A note on love in Germany

When I say I love you..you think its untrue
You think I say it all the time
You think I say it to too many people

But when I say I love you to you
It means I am in love with you
It means you make me the happiest
It means you are my good friend
It means I wake up thinking about you
I go to bed thinking about you
I cant wait to see you

When I say I love you
I dont want to bind you
I dont want you to say it back
I just want you to know
When you need that love
I'll be the one standing behind you

I just got the lines from somewhere while trying to study, and then there was a debate between the Polish and the Germans on how much of what you do in a relationship depends on love.

German: Love is important, but it is not the basis of a relationship to just date and kiss or even have sex with someone
Polish: Love is the basis for everything. It's weird how you can do anything without feeling something special
German: People say I love you all the time. Dont mean it half the time.
Polish: Did you not pay attention to the lines. When you say I love to someone special.. it means you are in love with him/her.
German: Scheisse.. Polish
Me: Can I talk now please. Those lines are very true I think. But I am sure what you Germans think is true as well.
Polish: Ahhh.. cookie.. love is important
Me: Yes it is.. but what about not being loved backed
German: Too serious talk.. lets eat some pan cakes
Everyone: Yeah.. lets eat

Its amazing how the cultural values of the both differ. Germans are much more open minded, and polish on the other hand not so much. But frankly speaking I dont think there is anything wrong with that. Sometimes its actually refreshing to meet people who still believe in the good old values.

My take on love.. haha.. I dont know really. Some time back it was different from what it is now. So may be sometime later it is going to be different again. For now.. I just know its suppose to make you more happy than sad!

This post is dedicated to all my girl friends here in Mannheim who bitch about and complain about and love the love of their lives :D

Some fun.. some studying

Its that time of the year again, when I can barely think. Its amazing how when I really need to think, I would rather sleep, eat, sleep and eat some more.

Today is officially day one of my cycle of studying. I have an exam in a week, and around 300 slides to go over and memorize, like the good old days in India, where memorizing is all we did. It just seems so hard to study for exams now, the way I did in India. See, America is easy. There are so many homeworks, tests and assignments that you do not have to depend on the exam entirely. I have never spent more than 2 days of studying on an exam there, and definitely no sleepless nights. But here.. I am back to being in school in India, where slogging was a way of life.

Technically I should not be complaining. I had 3 months to study, and even if I gave myself 3-4 hours a week to actually sit down and study rather than being plain bored, I would have better off right now. But as they say "Procrastination is a man's best friend" or rather I just say.

Since the summer really, I have not studied much. A study abroad is more or less like a vacation term where you pass time by taking few classes and traveling. So getting into the whole studying grove is proving to be much more difficult than I had originally imagined. The good though, believe it or not I actually stay way from the internet while I study. That's very much my biggest achievement in a very long time. I am this super addicted to "chatting to friends back home" person, so this is good for me.

Today I spent the Sunday by waking up at noon (yes yes I am one of those), and then just sat in the kitchen with Marie and Rob and studied. I am a little glad I was not studying for the same exam as them, since I have no idea how they ever got anything done with the amount of discussion that was going on between them. I managed to finish around 150 slides, which is not bad I'd say. But the question how much did I retain!!!!!! SIGH! I get 45 minutes and 3 questions, and I have no clue how that works. At least in India, we had 3 hours. I have never written such a short exam, so I am clueless about what is actually gonna happen.



Now the fun part!!! Yesterday I went to Saarbrucken. The capital of the state Saarland, very close to the french border. One day trips have always been my favorite, and I have not had one in a while, so I had amazing fun. It was the four of us, and just 2 hours each way.

Marie has a friend there who showed us around. The WeinachtsMarkt (Christmas Market) was just beautiful. Gluhwine is the thing for Christmas here. I dont know what they call it anywhere else, but its bluish in color, has some spices and is boiled before drinking. Every Weinachtsmarkt has tons of places selling that. The city is not that big, and the shopping street is the highlight. Wherever I have been in Germany, I have come to realized how every city (small or big) has a big shopping street with all the brands (small or big). I guess people like to shop here, even if the prices are killing most of the times.

