My sister emailed me a list of some things to do in London before we left for our trip. When I took a look at it, I stopped midway through when I read "Brass Rubbing." Brass Rubbing? What the heck was Brass Rubbing? A flash of possibilities went through my mind and I giggled at them all. I finally googled it to end the debates going on in my head.

So what is Brass Rubbing? It's a form of replication of brass portraits in the Medieval times and were usually placed in burial vaults; some of the brass also depict church events. The brass was mounted on granite or marble (tombs). Paper is then stretched over the brass and rubbing on it vigorously using wax cake that feels and looks like crayon. It was an interesting simple art that we all wanted to try so we headed to St Martin-in-the-Fields.

There are no classes offered but was simply a drop in. We just walked in and went through their little hallway full of brass mounted on granite chunks on both sides of the wall. The price range was based on the how big the brass was (from 4.50 GBP). You would find small ones about 5" in width to large ones as long as a table and prompted on the walls. It took us a while to choose what we wanted but we eventually chose our brass. We then chose the paper - either black or white. Seeing some of the examples on the walls, I chose white as it would especially work for the detailed brass that I have chosen. Michelle also did the same while Jenn decided to do it on black.

The first thing that needs to be done was to tape the paper onto the brass. After, the guy helping us used a piece of cloth to rub the paper on the brass so that we can see a bit of the impression and know what we are working on. As he demonstrated to us, the one thing we found out was that when you do brass rubbing on black paper, it gives some room to erase any errors you may have by putting a price of cardboard between that brass and the paper and using an eraser to erase. On the white paper, you pretty much have to live with any mistakes you've made or try to cover them up the best way you can. He provided us with pieces of cardboard to use to pull the paper while rubbing and chose our wax cakes. There were blue, gold, bronze, silver, red, and black waxing cakes to choose from. Then we went at it.

We were taught to use the straight end of the cake to do some light rubbing and then using the tip and rubbing it hard in one direction to bring out the brass artwork onto the paper. Who knew we would be sweating while doing brass rubbing?! Time flew by fast and I admit that it was quite zenful. It was neat to see the results as you work along. Overall, we were all pretty proud of what we did and enjoyed it very much.

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While staying in London for about 2.5 weeks, we decided early on to head on to another country for a few days for a bit of variety. Like Canadians who head down to Las Vegas for a few days to get away with great package deals or cheap flights, Europeans head on to sunny places like Majorca, Spain for some sun and relaxation.

Majorca is an island known also for it's resorts. We didn't fancy the all-inclusives and opted to head out with a cheap flight via EasyJet for about 50 GBP RT instead and book a place. Michelle found a fabulous place (a full flat) in the city of Palma for about 63 GBP a night. It's located within walking distance to all the sights and amenities in town including the port.

The city is just beautiful if you really enjoy old architecture including a few by Gaudi. We didn't even notice those ones if we hadn't looked up and admired some of the buildings around the Cathedral and old town. Many of the sights are in and around old town. The cathedral is massive. You can see it from afar especially around the port and bike path area. There was a beer festival at the time we went and you can hear the many different languages as you walk around. There are many tapa bars and restaurants, pharmacies and shopping. It's really a easy going, laid back kind of city.

Unfortunately, we were there at a time where May 1st was Labour Day and not many places were open. We didn't know what was going on when we saw a bunch of what seems like protesters as we wanted to check out this 9-story shopping centre called El Corte Inglés. Was it a stike? A holiday? We weren't sure until Michelle recognized some words in Spanish on the banners they were carrying. She mentioned it may be Independence Day or something similar. She asked on the police escorts posted on the street we were at and he told her that yes all the stores were closed so no shopping - a typical tourist question! Great, what should we do? We were thinking of taking the train to Sóller the night before but even that seems to be out as we didn't want to get stuck there the day before we left so it was overall a good 3 days of walking, shopping, sitting and relaxing.

The surprise from day 1 was how it was easy to get fresh fruits, vegetables and meats at a nearby indoor market. It's rare to find something like this available daily in Edmonton (except for the Strathcona and Downtown market) and we took advantage of filling ourselves with good food since we had a kitchen to make things. For lettuces, lemons, strawberries, avocado,  mushrooms, etc., it only cost €13! We found out that on the 2nd floor of the building of the indoor market was a supermarket so when we weren't able to make it to the fresh market (I believe it closes at around 14:30), we headed to the supermarket including fresh seafood. We were so happy to find the fresh seafood as we have been just craving for it and ate calamari/squid for the days we were there. The breads like Baguettes were also just as good but not as good as the ones in France (of course).

Majorca is a great place to relax but if you can stay longer and rent a car to go around the rest of the island, it would definitely be more beneficial as it seems like the mountains would be a nice place to check out as well.

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Archery has always fascinated and interested me for as long as I can remember. It's the old movies and stories of heroes like Robin Hood and reading historical accounts of people living in the medieval era. There are so many influences that draws each of us to archery and what better way to learn this beautiful art than in England itself.

I went looking on the internet to see if there are any one day classes or even an archery lane where I can learn even just the basics of archery and perfect it later on down the road. I thought since England and Europe in general has so much history with archery that there must be more options to choose from and I found the perfect class in London called "Have-A-Go At Archery" at the 2020 Archery. It was only £20 (very reasonable) and the class was for an hour and a half (plenty of time to learn the techniques). It was even better that I can book this class in advance online which is highly recommended as they sell out fast and early. The great thing was that my 2 sisters were also up for it despite thinking how geeky I am and can be!

The place was easy to find and the way there was nice as we passed the Tower of London on the way and crossed the London Bridge. The area itself was in construction but the detour gave us an opportunity to check out the other streets we may have never have gone to. When we arrived, we signed in at the front desk and a lovely gal helped guide us up to the rooftop area.

Our instructors John and Dickson were very nice. We shared the archery area with some advanced shooters who pretty looked pro to us with their shiny recurve bows and their accessories. We watched them shoot the targets as we waited for the rest of the class to show up. We were in awe on how great their technique was and hoped we wouldn't make a fool of ourselves when it was our turn to go.

When all us were accounted for, John and Dickson gave us the important safety rules we needed to know and a bit about archery. We then put on our arm guards on and finger tabs for protection. I automatically felt pro just having them on! We were paired up based on our heights as we need  to share the same bows and our arms measured for the height of arrows we would use. They taught us how to put in the arrow, pull and release. We each took a turn and had 3 arrows each though I did wish we had more! It was quite fun and all of us did really well. My sisters and I even had a bulls eye each at one point! But the fun took another turn when the instructors announced that we would have a competition of 3 rounds Dun-dun-DUN!

Jenn, Michelle and I looked at one another - GAME ON! We decided to have a side bet - winner gets a shirt or whatever we find at the Chelsea Sample Sale we were going to the next day. Well one round after another, Michelle and Jenn were doing very well almost to the point where I started to wonder if they have done it before. I did well on the practice rounds but they must have saved their best for the competition. This was when I thought to myself that I would suck at the Olympics if I had to compete! But it was wonderful to see my sisters doing well and actually enjoying it more than  they thought. In the end, Michelle was on top at 2nd overall but really should be first considering the guy at first place has been there a couple of times ;) And Jenn said she would be game to do more shooting once we get back home - Awesome! I can see myself adding archery to my hobby list thanks to John, Dickson and 2020 Archery.

