Back @ Konstanz!

I just went for a trip to Nuremberg, Salzburg, Vienna and Bratislava. It was wonderful! Great companions, Sam, Zhen and Azman, which made it a great trip despite all the rain and the snow=)

Here are some pics!

Dumpy the little snowman


The three gals


More pics...





And my fav gramma in Germany, Angelika=D She let me ride a horse on Christmas day, a really wonderful surprise!=D

stressed and depressed=(

Sometimes I do wonder if I could have learnt German a little more diligently, or perhaps I should have taken a year of language course again after all...But deep inside I guess I know that it wouldn't have improved my current situation in any way.

It is tough to contribute to the discussions, even with preparation beforehand, and when I did not have time to prepare stuff beforehand, I can't follow the stuff at all. Perhaps it is just due to the stress from this week, but sometimes I do have doubts about my present capability. It is times like this when you wish that mom was here, so that you would have a leg to cry on, instead of trying to hide your tears while pouring your heart out to a machine in the lib. Enough self-pity. Disgusting.

It has to be the lack of sleep=)

But truly, you wouldn't have chosen this path if you had thought that it would be easy. Good things in life are never easy.


ON a brighter note, I held my presentation on Singapore this Wed and it was good. Touched me to see so many of my classmates and friends in the room, coming to support me/hear about my home. I guessed I realised that this ppt on S'pore was more important to me that I thought: It is not only the homesickness part, but also the part of me that thinks, "hey, you can do something well, give yourself a pat." I know overcoming the language barrier takes time, but does it always take so MUCH time, energy and effort?

Suddenly, I realise all I want for Christmas is to go home.

*The truth is out there*

I just recalled a rather funny incident in class on Thursday. My prof for comparative politics was replying to a question I asked in class, and he took quite a long time in answering it, in the meantime, I had another question forming most stubbornly in my head. Thus I raised my hand just as he posed us another question, (to which I haven’t been listening to), and asked if I could pose a question. He said in return, you could ask your question after you have answered mine, which I couldn’t of course! =p Anyway, he answered the question himself (which was a really simple answer, which I could have answered had I been listening), and his answer to my question was, “Write an email to the author, won’t you? He is so unclear on these points.” (!!)

However, I must admit that he is really a great prof. Good in carrying out discussions, making his points clear, etc. His seminars were the first ones in which I ventured to pose questions in my halting German.

Sometimes I do think that being a German is rather advantageous, one does not need to concentrate so hard to understand what others are saying if one was German. (argh.) I regret to say that I am still having difficulties with the language even though I have learning it ever since 7 years ago…(SEVEN entire years! Oh wasted youth!) It is definitely good to be a German in Germany. *What a redundant sentence! *

Another interesting thing that occurred in class discussion today: it concerns the feminist movement. One thing about coming from a modern girls’ school is that one tends to think that one is a feminist even though one hardly understands what feminism is about. In the course of our “Methods” tutorial, we discussed the general view that women should dominate the professorships for research in Feminism, because research in Feminism should would require usage of scientific tools and methods that would be better understood by females. Going by this seemingly innocent assumption, it would then be appropriate to postulate that the field of microbiology should be pursued by microbes. (Hilarious! =)) The truth, and the absolute truth, is NEVER gender-specific. If any tool happens to be more suited to any specific group, that tool is then unreliable, and it would need to be checked by other scientists to see if it is only just an instrument-theory (method of collecting empirical data to act as empirical substantiation for a theory that is to be proved…), how do we know that the evidence we have is not biased by the data-collector himself/herself?

I did a ppt on the different types of corporate cooperation on Wednesday, all in german, and I think I spoke a full 20 min. *poor classmates of mine! * You could almost hear the rustle of whispers in the beginning of my ppt as some of my classmates (some of them whom I have not got to know personally) asked others where I was from and who I was. I felt immense sympathy for them as I could see their visible struggle to listen and follow my ppt. (argh!) The next time I am doing such a thing again, I am so gonna practise the night before.

I will be doing a ppt presentation on Singapore next Wednesday. Almost everyone who knows me knows of this... I can’t help but be a little nervous. What if I screw it up? Then pple’s impression of my country would be that of a screwed up ppt. :S Now, where has all your confidence gone to, leeting? And I seriously think I am taking on too much this sem, and next week is gonna be the busiest week of my entire life. The ppt, a Klausur for my worst subject, so much catching up work to do, a discussion with my comparative pols professor about the paper I have to write for his module…Why on earth have I taken so many modules in the first place? It is not as if I could finish my studies earlier if I take more. 30 hours of lessons a week. Sometimes I wonder if I am out of my mind.

