I'm taking a break from my evening of researching dinosaurs, extinct shark species, and watching Mickey Mouse cartoons on YouTube to post this simple fact.
81 of my currently 96 Facebook photo albums are related to my travels.
Only fifteen albums are record of my normal life. I have been here longer than I thought. Once I get home, I will have spent 11 out of the last twelve months overseas. I'm surviving better than I expected I would. I don't think I'm going to have much to say when I go home... heck, I've been talking the whole time through my blog and pictures.
What a wild ride it has been! It's not over yet!! I feel so blessed to be here and am looking forward to the next 49 days :-) Note: I would not have this count if my mother did not update me daily.
For those of you Facebookless, which I doubt many are, the following trips are coming up:
June 13-15: Brussels, Belgium
June 20-23: Kraków, Poland
June 25-July 7: Various locations in Spain, including Barcelona, feat. Viktor
July 9-12: Dresden, Germany
July 13-15 will be spent moving out/in with the Australian for the last 4 nights in Koblenz before going to stay in Ingolstadt until the 23rd when I fly out of München to Ft. Myers... homeward.
Okay, going to bed...
Cait
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Also Relevant...
Ok, I must apologize to the general audience (aka Mommy) for my depressing previous entry...
Sure, I am allowed to feel down sometimes. And I do. Sometimes. But the song was really negative.
How can I think that the adventure is coming to a close when it has barely begun! These last 8 months have opened so many doors to me and allowed me to make many changes, take many risks, see, do, and explore... I've gotten so much experience and my German has improved ten-fold at that... yes, I have to go back to school when I get home, but it is almost over and I get giddy thinking at the possibilities learning this language has afforded me... I can work in Europe! My skills are sought after! And how valuable it is to learn that one's own country and language is NOT the center of the universe!
Get out, people, we must get OUT... it's dangerous to stay home!
Sure, I am allowed to feel down sometimes. And I do. Sometimes. But the song was really negative.
How can I think that the adventure is coming to a close when it has barely begun! These last 8 months have opened so many doors to me and allowed me to make many changes, take many risks, see, do, and explore... I've gotten so much experience and my German has improved ten-fold at that... yes, I have to go back to school when I get home, but it is almost over and I get giddy thinking at the possibilities learning this language has afforded me... I can work in Europe! My skills are sought after! And how valuable it is to learn that one's own country and language is NOT the center of the universe!
Get out, people, we must get OUT... it's dangerous to stay home!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Relevant
Well, I was listening to the radio today and heard a song that seems pretty relevant to my life in a way, at this point... reflects some thoughts going through my head as my time here draws to a close...
Here's the video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZy2xq1DTNo
And the lyrics:
Here's the video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZy2xq1DTNo
And the lyrics:
Honestly, what will become of me?
Don't like reality
It's way too clear to me
But really life is dandy
We are what we don't see
Miss everything daydreaming
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end?
Traveling, I only stop at exits
Wondering if I'll stay
Young and restless
Living this way I stress less
I want to pull away when the dream dies
The pain sets in and I don't cry
I only feel gravity and I wonder why
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end?
And the dogs were barking at the new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon
So that they could die...
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end?
When the dogs were barking at the new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon
And the sun was wondering if it should stay away for a day
Til the feeling went away
And the sky was falling and the clouds were dropping
And the rainfall forgot how to bring salvation
The dogs were barking at the new moon
Whistling a new tune hoping it would come soon
So that they could die
Picture Links
Ok, I just posted album links from late April onward... under "Summer 2008" to the left... hopefully Facebook does not change these links... if you would like to see pics from a different trip, sign up for Facebook and add me as a friend (if we are friends) or leave me a comment so I can send you the public link to the Facebook albums.
Cheers,
Cait
Cheers,
Cait
London (and All the Pounds I Lost There)
Wow! What a fantastic weekend!! I went to visit Anna in London on Friday. She's an au pair there for an uppity uppity British family with quite the pistol for a daughter. Buttttt the mom, Anji, is cool, she ordered us pizza on Friday night from Papa John's (tastes the same!) and Anna and I went to Croydon (on the 403!) to see Sex and the City. I really liked the movie, even though I'd never seen the show. The Flowers (last name of Anna's host fam.) have THE CUTEST CAT! His name is Tobey Juan, lol... he was so skiddish and friendly at the same time... here's a pic of us together [for Blogspot users: click on the pics to make them BIGGER]:
It's a shame, really, he's a lot cuter in person and if I were a cat, I would leave everything I know to be with him.
