So this day was Philip's birthday, so we had planned a surprise party for dinner, and later join the Erasmus party. I did pretty much nothing the whole day, but I overcame another obstacle! I managed (with some help from my mom) to do my laundry. I chose the right program, I used the right product, the right temperature, and by the end of the wash, the clothes appeared clean, and most importantly, white was still white, black was still black, and everything in between was also ok. So good job.
So by 7 PM was time to start the party, so we headed downstairs for some beers, and to buy the pasta for dinner. It was going to be spaghetti bolognese, did by an Italian guy, so it had promise. So while he cooked, we just stood in the kitchen, talking and drinking our beer. When the food was done, the first obstacle to overcome was the lack of space. We needed to fit 9 people inside our kitchen. Well, we managed to do so, but it involved some furniture rearrangements, and everyone getting a chair from their room. Now we needed to get at least a fork to everyone, but with the 2 I got from home, it made exactly 9. Nice. The food was good, but it lacked meat, in my opinion. It just had ham...But no worries. Everyone laughed when Yussuf put some yoghurt in the pasta, and Luca sent out an extremely outraged explanation, "THIS IS NOT KEBAB!". It was funny. The table was very multicultural: 2 Spanish girls and the rest were all guys, 1 Italian, 2 Germans, 1 Turkish, 1 Finish, 1 French, 1 Portuguese. So the talk was flowing in several languages. It was fun.
Then it was time to go to the club. This really wasn't my scene but well, I decided to try, not to be an anti-social. I met Manuel near the club, and met some other guys, so we were almost 20 people going in to the club, at 10 PM. Well, if I that was not my scene, Manuel was a fish out of water. He just stood there, doing nothing...He just clung to a wall. Well, we the place was so crowded we lost everyone in the crowd, lost them again, danced a bit (well, I moved...). But at around 1 I had had enough, and some people had to work the next morning, so I just went home with them. I had more fun in the dinner. Clubs are just not my scene.
So back home, I wasn't sleepy, so I watched some shows before going to bed. All in all, a fun game.
domingo, 16 de outubro de 2011
sexta-feira, 14 de outubro de 2011
Day 26 - Paperwork
So that morning I had to be at 10 AM at the faculty (in Garching), which meant I woke up at 8. It was the first time I was headed to the faculty (mine, at the Garching campus), so I had no idea of what I would find. I needed to speak with 2 different persons, to get some signatures on the official papers, and as their counselling hours are very restricted (every Wednesday, from 10 to 11 AM), I wanted to make sure I was there at 10. Moreover, if I could do that on that week, it would save me a lot of time, because when classes start, there would most certainly be a huge queue.
So all in all, at 9:45 I reached the faculty, now I just needed to find the right rooms. The room numbers were 02.11.053 and 02.12.019, so I was curious to find out what this could mean. It was really obvious, when I entered the lobby. there were clearly 3 floors, so the 02 would have to mean second floor. Then, each floor was divided into sections, well signalized by huge banners, and I saw 13 sections, so the explained the 11 and 12, which meant that 053 and 019 must be the actual room number. I was right (and the layout so intuitive) that by 9:50 I was at the right door. Waited for a while, and got in. Then came the first surprise. My application was nowhere to be found....well, we proceeded anyway, and I was a bit alarmed when she asked me if I wanted to do that before the classes started, as there were bound to be changes in the lectures...I hoped not, and got the signatures anyway. Now to the next office. Here I knocked on the door, and moments later someone opened it, exclaiming "oh, you are my Portuguese student". I must say I was somewhat taken aback by that. How did she know me? Had she memorized every face, of every incoming? Well, this matter aside, she was very friendly, and we ended up talking for about 40 minutes, and she was very relived that I had a place, very happy that the situation with Renate turned out the way it did. I had a feeling there as a problem in the email they had, because I had received none in the past months, so we figured that out also (it was missing a "t" in the ".pt"), and that's why I didn't knew there were 2 lectures missing, and so on. She even sent every document by fax back home, so that was one less thing to worry about. All in all, a very productive morning.
