Sometimes I like to be organised. When I have little control over something, I want to throw myself into the things I can change and make sure I do a good job. When it comes to the year abroad, I can do little at the moment besides post forms away, book my flight and train journeys (done, oh my god), and search for a place to live. So in between working a lot in the shop and doing some work experience at a local paper, I've been consumed by finding the perfect Wohngemeinschaft ("living community", a German flatshare) to set myself up in for the year.
Everything I've read on my new favourite website Third Year Abroad and what I've heard from previous Year Abroad-ers at uni has pointed to WG-Gesucht as being the best place to find a flatshare. The university in Halle did send me a link to their residential services but I don't want to go into halls in Germany. I'm too scared of living with loads of other international students - probably a lot of fun, but not fantastic for my German skills as I think I'd be tempted to just speak English all the time. And I definitely don't want (and probably can't afford) a flat to myself. All of the WGs on WG-Gesucht seem to follow the same template: washing machine in the bathroom, and the flatmates like to cook together but also have time to themselves sometimes. Sounds ideal. I'm in.
I actually found the perfect flat very quickly, but it fell through! The room was huge and bright, the flatmates seemed awesome, there were two balconies... what more could I really want? I even started making a Pinterest board of how I was going to make it my own and looked up the best bus routes to Ikea Leipzig (though I hinted to my mentor teacher first, in case I could coerce her into taking me in the car). The flatmates chose me, I was over the moon, and I sent all my forms to the letting agency straight away like a good little slave to bureaucracy, only to receive an email over a week later saying that the owner doesn't want to let me the room. Oh. OK. My would-have-been flatmates were fantastic and tried to do all they could to help, but the new owner of the building won't play along. So it's back to WG-Gesucht and stressing out!
What I will say, though, is that I've found everyone really friendly so far! One girl who I replied to a little too late said that she would put me in touch with a friend of hers who needs a flatmate, and offered to meet up with me when I get to Halle! And a friend of my girl Lara has also passed along the details of someone she knows who has a furnished room to let. Maybe contacts are the way?
Hopefully I'll be back soon with better flat-related news! And despite my lack of success so far, I'm still really excited to move out of my parents' house for the first time. I might be terrified of the year ahead of me, but despite my general uselessness (can't cook, can't fix things, can't do much really) I couldn't feel more ready for this aspect.
Monday, 22 July 2013
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Hallo, Halle!
While I was in Barcelona the email arrived that I'd been waiting for since finding out my Bundesland. Since finding out my application had been accepted. Since applying to go, even. I might have been shaking a bit when I opened it. What if I was going to a little village miles from proper (read: urban) civilisation? With two buses a day and no trains? Where everyone would know everything about everyone else because they all lived on the same street? This was the nightmare that had haunted me for months. But it was not to be! A letter from Saxony-Anhalt's education department revealed I'd actually been placed in a school in Halle an der Saale! To be honest, this was even better than I'd hoped for. I'd been gearing myself up for a medium-sized or small town. And instead I'm going to a university city, still small compared to Glasgow, but full of people my age and bars and shops. Perfect, as my Stevenson scholarship requires me to enrol at a German uni during my assistantship and Halle's Martin Luther University is huge.
I'm so excited to be going to Halle. It looks like a great city, small enough that I won't get lost but bursting with people to get to know. I've already begun looking for flats and they're all gorgeous and CHEAP. I can't believe the price difference between the flats there and what people pay for in the UK. I've had two skype 'dates' with potential flatmates, and I'm currently quite stressed but excited to finally fly the nest and hopefully land on my feet in a lovely flat. Preferably with a balcony, because that is the essence of the year abroad, is it not? Sitting in the sunset with a glass of wine, wondering how many people in Scotland can do the same. Though in my case, the glass will probably be replaced with a bottle of beer.
The school looks good. Quite normal, I suppose. It's a kooperative Gesamtschule, which from what I can figure out is pretty close to a British comprehensive school. It's in the Neustadt area of Halle, separated from the rest of the city by the river Saale, but by the looks of things still very reachable by tram or bus. From what I can figure out, HaNeu (amazing nickname, isn't it) looks a bit like Cumbernauld. Though, as my friend pointed out, perhaps Cumbernauld just looks like socialist East Germany. I'll be teaching kids from 10 to about 17 or 18, I think, and my lovely contact teacher Anka has informed me that the school is holding its first ever Highland Games this year. Interesting.