Saturday was a really busy day!! First we took the bus ("403, to, WEST Croydon!") to the train station and then bought a day ticket for the transport system and took the train to London Victoria station... man, transportation is mondo efficient in London. We went to the London Eye first, that's the biggest ferris wheel in the world and it costs $31 to ride it for 30 minutes. But it was absolutely brilliant! Here's a pic of it from across the Thames river:
Afterward we took the tube ("Stand on the right!") to St. James' Park where there are is a diverse multitude of large and small birds: pigeons, swans, gray geese, and HUGE white pelicans. We walked through the park, although my fascination with the large white pelicans prevented that from happening very quickly, and wound up at Buckingham Palace, where people were beginning to crowd for something... we found out that there was going to be a parade in rehearsal for the Queen's birthday two weeks from then. We stayed for like 40 minutes until it started, it was neat! Saw a bunch of those fuzzy-headed guards, too!
We had a 2-for-1 ticket coupon for Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, so we headed there, next. We waited in line for about an hour and then the place was sooo packed, it was hard to get pictures because everyone would push you out of the way to get there first. It was definitely neat, though, and there was a haunted house like at Halloween Horror Nights in the basement, that we were supposed to pay $6 extra for, but the guy was like "you know what, go ahead!"... I think it was because we are sooooo cute! See?
After that we were in search of food. And as shocking as this may sound, I consumed fish for the second time since being in Europe... I had to try "fish and chips"... it didn't taste any different than the fish Dad used to fry back in the day, and the french fries were mediocre as well. Not sure what the English are all abuzz about this for... anyway for dessert we had an Oreo + Toffee McFlurry... and then went to find the Platform 9 ³/4... and I went to Hogwarts for a while.
We then checked out the Piccadilly Circus, which is mainly a building with a bunch of HUGE screens on it. We ate donuts that cost $2.70 each, and then took the Tube to Oxford street, where we went to the giant store, Primark, which is like Penney's in Ireland... it was sooo cheap. I actually bought a few things that I ended up taking back, but found a shirt for $4. I really wanted these brown leather flip flops buuuuuuut... they didn't have my size.
By then I was running out of money for the day, anyway, since I only brought 60 pounds with me and left the rest at home. It sure does go fast in London, geez. I also was lucky enough to find a banana lying in the street... I could not believe my luck and immediately picked it up and took it home, although I wasn't the lucky one able to consume it...
Sunday was also a busy day. We went to the Camden Market, where no one is allowed to take pictures apparently, of anything. The market is sooo cool and so much stuff is overpriced, but we found a store where there was a lot of really cheap (even in dollars!) stuff. The "food court" at the Camden Market is CRAZY... all sorts of ethnic foods and everyone is trying to get you to buy theirs... I bought Indian food... wasn't too impressed, but it was ok. Anna and I split a giant donut for dessert:
And I bargained with a really tough Asian lady for the most amazing handbag in the entire world... it's hand-stitched "quilt" style with a ton of different fabrics and is totally rad... I only got it for a pound cheaper than what she wanted for it, but I'm still proud of that because that lady was TOUGH as nails!!
Then we headed to the Imperial War Museum, where we saw about an eighth of what they had to offer... we saw the Children's Perspective exhibit, where we walked through a war bunker and a really neat replica of a house from those days, and talked to an older lady about what it was like to have lived in a prefab. We also visited the Holocaust exhibit, where we were a bit hesitant to speak German to each other, for obvious reasons. The Holocaust, though not the only instance where people were ruthlessly racist and killing other people, is significant in how systematic and efficient and swift the Nazis wiped out all of those people. Six million people... that had never been seen in history before at such a magnitude. That's what makes it so hard for people to wrap their minds around it.