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The last time I was in Singapore was when I was around 8 years old. Unfortunately, I do not remember anything from that trip. In a way, it did not matter as I have heard from others, that have been here only a few years ago, say Singapore has changed quite a bit.

Singapore is quite modern and multicultural for an Asian country. It is one of the few that is a city-state, that is, it is a country as well as a city. The first thing you will notice, besides it's beauty, is that it is extremely clean. Don't get me wrong, you will see little bits of rubbish here and there but they disappear quite quickly. We were heading to at a great place near our hotel that my dad found called Kopitiam for breakfast. It's a 24 hour food court and has a variety of food for all. About 20 metres away from the doors, there were all sorts of rubbish littered on the ground, mostly beer cans. It was something that was unexpected because it was rare to see even small bits of rubbish let alone a pretty big amount. We went in and ate our breakfast. It took probably no longer than 40 minutes and when we walked out by the same place, all that rubbish just vanished! I was quite impressed at how quickly this was taken care of. I've got to give kudos to those who do this job and do it so well!

The other thing you will notice around the city is the vast amounts of construction everywhere! I wouldn't have been able to see all of the constructions around the city except around our hotel (the construction was just outside our hotel and it would stop at 9:30 pm everyday while we were there) if it wasn't for the hop on and off bus via Hippo/Duck Tours. For $39 SD, we were able to take on 5 different routes available. I was hoping to get the $33 SD for 2 days as it was always advertised as that until the day we arrived! Sigh. Always happens that way eh? But still a great price for what you get. It's an open top double-decker bus with a pre-recorded audio bit during the rides. It's a great way to get around the city and a bonus was that we were able to also go on the shuttle bus to Sentosa!

What is Sentosa? I surely didn't know about it until people kept on asking me if I was going to Sentosa when I told them I was heading to Singapore.

You're going to Singapore? You should visit Sentosa!

What's Sentosa? I've never heard of this place.

There's a casino there!

Um ok. Great, but not my kind of thing so I think I'll pass. Thanks.

So I really was not planning to go there at all and even told my parents and aunt that it's ok if we skipped it. Then again, they LOVE the casino. They also said my uncle told them that a visit to Sentosa is a must. So in the end, I thought, I might as well check it out. It was really so my parents can check out the casino. But I am so glad I changed my mind!

Sentosa is basically a big playground that's an island. Anyone of any age would enjoy it. There is so much to see and do there. The biggest attraction would have to be the Universal Studios where you'll find rides and shops for the kids and the kid in you :) If that's not your thing and you would rather hang out, there's the beach. The beach area is perfect for doing nothing but to enjoy the hot, hot weather. If you can't sit still and would rather check things out, the whole island is at your disposal. There's a Merlion walk that you can take. We did this and it was so nice to be able to walk at your own pace and stop and smell the flowers, so to say, whenever you feel like it. There are benches everywhere for you to sit and rest up before continuing. And if you are tired, you can ride the beach tram! It's free too! You can also take the Sentosa Express. That too is free! I love it when things are free. And if one day isn't good enough for you, then there are plenty resorts you can stay at. Oh ... and there's a casino ;)

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Coming to state of Penang, the only thing I knew about it was that you can get one of the most fabulous tasty food here. But once I arrived and spent 4 nights here, Penang Island offers much more.

We arrived at George Town from Kuala Lumpur via Aeroline bus. I have to admit, I have taken my share of buses during my travels and this bus kicks ass! It offers luxury bus travel for an affordable price. What makes them stand out compared to other buses is that they run the bus like it's an airplane. For 60 RM one-way, you get to choose your seat including a solo seat. It has a bathroom. It offers a meal and drinks. And ... the seats have leg recliners! It was just absolutely awesome to have that on the 4.5 hours ride. I had no trouble falling asleep within the first hour of our bus ride.

The bus took us all the way over the Penang Bridge (13.5 km), that connects the island to the mainland, to Penang Island. So there was no need to hop off at Butterworth and take the ferry (although you can do that as well). We still had to take a taxi into George Town to our hotel. It cost us about 25 RM from the Sungai Nibong Bus Terminal.

George Town is UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site housing beautiful architectural time pieces influenced by the colonial times as well as the those from Malaysian, Indian, Thai, Burmese and Chinese cultures. You will see perfectly white mosques and colourful temples all over the city and island. For the places outside George Town, you can take the bus but we got lucky and had a taxi driver come to us asking if he can give a tour. You will find that many taxi drivers will approach you all over Malaysia with this offer. You can haggle the price with them. They will also have a limit on the amount of hours. Go over and you may be charged a bit more. We got a 4 hour tour for 100 RM for the 4 of us which was really good. We also went over the hour so that is how we learnt about the extra charge :)

The most intriguing mosque I have seen is just outside George Town called the Floating Mosque of Tanjung Bungah or Masjid Terapung. Despite being called a floating mosque, it isn't really floating on the sea per say but built on stilts to give it that illusion. Like any religious building, there are rules regarding your participation in the mosque. I ended up just taking photos around it and from the doorway but did not enter. Even though I have not participated in any mosque, I appreciate the ever so peaceful calling of prayers. There's something about it that just takes my toubles and worries away.

The Kek Lok Si Temple was the most fascinating for me. It is a 7-story Buddhist temple. Our taxi driver, David, took us all the way to the top and even got stuck just burning his tires for a few minutes at one point because of how steep the roads were getting. By starting at the top, it made it easier (esp. with retired parents and aunt) to go downwards instead of up. At the top, you will see the big statue of  Kuan Yin statue (godess of Mercy). Believe it or not, the statues that caught my eye and made me smile was not of any god or godess but little chinese horoscope statues scattered everywhere around the top area. They were so cute and I couldn't help taking photos of them. There were even ones of disney characters! In order for you to go down to the lower level from the top, you can take a cable car for about 2 RM. From there, it's just stairs from one level to another. Take your time and enjoy. There's plenty of food and clothing stalls once you are finished.

As for getting around in George Town, there's a free bus (yes I said free - I know how we all love free stuff), the Hop On Free Central Area Transit (CAT). The bus will have MPPP as a sign or FREE CAT. It comes around quite often and stops at 19 designated stops all over George Town. They are all numbered so it makes things a little easier. It also goes to the ferry and bus station where you can catch the free (yup - again free) ferry to Butterworth station on the mainland of Penang. I only found that out because I had the pleasure to meet an American traveller named Meg who was going to Butterworth via this station to catch a train to Thailand. I am always happy to meet people and hear their stories. There are many things to see and do in George Town and if you just want to relax, you can always hit the beach nearby (the free shuttle goes near there) and have a drink. It's such a relaxing place that there's no need to rush unless of course you have a limited time here; then you may just have to with everything to see and do.

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After staying put in Miri for about 3 weeks, I was itching to travel and experience new cities in and around Malaysia. Unless I am working at a city, I don't stay put in one city for that long when travelling around so the need to roam was very important to me.

We decided on a 2 week trip spending 4 nights each in Kuala Lumpur, George Town Penang, and then Singapore. I have only visited the latter city but that was very long ago when I was about 8 so seeing it at my ripe old age will give me more of a perspective and appreciation. I truley don't remember a darn thing from my trip at the age of 8 even if photos were shown to me.