Now it was time to try the canteen. I met Manuel at the subway station, and we went to the "Mensa". First, we needed to charge our cards, as there are no money transactions anywhere in the canteen. We did this peacefully and found the line. It wasn't very long and after 10 minutes we were choosing our food. First thing I noticed, the tray wasn't flat, it had small partitions, so by copying the guy in front of me, I had a sausage and some potato salad in one slot, soup in another, pasta with meat in another, and some tomato salad in the last one. And al of this costed me 4.65€. Next i bought a coke for 1.15€, and when I finished it I got 15 cents back for the bottle. Talk about encouraging recycling. The food wasn't bad, so we were content.
Now I needed to register my address in Munich (yes, more paperwork), so I headed to the office, but when I got there, no luck. They are open every afternoon, except on Wednesday, so no luck. Back home, played some games, watched some shows, had dinner and that was it. I was enjoying my last week of holidays.
So all in all, at 9:45 I reached the faculty, now I just needed to find the right rooms. The room numbers were 02.11.053 and 02.12.019, so I was curious to find out what this could mean. It was really obvious, when I entered the lobby. there were clearly 3 floors, so the 02 would have to mean second floor. Then, each floor was divided into sections, well signalized by huge banners, and I saw 13 sections, so the explained the 11 and 12, which meant that 053 and 019 must be the actual room number. I was right (and the layout so intuitive) that by 9:50 I was at the right door. Waited for a while, and got in. Then came the first surprise. My application was nowhere to be found....well, we proceeded anyway, and I was a bit alarmed when she asked me if I wanted to do that before the classes started, as there were bound to be changes in the lectures...I hoped not, and got the signatures anyway. Now to the next office. Here I knocked on the door, and moments later someone opened it, exclaiming "oh, you are my Portuguese student". I must say I was somewhat taken aback by that. How did she know me? Had she memorized every face, of every incoming? Well, this matter aside, she was very friendly, and we ended up talking for about 40 minutes, and she was very relived that I had a place, very happy that the situation with Renate turned out the way it did. I had a feeling there as a problem in the email they had, because I had received none in the past months, so we figured that out also (it was missing a "t" in the ".pt"), and that's why I didn't knew there were 2 lectures missing, and so on. She even sent every document by fax back home, so that was one less thing to worry about. All in all, a very productive morning.
Now it was time to try the canteen. I met Manuel at the subway station, and we went to the "Mensa". First, we needed to charge our cards, as there are no money transactions anywhere in the canteen. We did this peacefully and found the line. It wasn't very long and after 10 minutes we were choosing our food. First thing I noticed, the tray wasn't flat, it had small partitions, so by copying the guy in front of me, I had a sausage and some potato salad in one slot, soup in another, pasta with meat in another, and some tomato salad in the last one. And al of this costed me 4.65€. Next i bought a coke for 1.15€, and when I finished it I got 15 cents back for the bottle. Talk about encouraging recycling. The food wasn't bad, so we were content.
Now I needed to register my address in Munich (yes, more paperwork), so I headed to the office, but when I got there, no luck. They are open every afternoon, except on Wednesday, so no luck. Back home, played some games, watched some shows, had dinner and that was it. I was enjoying my last week of holidays.
terça-feira, 11 de outubro de 2011
Day 24 - The long trip
Monday had come, and I would finally get all of my stuff in Munich. I was told that my father was bringing a large suitcase and a huge backpack. Finally I would have a pillow! And warm clothes!
So I had planned to meet Manuel at 12:30, so we could try the canteen. When I arrived to his hostel, he wasn't quite ready, so I headed to the station, to buy the tickets to Stuttgart, where I would meet my dad. As it turned out, the train we had seen on-line was an ICE train. A fast train. Which meant that a round trip would cost me 100 Euro. No way. So I asked for a cheaper train, and I got one. The fast train took 2 hours, while the regional train took 3, and I had to switch trains, but a regional ticket was "only" 44 Euro for a round trip. The problem was that i had to leave on hour earlier than expected, so no lunch at the canteen. A quick lunch at the station, and off I was. Or so I thought. I had to take a train to Ulm, and then from Ulm to Stuttgart. Simple enough, as Ulm was the final station of the first train. So we the train finally stopped, I looked up, and saw a sign that said TREUCHTLINGEN. Where the hell was I? What had gone wrong? How the hell did I got into the wrong train? Why didn't the guy that checked my ticket said anything? So I ran across the station, looking for someone that could help me. Managed to find a Info Point, where I was told that I had to take 3 more trains to reach Stuttgart, and I would arrive at 18:43 (instead of he original 16:56). Well, no point in crying over split milk, so I took the next train, and this time I triple checked the train. It was the right one. 20 minutes to Donauwörth, then switch trains to Aalen. Once there, switch again to Stuttgart, finally. So instead of 3 hours, it took me 5. I was tired of riding trains.