Next we went to Harrod's giant department store, where we saw the Diana and Dodi memorial and the Egyptian escalator hall, walked through the Food Halls (just a really expensive grocery store), and browsed greeting cards. Trafalgar Square was next, where we discovered a big screen showing Romeo and Juliet (opera/orchestra version), which had consequently packed the square. Here I am with King Tut:
We went to the evening service at Westminster Abbey... I saw Isaac Newton's grave!! It normally costs $20 to get into the Abbey (but all the national museums are FREE!?) so we figured going for the service was the best way to see it without losing too many pounds. I was at a loss for words... I think one of the first things I said while in the church was "who the hell is that?"... not exactly pious, I know, but the service was centered on a guy named William Cowper, and the whole 45 minute service included three hymns, some readings, and poems by that dude... his picture was on the front of the program. The service was also soooo boring!! The Abbey has that weird church smell that makes me want to throw up, and I remember sitting there and looking at my watch and being SO surprised that only 15 minutes had passed. Time slowed down. On TV, the Westminster Abbey looks so much bigger...don't get me wrong, the place is HUGE, but I guess when the streets surrounding it are covered in people, it looks like a much bigger venue... here's a pic of me in front of the Abbey after the service.
After that we went over to London Tower and the Tower Bridge (which I, stupidly, had always though was the London Bridge... why isn't there a song about Tower Bridge, if that's the famous one!?) and walked around there for a bit... we had been soooo lucky the entire weekend that it did not rain a DROP on either day... here I am at the Tower Bridge
We were both staaarving so we headed to London Victoria station and ate at McDonald's, lol... I have never been so excited to see a McDonald's in my life... we were so hungry... the guys at the counter were funny and when I told them (after they asked me) where I was from, they had all kinds of questions about McDonald's in the USA... they were amazed that the cheeseburgers only cost 60 cents and that the double cheeseburger is on the dollar menu... it was really funny. I even told them that I would get as many free refills on my Sprite Zero as I wanted, and proceeded to ask if I brought my cup back, if he would give me more... he said yes, ha ha!! Anyway, in keeping with the pattern of absolute irony that was this weekend, I ordered my first Big Mac EVER at the London Victoria McDonald's...
On Monday, we went back into London and, after checking to see if Primark had restocked the shoes I wanted, to no avail, went to the London Dungeon... we had a two for one coupon for that as well and it was really neat! It was a scary place and I got "picked on" by the actors a lot. When our group was getting "tried" and "condemned for heinous crimes", I was picked out by the actor and I had to stand on the podium thing and they said that I was guilty of dancing naked and would only be allowed to go free if I plead insanity, which I did, lol... and somehow I was always the first one to leave the different rooms in the Dungeon and so I was the one the actors all jumped out at to scare when we entered a different room. The whole place was superbly well done, even down to the smells. There were two rides and at the end was a drop ride because we were all to be hanged, lol...
Afterward we ate greasy pizza next door at a seedy place called "Fantastic Chicken", but only because it was cheap (a 7" pizza with two toppings for $4) and then headed to Croydon to see if THAT Primark had the shoes I wanted, which they didn't, but they did have the Florida t-shirt the other one didn't have in my size. So, I achieved one of my mini goals for my trips around Europe: find a Florida t-shirt. YEAH!
Then I took the train to Gatwick and met these CRAZY Irish guys while waiting at the gate. At Gatwick everyone waits in the same area until their boarding and gate number is announced. I was trying to read my magazine and eat my Turkish Delight and the guy next to me kept looking over and commenting, like "what is she eating, lads?" and "what is she reading?"... I looked over and said I was eating Turkish Delight, but I shouldn't have said anything because the crazy one took it as an invitation to talk to me for the next 40 minutes. He was SO annoying and kept taking my magazine and telling me his mom was German, then his dad was, and then his mom was Spanish... he also had eaten a lime a few minutes prior to talking to me, so the whole time he was talking to me he smelled like LIME... gross. And he kept just getting too close for comfort so I had to tell him to stop touching me. Creepy. I got offer after offer to go to Dublin with them, that'd I'd definitely be in the top three most beautiful girls in Ireland, to which I said that certainly isn't saying much about the other women in Ireland, ha ha... anyway he was sooo annoying but it made for this funny story and I finally got a gate number so I had an excuse to leave...
Then the flight was delayed 40 minutes or so, AFTER we had already boarded. Apparently there was bad weather. But how lucky I was that finally the bad weather started as soon as I left. Sweet!
So now I am home and today I have school (hence why I am even here). I had a faaaabulous time with the best tour guide EVER, and although London ate up my money, everything we did was awesome and I loved every minute of it!
BANANA!
