Going off to Eastern Europe tmr!!
Going off to Eastern Europe tmr! Prague, Vienna Krakow and hopefully Salzburg!!!
Excited! First real trip in Europe since Italy, Greece and Bratislava! Will be travelling for 7 days this time! Hope it will break the sluggishness and I won't be too tired of moving around! Will be back on Thurs!
Till then! :)
Strikes!
There has been a spate of strikes in Europe now! Apparently they're more frequent in autumn and ppl actually still get paid during strike time! It's like their right to strike from what i heard! So there's no service in some places in france, germany and holland now! And it's gonna start this fri in belgium! I find it so hilarious! Cos you can actually predict strikes! Something like that will never happen in Singapore! We're too "guai"! However, i heard you can start a strike in Singapore. After registering! I never knew that existed! Who on earth would register a strike?! Isn't it something tt happens spontaneously?! I think it's just another really ingenius way of preventing strikes!
Had a "politics talk" with one of the taiwanese girls last weekend. It's amazing how we've nothing regarding politics to talk about in Singapore. The ppl here dun regard us as a democratic society but we are isn't it? Everyone above 21 has the right to vote! Just that ppl all vote for the same ppl.. Despite all the rules and regulations, I'm really thankful sometimes for how safe Singapore is. I dun think you can find somewhere as safe and clean as Singapore is in the rest of the world! I really do appreciate everything in Singapore especially after being away. Well, for one, we're not targets of racism back home! Food's cheap, shops are open till 930 and on weekends! These things are luxuries you can't find here. But honestly, I must say that the quality of life is MUCH better here. Less pollution. People have much more time with their families and friends. More relaxed. It's really hard to feel pressure here. But i guess it's a tradeoff. They work really slowly here!!
Was just talking to mum on msn and I was shocked when she suggested migrating to the US. To boston to be exact. Like suddenly. She said she's sick of life in Singapore. Guess the pace and competitiveness of life in Singapore can get to you sometimes. But anw, she asked me to save money to do my masters there and then migrate! I dunno where on earth i'm gonna find that kind of money esp if i work as an auditor!!! But well, that's just plans for the future.. We'll see how it goes!
Exams are over!
Exams are over for this block! Not too confident regarding the outcomes though. Should have put in more effort and concentrated MORE! But they ask general knowledge questions in the paper about European stuff! How am i supposed to know!?!?! Furthermore, the identity of an exchange student isn't exactly too condusive for studying!!
The next month starting this fri will consist of travelling to Eastern Europe, Paris (on my own), Madrid/Lisbon/Barcelona, Copenhagen, Nice/Moroco, Scandinavia and northern lights and finally the Christmas market in Germany and hopefully Blackforest, Europa themepark and the castle in the weekend b4 exams. I really do hope I'll be able to cope with work on top of all these travelling!
Dun really know what to do now. Cos i'm so free and everyone else is still having exams or have papers to do. Guess i'll just catch up on my shows, job applications and comm service and internship reports that are more than a year overdue! Oh, btw, i've decided to accept pwc's offer since audit isn't something i mind doing. And i'm having 2nd thoughts about the finance industry. Sometimes i wonder if the only attractions of mine to the industry is the money and being the "in" thing. And at times I seriously doubt I'm cut out for the industry; even though both my parents are such finance ppl! I have no idea what I wanna make of my career as of yet. But i do know that I dun want a deskbound job. And I want a job where I can interact with ppl, be challenged, look forward to doing everyday and of course bring home the bacon. I hope there's such a job out there for me..
Miss Singapore.. Been talking to friends more recently being stuck to my desk with the mission to study. However, in the last few days I've been talking to friends more than studying! :S But pt is - talking to them makes me miss what I have back home even more. Exchange is fun! But it can't beat the comfort of those at home... Wish I could be there with them now...
melancholic
I wonder what's with the melancholy recently. Maybe being alone just results in more thinking. Or maybe it's really time for reflection.
