über mich- Gedächtnisse in Deutschland

day out at hort park

2009-08-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

When i woke up today, the air smells of rain. It's those days when you feel like snuggling up your blanket and not get up till you feel like it.

Well i woke up at around 9 plus, not too late nor too early. I went out with my parents and brother to Hort Park. I am personally not a botanist enthusiast. But the sight of seeing my mommy enjoying herself at the park just makes me feel good. She's like, "this is called verticle gardening"; "oh these are sugar canes"; "hmm the mixed breed of sunflowers!". It's really rare seeing her behaving like a little child on a discovery trail, absorbing everything she sees with delight. We had a great lunch of course :)

I begin to appreciate public holidays. I look forward to them and see it as a great opportunity for a get together with my family. Afterall, family is the emotional support and pillar behind every individual.

celebrating a baby's 1st month

2009-07-09T20:54:00.001-07:00

A newly born. It never fails to amaze me whenever i see pregnant ladies with heavy tummies walking along shopping streets or struggling up the public transport. The thought of having a life within you is indeed an experience which belongs to only the mummies-to-be. After 9 full months of feeding the life within, it's no surprise that babies develop this natural attachment to mummies the moment they are born but not to daddies. Indeed it is a real joy to celebrate a baby's arrival on to earth !

Take a look at this pretty package which was delivered to celebrate Alyssa's 1st month birthday.

And the food in it.

Well, i'm already well past my 1st month of birthday. But still i hope to live every day and month of my life to the fullest. :)

Der letzte Tag als Studentin

2009-07-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

Gestern war ich in UCC. Es war meine Abschlussfeier. Aber bevor die Abschlussfeier war ich nicht aufgeregt. Ich habe auch keine Ahnung. :S Meine Mutter und Schwester war da. Es war das zweiten mal meine Mutter, die die Abschlussfeier teilgenommen hat. Ich möchte meine Mutter danken, weil sie immer da für mich!

Der Dekan (oder Dean auf englisch) und ich

Viele viele Luftballon

Die Volkswirtschaften Studentinnen

Meine CG Freunden und ich

Junda Porcas und ich

Danke Siying und Porcas für die Blume!

Rui Peng war auch da. Es war eine Überraschung!

Meine Schwester und ich. Sie hat von der Naturwissenschaft Fakultät graduiert.

Meine schöne Mutter und ich

Meine Mutter ist auch sehr klug!

Wir haben langweilige Volkwirtschaften Vorlesungen zusammen teilgenommen. :S

Die LAG-gers und meine Schwester. Wir lieben Deutschland :)

Ein interessante Luftballon

Boon song, charm und ich. Boon Song trägt eine andere Farbe, weil er ein Student mit ausgezeichneten Leistungen ist! wow!

Han Xiang und ich. Mein Junior.

Hui Ling und ich

Nic Tey und ich

Huiyu und ich

Huiyi und ich

was ist das?!

Yayss!

Genuis and Gawk

2009-06-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

Have you watch the MV on this korean song "Kiss, because i'm a girl"? Well if you had, you would realise the MV's pretty romantic but ended in a sad way because the guy had donated his pair of corneas to the girl whom he loves.

Yesterday, i chanced upon this Hongkong show "Genius and Gawk".

The story began with the coincidental meeting of a city and a village man. The village man, being really pure, honest and simple- hoped to find a pretty wife in the city, versus the city man who's clever, scheming, in need of money but kind-hearted.

I kind of expected how the city man would ask for a loan from the village man, and in return, he would help him to find a wife. The village man being not so good looking, were rejected by all the ladies he met. Finally, he met this blind but pretty lady called yuan. In order to gain her love, he and the city man put up a show, allowing yuan to believe that the village man is really rich and he even has a PA around him- who's the city man. Yuan eventually develops positive feelings towards the village man, not because of his wealth, but because of the village man's kind heart.

Believe it or not, once when the city man helped yuan to look after her roadside flower shop while the village man took her out on a date, there was a gang fight and a briefcase loaded with money fell beside the stall during the gang fight confusion. The city man, who's desperate for money now sees the opportunity to use the illegal money to repay his son's loan needed for overseas studies. The internal struggle between conscience and greed rose within the city man. Because of this issue, Yuan and the village man were captured by the gang members who threatened the city man that if he doesn't return the money, both of them will be dead. In the end, the city man brought the briefcase to the kidnappers and demanded them to release both his friends first. However, the briefcase wasn't filled with cash, but with white paper. Seeing that they were fooled, the gang members hit the city man till half dead. Meanwhile, both his friends managed to escape.

After being in coma for 3 days, the city man realises the village man was gone. He reads a letter left behind by him, thanking him for his friendship and sincerity as not only did he not look down on him as he was from the village, but he even risked him life to save him. Time passes by and the city man still didn't hear news from the village man. Until one day, he saw yuan riding on a bike. Her sight had recovered. But she too didn't know where did the village man go to.

It was then they decided to go back to his hometown, where the city man and him first met, to look for him. Halfway through the search, both of them rested at a teahouse. The city man went off to ask around while yuan rested. Then from afar, she saw a blind man carrying a case filled with packets of peanuts for sale. She went up and bought one. But when the peanut-seller heard her voice, he immediately walked off. Yuan wanted to pay him, As she stuffed the notes into his hands, she began to realise from the touch of his hands, that was the village man! but he was blind. Then it hit her that he had donated his corneas to her. It was very touching to see how yuan accepts the village man for who he is. For his inner beauty despite how the village man insist he wasn't worthy and suitable for her.

I like these kinda shows. Simple yet down to earth and touching. :)

Melbourne!

2009-06-22T04:03:00.001-07:00

Melbourne. I've heard so much about this city. I really enjoyed myself during my 4 days here. First day was to the Philips Island. Here, we see many of Australia's famous wildlife. That's the Wallabies in the picture below. Looks like another breed of kangeroos. Btw, my tour guide said that the term 'kangeroo' is originated from the tribal language. And it means something crude actually. hahaa!

Frau Chen and i at the Churchhill

Look at this happy animal. It's smiling to itself. IS it a sheep or goat? haha i realise i'm quite bad at animal names..

This cow's only 2 weeks old. But it's blind.

A very cute sheep. It's wool feel like my comfy blanket at home :S

Nice pastel colours

Animals spotted along the journey

Sun and the swamp (low tide)

Spot the LAZY koalas. They sleep 20 hours a day! lucky them. And the only 4 hours when they're awake. they eat and do their business like us. Great food, great life and they're a national treasure as well. argh! Watch how this koala eats likes a king, with no apologies.

The reason why i want a DSLR cam is because, all my koalas look like lumps on the tree. I believe a better cam do wonders.. oh well.

This close up pic of the koala was really the best shot of a koala in it's 4 hours of daily activity when it's awake!

Beautiful blend of tree leaves colours.

This is a shopping street. Around some corner are those LV, Gucci shops.

The St Paul Cathedral just diagonally across Flinders station.

That's Flinders Station

The Aquarium

Morning tea along our way to sit the puffing billy steam train. The scones were yummy!

A bird park. With super friendly birds that flock towards you the moment you hold bird seeds out.

Has the bird been starving for days??

Before setting off on a steam train!

It was a sunny day.

Night shots in front of the aquarium!

I don't know what we were trying to convey too..

The night at Melbourne airport. some shots of us and the uncomfortable chairs.

m for melbourne!

Eureka building! The place to get the 360 degrees view of melbourne

This shot reminds me of the word 'peaceful'.

A helicopter view of the 12 apostles!

2 of the 8 remaining Apostles

Animals again! Isn't it so funny how singapore tries to put up cardboard made cows whereas there're just abundance of cows, goats here among the fields in Australia.

look at the splitted waves in a row.

See the sea-horse shaped rock?

Beautifully created.

The rocks looks just so magnificent against the sunlight.

The world is really small. I met Khung Xing- my secondary school friend there!

Dots of animals i spotted while on the helipcopter

Australia (Days1 and 2)

2009-06-11T03:23:00.000-07:00

Hallo! Sadly, i'm back in the sunny island- singapore. I experienced 10 days of winter season, averaging 10 degrees and could go as low as 5 degrees at night. It was so cold that my teeth chatters and my body shivers from the inside! My first day was spent in Brisbane.