Caitlin
It's a shame, really, he's a lot cuter in person and if I were a cat, I would leave everything I know to be with him.Saturday was a really busy day!! First we took the bus ("403, to, WEST Croydon!") to the train station and then bought a day ticket for the transport system and took the train to London Victoria station... man, transportation is mondo efficient in London. We went to the London Eye first, that's the biggest ferris wheel in the world and it costs $31 to ride it for 30 minutes. But it was absolutely brilliant! Here's a pic of it from across the Thames river:
Afterward we took the tube ("Stand on the right!") to St. James' Park where there are is a diverse multitude of large and small birds: pigeons, swans, gray geese, and HUGE white pelicans. We walked through the park, although my fascination with the large white pelicans prevented that from happening very quickly, and wound up at Buckingham Palace, where people were beginning to crowd for something... we found out that there was going to be a parade in rehearsal for the Queen's birthday two weeks from then. We stayed for like 40 minutes until it started, it was neat! Saw a bunch of those fuzzy-headed guards, too!
We had a 2-for-1 ticket coupon for Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, so we headed there, next. We waited in line for about an hour and then the place was sooo packed, it was hard to get pictures because everyone would push you out of the way to get there first. It was definitely neat, though, and there was a haunted house like at Halloween Horror Nights in the basement, that we were supposed to pay $6 extra for, but the guy was like "you know what, go ahead!"... I think it was because we are sooooo cute! See?
After that we were in search of food. And as shocking as this may sound, I consumed fish for the second time since being in Europe... I had to try "fish and chips"... it didn't taste any different than the fish Dad used to fry back in the day, and the french fries were mediocre as well. Not sure what the English are all abuzz about this for... anyway for dessert we had an Oreo + Toffee McFlurry... and then went to find the Platform 9 ³/4... and I went to Hogwarts for a while.
We then checked out the Piccadilly Circus, which is mainly a building with a bunch of HUGE screens on it. We ate donuts that cost $2.70 each, and then took the Tube to Oxford street, where we went to the giant store, Primark, which is like Penney's in Ireland... it was sooo cheap. I actually bought a few things that I ended up taking back, but found a shirt for $4. I really wanted these brown leather flip flops buuuuuuut... they didn't have my size.
By then I was running out of money for the day, anyway, since I only brought 60 pounds with me and left the rest at home. It sure does go fast in London, geez. I also was lucky enough to find a banana lying in the street... I could not believe my luck and immediately picked it up and took it home, although I wasn't the lucky one able to consume it...
Sunday was also a busy day. We went to the Camden Market, where no one is allowed to take pictures apparently, of anything. The market is sooo cool and so much stuff is overpriced, but we found a store where there was a lot of really cheap (even in dollars!) stuff. The "food court" at the Camden Market is CRAZY... all sorts of ethnic foods and everyone is trying to get you to buy theirs... I bought Indian food... wasn't too impressed, but it was ok. Anna and I split a giant donut for dessert:
And I bargained with a really tough Asian lady for the most amazing handbag in the entire world... it's hand-stitched "quilt" style with a ton of different fabrics and is totally rad... I only got it for a pound cheaper than what she wanted for it, but I'm still proud of that because that lady was TOUGH as nails!!
Then we headed to the Imperial War Museum, where we saw about an eighth of what they had to offer... we saw the Children's Perspective exhibit, where we walked through a war bunker and a really neat replica of a house from those days, and talked to an older lady about what it was like to have lived in a prefab. We also visited the Holocaust exhibit, where we were a bit hesitant to speak German to each other, for obvious reasons. The Holocaust, though not the only instance where people were ruthlessly racist and killing other people, is significant in how systematic and efficient and swift the Nazis wiped out all of those people. Six million people... that had never been seen in history before at such a magnitude. That's what makes it so hard for people to wrap their minds around it.
Next we went to Harrod's giant department store, where we saw the Diana and Dodi memorial and the Egyptian escalator hall, walked through the Food Halls (just a really expensive grocery store), and browsed greeting cards. Trafalgar Square was next, where we discovered a big screen showing Romeo and Juliet (opera/orchestra version), which had consequently packed the square. Here I am with King Tut:
We went to the evening service at Westminster Abbey... I saw Isaac Newton's grave!! It normally costs $20 to get into the Abbey (but all the national museums are FREE!?) so we figured going for the service was the best way to see it without losing too many pounds. I was at a loss for words... I think one of the first things I said while in the church was "who the hell is that?"... not exactly pious, I know, but the service was centered on a guy named William Cowper, and the whole 45 minute service included three hymns, some readings, and poems by that dude... his picture was on the front of the program. The service was also soooo boring!! The Abbey has that weird church smell that makes me want to throw up, and I remember sitting there and looking at my watch and being SO surprised that only 15 minutes had passed. Time slowed down. On TV, the Westminster Abbey looks so much bigger...don't get me wrong, the place is HUGE, but I guess when the streets surrounding it are covered in people, it looks like a much bigger venue... here's a pic of me in front of the Abbey after the service.