I'm doing work experience at a local newspaper this week and in every spare moment between jobs all I've been able to think about is Halle. Besides finding a flat, most of the worries I had are gone, and now I just can't wait to get on that plane and see what Germany's all about! I'm so happy for my friends too, as everyone's finally found out where they're going and everyone seems pretty happy! I can't wait to make Deutsche Bahn my best friend and travel around to see them all.
It's going to be a good one, I think!
I'm so excited to be going to Halle. It looks like a great city, small enough that I won't get lost but bursting with people to get to know. I've already begun looking for flats and they're all gorgeous and CHEAP. I can't believe the price difference between the flats there and what people pay for in the UK. I've had two skype 'dates' with potential flatmates, and I'm currently quite stressed but excited to finally fly the nest and hopefully land on my feet in a lovely flat. Preferably with a balcony, because that is the essence of the year abroad, is it not? Sitting in the sunset with a glass of wine, wondering how many people in Scotland can do the same. Though in my case, the glass will probably be replaced with a bottle of beer.
The school looks good. Quite normal, I suppose. It's a kooperative Gesamtschule, which from what I can figure out is pretty close to a British comprehensive school. It's in the Neustadt area of Halle, separated from the rest of the city by the river Saale, but by the looks of things still very reachable by tram or bus. From what I can figure out, HaNeu (amazing nickname, isn't it) looks a bit like Cumbernauld. Though, as my friend pointed out, perhaps Cumbernauld just looks like socialist East Germany. I'll be teaching kids from 10 to about 17 or 18, I think, and my lovely contact teacher Anka has informed me that the school is holding its first ever Highland Games this year. Interesting.
 |
| Is this an ex-Eastern Bloc country or a Scottish new town? You decide... |
I'm doing work experience at a local newspaper this week and in every spare moment between jobs all I've been able to think about is Halle. Besides finding a flat, most of the worries I had are gone, and now I just can't wait to get on that plane and see what Germany's all about! I'm so happy for my friends too, as everyone's finally found out where they're going and everyone seems pretty happy! I can't wait to make Deutsche Bahn my best friend and travel around to see them all.
It's going to be a good one, I think!
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Barcelona
This afternoon I got back from a long weekend in Barcelona with my friend Emma! An interesting holiday, to say the least. I'm not sure what we were expecting when we rolled up to Prestwick airport on Friday morning, but it certainly wasn't what we found over our four days in the city.
Barcelona is undoubtedly beautiful. The streets, parks and buildings we saw were gorgeous, especially in the sunshine. I especially loved the Antoni Gaudi works all over the city - it's no wonder his designs are so popular and have become a bit of a symbol for Barcelona! (Google tells me today is his birthday, so happy birthday, you genius!) Park Güell in particular blew me away with its mosaics and views over the city. Montjuïc park is also amazing, full of stuff to see and do, even if we thought our legs were going to fall off after our day there. The cable cars give glorious views, just don't go if you're scared of heights!
La Boqueria food market was a lovely surprise. It's right off La Rambla and was swarming with people when we visited on Saturday. Food paradise! Stalls were piled high with fruit, meat, nuts... I just had to buy a fruit salad and "tutti fruiti" juice (cherries, orange and pineapple), perfect healthy food for the hot weather! I could probably have spent much longer wandering around in there but we had to get back to our mission of finding a police station - more on that later - so we left before we got too distracted and started salivating. I think we could probably have splashed out more food-wise, we mostly ate at cheap cafés, but we did go to a lovely restaurant one night and found it wasn't expensive at all. Thanks to it being the night of Sant Joan, a huge deal in Barcelona, we got a three course meal with a beer for £16 euros each, and those portions were generous. I had a goat's cheese salad with walnuts and raisins, then cod in tomato and garlic sauce with beans and another fruit salad for dessert. All delicious, I want to try and copy the salad at home! Even in cafés we found some good food among the other more disappointing options, I had a great Mallorcan sausage sandwich (with crispy toasted bread, yum) for lunch one day, so I think as far as cafés go it's probably just your luck.
