Enticing Deutch Odyssey

2006-10-23T03:58:00.000-07:00

Vani, was in Brasil, and I... =)

2006-10-23T03:56:00.000-07:00

At Hemmingway, the Dance Night..left to right, martin, Bj�rn, Alan, and Vani.. PURA VIDA!

2006-10-23T03:54:00.000-07:00

Buff and i.. Buff.. aha.. Hes indeed a nice friend..

2006-10-23T03:53:00.000-07:00

Bday boy Marcus and gf Dorita..

2006-10-23T03:52:00.000-07:00

At Marcus's Birthday party..Left to right, Wolfram(my guardian), Johannes, Astrid.. Who were previously exchange students too, in COsta rica, USA, Canada..

Wrapping up a chapter...

2006-10-23T02:47:00.000-07:00

Indeed..Im wrapping up a chapter...

'Time flies', this is a term which is cery commonly used in daily life.. However, i never knew the true meaning of it till recently..

Good times and bad times i have gone through throughout my stay here in Germany seemed just like yesterday...

From Malaysia to Germany, from knowing close to nothing in German, from knowing close to no one in Germany, from being fearful and worrisome to venture out of a comfort zone....

It has been close to 8 and a half months now...

Though i must admit, there were times where i dreaded to be back where i knew i was very much welcomed, a place called home, i am thankful to my family and handful of buddies for bringing me back on track, lifting my spirits and not letting it sway away..

For one thing, external support is important.. In a land far away from home, most of the times, you yourself would be your own support and motivation.. If you fall, you have got to get up fast for not many will drop by and lend a helping hand..Stay lying on the ground, is as good as digging your own grave...

Perhaps some may ponder, through the connotation of my conversation, how do i really feel in Germany? Or am i showing signs of 'fatigue'? or was i close to giving up?

I ponder these questions myself too...Only after a string of events which happened lately did i find out much which i didnt know, or much that i took for granted..

All exchange years are unique in their own ways.... Participants of exchange programs learn and change on their own pace, through their respective exposures, comparisons on who has learnt more cant be made, as it is all in all something very different...

Ask me what i have learnt, theres no definite answer to it... For in my humble opinion, exercising what we exchange students have learnt, or just me, what i have learnt would be something very abstract, whereby only actions can tell....

Ask me if i have changed, it is almost definite yes, i have.. Ask me if its for the better or worse, i would not be able to tell, nor would it be for people to judge...Being caught in between cultures of the east and west is not uncommon, it took time to assimilate myself to the western culture; likewise, it would take time for me to assimilate back to a typical eastern Malaysian culture. However, my senses tell me that im still very much me.

Ask me what i have experienced, alot...When opinions clashed... When conflicts arised... Consequences i had to bear with when i wasnt 'street wise' enough.. the list goes on....and most importantly, i have experienced 'easier said than done'...

It perplexes me how long it took to break the ice...Perhaps, i should put it this way, it perplexes me how long i took to feel comfortable enough to go all out and out...Very often, what happens or revolves around oneself or in this case, myself, i realised resembles a mirror, a guidance to oneself, to the situation...Though it took me some time to understand what the mirror was reflecting and indeed even longer to act upon it, im nevertheless glad that i have though the great delay...

Ironies of life...In the past, i did fret about how long i still had to be away from home, with an uncomfortable loose social circle... Now, im fretting about how soon i would be home, with a nice social circle here which is showing signs of getting even better and with a growing fear that i may never see them again...

There are things whereby when effort is put in, anticipated results are guaranteed... There are however things that dont show results even when a Herculean of effort has been made... I tried hard to blend in, i was dissapointed when there were no signs of improvement..Only lately did i realise, these are one of those things which are out of my control..Overzealousness is a bad habit i learnt to kick off... Time would take its toll, things would come naturally...

Like i said, all exchange years are unique.. Not many can comprehend how life is during an exchange year.. Few out of the exchange program can comprehend how life is, and not many exchange students can understand each others experience.. It is afterall, like i mentioned, unique...

A great deal of 8 and a half months is in the past whereby laughter and tears were reminisced... A duration of 2 months still remains... Treasuring the remaining days, may it be good or bad, would be what i'll be reminding myself to do...

At the end of my exchange, im convinced i would eventually realise there isnt any rights or wrongs in my exchange year.. It was just somewhat different...

The ending of the chapter has not been written...Im left with two months to find that ending, im determined and convinced, it would be one to look forward to...

'Das Leben ist schön! Ich habe umbedingt kein Bedauern!'

Till i wrap up this chapter, Chongshen.

2006-09-29T06:40:00.000-07:00

Us...exchange students..There are 7 different nationalities in the picture..

2006-09-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

Host brothers.. Left, Oliver, right, Tobias..

2006-09-29T06:37:00.001-07:00

Host mom.. Astred...

2006-09-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

Host father frm my midstay family.. Udo.. self claimed Profi..

2006-09-29T06:36:00.000-07:00

Me at the top of the Osnabr�ck Gate leading to the 'old town' center...

2006-09-29T06:33:00.000-07:00

Theresa.. =)

2006-09-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

all 3 categories of exchange students too..

2006-09-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

The bar, filled with ex-exchange students, current exchange students, and to be exchange students...

2006-09-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Exchange students..

MIdstay

2006-09-28T05:17:00.000-07:00

After midstay camp was pratically midstay, that is we exchange students changing families for 2 weeks... I lived in a place called Rütenbrock which bordered Netherlands.. Looks complicated and hard to pronounce huh? NO worries, theres an easier version to it.... its called....

THE END OF THE WORLD!!!

WHY?

Imagine, put a dot in the middle of a piece of paper. Than draw an arrow of similar length each to its right and left. At the end of the arrows, put down dots once more.. ALright, the right and left dot would respectively represent the nearest happening in Germany and in Netherlands.. AAND!Uve got it right! I LIVED IN THE MIDDLE DOT, which would be in the middle of nowhere!!

-Nearest train station 20 minutes away by car

-Very seldom do buses stop by my place or go frm my place to the nearest 'town'

etc

etc

Nevertheless, i had loads of fun! Within this 2 weeks, there were lotsa activities held in Osnabrück (this was the city where most of the midstay participants stayed except 3, and i was one of them!) I had to take a 90 minute train ride to get to these activities while others took not more than a 20 minute bus ride. My guest family was really nice and funny too..

But anw, was worth it!

I watched a football match too.. A piece of advice next time if you intend to go to germany for a football match.. Either you wear a jacket with a hood or you get the highest spot in the stadium where theres no crowd behind you. Otherwise, your hair will be moisturised with delicate german beer... =) These ppl toss beer cups when their team scores a goal, concedes a goal..etc.. wierd...

Oh here are some interesting facts..

-When i was in Osnabrück, after parties, ppl go home taking the bus at 3am..Cool huh?