So when I finally met my dad in Stuttgart, he gave me the bags (1 large suitcase, 1 large backpack, 1 small backpack), I had dinner at the Burger King, and we triple checked our trains.
Got on the train (yes, the right one), and settled down. I had to pay attention, as to leave in Ulm this time. Said goodbye to my dad, and off I was to Munich. The train did its first stop, and there, another problem had arisen. The police stopped the train, and we had to wait for an hour, i don't know why. All the informations were given in German, and I just understood that there would be a delay caused by the police...so another lost connection, another wasted hour.
When I arrived at Ulm, I checked the next train to Munich. It was in half an hour, which meant I would arrive in Munich at 00:30, instead of the original 23:30. Well, thanks to the police. And, amazing as it seems, there were no problems in his final trip. I had the train almost all to myself.
In Munich, i decided to take a taxi. it would be easier to deal with all the luggage that way, and I really didn't want to go alone in the subway so heavily carried. 15 minutes and 20 Euro later I was finally home. it had been a tiring day. I talked with my mom, and started to unpack. I had some of my favourite cakes, a surprise from my mom, a large piece of ham and some tomato syrup, courtesy of my grandmother. Thanks! I fought for a while with the bed covers and the blankets, but I managed to place everything in the right place.I had a pillow, and some blankets. Nice. My room was starting to be mine, and not some empty space. Of to bed, as it was already 3 am.
Just a visual ilustration of my trip. Red is the programmed way, blue is the route I took. Notice that I had to travel back for a while.
So I had planned to meet Manuel at 12:30, so we could try the canteen. When I arrived to his hostel, he wasn't quite ready, so I headed to the station, to buy the tickets to Stuttgart, where I would meet my dad. As it turned out, the train we had seen on-line was an ICE train. A fast train. Which meant that a round trip would cost me 100 Euro. No way. So I asked for a cheaper train, and I got one. The fast train took 2 hours, while the regional train took 3, and I had to switch trains, but a regional ticket was "only" 44 Euro for a round trip. The problem was that i had to leave on hour earlier than expected, so no lunch at the canteen. A quick lunch at the station, and off I was. Or so I thought. I had to take a train to Ulm, and then from Ulm to Stuttgart. Simple enough, as Ulm was the final station of the first train. So we the train finally stopped, I looked up, and saw a sign that said TREUCHTLINGEN. Where the hell was I? What had gone wrong? How the hell did I got into the wrong train? Why didn't the guy that checked my ticket said anything? So I ran across the station, looking for someone that could help me. Managed to find a Info Point, where I was told that I had to take 3 more trains to reach Stuttgart, and I would arrive at 18:43 (instead of he original 16:56). Well, no point in crying over split milk, so I took the next train, and this time I triple checked the train. It was the right one. 20 minutes to Donauwörth, then switch trains to Aalen. Once there, switch again to Stuttgart, finally. So instead of 3 hours, it took me 5. I was tired of riding trains.
So when I finally met my dad in Stuttgart, he gave me the bags (1 large suitcase, 1 large backpack, 1 small backpack), I had dinner at the Burger King, and we triple checked our trains.
Got on the train (yes, the right one), and settled down. I had to pay attention, as to leave in Ulm this time. Said goodbye to my dad, and off I was to Munich. The train did its first stop, and there, another problem had arisen. The police stopped the train, and we had to wait for an hour, i don't know why. All the informations were given in German, and I just understood that there would be a delay caused by the police...so another lost connection, another wasted hour.
When I arrived at Ulm, I checked the next train to Munich. It was in half an hour, which meant I would arrive in Munich at 00:30, instead of the original 23:30. Well, thanks to the police. And, amazing as it seems, there were no problems in his final trip. I had the train almost all to myself.
