We hadn't had much chances to see each other so Louisa who is my contact person suggested that we meet over gelato. But since it was Ramadhan we ended up in the restaurant at 9 pm.
I ordered kartoffel plate.
It costed 10 euro.
I found out that kartoffel plate is really mix of potatoes
Crinkle cut
Wedges
Chips
Croquets
All fried
The poor asian had too high expectations thinking that 10€ potato plate must be jacket potato or tuna potato.
But asian girl and german agree that mashed potato is unthinkable part on potato plate.
But now I get to tell you that i had the experience eating 10 € worth of potatoes in one sitting (yes, louisa is a german so she couldnt eat 5€ potatoes at quarter past 9 in the evening =p)
Saturday, 23 February 2013
$$ Ka-ching $$
I had to fork out 8000kc or what they say some sort of fee. My friends from Montenegro just have to pay no less than 200 euro. or was it 100 euro.
Then there's
1. return ticket prg-basel-freiburg
2. transport card which is a whopping 50 euro per month. no discount because ISIC lost against German student card
3. travelling
4. food
BVMD gave me 50 euro a week, which is more than enough for groceries because it was summer and i don't even have the time to cook. Once I even cooked and didn't eat because I was too tired to eat ~I guess I was being too dedicated towards my exchange.
And BVMD put aside 50 euro for any travelling that we do. Because we had to pay for the National Service Programme in Freiburg itself, we asked them to cut it from this 50 euro. actually our fee shall have been cheaper because we already have our transport card but there's some miscalculation overthere =(. My friends were not over it. But I had to count my blessing
1. my Murgovsky concert ticket is paid by BVMD
2. We got a handphone each from BVMD and in mine is a 10 euro. and the cheapest reload you can get is 20 euro. and my friend didn't even have a cent in hers.
3. Louisa, Chris and Iva were so welcoming and were heaps of help.
Actually you can cut down a lot
1. bring your own food for lunch. i sometime skip lunch because i hate doing lunch alone so having sandwich and free coffe (albeit horrible) is more than enough
2. dinner. german dinner like pauper but I am not german. still, buy minute quantity of thing if you cook. I bought more than what I need and my place have a mini fridge so i had to throw a lot of food away =(
3. restaurant menu is expensive. lucky I ate only twice at restaurant
4. bring your own drink and food when travelling.
And my faculty offers mobility fund so I got 100 euro from that after my exchange.
Then there's
1. return ticket prg-basel-freiburg
2. transport card which is a whopping 50 euro per month. no discount because ISIC lost against German student card
3. travelling
4. food
BVMD gave me 50 euro a week, which is more than enough for groceries because it was summer and i don't even have the time to cook. Once I even cooked and didn't eat because I was too tired to eat ~I guess I was being too dedicated towards my exchange.
And BVMD put aside 50 euro for any travelling that we do. Because we had to pay for the National Service Programme in Freiburg itself, we asked them to cut it from this 50 euro. actually our fee shall have been cheaper because we already have our transport card but there's some miscalculation overthere =(. My friends were not over it. But I had to count my blessing
1. my Murgovsky concert ticket is paid by BVMD
2. We got a handphone each from BVMD and in mine is a 10 euro. and the cheapest reload you can get is 20 euro. and my friend didn't even have a cent in hers.
3. Louisa, Chris and Iva were so welcoming and were heaps of help.
Actually you can cut down a lot
1. bring your own food for lunch. i sometime skip lunch because i hate doing lunch alone so having sandwich and free coffe (albeit horrible) is more than enough
2. dinner. german dinner like pauper but I am not german. still, buy minute quantity of thing if you cook. I bought more than what I need and my place have a mini fridge so i had to throw a lot of food away =(
3. restaurant menu is expensive. lucky I ate only twice at restaurant
4. bring your own drink and food when travelling.
And my faculty offers mobility fund so I got 100 euro from that after my exchange.
