School starts soon

Wow, so it’s September and I finally know what’s going on with school.

Sort of.

I know when orientation is, when classes start, and when and how long my Winter break will be (only 2 weeks).

But I still don’t know how to register myself, how to pay tuition fees, what any of the deadlines are, or what my schedule will be like. I think I have a M-F schedule with a full courseload of 10 classes though.

I’m finding that German universities are really different from Canadian universities so far. The big difference [I can see] is that there isn’t much money spent on administrative needs, which means that things are confusing and service is low. I’ve heard of this before from other North Americans studying in Germany, so I’m not surprised.

It makes things a little stressful for me while I’m still in Canada and trying to figure it out, but I’m also okay with it because the tuition fees are MUCH lower than what I’m used to. So at least I’m not paying for service whilst not getting it. Life is still good.

I can’t believe I’m back to being a student again. I’m really excited and grateful for the opportunity. It’s gonna be so cool, and on top of learning more science (my favourite course of study), I’ll get to learn German and soak up German student culture too.

I like seeing what it’s like for other students in other schools. I’ve only ever known the Canadian education system, so it’ll be neat to see something different. When Martin and I went to Bratislava last year, we chose to stay at the university and had a blast being ‘dorm mates’. We could have stayed in any downtown hotel, but then we would have missed our glimpse into student life within Slovakia’s capital. We still talk about how it was such a great experience.

And soon I’ll get to experience first-hand what it’s like to be a student in Germany. Thrilling!

Stand in BM and MOH

Okay, so I just sent out emails for my going away parties. One of my planner-gf’s said she needed our head count ASAP, so I went ahead to invite my side to both parties, even though my other gf hasn’t started planning the 2nd party yet (we’re supposed to talk about it this week!).

If I didn’t email you it’s because I don’t have your email address. So email me if you want to come!

My good buddy Dave is also getting married this Sunday, and I’m busy planning his bachelor party ^_^. So I want to get my less-important going away stuff out of the way, so I can focus on Dave!

I’m the stand-in ‘best man’ and ‘maid of honour’, which is really the best thing to be (asides from bride & groom, of course!). I don’t have huge amounts of responsibility and I get to wear my own clothes (!). But I’m also stepping in to plan this bachelor party because I have to force Dave to admit he actually wants one ^_^, and I’m the most local – everyone else is coming from waaayy out of town.

I also just love them both. <3

The only reason I’m still in Toronto now is because I’ve been waiting for Dave’s wedding. I really want to see him marry the love of his life, who also happens to be my good friend. I met her through Dave, and she is the best! I’m very happy for them both, and I can’t wait to go to the party!

It’s also a nice excuse to get out of the city for the long weekend. Wooo!!

Going Away Party!

For the last 3 weeks, I’ve been going out and meeting people every single day and night, and I am pooped. This reminds me of when Martin is here and everyone wants to meet him, and we end up meeting 15-20 of my closest friends in a few short weeks – with repeat meetings!

It’s very tiring, so I’m going to stop that. I really want to spend time with my family and I have tons of things to do to get ready.

But I still want to see everyone so there will be 2 going away parties on September 9 and 10.

My friends will be planning the parties so Stay Tuned! I don’t have all the details yet, but I will let you know in a week via email. It will be great to see you all.

Missing my boyfriend

Gahh!! I miss Martin so much these days. We haven’t had much time to talk lately, because it’s so hard to juggle phone chatting with life and time zones.

We still manage to at least say “Gute Nacht” to each other everyday (night for him), but it’s not enough. It’s such a tease, really. Hearing someone’s voice for only 5 minutes – it reinforces how much you miss them.

Things will be so much easier when we are together in person. Long distance relationships are no fun at all. They are so stressful and heart wrenching. You get used to it and you deal, but it’s never preferable (unless you don’t really like the person!).

I can’t wait to be with Martin!! He landed us the perfect flat, and soon we’ll be decorating it together and living our new life in our new city. Holy cow!

Last minute jitters

In general, I am very excited to move to Germany. It’s not so much Germany as it is to be with Martin again.  Martin and I have gotten so close over the years that we find it unnatural to be apart. We really miss each other. That’s why we’re going through the trouble of moving and sorting through mountains of paperwork together.

As excited as I am, I’m also pretty nervous. I am moving from Toronto, the place I’m happiest and most comfortable, to Germany – the land where it will be it tough.

It will be tough for many reasons. The main reasons being that I don’t know [much] German, and it will be hard to find work.

I am not pressed for work because I have savings to live off of, and I have Martin. But I don’t always want to live off savings or mooch off my boyfriend. I want to be independent, and earn my own way. Like I do in Toronto.

It doesn’t help that I’ve been reading forum threads on how it’s so hard to eek a living out of Germany as a non-European citizen. I shouldn’t be reading them but I can’t help it. Having lived there last year, I can relate and know it’s no exaggeration.