By chance, we found ourselves in Barcelona on the night of Sant Joan festivities. It's an old Christian festival celebrating John the Baptist, and it seems to have taken on a life of its own there. After our lovely dinner we wandered around the old town finding bars, including a rock bar in the Gothic Quarter that seems to have just been called Tequila and sold "mortal shots" named after musicians who died young... bit weird, but hey, they played The Clash for me! Then we grabbed a taxi to a beach club our hostel had got us free entry to. It was absolutely amazing. The only time I've experienced such a party atmosphere at home was on Hogmanay. The club was packed and we could walk out the back door straight onto a beach full of young happy drunk Catalans with bonfires. It was like nothing I've ever experienced. If you want to go to Barcelona, go on this night. Lots of things shut down the next day, but it's totally worth it for the night before.
As much as we enjoyed our holiday, it was definitely marred by two things, one of which we'd been warned about and one we did not see coming. On the first night, Emma's phone was stolen as we were eating. Almost everyone I'd told about Barcelona warned me about pickpocketing but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly! Spending our second afternoon in a police station wasn't the nicest holiday experience, even if the policeman writing the report was rather attractive. The second was harassment and catcalling on the streets. As young women we experienced constant obvious staring, as well as comments and gestures being thrown our way from men, mostly middle aged but a few younger ones too. These ranged from the annoying but ultimately harmless "hey sexy, wow, so white!" to men beckoning us to sit near them or in one case, on their knees. I did quite a bit of reading up on Barcelona before we went and never found anything about this, and now having googled it most of the websites I've found said that it was no worse than any other European city. But it was certainly worse than anything I've ever experienced, as a European who has travelled to a few major cities. We found ourselves very uncomfortable walking around at night. It was truly bizarre and a little frightening. I know if I was to return to Barcelona I'd want to travel with some guys because I really don't want to experience something like this again.
So all in all, I'm not sure what I thought of Barcelona. Beautiful and not at all hectic for a big city, it also didn't feel very safe for us at times. Perhaps that's to be expected everywhere as a tourist, but I definitely didn't feel so vulnerable in Berlin or even Paris. I'd go back, but as a young woman I'd want to go with male friends and I'd probably try and wear clothes that covered my legs at least (which I did, mostly, but Emma had only brought shorts and dresses and felt twice as uncomfortable as I did). I'm trying not to let our bad experiences ruin my opinion of such a cool city, though, and it was lovely to get some sunshine for a change!
I'll be posting again soon cause I've had some big news about my year abroad and I'm so excited to finally get more organised! So til then, hope you're all enjoying your summers!
Barcelona is undoubtedly beautiful. The streets, parks and buildings we saw were gorgeous, especially in the sunshine. I especially loved the Antoni Gaudi works all over the city - it's no wonder his designs are so popular and have become a bit of a symbol for Barcelona! (Google tells me today is his birthday, so happy birthday, you genius!) Park Güell in particular blew me away with its mosaics and views over the city. Montjuïc park is also amazing, full of stuff to see and do, even if we thought our legs were going to fall off after our day there. The cable cars give glorious views, just don't go if you're scared of heights!
La Boqueria food market was a lovely surprise. It's right off La Rambla and was swarming with people when we visited on Saturday. Food paradise! Stalls were piled high with fruit, meat, nuts... I just had to buy a fruit salad and "tutti fruiti" juice (cherries, orange and pineapple), perfect healthy food for the hot weather! I could probably have spent much longer wandering around in there but we had to get back to our mission of finding a police station - more on that later - so we left before we got too distracted and started salivating. I think we could probably have splashed out more food-wise, we mostly ate at cheap cafés, but we did go to a lovely restaurant one night and found it wasn't expensive at all. Thanks to it being the night of Sant Joan, a huge deal in Barcelona, we got a three course meal with a beer for £16 euros each, and those portions were generous. I had a goat's cheese salad with walnuts and raisins, then cod in tomato and garlic sauce with beans and another fruit salad for dessert. All delicious, I want to try and copy the salad at home! Even in cafés we found some good food among the other more disappointing options, I had a great Mallorcan sausage sandwich (with crispy toasted bread, yum) for lunch one day, so I think as far as cafés go it's probably just your luck.