The first stop on this trip was KL. KL is situated in West Malaysia as Malaysia is physically divided into 2 parts (districts) because of the South China Sea - West Malaysia and East Malaysia. Miri is in the East so we had to fly there. We were going to take the cheap flight of Air Asia but with all the hidden fees once you start booking such as fees for seats, baggage, etc. Malaysia Airlines was the better choice despite being slightly higher. I would rather pay for good service than to save a few bucks with an airline that apparently has a reputation of being delayed or cancelled. Many of my relatives here used to take it and suggested we go with Malaysia Airlines instead and we were happy to have taken their advice. They were great. The only fees you pay is if you chose your seat but that also depends on your destination as well as departure. For example, we didn't have to pay for seats from Singapore back to Miri.

The flight was about 2 hours long. And once you arrive at the airport, you will need to take the train or taxi into the city. It's about 30 min by high speed train for 35RM per person or a taxi for 45 min. The price of the taxi is set at the airport as you would have to buy a voucher from the booth and it depends on baggage and the number of people. A note, please ask for the budget one as I didn't see that they issued a premier voucher for us that costed more. For the 4 of us with 1 luggage and a few hand luggages, the price was 102RM. I can see why the taxi is priced the way it was as we had to go through 4 toll boothes along the way to the city (15RM, 12RM, 2RM and 1RM). Throughout the taxi ride, you could see the lush green landscape of the palm trees and vegetation going towards the city. The buildings along the way would give you a sneek peek of what you are heading towards so in a way it provided you a transition to the craziness of what KL would be. But who doesn't like craziness especially if it's the good kind.

Like any other asian city, the traffic seems to be unruly but there is a sort of culture and understanding between drivers here. The pedestrian traffic also reflects this as most of the locals here have no fear crossing the streets with all the traffic. Most would force the cars to yield for them. Then there's tourists like us waiting for the right moment that seem to never come with the neverending traffic unless you catch a break or it comes to a stand still because there's a local crossing! One morning in the middle of the morning rush hour, there were many of the locals and tourists waiting to cross a main street. We waited and waited and then we all started walking. The cars started honking. I woke up from the zombiness that I was in and noticed we were all crossing on a red pedestrian light! We all took one local's bold move and ended up moving as a herd that stopped all traffic! No one noticed til I said it out loud and a couple tourists beside me heard me and snickered at what just happened. Then again, maybe they all noticed and don't care. The longer we stayed, the more we were able to weave our way between cars while crossing the street. It's a great skill to have when you are living in Asia.

There is so much to do in KL. Besides the endless shops and restaurants, there's also malls - lots of them. Of course, they are all well air conditioned as well. We stayed in Bikut Bitang area at Hotel Capitol which was great esp. location wise. A bit of a warning, there's a karaoke bar I think (or maybe open mic night?) near it as I was sung to sleep every night. I wasn't able to sleep the first night as my brain started to play, "guess what song this is?" and even picked out "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You" :) Most of the singers were surprisingly not that bad! The most requested song of the week belongs to Adele's Someone Like You.




Here's a quick rundown of what we were able to see in 4 nights here (in no particular order):

• BB Plaza which also connects to Sung Wei Plaza 
• Lowyat Plaza - about 6 levels of electronic toys
• Petronas Towers aka Twin Tower with Suria KLL shopping centre at the base on one of the towers - 15 min walk from the hotel using the pedways - almost 90% there which were air conditioned. The park behind it is a must visit as was a nice break from the crazy city life and there's a wading pool there too. Also loads of good shopping with big name brands.
• Jalan Alor street (food stalls galore - once you sit, expect 4-5 different vendors coming at you with menus)
• Time Square mall (all your brands and more) - we saw a little dance of about 6-8 mascots from different restaurants which was very entertaining. My fave was the frog from a sushi place because it was so cute to see it trying to waddle to walk and dance at the same time. I had to push my way in to be in a photo with it as it was also everyone's fav.
• Shops around Bikut Bitang (you are able to haggle with some of them)
• Pavillion (mall with lots of fav brand shops) - We were lucky to have the United Buddy Bears world tour stopping there. Each country is represented and it is to promote peace and international understanding between countries and their culture. I took a pic of course with the Canadian Bear but went crazy taking all the others for all my friends. At the end I realized I may have missed a couple :)
• Central Market - showcases Malaysian culture, heritage, arts and crafts (there is also a free heritage walk around the area everyday at 10:30 am)
• Chinatown and the night market - the night market is located at Petaling Street and you will find fake brand name bags to watches to t-shirts. It's a great place to try your haggling technique!
• Fahrenheit 88 Mall 
• Orchid Garden - There are other different gardens in the Lake Garden including Butterfly Garden and Bird Park; they are a great get away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday life in KL. All have their own admission fees; the Orchid Garden is free everyday except for weekends and holidays where it is only 1RM

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In a hot tropical country such as Malaysia, it is hard not to find a fresh veggie and meat market in any town. That is one of the things that I missed about living in Germany - to have a market available.

My first stop, and hopefully not my only stop, is Miri in East Malaysia. Starting the trek from Edmonton, it took about 22 hours to get here. The route was Edmonton to Vancouver to Hong Kong to Kota Kinabalu to Labuan to Miri. Booking a flight to Asia at this time of the year is very tricky as it gets full fast and leaves you with a limited amount of choice in terms of flight times or airlines. In our case, we ended up with an 8 hour layover at the Hong Kong Airport. Once arrived, we were greeted by relatives that were kind enough to pick us up. The ride through downtown gave us a sneak peak of the festivities that lie ahead with the Lunar New Year coming. There were red lanterns hung everywhere and a few streamlined lighting, almost stick-like, where the lights lit up from top to bottom giving an illusion of a firework. I was excited in learning how people in Asia would celebrate the biggest event of the year first hand. I hope it will be like Silvester in Germany with crazy fireworks being set off :)

We arrived on January 13th, so it gave me plenty of time to observe how people prepare for the New Year Eve on the 22nd. The most obvious thing you will see at this time of the year is sales! Yes, the golden word for shopping lovers and a not so good thing for me at the start of my trip. Miri has a few malls, one mall in particular called The Imperial Mall had a one day sale. This gave people a chance to get anything they still needed to celebrate the new year from house decor to clothing. Clothing is the biggest thing as it is traditionally believed that one must start the new year wearing something new. And in Asia, instead of wearing one thing new, everything from top to bottom must be new. Hence, people will go out buying shirts to shoes. Believe it or not, the only thing I bought from the mall was a SIM card. It's called DiGi and let me tell you, I get sms spam from them almost everyday. But it does make me feel important :)

The other thing people buy like crazy is food and plenty of it. A celebration such as this that will last about 2 weeks mean that you need to have plenty of food and snacks available for all the visitors that will come stopping by to bring well wishes. There is a daily market downtown that sells fresh produce. One of the vendors is my cousin. She, like all the other vendors, would get up every morning around 3 am, drive their vans there to set up their produce at their designated stall by around 5 am as buyers start swinging by at that time. Most of the vendors will start packing around 1pm only to start again the next day. This is their daily routine as this market runs 7 days a week and is their livelihood. In the same vicinity, you will also find cafés set up for eating fresh cooked food. I haven't eaten there yet, but my uncles love coming here with their friends to have a bite and a drink ... or two.