- Did you know that it was actually against the law to wash your car at home? Ppl are supposed to bring their cars to these petrol kiosks to go for autocleaning..

-Theoratically, its also not allowed to duplicate keys without going through a list of agencies (like your insurance companies etc etc)..

So, this is all from me for now.. Pictures will follow.. =)

Random post...

2006-09-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ive got a question... A serious question....

A quiz would be..Quizzical right?

WHat would a test be?

Anw... Heres a cool video clip, a flash animation.. Rather funny.. CHeck it out...

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end.php

A sucky blogger trying to make up....Finally!

2006-09-07T05:13:00.000-07:00

For a start, after my summer holidays, i went to a midstay camp before i went for a midstay. A midstay is where an exchange student goes to another family in another part of germany for 2 weeks.. SO this is what im doing now...

The midstay camp was GREAT! PPl of all different nationalities.. Brasiliens, Columbians, Argentinians, Aus, Thai, Malaysians, Guetamala, Jpn... BUT, one languange.. German! Was wonderful catching up with friends ive previously known, all in german mind u, even with the australians...During the camp, we attended seminars with the theme, europe, it was very informatve.. Eg, how many countries are there actually in the EU? Does anyone here know how the flag of LAtvia looks like? Or do u peeps know that theres a country called LAtvia anw? etc etc.. well, these were the questions.. There was a quiz which consisted lotsa aspects of europe, geographically, its language.. Imagine this.. THere are almost 12 oe 13 newspaper articles, and we have to read them, or scan them through to determine what language or where does the paper come from.. Russian, Swedish, Hollandish, Finnish etc etc...13! One more, we had to determine where the authors of books came from... Flags of countries... Who is who, this activity where we were given pics and had to determine who tehy were...Oh yea, car plates.. Abbreviations for european countries.. They can kill man...Freaking hard....The european map, we did it with the puzzle... MAtching country and its capital...Nevertheless, with everyone contributing, my group won! IT was no doubt informative, and great fun...

Anw, here are some pictures, enjoy.. =)

Behind me left to right, Guillero (Guetamala), Fabian(argentina), Fumiyaki(Jpn)

Australians, Kate and Onkar.. And we speak in German, not english...unbelievable

AFS Betreures.. Uta and Almut..

We four.. If u didnt notice, lemme tell u, im actually wearing a hairband here...My hair length reaches my nose.. Imagine..=P

Wasnt meant to be some kinda arousing pic or what, she didnt open her eyes properly.. Meet Lina from columbia.. MIa MOr..X

The brasilians.. With the shisha `ornamenting* the picture..

KAte and i with the thais...

Well, these are all for now, hope it makes up...ANd ppl, i reply mails more frequnet than i do blogginh.. Actually, its almost certain all mails i receive would receive a reply, which would come MUCH faster than an update in my blog..So, if u guys prefer it, u guys can email me.. TIll then, tschuss!

Summer Holiday in London..

2006-08-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

To my FellOw ReAders, ThousAnd ApolOgies for the LOoooOng delay...

So, here goes.... =)

Summer holidays started on the 20th of July...

On the 21st, i headed off to LONDON with my cousin.. It was a pretty good trip if the eventualities were not taken into account (We missed our bus back home for Germany after our supposingly 6 day tour ended..etc... Long storry...)

Did you ppl actually know that theres such a place called "Dewan Malaysia" in London, ONLY and i mean ONLY for Msians to Lodge.. Cool huh? And its ReAllY cheap, compared to other hostels.. only 11.75 GBP per night, which is a GreAT bargain.. The catch is, we gotta come back before 11 at night.. >.< face="times new roman" color="#009900">CURFEWS".. Oh did i mention, i suck in malay now..Juggling up german and Malay words together.. SOMEHOW, i find similarites in them.. =)

Did i mention too, that London is EXPENSIVE? I lived on bread and milk throughout my trip..>.< (Its not that bad, its all normal in Europe.. BUT, IMAGINE, Day in day out, BRead bread bread.. BREAD!!!) At last, my cousin and i could no longer resist, we headed for "Char Siew and roasted Duck rice", just for a lunch... =) I went a little more extreme.. I ate Nasi Lemak too there.. =)

Sales were all around.. Didnt have much time to hunt around for stuff, BUT, one most appealing example would be....England Away Jerseys.. Guess how much do they cost?? It only costs RM 70 for one.. YES!! No kidding!! BUT, there wasnt my size... >.< *Yea if you ppl dont know, i wear S size here...CAnt keep cheating myself.. >:<* Wasted! I got so desperate, i even tried a kids one, size for a 14 year old kid... Well, i fitted in, just that, no one plays football in such sexy voluptous tight fitting outfit.. Ended up, got my younger sis one...Not only England Jerseys.. All top clubs of the EPL had their jerseys on sale too there...just launched, then 30% off.. This time around, i found my size, just that, it costs RM 200.. I decided, im still NOT yet a VERY extreme MU fan, so i passed.. =)

Coincidentally, the UK Motor Show was held in London too.. So, i visited it as well.. FUIYOO, breath taking cars.. Spent a whole evening there...

Hmm.. Visited typical must visits in London, need not elaborate... =)

Oh, the most happening place one must visit at night would be SOHO.. The heart of Londons night life.. I just took a stroll there, couldnt enter any as I AINT 18 yet.. >.<>PLEASE make sure that its a straight one, unless of course you arent, then theres no need to.. Coz in the hunt for eye-exercising-LLs in the pubs, i couldnt find any in some.. So it struck me.. =P Oh yea, the premiere of Miami Vice was there too.. Jamie Foxx and Colin Farell were somewhere in front of the crowd which my cousin and i were far far behind.. =)

I believe thats all for London.. Whatelse?? Hmmm... Oh, certain advices to give...

1. Dont intend to save money by not purchasing train cards and resolving to your poor feet instead when you have luggage.. *I know it sounds stupid,.. its like who would,...?? But still...*

2. Unless you come from some real ULU ULU place, DONT assume no one understands what your saying..

3. If you meet chinese ppl there, speak english to them, not chinese...*Sounds stupid huh?? But still too...*

Its all for now.. I will come back with posts frm Italy, Belgium and pictures.. But gimmie time.. =)

2006-07-11T05:33:00.000-07:00

Kinda dark.. But, the guy in the suit right in the middle IS Patrick Vierra. He was looking still very celebrity-ly.. haha...

2006-07-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

My cousin and the fans i managed to get to know..

2006-07-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

With a fan.. Shes German, but she supported Italy... >.< How unfortunate..

2006-07-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

Night view!

2006-07-11T05:29:00.000-07:00

The Berlin Fan Mile.. In front of this screen, theres the stage and another screen, behind of me, lies another screen too.. BIG?? yea, was a huge fest.

