The 2 months that I've been away...
have taught me a whole lot of things about myself. The transitions I went thru were something I will not have experienced if I didnt allow myself this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone. N i may nvr know wat i now know about myself.
Arriving in Stuttgart while it was still spring pretty much gave me a shock. Having to brave the 1st night without enuf warm covers n not in d comfort of my own bed definitely caused much distress n thoughts of regret for putting myself in such a situation. But I also learnt that just a change in weather can test my endurance lvl and how i can put all miseries aside n embrace the bitter cold nights.
I also realised that I overestimated my abilities to endure eating bread, day in day out, for 2 mths. Cos d lack of a proper, protein enriched diet was takin its toll. It definitely made me miss home where there's always food whenever i'm hungry. However, it also taught me that in such situations, d problem seems bigger than it actually is. It made me instinctively n instantly know how to cook. I didnt so much learn from a book as i did experiment. N its obvious how d very 1st meal i cooked was bland as compared to d very last one which was tasty, if i may say so myself. Yes it made me realise that deep inside, i actually can cook from scratch n not just from a packet of instant paste(which i had wished i had brought along).
After missing home intensely during the 1st week, it made me realise how i've taken being looked after for granted. Grocery shopping was no longer a trip to d supermarket n randomly picking out anythin dat tickles my fancy. Instead, it takes a lot of consideration in what I'm gonna cook dat week n wat is required n how much of stuff to buy so as not to over-buy. Did i feel like a housewife? Dido! Imagine havin to grocery-shop during lunchbreaks n carrying bags of vegetables into class. Weird.
Altho i missed home, missed my parents n missed d love, independence n space have done me much good. I knew i didnt hav to be dependent all d time n everytime i'm feeling bored n lonely, i can always do other things instead of thinking how i wish i had him around to talk to. The amount of space I had meant i could do things around my own timetable instead of having to work ard someone else's.
After adjusting to d life in Stuttgart, havin to leave it after 6 weeks was definitely difficult. It was a life i've begun to like, a place i've begun to love and a language i've learnt to speak. Excited to embark travelling 3 weeks in Europe? Yes. Excited to leave Germany? No.
This was our route: after Stuttgart -> Berlin -> Salzburg, Austria -> Interlaken, Switzerland -> Venice, Italy -> Rome -> Tuscany/Florence -> Nice, France -> Paris
All the way up to Switz, it was still comfortable, ppl still spoke Deutsch or English. So i didn't hav dat much trouble. But once on Italian grounds, it was very difficult. D language n d ppl made it tough. They spoke very little English n dey hav no tolerance for foreigners. They juz didnt care to help wen asked. I found d Italians rude n sometimes downright villainous. My encounter w pickpockets in Rome made d 4 days spent der exceptionally challenging. Thankfully, i didnt lose anything but it was quite a shock nevertheless.
We spent our 5 days in France walkin ard not understanding d language n havin a laugh at how little we understood. At least d French, in my opinion were not as aggressive as d Italians. Altho dey dont speak english n r not outwardly friendly, at least dey cared to be nice to us in their own way. After all this, i strongly believe the germans r d friendliest.
Thruout d 3 weeks, i saw d good n d bad, d friendly n d rude, d clean n d dirty. Experienced d highs n d lows, d beautiful n d downright ugly. Braved pickpockets, aggrasive beggars, rude receptionists, language barriers, cockroach infested hostels n un-locked room doors. Survived on nutella sandwiches for b'fast and tuna salad sandwiches for dinner.
It was an experience i will never regret n will not exchange it for anything else.
For pictures : http://ainthots.multiply.com
have taught me a whole lot of things about myself. The transitions I went thru were something I will not have experienced if I didnt allow myself this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone. N i may nvr know wat i now know about myself.
Arriving in Stuttgart while it was still spring pretty much gave me a shock. Having to brave the 1st night without enuf warm covers n not in d comfort of my own bed definitely caused much distress n thoughts of regret for putting myself in such a situation. But I also learnt that just a change in weather can test my endurance lvl and how i can put all miseries aside n embrace the bitter cold nights.
I also realised that I overestimated my abilities to endure eating bread, day in day out, for 2 mths. Cos d lack of a proper, protein enriched diet was takin its toll. It definitely made me miss home where there's always food whenever i'm hungry. However, it also taught me that in such situations, d problem seems bigger than it actually is. It made me instinctively n instantly know how to cook. I didnt so much learn from a book as i did experiment. N its obvious how d very 1st meal i cooked was bland as compared to d very last one which was tasty, if i may say so myself. Yes it made me realise that deep inside, i actually can cook from scratch n not just from a packet of instant paste(which i had wished i had brought along).
After missing home intensely during the 1st week, it made me realise how i've taken being looked after for granted. Grocery shopping was no longer a trip to d supermarket n randomly picking out anythin dat tickles my fancy. Instead, it takes a lot of consideration in what I'm gonna cook dat week n wat is required n how much of stuff to buy so as not to over-buy. Did i feel like a housewife? Dido! Imagine havin to grocery-shop during lunchbreaks n carrying bags of vegetables into class. Weird.
Altho i missed home, missed my parents n missed d love, independence n space have done me much good. I knew i didnt hav to be dependent all d time n everytime i'm feeling bored n lonely, i can always do other things instead of thinking how i wish i had him around to talk to. The amount of space I had meant i could do things around my own timetable instead of having to work ard someone else's.
After adjusting to d life in Stuttgart, havin to leave it after 6 weeks was definitely difficult. It was a life i've begun to like, a place i've begun to love and a language i've learnt to speak. Excited to embark travelling 3 weeks in Europe? Yes. Excited to leave Germany? No.
This was our route: after Stuttgart -> Berlin -> Salzburg, Austria -> Interlaken, Switzerland -> Venice, Italy -> Rome -> Tuscany/Florence -> Nice, France -> Paris
All the way up to Switz, it was still comfortable, ppl still spoke Deutsch or English. So i didn't hav dat much trouble. But once on Italian grounds, it was very difficult. D language n d ppl made it tough. They spoke very little English n dey hav no tolerance for foreigners. They juz didnt care to help wen asked. I found d Italians rude n sometimes downright villainous. My encounter w pickpockets in Rome made d 4 days spent der exceptionally challenging. Thankfully, i didnt lose anything but it was quite a shock nevertheless.
We spent our 5 days in France walkin ard not understanding d language n havin a laugh at how little we understood. At least d French, in my opinion were not as aggressive as d Italians. Altho dey dont speak english n r not outwardly friendly, at least dey cared to be nice to us in their own way. After all this, i strongly believe the germans r d friendliest.
Thruout d 3 weeks, i saw d good n d bad, d friendly n d rude, d clean n d dirty. Experienced d highs n d lows, d beautiful n d downright ugly. Braved pickpockets, aggrasive beggars, rude receptionists, language barriers, cockroach infested hostels n un-locked room doors. Survived on nutella sandwiches for b'fast and tuna salad sandwiches for dinner.
It was an experience i will never regret n will not exchange it for anything else.
For pictures : http://ainthots.multiply.com
posted by purpleraintree at 11:34