This is the "fake" beach on the south bank where i saw many seagulls there.

This is apparently their "London eye" or Singapore's flyer. It was rather deserted that day though. No one was sitting on the ferris wheel.

The "Story Bridge"

A shoe shop with my brother's name. Cool!

On the second day, Lixin and i traveled to Gold Coast Surfer's Paradise via airtrain. The journey was about an hour and half from Brisbane. The seas were really beautiful. This was the place where the weather felt a little bit like being under singapore's hot sun.

Look at the gigantic waves! Beautiful!

Spot the tallest building!

Frau Chen and I

And off to the Movie World. I don't really remember any characters representing Warna Bros actually. But with only 2 and half hours in the theme park, lixin and i had to rush at times. especially we singaporeans being so touristy, taking pictures of the themepark. Here's the entrance to the themepark!

By the kid's pool

Scooby Doo's roller coaster ride. I really recommend this ride. It's so thrilling that lixin and i took it twice, just to feel how's it like to sit the front and the back row. Conclusion is, the back row's more exciting! haha cos there's the verticle backward fall! awesome!

Inside the 3D shrek theatre. We were suppose to put on this glasses to see the 3D effects. halfway through i tried to take them off. Well the result is, the 3D effects just look blurred.

The kid's theme park. There we sat another roller coaster ride for 2 times, just to enjoy the wind hitting against our faces.

The first 2 days were extremely tiring. Since the first night was spent in Brisbane airport without sleeping on a proper bed. Little did we know the next few days in Melbourne and Sydney were equally exhausting. But much Much more rewarding. :)

memories which never fade

2009-05-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

I was chatting with a colleague today on her trip to Europe and i was reminded of my SEP in Europe last year. No doubt I took some time to recall certain places i visited in Europe. But definitely, these memories had a special place in my heart and i would never forget them.

Coincidentally today i received too a msg on my facebook inbox from a year 1 NTU student. She asked me on accomodation in Mannheim.

This is the beautiful Wasserturm in Mannheim

The shopping street

The really value for money and delicious Döner

And the main train station

I miss Germany. And the german language. When will i get to learn german again?

my last school day in NUS

2009-04-17T05:39:00.000-07:00

Time passed really slowly during this whole of this last week of school. it might be because in my mind, i'm trying my best to freeze time, so that i can treasure every single minute of my last days as a student. I felt really sad today even as i attended my last lecture, and i even ended my day with a test. But i just felt like, i've reached the end of my education, now what. hmm i felt quite lost because all along, i've been working hard towards what most pple think is important to them- a degree. But it hasn't occured to me what would i want to do or achieve with this certificate.

China lecture today was boring as usual. But the lecturer ended the lecture with something that really strike me. For the first time, my impression of her changed a little. She ended off her lecture with a piece of good news about the economy growing faster than forecasted.. and that she knows how difficult is it to find a job now..and finally she wished all the graduates this year best of luck. I never expected that to come out from her. To me, she's just a lecturer who speaks without emotions. Well, i guess i can't say that of her anymore. :)

My last lecture of the day ended off with BI test. I felt an unexplainable surge of sadness after the test. My Ibu was so motherly and kind and i have so much i wanna say to her, like thanking her for all the times she taught me BI, for being so patient and conducting such fun classes. When after my test, i just couldn't say anything to her...i was mentally drained and what's more to speak in BI , i might just embarasse myself. sigh. But! she has invited all BI2 and 3 students to her house for a party on 2 May! :) i will go even though i still have a paper on 4 May. heh!

Studies may be officially over. But i hope i remain that ever-teachable attitude within me and hopefully one day, i get to relive my days as a student :)

i just want to alight!

2009-03-27T08:58:00.001-07:00

So angry. I was on my way home yesterday at around 1130pm. And as usual when my busstop was nearing my back gate (along farrer rd), i pressed the bell, just slightly before the road to turn into nanyang primary school. Instead of slowing down and preparing to open the door for me to alight, the bus accelerated. Sensing something was wrong, i pressed the bell again. just in time for me to stop slightly further up the busstop. However, the bus driver refused to open the door. Instead he began lecturing me.

Speaking in chinese, he said 'miss, next time press the bell earlier before the busstop and not directly in front of the busstop okay.'

i answered back, also in chinese, 'but i already pressed the bell once before the busstop'

He rebutted me again, 'miss, next time cannot press the bell so late, the bus cannot stop for you in time...'

He was just so determined to get me to admit i was wrong and that i didn't press the bell ahead of time. He opened the door for me to alight only after he said a few more stuff about pressing the bell on time... of course i was puzzled. What on earth did i do wrong? i just wanted to alight! And of course, i didn't apologize at all, for something i didn't do!

After i got off, i was so mad. I was wrongly accused and lectured for something which i didn't do. I analysed a few possibilities which could led to this whole 'incident':

1) He was obviously speeding, probably thinking it was already night and the traffic was light.

2) He didn't hear the bell i pressed the first time, so assuming i pressed for the 'first time' directly in front of the busstop i wanted to alight at.

3) He was just cranky he had to work night shift.

4) He's planning to make someone feel as moody as he felt since he was on night shift.

After coming up with these possibilities, i began to feel slightly calmer, but nevertheless still boiling with anger. This wasn't my first bad experience with public buses though. I have seen more unreasonable ones.
Some of them were 'irritating' enough to make you alight from the back door when you can obviously alight with greater ease using the front door.

Sighs, being a big fan of public transport, i have been slightly affected by this incident. Well, what can one do especially when you have no car liscense?
I just have to stick with public buses and probably to expect that incidents like these would likely happen again.

Eine interessantes Geschichte

2009-03-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

Ich habe heute mit einem Austauschstudent aus Polen gesprochen. Als ich die Frage stellte: ,, Was wirdst du dich über NUS vermissen, nachdem du dieses Semester fertig gemacht hast? '' Er hat nicht lange überlegt. Es war interessant, dass er sich die Bibliothek an der NUS vermissen wurde. Er hat gesagt, dass die Bibliothek in Polen es wenige Bücher gibt. Na ja.. ich stimme zu. Die Bibliothek ist schon gleich mein Haus. Besonders der dritten Stock. :)

Ich habe auch eine Geschichte gelesen. ,, Der Mann, der nie zu spät kam '' Dieser Mann war noch nie in seinem Leben zu spät gekommen. Nie zu spät in den Kindergarten, nie zu spät zur Schule, nie zu spät zur Arbeit, nie zu spät zum Zug. Schon als Kind war er regelmäßig eine halbe Stunde vor dem Weckerklingeln aufgewacht. Wenn seine Mutter herinkam, um ihm zu wecken, saß er angezogen in seinem Zimmer.
Der Mann arbeitete später in einem großen Büro in der Nachbarstadt. Er fuhr mit dem Zug zur Arbeit. Trotzdem kam er nie spät. Er nahm den frühesten Zug und stand immer zwanzig Minuten vor der Abfahrt auf dem richtigen Bahnsteig. Der Chef stellte ihn gern als gutes Beispiel hin. Als er 25 Jahre lang nie zu spät zur Arbeit gekommen war, veranstaltete der Chef ihm zu Ehren nach Dienstschluß eine Feier. Der Chef öffnete eine Flasche Sekt und überreichte er eine Urkunde. Es war das erste Mal, dass der Mann Alkohol trank. Schon nach einem Glas begann er zu singen. Nach dem zweiten fing er an zu schwanken, und als der Chef ihm ein drittes Glas eingegossen hatte, mussten zwei Arbeitskollegen den völlig betrunkenen Mann heimbringen und ins Bett legen. Am nächsten Morgen wachte er nicht wie üblich eine halbe Stunde vor dem Weckerklingeln auf. Als der Wecker längst geläutet hatte, schlief er immer noch tief. Er erwachte erst, als ihm die Sonne ins Gesicht Schien. Also zum ersten Mal ist der Mann spät zur Arbeit gekommen. Sehr komisch.

Ich finde dieser Mann sehr interessant, weil ich immer zum Treffen spät komme. Obwohl ich früher aufgewacht bin, kann ich nicht pünktlich sein. hmmm... ich muss über dieses Problem denken.