2006-07-11T05:27:00.000-07:00

A self taken pic.. Me and the GIGANTIC BALL!

2006-07-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

This is the Brandenburger T�r in Berlin at 4:30am.

Berlin Fan Mile!

2006-07-11T03:52:00.000-07:00

Alright! For the Berlin Finals.. I was in Berlin! (Doesnt sound spectecular does it? BUT! hear me out!!)

So on Sunday, i was in Berlin, was there relatively early.. So my cousin and i decided to head for the Stadium itself, hoping to stumble upon something (im not particular sure what we were hoping for.. but we just went there anw)

We were there at 7am.. The gates to the stadium was closed.. The vicinity of the Olympia Stadion was fenced up.. Didnt manage to get close to the magnificent edifice.

But, ANW, i could say ive been to the stadium before.. haha.. or can i?

In the afternoon, walked around, shopped for jerseys.. (Apparently, that day, im not too sure was it just that day or everyday of the World Cup duration..) Ppl were buying jerseys, shoes, balls as if they didnt cost, cards swipping, cashing machines going KACHING.. Money money money... The queues to the cashier itself were like MILES long, ppl were waiting outside of shops for it to open.. AND theres no such thing as, Petaling Street goods, all of the goods are REAL goods.. MAN! These ppl can really spend! Anw, i have not bought any YET.. Take note of the YET.. Still cant make up my mind which jersies to buy.. Btw, can anyone here tell me how much does a nike and adidas jersey cost in Malaysia? So that i can compare.. Thanks.. :)

In the afternoon, went for chinese food.. I have craved for chinese food for A LOONG TIME ever since coming here.. *PS: SHu fei, if you're reading this, we went to the Yang Zi Jiang restaurant at Zoologicher Garten.* It tasted great! It was owned by a hongky.. And during my meal. a bunch of 9 asians came into the hotel.. After moments of observation, my cousin and i concluded that they were most prob msians or singaporeans.. WHY??

1. Upon sitting down, they wanted to order Char Kuey Tiao.

2. Their English was pure manglish.. (They didnt speak good english at all in my opinion, but they spoke all the way.. why? i do not know..)

3. This reason, the most IMPORTANT factor that led to our conclusion.. They included this phrase in their conversation...

' DONT PRAY PRAY'

Sounds familiar?? Haha.. They MUST be msians or singaporeans..

After lunch, headed to walk around again.. And on the way back to the train station, we stumbled upon a small crowd (one which gradually grew) in front of a hotel, police vans were lined along the street in front of the hotel.. I asked some guy whats up and he told me the Italien team stayed here.. So, my cousin and i thought we stumbled upon luck and waited there.. Everytime, it seemed that they were coming out, fifa officials on phones, walking in and out, cars moving here and there, lotsa things happened, but they DIDNT come out.. I was fuming hot inside as ive already waited for 2 hours!! 2 hours!!!! At last, we left.. Later we found out, 10 minutes after we left, they came out.. >.<

Headed for the fan mile after that...The fan mile is situated right in front of the Brandenburger Tür in Berlin.. Earlier in the morning at 9 (its exact opening time), we saw crowds already crowding the enterance.. Hence, we didnt bare much hopes of getting to go in.. But, fortunately we did.. Must give credit to the organising comittee..The security was great, planning etc.. Normally, at this kinda functions, we meet ppl easily, strike up conversations easily, but since my german wasnt good enough.. sigh.. i still managed to hook on to a few peeps.. haha.. Ei, in german man! Considering i was supporting France and they were supporting Italy, it was hard enough to hook on.. :) Blah blah blah.. watched the game there.. The atmosphere was great.. After france lost.. (SIGH,......) headed back to central Berlin. As my cousin and i will be departing early in the morning, we didnt bother checking into a hotel.. So, we roamed the streets of Berlin and settled down at the lobby of West Grandsitn Berlin for a drink. There was where the MAGIC happened!

While talking to my cousin, a girl, an american black, interupted us.. She asked us whether the French team was already there.. I said i dont think so and i asked her as well, why should they be there (It didnt occur straight to me that i had so much luck with me...) She replied 'Coz this is where the French team is staying!'

OOOOOHHHHH MANNNNNNNNN!!!!

I was overwhelmed.. I'll cut the crap and go straight to the point.. I MET VIERRA!! (He is tall, and full of celebritism, if theres such a word.. haha) At a certain distance.. Hmm approximately how your eyes are to the computer screen or alil further.. I had my camera in hand and his picture and a pen in hand too.. The crowd was very little.. But UNFORTUNATELY, i failed to get a pic with him, or get him to sign sth.. I also met, Barthez, Wiltord, Sagnol, Silvestre, Saha, Thuram. But no sign of Zizou and King Henry.. Like what Wei Ping said, if i have met them, should have just jumped onto them and hugged them, its worth everything!! haha... Not long after vierra left, hotel security started cracking down, they asked us to produce a keycard to prove we were staying there.. We failed, so we were 'invited' out of the hotel.. >.<

Early in the morning, headed home... :) Upon reaching home, i went to bed immediately, at 12 noon (10th July), when i woke up it was 4am(11th July), not because i had enough of sleep, was coz i was hungry.. Cooked myself a maggi mee!!! haha.. YEAP, i brought it over here as souvenirs for my host family for them to try, but at that moment, i figured out What the heck! :)

2006-07-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

Markus, Laura and Sarah..

2006-07-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

Class party.. From left, Sarah, Laura, and again, Sarah.. All i can say that chinese names are much more creative than the Europeans or Americans..

2006-07-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

Monica and I.. Damn, she wasnt smiling right, (she's an absolute gorgeous when she does!) So was i, smiled cacatedly..haha.. considering the surroundings, every1 was dancing, and this photo was taken when we took a break from dancing together..

2006-07-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

Kasia and (Forgot her name.. But she calls herself superwoman.. and we call her, verr�ckte Frosch, which means Crazee frog in german.. haha) Should have looked at the way she danced.. FUIYOO

2006-07-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

2006-07-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Dorothea and I

2006-07-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

Some schoolmates at the Polish disco.. Erm, as for names.. ....:P

2006-07-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

Can you figure out what we're playing? Told you the polish games were crazeee.. :P

2006-07-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry peeps.. I have no idea what are their names.. I forgot...>.< I only know the girl on my left, Ivona.

2006-07-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

In Poland, Boat tour, from left, Timo, Aka, me, Yan.. Timo looks *** doesnt he?? Guess the word! :P

2006-07-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what they were trying to do.. Left, Yan Hendrik, right, Slawek.. Polands last night

YOU ARE IN POLAND; YOU HAVE TO!!

