Ten Things in July

This was originally posted on my FB. I just realised that I did not also post it here. So, here it is now, a bit late.

1. I suppose the biggest news this month is that I will be moving. Finally, all the little pieces have fallen into place and everything is pretty much confirmed. Not actually all confirmed, but pretty much. Which means, bye-bye Bielefeld! Will I be sorry to leave? Haha! For sure, not! It will be good to move. There was a time when I was quite settled in my life. I had grown such roots that it was hard to erm, uproot, so to speak. But having uprooted, and having not grown roots in Bielefeld, I am looking forward to another new beginning in another new place, another new experience. I like what I have seen of Göttingen.

2. I am certainly glad to be moving, for all the reasons which led to us moving in the first place, most of which will not be discussed here. But I am so not looking forward to the actual move. This means that I have to pack up ALL my stuff again. And I have a lot of stuff. I wonder how a person can accumulate so much stuff! And I haven’t been here that long. Notwithstanding the fact that I did ship over a lot of stuff, I still have more stuff that I think someone who has lived in a place for about 7 months, should. I wonder if they can just load up the entire cupboard into the moving truck, without emptying the contents? It should be possible, right? I mean, I don’t think a few clothes or whatever makes the cupboard much heavier than it already it. Though I suppose the same cannot be said for the bookshelf…

3. On the subject of books, I have bought two new books! I have bought a lot of books in my life, so two books really is not that big a deal. But it IS a big deal because they are in German. And although these are not the first German books I have bought, they are the first two books of which I have no previous understanding. The other books I have bought before this were: Eragon (the English copy of which I have with me), a young adult book about the Trojan wars, the Little Prince, and a booklet about Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves. So, it is a bit cheating in a way. Because I already know the stories so it’s easier to follow what’s going on. These two books which I have just bought are simple two books that I picked up for no reason other than the fact that they were cheap.

4. Back to the move: The one thing that I will definitely miss is the woods just behind our apartment. We live literally, right on the edge of the Teutoberger Forest. The forest itself, is huge and stretches for miles and miles across the state. The bit that is closest to us, is not really the most exciting bit, I have to say. But it is still great to have the forest right behind us. It’s been good for walks and running and photo taking! It has been great to live so close to nature.

But it’s a forest. And if one could be categorized in such a manner, I am definitely a water person, rather than a forest person. Which means, I would choose the sea, a lake, river or some significant water feature, which is to say, not a fountain or pool, over a forest. Of course, if I could choose, I would also choose forest over no forest. The point is, while I would miss being so close to the woods, in the great scheme of things, it’s not that big a deal.

5. The other reason I am looking forward to moving to Göttingen is the change it will bring to my life. It will mean that I will be studying again. And I mean, proper studying. As in, I will be a student in a University. And I will really be using my brain again. As in, a different part of my brain from the part that learns languages. I really don’t mean to play down how challenging learning a new language can be, because it is challenging. But it is really challenging in a very different way from say, my job was challenging. The part of my brain that used to be challenged drafting submissions and interviewing witnesses and studying medical records, and preparing for cross, etc., that part of my brain, is pretty much asleep. And it really needs to wake up. I worry that if it stays asleep too long, it might slip into an irreversible coma.

Of course, I am also terrified at the thought of studying law in German! A Masters in Law, in German. What the hell was I thinking??!! It’s hard enough trying to understand boy with dragon flying around in German. Now, I’m going to have to read law in German!! Like I said, terrified. My German teacher,

6. The one thing I am not sure about Göttingen, although seeing that I am not sure may actually turn out better, is the travel distance to the nearest airport. It’s close to Hannover, I know, but I am not sure how many cheap airlines fly into Hannover and where they fly to. I miss that about KL. Yeah, we complain about how far away KLIA is from the city. But seriously, it is 28 minutes on the KLIA Express, on average about an hour’s drive. Sure, it is further than Subang Airport used to be. But think about the people who live in Termerloh or Batu Pahat, or even Penang or JB. They have to drive for hours to get to the airport. So while we complain about having to wake up at 5am to catch the early morning cheap AirAsia flight, there are people who cannot take that flight simply because it means they have to start driving at 3 am or spend the night near the airport. I never really thought about those people until now. Until I became one of those people.

7. I like trains. I also like train stations. I travelled by train to Heidelberg to visit a good friend this month. The train journey was like a hundred hours and I had to make about a dozen changes, but… okay, it was about 6 hours, and 3 changes, one of which was Frankfurt. So I found myself at Frankfurt train station with 40 minutes waiting time. I wandered around the station somewhat aimlessly and ended up in front of the Departures board in the middle of the station. Looking at that board, I was filled with wanderlust. It seemed like from that station, I could end up anywhere: Geneva, Rome… I can’t remember the rest. It seemed so easy. All I had to do was step off a platform and onto a waiting train and it would whisk me away to new places and new experiences. It is not quite the same as an airport. In an airport, the possibilities are greater. However, stepping onto a plane is slightly more complicated. One must first purchase a ticket, go through customs, go through security, go through immigration, go through security again, wait at the departure gate before one eventually is allowed to board the train. Over here, I could have just stepped on the train, just like that. I would have had to pay through my nose for the ticket later on, but it would have been possible. The thought was so enticing, almost intoxicating for the little travelbug that resides in me. Of course, I did step off the platform onto a waiting train, just like that, but it was a train on my itinerary and one that took me back to Bielefeld, via here and there and wherever else. Not quite as exciting as Geneva or Rome.

8. Heidelberg was nice. A friend of mine had just moved there from home, and I went over to meet up with her. Together we went shopping for kitchen utensils and other necessities. I think it’s a very brave what she is doing. She is here for a year’s training. I cannot imagine being thrown into a job in a country where I can barely speak the language. Not that she doesn’t speak the language, she does. But for the purposes of her job, not enough. It would have been so much easier for her to train in an English speaking country, like so many others in her field do.

But I suppose that is why some people stand out while others get lost in the crowd. It’s easy to do what is easy. It’s easy to remain in our little world of comforts. While it is more and more common for people to travel and live in a foreign country, be it for studies or work, there are still so many more who would never even consider taking such a step. Perhaps those people are happier at the end of the day, than those of us who are all too aware of what is out there in the world, and worst, yearn to see and experience it all. Those of us who are always wanting more, are those who have to live with the lack or means or opportunities to realise such dreams.

9. Like I said, Heidelberg itself was nice. It’s one of the towns spared from Allied bombing during the war because it holds the oldest university in Germany. I mentioned this previously. So, much of the old buildings are preserved. And there is a river (always nice) and a castle (also nice). It actually makes for quite an impressive picture. In fact, throughout Heidelberg, I think I saw only one, maybe 2, postcards that did not have the river (or rather a bridge) and the castle in it! However, despite the many photographs I took, I failed to capture the river+bridge+castle scene. But since my friend is there, I am sure I will be there again some day in the not too distant future.

10. I cannot help but to think about the political situation at home. I will not say more here, other than that it is on my mind.