Ein unvergessliche Tag (an unforgettable day)

2009-03-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

Heute habe ich Unterricht gerade von 10am bis 6pm. Ich war sehr müde! Ich habe eine interessante Geschichte zu sagen. Meine China Economy Tutorin war sehr lustig. Sie hat im Unterricht viele Namen der Chef auf Chinesisch gesagt und buchstabiert. Und sie hat das buchstabiert ,, LI SHU F U ''. Als ich das gehört habe, finde ich sehr komisch. Viele Leute haben auch gelacht. Und ich glaube, dass die Tutorin das nicht weißt. Hahaha

Heute haben viele Leute im Unterricht eine Überraschung. Statt Frau Neumann zu sehen, stand Frau Ewerhart am vorne. Sie hat gesagt: ,, Frau Neumann ist heute leider nicht gekommen, weil sie eine Zahnschmerzen hat. " Zum ersten Mal ist Frau Neumann sich absentieren. Höffentlich wird sie sich bald von Ihrer Zahnschmerzen erholen. :) Frau Neumann, gute Besserung!

Also machte ich heute ein Interview mit dem Chef des The German Marketplace. Ich war sehr nervos vor dem Interview, weil ich noch nicht fertig bereitete vor. Mein Letzte Unterricht beendete um 550pm. Nach dem Unterricht, fuhr ich sofort mit einem Taxi. Aber Si ying und ich standen in Stau. Ohne Zeit zu vergeuden, übte ich in dem Taxi das Interview. Zum Glück kam wir pünktlich. 630pm. Herr Ludwig war noch in seinem Büro. Also üben Lixin und ich das Interview. Herr Ludwig ist ein freundliche Mann. Ich habe viel spaß bei diesem Interview gemacht, weil Herr Ludwig sehr kooperativ und geduldig mit uns war. Er hat uns in dem Geschäft viele Produkte empfolen. Und! Wir haben zusammen ungefähr $110 ausgegben. Aber alles sind kostenlos!! Herr Ludwig und Frau Fiona sind sehr freigebig! :))

Dieses Projekt gefällt mir sehr gut. Wenn ich noch eine Chance hätte, würde ich noch mal das Interview machen!

I had a really busy day with lessons straight from 10-6pm. During my China Economy's tutorial, there was a funny incident. While my tutor was talking on the names of businessmen in China, there was one called " LI SHU FU". well, as she had no whiteboard marker, she kindly spelled out the name to the class slowly and clearly. And if you would also try spelling it, you would know why it sounds funny. Anyways!

Frau Neumann was sick today! Therefore to many's surprise, there was a replacement teacher for German class today. she had a bad toothache. Hopefully she gets well soon!

After my JS class, I rushed down with a cab immediately with Si ying to The German Marketplace for the interview. Although we were caught in a bad jam, thankfully we reached there on time. I felt quite unprepared and nervous! But Herr Ludwig is a really nice man. He was very cooperative and patient with both Lixin and i during the interview. There was this shot where we had to film him "busying" with arranging the products in the shop and also looking through his accounts books. It was a real comical scene and i couldn't help but laugh as he did the filming. Unfortunately, i had to keep the laughter to myself in order for my voice to not be recorded in the filming process. :( But the best part is this. Dorcas, Charm, Lixin, Siying and i altogether bought ~$110 worth of stuff from the shop and it was free!!! haha

how generous are they! I love germans! haha!

Das Vertriebwesen in Japan (Marketing in Japan)

2009-03-07T07:14:00.000-08:00

Letztlich habe ich über das Vetriebwesen in Japan gelesen. Ich interessiere mich auf dem Artikel, weil ich es nicht weiß, dass das verkaufen der Waren in Japan sehr schwierig ist. Zuerst musste alle Waren hochwertig sein, weil die Japaner schlechte Qualität Waren nicht dulden können.

Ein Firma muss zweitens auch die Japaner Präferenz wissen. Zum Beispiel der muss wissen, was eine Typische Japaner mag und nicht mag. Nur ein paar der Firmen haben in Japan gelungen. Z.B. Coca Cola, Nestle, Toys R Us. Aber die Marke von Carrefour und Lays hat in Japan nicht gelungen. Warum und was passiert? Die Marke Lays ist in viele Lände wirklich eine berühmte Marke. In Singapur haben wir viele Supermarkt. Z.b. NTUC, Cold Storage usw. Und es ist üblich, wenn Mann Lays Pommes frites von dieses Supermarkt kaufen. Es gibt ein paar Gründe für Lays Fehlen. Zum beispiel, die meisten der Japaner essen Lays Pommes frites nicht, weil es zu salzig ist. Und nachdem die Leute gesessen hatten, fand sie ihre Hände zu beschmutz. Ich denke, dass die Japaner Abnehmer zu verhätschelt sind! Also Carrefour die Marke des Französischs hat die Japaner Präferenz nicht gelernt. Die meisten der Japaner finden in Carrefour Supermarkt die Gangway zu breit. Und Carrefour verkauft zu viel Waren aus Frankriech und das gefällt der Abnehmer nicht.

Und der wichtigsten Punkt. Die Japaner Abnehmer sind nicht preisbewusst. Also billige Waren bedeuten, dass die Waren von schlechter Qualität sind.

Also die Firma in Japan müssen vorher die Japaner Präferenz wissen, bevor sie fangen ihren Betrieb an. Ein interessanter Artikel, oder?

J.S: I'm gonna translate this!

I read an article recently about marketing in Japan. And it's interesting to know that it's a difficult task to market goods in Japan because Japanese are really "fussy" consumers whereby they cannot tolerate low standard goods.

So a company must first find out the preferences of the Japanese in order to succeed in penetrating the market. A few successful companies which have penetrated the Japanese market are Coca Cola and Nestle. However, there are a few companies which did not see success in the Japanese market. They are Carrefour and Lays. And you might be wondering why Lays especially when it's quite a well-known potato chips brand around the world. So it was found that the Japanese finds that the chips are too salty and it leaves their hands dirty with the layer of cheese coating of the chips. And i really find that the Japanese consumers are a pampered lot! Carrefour too didn't do much market research. As a result their broad corridors in the supermarket didn't make the consumers feel comfortable when doing their shopping. Also Carrefour sold too many french products which weren't demanded by the Japanese. In most cases these companies wind up after ~8 years.

Another important point is that the Japanese consumers aren't price sensitive. They go for quality rather than price. A low-priced good may mean to a Japanese that it is of low-standard!

Die Zeit vergeht wie im Flug

2009-03-05T02:51:00.000-08:00

Dieser Satz kenne ich nur gestern im Tutorium. Manchmal sagt Mann das, wenn Mann an eine andere Phase des Lebens treten. Aber wie wahr ist das. Schon fast werde ich graduieren. Und bis jetzt weiß ich nicht, was finde ich in einen Job. Nachdem ich ein Interview bei MOM gemacht hatte, fühlte ich mich besorgt. Der Interviewer hat mich eine Frage gestellt, was ich finde in einen Job. Ich habe gesagt, dass Arbeit Zufriendenheit ist am wichtigsten. Ja klar, dass das Gehalt wichtig ist. Also finde ich nicht den wichtigsten Punkt.

Wenn ich doch Geld hätte, würde ich mich nicht über diese Probleme sorgen. Ich würde nach Deutschland mit meiner Familie fahren! Also braucht Mann Geld, um die Fröhlichkeit zu haben? Das stimme ich zu nicht. Wie oft Geld bestimmt Probleme. Zufriedenheit ist das wichtiger Punkt.
Ich weiß, nachdem ich graduiert hatte, wurde ich meine Deutsch und BI Unterricht vermissen. Also keine Zeit zu verlieren. Noch genau 2 Monate bis ich mit dem Semester fertig bin. Auf Englisch heißt das ,,Carpe diem" - seize the day! :D

The Pianist

2009-02-23T04:52:00.000-08:00

Gestern habe ich im Kanal Okto den Film "The Pianist" gesehen. Es ist wirklich einen interessanten Film. Nach dem Film, fühlte ich mich traurig. Es passiert immer, wenn ich einen Film über die Deutschen Jews Geschichte sehe. In dieser Film, Adrien Brody agiert als einen Polen Jew und er ist einen berühmten Pianist. Er machte viele Konzertveranstaltungen und kompostierte viele Klassiche Musik. Also in Jahr 1939 hatten die Nazis in Warsaw übernommen. Seine Familie sind nach Concentration Camp geschickt. Er war gerettet von seinem Freund. Und seit hat er the warsaw uprising bezeugt..