By chance, we found ourselves in Barcelona on the night of Sant Joan festivities. It's an old Christian festival celebrating John the Baptist, and it seems to have taken on a life of its own there. After our lovely dinner we wandered around the old town finding bars, including a rock bar in the Gothic Quarter that seems to have just been called Tequila and sold "mortal shots" named after musicians who died young... bit weird, but hey, they played The Clash for me! Then we grabbed a taxi to a beach club our hostel had got us free entry to. It was absolutely amazing. The only time I've experienced such a party atmosphere at home was on Hogmanay. The club was packed and we could walk out the back door straight onto a beach full of young happy drunk Catalans with bonfires. It was like nothing I've ever experienced. If you want to go to Barcelona, go on this night. Lots of things shut down the next day, but it's totally worth it for the night before.
As much as we enjoyed our holiday, it was definitely marred by two things, one of which we'd been warned about and one we did not see coming. On the first night, Emma's phone was stolen as we were eating. Almost everyone I'd told about Barcelona warned me about pickpocketing but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly! Spending our second afternoon in a police station wasn't the nicest holiday experience, even if the policeman writing the report was rather attractive. The second was harassment and catcalling on the streets. As young women we experienced constant obvious staring, as well as comments and gestures being thrown our way from men, mostly middle aged but a few younger ones too. These ranged from the annoying but ultimately harmless "hey sexy, wow, so white!" to men beckoning us to sit near them or in one case, on their knees. I did quite a bit of reading up on Barcelona before we went and never found anything about this, and now having googled it most of the websites I've found said that it was no worse than any other European city. But it was certainly worse than anything I've ever experienced, as a European who has travelled to a few major cities. We found ourselves very uncomfortable walking around at night. It was truly bizarre and a little frightening. I know if I was to return to Barcelona I'd want to travel with some guys because I really don't want to experience something like this again.
So all in all, I'm not sure what I thought of Barcelona. Beautiful and not at all hectic for a big city, it also didn't feel very safe for us at times. Perhaps that's to be expected everywhere as a tourist, but I definitely didn't feel so vulnerable in Berlin or even Paris. I'd go back, but as a young woman I'd want to go with male friends and I'd probably try and wear clothes that covered my legs at least (which I did, mostly, but Emma had only brought shorts and dresses and felt twice as uncomfortable as I did). I'm trying not to let our bad experiences ruin my opinion of such a cool city, though, and it was lovely to get some sunshine for a change!
I'll be posting again soon cause I've had some big news about my year abroad and I'm so excited to finally get more organised! So til then, hope you're all enjoying your summers!
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Scottish summer: on the Glasgow tourist trail.
My friend Manon returns to France very soon, and before we all end up scattered around Germany she wanted to experience Glasgow like a proper tourist! When you're studying and living here, it can be surprisingly easy to let some of the city's attractions pass by unnoticed or unintentionally ignored, and the tour bus we decided to take even had some surprises in store for me! We set off on our bus tour a couple of weeks ago and though the sun hadn't heated up the city quite as much as it has this week, we were still lucky enough to find it shining happily all day long. I even got a little bit burnt!
My favourite parts of the tour were the two I'd never experienced before: the Necropolis and the People's Palace. Despite it looming over part of my daily bus route, I'd just never found the time or motivation to visit the Necropolis. I was surprised by the size of it - I didn't realise there was quite so much round the back! - and the views over the city were stunning. The People's Palace has never been on my beaten track, being in a part of the city I rarely have reason to visit, but I knew I'd enjoy a social history museum, and I certainly wasn't let down. Glasgow's social history is so important to the city's identity and the museum did justice to all of it, both the wonderful and the terrible parts. The exhibit on the Red Road Flats, currently being demolished, was especially poignant. We had fun trying to learn to dance old time Barrowlands style by following footprints on the floor; definitely not a success. We'd never have got a winch at the dancin' with these moves.
If you're in Glasgow and have never been to either the Necropolis or the People's Palace, go! Both are free (ahhh, lack of museum admission fees - another reason why I love my city) and definitely worth a visit. Plus, you can finish the day with a visit to West Beer and grab a pint of their gorgeous made-on-site German-style beer. Only a 10-15 minute walk from the city centre, so what are you waiting for? I really don't know why it took me so long to visit.