Have been thinking lots these days. The what-ifs, what-could-have been and what-can-be. The only thing I can be sure about is that the past is past and the future is uncertain. There's little point in thinking of what I could have done just because what's done can't be undone. Any fulfilment, regret, joy and misery was in the past and can't be replayed nor changed. The best thing I can do for myself now would be to love myself and to bravely face come what may. Life is definitely not a bed of roses and the revelation becomes more stark with the years. Looking back and reminiscing about the good old days isn't necessarily bad till you start wishing you lived in the past. But they do certainly serve as fond memories when times are tough. Sometimes I do wish I was back in that canteen throwing whipped cream at each other and trying to get away and shoo the pigeons but i know all that is not possible anymore. We have grown up and life has gotten more complicated and responsibilities heavier. It's hard to be as carefree as we all used to be. But well, we all progress don't we.
Have been listening to a lot more music these few days cos I've been trying to study for the dutch exam that was this afternoon. For me at least, songs really do trigger memories for me. Both good and bad. There's the boyband era and Britney Spears collection that belongs to secondary sch. The soft rock of maroon 5 and hoobastank of the 1st year in university. The r&b of clubbing with the girls. And of cos the retro of mambo nights at Zouk. These days i really miss my piano. The instrument that accompanied me in a huge part of my jc life. Never failed to soothe me. Reminder of the melodies and words written at it. Those times seem really far away and long ago..
As I said at the beginning, I have no idea what's with the recent melancholy. Maybe reflection is good for the soul. Dun get me wrong. I'm happy. Enjoying myself. Looking forward to eastern europe, paris, amsterdam, spain, copenhagen, spain and monaco and scandinavia and the northern lights all in the next month. But just thinking and wondering about a lot.....
never been so drunk..
I've definitely had my share of crazy nights out and being intoxicated. But i definitely have never been so drunk as I was last night. The usual would just consist of loads of funny shit that I say or msg ppl. But last night.. I couldn't walk without assistance. Thank goodness for the guys that so so nicely came out to help drag us back.
Jo and I were drinking ourselves silly during dinner and then continued at the pub. Weiwen was with us. But surprisingly, she wasn't really gone. But then again we had like twice of what she did. So she was the one who called the 5 guys and cake! Jo was totally flat out on the floor and unconscious. And when they came, she puked on herself, cake and yinghan as well! Melvin and lionel dragged me for a distance.. I am not sure for how long. Before cake, yh and chris came with jo in a cab to get me as well. Unfortunately, the main gate was locked and we had to detour to the side path which is about 5 mins walk, rather drag away from the hostel. Worst thing was that when we came off from the taxi, there were only 2 guys with us. And they definitely couldn't handle the both of us! So they left us lying on the pavement till the others came!!
So that's how I embarrassed myself again! :S I think i really need to stop this shit. Cos i'm NOT like that. Might be the loneliness of being alone in a foreign country or the prospect of not having to be accountable to anyone. BUT I'M NOT LIKE THAT. Swimming in the mud isn't my idea of living life to the fullest. But it's tough. Life's tough.. Seems to get tougher everyday. No one ever said it was gonna be easy. But none said that the going was gonna get this tough either. Thinking back on how things were in my first year at uni, everything just seems much more complicated now. Do people complicate matters or do matters complicate us? Why do things seem so much more complicated the older we get? I wish I was back to my secondary school days where we had so much fun and so little to think of.. But that isn't possible isn't it? And we just have to keep looking forward rather than live in the past!
I just want to be happy..
I just want to embrace life..
I just want to love and care wholeheartedly..
I just want to feel safe and secured..
I just want to find rest..
Is that too much to ask?..
Bored..
I am so bored.. I've an individual presentation tmr morning at 830 and no.. I'm not the least prepared nor rehearsed! I'm so screwed. But somehow I dun seem to care. I just care that I'm feeling so freaking BORED here. My highlight of the week is clubbing on tues nights. Which is the international students party. Drinks are not exactly cheap but well, most of the time the guys buy. I've only bought a round once and a pack of fags for everyone yesterday which was quite popular by the way cos everyone hasn't had a menthol fag in a long time and I managed to find Vogue menthol in the Albert Hein near town. Albert Hein is my favourite supermarket by the way. I think that particular Albert Hein is the only place over here which sells that brand!! There's lots of it along the highways in Germany though! Ohoh! And rittersport is so good here! Music sucks in the clubs. They love electric beats here. Not that i dun like house. But i dun like techno for sure. Once in like 10 songs you get a decent r&b or nice retro song. But well, just have to make do isn't it? I really miss the good music we get in phuture or obar in Singapore! I was quite gone after last weeks party. Refused to go to sleep and even drunk dialled. But yest it was just moody broody.. Didn't even feel like dancing. For once here. And i was the one who tried to persuade and drag everyone to GO!! All because I was sick and tired of being cooped up in my room! The only time i go out is to go to sch or the supermarket. Or occasionally town. Half the time i'm too lazy cos cycling back from town is honestly tiring! Upslope the whole way! And i only learnt cycling less than 1 month ago!!