2006-06-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

POLAND... I was there from the 12th till 17th of June.. It was an exchange program between two schools from two towns, both named, Osterode... My school in Germany is in Osterode, and the school in Poland is named Osteroda (famous for its breathtaking streams). Fairly simillar.. =)

At 5am, 12th of June, the other participants of this program and i embarked on a 15 hour bus 'odyssey' to that polish town..It wasnt pleasant at all.. 15 hours..And one thing, in Poland, there arent express or high ways, they still rely heavily on trunk roads, which made the journey there least pleasant.. Anw, at 8pm, we reached there.. Was good to see familiar and friendly faces greeting us.. My host, Kasia greeted me and we headed back to her home.. Washed up, had dinner and headed to a friends place for a camp fire meet up.. My first impression of Polish, they are REALLY friendly, at least those that i came to know.. My host family was really nice and friendly, ppl i knew treated me very well too.. =D

On the 2nd day, had a tour around the town and headed to a local attraction where we had a 2 hour boat ride along the streams which runs through the town and its vicinities. Later on that night, we had a campfire, all the polish and the germans.. In short, that day was a total BORE. I was fearful the remaining days would be equally boring.. However, i was wrong.. The remaining days ahead will be cherishable memories... =)

3rd day, visited a city called Gdansk. Before that, visited a concentration camp from the World War 2.. Wasnt a pleasant sight at all.. Laying foot into that place somehow does give me creeps.. Spent only less than an hour in Gdansk =.=' (real bad itinerary planning) Nevertheless, the old town of Gdansk is really impressive..Typical Renaissance kinda architechture..At night, was the showdown...Poland vs Deutschland!!! Kasia and Carolina (her cousin) cried when Germany shot a late goal.. From then on, i really understood what does real PATROTISM mean.. Then, very quickly, it became a bygone. Kasia brought me to her friends' birthday party.. And this was the begining of really great hospitality... =P I learnt the Polish version of Happy Birthday... The 2 birthday girls were fascinated.. The party was a blast.. And i noticed a CRAZEEE tradition of theirs (Polish), ie, when one turns 18, friends get to smack his or her ass...and they used belts... It was requested by one of the Birthday girls, Natalie, that i be the first to smack her ass.. (considering what a gentleman i am **ahem, =P hehe** i applied very little force) Others really smacked the heck out of the ass! At 3 headed home..

Next day went to a beach by the lake, a very big one... Had lotsa fun there, played volleyball, swam..Went home, washed up, watched the World Cup, then headed for a BBQ party at a Iza's house.. Experienced once again great hospitality.. Was real happy too.. WHY? England won Trinidad and Tobago 2-0! LOLZ.. Chatted, played football, played games (Polish games are equally CRAZEEEE!!, but nevertheless, i enjoyed them ALOT.. haha..)

On Friday, the last day of our stay in Poland, we headed to Torun, a big city approximately 3 hours by bus from Osteroda.. Nice city too.. In the evening, after dinner, Kasia gave me a book about Poland as a present.. Was so nice of her family...I tried rejecting, but my efforts were in vain.. Later, headed to a Disco where all participants of the program was there as a last meeting.. Had lotsa fun too... =) Partied till 3 sth, went home, showered, packed my stuff, and it was already 4 sth am..and at 5, there we were bidding farewell to each other..

In general, this trip wasnt much of a typical visit to cities etc, it was more of a chance for me to get to know ppl better, both Germans and Polishs.. There were certain ppl frm Poland whom i felt fond of mixing with namely Slawek, Kaisa, Dorota, Carolina, Iza, Ivonna etc... Slawek was the one who taught me very 'necessary' words, words that can draw 'attention' in the streets which means in English, 'Fuck off u ugly gay!' 'Shut the fuck up' 'Shit' 'Bitch or slut'.. Okay.. To be fair, he taught me some real useful phrases too, such as the reknowned Joey phrase in Polish.. 'Hey babe, how u doin?' hahaha... Now that was real USEFUL! =P The phrase 'You are in Poland, u have to' was founded by the Polish sucker haha.. Slawek too... =) And quickly, this phrase became a popular sentence amongst us...This is called reciprocation, as to him, im known as the Msian sucker... >.<

In the last two trips ive had, to Berlin and to Poland, I have learnt alot, some of which ive might already shared with some of you people. All this while i thought i was reasonably streetwise to handle for example 'mere' planning of a trip (Berlin), tackling problems etc, i was VERY wrong.. Theres indeed still much to be learnt, which in my opinion only 'hard learnt' as in experiences acquired through painful events, like 'hitting the nail' in cantonese would serve as the best teacher. I would say, i HAVE learnt.

2006-06-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church stands behind me.. Well, this one didnt survive the Allies bombing during the WWII.. Poor thing..

2006-06-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

The Berliner Dom.. It survived the World War II.. =P

2006-06-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

The Chinese House. A place where you can find Federick the Great having his tea.. This small hut was inspired by a person who visited China and brought back ideas.. He than conveyed his abstract ideas to the craftsmen and had them build a 'chinese' architechture. Wasnt exactly chinese, but nevertheless, good job done.

2006-06-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Me with the Orangerie behind me...

2006-06-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry to say.. I have no idea what is it called... =P But isnt it beautiful or what?

2006-06-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

Me and the New Palace... =)

2006-06-18T07:20:00.000-07:00

The New Palace at a glance..

2006-06-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

The entrance view to The New Palace...

A trip to Berlin.

2006-06-18T05:44:00.000-07:00

Hello peeps, has been some time since ive blogged... Have been occupied lately.. So, here are the events which have taken place throughout these 2 or 3 weeks..

PS. My sincere apologies to those whom i keep close contact with through emails as i havent been replying lately.. Have been occupied.. Please bare with me, will reply asap... =)

BERLIN

I arrived at night on the 2nd of June. Shu Fei hosted me for 6 days.. Have her to thank, she had a room turned into a guest room for me, and 'poor' Shu Fei had to sleep with her host sister. Shu Fei's family was indeed very nice and friendly..

On the first day, we visited Potsdam, its a city located 20km South-West from Berlin. In Potsdam, houses the once favourite residence of the Prussian kings in the 18th and 19th century. We visited a place called Sansoucci Park. The park was huge, and there housed some magnificent edifices which were symbols of supremacy and prestige, namely, The Sansoucci Palace (the summer residence of Frederick the Great, which means in French no worries or without care), The New Palace and The Marble Palace(edifices from Federick William II), The Orangerie, The Cecilienhof Palace etc. It took us a day to visit the part of the park, mind you, only PART of the park. Moreover, the weather was real bad, rained throughout out visit there. It was no doubt magnificent.