After that we went over to London Tower and the Tower Bridge (which I, stupidly, had always though was the London Bridge... why isn't there a song about Tower Bridge, if that's the famous one!?) and walked around there for a bit... we had been soooo lucky the entire weekend that it did not rain a DROP on either day... here I am at the Tower Bridge
We were both staaarving so we headed to London Victoria station and ate at McDonald's, lol... I have never been so excited to see a McDonald's in my life... we were so hungry... the guys at the counter were funny and when I told them (after they asked me) where I was from, they had all kinds of questions about McDonald's in the USA... they were amazed that the cheeseburgers only cost 60 cents and that the double cheeseburger is on the dollar menu... it was really funny. I even told them that I would get as many free refills on my Sprite Zero as I wanted, and proceeded to ask if I brought my cup back, if he would give me more... he said yes, ha ha!! Anyway, in keeping with the pattern of absolute irony that was this weekend, I ordered my first Big Mac EVER at the London Victoria McDonald's...
On Monday, we went back into London and, after checking to see if Primark had restocked the shoes I wanted, to no avail, went to the London Dungeon... we had a two for one coupon for that as well and it was really neat! It was a scary place and I got "picked on" by the actors a lot. When our group was getting "tried" and "condemned for heinous crimes", I was picked out by the actor and I had to stand on the podium thing and they said that I was guilty of dancing naked and would only be allowed to go free if I plead insanity, which I did, lol... and somehow I was always the first one to leave the different rooms in the Dungeon and so I was the one the actors all jumped out at to scare when we entered a different room. The whole place was superbly well done, even down to the smells. There were two rides and at the end was a drop ride because we were all to be hanged, lol...
Afterward we ate greasy pizza next door at a seedy place called "Fantastic Chicken", but only because it was cheap (a 7" pizza with two toppings for $4) and then headed to Croydon to see if THAT Primark had the shoes I wanted, which they didn't, but they did have the Florida t-shirt the other one didn't have in my size. So, I achieved one of my mini goals for my trips around Europe: find a Florida t-shirt. YEAH!
Then I took the train to Gatwick and met these CRAZY Irish guys while waiting at the gate. At Gatwick everyone waits in the same area until their boarding and gate number is announced. I was trying to read my magazine and eat my Turkish Delight and the guy next to me kept looking over and commenting, like "what is she eating, lads?" and "what is she reading?"... I looked over and said I was eating Turkish Delight, but I shouldn't have said anything because the crazy one took it as an invitation to talk to me for the next 40 minutes. He was SO annoying and kept taking my magazine and telling me his mom was German, then his dad was, and then his mom was Spanish... he also had eaten a lime a few minutes prior to talking to me, so the whole time he was talking to me he smelled like LIME... gross. And he kept just getting too close for comfort so I had to tell him to stop touching me. Creepy. I got offer after offer to go to Dublin with them, that'd I'd definitely be in the top three most beautiful girls in Ireland, to which I said that certainly isn't saying much about the other women in Ireland, ha ha... anyway he was sooo annoying but it made for this funny story and I finally got a gate number so I had an excuse to leave...
Then the flight was delayed 40 minutes or so, AFTER we had already boarded. Apparently there was bad weather. But how lucky I was that finally the bad weather started as soon as I left. Sweet!
So now I am home and today I have school (hence why I am even here). I had a faaaabulous time with the best tour guide EVER, and although London ate up my money, everything we did was awesome and I loved every minute of it!
BANANA!
Caitlin
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
How I Saved Myself $750
Communication is an art. It's nice to be able to put it to use sometimes, and in a different language at that!
...the following takes place between 10am and 11am.
I thought I could deal with having to pay two months' rent to this place even when I'm not even going to be here. I thought I could deal with the fact that these mean people would have the key to my apartment that is MINE by contract until September 30, while I was paying for it...meaning they could rent it out again if they wanted to and make double the money... I thought I would just give them the money and go home and be fine with it.