Ich finde, dass die Deutschen Nazi Führer Wilm Hosenfeld gut aussehen. :D

Rating: 9/10 (Mann muss dieser Film sehen!)

a break finally!

2009-02-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

The past week has been a really tough one. After visiting the doctor for the 3rd time since the start of this year, i found out that i actually contracted Rhinosinusitis. Part of the reason was due to my delayed visits to the doctor which worsened my condition. I am really praying that i would be well soon. I haven't heard my proper voice since the start of this year and it really is wierd. Charmaine says i sound like i'm speaking through a funnel. well, it's funny a description but it contains truth. oh well...

However, the start of 2009 has already broken one of my longest record of not falling ill in many years. I really got to experience how irritating and frustrating when you have an illness stuck within you. I can't drink cold stuff (which means no fruit juice from Deck since the start of the semester), eat my favourite foods etc etc. I suddenly thought about how terrible it is when someone has an illness within them which cannot be cured by medicine. Nevertheless, God heal me!

This semester break will be the last one before i graduate. I have been thinking of what to do after graduation, where to work at- basically how should i approach this next phase of my life. I have always hoped that i could join a NOC program to enlarge my experience in life so that i wouldn't have regrets leaving NUS. NOC stands for NUS overseas college and it allows participants to be attached in a start-up company and learn the ropes from them. The recent one that was offered was to India. Well the place offered was truly exotic and tempting. For one, Indian food!! I just refuse to state what is the disadvantages spending 2 months in India.. :)Besides what's better to tour a country than to truly immersed yourself with the local people as well as the culture. So this was one of my last wishes before graduating... haha

The past 3 years (ok almost) majoring in econs has filled me with joy and pain. Well firstly, joy. At least i have taken a module by Prof Shin who makes me adapt a different view towards economics. As for pain, i'm sure most econs major could identify with me as well. That is, the difficulty of understanding the content of the lecture partly attributed to the accent of the different lecturers. For those who are moving on to honours year in economics, kudos to them! And i mean it. After the honours year, who knows they'll be so well trained to be the future policy makers in singapore :)

How time flies

2009-01-30T20:46:00.000-08:00

As i was listening to Jay chou's "hui dao guo qu", i was reminded at how at this exact day last year, i was preparing both my mood and feelings to leave for student exchange in germany. And yes, it was exactly on 31st Jan 2008 when i left. It's surprising how i can remember everything that happened on that day.

True enough, as unwilling i was to leave for germany initially, i got used to life in europe overtime. It scares me sometimes how time flies past without my knowledge. And in comparison how sometimes, a mere 2 hours in lecture can pass so slowly. Then again, how the many 2hours makes up the days and months which passed me by.

I had thought my last semester in Nus will be a relaxing and carefree one. But i have decided to make the most out of it, to study like never before, to enjoy life as a student for the last time- before i make my first step out into the society.

Bahasa Indo 2 Unterricht

2009-01-22T05:29:00.000-08:00

Heute hatte ich um 10am ein BI grammar Unterricht. Ich habe für ungefähr 15 minuten auf dem Bus gewartet, weil jeder Bus schon voll war. Das passiert immer. Zum Glück war ich nicht verspäten.

BI Unterricht gefällt mir gut. Aber Deutsch Unterricht gefällt mir besser. Deutsch Unterricht macht immer viel spaß! Im BI habe ich Alphabet Aussprache und verben lernen. Es war ein bisschen langweilig. Nach dem Unterricht treffe ich mich mit einer Freundin. Sie mache jetzt BI 2 mit mir. Sie hat gesagt, dass sie im dieses Semester Deutsch 1 macht. Das war sehr schön. Ich kann jede Woche auf Deutsch und Bahasa Indo mit ihr unterhalten. :D

Ich weiß, dass im dieses Semester ich sehr beschäftigt werden. Ich müssen 4 Projekts machen. Aber ich freue mich, wenn ich mit dieses Semester fertig bin. Vielleicht fahre ich nach Neuseeland. Höffentlich kann ich bald ein Job finden. Also Geld verdienen!

vor meine ersten Unterricht beginnt

2009-01-12T06:32:00.000-08:00

Heute habe ich kein Unterricht. Ich mache zu Haus cors bidding. Ich bin immer im dritten Schuss. Scheiße. Ich stimme nicht zu, cors eine anständig Methode ist. Um 1pm gehen ich aus. Und ich habe im Radio das Lied 'Wir sind Helden' auf chinesisch gehört. Srhe lustig.

Trotzdem freue ich mich auf dieses Semester. Ich mache economy of china, german 4, marketing and consumer culture in japan, south asia und labour law in s'pore. Alles sind sehr interessant. Und ein Deutschen Lehrer unterrichtet marketing and consumer culture in japan. Ich hoffe, dass der Unterricht interessant ist.

Morgen habe ich frei. Ich werde meine Freundinnen für Mittagessen treffen. Eigentlich möchte ich zu Haus bleiben und fernsehen. Aber fernsehen für den ganzen Tag ist auch langweilig. haha.

Ob ich mehr Zeit habe, werde ich ein korean Drama sehen. haha.

K Drama

2009-01-09T02:40:00.001-08:00

Before my last sem in university begins, i pampered myself with some new drama shows. Of course, besides hong kong dramas, korean dramas are my next fav!

This time, i accidentally chanced upon this k drama on ch56 (still currently airing). Titled 'the last scandal of my life'. This show has standards which matches up to the few k dramas i liked eg. Full house and My lovely sam soon. Both the comical and romantic elements are present.

What caught my attention to this drama was the fact that the female lead in the show was transformed gradually into a beauty. In fact, she doesn't look like her real age at that time! amazing. I especially liked all the humour displayed by the male lead Jung Joon Ho. It's really funny especially if you see the ways he tried to win the female lead's attention.

However, i was really shocked when i did a search on the background of the actress. She had passed away on Oct 2008, rumours had it that she commited suicide. I couldn't believe my eyes when i saw the news. Sad to say but her suicide occured after the filming of this drama, hence i am inclined to link this accident to the drama title.

2008 war am besten

2008-12-31T20:48:00.000-08:00

2008 war ein unvergessliche Jahr für mich.

Im 2008 habe ich mein Traum endlich erfüllt. Ich habe nach Europa gefahren. Ich werde im Europa alles Gedächtnisse nicht vergessen. Ich habe nach ungefähr 10

Länder im Europa gefahren. Ich liebe Großbritannien, Spanien, der Schweiz und Deutschland am besten. Ich bin sehr motiviert, Europa nochmal zu fahren.

Im 2008 hatte ich endlich mein Raum. Ich habe der Abstand aufgeräumt und der Boden gewischt.

Im 2008 habe ich auch viele Heimlichkeiten über meine Freunden entdeckt. Unerwartet. Sehr interessant.

Letzlich war ich im 2008 21 Jahre alt und eine Party hatte! :)

Hong Kong Dramas

2008-12-27T01:49:00.000-08:00

I've been watching lots of TV programs and Hong kong dramas lately. And i just wanna share a few of my favourites and i highly recommend you watch them.

This Hong kong drama titled "Dicey Business" will leave you hooked onto the plot and with much anticipation to watch on. In this drama, it's also when i realised Miu Kiu Wai (or Michael Miu) is so dashing and suave. A check on the past dramas he acted in, they weren't as fantastic as this one. He may play the role of bad guy forced under circumstances in this show, but because of his supposed good nature character in this drama, you'ld always be hoping that he will change for the better. This drama is filled with both joy and sobs. The choice of characters and the chemistry among them is simply awesome. Not to mention, both the theme and subtheme songs are also good. Drama rating: 9/10. Remarks: It's a must watch!

The ultimate crime fighter is also one drama that's also pretty worth watching. This is also Gigi Lai's 2nd last drama before she retires out of the entertainment world. In this drama, Gigi Lai acts as a next-door girl with ordinary looks and a kind heart. Chen Hao acts as a policeman and also as Gigi lai's boyfriend. In between their romance are circumstances and third parties that test their relationship. However, what's a good drama without twists and turns? I must say the ending was unexpected. And it definitely takes you a while to accept the way things turn out in the end. Drama rating 7.5/10. Remarks: Watch it if you like Gigi Lai ;)

well i will love to share more dramas, perhaps the next time after i finished watching more!