Last year when I worked in Germany, my taxes and insurance would cut in to my pay so much that I  could barely afford food. Then every time I’d get sick, I’d need cash to pay doctors and would have less income due to missed days at work. My work was also freelance so was very up and down; I can handle income fluctuations, but being in an expensive foreign country with no cushion is hard!

I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining, because I’m not. That was my experience and it was even more amazing than it was hard. I’m just whining a little.

Maybe this lack of working is a good thing for me right now. I’ll be able to focus on school and Martin. Which I didn’t get to do as an undergrad, cuz I worked too much and didn’t know Martin that well yet!

I know that whatever happens will happen, and that I should just enjoy life as much as I can. The work will come, hopefully *fingers crossed*. And then I will be writing to complain about that!

Möbel Aufstellen

Vor einigen Tagen, Martin und ich waren Möbel aufgestellten bei Grundriss von unsere Wohnung.

Er habt auf meinem Möbel aufstellen gelacht! Aber mein Aufstellen war sehr funktional, und die Beste auf der Platz benutzen.

Martin hat kein aufstellen gemacht, weil er war zu schwer lachen.

Ahh. Ich glaube habe ich ein albern Freund!

Steel Cities

I am so excited about moving to our new flat in Duisburg!

Martin and I have never lived in Duisburg before, so we’ll both be new to the city together.

Duisburg will be the largest city that Martin has ever lived in, but the smallest city that I’ve ever lived in.

When Martin and I were deciding where to live, we made a spreadsheet with all the cities between his work and my school. We plotted time, distance, and directness (number of connections) to both of our cities.

Düsseldorf and Duisburg were the best compromise, with Duisburg having an advantage because of the lower cost of living and less competitive market (we had faith that we would find a flat in our desired neighbourhood in Duisburg, but not so much in Düsseldorf).

If I had to compare Duisburg to a Canadian city, it would be Hamilton, Ontario. Both are industrial steel-manufacturing cities, and have a population of ~500K. They’re also not known to be the most beautiful of cities, but maintain large natural conservation areas. I don’t tend to appreciate nature as much as I could, but when I lived in Hamilton I really appreciated the nature; I know I will appreciate this in Duisburg also.

The big difference with Duisburg is that the public transit is fantastic. Much better than Toronto’s public trans, let alone Hamilton’s (which isn’t very good, btw).

This is very important for me to enjoy a city. It keeps me connected and independent, which is so much a part of my identity and my tendency towards a ‘big city lifestyle’.

We have a home!

Martin closed the deal on our new flat yesterday!

It’s perfect for us.

The layout is nice, it’s close to amenities, has good transit connections for me, and parking for him!

It’s around 600 sq ft, on the second floor, has a balcony overlooking the courtyard (!), a newly renovated bathroom, and a *closet*. There is no kitchen so we’ll need to install one, but Martin may bring his current kitchen for starters, or we’ll source one out from Ikea/find one second hand.

The price of our 600 sq ft flat is the same price that I was paying for my 261 sq ft apartment in Düsseldorf last year! So it really helps to live in Duisburg, where rents are cheaper and convenience is still there.

We are very happy with what we’ve landed, and also proud that we worked as a team to get it.

Go teamwork!

Long Distance Floorplanning

The last flat I mentioned didn’t go through for Martin.

But that was because he found a nicer flat in a better area! He went to see it yesterday, liked it immediately, and made a verbal agreement with the agent. The agent is even renovating the bathroom and not charging extra for it! Martin will be signing the lease tomorrow after work.

Good job Sweetie!

We’ve spent the day ‘decorating’ our flat. My talented boyfriend is an excellent Draftsperson and drew a to-scale floor plan along with detailed miniature versions of his furniture. We opened a Google document and rearranged stuff together within our floor plan. It was so fun!

Even though I’m looking at a miniature version of our flat, it’s all starting to come together.

Eee!!

I have the best boyfriend in the world.

We’re getting there…

Last night Martin and I emailed a whack of listings to make appointments for this weekend, and all day today Martin’s phone has been ringing off the hook.

He left work early today to view 3 flats!

One of the flats wasn’t from our list. A Realtor he had met yesterday called him to ask if he wanted to see another one of her listings. She felt bad for him because yesterday’s flat wasn’t the right one, so she wanted to show him something that might be a better fit.

She also said that if he likes this new flat, she’ll put him at the top of her list for consideration (it works like that in Germany – you don’t decide, they do). When Martin wasn’t sure about making a decision on the spot, she said he could put a 10 day hold on the flat, and that he would still be at the top of the list.

Like, are we still in Germany here or is my boyfriend just that hot?

Martin called me after he saw the flat. It’s a little further from where he wanted to be, but it’s well connected to transit and the flat is nice. The price is good too! It’s actually at the mid-to-lower end of our budget, and if we choose it, Martin says he’ll use the money saved to take me out on dates!

SOLD! lol.