Saturday, 26 January 2013
Geography 101
Back in Freiburg, I am a Malaysian studying in Czech Republic and is on clinical exchange in Freiburg. When I Was with Bemtgen, he'd introduce me with those details in German. And then there's Miss Columbus et moi first meeting.
Miss Columbus: And Where are you from?
Me:l'm from Malaysia. We are not to Thailand Indonesia, and Singapore
Discusssed about how lucky we are to have a sunny day that 1st weekend.
Miss Columbus: Do you have snow in Malaysia?
Me: *frog croaking loudly*
Ps : I painstakingly drew a map of Malaysia with Borneo included. Alas, posting a blogpost from a phone is almost a miracle. In case u r wondering like Miss Columbus, just so u know. We are just above the equator line.
Pps : Miss Columbus is otherwise a gregarious soon to be a doctor whose company I enjoy very much during our stay in Freiburg
Miss Columbus: And Where are you from?
Me:l'm from Malaysia. We are not to Thailand Indonesia, and Singapore
Discusssed about how lucky we are to have a sunny day that 1st weekend.
Miss Columbus: Do you have snow in Malaysia?
Me: *frog croaking loudly*
Ps : I painstakingly drew a map of Malaysia with Borneo included. Alas, posting a blogpost from a phone is almost a miracle. In case u r wondering like Miss Columbus, just so u know. We are just above the equator line.
Pps : Miss Columbus is otherwise a gregarious soon to be a doctor whose company I enjoy very much during our stay in Freiburg
Sunday, 9 December 2012
Geburtstag
Today marks 23rd year since I went through the birth canal.
My birthday is like the picture above ~ warm and colourful. with the people i love.
There is a yummy cake on the table, accompanied by my favourite food.
My dad is pouting with twinkle in his eyes, my mom is smiling and my brothers are teasing me with "you are old!"
I make my prayer, blow the candles, cut up the cake and ask my loved ones for their prayers as well.
My mom is the first to shower me with kisses and envelopes me in a warm embrace. and I say my thanks for bringing me into the world.
Then I go and hug my dad and receives his stubby pecks.
My brothers bought me presents.
And we feast on my mom's delicious homecooked meal.
Except that all the above is just a mirage. I am actually spending my birthday alone, on my bed and haven't been speaking to a soul except my mom who called me when I was sleeping to wish me happy birthday. Obviously there's no cake because I am too lazy to go out and I ate the food from yesterday and had coco crunch for dinner. Whatever. Happy birthday to me. May Allah makes me an incredible Muslimah, bless my life, shower me with wisdom and integrity and let me die as a faithful servant. ameen.
It reminds me of Chris birthday.
On his birthday, I went for a day trip to Konstanz.
Konstanz is not that far away actually, but since there's Black Forest in between Konstanz and Freiburg, the journey is quite long.
I shall write about Konstanz sometime after.
Anyway, I got home (Chris and Iva's) past midnight and was rather hungry.
Turns out the lovebirds haven't gone to sleep.
They came and accompanied me for dinner.
Iva baked 2 types of cakes for Chris (lucky boy I know) ~ apple crumble and marble cake
When I was about to spoon the apple crumble, Iva suddenly remember that she put some alcohol in it but assures me that the alcohol has dissipated, so it is safe to eat it. (But now, after some research, I make a stand to not eat anything mixed with alcohol)
So I ate it. and I can detect the taste and smell of alcohol in my mouth.
So I went after the marble cake, which is really delish.
Must say Iva's is rather good at baking.
Oh no. I just miss them and their place. =)
My birthday is like the picture above ~ warm and colourful. with the people i love.
There is a yummy cake on the table, accompanied by my favourite food.
My dad is pouting with twinkle in his eyes, my mom is smiling and my brothers are teasing me with "you are old!"
I make my prayer, blow the candles, cut up the cake and ask my loved ones for their prayers as well.
My mom is the first to shower me with kisses and envelopes me in a warm embrace. and I say my thanks for bringing me into the world.
Then I go and hug my dad and receives his stubby pecks.