Mein Bahasa Indonesia Unterricht

2008-11-06T06:56:00.000-08:00

Schon fast dieses Semester ist zu ende. Ich habe mir gefragt, was habe ich im dieses Semester gemacht?

Mein Bahasa Indonesia Unterricht gefällt mir gut. Ich kann jetzt ein bisschen Bahasa Indonesia sprechen. Nächste Donnerstag habe ich meine Mündliche Prüfung. Aber ich habe noch nicht vorbereiten. Heute haben wir in die Klasse für die Mündliche Prüfung geübt. Ich musste über das Thema Transport diskutieren. Wir haben nur zwei minuten zu sprechen. Aber nach eins minuten kann ich nicht mehr sagen. Vielleicht war ich sehr nervös. Na ja..

Meine Volkwirtschaft Unterricht gefällen mir nicht so gut. Zum beispiel, health econs. Ich kann nicht die Tutorium und Vorlesung verstehen! Und mein Exam ist nahe. Ich habe jetzt angst. Obwohl ich fing zu lernen an, habe ich noch angst. Es gibt zu viele zu tun! Hilft mir! Und der Monez and Banking Unterricht ist nicht besser. Ich habe im Vorlesung meine Hausaufgaben gemacht, weil ich der Lehrer nicht verstehen kann.

Manchmal hoffe ich, dass ich nur Deutsch lernen muss. Deutsch Unterricht gefällt mir am besten. Also ich muss jetzt lernen. Ich kann nicht warten, am Samstag Deutsch Film zu sehen :)

Das deutsche Film Fest

2008-10-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

Vom füften November bis sechzehnten November läuft ins Cathy Cineplex Kino viele interessante deutsche Filme. Ich freue mich auf dieses Film Fest. Aber jede Eintrittskarte kostet $10. Es ist sehr teuer. Dieses Jahr werde ich nur 2 Filme sehen. Obwohl ich der Film 'Rabbit without Ears' auch sehen wolle, habe ich beide keine Zeit und Geld.

Ich empfehle der Film 'The Wave'. Ein Experiment findet in eine Schule mit ein Lehrer und seine Studenten statt. Der Lehrer wollte seine Studenten über autokratisch verstehen. Er trägt ein Experiment aus. Jede Studente und Studentin konform müssen. Sie müssen weiße Bluse und schwarze Hose tragen. Aber das Experiment hatte Unrecht und Folgen am Ende. Ich werde diesen Film zum zweiten mal sehen. :)

Letztlich habe ich meine Lehrerin gesehen. Häufig. Aber ich habe mit ihr nicht gesprochen. Vielleicht habe ich angst vor sie, weil ich noch nicht gut Deutsch sprechen kann. Nächstes Mal frage ich sich über den Film Fest. Ich muss mit ihr auf Deutsch sprechen!!

Über Leben

2008-10-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

Wenn ich auf dem Bus Freizeit habe, denke ich über Leben. Heute werde ich über das Thema 'Leute' sprechen. Jedermann hat Freunden. Mein Pastor hat einmal gesagt, dass niemand eine Insel ist. Obwohl wir viele Freunden haben, ist nicht jedermann unsere gute Freunden. Ich denke, dass jedermann mindestens eine gute Freundin hat. Aber niemand ist ideal, weil sie Fehlen machen werden. Zum Beispiel, Ich ärgere mich immer über unempfänglich Leute. Was kann ich machen? Denken jeden Tag über es nach? Unmöglich! Ein Rat für alles, Vergisst es und vergib sie!

Wenn du das vergessen hast, wirdst du glücklich sein. Glücklich hängst von dir ab. :)

Was machte ich im Urlaub

2008-10-01T03:43:00.000-07:00

Gestern habe ich den Film 'The Constant Gardener' und ' The Bucket List' gesehen. Ich habe von viele Freunden gehört, dass der Film 'The Constant Gardener' sehr gut ist. Nach der Film, ich stimmte mit ihnen zu. Im den Film, es gibt ein Ehepaar. Der Mann arbeitet als Diplomat. Seine Frau interessiert sich über die Welt Probleme. Sie fahren nach Süd Afrika zusammen. Aber die Frau entdecket die Medikament Firmen da haben unethisch Behandlung gemacht. Sie versucht zu Regierungbeamte Briefe schreiben, aber sie hat keine Antworten. Sie war endlich zerstört. Der Mann wollt die Wahrheit suchen. Was noch? Jedermann muss dieser Film sehen! Einen sehr interessant Film. Ich möchte 'Goodbye Lenin' sehen. Vielleicht im Dezember. Jetzt muss ich auf meine Hausaufgaben konzentrieren.
Ich fehle Deutsch Unterricht. Obwohl im dieses Semester lernte ich Bahasa Indonesia, bin ich nicht glücklich. Natürlich will ich nach Deutschland zurückgehen. :)

Heute hat mein Bruder seinen Geburtstag. Ich wünsche ihm einen schönen Tag und alles gute zum Examen.

Memories in Hafenstr.

2008-07-28T00:05:00.000-07:00

I've been back in Singapore for almost a week now. Initially, i had thought of closing down this blog due to laziness. :S But i guess the only way to remember my SEP experiences is through writing about it, looking back at pictures taken and reliving the moments. It makes my day whenever i look back at the photos i've taken :)

I really miss Hafenstr. and Mannheim (despite how many people says it lacks attractions). It was my 2nd home :)

By the canal: Where many people gather for BBQ. Here, you can also enjoy beautiful sunset view!

Swans swans and swans

The kitchen area.

Farewell with tess

Strasbourg (France)

2008-04-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

It took 3 hours to reach Strasbourg from Mannheim and i slept throughout the journey. Strasbourg is the capital and principle city in the Alsace region of north-eastern france. At the Hauptbahnhof finally!

The train which i took from Wissembourg towards Strasbourg.

Inside the Hauptbanhof

Outside the Hauptbahnhof. It looks really grand!

Tram in France.

Its spring!

The Cathedral.

Inside the Cathedral.

The Astronomical Clock inside the cathedral.

Yummy yum!

The altstadt.

This Charlie Chaplin basker was entertaining!

Salzburg

2008-04-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Salzburg (salt castle) was the first destination of my easter trip. It is a city in Austria. We had to take an almost 9 hour train ride with 4 changes at train stations. This is Munich Hauptbahnhof. I will visit it someday- the stadium Allianz Arena.

In Salzburg

Inside Schloss Mirabell

Love is in the air

After walking out of the porch and into the garden area, i met the same couple again taking their wedding pictures

Another wedding couple. Seems like it was a good and fine weather to take wedding pictures that day

Miniature maze

Super-woman

Weekend market outside Universität Kirche

Artist and his almost done bunny drawing

Salzburg was where Mozart was born and lived- perhaps that was why there were many aspiring-musicians to be everywhere we go.

Inside the Festung-World of Marionettes

Harry Potter's invisible cloak

Before entering the Berchtesgadan- this kid's top inside the souvenir shop caught my attention. "wenn Papa+Mama nein sagen, frage ich Opa+Oma." Which just means, when mum and dad says no, ask grandpa and grandma!

Traditional costumes

The ship that i was on!

Before we set off

The ship captain played a tune on his trumpet for us to hear the echo of the music

Berlin

2008-04-04T10:08:00.001-07:00

Berlin- The capital of Germany! The Berlin hauptbahnhof is newly built and it is really big! After a 10 hours ride on the train, this sight was surely rewarding!

I tried to capture the snow flake.

Our Curry chicken with rice at an Indian restaurant. It was delicious! Sehr lecker!

The Berlin Dom.

It was snowing!

Inside the Dom.

And then it hailed. Look at the amount! It was freezing!

Die Ampel. This shop sells everything with the traffic light's red and green man.

Outsde the TV tower. I didn't manage to go in because of the long queue!

TV Berlin? Reminds me of Hong Kong's TVB!

Bear-lin.

Reichstag. This is where country leaders make decisions concerning the country. I love the EU and Germany flag! It looks beautiful.

This is the Reichstag.

We woke up early in the morning and queued up just to get into the building. It took us 1 hr plus before we got in! Freezing cold. It was hailing too!

