ok super long post below, typed at home and posted at internet cafe. enjoy! or dun read if its too long and luo suo :P

6th october

arrived safely in Köln after a long journey. Felt very gd on the plane – in fact 13 hrs didn’t seem like all that long. Probably reading the notes and admiring the gifts helped me kill some time and had a lasting feel-gd effect. Hmmm :) felt very touched by the amount of effort u all put in to do/ write/ get everything, all to reassure me that our friendship is impt, and to help me settle down better here in Köln. Thanks to ryan – for co-ordinating the class gift I think as well as the CD, yang – for the necklace (I dunno what to do with e tattoo erps!), chow – for the frames pictures and cooking stuffs :) I promise I will try them out, fid – for the tablemat (which Im using!) and photothingy, yit – for the huge card (no there was no one in the seat immediately next to me hahaa) lipbalm and tee!, zhen – for the bedsheet (am gonna change it sometime!), steph – for the booklet and CD (omg your voice is booming and saying I’m such an embarrassment to you! And ur german pronunciation is appalling hahaha!)

shall stop awhile to listen to steph torture my ears :P omg so super funny!!!

okay back to detailing my life here. So after I got here, met up with my host family pple – the lady is called Hanni (short for Johanna, I thought Honey erps), the guy’s Willi (short for Wilhelm). Hanni and Willi (pronounce Villee! Not Weellee or Villai hurhur). Anyway so we had lunch, consisting of salad (erps which I don’t like but ate a little anyway), and this yellow thingy. Im sorry no idea what its called :( but it tasted not bad! Especially with their tomato sauce (its squeezed out of a tube, and its more like a paste). Talked to them and it was generally quite comfy. There’s still much we can find out abt each other, maybe we will in time to come. –nods–
after that cleaned up my room, put some stuff in place, I decided to be adventurous! I think it’s a first day thingy – like everything’s fresh and new and exciting you just want to see it all and try it all. So armed with camera, sweater, notebook, dictionary and moneys, I went to the Hauptbahnhof (main station) and got tickets to Aachen. Met a senior Lester there, who brought me to Poon Li’s house. Basically they all study at Aachen’s Fachhochschule (technical university) and meet up for all the major festivals or occasions. It was Poon Li’s birthday so everyone gathered to celebrate with her. Yups :) had rice and very well cooked chicken (yang: yes I must learn!), and some other stuff which were all spicy so I didn’t try hurhur. Also ate some Auflauf (german food, its like lasagne but creamy and may have like just cabbage instead of pasta? I think.) and tried the cake that this guy Azman made. Very enjoyable in all :) especially nice to hear Singaporean accents, and see Singaporean faces. Was tired though from the travelling and time difference so didn’t talk that much. Plus first time meeting them so not so comfy yet, but it should get better :) anyway they convinced me to stay overnight at her place and take the train back next morning cos it was brighter in the morn and safer, so I agreed :) yay had a gd nights sleep (cos very tired la)

7th October

woke up early and went to the busstop with Poonli who very nicely accompanied me there. Took an early bus, but missed the stop (okay I shd stop thinking I can recognise things after just one glance, and be more enthu abt asking for help –nods–) so missed the train too (cos I had to queue to buy the tickets, didn’t know I cud have used the Automats (automatic machines) with cash too!). in the end reached the language centre late (plus got abit lost there too) by almost an hour. Very bad :( the hour was mostly due to the Aachen-Köln train, which comes every like 30 mins. Bleahhhs.

Okay then met the pple there, took a test, and then happily left at 11 or so. Initially wanted to go to the famous Kölner Dom (cathedral) to sightsee and take pics, so I followed the spires I could see and just walked randomly. Somehow after awhile it disappeared from sight, and what I saw was even better – internet cafes! So I got into one, paid 80 cents for an hour of use (woohoo!) and chatted. Cheers to cheap internet cafes here! :P went off then came home, went groccery shopping in between. Looked super long for eggs, and also got four-season beans. The interesting part was that after paying I realised tt I shdve brought a bag big enough for grocceries – cos in germany its considered env-unfriendly to use plastic bags to contain newly-purchased stuff. So bought a cloth bag instead for 50 cents (plastic bags cost 10cents each), which I will remember to bring everytime I go to the groccer’s. –nods– then came home and cooked a simple meal of maggie mee (fid: on top of your tablemat! Yay!)

Well well. Then went internet café-searching again, after fumbling for like half an hour with the showers – couldn’t get them the right temperature, and the heater was abit cranky. Walked walked walked, asked fer directions, finally found the internet café after asking like 10 pple (I’m tempted to suggest 1million but perhaps not) and getting 10 different answers. So I was just walking around without keeping track of where I was. Anyhow, found one and it was almost as cheap (one buck per hr) so happily used :) I so need my own internet connection! Argghhh. Cured me of homesickness, this session. :) then came home by walking to the nearest train station and getting on the train tt comes home! Yayy. Met a chinese guy too and chatted with him. Turns out he stays near me and has been here for many yrs! Qt heartwarming to meet chinese :) and speak chinese!

Some observations – germans are sticklers for rules! Cos they generally wait at traffic lights even if there aren’t cars, and at where the Strassenbahn track crosses the road, we’re not sposed to cross when a train (better called a tram) is coming, cos its dangerous. Well I did and I heard someone go "tsktsk!" goodness. So I was qt shocked. Learnt my lesson though, wont do it in the future :)

Germans also are very loud. Nobody’s afraid of talking loudly on the trains and trams or on the streets, and are very open with their views (or so I deduce), cos they like to loudly exclaim "ja ja!" meaning yes, or "nein nein!" meaning no, when others say stuff. It just feels like a very open place. People also discuss politics and economics and all that pretty freely (those of working age and above mostly), can tell they are generally a well-informed bunch.

Weather’s been good, very moderate and comfortable. Am wearing HC shorts :P not cold at all especially when all windows are closed. :) superb feeling of always walking in fresh aircon.

Made myself some Milo just now, its really comforting cos it so reminds me of Singapore! Thank goodness I brought it :) Hmm time for me to go to the supermarket really – need to get foodstuff (like soya sauce! Rice!) and other stuff (like more hangers! Detergent!). Must find the Asian supermarket too. :) What else. Yeah Laundry service, here I cant wash clothes! Saddd. Still have to walk out to wash, probably will do it once a week? :)

Anyways my host couple’s out for an interesting literature session they say, at a wine shop. I went along to meet her friend, and I think it was most interesting! That 30 pple would gather in a wine shop to taste some fine wine and discuss abt literature. What are the chances of that happening in Singapore man?! Next to nothing, I’d think.

Did I say already, that my host couple’s going out for 13 days? And I would be home alone! Erps. Door’s got 2 locked though and my room door’s also locked. Don’t feel unsafe at all, its just weird coming home to an empty house. Anyway will have to decide what to do with the weekend. Probably sight see mostly – go to the city centre and walk around and act all touristy again :P

Allright, feel tired now though its only 9:11pm here so I shall go to bed :) more unpacking cleaning and shopping tomorrow! Oh yeah hopefully I stop spending money. Don’t know how much I shd be spending but it seems much. BAH.