My brothers bought me presents.
And we feast on my mom's delicious homecooked meal.
Except that all the above is just a mirage. I am actually spending my birthday alone, on my bed and haven't been speaking to a soul except my mom who called me when I was sleeping to wish me happy birthday. Obviously there's no cake because I am too lazy to go out and I ate the food from yesterday and had coco crunch for dinner. Whatever. Happy birthday to me. May Allah makes me an incredible Muslimah, bless my life, shower me with wisdom and integrity and let me die as a faithful servant. ameen.
It reminds me of Chris birthday.
On his birthday, I went for a day trip to Konstanz.
Konstanz is not that far away actually, but since there's Black Forest in between Konstanz and Freiburg, the journey is quite long.
I shall write about Konstanz sometime after.
Anyway, I got home (Chris and Iva's) past midnight and was rather hungry.
Turns out the lovebirds haven't gone to sleep.
They came and accompanied me for dinner.
Iva baked 2 types of cakes for Chris (lucky boy I know) ~ apple crumble and marble cake
When I was about to spoon the apple crumble, Iva suddenly remember that she put some alcohol in it but assures me that the alcohol has dissipated, so it is safe to eat it. (But now, after some research, I make a stand to not eat anything mixed with alcohol)
So I ate it. and I can detect the taste and smell of alcohol in my mouth.
So I went after the marble cake, which is really delish.
Must say Iva's is rather good at baking.
Sunday, 2 December 2012
In Their Shoes
I think I've been way too comfortable after high school. I need to be out of the box. I need to be challenged.
This exchange seems to be offering just what I need and how true it is.
I've been to almost all of the morning meetings, which are conducted in German. I was asked to be there.
So I know the feeling of that poor thing that's invited to the event where everyone is speaking the language alien to the poor thing, eventhough they have the ability to speak in English, which everybody knows.
When I went to the suturing class, which is of course conducted in German, I joined a class where everyone has been together eversince few years back. I am just someone coming with the surgeon, and sit with the students. I said my greetings. and sit back feeling out of place. So when an exchange student was standing there alone and others were happy chatting away, I remembered what I felt and went to greet her. The thing that I learnt is that it is nice if people are being welcoming especially when you are alone coming into a pack of people that already know each other.
And one of the many things that I learnt from Chris and Iva is that to offer the guest help and explaining directions. They both went miles to help me. giving a real map. finding where the worship place is. recommending where to shop and many many more.
I'm glad that I went out of my comfort zone. I learnt a lot, both professional skill and interpersonal skill. But I gotta admit that this is not for everyone. You gotta pull yourself together and be open to challenges. In conclusion, be a tough cookie.
This exchange seems to be offering just what I need and how true it is.
I found out the terrible feeling of being there but not knowing what people in front of you are talking about. Because they talk in a language alien to me. I have been on the other side of the table eversince I came to Czech. I casually switch into Malay in the conversation where my non Malay speaking friend is also there, involved in the conversation. Now that I have been to both sides of the table, I try to speak the language that everyone understand.
I've been to almost all of the morning meetings, which are conducted in German. I was asked to be there.
So I know the feeling of that poor thing that's invited to the event where everyone is speaking the language alien to the poor thing, eventhough they have the ability to speak in English, which everybody knows.
When I went to the suturing class, which is of course conducted in German, I joined a class where everyone has been together eversince few years back. I am just someone coming with the surgeon, and sit with the students. I said my greetings. and sit back feeling out of place. So when an exchange student was standing there alone and others were happy chatting away, I remembered what I felt and went to greet her. The thing that I learnt is that it is nice if people are being welcoming especially when you are alone coming into a pack of people that already know each other.
And one of the many things that I learnt from Chris and Iva is that to offer the guest help and explaining directions. They both went miles to help me. giving a real map. finding where the worship place is. recommending where to shop and many many more.
I'm glad that I went out of my comfort zone. I learnt a lot, both professional skill and interpersonal skill. But I gotta admit that this is not for everyone. You gotta pull yourself together and be open to challenges. In conclusion, be a tough cookie.
