Ich bin ein HAMBURGER(in).

Hello everyone!

I'm here in the huge, crazy, busy city that is Hamburg and I've been here for about 10 days now, though it feels like a month. In brief: I'm happy, haven't been run over looking the wrong way when crossing the street (always a looming threat for me) and so far, so good!

Arriving in the city and having the lovely Diana waiting for me at arrivals set my trip off to a very good start! We headed straight to my new flat, which was much better than expected, if a bit boy-y. I quickly set about putting up all the pictures and postcards and trying to make my room feel like my own.

My new room.  (Paintings not mine)

Including roof terrace straight from my room!

Spot the Welsh flag and the postcards/pictures I talked about in one of my recent posts.

Erm, the half naked woman was definitely NOT my addition but I'm scared to taking it down and marking the wall, so I guess I will just have to get used to it xD

Kitchen! (Blinds aren't broken I just tie them funnily to try and get some light in). If anyone can explain to me how to get blinds to stay put at the top I would be very grateful.

Bathroom: spot the duck!

Anyway, I'm really comfortable and happy here. Apart from the kids in the apartment above. Are children always that loud?

A few highlights (or lowlights as the case may be) from my first 10 days in Hamburg:

Bike Hunting
As some of you will know, I'm of the mini persuasion, and standing at just over 5ft tall this has always posed a problem with bicycles. I will be needing a bike to get to work every day, so tracking one down was a top priority: after discovering I don't really fit on adult bikes, I found a "teenager" bike for sale for €30 in the small ads, rang up the woman and, after being told they would be there all evening, I set off into the city. Unfortunately, I had underestimated how ridiculously big Hamburg is (in comparison with Southampton, anyway) and having travelled as far as I could on the u-bahn and, stupidly forgetting to see if there was a bus I could take (there was) I set off walking the last bit, which was essentially just 1 street.

But what a street! It took 45 mins to walk down it. In that time I could have walked nearly the length of Trier, no word of a lie. Anyway, 2 hours after leaving my flat I finally arrived at the house, red in the face, dehydrated and with very little idea of where I was in the city. Luckily the bike worked and wasn't too big for my little legs so I bought it and then, er, set off pedalling in what I hoped was the vague direction of my flat.

My bike! Very old fashioned, no gears, back pedal brakes (not as terrifying as I thought) and it would be completely useless in hilly Wales but for €30 it more than fulfills my requirements.

Luckily my inner compass seemed to be vaguely working and I found my way to Berliner Tor, which is one of the nearest U-bahn stations to me. Phew.

Very obvious lesson learnt: Hamburg is big!

But I have a bike now, and yesterday I even fixed it with my own hands (rather oily afterwards) ready to start the two-wheeled commute next week.

Making Friends

One word: couchsurfing. I've talked about it before but more in a it-offers-you-a-good-place-to-sleep-and-a-nice-evening fashion. This time I've discovered it's a really good way to make friends in a new city, as they meet up every week in a bar and by definition the people there - whether they're from the city or just passing through - are open, interesting, sociable people.

It was pretty terrifying at the meetings just randomly looking around, picking a table/picnic mat of strangers who looked particularly friendly and asking "darf ich platz nehmen?" (can i take a seat?). Luckily, CouchSurfing has "invasions" where people from far away come to particular cities on particular weekends during the summer, and last weekend it was Hamburg! That meant more social events than I could actually handle and I met a lot of locals too.

I went to the Fischmarkt too, which is so amazing it deserves a post of its own!

Readjusting to German Life

This is both positive and negative, but mostly positive. There are lots of aspects to German life that I'd forgotten about, and so, thrown back into this society, I am constantly being reminded of them.

Firstly, I'd forgotten how German people can be simultaneously so kind yet so grumpy. Examples of kindness include:

• A man who owned a car parts shop (nothing to do with bicycles) spending 15 mins helping me to find the tools I need to fix my bike seat.
• A woman who owned a bakery giving me twice as many rolls as I'd ordered for the same price because "I looked like I needed it" (it had been a long day)
• Many people helping, or offering to help, me carry my bike up and down stairs in u-bahn stations.

