Heimat

I'm back from my ever so quick visit home. Enjoyed a really relaxed Christmas which was lovely to see my family and friends as well as to see how much bigger our puppy is, but it's really nice to be back here. I feel like this is my new home, I feel like I belong here...

I didn't get back til 2am after waiting on buses, taxis, planes, trains and more buses! On the flight I chatted to a man who teaches golf in Heilbronn but I didn't enjoy the conversation too much as I spent most of it clutching the seat in front/armrest due to turbulance!

The new year sees me aiming to be more organised/read more/relax more which I have already begun. Also, is it just me or is anyone else absolutely shattered in winter? I sleep lots but it annoys me when I plan to read books before bed in order to relax (incorporating all three of my 'resolutions') and I end up waking up with a sore neck half an hour after beginning the first page...

Onto something completely random...after just pouring a cuppa, I've noticed icky bits of calcium floating around and have checked the inside of my kettle which is white, need to be a decalcifier (I doubt this is the word, I think the German is decalker or something!) Sorry to bore you all!

Hope you all (if anyone reads this) have had a lovely festive period and have a wonderful new year, wishing you all lots of health and happiness!

frohe Weihnachten! :)

With less than a week before I return to the UK for Christmas, I feel like it is the beginning of the end of my time in Heidelberg. I would've really loved to stay here a whole year, otherwise you up sticks and move just as you begin to feel settled. It's gonna be fun moving with all the things I've accumulated here, most notably seven pairs of shoes....a girl needs shoes!

Actually, living abroad and knowing you'll be on the move again soon makes you realise that material things really do not matter. I'll be giving a lot of my posssessions to friends and only taking with me the essentials. This whole experience has allowed me to meet some really amazing people from all across the world. I adore our group of friends and will never forget the time we have spent together, which always involves lots of eating and laughing. I've been truly happy here and I hope with my optimistic outlook I find another set of lovely friends in Paris.

However I still have around two months left here so I'll be making the most of it. I've got an amazing opportunity to interpret for two weeks in January, then I'm back for a week before exams start, then it's bye bye Heidelberg, city of dreams!

Before I get ahead of myself, above are some photos from our Christmas day we had at the weekend. It took us around six hours to prepare all the food, but it was the loveliest, relaxed day with my 'family' here.

Having a ball!

Ok, I know I know I know I know I was supposed to be a good little blogger and update every week. Maybe more. Butttt life happens and suddenly I'm having too much fun and going on spontaneous trips to Cologne and Venice to think about a blog. But I really should document my whizzing-by-in-a-flash Erasmus trip. Experience. Life. I don't know what to call it but it's pretty perfect.

Poetry Slam. A concept which I fear would be laughed off in the UK but me and my fellow Brit David were loving every minute. Contestents (mostly studends but a few middle aged) would read their poetry on stage for 5 minutes then we would applaud them. The contestent with the loudest applause/cheers wins. Simple, and in most cases, hilarious. Did wonders for my German too (I think!)

Cologne was great. We decided to really be cheap students and stay out all night, coming home on the first train back. Only do this if your immune system is tip top. Ours, after a few hours of Gluehwein (Christmas market, it's a must!) and banana beer plus no sleep and a dodgy kebab, we weren't feeling our best. However dozing on a train with the sun rising over the Rhine is the most gorgeous thing.....

Venice was like a dream. Like walking around in your imagination, so beautiful with an old charm. I am now compelled to learn Italian. I'll add that after Russian, Croatian and Maltese (I just want to spend my life travelling & collecting languages). Our hostel was really not the best and one night we were freezing cold, the next boiling hot due to problems with the heating but we had a brilliant location. Had a few problems with our airline, Ryanair, which has prompted me to send angry emails every day since returning and the flight back was pretty scary with turbulence. It seemed like we had landed a few times, we were rocked about so much! Hopefully everything goes smoothly when I fly back to the UK in two weeks exactly! Cannot wait!