um...I'm not sure how many days I've been here so far, so that's why I posted earlier today as day 21 but this post was posted on the same day but titled "day 30"...that is going to look weird but whatev. Maybe it would be easier to measure things in weeks, but there's already this counting by days thing going...all the way from last year. It definitely is day 30, I just checked. Here.
The EuroCup is what's in here in Germany. Germany is actually playing right now (and that's why I'm blogging right now). It's Germany vs. Poland. I bet Germany would win 2-1. But now that I've seen them play I think it's going to 2-0.
Also, it's a slow night for news and a pretty laid-back weekend and one of the few posts without pictures, Charlie the Unicorn came out with a sequel!
Here's the original:
and now here's the sequel.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
days 21-28: ulm
(alt. title: How to get screwed by the German Government)
I've been having lots of problems with getting my German visa situation worked out. I applied for my visa in January from the Atlanta German Consulate and finally got a response at the end of March.
In case you're Googling how to get a work permit in Germany, here's the step by step things you can do to make the whole process much easier:
- Apply early: it can (and probably will) take up to 3 months to hear anything back.
- Since you have to apply in person, make sure you have everything with you when you get there and make copies of everything! Things you need when you go to the consulate:
But it's all worth it :) And now I can stay until my internship is finished. Hopefully. Otherwise there will be another frustrated blog entry in August.
I've been having lots of problems with getting my German visa situation worked out. I applied for my visa in January from the Atlanta German Consulate and finally got a response at the end of March.
In case you're Googling how to get a work permit in Germany, here's the step by step things you can do to make the whole process much easier:
- Apply early: it can (and probably will) take up to 3 months to hear anything back.
- Since you have to apply in person, make sure you have everything with you when you get there and make copies of everything! Things you need when you go to the consulate:
- An application form (available at the website)
- Two passport photos. I had to go to 6 different passport photo places to get one that would be accepted by the German government. Wolf Camera was the only place that took pictures that fit the specifications. Even those taken by the US Passport office at the Knoxville courthouse were wrong. See the details of the exact requirements.
- A valid copy of your passport
- A bank statement or a statement of how you plan to pay for your stay in Germany. I didn't have one of these so a contract from my employer worked here as well.
- A statement from my health insurance that I will be covered while working in Germany.
- $68 in CASH, $50 for the fee of processing your application and $18 for shipping
- A copy of my background check signed by the Chattanooga Police Department.
But it's all worth it :) And now I can stay until my internship is finished. Hopefully. Otherwise there will be another frustrated blog entry in August.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
days 8-21: Ulm
Well, guess what?!?! I can stay in Germany for the duration of my internship!!!! I will write a post later on how to get a German work/residency visa, but it's late and I have to work early tomorrow.
Last week was the Eurovision Song Contest. We had a little bet going between Flo, Stefan and me. Every country gives out scores after all the contestants sing a song, so we did that too at the apartment. The winner didn't have to do the dishes. I lost. For dinner we ate Raclette in front of the contest. The dinner was so good, but lots of dishes to clean later :( The next day we went to Charlottehöle, a cave about half an hour away from Ulm. I should have taken more pictures to show, but all I have is Flo and Stefan in the beer garden after and there's no shortage on this blog.
This week was filled with the usual working in the morning and coming back home in the late afternoon. Tuesday was such a beautiful day (schön tag!) I took off from work a few hours early and went for a walk and read in the park with Flo.
This weekend's trip was to Stuttgart to see the Indiana Jones movie!!!! Flo and I took a train from Ulm to Stuttgart, about an hour to the closest English movie theatre around. The Corso Kino is this small theatre a short train ride outside the city playing movies in their native language (mostly English!) I found out that's where all the Americans in Germany hang out on Saturday nights. Before the movie, Flo and I made a day out of seeing the city of Stuttgart. It all started with a walk in the park but ended up taking most of the day. I liked it because we walked a good part of the city, saw the royal gardens and walked around the outside of the Wilhma zoo. You don't even have to buy a ticket inside to see the polar bear exhibit! Woohoo! Free sights of polar bears! You can even see some donkeys and ponies too, but the polar bears are so much more exciting. They were supposed to have a baby polar bear, but maybe you have to pay to see that. Come to think of it, you can do most things in Stuttgart for free. We didn't pay to go to the Stauffenberg Exhibition. You can see everything from the entrance and the guy taking the money gave us a German and English pamphlet so we took them and read about the museum exhibit in the park. Even the castle was free. You can go up to it and look through the windows and see inside without going inside (see the picture below). We're kind of cheap.