Last week I had dinner with a German family. They made me some turkey. It was nice to have a typical German dinner with a typical German family. They live outside the city (in a suburbia kinda place), but public transportation is still available. That's one thing I like about this place, living without a car is just too easy. People dont drive unless they really have to. Most of them like to bike around, even if the distance is 30 kms. After all, Germany is big on environmental protection. I never gotta bike here though, got too cold, and I really cant take the wind when on a bike.

Vielleicht muss ich in Deutsch schreiben, aber dann, mesiten leute mich nicht verstehen wollen. Ich bin hier seit drei Monate, und noch, mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut. Ich versuche mit viele Leute in Deutsch zu sprechen, aber viele Fehler.

I dont know why I wrote the above paragraph, being random is my specialty I guess by now! So anyways I am studying, studying, not absorbing anything, and having a little bit of fun here and there. I am not excited to be here after the 21st all by myself, since everyone leaves pretty much for home. Christmas. 9 days without anyone in my apartment DO NOT seem to be fun. I live with 9 other people in my apartment, and for 9 days I'll be the only one living in it. Sounds boring and depressing. I hate being alone. I tried to pre pone my tickets, but thats just too expensive.

I sorta have a list. Things to do when there is noone and nothing to do:

• Read a German book, should easily take 2 days. (I have already bought one)
• Watch a German movie with subtitles (not too keen on this one)
• Go to Berlin by yourself for a day (ehhhh.. may be)
• Shop some! I have a list of things people want (Pooja's birthday present or presents)
• Hang out with some Germans, some of them are probably gonna be here
• Work more than usual
• Blog..only if there is something to blog about
• Talk to people back home (Pooja plans to be busy, Ali is an idiot..shows no love, Ankit..I am sure he'll be too busy studying even on break, Tushar.. heights of ignorance, Aditi.. people need to take an appointment from her, Gauri.. she never has much to say)
• Hang out with Cheryl. May be she can spare some time even though her boy friend will be here
• Plan summer trips
• Go to a club...drink..dance.. (I dont really think this one is gonna happen)

So here is my list. And I am sure I wont do most of it. Given that I am lazy like crazy, and I hate dressing up unless ofcourse its one of those random days where I would wanna do that. Hopefully after the 20th.. I would not just be complaining about life. A big SIGH!!!

Dos and Donts of a Study Abroad

Now that I have been here for 3 months, I can officially pass on my wisdom to those who plan on doing what I just did.

I do not say my experiences account as a testimony for a normal exchange student (If you have been following this blog, you know I am not normal :) ), but the list that follows has been made after being with both who love the experience and those not so much.

DO'S

• Be open to partying, meeting new people, eating all kinds of food and experimenting
• Travel. Especially if you are an exchange student in Europe. You will never ever get this much time to explore.
• Learn a new language, and practice it as much
• Let go of whatever it is that is holding you. Do what you have not done before, remember new country new people, time to make mistakes and learn from them
• Visit the small cities and towns in the country. Thats where the real beauty is.
• Saving money is easy. Just try and cook as much. Eating out is expensive.

I am afraid the don'ts are gonna be way more thanks to my personal experience.


DONT'S

• Do not be broke and come here. You wont be able to travel, and trust me, thats no fun!
• Do not spend time on the computer. That would just prove how bored you are.
• Do not just waste time in talking to people back home. They are there for you even if you don't talk to them for a couple of months
• Do not buy a eurail pass. A semester is 4 months, and the pass is way too expensive. You can cover a lot of countries with a much less price.
• Do not take a bazillion classes. The point is to learn in a different country and experience the culture, not to kill yourself in the room in a different country

That's all I can think of now actually. I am sure I'll come up with some more in some time.

Philly to Mannheim

At the airport...

You know how you never realize what something means to you till you leave it behind and then you look back and it’s gone… that is the weirdest feeling of all.

I won’t say I didn’t know the value or importance of that things before, but I just didn’t know how hard it would be to walk away. I am nice person in general, I cut people a lot of slack, I stick around but I never let go. I might forgive, but I always hold on to the past to make sense out of the future.

This blog is meant to be about my experiences in Germany and while traveling places in Europe, but I think everything that I have experienced in my personal life so far has all to do with Germany. When I say I know myself, I mean I know what people do can piss me off, and what can make me happy. What I don’t know is how much I am capable of trusting and believing in some people. I believe in God, and that helps. It really helps especially when you want to reason out all the bad stuff and think what you did made the almighty do this to you. I have tried reasoning out a lot of times the reason behind me traveling half way across the globe away from both friends and family when I was not suppose to enjoy it in the first place. A couple of things that I have short listed are:

• To know myself better
• To meet some amazing people
• To know whether faith lasts
• To experience the work culture of Germany

I can probably say few more, but these definitely seem the most plausible.