Examples of grumpiness include:

• If you stand in a German person's way for more than 2 seconds you get grumbled at. Often they continue to grumble at you well after you have sprung out of their way - apologising profusely - and you can hear their dulcet germanic tones following you down the street. 
• No patience! I was standing in a queue to register at the citizens office and they would regularly call out asking if anyone in the queue had an appointment. If so you were allowed to jump the queue. I didn't, so when at the front of the queue and they called out again I hesitated to check no one behind me was coming forward. The oma behind me decided this was unacceptable and started jabbing me sharply between the shoulderblades and shouting at me to go forward. A German person would have put her in her place but alas, the overly-polite Britishness hasn't left me quite yet and I couldn't even quite bring myself to glare at her. The shame.

That said, most of this probably comes more from living in a big city: the people in Trier were occasionally a little like the description above but to a lesser extent, so in this case I'll blame it on big-city life and not the Germans themselves.

I have so much more to write about but this'll do for now - I'm going to Körperwelt (like a scientific/art exhibiton about the human body) and then meeting a fellow intern this evening.

One final note: after registering at the Einwohneramt yesterday, I can now officially say ICH BIN EINE HAMBURGERIN. Woo! I actually really hope I stay one for a long time.

Tschüß!

Tomorrow!

Hello!

Last post before I fly tomorrow. The reality slightly hit yesterday and I had a series of mini panics but overall I am still just massively excited and looking forward to everything.

In fantastic news, I am also a graduate of the University of Southampton!

In even better news, I didn't fall over when I met the pro-Vice Chancellor, which I had always assumed would happen. Success!
My housemates and I managed to come freakishly colour co-ordinated: all in blue, black and white. Clearly we have spent too much time together!

 

Photo thanks to Helen!

My time at Southampton was filled with interesting studies, fantastic lecturers and of course, the best people. I'll spare you any more soppyness, and move on to more blunt Germanic matters.

I haven't really explained the practicalities of my time in Hamburg, so here's a few bits of info:

*I will be living in a WG (flatshare) like last time, but this time the flat has just 2 bedrooms. I don't know who my flatmate will be as we're both replacing two guys who are moving away from the city for 8 months, but I know she's female. She won't arrive until a month after I do, so I will have to live alone for the first time ever. I know its a bit pathetic, but this terrifies me more than moving abroad. I'm not so good with my own company, I find it pretty boring to be honest and other people way more interesting. Still, I have to grow up and learn to be alone sometimes, and I will be at work 8-5 every weekday.

*Although the title of this blog is now a British Intern in Hamburg, I won't actually discuss the company I work for or anything specific about how they operate/the content of my work in this blog. Nor will this be a place to moan about my job, should I not like it (though I'm sure I will). Firstly, that's kind of boring to read, secondly I'd like to actually keep the job! I'll keep work-related discussion to anecdotes and general stories about the day-to-day life as an intern in this city.

*I won't be able to travel as much as last year due to cash-flow and less free time (British council teaching assistantship really is amazingly well paid consider you work 12 hours a week), so I will throw myself into exploring the city of Hamburg instead! Any tips on where to go/what to see very much appreciated!

*Oh, I also don't start my job for another 2 weeks, giving me plenty of time to settle in/sort out a bank account/German simcard etc. And, most importantly, settle back into the German way of life I enjoyed so much on my year abroad


I would like to write more but frankly readers I need to be up at 6 and my stress levels are reaching epic proportions. I'll write a post shortly after I arrive, providing all goes ok.

Wish me luck!
Beth

My Fantasy Suitcase

Hey there,

In the spirit of the enthralling activity that is packing I present a blog post on the subject...and no this won't be a list of all the boring things you pack for any holiday (black vest x3, pure cashmere socks x 8, yeti fur coat x 1 etc etc). No, this is a list of the things my poor, beleaguered common sense is saying "don't pack, you really don't need it" while my playground-bully of a heart is screaming "pack it! this [insert item] is the one thing that will make the difference between an amazing life and a sobbing mess during the year!!!!".

So readers, I give you, the list of things I probably shouldn't pack but, if there's room, they will make it in the suitcase somehow.


1. British Breakfast Tea. Lots of it.

Gotta get my fix. (And no, I don't represent PG tips, honest.)