On the second and third day, we visited well known museums in Berlin. The Pergamon Musuem houses archeological treasures coming from German excavations which were done in Babylon, Uruk, Miletus, Priene and Egypt. Spent several hours there. Third day, we went to The Jewish Museum. The Pergamon Musuem did impress me to a certain extent, but sorry to say the Jewish Museum was a bore, not my cuppa tea at all. Then later on, i visited an exhibition called the Story of Berlin which is located in a building along Berlin's most famous street, Kurfürstendamm Street. Now that was REALLY interesting, but i didnt have enough time to go through it thoroughly. The entrance fees for this exhibition was inclusive of a tour in a real radiation proof nuclear bunker built during the peak of the Cold War. Guess where the bunker lies? Right below the building, and now it serves as a..... Parking lot.. =.=' No one would have noticed the difference if nothing was said. Was rather informative.

On the fourth day, visited the Charlottenburg Palace which was an edifice built as a summer palace for Sophie-Charlotte, wife of the later King Friedrich I and other attractions in Berlin. Didnt have enough time to visit them all... But i believe there would always be a next time. =)

On the last day of my visit, i join Shu Fei at her school for a day.. Was an experience. But sorry Shu Fei... I like my school better.. =P LOLZ.. Jk.. From Shu Fei's school, i headed back to west Germany, which is where i stay.

Though ive encountered certain obstacles throughout this trip, nevertheless, ive enjoyed it.. =)

PS. Ive encountered a BIG prob with my files, lotsa pictures from this trip is missing, thats why im not posing much here! Luckily, i still have quite a few with Shu Fei... Will post them when i do receive them k? Enjoy..

An update...

2006-05-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

Has been sometime since ive really updated you peeps bout my life here..

Well, 3 and a half months here... I would say, time really flies.. I reminisce sweet and bitter moments... =) And i can forsee time flying real fast..Before i know it, i would be already September..Because, time flies when we're having fun, and in a months time it would be Summer holidays... =) LOTSA plans coming up, seriously hope to make them all happen..

U noe why?
-
-
To make up for a decesion i made... It still haunts me... >.<>

When i come back from Berlin, the world cup will officially start.. Ok Ok, no more surprises this time... I OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE I WONT HAVE TICKEtS TO WATCH A LIVE MATCH!
There were some probs... snifff.... BUT, i'll travel to Berlin to watch the Finals outside the Stadium.. There'll be a BIG Screen and the atmosphere.. WOW.. Think it would be a great feeling!!

And on the 12th June, I'll be on my way to Poland for 6 days i think.. Its some exchange thingy btween the two schools... And my host sis would be...*drumrolls* Kashka.. LOLZ... Apparently the Polish have quite a pejorative connotation to the Germans.. They steal cars frm Germany, sell pirated DVDs (wonder what will they think of Msia.. ) etc... Anw.. Will update more then...
After Poland will be back to embracing the World Cup fever.. And after the World Cup fever ends, Summer Holidays (notice, i capitalised them, states how IMPORTANT they are to me) starts.. Later when i get everything all planned out, then i'll update u peeps more on my Summer Holidays plans... =)

Anw, hmm, gotta think what did i do previously.. I attended an informal wedding.. Coz it was both the bride's and groom's second marriage, there wasnt any big ceremony, i witnessed them signing stuff, say í do´and then we adjourned to eat... The groom is my host uncle...Maternal side... Man these ppl can really eat.. To be frank i didnt finish everything that was served to me..

The food was nice, but somehow, i was REALLY full (considering the amount i usually eat, i can say im not bad an eater.. but this time around......)

The two holding hands are Torsten and Nina.

Them signing the 'I do' papers... =)

Me with the newly weds.. Ok, second time weds.. =)

Oh well, dont have much other pics to post as there werent much events which took place recently... So think this is all for now... Till next time.. =)

Regards, Chongshen.

It just wasnt my day at all...

2006-05-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Just wasnt my day, wasnt my day at all... The day i am refering to, none other than 23rd May.

First the night of the 22nd didnt end very well at all either.. My 5 day trip to London from the 1st till the 6th of June was cancelled as my cousin (who would be my guardian throughout the trip, hence AFS approves my travel) couldnt make it last minute. Well, thats actually the short story, im lazy to put the long version. Erm.. K, a longer version. Initial plan was 1st to 6th, in school during the 22nd, my class voted to have the class party on the night of the 2nd. I didnt want to miss the class party (i view this party quite seriously, one of the rare chances i get to know my classmates, sth i have been yearning but failed to do), nor did i want to miss my trip, so i tried to postpone the departure and return date by one day, and it didnt suit my cousins schedule, so, now, not going at all.. I had to make a tough call... Oh did i mention, coincidentally, Kah Poh's prom night would be held on the night of the 2nd? Initially, since i was there anyway, she invited me to be her partner, which i gladly looked forward to, but now....... :S

Things werent that bad, as in although my cousin couldnt make it, there was still a mere chance i could go if my ex-tuition teacher in London can host me (Dont ask why, these are rules of AFS, either i travel with someone over 18 or have someone u noe accomodate u, strictly no hostels or hotels). Previously i had mailed him, but he has yet to reply. I went to bed on 22nd night with crossed fingers.

23rd morning. I received a reply from him. Him accomodating me wasnt really suitable for me coz he doesnt live in central london. So, confirmed, plan HABIS! At least for consolation, i have a class party to look forward to.

*** Had sports. Played frisbee. All i can say is that CHS ppl are much better. :P***

While waiting for the bus home, i went to this DVD renting shop to try to rent a DVD for a first time. (Its not for the sake of fun, its for the sake of learning german because of its flexible language and subtitles) I chose the film Red Eye, brought it to the counter and handed the lady my card, indicating i want to rent it. (Because i wasnt 18 yet, i couldnt register for a card myself, so earlier my host parents helped me registered in their name and gave me the card) I forgot the pin number so i called home to ask. I didnt know the card wasnt transferable coz according to my parents, it was. Anw, after much explanation (in german man! Woohoo!) She still refused to let me rent it... DAMN HER!

Went home. At 6.30 walked to the train station to take a train to town for basketball (first timer). I reached town at 7.09, walked for 15 minutes to the sportshall. Mind you the sportshall was located at a place called Röddenberg. Berg means hill or mountain. It was perhaps a 250 meter walk up hill with very steep radian. Basketball was supposed to start at 7.30. My friend was supposed to meet me there at 7.30pm too. My friend wasnt there yet, i smsed him. But as i waited, i noticed things were a lil awkward, it was too quiet. I checked out the sportshall, there were no signs of ppl playing bball, then my friend msged back and said he overslept. Heck, i decided to go home. I had 10 minutes to catch the train which goes home orelse i would have to wait for another hour). I rushed like hell, got in the train on time. Well when i reached the train station near my place, there was still a 25 minute walk to get home. It couldnt get worse, half way through the journey, it started to rain. >.<>

Its just a string of bad luck i guess..... Im convinced the good times will come... :) Till next time, i promise, sth positive would be in the blog. World cup is around the corner, i think i would be watching one of the matches outside the stadium where this big projector would be.. So, wish me luck! haha...

Regards,

Chongshen.