If people want fresh fish (usually eaten on the new years eve with family), there is a fresh fish market nearby. You can smell it a bit aways. The stalls are set up a bit differently as there are not many vendors compared to the fruit and vegetable vendors. The stalls are set up at the edges of the tent leaving the middle for any preparations such as fish sorting in the middle. As I walked around, I was blown away with all the different types of fish available. I even saw one stall where the fish and eel were still alive lying and wiggling on the table to display how fresh they are. And there was even one stall selling blowfish (my mom swore she saw it). Aren't those not safe to eat unless properly cleaned and prepared? Hmmm ... I don't think I would try it just yet.

Still in mood for more markets? Well there is one more market that is specific for the new year. It's the new year night market. It opened up on Jan 17th and here you will find it like any other night market in Asia with the exception of selling more new years related goods. There are all sorts of stuff you can buy; it's really a trinket paradise. You can find bags, wallets, jewellery and even toques! You may be lucky and find something special and worth your while. There are so many people and with the hot weather, you would not resist buying drinks and even some finger foods such as buns and satays. The oddest thing that people were mesmerized by was something called Magic Ice Cream. I peaked where I possibly could in between people to see what the hoopla was all about. It was a kid selling ice cream sticks. The actual contraption looked something from the lab. A steel round pan holding metal tubes that apparently had ice cream in it. My guess is that you spin it like an ice cream maker. I wanted to take a photo of it, but me with a big SLR camera in between people legs didn't sound like something that looked proper so this is the best description I could give you. On top of all this, there are lion and dragon dance performances to break you away from the crazy stall to stall shopping as well as singing and dancing performances on stage.

With all this buying, I will see the fruits of people's labour as the Lunar New Year comes around the corner. Until then, it will be off to the market to buy anything and everything needed.

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Well, my one year here in Germany has come and gone so quickly. It is now time to pack my bags and head back to Edmonton. It has been a quite a ride with lots of learning! And you know how much I love learning! Karlsruhe (and Germany) is a great place and I don't regret choosing it for my first ever experience. I have met some awesome wonderful people here that I hope to see again one day soon. I know each one of them have left footprints in my heart in their own special way. I have been blessed with experiencing opportunities that pushed myself out of my comfort zone and made me a better person. All in all, I leave here with love and full of memorable moments. Here's a few thoughts ...

What I learned:

• to leave my ego behind (it only holds you back to all the wonderful things you will learn and gives you some funny stories to tell :)
• to cook french food (yes, I know I'm in Germany but I had some French influences here)
• to eat more rice (my dad will be super happy about that but I still prefer basmati :P )
• to renew my passion as a media designer (would love to work with start up companies as a freelancer)
• to enjoy part time work (it gives you more balance and opportunity to learn other things and travel)
• to make spätzle (I wanted to know how so I can fulfill my cravings later :)
• to be a better drinker (yes I can now handle my beers and wine - I prefer the latter though and the apple ciders are super here - no, I am not an alcoholic :)

What I will miss:

• the awesome friends I've met (I will miss you guys the most!)
• bratwurst (you can never have too many of those! - and with curry ketchup)
• flea markets (I love having those including fresh fruits and veggies)
• my bike (that little yellow sad thing made my life easier here lol)
• the awesome train system (we so need one in Canada - we're so behind)
• the super fast post (I still can't believe how fast my amazon.de ordered arrived and how fast my big box I sent home with stuff arrived)
• the cheap pub food here (you get a decent meal for only 3-5€)
• sitting out in the Schloss Garden and do nothing else but read
• the compost (it is part of the disposal pick up and you can even add meat)

What I was glad to have with me:

• my Doxie scanner (this was the best thing ever. It helped with scanning forms I unexpected have to deal with back home and here. Great for scanning and sending applications. My roommates loved it)
• my Kindle 3G (this I got when I went back to Canada half way and it helps lighten my load and kept me entertained on the trains)
• an umbrella (rains like cats and dogs here in the other seasons than summer)
• a small bottle of Dawn liquid detergent (I use it to clean the oil from my glasses - I know, eww!)
• meds (you can never be too sure. I had quite a bit of my Advils more than I expected)
• my unlocked mobile phone (used Fonic pre-paid and loved it)
• a hot water bottle (it gets cold and it keeps me warm!)

There you have it; some points that floated into my head. I'm sure there's more but I can't think of any more at this moment or make this a longer post as it is with these points. So with that, I leave you with a video of my year in Germany with the wonderful people I've met because they made my stay here worthwhile. Vielen Dank Deutschland und bis später!

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Many people I talk to about France have only visited Paris so my impressions are based on what they say and what I have heard. When I finally had the chance to visit Paris earlier, even for one day, those impressions have changed. Paris, being a bigger and livelier city, has all the workings of the big city life including being in their own world but to tie their behaviour with the rest of France would be a shame. I was happy to take a peek into how people live and act in the south of France when I visited Jenn, Brian and the kids for a week in sweet, beautiful Agde.

"Agde? Where is that?" People would ask. I would be one of those people if it weren't for my friends living there. It's a town located in the inlet of southern france and is right on the Mediterranean sea. The nearest big city is Montpellier but even some do not know where that is so I would resort to saying near Marseille. I took the TGV train from Karlsruhe to Agde with a change in Paris. The round trip cost me about 200€ with the trip back being in first class. I thought why not take first class if it's just 30€ more and to experience what first class travel on a train would be all about. I even decided to reserve the solo seat :)

I left Karlsruhe around 13:30 and arrived in Adge at 22:22. I took a taxi to Jenn's place. I used the best french I possibly could. The funny thing is that I kept thinking in German so when I did open my mouth, I sounded pretty much like an idiot trying to find french words to string together. I asked to go to the address I had written down. He had no clue where it was. I waited patiently as he told me to stand aside while another man stated where he would like to go and of course to take me first. I was thinking to myself, maybe there is another taxi and kept looking out for another one when he finally told me to hop in and typed in the address on his GPS. Before we left, a lady and her child came by telling where they would like to go. He said to give him about 15 minutes before coming back for them. "Was he the only taxi in town?" I wondered. I thought I would ask him and apparently he was the only taxi that night. As we headed off to my destination, we drove by bits and pieces of the town and man was it lovely at night. We drove by the famous River Hérault that Jenn posted pictures of on her blog and I felt this calmness as I was taking in all the sights that wandered by the window.

When I arrived, I was a bit lost. All the houses have gates as the front entrance and I could only guess that the doorbell that I saw in front of me belonged to the huge house behind the green gates. I rang it a few times with no answer. Then I started to wonder if this was the right house when I heard my name being called out in the dark. It was Brian but there was no sign of him. I looked everywhere. It was a few minutes before the owner of the house they lived in, Mike, came by and greeted me. Brian was hoping to avoid me ringing the bell so late at night but Mike was very nice. I met up with Jenn thereafter and we had a chat before heading off to bed. I had no intentions of running around and doing tourist things while here, I just want to be able to soak in what living in southern France was all about including daily routines to give me an idea of the lifestyle here. I love learning about how people live everyday and being with my Canadian comrads gave me more of an insight of how a foreigner would live amongst the locals. I was armed with enthusiasm to learn.

