful ignorance believed everything was the hunkiest of dories, but alas this was not the case.
The troubles started when everyone else who is going to Konstanz got their admission e-mail and I got nada, zip, f*ck all.
Then came a week of unanswered E-mails, phones ringing out and general frustration. I can tell you that, in my personal experience at least, trying to contact my host University was a major pain.
I eventually got the issue cleared up when I got onto the person in charge of Outgoing Students from my University. She apparently has some kind of magic powers because she got a reply within 24 hours stating that there was an issue with my E-Mail address. An issue I wasn't going to be told about apparently. Next thing I know I got my E-mail. Amazing how it was magically fixed isn't it.
In short, bureaucracy is a b*tch.

Out of My Hands

The moment I released this package into the postbox I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. It was now the responsibly of the Postal service to look after it, so I would no longer have a minor freak out every time I didn't instantly see it in my bag or continuously worry about spilling one of my 15 daily cups of tea on it rendering it both soggy and useless.
Of course these forms didn't come without difficulty, the main one being the closing date for applications is the 15th of June. Applications of course having to include a copy of my Transcripts which would you believe are not released until June 25th! I love when life is easy, don't you? However this was easily rectified. The lovely helpful people at the Registrations office were only delighted to help and I left the office with a letter explaining Transcripts would follow on ASAP and €20 less well off (I forgot to mention these Transcripts also cost!)
So as it stands at the moment the forms are somewhere between Ireland and Germany. I've paid €800 to a place I've never even seen (Housing Deposit and September Course Deposit) and I've no idea when I'll be contacted about anything. All things considered though, I'm feeling pretty OK about it, well the administration side of it anyway.

Straightened out....Sorta

Right, so after a few hours research I've figured out what I need to have in by the various dates and what only has to carried with me, to a certain extent anyway. I gotta submit:

1. Application for Admission
2. Letter of Motivation
3. September Course application with €250 Bank transfer
4. Housing Application with €550 Bank transfer
5. Buddy Program application

All in the next 2-3 weeks....I better get some sleep..

Confusion and Craziness

OK.
So yes I realize I have yet to leave the temporarily sunny shores of Ireland but I've decided to document the entire process. A process which began at 8:38 pm last night with the purchase of my one-way plane ticket and has since become a major headache.
Erasmus is hard. There are oh so many forms and regulations and rules and documents required and general jumping through hoops that it's a wonder anyone actually ever manages to go. 
What can I say, bureaucracy is a bitch.
So far the only things about the administrative side I actually know are:

1. Konstanz needs to know I'll be there
2. UCC needs to know I won't be there
3. I'll need a place to live

As to the rest? No clue!