All Good Things.

This day exactly one year ago was the day I began my adventure so it only seems fitting that today I write my last blog post.
To those of you who have read from the beginning:
1. Thank you so much for your attention, and
2. If you were willing to read all that rambling then you probably should seek professional help.
There has been highs, lows, frustrations, anger, laughs, staying up until dawn, staying in bed all day and most certainly everything in between.
If for some unknown reason you want to continue reading the pixelated version of the nonsense that could only be from my mind (again, professional help. Just saying) I can be found here from now on. (Warning: Will contain ranting about Final year)

Thanks for giving me a place to rant and rave depending on the situation and hopefully managed to offer some nuggets of information that will actually be found  useful. This is now a place that can be revisited to relive some of the madness that has occurred over the last 12 months.

See you guys soon and all the best.
-Claire

Bureaucracy The Eternal Pain In The....

So I haven't updated in a while.
3 reasons:
1. Not being on Erasmus any more means there is a distinct lack of Erasmus-y type things to write about
2. The only Erasmus-y type things that have been going on have been insanely dull and bureaucratic
3 I've been watching quite a lot of Netflix.

However I said my loyal reader (thanks again Mom) deserved a brief run-down on the boring part because as I have previously stated it's not fun and games all the time.
So we all know that bureaucracy can be the world's biggest pain in the......neck, lets keep it PG. It can be an even bigger pain in the neck when you're trying to get things organised from a remote location. (More of which can be read about here. Hurray for shameless self promotion!)
All Erasmus students must apply for a transcript of records containing all their results for a date to be set by their home University. Unfortunately your home and visiting Universities may not work in tandem leaving you to send frantic emails on a borrowed WiFi connection on the outskirts of Manchester 3 days before you 'must' and I repeat 'MUST' have it submitted. Thankfully after many stressful hours and even more panicked emails said transcript arrived at the UCC international office just about on time....only to be followed by more requirements in the form of a confirmation that I sat the exam. Apparently the fact that I sat (and failed) the exam (with a 5,0 to prove it) isn't enough. Now tracking down these confirmations should be simple yeah? HA! Well this isn't entirely true.
Within 2 hours of emailing the Politics department I was in possession (we as in possession as a person can get of pixels on a screen) of my confirmation. Unfortunately the department of Economics, the department I was actually enrolled to keeps finding problems and issues and if someone was to tell me they invented the phrase passing the buck I would believe them without hesitation.
So in summation (the academic season is almost upon us. Closing paragraphs are now a must):

• Bureaucracy is a pain in the neck
• Getting what you need from offices without face to face communication is up there with becoming a fully fledged astronaut for NASA
• People tend to not be helpful over email and may refer you to an email that doesn't in fact exist
• Dealing with 2 Universities at once is hard

However I am glad to report that all remaining paperwork is simply to allow my final grade for the year to be finalised. A result which I am glad to report was a pass.
Yes dear reader, contrary to what I know you believed, I managed to undergo an academic enrichment worthy of the passing grade for a full University year.
Or at least successfully managed to convince someone important that I did at the very least.

A Pointless Ramble (Now With 100% Extra Rambling)

So it's August 3rd.
I find this very odd. My completely rational reasoning? To me this date never existed. I know hat sounds crazy, but stick with me on this one.
For the first time in about 2 years I'm not counting down to anything, be it counting down to leaving home and heading to Germany or vice versa. In my head life didn't exist past the end of July. This time last year I couldn't see past leaving for Germany and as I thought spending a year being lonely and miserable. 3 weeks after leaving I was trying to deny the fact that time was slipping (rapidly) away.
Now it's over and I'm trying to adjust to that. To the fact that having a chat with people will no longer be popping over for a cuppa but will require an internet connection and a screen (and before anyone breaks out the 'Back in my day....' speech I am well aware I'm lucky to have that much a'ight)
My only dealings left with Germany, for now, are getting results (any time you want guys. Tick tock.) and apply for my Transcript of Records. Expect an angry rant RE: Bureaucracy in the next few days.