. ...
Last week was the Eurovision Song Contest. We had a little bet going between Flo, Stefan and me. Every country gives out scores after all the contestants sing a song, so we did that too at the apartment. The winner didn't have to do the dishes. I lost. For dinner we ate Raclette in front of the contest. The dinner was so good, but lots of dishes to clean later :( The next day we went to Charlottehöle, a cave about half an hour away from Ulm. I should have taken more pictures to show, but all I have is Flo and Stefan in the beer garden after and there's no shortage on this blog.This week was filled with the usual working in the morning and coming back home in the late afternoon. Tuesday was such a beautiful day (schön tag!) I took off from work a few hours early and went for a walk and read in the park with Flo.
This weekend's trip was to Stuttgart to see the Indiana Jones movie!!!! Flo and I took a train from Ulm to Stuttgart, about an hour to the closest English movie theatre around. The Corso Kino is this small theatre a short train ride outside the city playing movies in their native language (mostly English!) I found out that's where all the Americans in Germany hang out on Saturday nights. Before the movie, Flo and I made a day out of seeing the city of Stuttgart. It all started with a walk in the park but ended up taking most of the day. I liked it because we walked a good part of the city, saw the royal gardens and walked around the outside of the Wilhma zoo. You don't even have to buy a ticket inside to see the polar bear exhibit! Woohoo! Free sights of polar bears! You can even see some donkeys and ponies too, but the polar bears are so much more exciting. They were supposed to have a baby polar bear, but maybe you have to pay to see that. Come to think of it, you can do most things in Stuttgart for free. We didn't pay to go to the Stauffenberg Exhibition. You can see everything from the entrance and the guy taking the money gave us a German and English pamphlet so we took them and read about the museum exhibit in the park. Even the castle was free. You can go up to it and look through the windows and see inside without going inside (see the picture below). We're kind of cheap.
. ...
Monday, May 19, 2008
days 1-8: Ulm
Woohoo!!!! First post of the Adventure Blog, part 2!!! I should have updated sooner, but in a nutshell, here's what's been going on:
The Airport:
I flew Chattanooga to Chicago, not so bad, but had a 13 hour layover in Chicago. I had my whole day planned
out: make some phone calls, watch some movies and tv shows, surf the internet blogging, get a chocolate milkshake (around hour 6 or 7), but then my power cord to my computer didn't work so I made an impromptu trip to Chicago. I've never been to Chicago, but the people at the airport told me to take the Blue line all the way to the Washington stop to the middle of the city. From there I wandered for a few hours looking for a Staples/Office Max/Best Buy sort of store but I couldn't find my power cord anywhere :( The rest of the airport was pretty uneventful after that. From Chicago, I had a flight to Frankfurt where I met Flo and Stefan at the airport!!!!
Germany:
First few days were not too interesting to blog about...drove to Ulm, got caught up on some sleep, the usual trans-Atlantic transition stuff. The weather was so nice here Flo and I went to a few beer gardens and read in the park.
Work:
I have an internship with Nokia in Ulm. The building I'm in is pretty cool. It's the Energon: the world's biggest passive house office building, which means it's very energy-efficient. I can't find an English site for it, but the pictures are pretty good.
The people are really nice and last week we got happy hour cocktails:
Some other random stuff:
We went to Ikea Friday to get some boxes. The boxes are a lot better for my clothes than piles on the floor. they look a lot better now and the labels Stefan and I made are sehr gut for my german. last night was taco night...and I finally took a picture of this clock at the Rathaus (town hall)! Every time I walk by there's a group of tourists taking a picture of this clock. I just found out that it's been ticking for over 490 years. This clock tells the time, zodiac signs, and some other things. Also, market time is back!!!!!! The last one is a picture of the Munster with some German flags.
The Airport:
I flew Chattanooga to Chicago, not so bad, but had a 13 hour layover in Chicago. I had my whole day planned
out: make some phone calls, watch some movies and tv shows, surf the internet blogging, get a chocolate milkshake (around hour 6 or 7), but then my power cord to my computer didn't work so I made an impromptu trip to Chicago. I've never been to Chicago, but the people at the airport told me to take the Blue line all the way to the Washington stop to the middle of the city. From there I wandered for a few hours looking for a Staples/Office Max/Best Buy sort of store but I couldn't find my power cord anywhere :( The rest of the airport was pretty uneventful after that. From Chicago, I had a flight to Frankfurt where I met Flo and Stefan at the airport!!!!