Oh yes! Because of how i party, i've been given the title of party animal! What's with that man? Even Kenneth in Aussie calls me that! But for him i think it's just pot calling the kettle black! Maybe he's jealous cos he's not allowed to party now! ;) They also say that i'm always high! But if you party and you're like entirely sane then where's the fun right? Kenneth even reminded me of all the nonsense i msged him when i was "not very sane" during the Phuture days! Haha! That seems so long ago! Must have been a year ago! I totally forgot about it! Anw, i think they need to meet you guys, cheryl and clarice! I totally totally pale in comparision with you 2! I'm always one of the 1st to say let's go have supper! HAHA! C'mon here cher now that you're a free woman from work! And party with me! ;) I'm sure we'll have the time of our lives!
I realised i haven't blogged about my hostel nor my FIRST bicycle! I shall take some photos of them when i remember and blog soon. Have been wanting to blog about the parties here too. But everytime i manage to get the photos from the rest, it's like a week later and there's just this inertia!
Ok.. Enough of my complaining.. Shall go back to mental rehearsing of my presentation since my room mate is asleep! She went to sleep at 2230! That's like 3 good hours b4 i get sleepy!
Exams are coming soonnn... In 1 week!! AARRRGGGHH!!
I'm so screwed......
Received super rings, tao kae noi (crispy seaweed), crispy m&ms, my laundry and vacumn bags (that i bought but forgot to pack), bathroom slippers from some taiwan hotel we went to and a pack of rubber bands and clips.. All in a huge singpost package. I was so surprised to see such a huge package! It's like the feeling of warmth from home which is so far away.. The anticipation of wanting to see what's inside was so.. I can't describe it with a word. It was so exciting and I didn't want it to end cos i was enjoying that feeling so much!
Thank you so so so so much! :)
Oktoberfest in Munich!
As promised, this post will be dedicated to Oktoberfest in Munich, also known as Munchen!
So here it goes:
Have you ever gone on a road trip in Europe? Have you ever sat in a car going at 200km/h? Have you ever froze to sleep in a car parked in a random carpark? Have you ever queued, squashed for close to 4 hours just to get into a party? Have you tried sniffing some stuff that makes you high? Have you gotten high for 8 whole hours? Have you been to Oktoberfest?
The questions above basically sum up the highlights of the trip to Oktoberfest in Munich!
Ok. Train tickets to Munich were REALLY expensive to leave on Fri and come back on Sun. Like close to 200 euros. So we decided to drive instead and sleep in the car as we thought it would be a cheaper alternative! Sleeping in the car wasn't a choice as there was no way we could find accomodation in Munich cos it was the middle weekend of the whole Oktoberfest and it was packed!
So off we went in our manual Hyundai Getz which was surprisingly quite good. I have never had a good impression of Korean cars but this one surprised me. It was very petrol consumption friendly and it survived a top speed of 200km/h. The journey to Munich was about 700km including the wrong turns and we managed to go there and back in about 3 tanks! And each tank is only 40litres! My Mazda 3 could never do that!
Our blue Hyundai Getz
The sole driver, Andrew and I, very excited to be setting off! He drove for 10 hours straight all the way to Munich! I tried to help him at some point. But let's put it this way.. It isn't easy to drive a manual car after no practice for 2 years! So eventually, it was decided that Andrew better drive!
Us sprawled over the car.
So we drove and Andrew reached a top speed of 200km/h! It was so fast I had to swallow saliva to pop my ears due to the pressure!