So I started by talking about the weirdest feeling of all when I am returning back to Germany right now and sitting at the airport writing down how I feel. I feel weird yes, I feel like I don’t wanna go back, but at the same time I do wanna go back and meet all those people I met; one last time. Say final goodbyes. Hope to meet them again in some part of the world or the other. 10 days in Philadelphia have been more than just pleasant. They have been a dream from which you do not want to wake up. I think when one does not expect a lot from something, it generally turns out to be very good. That’s exactly what happened here.

People surprise me the most even when the person in context is someone I know since a very long time. They do things which hurt you when you expect it least, they make you really happy when you did not even know they care, they make you cry when you were laughing a moment ago, and they leave just when you wanted them to stay. People just surprise me. And people who matter are responsible for making things good or bad for me.

Some hours later...

Its been 12 hours since I wrote that last para, and now I am in my room in Mannheim, and feel like I am back to reality. Its like I never left. But now I think I am more than ready to finally leave, and go back to the busy life of Drexel. 28 more days. That's what I have. Should not be that bad. May be I can get to see Spain or Paris or Prague if I am lucky enough, and may be I can really have a blast, right here in Mannheim!

I was way too random here. I think sitting at the airport with no internet and phone, just made my brain cells gather small pieces of information from here and there. Pardon me for the extreme randomness.

Home here home there

Living in Mannheim has been one hell of an experience. I have learned so much about different cultures (emphasis on the Polish here), and most of all about myself.

A very weird thing happened. The study abroad director from my school in Philadelphia came to visit in Mannheim. She looked at me and said, "Geets, you still have your watch on Philly time, and its been almost 3 months since you are here, you gotta let go you know." That just made me realize how right she was. I have always considered myself to be very independent, but may be I am not really, and that is why I never felt at home in Mannheim. India is home, Philly is home, but Mannheim never became home.

I have met some of the most amazing people here though. My room mate is just too nice to me. I am not as clean as her, I like to play Indian music loud and I am sure I can be annoying at times, but she still loves me :). My flat mates are a mix of people: Polish, French, Dutch, Canadian and American. I have found friends in them and people I can talk to.

Hafenstrasse (the student dorm I live in) is filled with exchange students. And 99% of them just love their time in Germany. Part of it is because they travel to some place or the other every weekend. I on the other hand, can not do that. Money is a constraint so I have not seen much of Europe so far. Whatever I have seen tells me how beautiful the continent is, its a traveler's heaven, but can I see myself live here and make a living. I guess not. Life is very different. Work culture and wages are different. Its just not where I can be forever, even though I would love to see the greens of Ireland, the lights of Paris, you know what in Amsterdam, and just live each moment.

Coming back to the people that I have met here:
I love them because most of them are very hospitable and invite me to all their food parties even though I have never really cooked for them. I have been to numerous parties with all kinds of food: German, French, Spanish, Polish and much more, and just loved the fact how they all feed you and enjoy to cook. I am not much of a cook, so I really depend on these people for food, and they don't mind doing that for me. I know there are some people that I met I would always like to be in touch with. Asia for always asking me to believe in love, Aga for taking care of me, Marie-Claire for being a buddy, Maciek for his jokes, Anne for being the amazing French girl and so many more people.

Frankly speaking I dont know how much I will miss the place or whether I will miss it at all. I will probably not miss the lonely days or long sleepless nights (thanks to the weird bed), but I will miss the learning process. We learn from everything, and I have learned a lot here. A lot about even my friends back in Philly. Weirdly, I know how much they mean to me, or how much I mean to them. I know now Pooja and me would always be the bestest of friends, I know Ankit would always care even if I dont listen to him, I know Ali will always be an ass (I mean his usual self.. mean but nice at times), I know Aditi would always wanna know whether I am ok, and I know most of all I have a home away from home.

Milan and Venice -- kick off to am amazing Italy trip

A month ago I booked my trip thinking I should really have fun, but trust me I didnt know its gonna be so much fun.