Germany:First few days were not too interesting to blog about...drove to Ulm, got caught up on some sleep, the usual trans-Atlantic transition stuff. The weather was so nice here Flo and I went to a few beer gardens and read in the park.
Work:I have an internship with Nokia in Ulm. The building I'm in is pretty cool. It's the Energon: the world's biggest passive house office building, which means it's very energy-efficient. I can't find an English site for it, but the pictures are pretty good.
The people are really nice and last week we got happy hour cocktails:
Some other random stuff:
We went to Ikea Friday to get some boxes. The boxes are a lot better for my clothes than piles on the floor. they look a lot better now and the labels Stefan and I made are sehr gut for my german. last night was taco night...and I finally took a picture of this clock at the Rathaus (town hall)! Every time I walk by there's a group of tourists taking a picture of this clock. I just found out that it's been ticking for over 490 years. This clock tells the time, zodiac signs, and some other things. Also, market time is back!!!!!! The last one is a picture of the Munster with some German flags.
Monday, August 13, 2007
back in the states: chattanooga
I got a pet today. Actually, I got three, but they are the coolest pets ever. It's an Eco-sphere and I don't have to feed them or clean the tank or anything. It's perfect. Their names are Jason, Chuck, and Jackie. For Jason Bourne, Chuck Norris, and Jackie Chan. They are badass shrimp.
Friday, August 10, 2007
days 70-78: new york city
This is the first blog entry since day 38 that Flo hasn't updated my blog! Hurray for freedom of the internet! My time in NYC has had sketchy internet I "stole" from unprotected wireless networks around other apartments. I'm not sure if it qualifies as stealing because since they didn't think to put a password for their network, it's kind of like asking for people to use it. Anyway, it wasn't that reliable.
I arrived at JFK around midnight on the 2nd/3rd and took the shuttle to the apartment in midtown. It was a pretty nice place, and good thing there was no need to take the subway because of the monsoon they were closed and people were getting crushed. The real reason of the trip was to see the Broadway shows.
Friday: Altar Boyz
Saturday: Wicked and Rent
Monday: Spring Awakening
Wednesday: Legally Blonde, the Musical
Jill won lottery tickets to Wicked, so we were front row for cheap. the reason the tickets are so cheap is because the actors are so close you can get showered in spit. I really wanted to see Rent because the 2 main original characters, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, were reappearing in the show after 11 years. I could only get standing room, but I love Rent, so it was worth it. Spring Awakening is this play written by a German guy over 100 years ago, but because of censorship laws it was forbidden and forgotten until a few years ago when they made it into a Broadway show. Jill and I were in line waiting for student tickets at 4:30 am and we weren't even the first ones there. The play was really depressing it seemed like they tried to smoosh every kind of teen angst from suicide, coming out, pregnancy, losing the v-card, incest rape, and some other things I'm probably forgetting. It was kind of a downer, but good and not quite wake up at 4 am good. Legally Blonde was really good. Jill and I were at the theatre by 5 for that one. The only thing was it was one of the biggest storms NY has seen and there were tornadoes in Brooklyn, so it was raining like a monsoon or something there. That's the only time I thought it was crazy we were out there waiting for musical tickets. I'm not kidding. The rain was falling at a 45 degree angle and the thunder was clapping shaking the windows. crazy.
I arrived at JFK around midnight on the 2nd/3rd and took the shuttle to the apartment in midtown. It was a pretty nice place, and good thing there was no need to take the subway because of the monsoon they were closed and people were getting crushed. The real reason of the trip was to see the Broadway shows.