We finally arrived at Munich at close to 2am. After driving around for a while scouting for sleeping places, we decided to settle down in a random carpark by the road to sleep. It was hard to sleep of cos and the cold didn't help! I was so cold i got up in the middle of the night to wear a pair of socks and my jacket properly!Even so, i couldn't feel my toes when i woke up. Check out http://meisjeinholland.blogspot.com/ for photos of us trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in!
So after a few hours of barely sleeping, we set off for Oktoberfest. We arrived at the recommended tent after at about 9am but we couldn't get in anymore! So we ended up having to queue for close to 4 hours squashed like sardines. What's worse is that we're so short it was even hard for us to get some fresh air. Just check this picture out:
We didn't even need to stand! We were so squashed I actually fell asleep while queuing!
After close to 4 hours, we were about to give up when the doors were pushed open and we just squeezed like barbarians in! We were simply estatic to get in! And the atmostphere inside is the most amazing thing!! Just imagine 1500 people partying together! The 4 hours was totally worth it!
We managed to sneak upstairs to the reservation area and a group of germans kindly adopted us into their table! ;)
Hungry and thirsty, we ordered 4 beers, pork knuckles, sausages and grilled chicken. The pork knuckles and the chicken were fantastic but the sausages were quite disappointing! The beer cups are simply worth the mention as they were HUGE. Like 1litre!
Pork knuckles!
Chicken!
Sausages!
Jo and i with the huge glass of beer!
Apart from eating and drinking, there was this thing that they sniffed there. It looks like coke but it's not and i dunno what it is exactly. But it shoots straight up to your head. One guy at the hostel told me he had so much of that that his nose bled!
Cake's expression after sniffin!
Andrew sniffing!
And Andrew's expression after trying!
We stayed inside for about 4 hours and because the rest of the Singaporeans couldn't get in and we had enough of partying, we left to meet them. I was honestly still high and that high lasted for another few more hours! I was walking out of Oktoberfest with my eyes almost closed. When we finally found the rest of the Singaporeans, we just wandered about it town and took pictures for a while!
Borrowed one of the Oktoberfest hats from Kenneth that i eventually bought for 15 euros later on! Which is SUCH a waste of money! But oh well, it's a souvenir from the fest after all, since i didn't smuggle the glass out!
Wearing lionel's lion hat! I dunno what was jo trying to do!
Melvin and kenneth trying to take a photo with their hats lighted up. But kenneth's one was faulty so it didn't work!
Finally suceeded after umpteen tries!
After that, we all went for dinner at a cosy italian restaurant and then thankfully managed to bunk in with Melvin's 3 friends in their hostel on sleeping bags! I was so tired i snored in the night!! How embarrassing!! Dingsheng said he could even hear me with his ear plugs and it was like a symphony!!! :S For the record, I dun usually snore!!!!!! Ok.. Unless i'm really tired. But then it's usually just really deep breathing.. Oh man...
The next day, we got up early, had a fantastic breakfast at a random cafe near a petrol station and then went to the Dachou Concentration Camp. And as we were told, it was a place visiting but it was definitely not a nice sight! I was so affected by the things that I read and the pictures and the videos that I saw. The prisoners were so tortured. They were skin and bones. And when they died, they were stripped of their clothes and thrown in a pile. Some of them were even used as subjects for scientific experiments like hypothermia, surviving on salt water and using electricity to create a bubble in the brain that will burse causing death. When they were sick and unable to work, they would be murdered in groups of 20s using lethal injections. It was just so cruel. We also saw the gas chamber that many were killed in. After a while, I felt so sick i felt like vomitting! It was a very educational but a very disturbing experience...
Us at the entrance of the concentration camp.
Plaques to remind of the cruelty of the acts and never again should it happen.
Guard tower where the guards would shoot the prisoners from if they set foot on the grass patch just below it. The sick thing is that guards got a monetary award for each kill. So some of them would deliberately lead the prisoners onto the patch. In other cases, the torture was so great that prisoners would just run onto the patch to end their misery.
The colours of the leaves on the trees were really pretty. But yet there was a feeling of melancholy to the picture..
The bunks that the prisoners slept in. It's reconstructed but it still gives an idea of how bad living conditions were.
The crematorium where they burnt the dead bodies. After a coal shortage however, they just threw all the dead bodies into a truck and drove off to dump them somewhere.
The gas chamber. The outlets at the top were "fake showers" to create the false impression to the prisoners then that they were going to get a shower when they were actually going to be killed.