I guess this post did have a point after all. Since I (in theory) set up this blog 1. As a way to keep track of everything I was doing and be able to look back on it when ever I wanted and 2. To give advice to future ERASMUS students. I  realise I failed miserably but you're the one currently reading this so who's the silly one in this relationship?
So this is my advice regarding going home: No matter how much you detest/detested the idea of going you will miss your host country. Like it or not it's a place you're going to have spent a year of your life which is quite a sizeable chunk. You're going to have met fantastic people that you're going to have to say bis später to, but as I've already mentioned it doesn't have to be goodbye if you don't want it to. Thanks to the magic of Skype if I mention them maybe they'll pay me for advertising? anyone that wants to can stay in contact. The magic of the internet. Well that and cat videos.
I think the biggest piece of advice I can give you is something that hadn't even crossed my mind: don't expect to just fit right back in to home life. You've been away, developed your own routines and ways of doing things, didn't have to answer to anyone and made your own calls on pretty much everything. You may think you'll slot back into your place at home and maybe you will, but for me it was, and still is a different story. Home may still be the same but I most certainly am not, and you know what? That most definitely isn't a bad thing.

Don't Expect It To Be A Long One.

So at time of writing I am homeless in Germany.
I am on the brink of eating a questionable yet quite delicious pretty haphazardly thrown together meal.
I am about to go out on what will be last night in Konstanz
and finally I feel like bursting into tears.
ERASMUS is on the brink of being over and I don't quite know how to deal with that fact.

The Not Fun Side of Erasmus.

So I'm procrastinating. Hence the 2 posts in one day.

So it's exam season here in sunny Konstanz which really goes a long way to make our ever shortening time here and the sunshine considerably less fun.
The majority of days over the past 2 weeks have been spent in the library, gazing out the window of the library, wishing death upon the library, typing, looking at so many graphs I was considering just graphing my entire life and being done with it, eating ice-cream, studying British history through German (yes it's odd I know), wishing more death upon the library, wondering what the application process to join the circus is like, more typing, facebook, reddit, more reddit, research, eating, more reddit and typing.

It's been a busy few weeks.

Planes, Trains and Auto-mobiles: A Final Adventure in Berlin

So as we're well into the final countdown it was only appropriate that one more adventure be had. Having done my fair share of travelling there was only one place that could round off this year: The bats*it crazy German Capital.

Now if you've been following my year abroad 1. you really need something better to do on the internet and 2. you'll know that when it comes to trains I haven't exactly had the best run, (with the exception of Italy). Well, dear reader, on the first weekend of July 2013 (Yes I know that was almost 2 weeks ago. Shut it.) I truly managed to outdo myself. Now with the prospect of a 12 hour journey ahead of us our initial thought for the most comfortable and trouble free expedition would be the train. Apparently we weren't the only ones who had this thought as the train was full. Very full. So full in fact that it resulted in our party of 7 travelling in 4 different ways. Yes you guessed it, plane, train, auto-mobile and bus. (In fact the working title for the sequel). It would appear that the short straw was pulled by those of us that decided to unwittingly put our faith one again in Deutsche Bahn, in the form of a 2 and a half hour delay in Offenburg. The reason we were given? 'A Police operation' and the subsequent lock down of the station Now I hadn't known about the existence of Offenberg before then and now, to be completely honest and at the risk of completely loosing my strong Offenberg based readership, I want it to burn.

Still we arrived. Eventually. So what to do in Berlin? Well after rounding up the group and feeding the Canadian out first port of call was the Reichstag or German Parliament building and after that the next 2 days were filled with the standard tourist spots throughout the city. Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, The Berlin Wall, the Canadian Embassy (don't ask), The East Side Gallery, the DDR museum which has been closed for 2 years, The T.V Tower, the Holocaust  memorial, the grounds of the Olympic Park which contained the most over compensating motorcyclist I have ever seen. All this adventuring was promptly followed by naps and cocktails. Both of which I'm sure you'll agree are very very important. Which leads me on the the Berliner style of enjoying their Saturday nights. Lets just say that's where the bats*it crazy aspect comes from. If you're wandering down the street at midnight don't be too surprised if you see a impromptu gig break out on every corner. Well I say gig. What I mean is Busker + copious amounts of drunk people - a sense of shame = attempt to make your way down the street. Also don't be surprised if the only reason you go home is because the sunrise is telling you to. Or if you go to a club you get in at 07:30 wondering what the hell happened. 