No. After being here almost 8 months with two more to go, I realized that was NOT going to fly. I found someone who needs a room for those two months and was told I was not allowed to sublease it. So this morning I went in there, where I sat for about 20-30 minutes while she told me all the reasons why it wouldn't work, and I told her I had stuff to pay for at home and this kid really needs a place to stay... and I kept asking "why can't you make an exception for exchange students; they HAVE to move out in July, PLUS we are foreigners and have essentially no idea how to get an apartment in a foreign country anyway. They always offer rooms here to exchange students and everyone has to pay out the butt to stay here even when they have to leave two months earlier. She even told me that two years ago everything was different and it may have worked then. She told me over and over again that she couldn't change anything, that I knew what I was getting into when I signed the papers, etc. etc. and asked me "Do you understand?" and I said "NO. Why can't you make a new contract? You can give him a contract for two months, you CAN make an exception, I have OTHER THINGS TO PAY FOR."...
And then I cried a little. Not because I'm super dramatic, although I am very proud at how dramatic the moment must've looked like... I was VERY frustrated and angry at how unfair they are to exchange/Erasmus students. Here, everyone gets money for everything. Most students get money from their parents and have to pay about $300 per YEAR to go to school in this region. And even for the regions that do have tuition fees, its like $700 a semester. That's NOTHING compared to what we have to pay. Not that I pay anything anyway, but it's still not cheap for me and just because I HAVE money, doesn't mean I have to spend it on stupid things like rent when I'm not even living there!!!!!!!!
She immediately printed me out a lease cancellation form. I signed it and Voila! I don't have to pay the rent for the last two months of the contract. I KNEW it was possible! Exceptions can ALWAYS be made and I learned this from working in customer service for 5 years (it doesn't take long to pick up on that, though). There are always exceptions, always always always.
I am moving out on the 15th. Hopefully I can find someone here in the Wohnheim that will take me in until my cousins come to pick me up on Saturday the 19th.
Now I just gotta wait for the guy getting my room to reply to the lady's email saying he will go through with it (he'll have to pay both months rent + €400 bond (which he will get back) up front... which he will be fine with, I think... he's a medicine student from Hamburg, which means the kid must have some dough. :-)
Caitlin
...the following takes place between 10am and 11am.
I thought I could deal with having to pay two months' rent to this place even when I'm not even going to be here. I thought I could deal with the fact that these mean people would have the key to my apartment that is MINE by contract until September 30, while I was paying for it...meaning they could rent it out again if they wanted to and make double the money... I thought I would just give them the money and go home and be fine with it.
No. After being here almost 8 months with two more to go, I realized that was NOT going to fly. I found someone who needs a room for those two months and was told I was not allowed to sublease it. So this morning I went in there, where I sat for about 20-30 minutes while she told me all the reasons why it wouldn't work, and I told her I had stuff to pay for at home and this kid really needs a place to stay... and I kept asking "why can't you make an exception for exchange students; they HAVE to move out in July, PLUS we are foreigners and have essentially no idea how to get an apartment in a foreign country anyway. They always offer rooms here to exchange students and everyone has to pay out the butt to stay here even when they have to leave two months earlier. She even told me that two years ago everything was different and it may have worked then. She told me over and over again that she couldn't change anything, that I knew what I was getting into when I signed the papers, etc. etc. and asked me "Do you understand?" and I said "NO. Why can't you make a new contract? You can give him a contract for two months, you CAN make an exception, I have OTHER THINGS TO PAY FOR."...
And then I cried a little. Not because I'm super dramatic, although I am very proud at how dramatic the moment must've looked like... I was VERY frustrated and angry at how unfair they are to exchange/Erasmus students. Here, everyone gets money for everything. Most students get money from their parents and have to pay about $300 per YEAR to go to school in this region. And even for the regions that do have tuition fees, its like $700 a semester. That's NOTHING compared to what we have to pay. Not that I pay anything anyway, but it's still not cheap for me and just because I HAVE money, doesn't mean I have to spend it on stupid things like rent when I'm not even living there!!!!!!!!
She immediately printed me out a lease cancellation form. I signed it and Voila! I don't have to pay the rent for the last two months of the contract. I KNEW it was possible! Exceptions can ALWAYS be made and I learned this from working in customer service for 5 years (it doesn't take long to pick up on that, though). There are always exceptions, always always always.
I am moving out on the 15th. Hopefully I can find someone here in the Wohnheim that will take me in until my cousins come to pick me up on Saturday the 19th.