My favourite parts of the tour were the two I'd never experienced before: the Necropolis and the People's Palace. Despite it looming over part of my daily bus route, I'd just never found the time or motivation to visit the Necropolis. I was surprised by the size of it - I didn't realise there was quite so much round the back! - and the views over the city were stunning. The People's Palace has never been on my beaten track, being in a part of the city I rarely have reason to visit, but I knew I'd enjoy a social history museum, and I certainly wasn't let down. Glasgow's social history is so important to the city's identity and the museum did justice to all of it, both the wonderful and the terrible parts. The exhibit on the Red Road Flats, currently being demolished, was especially poignant. We had fun trying to learn to dance old time Barrowlands style by following footprints on the floor; definitely not a success. We'd never have got a winch at the dancin' with these moves.
If you're in Glasgow and have never been to either the Necropolis or the People's Palace, go! Both are free (ahhh, lack of museum admission fees - another reason why I love my city) and definitely worth a visit. Plus, you can finish the day with a visit to West Beer and grab a pint of their gorgeous made-on-site German-style beer. Only a 10-15 minute walk from the city centre, so what are you waiting for? I really don't know why it took me so long to visit.
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Scottish summer: Edinburgh adventures!
Although this is going to be a year abroad blog, I think the best way to get myself into the habit of blogging will be to document my summer! I've been doing my best to make it about more than just working and waiting for a letter to arrive telling me more about my placement. So far I'd say I've been doing ok, though I have spent a bit more money than I really should have considering my holiday is soon... oops.
At lunch the other day Colin pointed out that I've been back and forward to Edinburgh quite a lot in the past week and a bit, and I suppose he's right. First I went to see my friend Ross Anne on her birthday, which coincided with the Champions League final - and the result was definitely a great birthday present for such a huge Bayern Munich fan! Having put a little bit of money on Dortmund to win (not too much, don't worry) I was a little disappointed but watching Ross Anne and her German friend sing Bayern songs and being so happy cheered me up. Then it was back to the flat for cake, more drinking and a surprise reappearance by said friend at some silly time of the morning - thank you, 'Ernest', for indulging our love of German and giving us more of an excuse not to go to bed!
Headed to Snax to pick up some breakfast delights, as we're so lazy and it's the best place in Edinburgh to grab a fry-up, then it was down to the station for me. Only halfway back to Glasgow I realised I'd managed to leave my purse in Edinburgh! So Tuesday saw me heading back - thank you, train pass - to collect it and enjoy a frappuccino before Ross Anne's gym session.
Last night I ended up on the Glasgow - Edinburgh train once again to see Camera Obscura with the lovely Elsa, who I hadn't seen in an inexcusably long time. I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the gig itself, there seemed to be an energy missing that was definitely there when we saw them at the Barrowlands on their last tour. I suspect it had a lot to do with them playing so many new songs the audience hadn't had time to listen to yet, as their newest album was only released a couple of days ago, and there was definitely a better vibe when more familiar opening bars were played. Still not a bad gig by any means and we followed it up with a trip to Cabaret Voltaire, where I had a little too much fun waving my arms into the white mist from the smoke machine. I wasn't drunk, honest. There's something to be said for some dancey house type music. It's not something I'd ever listen to at home but on a night out it can make everything feel almost transcendental, like I'm dancing on another planet entirely. Or maybe it's just the alcohol; the last time I danced to this stuff involved free tequila shots. I will need to investigate further by trying out some of Glasgow's house hotspots sometime soon. If you see me, a free shot would go down a treat!
I'm going to update again soon with some of the stuff I've been up to closer to home, including a trip on the Glasgow city tour bus! I'm determined to make this a summer to remember.
At lunch the other day Colin pointed out that I've been back and forward to Edinburgh quite a lot in the past week and a bit, and I suppose he's right. First I went to see my friend Ross Anne on her birthday, which coincided with the Champions League final - and the result was definitely a great birthday present for such a huge Bayern Munich fan! Having put a little bit of money on Dortmund to win (not too much, don't worry) I was a little disappointed but watching Ross Anne and her German friend sing Bayern songs and being so happy cheered me up. Then it was back to the flat for cake, more drinking and a surprise reappearance by said friend at some silly time of the morning - thank you, 'Ernest', for indulging our love of German and giving us more of an excuse not to go to bed!