Now, remember how I explained the difficulties involved in getting there? Well lets just say that the journey home had me yearning for the simplicity involved in getting there.
Deutsche Bahn Pro Tip: for the love of God check and double check and why not triple check the validity of special offer tickets on various train types. If you don't you may or may not (you will) get thrown off the train in the middle of nowhere. Like nowhere. I mean it, you may end up in a place where it's only selling point is it's distance from other places (there was a sign). So having to be back to Konstanz for an exam the next day not getting back wasn't an option. Unfortunately Deutsche Bahn wanted us to really earn it. Having gotten various timetables for various routes home and most definitely giving the lady behind the desk in the station the busiest and most exciting day she's had in years.  We came up with a plan:
We get to Frankfurt. We get a car. We road-trip.
Again, life hates us. Having rang ahead it still managed to take the bulk of an hour to actually get into the car, but I think belting out Bohemian Rhapsody while rocking down the Autobahn in a BMW 1 series was worth it.

Having travelled to quite a few places throughout the year i firmly believe there was no better way to round of the travelling portion of my adventures than by going to the nations capital.
That said, though I'm pretty sure any posts from here on out will be soaked in tinged with sadness I still have a week of adventures and fun times ahead of me in Konstanz and I plan to make the most of every second.

(Final two pictures courtesy of Rhys even if he doesn't know it yet)

Tick Tock Goes The Clock...

Today is the 27th of June. I fly home for good on the 27th of July. This makes me too sad for words.

Please don't get me wrong. I am truly looking forward to seeing everybody at home (both 2 and 4 legged) after 4 months but it will be very bitter-sweet.
Over the next few weeks I have a lot to do. So much we were even given a list. Packing must be done, paperwork submitted, essays submitted (having sat down to do the latter being the reason I'm currently writing this) and worst of all goodbyes have to be said.

It's bizarre to think that the thing I dreaded and couldn't comprehend doing is now the thing I am drawing to the end of. To think that this time last year moving to Germany was this big thing that I couldn't even wrap my head around.
Over the last year I would like to think that I've changed for the better. There have been a lot of changes, both personal and academic. (Yeah, I learned s*it. Who'd have thought it?) I have met the most maniac and interesting people from the broadest range of backgrounds. I've made what I wish to believe will be lifelong friends. Some of which I am lucky enough to be spending another year with in UCC. Some who are a little further away but still near enough to fly to in less time than it takes to drive to Dublin (Yeah, I'm willing to fly Ryanair for you people) and some who I will be saying goodbye to for an indefinite amount of time (or until I need somewhere to say on the continent of North America). All of which will be harassed mercilessly on social networks of every form.

I am most definitely not going to dwell on it too much though. What's the point? All I know is that the next few weeks are going to be all about getting as much as I can out of every aspect of life here which will involve a highly acrobatic balancing act between actually turning assignments in on time while the little matter of exams looms on the rapidly approaching horizon and having as much fun as possible.

In the meantime: Next stop Berlin.

...'Cos It's A Lovely Sunny Day'

So the sun (and some very dodgy tan lines) temporarily arrived in Konstanz.

Now being from the rainier part of Europe it's been long engrained into my psyche to never ever waste a moment of sunshine. This has caused  issues. The main one being I have oh so much academic work to do (who would have guessed) and unfortunately my brain has decided to go into sleepy holiday mode. This is a problem. A second problem is copious amounts of ice-cream and my ever expanding waistline but that's a whinge for another time.

So how have I been spending my time I hear you ask. I think spending the greater part of of a 27 degree Saturday afternoon lying by the lake and going for the occasional dip is a pretty well utilised day in the sun, is it not?
Also barbecues. Lots of barbecues.

Basically this was partly me saying 'HA. Sun. F*ck you guys.' partly a post to buy me time until I've something worthwhile to post about again. (You can never say I'm not honest)
Unfortunately the next one is probably going to be something deep and philosophical. I know, ewwwww feelings.
Bis dann!