Now I just gotta wait for the guy getting my room to reply to the lady's email saying he will go through with it (he'll have to pay both months rent + €400 bond (which he will get back) up front... which he will be fine with, I think... he's a medicine student from Hamburg, which means the kid must have some dough. :-)
Caitlin
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Hej everyone, I'm back from Stockholm
We set out at 6:30 am Wednesday morning and paid €21 to park at the Hahn (German for "rooster") airport for three days, which really wasn't half bad. I had to really really FIGHT with the lady at the counter when we went to check in because she was trying to make us pay €5 each to check in since we were using the counter... Ryanair charges anyone who doesn't use online check in BUT anyone who doesn't live in the EU is not allowed to use online check in. Discrimination? Yes, but they don't care. Anyway not getting into that. We experienced some terrible turbulence for about 6 seconds during the flight there and it was so bad we all thought for those 6 seconds we were really going to die, it was terrifying.
The hostel we stayed in was really really cool!!!! It was also very clean. They have free pasta! We bought our own sauce (found the yummy kind we had in Italy!) so that made for quite a few Euros saved on dinner in this expensive city. The beds in the hostel were also really comfortable and there was just a lot of space to hang out and meet people. I met and chatted with sooo many people it was unreal. Had a grand old time chatting with a bunch of English boys, although I had to ask them to repeat just about everything they said, ha ha!
We walked around the town pretty much the whole time we were there, photographing the fabulous and enormous statues and gardens. Stockholm is situated on 14 islands connected by almost 60 bridges! Gamla Stan is the old town and is soooo pretty and picturesque with old, old houses and narrow alley ways. The city is ridiculously clean and I saw TWO people's dogs poop on the street and the owners promptly cleaned it up! We witnessed the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace (when the guards walk they swing their left arms up really high, its funny). We caught a random acrobatic show in the town on Thursday. A Swedish specialty we really enjoyed were the cinnamon buns... the best of which were NOT purchased in a bakery, in my opinion, but in a package of six at the grocery store... Sweden also has the most amazing chocolate I have ever tasted, and as I write this am fighting the urge to get up and retrieve some of it from my cabinet... RESIST!!!
Stockholm has a fabulous shopping district--over 4,000 stores. We walked everywhere. On Thursday we went to the Vasa museum, a huge museum that's centered on a 16th century war ship that sunk 15 minutes into its maiden voyage due to being too top-heavy. That was fascinating-- we were there for almost three hours. After we visited that museum, we stopped for lunch and I had a hotdog wrapped in a tortilla with mashed potatoes, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup/mustard. They overdid it on the potatoes in my opinion...
Our evenings we spent hanging out downstairs in the hostel just chatting away with other travellers. I enjoyed that immensely... by the time most of those other travelers made up their minds about which bar they were going to that night, it was time for bed for these two old ladies ;-)
Most of the pics (should be posted on Monday) will be of all the pretty buildings and squares and guardens and statues we saw... Sweden is a beautiful country!!
In other news, I may be getting a sublease for my apt. for August and September, two months that I'd planned on, reluctantly, having to pay regardless that I'm going home before August even begins...
My head behind my eyes still constantly hurts, but only when reading. It seems harder to focus on the words than ever before, as if my eyes were going out of focus by themselves somehow.
I just planned a weekend excursion to Brussels, Belgium, for June 13-15... Iwona is coming to visit Koblenz on the 16th-17th so I am looking forward to that as well.
My next trip is on Friday, and I'm going to see ANNA in London!! I am very excited and feeling very grateful, as her mom is going to pick me up and take me to the airport and then pick me up again when I come home on Monday night. And also grateful that Anna is hosting me and sharing her 2 for 1 coupons with me :-) and picking me up from Gatwick, YEAH :-) Thanks Anna :-)
Tomorrow there is a giant flea market on the Moselle...we're going to walk there and check it out. I hope I don't find anything I can't live without... I can't afford to have any more STUFF...speaking of stuff, I just got a new webcam for my "new" computer (I got it fixed last week for FREEEE) which is a really really cool webcam and it works way better than the old one, which means, Mom, I'll be calling you more often :-)
Now I am going down to see my Australian buddy--we took my bike to the shop today to get a new tube in the back tire, ate ice cream, and walked home--to sip sangria and talk about life. It's quite possible I may get so drunk that I won't be able to find my way home, which is downstairs and to the left, leaving me at the mercy of a most merciless Aussie.