In Munich, i decided to take a taxi. it would be easier to deal with all the luggage that way, and I really didn't want to go alone in the subway so heavily carried. 15 minutes and 20 Euro later I was finally home. it had been a tiring day. I talked with my mom, and started to unpack. I had some of my favourite cakes, a surprise from my mom, a large piece of ham and some tomato syrup, courtesy of my grandmother. Thanks! I fought for a while with the bed covers and the blankets, but I managed to place everything in the right place.I had a pillow, and some blankets. Nice. My room was starting to be mine, and not some empty space. Of to bed, as it was already 3 am.
Just a visual ilustration of my trip. Red is the programmed way, blue is the route I took. Notice that I had to travel back for a while.
domingo, 9 de outubro de 2011
Day 22 - The Zoo
I woke up on my new place and I felt happy. I was finally on my own. I had no one watching over me, no one to report to. I was on my own.Finally. So I woke up at 10, got some cereals for breakfast, and just talked to some of the roommates. We agreed to go to the Zoo on the afternoon, as it was really near, and non one had really anything to do.
The morning went by quickly and by 1 pm I went down to the supermarket to get those things I had missed, and managed to cook some nice chicken breasts with tomato rice. Yay. My own cooking. Finally. Not that Emi's cooking was bad (it was awesome), but this was familiar.
So of to the zoo, with Patrick and a German guy I didn't get the name. And also, that morning I had seen a German girl, so this only leaves one missing person. The zoo was indeed near. Only 2 stops with the subway and there we were.
At the entrance we had our first problem. According to Patrick, he had been there before, and the student ticket was 3 euros. It wasn't, it was 7,50. And as the German guy had already bought his, we couldn't go back. So yay for a waste of money. Why was it a waste? Because we hadn't spent 3 minutes in, it started raining. And not some weak rain. It starting pouring like hell. Well, we headed for the inside expositions, and we managed to see some nice tricks from the monkeys, some penguins, some fishes and that was it. Not much of a trip, thanks to the rain.
Back to the apartment, and I just went for a hot shower. It felt like heaven. Got on my PJs and I was done for the day. Yes, it was only 5 PM, nut the rain wasn't going nowhere.
Cooked some spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner, and well, that was it. Some shows (Fringe was awesome), some sky ping and bed time
The morning went by quickly and by 1 pm I went down to the supermarket to get those things I had missed, and managed to cook some nice chicken breasts with tomato rice. Yay. My own cooking. Finally. Not that Emi's cooking was bad (it was awesome), but this was familiar.
So of to the zoo, with Patrick and a German guy I didn't get the name. And also, that morning I had seen a German girl, so this only leaves one missing person. The zoo was indeed near. Only 2 stops with the subway and there we were.
At the entrance we had our first problem. According to Patrick, he had been there before, and the student ticket was 3 euros. It wasn't, it was 7,50. And as the German guy had already bought his, we couldn't go back. So yay for a waste of money. Why was it a waste? Because we hadn't spent 3 minutes in, it started raining. And not some weak rain. It starting pouring like hell. Well, we headed for the inside expositions, and we managed to see some nice tricks from the monkeys, some penguins, some fishes and that was it. Not much of a trip, thanks to the rain.
Back to the apartment, and I just went for a hot shower. It felt like heaven. Got on my PJs and I was done for the day. Yes, it was only 5 PM, nut the rain wasn't going nowhere.
Cooked some spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner, and well, that was it. Some shows (Fringe was awesome), some sky ping and bed time
Day 21 - A new home
Friday was finally here. I woke up early, as I needed to pack everything, to make sure I wouldn't leave nothing behind. So I gathered all my belongings (thanks to Emi, I had almost zero laundry), packed them in my bag and went down for breakfast. Here, I thanked Emi once again for having me there, for doing my laundry, for feeding me, etc. I was getting really good at thanking people in German. And finally the time to leave had come. I left (Emi offered to drive me, as the nag was heavy, but I didn't want to cause this last trouble). Got to the bus, and off I was to Munich, for the last time (well, I planed to come once more, to give them a gift, so technically, not for the last time).
In Munich, I met Manuel, and we decided to try the school canteen for lunch. Bad luck, we arrived at 13:50 and it had closed five minutes before. As we were close to Doris' apartment, we stopped there, so I could pickup "my" sleeping bag. Well, on the way back we stoped at a Vinzenzemur and I got a plate of ribs. No side dish. He got some spaghetti. After that, it was ready to move in.