Bambi, Ice Cream and a Whole Lot of Eating: An Impromptu Trip To Munich

So what happens when you combine wanderlust and a 5 day weekend? One of the most hastily planned trips to Munich you could imagine.

So as I may have previously mentioned (see every previous blog post) Germany can be a little crazy at times. Add the fact that one has the potential to have their weekend begin at 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon due to one of the 4 bank holidays during the month of May and you being to feel guilty if you don't go a bit crazy yourself. Now considering that the idea to go on a trip to anywhere was conceived at lunchtime on Tuesday and completely booked by 6 pm that very evening I think we did that justice, and a pretty awesome time was had.

So what to do in Munich? Well if the weather is sunny quite a lot. Having dumped our various items we decided to embrace all the cultural wonders Munich had to offer.....from a Biergarten. Don't judge me. I'm only a person. A person in the beer capital of Germany. After our much needed pit-stop we had a wonderful stroll in the evening sun beginning in Marienplatz. We even got the joy of seeing the famous Glockenspiel in action. Unfortunately having not gotten there almighty early what we could do was limited before the shops closed, so we had to go drink more beer. Damn. Life can be really hard sometimes.

The following morning once every member of our party were finally awake we decided to wander a bit further afield, taking in the Olympic Park and BMW Welt. The day was rounded up by a lovely evening in Hofbrau Haus, which if you're not lucky enough to get to Oktoberfest is the next best thing, and a mad dash to get a Canadian with timekeeping issues to his bus on time. We got there. Barely.

The weather the following day was, shall we say, less than stellar. Nevertheless we braved the elements and ended up in the Allianz Area. Which was pretty awesome. We also attempted to do at least one thing of an academic nature and visit the Bavarian Landtag. Upon reaching the security barrier conversation went as follows:
Us: Hallo
Security Guard: Grüß Gott
Us: Können wir besuchen?
Security Guard: Nein
Still it was the though that counts right?

Unfortunately if you're not prepared for the elements you could be lacking for things to do after 5pm bar spending your evening in a pub or in our case ending up back in Hofbrau Haus. Which was by no means a bad thing.

Of course it wouldn't be me if I didn't round up with a few nuggets of useless information:

•   You cannot go to Munich and not spend the entire time gorging on all things German.
• When looking for a seat in a Hofbrau Haus-esque situation pick carefully. Your choice of bench-buddy may lead to a free Maß and some interesting conversation.
• Similarly, beware, you may get pinned into a corner by walking stereotypes. Which can only be unfortunate.
• I missed my calling to be a professional Footballer.
• I cannot go to Munich without stealing a Maß glass.
• Before going anywhere check opening times.
• If the majority are walking in the opposite direction to you they probably know something you don't.

This was most definitely the most rushed and hastily planned trip I've ever been on and was definitely up there as one of the most enjoyable. What did I learn from it? If you want to go somewhere, go. Time is short and you won't have the opportunity forever. Planning is for losers.

Nothing Went Wrong: The Italy Chronicles

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Proceed With Caution

So I'm currently on semester break. Woo free-time!

However while academic holidays are full of doing nothing with a side of piss all (which I take to a whole new level) I urge both of you regular readers to take care if you do decide to vacate your host country, be it to make sure your family hasn't forgotten what you look like or to see what wonders are on offer further afield. The reason you  should take care? Well while academics may be on hold administration certainly is not.

The first thing to beware of? Banking.
Learn from my mistakes and take special note of your foreign bank balance particularly around rent-payment time. As all of my correspondence with the bank in through a physical medium I completely missed out on the fact that my rent transaction hadn't in fact been completed, (yes it was late anyway but that's beside the point) resulting in a panicked Tuesday afternoon and 'urgent transaction handling charges' otherwise known as a kick in the teeth.

Though a major pain in the neck, banking charges can be dealt with relatively painlessly. Unfortunately not everything can be solved so easily. My advice: double and triple check that you are on the mailing list for EVERY class you're taking. It's pretty easy to slip through the cracks resulting in not receiving very important e-mails. Such as e-mails telling you the sign up dates for a repeat exam and only finding out about said e-mail the day after sign up has closed. The cost? A very slim possibility of 4 credits.