Frankfurt to Milan is an hour flight and thanks to Ryanair.com I only paid 30 euros for my round trip given that I am not an EU citizen. Milan is a city for shoppers. You'll find anything you want there, Prada, Gucci, Channel, Zara, anything, you name it and its there. I spent two nights there even though I am not so capable of spending 1000 euros on a hand bag, and just loved walking around the city. I like doing that, just walking around the city and getting to know it. I get lost a million times, but oh well who cares.

From the Milano airport, the shuttle is about an hour to Milano Centrale and then you can buy a 24 hour pass for 3 euros to use the subway, trams and busses.

Ice cream in Milan rocks, and I thought Ben and Jerry's was good. And then ofcourse there is the pizza, the most amazing thing on the planet (never liked it that much before). I survived on a pizza a day there, seriously it is too good to not be eaten.

After Milan comes Venice. A paradise city for all those lovers and car haters. No cars, water water everywhere, and just boats and more boats. Its a small city, so if one has been living there they can go everywhere by foot. Water bus is expensive 6.50 euros for one trip and 14 for a 12 hours pass. I took the pass since I did not want to miss a chance to be on water, and I do not regret it.

The duomo and rialto bridge are two main places to see. The main street is filled with a bazillion shops, and Morano glass is what Venice proudly makes and sells. Being a tourist city, it was full with tourists even in an off peek season. And did i mention, Italians are really friendly ;). So many people did not know English but even then I was able to get what I wanted, except normal coffee.

Coming to Coffee, coffee in Italy means expresso. Depending on where you are it can range between 70cents to 1.20 euros. Its extremely good for coffee lovers, but a little too bitter for the others. Most of the places do not have a to go coffee concept, and you have to sit there, drink it in their china. Very different indeed.

So ya Venice... I spent a day there, and loved every moment of it. Tight budget so couldnt shop much. Since the carnival in Venice is 1500 years old, there were masks everywhere and they were a beauty. Too expensive for me, but they were gorgeous. Some things like that can only be bought in Venice. At night, you can just stand on the bridge and look at the city, thanking whoever thought of this city on water.

Milan is for those who want to shop and stay in luxury, Venice is for peace lovers and beauty appreciators. Both are different, and definately nothing beats Venice. The moment I stepped out the Venezia St. Lucia station, I knew I was in a wonderful place.

So if you are going to Italy, Venice is a must. Trains are much cheaper in Italy compared to Germnay so 100 euros should cover 5 cities. Not bad at all.

Crêpes in Germany

A crêpe (pronounced /kreɪp/, French IPA: [kʀɛp]) is a type of very thin, cooked pancake usually made from wheat flour. The word, like the pancake itself, is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled." While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is nowadays widespread in France.

Thats the definition I pulled up from wikipedia for the those who dont know what I am talking about. So Anne, the french girl I know, and a friend organized a wonderful Crêpes party for people who dont know what its all about. She lives in a Private house much better than the StudentenWohnheim where I live, and organized it beautifully. Since I am not much of a drinker she saved on the wine, but I ate three of those Crêpes.

When I think of pancakes I think of a thick round piece of flour eaten with loads of maplesyrup. This was different and delicious indeed. Jelly and chocolate was used instead, and I filled mine with loads of chocolate (my new favorite in Germany). Surprisingly, I realized how similar is the preparation from that of an indian delicacy called "cheela". I dont know what are they called in English, but as much as I saw Crêpes being made, I realized I can so do it.

I like it how Europeans (if I may generalize) like to do these small parties for other friends bearing all the costs. I have been to so many of them where people come eat, drink (a must), talk, meet each other, show ineterst in your culture and leave without getting drunk. Its just amazing.

Talking about cultural talks, the one question that I get the most being from India, is about the caste system. I think Germans do read a lot about us. People know so much about India here. Its so refreshing. Sometimes I think they read more about India than I do (bloody American effect).

Stranger: So tell me about India. Is it true, you have a hierarchical structure
Me: You mean the caste system
Stranger: Yeah!
Me: We do, but its not the prevelant in the cities, and I am from Delhi. But in villages it is prolly. You see we are a third world country so these things still exist
Stranger: India is so not a third world country. I mean look at the progress.

Haha! That made my day. I like people here. They get it. They know us. They understand.

Coming back to Crêpes. Thanks for the lovely night Anne. This one is for you :)