Manuel accompanied me to the front door, as he had nothing better to do, and we arrived 20 minutes early, so I just sat there and waited, and Mauel went back to his hostel. 10 minutes had gone by, when the landlord (Mr Peilun He) appeard. It all went smoothly. We signed the deposit papers, I payed him, and got the keys I so much wanted. Hurray. Now I definitely had a place. I got to meet some of my roomates. I met Patrick, the finish boy studying also at Garching, met Luca, an Italian looking for an internship, Youssuf, a Turkish already doing an internship and Remi, a student of Mechanical Engeneering, also studying at the Garching campus. There were still 3 persons missing, that I would meet eventually.
So I just stayed in my room, went out to the supermarket to buy some groceries, enough for an afternoon snack and dinner. I bought some milk, cereals, meat and rice. Only when I decided to cook dinner, I realized I had forgot to buy onions, and butter, so I couldn't cook anything nice. So yeah, my dinner was cereals.
And then the usual night routine, talking with the folks back at home, watched some shows, and bed time. This time there was a problem. No pillow yet. Well, I had to wait until Monday. Until then, my towel would have to do.
In Munich, I met Manuel, and we decided to try the school canteen for lunch. Bad luck, we arrived at 13:50 and it had closed five minutes before. As we were close to Doris' apartment, we stopped there, so I could pickup "my" sleeping bag. Well, on the way back we stoped at a Vinzenzemur and I got a plate of ribs. No side dish. He got some spaghetti. After that, it was ready to move in.
Manuel accompanied me to the front door, as he had nothing better to do, and we arrived 20 minutes early, so I just sat there and waited, and Mauel went back to his hostel. 10 minutes had gone by, when the landlord (Mr Peilun He) appeard. It all went smoothly. We signed the deposit papers, I payed him, and got the keys I so much wanted. Hurray. Now I definitely had a place. I got to meet some of my roomates. I met Patrick, the finish boy studying also at Garching, met Luca, an Italian looking for an internship, Youssuf, a Turkish already doing an internship and Remi, a student of Mechanical Engeneering, also studying at the Garching campus. There were still 3 persons missing, that I would meet eventually.
So I just stayed in my room, went out to the supermarket to buy some groceries, enough for an afternoon snack and dinner. I bought some milk, cereals, meat and rice. Only when I decided to cook dinner, I realized I had forgot to buy onions, and butter, so I couldn't cook anything nice. So yeah, my dinner was cereals.
And then the usual night routine, talking with the folks back at home, watched some shows, and bed time. This time there was a problem. No pillow yet. Well, I had to wait until Monday. Until then, my towel would have to do.
sexta-feira, 7 de outubro de 2011
Day 20 - The meeting
Thursday morning I woke up in time. I needed an envelope, and i needed to print stuff for the metro pass, so with the help of google translate, and with a bit of practice, I was able to ask fthese is stuff. The bus was on time, and so was the train. Moreover, I only payed 13.5 euros, instead of the usual 20, but I was pretty sure someone had made a mistake. But when they checked my tickets on the train, they said they were ok. I think I didn't pay the last bus trip, but hey, I wasn't going to complain.
So I arrived to munch on time, and met Manuel for lunch. We went to an Italian restaurant and I had pizza, of course. After that, we went to our new college, to an International meeting. We had no real problem getting to the room, as the info online was pretty good. When we arrived there I was amazed at the size of the auditorium. I was sure it had space for more than 1000 persons. Another thing that amazed me was the amount of people that were actually in the room. I was expecting about 200, 300 tops. Well, we were 600. And according to the official data, there are a litle bit more than 700 international students. Another interesting number, 6500 first year students. No wonder it was complicated finding a place....
After the meeting, we were offered coffe and some pastries. We both had them, and left quickly. We still had to take some photos for the subway pass, and we had to get the pass itself. So we went back to the main station, got our photos in a booth, then headed for the line. We arrived there shortly after 5, and in the booth said that closing time was 6, so we were a little bit worried. We had more than 20 people ahead of us....