This came up in one of my original posts 2 years ago. I love the German beverages (particularly apfelschorle and, natürlich, the beer) but I'm sorry, my blood is actually 50% tea infused and I just can't bring myself to wean myself off it quite yet. So I WILL be lining my suitcase with as many tea bags as possible, and hopefully won't get questioned about it at customs.
Chance of being packed: 10/10

2. My duck radio.

A present from my housemate Helen for my 22nd birthday, which I adore (even if it is a bit creepy looking into his eyes). I know Germany has radios. Hell, I'm pretty sure they have engineered much better [sic. less bulky] radios that can be bought for a euro or two but I'm a big fan of background noise when at home alone (aka I'm a wimp) and I can't help getting attached to something that soothes me AND reflects my inner child..

Chance of being packed: 3/10

3. My Trier mug.

When you're a tea fanatic like I am, the vessel which transports this treasured nectar takes on an unprecedented importance. When one of these sacred vessels happens to be a) pretty and b) a nice reminder of your favourite German city, the attachment soars to maternal levels. Whilst the rational side of my brain is pathetically pleading that hot drinks taste the same regardless of receptacle, my hands are busily rolling up a pair of socks or two to stuff into it and vaguely justify its presence in the suitcase.

Chance of being packed: 7/10

4. My onesie!

This caused me much deliberation two years ago (read here) but I took it with me eventually. The 2-years-older Beth realises several things: its the middle of summer; I foresee no fancy dress opportunities for a while; I need to grow up. That said, Hamburg is allegedly bloody cold in the winter, and it is invaluable during the chilly nights, so while I will probably leave it at home this week, I may bring it back at the end of October, when I'm back in the UK for my brother's wedding.

Chance of being packed: 1/10

5. Photos/postcards/bunting.

Practical value: 0 (save for collecting dust), Sentimental value: 10.

I've strung lots of these pictures etc together, and sewn others onto a string. Quite aside from reminding me of my lovely friends, they also have a magical power of transforming bare, unfamiliar rooms into somewhere where you feel vaguely more at home.

Chance of being packed: 10/10 (or as many as reasonably possible)

6. A British Pillow

A couple of years ago I had a mini-rant about German pillows and their ridiculousness. Who needs a pillow that, the moment you lay your poor, aching head on it, immediately acts like the red sea and parts in the middle, leaving just two thin layers of pillow cover between you and the mattress, and rendering it essentially useless? To add insult to injury the pesky stuffing fluffs up around your ears, meaning you are simultaneously pillow-less yet suffocated and overheated by its contents.

Picture of what will be my bed, sporting a fine specimen of a crap pillow.

Tylor wrote a similar post complaining about the Atrocious German Pillow . It's a widely-acknowledged expat issue, apparently.*

Anyway, this is one thing that I really think Britain does better, and I will try my best to bring a sensible, rectangular pillow with me. However, due to size constraints, this will sadly not be a priority.

Chance of being packed: 4/10

7. Bovril/Marmite

Toastbrötchen and bovril or marmite is, in my view, the perfect unison of British and German cuisine.

OK, I joke (rather, I don't want to be lynched) but I do love a bit of marmite on toast in the morning and whilst you can buy it in Germany, it is notoriously difficult to track down and costs an arm and a leg. Bovril I have never spotted in 'Schland. So a pot of each will be packed, and it WILL be made to last until the next time I can get an emergency package/return to UK shores.

Chance of being packed: 8/10.

8. My bike helmet.

Ok I know this is definitely something I can get in Germany, but they're kinda expensive and why buy a new one when you've got a perfectly decent one at home? I will be cycling every day to work and back (about 30 mins total) through the city, so protecting the grey matter is pretty important. That said, they are an awkward size and shape, so I may be forced to begrudgingly give in and purchase a new one. Or wear it on the plane, and be THAT person.

Chance of being packed: 5/10

9. Cwtchy ikea chair.

Cwtchy but no...just no.

Chance of being packed: 0/10 (sob)

10. My signed Welsh flag.

Signed by all my home and uni friends on my 19th birthday, this has extra sentimentality. But is it a bit too much? Opinions on a postcard please.

Chance of being packed: 6/10.