The sanitisation chambers. Before the prisoners were led into the gas chamber to die, they had to leave their clothes in the waiting room. Because of the shortage of clothes, these prisoners clothes were sanitised in these rooms and given to the new prisoners.
Sculpture to remember the prisoners in the concentration camp.. It's supposed to look like men in thorns..
Yikes.. Blogging about the concentration camp even makes me sick... :(
Lastly,
Crappy meal for 5.25 euros. Didn't even taste good! But we were so hungry on the highway on the way back we just had to fill our tummies!
That's all for Oktoberfest and Munich. There were too many happenings and it's hard to blog and post photos everything. There was this cute guy at Oktoberfest that the Germans we were with wanted to pair with Jo. And this guy who kissed all of us! Including Andrew. More more details on Oktoberfest, check ou Cake's blog: http://meisjeinholland.blogspot.com/ and Jo's blog: http://jojo-binks.blogspot.com/!
Party Night
I promise to blog about oktoberfest and munich in the next post!! But first about something else.
I woke up with a sick feeling in my stomach this morning. And then the memories started coming back to me.. Last night was party night in Maastricht so we of cos went partying.. Thing was I had A LOT to drink. At least 3 beers, 3 shots and red wine. I really dun remember what i had anymore. Well, good thing was that I didn't puke as I used to, but i definitely did a lot of embarrassing things - like say a lot of things girls are not supposed to say. Thing is.. When i usually club in Singapore, it's ok, cos when you club with your girl friends you just say and do stupid things TOGETHER! But it's not alright when you're with a bunch of guys and you start sprouting total nonsense!!
What a dent to my image that must have made! Doubt I will be able to shake off the party girl image for the rest of the exchange!
I promise not to get drunk at the next party!
For now, I just want to dig a hole and hide........
Our blue Hyundai Getz
The sole driver, Andrew and I, very excited to be setting off! He drove for 10 hours straight all the way to Munich! I tried to help him at some point. But let's put it this way.. It isn't easy to drive a manual car after no practice for 2 years! So eventually, it was decided that Andrew better drive!
Us sprawled over the car.
We didn't even need to stand! We were so squashed I actually fell asleep while queuing!
We managed to sneak upstairs to the reservation area and a group of germans kindly adopted us into their table! ;)
Pork knuckles!
Chicken!
Sausages!
Jo and i with the huge glass of beer!
Cake's expression after sniffin!
Andrew sniffing!
And Andrew's expression after trying!
Borrowed one of the Oktoberfest hats from Kenneth that i eventually bought for 15 euros later on! Which is SUCH a waste of money! But oh well, it's a souvenir from the fest after all, since i didn't smuggle the glass out!
Wearing lionel's lion hat! I dunno what was jo trying to do! 
Melvin and kenneth trying to take a photo with their hats lighted up. But kenneth's one was faulty so it didn't work!
Finally suceeded after umpteen tries!
Us at the entrance of the concentration camp.
Plaques to remind of the cruelty of the acts and never again should it happen.
Guard tower where the guards would shoot the prisoners from if they set foot on the grass patch just below it. The sick thing is that guards got a monetary award for each kill. So some of them would deliberately lead the prisoners onto the patch. In other cases, the torture was so great that prisoners would just run onto the patch to end their misery.
The colours of the leaves on the trees were really pretty. But yet there was a feeling of melancholy to the picture..
The bunks that the prisoners slept in. It's reconstructed but it still gives an idea of how bad living conditions were.
The crematorium where they burnt the dead bodies. After a coal shortage however, they just threw all the dead bodies into a truck and drove off to dump them somewhere.
The gas chamber. The outlets at the top were "fake showers" to create the false impression to the prisoners then that they were going to get a shower when they were actually going to be killed.
The sanitisation chambers. Before the prisoners were led into the gas chamber to die, they had to leave their clothes in the waiting room. Because of the shortage of clothes, these prisoners clothes were sanitised in these rooms and given to the new prisoners.
Sculpture to remember the prisoners in the concentration camp.. It's supposed to look like men in thorns..
Crappy meal for 5.25 euros. Didn't even taste good! But we were so hungry on the highway on the way back we just had to fill our tummies!