Most of my ‘extra’ lessons are for German. I do hope to improve by leaps and bounds, or I shall be meek like a cow. Putting lousy rhymes aside, not knowing enough good German does put a serious dampener on spontaneity. Terrible.

"Aus Sein folgt nicht Sollen"

This is the crucial and all important sentence that we learned in the Methods lecture today. Clumsily translated, it means that, erm..."'Should' does not follow Being", or something like the existence of something does not mean that it should exist. Hmm...let's see if I can put it in more concrete terms. For example, if you do a survey of the pop. and the results happen to correspond to a nice theory that you have formulated, it does not mean that your theory is proven...on the contrary, it proves nothing. This is because no matter how much you try to make your selection of surveyees a fair one, it cannot cover the entire pop, and even if it does, the survey has only taken place in a certain period of time. There are just too many limitations of your expt/survey, and too many factors to consider.

The prof gave a v good example: A man went to his doctor and complained of pains. He proded himself in the shoulder, stomach and hips, "It hurts when I prod here, here, and here!" The doctor said in reply,"You have a broken finger."

And this prof actually licked the replacement batt for his mike today, and used a bamboo pole twice his height for support during the lecture (!!). Theatrics! And he loves to 'insult' the female gender, like saying things like, "Do you know that men in general have bigger brain volumes than females?" (Yeah, gorillas have larger brain mass than men too.)

Anyway, enuff of him and school.

I went to Köln the previous weekend, and it was truly fun to be with Singaporeans and see Xizhen after dunno how many months. (ever since the end of PDC!) That goes to show how busy we all are. =p I can't load the pics though, cuz clever me left my digi cam and earrings at Xizhen's place. =p

I tried to donate blood to the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz but the doc rejected me. She asked if I have slept enough, eaten enough and drunk enough. Of course I haven't, but that is normal for me on a school day anyway, sandwich for lunch, less than 1 L of water, etc. And I had a lecture afterwards. She told me that she couldn't take my blood then, cuz I would 'kip over'. (Which was true, I never knew how my neglectful habits have been weakening my system so much that I slept at lecture today) Afterwards, as I was having dinner, she came over to my table to ask if my lecture was fine, and if I felt ok, and told me that I could always donate at another time. That was so unexpected and pleasant of her to do so! I really have a v great impression of German docs, esp having been examined by 2 of them.

Right, I must read up on the swiss govt system now. No more procrastination!

=)Leeting

P.S Who left a comment on my last entry? Jo?

Readings!!

We have a professor in our course for Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung (d.translation methods of empirical social research), who is absolutely hilarious in his lectures. My other classmates don't find it so great though...let me give you an idea of things he said in class...(translation using 'agaration')

(at 8.00am)
"It is great to be young, isn't it? You find it tough to wake up in the morning...not like us, when you wake up really early easily and think, man, you are dead."

(when trying to illustrate the ineffectiveness of case studies as a scientific method)
"Can you imagine if physics had used case studies as a scientific method?" He imitates a scientist holding a stone. "Yeah, this is a stone. Oh look, that is a stone too! This stone falls. The other stone does too! And THERE is another stone!"

And the thing is that, he tells all these without giving as much of a giggle. And there would be intervals when he has had too much of himself, and he would burst out laughing, holding the podium to support himself. An interesting character, huh?

I must admit that I am understanding more in class, yet fearing more to speak out. My German seems to get worse with each coming day...ironic huh? There are even times when I break out in English. Terrible.


On a brighter note, I went to Ruth's place to celebrate the end of her zwischenprüfung recently. V V nice=) I love visits to her place, she makes you feel totally at home. Though I must admit that I feel kinda guilty letting her cook and wash and all=( Ruth, if you are reading this, must come visit Konstanz and let me do the washing and cooking yah? =)



Rachel, Sam, Yuhan, Me (I look the coldest huh?)



That's Ruth in the centre of the pic. Rachel, Ruth, Yuhan (from left to right)

Right, I have got 110 pages of political readings (in german!) to get through by end of this weekend. Not including extra readings we have to do to revise what we have 'learnt'. Frankly I feel that I know too little, that's why the learning is coming rather slowly for me. Bleah. Oh yeah, to illustrate how little I know about German Politics, when Münterfering stepped down suddenly as party head, I didn't even know what significance that had. (?!) But I must admit that they solved the crisis rather quickly (this means they worked on All Saints' Day! Gasp!)