Cheers,
Caitlin
UPDATE: I just read my entry (it's the next day, 9:12am) and I must have been drunk when I wrote the entry (I really wasn't) because "my way home" from the Aussie's as a I described in the last paragraph is NOT "downstairs and to the left"... it's UPSTAIRS and to the RIGHT... downstairs and to the left is how to get to the Aussie, who lives on the lowest floor, LOL.
I did make it home last night, it was a fun time and the lights in the hallway don't work. Hmph.
The hostel we stayed in was really really cool!!!! It was also very clean. They have free pasta! We bought our own sauce (found the yummy kind we had in Italy!) so that made for quite a few Euros saved on dinner in this expensive city. The beds in the hostel were also really comfortable and there was just a lot of space to hang out and meet people. I met and chatted with sooo many people it was unreal. Had a grand old time chatting with a bunch of English boys, although I had to ask them to repeat just about everything they said, ha ha!
We walked around the town pretty much the whole time we were there, photographing the fabulous and enormous statues and gardens. Stockholm is situated on 14 islands connected by almost 60 bridges! Gamla Stan is the old town and is soooo pretty and picturesque with old, old houses and narrow alley ways. The city is ridiculously clean and I saw TWO people's dogs poop on the street and the owners promptly cleaned it up! We witnessed the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace (when the guards walk they swing their left arms up really high, its funny). We caught a random acrobatic show in the town on Thursday. A Swedish specialty we really enjoyed were the cinnamon buns... the best of which were NOT purchased in a bakery, in my opinion, but in a package of six at the grocery store... Sweden also has the most amazing chocolate I have ever tasted, and as I write this am fighting the urge to get up and retrieve some of it from my cabinet... RESIST!!!
Stockholm has a fabulous shopping district--over 4,000 stores. We walked everywhere. On Thursday we went to the Vasa museum, a huge museum that's centered on a 16th century war ship that sunk 15 minutes into its maiden voyage due to being too top-heavy. That was fascinating-- we were there for almost three hours. After we visited that museum, we stopped for lunch and I had a hotdog wrapped in a tortilla with mashed potatoes, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup/mustard. They overdid it on the potatoes in my opinion...
Our evenings we spent hanging out downstairs in the hostel just chatting away with other travellers. I enjoyed that immensely... by the time most of those other travelers made up their minds about which bar they were going to that night, it was time for bed for these two old ladies ;-)
Most of the pics (should be posted on Monday) will be of all the pretty buildings and squares and guardens and statues we saw... Sweden is a beautiful country!!
In other news, I may be getting a sublease for my apt. for August and September, two months that I'd planned on, reluctantly, having to pay regardless that I'm going home before August even begins...
My head behind my eyes still constantly hurts, but only when reading. It seems harder to focus on the words than ever before, as if my eyes were going out of focus by themselves somehow.
I just planned a weekend excursion to Brussels, Belgium, for June 13-15... Iwona is coming to visit Koblenz on the 16th-17th so I am looking forward to that as well.
My next trip is on Friday, and I'm going to see ANNA in London!! I am very excited and feeling very grateful, as her mom is going to pick me up and take me to the airport and then pick me up again when I come home on Monday night. And also grateful that Anna is hosting me and sharing her 2 for 1 coupons with me :-) and picking me up from Gatwick, YEAH :-) Thanks Anna :-)
Tomorrow there is a giant flea market on the Moselle...we're going to walk there and check it out. I hope I don't find anything I can't live without... I can't afford to have any more STUFF...speaking of stuff, I just got a new webcam for my "new" computer (I got it fixed last week for FREEEE) which is a really really cool webcam and it works way better than the old one, which means, Mom, I'll be calling you more often :-)
Now I am going down to see my Australian buddy--we took my bike to the shop today to get a new tube in the back tire, ate ice cream, and walked home--to sip sangria and talk about life. It's quite possible I may get so drunk that I won't be able to find my way home, which is downstairs and to the left, leaving me at the mercy of a most merciless Aussie.
Cheers,
Caitlin
UPDATE: I just read my entry (it's the next day, 9:12am) and I must have been drunk when I wrote the entry (I really wasn't) because "my way home" from the Aussie's as a I described in the last paragraph is NOT "downstairs and to the left"... it's UPSTAIRS and to the RIGHT... downstairs and to the left is how to get to the Aussie, who lives on the lowest floor, LOL.
I did make it home last night, it was a fun time and the lights in the hallway don't work. Hmph.
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