The Accomodation Hunt

Looking for a place to live, in a country you don´t know, in a language you can´t speak, to people who don´t understand what you are saying, in a town you not quite sure where the better parts are, and on sites you can´t read, is really not a fun job.

When I arrived in Germany I decided I will stay in a little hotel for a few nights till I get settled. Boy o boy was this fun. i didn´t to leave actually. I maaaay of even had a moment where I tried to sell the feasibility of them renting a room to me on a monthly basis for a greatly reduced rate, to curve the loss of unbooked rooms. No Luck.
As my days in my hotel ran out, so did my options for a place to move into. At the end of the day my hand was twisted, and I was heading to hell. Otherwise known as a 35 man hostel kind of vibe in the old part of town. In a bed that sang you a creaky tune every time you dared move, with toilets that constantly smelt like some one was doing the dirty on them, and in a shower where, to this day, I am convinced the hairiest men in the world showered. No common decency in this place! The kitchen was a whole other story really, haha, you have to laugh. 35 people, 8square meters, 3 cooker tops. Enjoy...
I became a professional at sourcing the best value for money take aways in town!!

Since things have turned around though. Staying in a new place now, I have two fellow house mates, both very cool women. One from Romania, the other from the Philippines. Last night was in fact Tequila night, a wonderful night of the week where my Romanian house mate and her friend have shots of tequila till they finish an entire bottle!! Needless to say this was EXTREMELY funny to watch sober!
But I love my new house, even though it is just for one month. It is extremely affordable, centrally located, awesome peeps, CLEAN, and it rally is nice to be able to shower without slops again..

At the end of the month I have found a permanent place for the remainder of my stay. The key word about it would be budget, but that would soon be followed by an awesome vibe, rad student house mates, and something different. I never stayed in a digs during my study days, and that is exactly what my new place is all about. A room in a student dorm, with a huge  lounge for socializing and games. Hell, they have already invited me to jam and I am still a month away from moving in! ha-ha.

It is coming up to my first month in Germany already being complete, and the amount I have already experienced is insane. i have seen ALOT, and met tons of people. It really has been a great adventure so far, and now it my accommodation story finally being sorted in a satisfactory way, all I have to do is sit back, and enjoy the ride...

Settling In

So I won´t lie, it was not easy settling in to this Germany place. It's rather bloody different in many aspects. Going to the shops and having to decipher what you are buying from the picture displayed on the product. Asking shop attendants where something is and getting a blank look like English is a language that has jsut landed on earth from a far off distant place was not a rare occurrence during my first few days(it still isn´t). The first few days where lonely though, not knowing a single person within a 500 km radius I think can often be underestimated. To make matters worse, when meeting new people, they don´t understand what you are saying and it all often ends in a failed situation of separating of paths.

BUT, my dear little English speaking friends, the coin has turned. I started work a few days after I arrived, and since then things have really turned around. With employees from all parts of the world (except Africa really) the opportunities to meet new peeps are endless. And meet new peeps I have, lots. There is really alot of like minded individuals here, and I’ve made alot of really good friends. Each Monday we play social soccer, and thank the lord it is social, because I seem to have taken a note from our national football team and am pretty dam useless. Luckily I scored a fluke of a goal on my first outing so have been saved from a raging a bit!

On the first summers day of summer (it does not seem to happen often), we all headed down the communal pool after work. We swam and played volleyball. Yes, volleyball. Another sport that I am absolutely no good at. But it was really cool none the less!

The accomodation part of my journey is a whole other story, and really need to be told in a whole other blog. Let´s just say, it has been a hectic roller coaster so far...