Laughter The Best Madicine

2006-05-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ive stumbled upon what i deem one of the best comedy series EVER...

Stop fretting bout FRIENDS is over...
Forget bout Drew Carey (Not that he's funny at all, just that i cant think of anyother names.. :P)
Throw away King of Queens......

Coz u've got..... TAAAADAAAA.....

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at Comedy Central!!

Now this guy is Jon Stewart... Man is he funny... Since here in Germany, the only English channel is CNN (Im not complaining, its quite informative and good actually.. ) I watch it quite often, and that is how i stumbled upon The Daily Show..

For those of you who doesnt really noe this guy, lemme tell u, he is, FUNNY and his sarcasm... Woah.... This show he produces and hosts is called the Daily Show. He mainly talks about the hot and happening political events happening in the US. Oh yea, not to mention, he was the host of this years Academy Awards too... (Enough proof to prove he IS funny!)

Hmmm... lemme recall one of his jokes... Ok... Recently there was an uproar in the United States bout Mexicans coming into the US illegally and flooding certain places... This is what he commented.. *It might not sound funny here, but...i'll try to 'reproduce' it :P* here goes...

Jon Steward: I often wonder why do u ppl like to come America so much? Why? *a curious look*..... a 3 or 4 seconds of silence....Then he bursts out and says 'Be patient!! We'll invade you!! We'll make your place, OUR place...

And

There was another instance where he was commenting bout a reply a US official made concerning the high gas prices when a reporter asked him whether the world has enough oil to meet Americas oil addiction... The official said sth like this:
I believe theres totally enough oil blah blah blah.. and ended, god bless America....
Jon Stewart commented after playing the video clip of that reply, and SUPER SUPER sacarstically said 'If god blesses America, why put the oil in countries that hate us?!'

Maybe it would be alil lame to retell such jokes with mere words.. I think facial expressions count alot..

So i would say, catch him in 'action' at CNN and judge it for yourself! :) Have fun! :P

I tired.. I really did.. NOOOOOO!!!!

2006-05-13T02:58:00.000-07:00

Damn... A post out of feelings of frustration, hope, excitement, optimism, 'stupidity', happiness...........

I tried... I really did....

But...

But......

Why wasnt i meticulous enough, it was there, right there.. If i had looked more precisely.... DAMN!

IM TALKING BOUT WORLD CUP TICKETS!!!

Yea, U heard me! WOOOORLD CUP TICKETS! There are still tickets!! I was so furious over myself for believing in the axiom that 'Oh, world cup tickets were already sold out since last year... etc.. BULLSHIT!' There are still tickets!!

Ok, u peeps might wondering, if chongshen claims there are still tickets, why is he writing this post? Good question... So, here goes.....

The sales of WC tickets are devided into 5 stages, and now, its the 5 th and final stage, 30 days before the WC starts.. B4 the start of the 5th phase ticket sales, there was a ticketing system called, the 2nd conditional ticket system whereby fans sorta like buy a priority for tickets.. A participant of the 2nd conditional ticket system pays in advance the ticket fees of his or her desired match, and then stands a higher chance to get it in the 5th phase ticket sales..

When i found out there were still tickets, i visited the fifa website and read all the important notices... I decided to join the 2nd conditional ticket system.. i could see green signs all over the screen (perfect availability) .. i was delighted to see England matches were still available! Afte selecting the desired matches, it was the registration and payment stage of the purchasing process.. Quickly, i filled in all relevant information.. Then the payment........................DAMN!!

It only accepts credit card and doesnt accept debit card.. I have a debit card, but i cant use it, moreover, i realised im not 18 yet.. Cant use it for this purchase..WAIT!!! Suddenly it struck me! What if my dad bought it for me with his credit card... *grins with anticipation* I called my dad to ask for permission.. He gave me the green light to go.. MAN WAS I HAPPY! BUTTTT... (theres always a freaking BUT....!!:!§$!§"$§"%$?) But, when i my dad's Visa details in hand, preparing to finish the application, i realised one thing, it stated there:

The credit card holder must be identical with the applicant.

DAMNNNNNNN... Ok, i'll explain... The WC tickets are just like plane tickets, the person whos in possession of the ticket must have his or her name on the ticket. Upon entering the stadium, FIFA officials will be checking identities, which includes passports for foreigners.. So if my dad buys it, the tickets belong to him, not me....

I didnt give up hope just yet, i knew there must be some way to transfer the tickets... AND TAADAAAA!! Indeed there was.. Its called a Ticket Portal, where tickets can be transfered. One can submit an application to the Organising Committee (OC) and they'll decide whether to permit. It stated most transfers are done within the family.. So i was GLAD.. Another prob cropped up... I knew it was possible, BUT how? where to apply? where to submit my application? I tried looking thru the internet, but my efforts were in vain..... Eventually, i decided not to place a booking in the conditional ticket system.. (that was 1 and a half weeks ago)

NOW, somehow, i decided to try my luck again... This time around, i managed to find where to apply for ticket transfers and there were still tickets available semi and quarter final tickets (the icons were mostly in red and yellow, red as u would guess correctly, means HABIS!, and yellow, a colour of hope, limited tickets available)! I selected them quickly and proceeded. This time around i thought, i would buy them under my dad's name, and transfer it to mine as i already know how and where...*was giggling inside* To my dissapointment, IT WAS F***ING hard to get into the purchasing server!!! I opened several windows, 6 to 8 windows, trying my luck......
And everytime... it goes.....

Dear football fan, blah blah blah blah... Please try again later...

Then the countdown of 30 seconds begins... I watched the count downs with a great sense of optimism (or some would call 'stupidity) hoping for the registration window to pop up.......

But.................................

I waited for almost 2 hours... Nothing.. i got nothing..... Things werent just right, i didnt have the combination of all information to make this dream come true... DAMN -anoynymous-, he's someone i know, also an exchange student, he has a TST Series ticket, which allows him to watch all 3 matches in a Group!!!! Actually, it was only after talking to him, i realised that the rumour 'WC tickets are all finished' was a mere axiom....I talked to him during the school break, after knowing that i could actually get tickets, in class, i could barely hear anything around me except my heartbeat and pulse beating ferociously, my whole body felt warm...(It was a mixture of excitement and fear of dissapointment..) Upon arriving home, details in the internet 'normalised' me once again.. haha....

I was always hoping to be able to type a post entitled: YES!!!!!!! and a following post of a World Cup Ticket.... But..........

I think its time to get back to reality i guess..... No tickets for me...I tried, I really did.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!.......... (Doesnt end here :P).....

Im optimistic.. Im only 17.... Its only one World Cup i missed... I cant say ive missed a once in a lifetime opportunity, as the future is always bright..... So, South Africa World Cup 2010, I will be waiting for you!!! ( I truly hope i'll make it... :P)

2 touching 3..