Inside the Reichstag.

The building was such that you have to walk up the spiral in gradual ascend. The bottom-most level is where the history of Germany was illustrated.

Unter den Linden Station.

I caught this shot at Friedrich straße hauptbahnhof. It tells the amount of time towards each city in Germany.

Inside the Berlin zoo.

This animal is one of its kind. It stood there posing for us!

This is the star animal in Berlin zoo- the "Knut"

Bored looking owl.

Pretty Bambi.

This panda which came from China is called "bao bao" (baby in chinese).

The highlight of my stay in Berlin! Olympiastadion =)

The olympiastadion in Berlin. It is magnificent. I can imagine the crowd on a match day! I would love to watch a match in that stadium!

The stadium is just awesome!

Olympiastadion station.

Brandenburger gate in Berlin. Since the fall of the wall, the Bradenburger Gate has become the symbol of a reunified Berlin.

Square of 18 March. Took this cos my sis birthday falls on 18 march too!

This friendly guard you see here helps to stamp the Bradenburger Tor chop on our passports. I stamped mine too! =)

And last but not least, the Berlin wall. I especially liked this quote: "no more wars. no more walls. a united world."

And i wrote my name on the wall too! i hope its still there the next time i go back!

haha and this picture is random. I like it cos its Germany and ballack!

Hamburg

2008-04-02T03:52:00.001-07:00

Hamburg. My impression of Hamburg when i first arrived was that it was a sleazy place, from the handful of sex-toys shops i saw. Even lonely planet says so. But Hamburg is a great place! With many churches and history. Compared to all the other places i visited, Hamburg isn't too much of an eye opener. But i love the Fischmarkt!

The first few churches that i walked to. After having been to so many churches, i really couldn't differentiate the uniqueness of each church anymore!

Hamburg rathaus.

Inside the rathaus.

The St. Nikolai Kirche. A church with history left behind by WW2.

Angel On Earth statue. "Take my hand and let me lead you back to yourself".

I took an elevator up St Nikolai Kirche Tower! 7561m above ground!

I love this picture a lot! Notice that the traffic light in Hamburg has 2 red mans. I googled it up and apparently many people are confused too! There was even an economics comment given that was quite funny =)

check out this link: http://www.neinaffenein.com/?p=368

The truth is this: The 2 dual red lights have been strategically placed at intersections that typically see a lot of red light running and accidents.

A lady statue carrying a basketful of lemons and holding them in her hands.

The old Hamburg-style houses.

Pretty flowers.

The Humongous Bismark stone statue.

I passed by this shop selling lots of miniature plaques. This one is interesting. A mum practically is on off-day everyday!

This was taken when i went into Japanese garden. Reminds me of Japan though.

The city area!

Cute shop name.

Hamburg is a good place to travel around, especially on weekends! Don't miss out on their Fischmarkt every sunday. It opens at 5 or 7am depending on the season. I never regretted waking up early for it. Even on a day when Daylight saving time starts =)

The marketing of products at the Fischmarkt in general is amazing. All they need is a loud voice.

Meine Osterferien macht viel spaß!

2008-04-01T03:33:00.000-07:00

After 2 weeks of backpacking, i realised something about backpacking. And that is backpacking makes you lose track of date and time =)

There are so many pictures i would like to share here. But i shall hand pick some!

Here is a list of places in countries i have visited over the 2 weeks:

1) Salzburg (Austria)

2) Vienna (Austria)

3) Budapest (Hungary)

4) Krakow (Poland)

5) Berlin (Germany)

6) Hamburg (Germany)

7) Bremen (Germany)

I shall start with my favourite- Krakow.

Day 1: The moment i stepped out of the train station, i saw this fairy-tale like scenery.

Not to forget, i took a sleeper train which lasted for 10 hours. Look at how cramp it is! there are another 2 beds below. Try to imagine that =)

Krakow is well known for its Dumplings. The ones that i tried were with meat.

Yummy fruity pancake with berries ooshing out the moment you slice the pancake. Sounds good?

Talented Basker- playing a song with water-filled cups

My favourite shopping place of all time- the main square!

Goulash Soup- Super yummy! Must try it at Chata!

My Spinach with hard cheese pancake

Day 2: Auschwitz (Concentration camp in Poland)

Execution area

The area where the prisoners would be deported to before their execution

The entrance into the concentration camp (Arbeit macht Frei)- Work for freedom.

At Birkenau. This concentration camp is almost 6 times bigger than the one at Auschwitz.

This picture shows the nazis at that time who "selected" the people and from there either the prisoners are given work or sent to be killed. I heard from the tour guide that the jews didnt know about their extermination, In fact they look forward to going there having been promised by the nazis of a "Canada" (the richest country at that time)

About 6 prisoners would sleep on one level of wooden plank.

Place where the prisoners clothes are disinfected.

Its depressing even as i blog about Auschwitz and Birkenau. Shall end off with this interesting quote.

Wissembourg (in france)

2008-03-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

After 2 hours of train ride, i finally reached Wissembourg station. It is a small town in France.

To enter through the narrow gate

The highlight of the trip is cakes and pastries! Look at how beautiful they are. Well, the price will definitely make u feel the pinch too =)

I tried a cake which i cant remember the name of it already. This costs me 3,20 euros. well, i always tell myself its once in a lifetime experience. and i ordered it, disregarding the voice within me which says i shld save money!

This chocolate coated pastry looks so yummy. I bet non-chocolate lovers would be tempted to try them too!

Interesting umbrella design.

Overall it was a relaxed trip. I went to the supermarket there (simply market). I remembered my mum saying she would like to have hand creams from europe. I got her one from there. After approaching the staff a few times about price and questions on the moisturizer, i got her a moisturizer that was made in france. The french people are really helpful and patient. And so i hope she likes the moisturizer =)

my family finally got skype working and i had long talks with them. My mum calls skype as skipee. what a cute mum i have. =D and im so thankful for skype cos i get to hear my dearest family voices! miss all my friends in s'pore too!

Dresden!

2008-02-25T15:50:00.000-08:00

After a long break from blogging, i'm back! last weekend i went on a road trip to Dresden with xi zhen, shubei, charmaine and ying tee. Dresden is in east germany and the place is simply beautiful. Things there cost slightly cheaper too =) I would say that dresden is a must-go!

After 3 hrs of train ride to Würzburg and another 3 hrs of car ride towards Dresden, i felt shacked. Its simply too much time spent inactively sitting down. And i feel fat. cos there's nothing to do except to look at scenery once in a while, eat, then sleep. But oh well, it was also filled with exciting incidents like how we travelled on autobahn without car headlights, which whenever i recall, i felt like we were so lucky to have caused no accident. The autobahn is an expressway where cars travel at their max speed (we were driving at 160km/hr) and there are no street lamps at all. So you could imagine our car is like a time bomb without headlights. The car passed by Chemnitz, oh man im so excited now, the place where michael ballack stays! haha but there just wasn't time nor opportunity to stop by.

Unlike other big cities, Dresden has peaceful and conducive environment and you feel comfortable to be there. The place is filled with churches, some built in baroque style, opera houses and beautiful architectures. I have nominated Dresden as one of my future retirement spot, Especially after walking down the Hauptstraße. =)

I just love the houses above the shops =)

Towards the end of Hauptstraße, the Goldener Reiter statue (1736) stands on the northern end of the Augustusbrücke. According to the description, this statue belongs to the king of Poland. Against the sunlight, the statue looks just so majestic.

A group picture we took on Augustusbrücke which bridges the slightly newer town (Neustadt) and old town (Altstadt). Besides the strong winds which constantly messed up our hair, the weather on that day was just right. =)

A few snap shots i took of the Elbe River when i was crossing the Augustusbrücke.

Augustusbrücke in a glance.

Not to forget these 2 interesting buildings i passed by. Creative architecture. The building in blue- the pipes are actually made in a special way (see the trumpet). And notice that the rainwater would eventually fall into funnel-shaped stand. Residents there could enjoy free music whenever it rains!

Within the altstadt is where most attractions can be found. This is a picture of the opera house in Dresden, Semperoper.