I woke up helping with breakfast and biking the kids to school. It was their last day before taking off for a week and a half because of Toussaint. The kids love being at school here. There was no hesitation when I asked them how they liked school - they LOVED it. They loved how the were able to learn french, have awesome food at the cafeteria for lunch, the 2 hour lunches, learning music, etc. Usually it's the parents or the children who love the new place but this was the exception. The whole family loved living here and didn't even want to return. That's how great this place was. There were extra bikes for guests to use which came in handy. I loved how people would say Bonjour and smiled as we biked by. They are just so relaxed and happy here. I met the kid's teachers and other parents and they too exhibited this quality. I can see why Jenn and family loved living here.

The autumn mornings were crisp but beautiful especially along side the river bank where you would spot fishermen out to catch some fish. We still had to wear touques and gloves as we biked during the week but in the afternoon, the sun would warm up the place that you wouldn't need them anymore. Agde is a quiet place with plenty of things to do. The centre of town is bustling with markets on certain days - Thursdays for the food market and Saturdays for the flea market. You will see people out drinking their cafes outside, people taking a stroll, the smell of fresh baked bakery - bagettes around some corner block. Jenn even bought a fresh one one day and put it in her basket only to have it break a third off the top when she hit a curve on the sidewalk on her bike. She's getting there as there is still so much to learn about the French culture. We had a good laugh about it.

The bike ride and walks by the river is so tranquil. Once in a while you'll see fishermen fixing up their boats which was interesting to watch. Children would wave if you say hi and wave to them. It's very welcoming. We took an afternoon trip to the coast, Le Grau d'Agde, where the lighthouses were. It was a 20 minute bike ride from where we were but the bike paths made it safe for us and the kids to ride there. It was nice to see the sandy beaches and I was surprised to see surfers catching the fantastic waves that were coming in. We saw one surfer paddling out to the ocean with his loyal lab swimming beside him. It was too far for the dog so he came back onto the shore, well, the pathway to the lighthouse. We had ice cream with us and he took one of  Edmond's ice cream, which he was happy to share with the dog. After finishing the ice cream, the dog proceeded to position himself to hump Edmond's head perhaps to say thanks and Jenn had to save him despite our uncontrollable laughter of what was happening. Hopefully Edmond will not be traumatised by this incident but it did make for a funny story to share on Facebook :)

On another occassion, we went to Cap d'Agde. This bike ride was more strenuous for me because I am so out of shape. I would always have to catch up to Jenn as she waited for me here and there along the way. The route to Cap d'Agde had many inclines and at one point, someone wrote Ouf! at the top of one incline which basically meant Phewwww! and that was exactly how I felt. It took about 40 minutes but it was worth it as we arrived at the marinas where all the yachts were parked. For the low season, it seemed quite busy. We admired the yachts before heading towards the centre where we shopped around at the little shops that were still open. There were sales everywhere as they tried to get rid of last season's inventory and to draw tourists such as ourselves to buy. Jenn found me this great France magnet as I collected magnets of countries I have visited - not the tacky kind. And we both bought herb grinders with herbes de Provence in them. Who knew that you could grind the combination of thyme, basil, lavender and the like. I always thought they were reserved for pepper and salt.

I had a fabulous time in Agde with my friends and am so happy they have found a home they can call home away from home. I had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful friends they have met when we had Brian's birthday party, picked up the kids at school, took in a french movie (Un monstre à Paris - which was great) and the play dates the children had over at the house. The day in the life with the Smeenks opened my eyes to how relaxed the French can be in southern France. Merci et à bientôt!

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When people think of Germany, the first city that pops into mind is Berlin. Everyone I met who has been there just loved it. There's a quote that was written on a postcard that Ursel gave me with a quote from Franz von Suppé, "Du bist verrückt mein Kind, du mußt nach Berlin" (You are crazy my child, you must go to Berlin). Well if that's where the crazies go, then I think that's for me!

My visit to Berlin was bitter sweet. The opportunity came because Ivana had applied and been accepted to the TU Berlin - Technische Universität Berlin for the Neuroscience Program. The girl is going to be a superstar in this field! So the visit was also to help my dear friend move her stuff as she will be there for the next 2 years and boy did she have a lot of stuff! We managed to find a big suitcase at the flea market a couple of days before we left and packed the crap out of it. It was so full that it seemed like it was ready to explode. The taxi driver was not too happy when he saw it and carried this heavy load down 4 flights of stairs the morning we left. Ursel asked one guy to help us before the train came to lift it onto the train where he agreed until he saw the luggage and said he had to go to the other end of the platform where his seat was. A nice guy did eventually agree to help us but I caught him doing a test lift as we lined up to get on just to make sure he can do it. It was a funny sight but I totally undertand.

The train from Karlsruhe to Berlin was about 5 hours long. It was not as bad as I thought despite the loud teenagers on the train. We saw many school groups heading to Berlin and all over Berlin once we arrived. I was in awe when I saw the main Berlin train station. There were probably about 4 or 5 levels with shops all over. It felt like a mall than a train station. I even saw Dunkin Donuts! I have yet to try it and made a note to do that while in Berlin as I always seemed to forget to go whenever I saw one. To date, this has to be the best looking train station I have seen yet.

I had 5 days to check out this beautiful city. The odd thing is that within the first few hours, it felt homey and I even thought I could perhaps live here. And no it wasn't because of the hostel we were at. It was just more the way the city lives. It reminded me of London - the vastness of it but more friendlier. I heard more English than I heard German. And I loved that it was so multicultural like Canada. It was a bit of everything that made me feel the way I did. We noticed the friendliness right away on the streets but also at the campus when I went with Ivana for her registration. Every single staff at that campus was so friendly and willing to help out. She had some complicated paper work but the lady we had was doing everything she could to make sure it was doable. I am sure it was a long day, heck even week, with all the students registering themselves but they still had a good mood about them. The registration went by pretty fast and the coolest thing I thought was how they did the photos for their ID cards. It's been a while since I have registered for any schooling but it was cool how they used a passport photobooth for the photo which saves time and money instead of getting a professional photographer and then you just went to the office to get the ready made card. It was as simple as that. And I found out that it was only about 250€ per semester and you even get a Bahn card (public transport card) with it. Everything was included. And the campus was so nice. I loved the way you have the old historical buildings along side the new ones. You see this all over the city.

Berlin has so much history. If you can pick one place to see as much as you can, it would have to be Alexander Platz. That is the main square where you are surrounded by museums, churches, cafe, restaurants and even the river Spree. The main icon that will catch your eye to where the centre is is the Fernsehturm (tv tower). It reminds me of the CN Tower in Toronto. It is about 203 meters and you can go up there to view the city at 360 degrees. There is also a revolving restaurant at the top.

Nearby is something called Museum Island. For most of you who know me, this would be great for museum lovers but I am not. I joked with Ivana that this would be a nightmare, but I do love the architecture of museums as they were quite stunning. I just don't fancy going in :) The island is an UNESCO National Heritage Site and comprises of 5 museums - Altes Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, Bodemuseum, Pergamonmuseum. Each one houses art collections from different periods of civilization. The architecture reflects this as well and it's a great idea. I think I would enjoy checking them out if I loved museums. There is one church you will notice on the Museum Island called the Berliner Dom. It is quite noticable with its greenish dome tops and greyish colour. It was severely damaged during the Second World War, but has been restored.