Well, 6 o'clock came, and almost all of the booths closed, in fact, they left only 3 of the initial 8 open, and I was sure that as soon as they finished the current client,they would also close. Well, I was wrong, and these 3 booths continued to receive costumers, so my next concern was the time. I had an hourly train, at 44 minutes each hour, and then it still was an hour and half before I got home, so I was hoping to get on the 6:44. No luck there, as at 6:44 there were still 10 people ahead of us in line. At 7:20, there were still 5 people ahead of us, and I started to worry. At 7:35 my turn arrived. Lucky me, the person behind the counter spoke English, and I had everything ready, so by 7:42 I was done, I had my pass, now I needed to run. I reached the train, and as soon as I got on, the doors closed and it left. I was lucky there. Now, the train was supposed to arrive at 8:07 and I had my bus at 8:15. The train arrived at 8:16....Again, I ran for the bus, and again I managed to get on board (if I hadn't, I just needed to wait one hour for the next). I felt sure my luck was about to run out. It was too many close calls.
Back at Mainburg, I was about ready to start cooking my own meal, when Emi got some stuff from the fridge. leftover dinner, and it was awesome. While I ate, I practiced my farewell speech, as this was my last night in Mainburg. After dinner, I went to the living room, and thanked them both for my time there. I really meant it. They were very kind to me, fed me, washed my clothes, gave me a roof above my head. Well, I tried to thank them as best as I could. it went well.
Back to my room, talked to some folks back at home, and it was time for bed. My last night there. I was excited, as in the next day I was going to my new place. It was difficult to fall asleep....
So I arrived to munch on time, and met Manuel for lunch. We went to an Italian restaurant and I had pizza, of course. After that, we went to our new college, to an International meeting. We had no real problem getting to the room, as the info online was pretty good. When we arrived there I was amazed at the size of the auditorium. I was sure it had space for more than 1000 persons. Another thing that amazed me was the amount of people that were actually in the room. I was expecting about 200, 300 tops. Well, we were 600. And according to the official data, there are a litle bit more than 700 international students. Another interesting number, 6500 first year students. No wonder it was complicated finding a place....
After the meeting, we were offered coffe and some pastries. We both had them, and left quickly. We still had to take some photos for the subway pass, and we had to get the pass itself. So we went back to the main station, got our photos in a booth, then headed for the line. We arrived there shortly after 5, and in the booth said that closing time was 6, so we were a little bit worried. We had more than 20 people ahead of us....
Well, 6 o'clock came, and almost all of the booths closed, in fact, they left only 3 of the initial 8 open, and I was sure that as soon as they finished the current client,they would also close. Well, I was wrong, and these 3 booths continued to receive costumers, so my next concern was the time. I had an hourly train, at 44 minutes each hour, and then it still was an hour and half before I got home, so I was hoping to get on the 6:44. No luck there, as at 6:44 there were still 10 people ahead of us in line. At 7:20, there were still 5 people ahead of us, and I started to worry. At 7:35 my turn arrived. Lucky me, the person behind the counter spoke English, and I had everything ready, so by 7:42 I was done, I had my pass, now I needed to run. I reached the train, and as soon as I got on, the doors closed and it left. I was lucky there. Now, the train was supposed to arrive at 8:07 and I had my bus at 8:15. The train arrived at 8:16....Again, I ran for the bus, and again I managed to get on board (if I hadn't, I just needed to wait one hour for the next). I felt sure my luck was about to run out. It was too many close calls.
Back at Mainburg, I was about ready to start cooking my own meal, when Emi got some stuff from the fridge. leftover dinner, and it was awesome. While I ate, I practiced my farewell speech, as this was my last night in Mainburg. After dinner, I went to the living room, and thanked them both for my time there. I really meant it. They were very kind to me, fed me, washed my clothes, gave me a roof above my head. Well, I tried to thank them as best as I could. it went well.
Back to my room, talked to some folks back at home, and it was time for bed. My last night there. I was excited, as in the next day I was going to my new place. It was difficult to fall asleep....
quarta-feira, 5 de outubro de 2011
Day 19 - Back to Munich
Wednesday came, and with it the end of 3 days with not much too do, except walking the dogs and sightseeing. So I had agreed to meet a fellow student from feup, so we could both go pick up our student cards together, and meanwhile, I could give him some tips, as he still didn't have a flat.
So we were told to expect a line at the card pickup, so we decided to go early. We agreed to meet at 9 am at his hostel, which meant that I would have to wake up really early (6:30). And so I did. I must say I had slept a lot in the previous days, so sleeping only 6 hours wasn't that big of a deal, though it's always tough to wake up before the sun. Well, I won't go into much detail. I managed to be at the hostel at the right time, so everything went ok.