11. My cat, Merlin.

Quite apart from the practicalities/illegalities of sending him to mainland Europe in a suitcase, he's a fussy bugger and would probably turn his adorable nose up at German salami.

Chance of being packed: 0/10 : ( : ( : (



If I were to include all of these items in my suitcase I would firstly fill it and secondly have no room for practical things, so I will be selective as possible. I miss the childhood days where your mum would pack all your clothes in her own suitcase as you'd already filled your own with vital things like a one-legged barbie, crumpled books and sparkly feather boas, and this was acceptable.

I'll update this with what actually made it to Hamburg when I've made the final cut.


In other news I've discovered there's an expat community meet-up in Hamburg a couple of days after I arrive. Whilst this wouldn't be my ideal avenue for meeting people, I figure you've got to start somewhere. At the very least it will provide some entertaining anecdotes for this blog, if nothing else.

In other, other news graduation tomorrow!



*Probably not, I'm probably just fussy.

How to Get a Degree and Not Alienate People

Hello everyone!

Wow the reception for the relaunch of the blog was pretty incredible, thanks guys! I'll do my best to keep to the standard of rambling anecdotes of last year. Also, this blog has had over 12,000 views....I can't quite believe it.

Preparations for Hamburg are full steam ahead. Apologies for stating the obvious but it requires a lot of graft to move abroad! My initial to-do list was a mere 22 items long, and its spawned its own baby to-do lists as time progresses and the flight draws closer (20th July, by the way).

In my next post I'll write a bit more about how my life in Hamburg is shaping up but before that I thought I'd give a whistle-stop tour of the 12 months between the end of my year abroad and, er, now.

France: La Vie en Pierre Seche

I may not mention it very often, but I do actually study French too, and in an attempt to boost the language that had been thoroughly squashed by German during my year abroad I went out and worked with Apare, an organisation that sets up working holidays in the south of France. For 3 lovely weeks I lived in the changing rooms of a village's local football club with 10 other people. In the mornings we'd rise early, head to a local beauty spot and restore an ancient bergerie (sheperd's hut and sheep pen), using dry stone walling and other traditional methods.

Location of Caromb in France.

An example of our finished work.

Dry stone walling proved difficult but very rewarding. Also, oddly soothing, where suddenly your biggest problem in life is finding the right stone for the gap before your eyes. 

In the afternoons we'd head out in our little minibus to explore the local area, drink some of the excellent local wine or do some sort of adventurous activity such as gorge walking. I came home tanned, with much improved French, half a stone lighter and largely out of the sadness that had been hovering over me since leaving Trier.

I'd recommend an Apare working holiday to anyone (French isn't necessary)! Especially if you get bored lying on the beach like I do. It costs €150 for the 3 weeks and that includes all the food, wine(!), transport and leisure, so muuuch cheaper than your average holiday. Check it out: http://www.apare-gec.org/EN/

Southampton

In September I moved back to Southampton and threw myself back into life there. I'd moved into a lush (by student standards) house with some of my closest friends from my course (Helen, Vic, Chris, Lucy) and we had a brilliant year distracting each other from the stresses of final year, which usually involved going hyper in the kitchen late at night. We laughed, we cried (usually from laughing, luckily), we baked to varying degrees of success and accrued a ridiculous amount of inside jokes. We even decided, late one night, to learn the phonetic alphabet, as anything was better than studying by this point.

The house (yes I realise my outfit looks a bit odd with the dresses, I didn't join them for grad ball)

Left to right: Vic, Chris, Lucy, Me, Helen.

Aaaand reflecting our usual kooky state of mind.

I did actually do a lot of work, in fact I studied harder than I ever have before and it paid off too, getting a 2:1 overall and a 1st in my final year and discovering a love for translation I never would have suspected was there. I also enjoyed finally getting to do some creative writing, writing, randomly, a chapter of a crime fiction novel in German, as you do. As you can tell from this blog, I really like to express myself!