Close by is something called the Humbold Box. It seems a bit out of place within all these historical buildings and I truely thought it was a museum of some kind from the Humbold University. Every day I would pass by but always passing by on the opposite side of the street from where it was. It always intrigued me. And then on the last day as I was wandering around the main centre again, I almost crossed the street away from it. I was like what the heck, I should check it out or I would always wonder what it was (even though I knew full well I could Google it later on). It is a temporary structure for the Humboldt Forum and it encourages exchange of cultures from around the world in regard to the fields of art, science and culture. I feel lucky to have seen it especially if it is only temporary. It is very cool looking.

This city is so huge, you need to have a day pass or something to get around to see as much as you can. I cannot even tell you everything I saw on this blog. There is so much but so little time to see everything. I bought a 5-day pass for about 29€ where I can go on the transport system. The trains and buses are very efficient. I was surprised how efficient the buses were. Most came every 6 minutes on a weekday. And I preferred them to the trains as I can see a bit of the city sitting by the window than taking a U-Bahn underground. But if time is of essence, the S-Bahn and U-Bahn are great since Berlin is like any city where there is construction everywhere that can slow down traffic.

Another part of the city, away from the main centre, to check out is Potsdam. We only had time to go to Potsdamer Platz. It was quite interesting as it has tall buildings that you would find in cities in North America. It has a mall and small art structures all around. We even stumbled upon the Canadian Embassy! It took a bit of time to see what the flag was as it was limp because there was no wind that evening. Ivana, Canan and I would agrue what it was from afar but my Canadian gut says it's our flag and we did not know until we were returning to the station and stopped by. At least I know where it was if I ever needed it! All the other major emabssies such as France and Russian are by the Brandenburg Gate near the former Wall and the Chancellor's Office and Parliment House. You can see bits and pieces where the wall used to be as it is still embedded in the streets and sidewalks.

There is really so much to see and do in Berlin that even if you lived there, you cannot get bored. There are beautiful parks to sit and enjoy the sun. There are museums to learn from. There are restaurants to check out. There are little gems to find. There are areas to do major shopping. There are theatres and live art scene. It really is a lively city. If you come to Germany, you must stop by. You'll love it as much as I did - crazy or not.

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It has been a while since I last saw anyone in person from Edmonton. But I have been counting down the days for Jenn, Brian and the kids to come visit since June as they were wanting to stop by on the way to their new home in St.Laurent de la Salanque, France.

The second day of their arrival, we had them over for dinner. I wanted to meet my awesome roommates and friends that I've been talking about. Because they were only here for about 4 days, I wanted to give them a bit of German experience by making spätzle with goulash and some schwartzwalder schinken. I knew the spätzle from scratch would be time consuming and hard as I was going to make it the traditional way with a cutting board and knife. And thanks to youtube for some techniques, it turned out pretty darn good. Sure, it took an hour and my arms were sore and I was sweating like there's no tomorrow with the combination of the hot weather and standing by a pot of boiling water, but it turned out and I was super happy. So super happy that there was no one at home to tell and I was just wanting to tell someone; hence gmail chat with Faye (who said awesome but what is it?) and a status post on FB. Ivana helped with the flavouring of the goulash (as it was missing something) and it turned out tasty as well. The kids kept wanting more! That was a good sign. We had a wonderful time chatting about our travels, our future travels, and getting to know the new and wonderful people they have just met - Ivana and Arabella and later on Ursel and Larry. After supper, we were planning day trips that we could take. It was amazing to see how this family unit functioned when it comes to decision making as a family. We were all admiring in awe. We had many possible day trips we could take and in the end, the final decisions were made as a family including the kids. They were kind to let me hang with them for the day trip and spend some quality time by staying with them. It was really nice as it felt like home being with these guys.

So the next day we headed for Ludwigsburg to check out not only the castle, but we were wanting to see the fairytale garden :) Funny thing is I think me and Jenn were the most excited on this one because there was a chance to dress up with 18th century clothes and the thought of it made us giggle like school girls. We can't help it, we are kids at heart :) Alas, when we got there, they said it was already full and we had to reserve in advance to do that part :( Boo! But we still went for the castle tour and the garden. The dumb thing is that you had to pay separately so about 6.50€ for an adult for the castle which you cannot go into unless via a tour. I understand as they kept a lot of the original furniture and such in tact. The garden was about 8.50€ for an adult. We were able to check out a bit of the garden before our tour at 1:30 pm and they gave us a stamp when we left so we can enter the garden again after the tour was over.

The tour for the Schloss Ludwignburg is highly recommended. People know that I am not usually into tours or museums and such and I found this one very interesting. I actually listened while taking pics - hmmm .... the tour guide was very informative and entertaining. He gave us little tidbits like how King Ludwig was about 8 feet tall, people in those days slept sitting up, the baroque castles were symmetrical, Rococo style came later which had a whimsical feel and play with the baroque style, the castle had visible and invisible servants, the visible servants area had no decoration, and our fav tidbit ... one of the dukes, Duke Carl Eugen, loved the ladies so much that those who wanted to be devoted to him would wear blue shoes. Now, that's what I call not wasting any time! My favourite part would have to be the theatre. It was amazing to sit on the benches just looking at the stage and imagine all the plays that would play there. At the end, our guide mentioned to us that we may be the lucky ones as the future tours would forbid people to take photos which is a shame as there are so many fabulous things in the castle. During the whole tour, the kids were asking questions and were given some privilages such as checking out the queen's chamber behind the ropes. They were so well behaved, many of the other tourists in our tour mentioned it to Jenn and Brian. By the way, the tour was about 1.5 hours long :)

And the garden, well it is a big garden. You really do need a map but you would have to pay 50 cents for one. Yes, it felt as though we were just being charged left, right and centre here. Anyways, there was much to see. It was neat to see all the old swings and even merry-go-round that children would play on. The garden is really beautiful and has so much flowers of all colours and shapes. There was one section dedicated to all the fairytales that we used to read and listen to as kids. You can stop at one like Little Red Riding Hood and there would be electronically driven puppets reenacting a scene while the german story plays on the stereo system. It was quite neat and you would have to walk about 100-200 m for another story. Mind you, it was uphill and by the end of it, it was very tiring. The last little bit we did was end up at this maze where the kids (and bigger kids) can step on blocks that actived different water spouts to get you wet. It was much needed as it was a very hot day.

After a long day of walking, we got some much needed rest for the big event the next day ... the anticipated Legoland!!! I never knew there was a legoland near Karlsruhe and I am glad that Brian's friend mentioned it to him so we all get to experience it without having to go to Denmark (yet). It was about a 2 hour drive from Karlsruhe to Günzburg but the drive went fast as we were busy talking away and the kids were busy playing with their DSs. We were unable to get family tickets online (a bit cheaper) as it was too late to order online. It is best to order about a week in advance I believe. It cost 37€ for an adult and that gets you admission and rides. There were a couple of rides that you had to pay for but most of the rides were free and the line up waiting time ranged from 10 minutes to 60 minutes depending on how many visitors happen to be there. We picked a busy day so there were a lot of visitors.