Fürstenzug (procession of the dukes). This wall is painted with the history of the procession of the dukes according to timeline =)

The Frauenkirche. One of the must-visit place when you're in dresden. It was built in baroque style under the baroque architect George Bähr. During WW2, the building was destroyed. Not until Germany was reunified again were there initiatives to rebuild this church (1992). I even went in on the same day to hear a concert! It was a great concert and you'ld be surprise at the turnout, even though it costs 60 euros for an adult. However, a student always has its privileges. I paid only 8 euros =)

Inside the Frauenkirche

The Zwinger(1728). It was badly damaged during the war. The exterior of this building has fine examples of baroque sculptures

Schloss Pillnitz. Over here we see European castles that are built in chinese style. Notice the paintings on the walls. There are pictures of sedans and court officials =)

Me and the duck family =)

A small boy throwing bread with all his might to feed the ducks =)

I happened to look up and capture this Cross track made by the aeroplanes.

Next, we headed towards Bastei, which was about 20 mins drive away. After 45 mins of hike, we finally reached! Over here, we get to see paranomic view of the Elbe river and Elbe Sandstones mountain.

This picture was taken on our walk towards Bastei. As its winter season now, the plantation fields look pretty bare. However, in the background i see rolling mountains! or should i say hills? =)

Inside the footpath track towards Bastei.

We actually drove into Czech Republic! haha but just to top up the car tank. Its cheaper too =)

Our car passed by this Strawberry farm too =)

I really had fun in this road trip. While travelling 6 hrs on transport might not sound exciting, Dresden was worth the travel time afterall! =D

Thoughts

2008-02-13T12:44:00.001-08:00

Its been almost 2 weeks since i arrived in my dream country- Germany! There are 3 things i observed about germans.

1) they are really helpful and friendly people. I say that because so far whenever i hold a map looking lost, there'll be someone who would come to offer their help in directions to the place i'm looking for. In Singapore, probably if i see someone holding a map and looking lost, i would wait for the person to approach me instead of the other way round.

2) they are not in a hurry to rush for seats in trains or buses. So far from my experiences, they are patient enough to wait for the last person to alight before boarding, saving me the anxiety of trying to squeeze my way out though the crowd =) Well, you may say that i'm generalising Germans and making sweeping statements. Well i don't know better too since its only my 2nd week here. But i definitely like them!

3) they are very expressive! haha. i went to Deutsche bank to settle my atm card, thinking that they gave me an adult account instead of a student account. Difference being i have to pay a fee to maintain my account if i use the adult account. So upon reaching the counter and explaining to the lady about my worries, she looked at my card and then at me. With the biggest grin she could have, she said "you must be very happy!" becos you card allows you to go to any shop to buy things with a card! "You must be very happy", and so she repeated. And yes i left the counter feeling relief that mine's a student account. On top of that, i really can't help but to laugh when i remember the "you must be happy" expression. =D

Feeling a little tired now. Shall update about my trip to Speyer some other time =)

Weinheim

2008-02-12T13:46:00.001-08:00

Weinheim was my next travel destination. I went there on a sunday morning. In Europe, streets on a sunday gets really quiet and peaceful. All shops are closed and taking a walk by the streets makes you feel as tho you own the world.

Walking based on instinct as my friends and i couldn't get a map of the town, we wandered to our first place of attraction- Peterskirche. It was probably no attraction stated in Weinheim. Initially all churches look beautiful and unique in its architecture to me. However, they're all starting to look the same to me now. oops. =P

This cute little pizza shop.

The start of our hike. We walked uphill for about 30 mins before reaching the ruins of Windeck castle. Oh well, its been a long time since i exercise so this is definitely a good workout for me!

Some pictures of the ruins of the schloss. It was first built in 1109 to defend extensive properties of Lorsch Abbey. It was destructed in 1114 and rebuilt in 1125. The keep is 28m high and dates back to 14th C.

Out of goodwill: visitors are suppose to pay before climbing up to the tower. I love my primary and secondary school motto- Pure & honest!

The almost vertical staircase.

Next stop: Wachenburg. After walking up the windy route which took us almost 1 hr plus i suppose, we finally reached! However, it was much to my disappointment. I expected more since the climb up wasn't that relaxing. At this entrance, we approached 3 different locals to help us take a picture and still couldn't capture the whole entrance with the 3 of us. =)

We wanted the whole entrance like this =)

Beyond the entrance. And this was it.

The following day after Weinheim trip, my legs were actually aching from the walk. Mein Bein tut so weh!

CNY Dinner

2008-02-11T15:00:00.001-08:00

I went to Designer outlet at Zweibrüken the following day after CNY. My friend who brought me there said that branded clothes there are sold cheap. Brands like Levis, Mango, Adidas and many more were selling at THEIR factory pricing! Its important to remind myself that i'm in Europe! So on my way there i thought t0 myself, no matter what i must control and not overspend! In fact, by the time i reached the place, i was already shacked. The journey there took about 3 hours.

Oh i took a picture of this drinking tap at the Homburg Hauptbahnhof. You can actually drink the water from there! that will be more convenient if you always carry a mug around =D As most of you might have heard, beer is cheaper than water. 6 bottles of 1.5L mineral water cost about 2.6 Euros. But one thing over here that is different is that they really take action towards Protecting the environment. In german we call it "Umweltschutz". In a sense, they pay you back 0.25 Cents per bottle you return back to the supermarket after use. Beer is cheaper than water and that is definitely not a lie. Over here, i get thirsty more easily due to the weather and often felt like i'm in a cold desert. Water is precious to me! When i return back, i'll learn to appreciate the clean water that flows out of my tap.

Yummy looking apple pie i got for myself after walking around designer outlet. I miss the apple pie at Prince restaurant at Coronation Plaza. Oh this was the only expenditure i made at designer outlet. haha

Later in the day, a group of us gathered at Ian's place for Reunion dinner (Tuan Yuan Fan). Pineapple rice!

This was my main course. And i am already contented! This was the most sumptuous meal i had ever since i arrived =)

Pineapple tarts! what's the probability of seeing pineapple tarts in Germany? Zero! hence this is precious stock!

A Brazilian guy who came from where the famous Brazilian soccer team Intar is. He was really proud of them. Made me excited about the upcoming Euro 2008 =D

Handmade Yusheng. Ingredients: Carrots, Tuna, Bretzel crackers.

BU BU GAO SHENG

Worms

2008-02-10T15:28:00.000-08:00

I went to worms on first day of CNY. Worms is a small city located in south-west of germany. The name of this city sounds wierd and funny in english. In fact,it sounded interesting to me, not tt i expect to see any worms crawling on the streets. But try pronouncing it in the german way, (vorms). Every city i go, i try to take a pic of the map, so here it is!

Every attraction could be reached within walking distance. The first place i went to was the Jew's street. I heard from my mum that Jews are the most intelligent people around, good at business. And tt is why they're also rich people! Over here you see the back of the building of the Jewish Quarters. It was destructed in 1938/41 and reconstructed in 1961. It was first built in 1034 (if i'm not wrong) haha.

Mikwe Ritualbad simply indicates the place where Jews conduct their ritual baths. Constructed in 1185/86. Following pictures show the stairs leading don towards what you see a squared space boxed up by walls on 3 sides with the last side being the entrance into the "pool"

Male visitors are required to put on a "Kippa" when they enter into the synagogue.

Inside the synagogue

This is a list of victims from the Jewish community of Worms.

An explanatory notice writing that all victims of WW2 will always be remembered.

This is the town wall which is well preserved in large parts.

A monastry i saw along the way.

Market Fountain or "Fountain of Justice". It was errected in 1778 to provide for water supply. left figure: neptune Right figure: Hercules and Middle: Justice

Romanesque Facade. Remains of a large town house dating back to 13th C.

Church of the Holy Trinity (Dreifaltigkeitskirche). Most of their churches are open for visitors to pop in. Again, its chapel style and it feels really peaceful to be inside.

Not to forget, the Imperial cathedral of St. peter. look at the achitecture. Wonderful work! Wonder how long it took them to construct =)

Nach Heidelberg

2008-02-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

The journey to Heidelberg from Mannheim took about 30 mins. Once you alight from the bus at Bismarkplatz, you'll see "hauptstraße". Walk along this street, and you'll find many shops on both rows, some of them include Mango, Subway, Haagen Daiz. Haha and i ate Subway for lunch! "Hauptstraße" will take a person 20 mins on foot to reach the end of the street. Its not really that tiring actually. I found it rather enjoyable! But, of course i could only do window shopping!