2006-05-04T05:46:00.000-07:00

Ive been here for almost 3 months now.. Things are pretty much ok now.. Just trying to keep my expectations lower, let time take its toll, take things easy etc... Language is everything here, once ive conquered it, i believe other issues can be easily tackled.. Nothing spectecular to blog about.. Hmm, yea, i'll be in Poland for a week of exchange there in June.. and World cups coming up soon, hope i'll get real lucky and stumble upon available tickets! haha.. Till next time...

2006-04-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Marta, Kashka and i at the bus station taking a last picture b4 they set out on their 25 hour journey back to poland.

2006-04-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

Kashka and i. She'll be my host when i travel to poland in June with the school to school organised week exchange program btween Germany n Poland.. :)

2006-04-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

Guess ive got to be contented with an imperfect picture.. Why couldnt timo (blue guy) show a decent smile?

2006-04-30T07:29:00.001-07:00

Getting better....

2006-04-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

2nd attempt, bad..

2006-04-30T07:28:00.001-07:00

Taking a good picture proves to be real hard.. First attempt.. not good.

2006-04-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

4got their names.. Students frm poland.

2006-04-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

Party.

2006-04-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

Found these lying in the living room.. Why they were there i dont noe, didnt bother to ask too.. Free for speculation though.. Give me ur kind opinions.. LOLZ XD

2006-04-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

Was frm some event some time ago..

2006-04-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

See the M sign? Here its just typical classroom nuiscance.. It gets real funny at times..

2006-04-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Peter mimicking some McD attendant.. Dunno wat was he actually doing..XD

2006-04-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

Its a nice pic, could have been better if it was bigger, ppl seriously lack photo taking skills! Anw, frm left, nico, buff, me, peter, marcus. See y i say im small n insignificant here?

2006-04-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

Peter and i.. The blue azure sky. U can see why they were embracing the sun that day..

2006-04-30T07:15:00.000-07:00

Bottom up. Marcus, Nico, Gerrit aka Buff embracing the sun during spring in the school compound. Man, they worship the sun! XD

Abortion.. What say you?

2006-04-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Do u support abortion? What exactly is life to u? Issit a sin to take away a baby’s life, even when you know that even if its being born, its gonna be a down syndrome kid or wouldn’t make it thru a month? Now in terms of the mothers safety.. If a mother gives birth to the baby, she would die and the baby might not survive either.. Or she survives but would be unable to conceive babies again and would be left with her only spastic child (if shes lucky) if not, no child at all.

What prompted me to blog bout this issue was a recent article in cnn where a governor of a state (forgot which state) in USA signed a bill which legislates the law that abortion is illegal in that state. These were among the words quoted by the governor, I remember it vividly.. Read carefully.. ‘ Abortion is not allowed in this state, even if the baby was conceded through rape and incest.’ Can u BELIEVE it? And, the penalty for violating this new found regulation is rather heavy, includes jail terms and fines..

What could be the possible rational behind such a legislation? Perhaps for personal interests or political pressure. Afteall, no one ever said the political arena is a nice place to be. As Bill Clinton once quoted, ‘There is one similarity between law n sausage making. Both are equally dirty’ (well, it aint exactly the same words but it implies the same thing)

Anw, I object to a certain extent as some of the objections to this law come from irresponsible pleasure seekers who conceive babies after ‘pleasurable moments’ and then nonchalantly ‘abort’ the babies. This I strongly object. But if it’s a result of rape and incest, theres no way the victim should be forced to give birth to the baby whose ‘father’ is the sex offender. It would be a psychological bomb to the victim herself as watching her ‘child’ brings back horrid and shameful memories of the past. Moreover, when the victim is just a juvenile, a minor, hows she suppose to raise the child. From health wise, it is unhealthy for females to give birth at an early, young age. It would have a certain abruption towards the females’ health (For minor victims)

However, back to the point.. What would ur stand be? To legislate abortion or to ban it? Considering both choices’ pros and cons, how would ur decision be? Where would u draw the line? For me, frankly, I don’t know… :)

2006-04-13T05:35:00.000-07:00

In front of the Hannover Opera House.

2 months in Germany..

2006-04-13T05:34:00.001-07:00

Well, has been 2 months since ive got here.. Time really flies huh? Have got accustomed slowly to being here, and figured out that there lies a rainbow after the storm. My storm would be the transition period, nostalgia etc. And now, the pressure of speaking good german is starting to mount up.. But nevertheless, im motivated to work hard to learn the language. I was in Hannover this Tuesday, well it’s a big city, one of the venues for the world cup. Anw, there were Asians all around, Chinese in particular, was gr8 to see that. There I visited a Chinese store.. The cashier was frm china, and I initiated a conversation… Just a normal conversation in Chinese (was good to be speaking Chinese again, though i think my accent has become a lil weird n rusty) blah blah blah.. There was an important phrase which kinda motivated me..
In chinese:-

Me: Wo zai de guo you jie jin liang ge yue le, ke shi wo jue de de yu ting nan de…
Cashier: (Smile) Yong xin qu xue bah..

May seem like just an ordinary conversation, but to me had quite an extent of motivation. J And that lady gave me 2 sets of CHINESE newspaper for free! Ok, I would confess here, back in msia, I seldom..ok, never, read the Chinese newspaper (perhaps that’s why I deserved a B for spm.. >.<) But now here, wow.. its nice to read.. haha.. Maybe coz it’s a language I can comprehend.. :P But the contents are really interesting too..

Now, I would say ive gotten rid of most of the nostalgia, those which but in a positive manner, reminiscing gr8 memories of the past. Partly, thanks to a quote from my sista which goes like this:-

People say with every start comes an end,
I say with every occurrence comes a bend,
Our destined brotherhood commenced against all odds not to end,
For occasional detachment or disassociation is simply a bend.

‘For occasional detachment or disassociation is simply a bend’ a phrase which enlightens me from time to time…I would say at this very moment, these phrase has indeed made a difference for my stay here.. J Thanks once again sista.. haha..

2006-04-13T05:34:00.000-07:00

Maria (Xchange student frm Bolivia in Switzerland, ex-host sis for Vivi who went to Bolivia last year) and i..

2006-04-13T05:33:00.000-07:00

At the hunderd year old Hannover Rathaus with Wolfram, Vivi, and Erena.

Easter Holidays....