So where to begin ... well legoland is just plain AWESOME! Practically everything there is made out of legos. Because the rides shut down at 7 pm (1 hour before the whole thing closes), we decided to hit the rides first and leave the buying last. It was a good idea since there was such a line up for most rides. We began with the Harbour Cruise - go on boat ride. The funniest part was at the end when Jenn/Susan's boat and Peter's boat were stuck on the way back to the dock. There was no way to reverse. You can only gas and go forward on these boats and with their boats stuck, all the others became stuck behind them. Such troublemakers I tell ya! But Brian was the hero ... crazy ... and heroic. Too bad I didn't take a video but I'm sure some others in line did. I just watched Brian get out of his boat and hopped from one to another reaching Peter's boat to pull Jenn/Susan's boat back. Then hopped back to his own boat. I had to tell Edmund to stay because he was going to follow his dad. Hmmm... I think with all the excitement, I may have yelled haha.

After a quick eat, we took a stroll in the lego cities. These were just absolutely amazing! They were cities like Venice and Berlin that were entirely made out of legos and each had some moving parts. Venice had gondolas moving around the city. They even had music and dancers dancing in the square. Netherlands was also amazing with all the windmills. I know after seeing Berlin, we were all looking forward to checking it out one day. And if you really check the details, the people at lego have some hidden funny details like a man checking out the garbage can at one of the tram stops. The details in general were just crazy. They had details of people eating in a restaurant behind the windows. It wa so inspiring that I would love to have a room dedicated to legos and the pure awesomeness that it is including a lego mindstorm robot :) Hmm ... I wonder what happend to simplifying my life eh? I see I still love my toys! Some things just don't change mates. And the Star Wars area was equally amazing. The adults were like kids in a candy store ooooing and ahhhing.

The next stop was the Project X - Lego Test track which was pretty much the rollercoaster. I opted out here as I wasn't too confortable leaving my bag on the side with my camera and stuff in it. So I was hoping to get a pic of any of them coming down the big dip where I stood. I missed them at first and was able to take pics here and there with other areas of the track. I noticed Brian and Edmund were not in the first cart so I thought they would be in the next but they never showed. In the end, Edmund was not tall enough to go on the ride. At each ride, there is a height board where each height equals you cannot go on it, you can go on it with a parent or you can go on it alone. They enjoyed this rollercoaster better than the Fire Dragon one which was the last ride they went on. Yes, I opted out this one and went shopping at the Treasure Chamber with Edmund as he was unable to ride this one as well. But we had fun :)

I can go through all the rides but to cut to the chase, the best ride hands down was Captain Nick's Splash Battle. We never had so much fun waiting in line and being on the ride itself. This ride is very interactive. You don't need to be going on the ride to have fun as there are water guns stationed outside the ride for viewers to participate in. Let's put it this way, bring your swim suit! As you got closer to the beginning of the ride, you can get hit with water from the ships that people are riding on. We ducked and hid so many times, but we still got wet. And boy, we can't wait to get the people back. The boys had a plan. All they wanted was the right hand side when we got the boat because that side is where you can shoot the people lined up. It's pretty much a big water gun fight with you and the other boats and you and those shooting outside. Jenn was so ambitious to even take on 2 water guns. It was hard to keep winding the lever to shoot the water out of the guns - your arms just get very tired. But it was all adrenalin! It was so nice to get drenched as it was about 30C that day. We dried off pretty quick though.

Another highlight was the Lego Factory. It was really cool to see how the legos were made. It didn't show everything but still gave us a glimpse of it. And at the end of it, you got to make your own legos with separate parts. That is rare to be able to do that commercially. Unfortunately, they didn't have everything I would have liked, in particular, the Harry Potter stuff so I can make me a wizard :) But I did make me a ninja with a cross-bow (eh?!) I was also inspired to make lego versions of Ivana and Ursel as their souvenirs. Susan made one of herself and her mom. Mom was cool as she had a bone as a weapon (eh?!). The boys were able to get their lego dudes at the lego store (mini market) and were happy about that. We were pretty pooped from a day's fun and had no problems sleeping and taking the next day to relax. The family was also battling jetlag with all this driving as well. Thanks Brian for being such an awesome driver because there was an idiot on the autobahn that decided to stop and reverse because he missed his exit while a car was zooming past us on the other lane and a big arse truck behind. Sigh. It's not speeding in the autobahn that is the problem, just dumb drivers. Sorry ... ending this blog on such a sour note :P

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I meant to write a reflection in the 6-month mark but I forgot about it and if I did remember, I was lazy to do it. Ah ... some things never change!

The first few month went by pretty quick and it was quite challenging but a great learning experience. I was lucky to have and blessed to have my friend Thorsten help me out all the time. It's not like a vacation where you learn about the transport system, talk to the locals, find a place to stay, eat, etc. Staying here for a year working and a bit of studying meant trying to get into the system which also means you need to know the ins and outs of what to do. So funny, as most of us are trying to get out of the system :)

Because the first few months were really all about learning, it kept me busy. I know the goal was to be able to work. So I know I needed the equivalent of a SIN (in Canada) in Germany which is called a Lohnsteuernummer. I needed to get that from the Finanzamt and in order to get that I needed to register with the Einwohnermeldeamt (I practiced saying this every chance I got so it came out smoothly!). In order to register there, you must find a place first. This is no easy feat as you are competing with students as well. I was lucky to get 5% response of any kind. And once you do, you have to go look at the place and check it out. Knowing German is good and again I got lucky having Thorsten here to come with me each time. I ended up registering my friend's parents place as it was the permanent address. Thank you to them! I am very lucky to have them as well. They have been like my 2nd family here.But usually you need to show a rental contract of some kind. And everytime you move (even next door), you must tell them. I had to do that once I moved to Karlsruhe and goodness knows how I managed to do so with my crappy German but I did! I always had my German dictionary with me though I hardly used it, hoping to get by with what I know and a bit of charades. But the people I have dealt with have been pretty patient and my luck has been pretty darn good whilst I am here.

Then there is the other issue, you need a bank account (konto) to deposit your income to and do wire transfers. I researched here like crazy as most have fees when you are not a student and not under 25. I ended up with volksbank Bühl and have not regretted it. It was difficult for them to understand my situation as they have not come across this before. Normally they deal with students and normally for more than one year.  But again, Thorsten to the rescue! He helped out and I totally recommend anyone to bring someone who is fluent with German. I found most people are awesome with English but are shy at first. And anyways, it's best to have someone translate something like this when you have to sign important papers. I did end up dealing with Norman via email and in person on my own and he has been super about it. Always helpful and even was able to converse in English when it was too difficult for me to talk in German. But I have tried. Even at the 8-month mark, it is still bad!

Oh ... and it is advisable to get a Haftpflichtversicherung (liability insurance) when you are here. It's about 40-60€ a year but well worth the coverage if something does happen. Mine was through Glyn Brookman at Chambervelt, Rooselain & Cie. He is friendly and answered all my questions promptly. And they deal with ex-pats all the time.