The skies here looks just so beautiful! It enhances the pictures i took of the buildings.

I went into Heiliggeistkirche and there was someone playing the organ. Apparently, its a practise session. It reminds me of my secondary school days when i have chapel in Aldersgate. This church has a history that it once consist of both catholics and protestants. I miss church!

Hotel Ritter has a history of having many important visitors stayed there in the past

This part of the castle is the Schloss which has been accidently bombed in the past as, the place used to keep gun powder and stuff. Here are the pics of the ruins.

Oh and not to forget! i climbed up 308 steps in order to take those pics of the castle ruins. Evidence below! haha.

After exercising, i do deserve a break, don't i? This Himbeere Küchen i tried ist nicht schlect. The taste is not too bad. Next time i want to try another cake which my friend introduced, which is like a butter cake with custard filling, almonds splashed on top and then finally with a layer of sugar. Yum!

Alte Brück is the oldest bridge in Heidelberg. One of main attractions in Heidelberg.

This place is where many philosophers and poets go to for inspiration. Its slightly covered with the bare trees but if u see carefully, there are pockets of hideouts.

The Monkey statue at Alte Brück.

Here comes my favourite picture of the day! haha yay Ballack rocks! Really am looking forward to Euro 2008!

The official match ball for UEFA Euro 2008! 119.95 Euros!

Fasching! (Carnival)

2008-02-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

Fasching was held over the weekend till wednesday. I arived just in time to witness this awesome event. I had fun shouting "AHOI" and collecting sweets! haha it was really happening and people go crazy, dressing up in costumes to match the whole event! I heard that the whole celebration will end tomorrow and followed by ash Wednesday. This period is known as Lent, Where germans will refrain from good food till easter sunday. My fav costume is this! A german football!

My sweet competitor! i caught a sneak shot of this small boy who was standing beside me throughout the whole carnival. He was super enthu abt sweets! But i wasn't too bad too! i have probably spoilt his day cos he could have gotten more sweets! =D

Arrival @ Mannheim

2008-02-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

Today is my 2nd day in Mannheim. The weather is very cold (-1 deg even as i'm typing now) and 3 layers of clothings don't seem to be enough too! My friends and i went exploring about Mannheim.

Took some random pics!

People here draw on almost every wall available!

We'll have to register here with the police to certify we're residents in Mannheim. And that means extra work for us!!

This pic is awesome! With credits to Charm!

A big bread which sells for 1,60 Euros. Very huge and could definitely last you for 3 meals!

Despite the cold, there was a parade going on. There's just so much to see, every participant there were all ready to set off for their march and many germans were just standing by taking pics and looking on. The atmosphere was just so festive and celebrative. Participants in the march were shouting "Ahoi" which was meant to capture passer-bys attention, people like us, and it sure did!

This nice participant in the parade actually came up and offered to take a pic with us!

A nice teacher gathered her students to take a pic with us after we asked for permission! "Können wir zusammen ein Foto machen?"

The lead marcher accompanied by 2 boys who were still munching on pretzels!

A sweet looking girl!

Carnival Im Wasser-turm. Look at the words carved on the delicious looking cookies. Just thought its a gd way to express appreciation to someone by giving this. It was written on one of the cookies: "Ich bin immer für dich da."- I am always there for you.

A small boy who looks so cute!

Just thought this street looks beautiful! Reminds me of houses along Jelita.

vor meine Abfahrt (Before my departure)

2008-01-30T00:56:00.000-08:00

Today is my last day in Singapore before flying to the country i've always been dreaming of to go to- Germany!! Its a dream come true. I've always wanted to stand in front of a football stadium in germany to experience how the footballers felt, wanted to go shopping in their grocery shops to carry bags and bags of groceries like we see in movies, to sit and just idle in a cafe observing the surroundings, to immerse myself into their culture. I just cant wait for Euro 2008! Germany will be playing against Poland in Klagenfurt, Austria on 8 June, which is on a sunday. I will try to be there no matter what. Germany all the way! Everytime i watch a football match on sports channel, i cant help but wish i were there witnessing the goals and victories. So, this is it!

My german teacher said that germans are very direct in speech and straighforward unlike asians. Hmm which is true. For me, i would often give mild comments or even sometimes choose not to comment at all! Which was why she had a hard time deciphering what people in Singapore actually meant. But i do hope to get used to it soon and make a few forthright friends.

As the day of my departure nears, i have a sudden feeling to forget about this whole thing. It sounds crazy. I mean my german classmates would have readily offered to take my place. But after spending time with my friends and family, i just can't help but to feel sad leaving them for 6 months. I must admit i'm a homely person. But i really want to thank my parents for giving me this opportunity to go Germany even though they haven't even been there yet. And also to thank my 2 lovely friends deb and yy for reminding me time and time again about the unseen danger being overseas. Guns and stuff. Yea, i'll remember to protect myself! And most importantly to thank God who is always faithful and guiding my direction in life!

So in about another 20 hours, Germany here i come!

Kaffee

2008-01-24T16:19:00.000-08:00

Kaffee Kaffee. Gestern habe ich eine Tasse Kaffee getrunken und die ganze Nacht kann nicht schlafen! Es war schrecklich! Ich war im Holland V Starbuck Cafe mit Singyee. Wir haben uns lange über unser Leben und das Film "Cloverfield" unterhalten. Sie findet das Film nicht interessant und ein bisschen abstrakt. Glücklicherweise habe ich das Film nicht gesehen! =)

Jetzt bin ich müde, aber es ist schon 8 Uhr. Und ich muss zur Uni gehen weil ich mich mit meiner Freundin treffe. Keine Wahl. Ich muss nächtes Mal merken, "Ich darf nicht vor schlafen Kaffee trinken!"

Yesterday i drank a cup of coffee and couldn't sleep for the whole night! It was terrible! I was in Holland V Starbuck Cafe with singyee. We updated each other about the happenings in our life and also about the movie "Cloverfield". She told me the movie isn't that interesting and it was a little abstract. Fortunately i haven't been to see the movie. =)

Its already 8 am and i'm feeling tired. I still got to go school to meet my friend. Next time i must remember not drink coffee before i sleep!

Mein Deutsch Unterricht

2008-01-22T03:44:00.000-08:00

Jeden Montag und Mittwoch gehe ich zu Deutsch Unterricht. Aber ich fahre am 31.01.2008 nach Deutschland für Student Exchange Programme. Ich denke, ich werde Singapur, meine Familie, Freunde und Freundinnen fehlen.

Meine Deutsch Unterricht Lehrerin ist sehr freundlich und hat viele geduld. Ich habe viel spaß gemacht. Am Montag habe ich "Antworten mit weil" gelernt.
Z.B. Ich lerne Deutsch weil ich mich für Deutsch interessiere.

Heute bin ich zur Uni gefahren. Ich habe der Kurs "Financial Accounting" interessant gefunden weil ich Mathematik mag.

Weihnachten Party

2007-12-19T02:44:00.000-08:00

Weihnachten! Ich freue mich immer auf Weihnachten Feiern. Letze Woche haben meine Freundinnen und mich unserer lehrerin Frau Neumann und LAG2201 Kursteilnehmer zu einer Weihnachten Party einladen. Wir sind sehr angeregt! Aber jetzt können wir nur vier Leute wenden. Dann ist Frau Neumann sehr angeregt. Sie sagt in Ihrem Email "Ich freue mich auf die Weihnachten Party." Wir müssen mehr Leute finden!

Pachabel Canon in D

2007-12-12T10:00:00.001-08:00

My first song i memorized on piano <> great song!

Malacca

2007-12-11T20:32:00.000-08:00

Ich bin gestern aus Malacca zurückgekommen. Diese Fotos waren im Hotel und die Jonker Straße gemacht. Malacca hat viele Sehenswürdigkeiten. Die Christ Church Melaka war im 1763 gebaut. Malacca ist bekannt für Hähnchen Reis Ball, Gula Melaka und Chendol. Außerdem ist dort auch ein Einkaufenparadies. Essen und kleidungen waren sehr billig! Ich interessere mich für einkaufen sehr. Ich hatte viel Spaß gehabt. Ich will meine Chefin Rachel, und meine Patin Melody, einen großen DANKE FÜR ALLES sagen !