Oops. Not that I don't have much faith in the Bürokratie, but the thing is that things always run so slowly for me. It seems to be just ME. My classmates don't have that problem, never.

Settling in...

It has been two whole weeks since I have last seen this blog. Not due to laziness, but just due to the simple inaccessibility of the internet! It has been so infuriating...I know that Germans are known for their efficiency, but it is just my luck that I always seem to bump into the inefficient ones, especially for vital services like telecommunications. Argh.

When I first moved into my new apartment on 1.10, it looked so empty! I had expected it to be fully furnished, as my landlord kinda implied. Well, it was 'half' fully furnished, I guess I was one of the lucky ones to actually have a bed, a table, chairs...but there weren't a lot more things that are rather essential to modern living, like radio and tv, cutlery, adequate lights, etc. I guess I have been too 'spoilt' by my last landlady, who supplied me with a really fully furnished room, plus sofa, carpets, TV, etc. However, what I really am in need of is a washing machine. One never thinks twice about changing clothes with a washing machine. Now I have to do all my calculations, like how many clean shirts I would be left with, before changing...cuz handwashing everything is really a chore. (oops, now I do sound a little whiny=))

My landlord/lady were not that bad...they gave me a bookshelf for free and sold me a writing table for 25 euros, which is rather cheap=) Only thing is...I had to assemble them on my own, and what fun it was! I even have photographs of my possible occupation as a handywoman. =) Tada!



I have got to know a few friends, and strangely enough, most of those whom I know better seem to be from the Czech republic, Slovakia, and the Balkans. I am ashamed to say that my knowledge of these countries is pitifully little. We went to the Insel Mainau, the Island of flowers. It was really beautiful. The flowers were in full bloom, especially the Dahlien (Dahlias). They smelled like rubber though=p The roses were in bloom too, and they gave off a v sweet scent. The island of Mainau is still currently the residence of a Swedish count and his family. They even have a mulberry tree on the island, planted in late 1800s to provide food for the silkworms, as the count and his wife then were preparing for the wedding of their daughter to some nobility in Sweden too. The island seems to be able to combine its history and interesting botany together, wonderful.

Here are some pics:

Me and Zuzanna (from Slovakai)



The beautiful Dahlias



Cheers, ting=)

Studying where others have their holiday...

That is the slogan of the Universität Konstanz. I thought that was kinda exaggerated the last time I came here. Now I see that it is true in many many ways.

The Bodensee (Lake Constance) is so large, that sometimes people do mistake it as the sea. When it is misty in the morning, you could hardly see the other shore, and this then gives the illusion of it being endless, just stretching into the distance. On a clear day, you can see the rolling hills on the other side, and the tiny cottages that spot that green landscape. For this view, I think I will be able to withstand the inconvenience of living in a small village =)

Let me describe my little village. It has a village centre, consisting of a bakery and a butcher's. It is soo small it did not warrant the construction of a church, nor a fountain, which are the typical things you would see in almost every single german village. One good thing about it being small: you just cannot get lost over here. Which is an infinitely good thing, when it comes to ting finding her way. There is also a small farm near my place, about 5 min away, which rears chickens. The chickens roam around the place like they own the road. This village is so full of fruit that pple throw away apples and pears by the binful.

I do not have internet access yet at my place, am using the uni's right now. And there seems to be soo many home improvement things that I absolutely have to do! One never realises the importance of a broom and mop, till one is in need.

Simone's parents showed me around Konstanz and the nearby island of Reichenau yesterday. Reichenau is a UNESCO protected island (largest island on the Bodensee) and it is famous for its vegetables. It was the first time that I have seen such huge pumpkins. They also have paprika (peppercorns?) and lots of garden salads and brocoli, cauliflowers, tomatoes, grapes, a kind of maize, but no animals, for obvious reasons.

I met up with Ayline later on in the day. It does feel good to talk in Singlish for a while =) Her place is beautifully done up, much more than mine, definitely. Darn, i should have learnt how to drive. Or get a bf who knows how to (just joking!)I need to get to Ikea to grab stuff. Television. Rugs. Cutlery. Lights. etc.