We met (thanks Facebook, you made identifying strangers way easier), and we headed for the faculty. Well, I must say that there are no directions. We just wondered around until we saw something that might have been a main door, and we entered. It was the right place, and yes, there was a line. There were 3 people ahead of me! And for that I had woken up so early? Man....
So we headed for the bank, as I needed to set up a German account. It was around 11 and the bank was full. We went to the hostel,mandate I showed him what I normally did to search for a place, as well as some tips for traveling in Munich. I tried registering to my courses, but I couldn't remember my password (what the hell had I chosen anyway?). Well, I had sent an email in the previous day, asking for it to be returned, so I waited. Meanwhile, my new partner found some places, sent some emails, and I watched that, not long ago that was me. I was glad I had found a place already. So time passed and at 1 we decided to hit the MacDonalds. We stopped at his room, and I was amazed. It was a six bed dorm, but had a table in the middle and huge lockers, and overall, nice looking. And it was 20 euros per night. Not bad. He had some conditions to study there, if he needed. The only problem was the food. He couldnt cook there.
So after lunch back to the bank. Still packed, don't know why, I waited there for half an hour, and with litlle improvement I left. There would be other days. Back to the hostel, had my password reseted, so I started signing in to classes. Got all of them with no problem (not that I expected any, but with my luck, who knows?), and started looking for the German language course. After much searching I was able to determine two things. One, there were no classes on Friday. Not a single one. Two, I wouldn't be having German language classes, unless I borrowed a Time-Turner from Hermione. There's no way I could fit them in my schedule... Damn. Not even if I went to the next level. So no German. That was bad. And then my iPad's battery runned out, so it was time to get back.
Back to Mainburg, some show watching, dinner, talking with the people back home, and bed time, as I had woken up early, I was tired. But happy. No German, but that was a bonus. All the necessary classes were there. Just hoped that they were all in English, as promised.
So we were told to expect a line at the card pickup, so we decided to go early. We agreed to meet at 9 am at his hostel, which meant that I would have to wake up really early (6:30). And so I did. I must say I had slept a lot in the previous days, so sleeping only 6 hours wasn't that big of a deal, though it's always tough to wake up before the sun. Well, I won't go into much detail. I managed to be at the hostel at the right time, so everything went ok.
We met (thanks Facebook, you made identifying strangers way easier), and we headed for the faculty. Well, I must say that there are no directions. We just wondered around until we saw something that might have been a main door, and we entered. It was the right place, and yes, there was a line. There were 3 people ahead of me! And for that I had woken up so early? Man....
So we headed for the bank, as I needed to set up a German account. It was around 11 and the bank was full. We went to the hostel,mandate I showed him what I normally did to search for a place, as well as some tips for traveling in Munich. I tried registering to my courses, but I couldn't remember my password (what the hell had I chosen anyway?). Well, I had sent an email in the previous day, asking for it to be returned, so I waited. Meanwhile, my new partner found some places, sent some emails, and I watched that, not long ago that was me. I was glad I had found a place already. So time passed and at 1 we decided to hit the MacDonalds. We stopped at his room, and I was amazed. It was a six bed dorm, but had a table in the middle and huge lockers, and overall, nice looking. And it was 20 euros per night. Not bad. He had some conditions to study there, if he needed. The only problem was the food. He couldnt cook there.
So after lunch back to the bank. Still packed, don't know why, I waited there for half an hour, and with litlle improvement I left. There would be other days. Back to the hostel, had my password reseted, so I started signing in to classes. Got all of them with no problem (not that I expected any, but with my luck, who knows?), and started looking for the German language course. After much searching I was able to determine two things. One, there were no classes on Friday. Not a single one. Two, I wouldn't be having German language classes, unless I borrowed a Time-Turner from Hermione. There's no way I could fit them in my schedule... Damn. Not even if I went to the next level. So no German. That was bad. And then my iPad's battery runned out, so it was time to get back.
Back to Mainburg, some show watching, dinner, talking with the people back home, and bed time, as I had woken up early, I was tired. But happy. No German, but that was a bonus. All the necessary classes were there. Just hoped that they were all in English, as promised.
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