2006-04-08T16:14:00.001-07:00

So, for easter holidays, i spent 5 days in Cuxhaven (the town which coastlines the North Sea) My host parents rudy and tina n younger bro aaron and I were hosted at rudy’s aunt’s (Margita and her husband, Heinz) house with great hospitality. The fisrt day was quite a bore for me, upon arriving till bidding good night, they spent 7 hours non-stop talking. Aaron and I slept at Hidon’s place (Heinz and Margita’s daughter) as there weren’t

Day 2 was starting to get interesting.We walked along the coastline with Uncle Heinz as our tour guide. Visited the Kugelbake. a typical site for Cuxhaven. It stands 30meters tall and is approximately 200 years old. It functioned as a guide to lead the ships thru the North Sea to Hamburg. Later on toured the Cuxhaven town. Was slightly bigger then the nearest town I live to, 50000 inhabitants.. (Its still SOOO puny! But have to be contented lah)

Day 3, went to Helgoland for a day trip, an island located 70 minutes North West from Cuxhaven. Its greatest attraction known to many is the Langen Anna. She is 60 million years old and is on the verge of being washed away by the fierce North Sea. Another attraction is that, at Helogland, things sold there are duty free, cigarettes, alcohol, perfumes are damn cheap, but came back with neither of those.. J Anw, one thing I would like to highlight… the ‘breeze’. Remember making sarcastic jokes that a thin person might be blown away by a ‘breeze’, (don’t laugh) it can happen at Helgoland. I could virtually lean backwards 20 or 25 degrees with the wind coming supporting me from behind and not fall backwards. Likewise for leaning frontwards. Sometimes it took quite some effort to walk frontwards against the wind. NO KIDDING!

Day 4, visited a Fishing museum and toured another coastline in Cuxhaven called Duhnen. And yes, now I can say it loud and proud that ive been IN the north sea. Nope, there isn’t any grammar error with that sentence. The north sea has a specialty which most seas don’t. When low tide happens due to the moon’s gravitational effects, the water goes away as much as 15 km compared to the normal 10 or 15 meters of normal low tides at most beaches. And so, I went INTO the north sea.. haha.. I took a pic too…J Personally, I think the beach in Cuxhaven is nothing really, except for its super low tides. Coz its basically sand and water and when low tide comes, mud (the seabed) and the beach has NO TREE! Not a single one in sight for a very long stretch. (How can u call it a beach when theres no tree?!?) But germans think that its magnificent, the north sea WOAH!! haha.. And we have to pay to sit on the beach! (I wouldn’t pay 3 euros to do that *shakes head*) Cant blame them, haven’t seen better beaches like those frm msia, so makes them think their tree-less beach is the best.. haha In the evening, went for a swim in the swim hall.. Was kinda delighted coz I thought, that would be the BEST place to meet chics *get wat I mean? evil grins* Coz seriously, being here for almost 2 months, I haven’t really seen groups of attractive gals..But wth! There wasn’t any!! Where has all the german chics gone to?!?! Grrrr…haha…

Day 5, visited Bremen after breakfast. It was my first visit to a big city in Germany. Damn cham u noe.. For 6 weeks, being in a town which stores n hot n happening places are no bigger then PJ State (New Town) and which has only 20000 inhabitants. If I go into a pub in my town on a weekend night, it is guaranteed to see at least 10 or more peeps frm my school.. This proves one thing.. THE TOWN IS SUPER PUNY! haha.. Anw, upon arriving, saw Bremen FC fans cheering, and a band playing in support of FC Bayern. Apparently there was a football match later against these two teams..(Bremen won 3 neal) And then visited the town.. ahaha.. So the answer to my previous question, where has all the german chics gone to? Bigger cities..hahaha.. Bremen has approx half a million inhabitants, so its quite reasonable. Visited quite a lot of famous attractions of Bremen. Among them were the Bremen Town Musicians Statue. A children story which I believe is quite familiar to all originated frm Bremen about a donkey, a rooster, a dog and a cat. (Read it here and most of u will go Oh…. http://brementownmusicians.com/en/main ) The Rathaus (sth like the city’s administrative office, 600 years old) and the Statue of Roland (Signifies civic rights, 600 years old) were attractions here are World Heritage Sites by UNSECO. There was also the St Petri Cathedral which if im not mistaken over 1000 years old. Well, walked around the shops too.. Had a range of shops I think catering for mostly the above middle class as goods sold there aren’t cheap at all… some of which can go up to 300 euros for a jacket frm Marc O’Polo, 200 euros for a pair of shoes frm Prada etc.. times the figure by 4.6, u’ll get the price in ringgit.. ;) Walked around and headed home at around 3:30pm..

Overall i had great fun, starting to like Germany.. haha.. Till next time.. :)

2006-04-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

The shop where German pop stars couple Sarah Connor and Mark Drewinski bought their wedding rings.. Was in Bremen City.

2006-04-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

The St Petri Cathedral. 1200 years marks the history of this building...

2006-04-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

Me with Hidon at the 604 year old Statue of Roland. It signifies civic rights and privileges and is a world heritage site by UNESCO.

2006-04-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

With the Bremen Town Musicians...

2006-04-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

Who said Germans were cold? haha.. This guy pulled me into the pic with him..

2006-04-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Me in front of the Rathaus in Bremen. This building was built during the Renasissance period and is almost 600 years old.

2006-04-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Me with Onkel Heinz and Tante Margita before leaving Cuxhaven for Bremen.

2006-04-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

The North Sea

2006-04-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

A vague pic.. But its me, IN the north sea...lolz

2006-04-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Us.. :)

2006-04-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

Me with tina n rudy..If u notice anything weird bout this pic (I do, my smile, my hair etc) its because of the wind.. seriously...

2006-04-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

Damn it.. The red warning sign.. Ruined the pic..>.< Was rushing, didnt have time to settle at another spot.. And no, i dont know what it says there...

2006-04-08T14:45:00.001-07:00

Me with Anna Langen behind me...:)

2006-04-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Langen Anna. Helgolands most attractive part.. This independant rock is 65 million years old. :)

2006-04-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

The coastline of Helgoland. It looks better in reality then in picture...

2006-04-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Get wat i mean?

2006-04-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

The wind was so strong i could actually do this, and not fall frontwards.. This is no camera trick..

2006-04-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

At Helgoland.. Behind me, u would have guessed right- The North Sea.

2006-04-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

Host bro Aaron and i at the Katamaran(the boat) from Cuxhaven to Helgoland (Island 70 minutes offshore frm cuxhaven)

2006-04-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

The Kugelbake upclose. It stands approximately 30m high if im not mistaken.. :P

2006-04-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

Host parents tina n rudy, aaron and i below the Kugelbake.

2006-04-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

The Kugelbake in Cuxhaven. It stands at the tip of the coast line to direct ships along the north sea to Hamburg. Its 200 ought years old.

2006-04-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

The team doing a dance after the game..

2006-04-03T04:22:00.000-07:00

The players from two teams shaking hands after the game.. i was supporting the team in red.. But ironically, i dont remember the teams name.. :P

2006-04-03T04:20:00.000-07:00

Jonas, host bro, Rudy, host dad, and i at ice hockey match.. Didnt have a cameraman, so.. :)

2006-04-03T04:19:00.000-07:00

With classmate, mareika.. at ice hockey match too..