Friday: Altar Boyz
Saturday: Wicked and Rent
Monday: Spring Awakening
Wednesday: Legally Blonde, the Musical
Jill won lottery tickets to Wicked, so we were front row for cheap. the reason the tickets are so cheap is because the actors are so close you can get showered in spit. I really wanted to see Rent because the 2 main original characters, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, were reappearing in the show after 11 years. I could only get standing room, but I love Rent, so it was worth it. Spring Awakening is this play written by a German guy over 100 years ago, but because of censorship laws it was forbidden and forgotten until a few years ago when they made it into a Broadway show. Jill and I were in line waiting for student tickets at 4:30 am and we weren't even the first ones there. The play was really depressing it seemed like they tried to smoosh every kind of teen angst from suicide, coming out, pregnancy, losing the v-card, incest rape, and some other things I'm probably forgetting. It was kind of a downer, but good and not quite wake up at 4 am good. Legally Blonde was really good. Jill and I were at the theatre by 5 for that one. The only thing was it was one of the biggest storms NY has seen and there were tornadoes in Brooklyn, so it was raining like a monsoon or something there. That's the only time I thought it was crazy we were out there waiting for musical tickets. I'm not kidding. The rain was falling at a 45 degree angle and the thunder was clapping shaking the windows. crazy.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
days 67-70: xi'an
The train to Xi'an was a long one on the way up there. Alex and I pimped out our Chinese-speaking companion to flirt with the conductor to get us some sleepers. And it worked! So the 12 hour ride wasn't so bad going up there. I was glad to get out of sitting on benches. We arrived in Xi'an around 7 in the morning and went straight to the Xiangzimen International Hostel. It looked really nice and the people spoke very good English, but they made us buy an extra bed and wouldn't let us just rent the 3 beds we needed, which was a little weird.
That morning, I brushed my teeth and went out to the tour group going to the Terracotta Warriors. Before the Terracotta Army, we stopped by the Danpo village, a village of ancient Chinese that dates back to 6,000 years ago. Then finally we got to see the Terracotta Army! There were rows and rows of life sized terracotta soldiers, archers, generals and horses lined up in perfect formations. When they built the underground caverns of terracotta people, the emperor killed every artist, construction worker, and anyone else that had anything to do with building the tomb, as well as their friends and families. The total number of people killed making it was over 700,000. I had no idea that happened.
That night, I got a traditional Chinese massage. Not knowing what a Chinese massage was exactly, the guy ended standing on my back and popping every bone he could. At one point he was pulling my hair, and that bit really hurt. At the end it was all good and (kind of) relaxing. The next morning, we slept in and shopped around the Muslim Quarter. The market was fun and filled with all this weird food. My favorite Xi'an food was this pancake filled with hot veggies and other stuff I have no idea what it was, but it tasted good.
The train ride back to Beijing was probably the worst train ride I will ever have. We couldn't get sleepers this time so I was already expecting a 12 hour train ride on a bench where they don't turn off the music or lights all night. The people also spit on the floor and kids just squat and take a shit there on the floor. That's really gross even not in an enclosed space. That night it was raining and the tracks were flooded so we spent a few hours waiting for the rain to be siphoned off the tracks, which in total took 9 hours. I couldn't wait to get off that train.
But overall, Xi'an was good. :)
That morning, I brushed my teeth and went out to the tour group going to the Terracotta Warriors. Before the Terracotta Army, we stopped by the Danpo village, a village of ancient Chinese that dates back to 6,000 years ago. Then finally we got to see the Terracotta Army! There were rows and rows of life sized terracotta soldiers, archers, generals and horses lined up in perfect formations. When they built the underground caverns of terracotta people, the emperor killed every artist, construction worker, and anyone else that had anything to do with building the tomb, as well as their friends and families. The total number of people killed making it was over 700,000. I had no idea that happened.That night, I got a traditional Chinese massage. Not knowing what a Chinese massage was exactly, the guy ended standing on my back and popping every bone he could. At one point he was pulling my hair, and that bit really hurt. At the end it was all good and (kind of) relaxing. The next morning, we slept in and shopped around the Muslim Quarter. The market was fun and filled with all this weird food. My favorite Xi'an food was this pancake filled with hot veggies and other stuff I have no idea what it was, but it tasted good.
The train ride back to Beijing was probably the worst train ride I will ever have. We couldn't get sleepers this time so I was already expecting a 12 hour train ride on a bench where they don't turn off the music or lights all night. The people also spit on the floor and kids just squat and take a shit there on the floor. That's really gross even not in an enclosed space. That night it was raining and the tracks were flooded so we spent a few hours waiting for the rain to be siphoned off the tracks, which in total took 9 hours. I couldn't wait to get off that train.
But overall, Xi'an was good. :)
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