Friday, 30 November 2012
National Service Program
Before I went, I got an email asking me if I would like to join something called National Service Program.
It will be held in Freiburg itself.
Includes hiking trip in Black forest and one of the things that we need to bring is ~ bathing suit (possibility to swim in a lake)
Also barbecue.
It sounds too good to be true and of course I say yes.
Plus since I am in Freiburg itself, I am spared from travelling to the National Service Program.
You can say that the program is a blast though the weather wasn't on our side (and it was always raining only on weekends the first 2 weeks of July, whch is not normal at all for Freiburg) and I didn't go to say goodbye on Sunday because of abdominal cramps.
On Friday, we went to a stadium (or something like that) that right smack next to the black forest. Met the other exchange students coming in from places like Tubingen and Heidelberg and Munster.
And we got a bag of goodies each and it sure has a lot of things inside.
Among others
thick notebook
pens
nescafe 3-in-1
stick note
gummy bear
expired condom
Had meet and greet session before we moved to the main agenda, city tour, with none other than Chris. Chris is someone who loves to share what he knows so he really made a good guide.
Among what I got are
One of the apostle is showing his butt in the direction of the house of some one who did something that irk the townspeople?don't remember anymore
The red and gold signifies Austria.
In the medieval time, in the marketplace,as to make measurement for the things they sell, among others, they drew circle to size bread and a line.
Thing is that being visitors we were moving really slowly and taking pictures.
And German being German, is irked by the pace.
It was raining when we make our way up to Schlossberg.
After realising that we are going up the hill, I told them "you said hiking is tomorow?"
Apparently climbing up to Schlossberg and then up the tower stairs isn't hiking!
And to add spice to thing, for God sake, I am wearing my white hospital pants. add rain and muddy earth on top of that.
Thanks Lord the view makes up for it.
And the people. except for the ones who shake the tower. grrr!
We make our way to "student summer festival" for dinner afterwards.
Was stuck because we were being a lil bit busybody near the Fischerau that has the crocodile (a stone one) in it. There is some anti-Nazi demonstration going on.
Quite a sight.
Not only that, we even have to make a detour once because they found a bomb from World War 2 during construction. Apparently, such thing is not uncommon in German land. I learnt a lot about German and Germany in a span of 2 weeks compared to what I learned about Czech and Czech Republic in a span of 4 years.
And finally, we are at the student summer festival. once again, culture shock.
This people is what student summer festival means in Germany
One thing deserve mentioning is the grilled feta. so delish. tried to make it twice in October. FAILED.
It will be held in Freiburg itself.
Includes hiking trip in Black forest and one of the things that we need to bring is ~ bathing suit (possibility to swim in a lake)
Also barbecue.
It sounds too good to be true and of course I say yes.
Plus since I am in Freiburg itself, I am spared from travelling to the National Service Program.
You can say that the program is a blast though the weather wasn't on our side (and it was always raining only on weekends the first 2 weeks of July, whch is not normal at all for Freiburg) and I didn't go to say goodbye on Sunday because of abdominal cramps.
On Friday, we went to a stadium (or something like that) that right smack next to the black forest. Met the other exchange students coming in from places like Tubingen and Heidelberg and Munster.
And we got a bag of goodies each and it sure has a lot of things inside.
Among others
thick notebook
pens
nescafe 3-in-1
stick note
gummy bear
expired condom
Had meet and greet session before we moved to the main agenda, city tour, with none other than Chris. Chris is someone who loves to share what he knows so he really made a good guide.
Among what I got are
One of the apostle is showing his butt in the direction of the house of some one who did something that irk the townspeople?don't remember anymore
The red and gold signifies Austria.
In the medieval time, in the marketplace,as to make measurement for the things they sell, among others, they drew circle to size bread and a line.
Thing is that being visitors we were moving really slowly and taking pictures.
And German being German, is irked by the pace.