But all work and no play makes Beth a dull mini person. Mostly this was solved by the aforementioned group of international students Diana introduced me too. 3 from Colombia, Alessandro from, erm, no one was sure, least of all him ;) We quickly formed a little group and I was half convinced I was still on my year abroad: it got to the point where sometimes we'd be sat in Stags and my ears would prick up excitedly at the sound of British accents, before remembering sadly I wasn't on my year abroad anymore. Sad, I know xD 

But no matter, I had SO much fun with these guys and we had so many adventures in Wales, Edinburgh, Brighton, Yorkshire and of course, Southampton! I also learnt a LOT about Colombia, and now have plans to visit next summer. 

The gang. Back: German.

 Middle row: Me, Diana, Maria, Alessandro

Front Row: Jorge

At the whisky museum in Edinburgh.

Final mention goes to Flo, who became my partner in crime for pretty much everything: partying, food shopping, gym, chilling. We may be spending the summer in separate countries (France and Germany) and I may miss her a lot but one day we'll be inseparable again, whether she likes it or not!

Flo and I celebrating our exam results.

When exams were over I was incredibly gutted to leave Southampton (so much so that I hung around 'til almost the last day, a good month after exams finished) and all my friends behind. I had the BEST time at Southampton and am so glad I chose it all those years ago.

But now, the next adventure starts!

Tschüß!

One Year On

Hello everyone, I'm back!

It's been over a year since my last post but within it I mentioned I would be looking for internships in Germany after finishing my degree at Southampton, having fallen in love with the people, the landscape and the way of life during my year abroad. People who know me personally will know I actually managed to find one a few months back and, in a spooky deja vu from two years ago, I am now once more readying myself to move abroad to Germany!

I will be working for a company in Hamburg (so, er, a rather far away from last year, see below) as a translation intern. The internship is 6 months long, after which I will probably take it easy for a few months and stay in Germany as a waitress/barmaid etc, before looking for a career-type job.

Distance between the old and new cities: roughly 550km.

Last year I enjoyed writing my blog so much I've decided to continue it, with some new things to explore:

• A new city! Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany, home to 1.8 million people (Trier has just over 100,000) and far in the north of the country, where the accents are less pronounced but (perhaps) the people a little too slick?
• The expat working experience and, more importantly, the intern experience in a large, multinational company.
• And most frighteningly...what is it like to move abroad to work, without the support of your university and the British Council?

So why Hamburg?

Well a number of reasons.

Firstly I wanted the big city experience, somewhere where I knew that, having got to grips with the 9-5 grind for essentially the first time (opening up/closing down the café a few days a week when I was 19 definitely doesn't count), I would have many Unternehmungsmöglichkeiten* (aka things to do) in the evenings and weekends. People who know me will confirm I take being an extrovert to dizzying new levels and quite frankly the thought of not having many opportunities to get out there and meet people caused me to break out in a sweat.

Hamburg Fischmarkt, which, I'm told, is an partying spot from 5am on Sunday mornings.

Can't wait to find out.

Secondly, I know some people in Hamburg. More specifically, one of the loveliest people I've met since my last post is Diana, a student at Hamburg uni who came to Southampton for a semester to study via Erasmus. We'd both signed up to have an Erasmus buddy and chance would have it, ended up lumbered with each other.

Showing the love in Edinburgh (Me left, Diana right)

I joke, it was actually one of the most fortuitous moments of my life, as we got on like a house on fire (I realise that's a slightly awkward turn of phrase in my case) and before either of us quite noticed we were hanging out all the time, often with a group of other international students that she'd introduced me to. More on that in my next post (tentatively entitled How to do Anything Other than Study in your Final Year).

Anyway, when starting my search for a job in Germany I thought why not at least start my search in places I had existing friends, and widen if no jobs sauntered into view? Seemed like a good a plan as any and luckily it worked. Diana and I have already made Tatort-watching plans for my first evening in Hamburg, success.

Finally, it's a new area of Germany! Somewhere new to explore and, I'm sorry Trier, but considerably easier to access by well, any form of public transport or by air.

I will miss the quirky accents of the Rhineland/Saarland though.


P.S Do you like the new look blog? I gave it a bit of a makeover to reflect my new location and purpose; to explain the background, anchors are a symbol of Hamburg and it's ports.






*Weirdly, one of the first words I learnt in German in yr 9. Was für Unternehmungsmöglichkeiten gibt es? What is there do to? Faced with that behemoth aged 13, its a wonder I continued learning German at all.