And work ... some of you knew I was pretty much hitting the hotels with my CV and even sprained my ankle doing it. Also sending CVs to possible positions in IT via email. But in the end, I got a job via contact. And it seems like the norm in any country you are in, contacts are important. So use them! All my interviews were in German (with some English). Again, looking back, I seriously don't know how I managed to do it. But you get used to it each time and you really have to leave your ego at the door because you can't kid yourself and pretend to hide behind a language you are still learning about. I know most of you knew I wanted to try something new here instead of IT but the reality is that here, you work where your experience and education lies. And you are in that field until you get another degree of some sort. It's totally different from Canada where you can get in via training, hard working attitude and trust really. But I was pretty fortunate to get my job and work with wonderful good people. I think doing the taxes in Decemeber is going to be interesting ;)

People have asked me if every day was an exciting day to be here. Well the truth it's like anywhere else really. I work, go to German and French class, do homework, eat, sleep, do errands, spend time with friends ... the only difference is that you are in a different country and environment. The cool thing is I get to explore this city and elsewhere as I find always something to discover. I love that you can go to other cities and countries close by. I love riding my bike around although I miss driving and having a car. But there are some things that you miss. And that is when it hit me - the 5-month mark - homesickness! I never thought I would be the one to have it but I did and it's not a great feeling. You start missing having that support group from back home that knows you for you and knows you forever. You miss the foods and the culture. And I am so grateful for having Ivana here with me as she has been my rock during those times and more. She's like my sista from another motha :) Then the opportunity came to go back to Canada for a 2-week visit - heck ya! Using my income tax return was worth it.

It was wonderful to be home. When I woke up the first morning back, I felt it was all a dream. Everything was the same so it felt like Germany was a dream. And yes... I even opened the windows automatically! I guess I have gained some habits being here ;) The other thing was it took me a week or so to get adjusted. I felt like I was in no man's land as home didn't feel like home anymore - ah culture shock! Another thing I didn't count on. But I was super happy to be back and would do this again next year at the 6-month mark. I find it worth the trip and money to keep yourself sane and to keep yourself grounded with all this stimulation.
The photos you see are all food I ate to my heart's content. I promised Ivana to take pics of the foods we always talk about :)

So here I am again. With a few more months left before my visa runs out on me. And you know, I came back more motivated than ever to do things and to really enjoy the last few months here. The visit back home was what I needed to continue to live here. But no matter what the challenges are, don't be afraid to take the risk and do what makes you happy. In the end, the rewards far outweigh the risks. And the risks are based on assumptions usually. When we are faced with comfort and familiar in one hand and the other a whole new unknown dream where it may push you out of your comfort zone, I hope that some of you will choose the risk. Don't be afraid to be happy, to love, to dream big and to LIVE!!!! One life, no regrets right?

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So I met this guy ... well you think that how it should be with a title like that. But alas, my life is no romantic movie. Instead, I met my beautiful and wonderful friends (Jenn, Brian and the kids) in Paris. They have been travelling around the world since late October 2010. And we promised each other that we would meet up before they returned to Edmonton for a break in May. I was not able to make it to Turkey, although I would have loved to. And with the days and months passing by, Paris was their last stop and only a 3 hour TGV train ride from Karlsruhe. Perfect!

So the crazy person that I am, I decided to book tickets just to meet them on the weekend - really just one day with them - Saturday. I booked a late train 19:32 on Friday (after work) to go there and to come back on a 7:00 train on Sunday. The cost was about 129€. If I booked earlier than the 2 weeks, it would have been around 99€. The earlier you book, the cheaper it is. It doesn't matter if it's high season or low season like the airlines.

The train ride was pretty fast. I got there around 22:35 at Gare de l'Est and made my way through the signs. I read up on some blogs and talked to Ursel a bit so I can make my way efficiently through the train system and catch the trains at the times I wanted. It was pretty easy as they labelled everything pretty well. Jenn and Brian was renting a place near EuroDisney so I knew I had to get to Marne-la-Vallée station from Gare de l'Est. I wrote down which trains I needed to take which saved me loads of time. I first had to take the M4 (metro-line 4) to Les Halles. Something to remember, the metro stops only for a very short time. You would have to get on and off as quickly as possible. No stress there! Then I made my way through to the RER A to Marne-la-Vallée.  Note that you have to buy the metro and RER tickets separately. Ursel gave me her old metro tickets (purple ones) and they worked. I wanted to save time figuring out the ticket machines and the stress of having to buy tickets with coins only (as I read). Worked like a charm. First thing you'll notice, the stations are dirty and a bit dodgy at times. But if you take the usual precautions, it's pretty much harmless. There are so many people taking the trains during every hour of the day, it seems like you're never alone. When I arrived to take the RER, I wanted to take the 23:03 one but I JUST missed it ... so I thought ... I was pretty lucky it was a bit late or else it would be another 30 minute wait and I was exhausted. So on I went, I told Jenn and Brian I would text them once I was on the train and that would give them 40 minutes to meet me at the station. But stupid me forgot that I was underground, so I had to wait for it to stop so I can get my mobile signal to send the text. They got it and off I went. The train took what seemed forever but then it stopped at Val D'Europe which was the second last top to Marne-la-Vallée. It waited there forever! Then Brian texted me, "Are you still on the train?" (see my response and Brian's below).
He asked the driver if the train came from Paris and wondered where the heck I was! Stupid me. I assumed it was the last stop at the Eurodisney. Trust me, I will never forget this stop. It made me chuckle every time I saw it.

When I arrived at their place, we talked for a bit and then went off to bed to start the next day full of things to see and do. The children woke me up with big smiles and hugs. It was so nice to see their lovely faces! We made breakfast together and then went out merry way to the city. First stop was the info booth in Eurodisney since Brian had to drop off the rental car there. We bought the Paris Visite (day) passes. You can get the passes for 1, 3 or 5 days and can use it in the suburbs as well. One day cost me about 20€ but but it was well worth it. The city is just huge you had to take the metro to get to places.

The kids were awesome in terms of staying with us. They hardly slowed us down; they were quite the bundle of energy. They were ok taking the metro and RER and were full of curiosity. Many people smiled as we made our way through the city. We started with the Arc de Triomphe (by accident) and walked our way to the Grand Palais via the Avenue des champs. You will find many shops along the avenue. Amazingly, we only stopped by the grocery store to get our lunches. We went on the Alexander III bridge where we saw the love locks again (like the ones I have seen in Köln). I found out from the kids that the keys are thrown into the river and that is why the locks are always on the bridge and near a river. The things you learn from kids :) And smart ones at that. So it was all over Europe as they say. On our way to the palace, we saw the guards with very unique looking hats. I wanted to take a photo with them and they were nice to do so even though they were clearly on duty! Well Brian had to nudge me a bit. Why not? We are in Paris! lol.

With Brian leading the way, we headed to the Eiffel Tower. There were sooooo many people sitting having a picnic, chatting, suntanning, and even doing Capoeira! The line ups to go up the tower was even longer with almost 3-4 hours wait and the top being closed due to congestion. Crazy indeed! But I just wanted to see the tower at night :) There were lots of people selling stuff so be prepared for that. But otherwise, they are harmless. We ended up taking the metro to the Louvre and the the Champs-Elysees because it's way to far from where we were. The Champs-Elysees was smaller than expected and we did wish the dirt was paved as we our shoes and pants got dirty really quick. There were even sun chairs where you can sit, have coffee and enjoy the sun and people. Right next door was the Louvre ... the famous Louvre. Again, many people but we were happy to just be there and sit and take in the environment for a bit before heading home. We were very very tired. We only went home for a bit, mostly to refresh and have dinner. Brian and the kids had a shower and stayed to relax while Jenn and I headed out to see the Eiffel Tower at night and oh what a sight to behold. A must see for sure.

It was a fabulous day with Jenn, Brian and the kids and I cannot wait to see them again when I get back to Edmonton for a short visit. But until then, we'll always have Paris.

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