It was raining when we make our way up to Schlossberg.
After realising that we are going up the hill, I told them "you said hiking is tomorow?"
Apparently climbing up to Schlossberg and then up the tower stairs isn't hiking!
And to add spice to thing, for God sake, I am wearing my white hospital pants. add rain and muddy earth on top of that.
 |
| Photo from Jaime. Look Emina is even wearing cute flats. |
 |
| Photo from Mohamed. On the tower. |
And the people. except for the ones who shake the tower. grrr!
We make our way to "student summer festival" for dinner afterwards.
Was stuck because we were being a lil bit busybody near the Fischerau that has the crocodile (a stone one) in it. There is some anti-Nazi demonstration going on.
Quite a sight.
Not only that, we even have to make a detour once because they found a bomb from World War 2 during construction. Apparently, such thing is not uncommon in German land. I learnt a lot about German and Germany in a span of 2 weeks compared to what I learned about Czech and Czech Republic in a span of 4 years.
And finally, we are at the student summer festival. once again, culture shock.
This people is what student summer festival means in Germany
 |
| My glass was only filled with pepsi okay.hehehe |
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Travel Cost
Freiburg is an excellent location.
Paris is 3 hours away by TGV.
Colmar is an hour train ride. But u can always stop by Breisach am Rhein to see the majestic Rhein river.
Basel, is also an hour away, while Luzern is 2 hours away.
Except if you want to travel east, like Iva said, the Black Forest is always in the way.
I went to Konstanz and never regret taking the train that crosses the Black Forest. It's so scenic.
Anyway, travel is rather expensive in Germany.
And the train network is so sophisticated that the bus is forgotten.
I only travel on weekends so my best choice is Baden-Wurttenberg ticket.
If you are travelling alone, the ticket costs 21 euro. add 4 euro for additional person. you can add up to 4 more person.
Best for day trip and group travel.
When I went to Luzern, the girls were already away, so I travel alone.
Had to rush to get my ticket printed out at the counter and pay extra for that.
If you can afford it, get a smartphone or tab ~ that is one precious thing to traveller.
When we travelled, we brought our own food because food is on the expensive side especially in tourist spot.
Most of my travelling were done during Ramadhan and eventhough I have the option to replace it, I opted out of it.
Except when I decided to hike the foot of Pilatus, I went to Migros and paid for ice tea and croissant. ~ 5 euro that saves me after a tedious hike (crazy thing I did. I know.)
All in all, try to not travel alone. It's more expensive. and bring your own food and fruits and drink.
Paris is 3 hours away by TGV.
Colmar is an hour train ride. But u can always stop by Breisach am Rhein to see the majestic Rhein river.
Basel, is also an hour away, while Luzern is 2 hours away.
Except if you want to travel east, like Iva said, the Black Forest is always in the way.
I went to Konstanz and never regret taking the train that crosses the Black Forest. It's so scenic.
 |
| Our farewell trip. I had blast travelling with them. Photo from Nicky. |
And the train network is so sophisticated that the bus is forgotten.
I only travel on weekends so my best choice is Baden-Wurttenberg ticket.
If you are travelling alone, the ticket costs 21 euro. add 4 euro for additional person. you can add up to 4 more person.
Best for day trip and group travel.
When I went to Luzern, the girls were already away, so I travel alone.
Had to rush to get my ticket printed out at the counter and pay extra for that.
If you can afford it, get a smartphone or tab ~ that is one precious thing to traveller.
 |
| The thing u do when u trael alone. Self camera or ask any stanger who is willing to click the camera for you. |
When we travelled, we brought our own food because food is on the expensive side especially in tourist spot.
Most of my travelling were done during Ramadhan and eventhough I have the option to replace it, I opted out of it.
Except when I decided to hike the foot of Pilatus, I went to Migros and paid for ice tea and croissant. ~ 5 euro that saves me after a tedious hike (crazy thing I did. I know.)
All in all, try to not travel alone. It's more expensive. and bring your own food and fruits and drink.
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