So heed my warnings dear readers and beware of admin mistakes coming back to bite you in the arse.
Oh and if you're wondering I make my triumphant return to Konstanz in less than a week so expect late, less than informative updates on a slightly more regular basis and of course expect all of the shenanigans.

That's The Belgian Ghetto, You Must Never Go There Simba...

So last week I went to Brussels, Belgium.

Why Brussels you may ask. Well I had no choice in the matter. In a bid to remain friends and not kill each other we decided to leave the choice of what our destination would be up to to fate, or to be more specifically German Wings.

Now obviously with great deals comes great inconvenience, in our case this was a 6 hour wait in a deserted Stuttgart airport. Though the journey from Konstanz to Stuttgart gave us some interesting stories. Including running into a harmonica playing gentleman who claimed to be Jesus of Nazareth and a train so cold that we only warmed up when we went out into the snow, to say that we were glad to see that the flight was boarding would be one hell of an understatement.

So there we are, a group of college students in a new city. No rules. No time constraints, so what's the first thing we do? Nap of course. Go hard or go home, that's my motto. As we were quite sleep deprived during our initial arrival we didn't pay much attention to our surroundings, including 2 oncoming trams. Apparently turning the traffic lights off outside one of the primary train stations in a major European City at rush hour is perfectly acceptable. Who knew. Upon awakening we decided to go see a bit of the city. Think grand architecture, Gothic designs and cobbled streets. Think again. Unfortunately we wandered in the wrong direction. Into what we affectionately referred to as 'war torn Chechnya'. Make of that what you will. The real highlight of my day was dinner in The Hard Rock cafe. Yes, the highlight of my day was food. What of it.

We ate too much and couldn't flee the camera.

'Visits for individuals cancelled until
further notice. Pre-booked
groups only' 

The next day was devoted to sightseeing, and chocolate. I can't stress the importance of the chocolate enough. (Food featured heavily throughout the 3 days) We got to the pretty side of Brussels. Finally. My god was it pretty though. This was the Gothic, cobbled part we're used to seeing pictures of.
Being the wild party animal that I am the thing I was most excited to see was the European Parliament and see it I did. From the outside.
This sign offered a more crushing blow than a punch to the gut ever could. The only thing that could soothe my broken heart? The residence of the Belgian Royal family of course.

I think we can all agree that national symbols are important you want people to look at it and instantly think of everything good and essentially badass about your country. Well where we have the Harp Belgium has....a urinating child. (Mannequin Pis) An odd choice I'm sure you'll agree but we wanted to see it nonetheless. Brussels had other plans. This is what it actually looks like:

 This is what we got to see:

It has been dressed up from 9am to 6pm on the 27th of February only to celebrate the 169th anniversary of the independence of the Dominican Republic. Please don't get me wrong, this is an important event that deserves to be marked but it was a tad disappointing to not see the little guy how he usually looks. Still at least I got a unique picture right?
The final stop on our tourist tour of Brussels was the Atomium. Built in the image of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times it's quite impressive to say the least.

So Brussels basics:

• Very pretty city depending on where you go.
• Be careful. We were followed while walking in a group so stay aware of what and who is around you.
• Watch yourself in the underground. We managed to catch a guy with his hand in one of our bags while trying to maneuver our way around.
• Belgian Chocolate is delicious.
• Belgian Waffles too apparently, if you're into that sort of thing.
• Hard Rock Cafe is beyond delicious. I still think about that burger sometimes...
• It's acceptable to spell Stuttgart 'Stuttugart' if you've been sitting sleep deprived in an airport for 4 hours.

All in all I enjoyed the trip. Brussels not so much. (Based on my personal experience) Would I go back to Brussels? Unfortunately not. Have I been turned off of Blind Bookings? I'll tell you after Milan.

A Gift From Me To You

So in a bid to be you know, kind and nice (I never said I could do it well) I've decided to introduce both of my regular readers to a few other Konstanz based blogs. Can't say I didn't make all your Christmas wishes come true.

Orla
Alice
Rhys
Phoebe

Now hopefully you won't notice when I'm being a lazy s*ite and haven't updated for a month. Enjoy!

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!