Headed to Snax to pick up some breakfast delights, as we're so lazy and it's the best place in Edinburgh to grab a fry-up, then it was down to the station for me. Only halfway back to Glasgow I realised I'd managed to leave my purse in Edinburgh! So Tuesday saw me heading back - thank you, train pass - to collect it and enjoy a frappuccino before Ross Anne's gym session.
Last night I ended up on the Glasgow - Edinburgh train once again to see Camera Obscura with the lovely Elsa, who I hadn't seen in an inexcusably long time. I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the gig itself, there seemed to be an energy missing that was definitely there when we saw them at the Barrowlands on their last tour. I suspect it had a lot to do with them playing so many new songs the audience hadn't had time to listen to yet, as their newest album was only released a couple of days ago, and there was definitely a better vibe when more familiar opening bars were played. Still not a bad gig by any means and we followed it up with a trip to Cabaret Voltaire, where I had a little too much fun waving my arms into the white mist from the smoke machine. I wasn't drunk, honest. There's something to be said for some dancey house type music. It's not something I'd ever listen to at home but on a night out it can make everything feel almost transcendental, like I'm dancing on another planet entirely. Or maybe it's just the alcohol; the last time I danced to this stuff involved free tequila shots. I will need to investigate further by trying out some of Glasgow's house hotspots sometime soon. If you see me, a free shot would go down a treat!
I'm going to update again soon with some of the stuff I've been up to closer to home, including a trip on the Glasgow city tour bus! I'm determined to make this a summer to remember.
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Bundesland.
Last week I finally found out which part of Germany I’ll be working in from September! I’ve been placed in Saxony-Anhalt, an eastern but still quite central state. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed, as this was my third choice of Bundesland (Germany’s federal states), and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I had my heart set on NRW in the west. But as the days have passed I’ve become much happier with things, as I’ve remembered some of the reasons I picked this Bundesland in the first place:
Another great thing about being placed here (though I couldn’t have known it when I applied) is that two of my best friends have been placed nearby: the wonderful Lara is also going to be teaching in Saxony-Anhalt, and my girl Emma will be next door in Saxony proper! So if I’m feeling a bit lonely or homesick I can jump on a train and explore a new place with them and get a bit of Scotland back just by hearing them speak.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
- It’s not far from Berlin
…Maybe not the best way to start this list. “It’s near another place” probably isn’t a very encouraging thing to say about the area I’ll be living in. Neither is the fact that in my oral exam, when I mentioned to my German tutor/examiner that I’d applied here, it’s the first thing she said about it. But this can only be a positive because I love Berlin, and 2 hours or so away by train is definitely an improvement on my current location in another country. (Also, one of my friends, Erin, has been placed in Berlin, and two hours on a train with a hangover is do-able, if not desirable…) - It’s cheap
The rule in Germany seems to be the further east you go, the cheaper rents become (Berlin being an exception, though it’s still ridiculously cheap for the capital of a western European country). I’ve spent tonight browsing wg-gesucht.de and swooning over the prices of rooms in flatshares. 200 euros a month for a beautiful room, including bills? I’ll take that, thanks very much! For a comparison here, I know people in Glasgow paying £360 a month for a room near the uni, and this isn’t exactly known for being an expensive city. - It’s beautiful
Saxony-Anhalt’s tourism seems to be largely based around the Harz region with its national park, and I’m not exactly a walking-in-the-countryside kind of girl. But for a while now I’ve been wanting to get fit and riding a bike round the beautiful German countryside sounds quite nice, really. Especially since Erin bought me bike stickers for my birthday!
Another great thing about being placed here (though I couldn’t have known it when I applied) is that two of my best friends have been placed nearby: the wonderful Lara is also going to be teaching in Saxony-Anhalt, and my girl Emma will be next door in Saxony proper! So if I’m feeling a bit lonely or homesick I can jump on a train and explore a new place with them and get a bit of Scotland back just by hearing them speak.
I have to say, I think everything’s going to work out just fine. Now I just need to hear from my school and get flat hunting. And learn to cook. Wish me luck!
Thursday, 18 April 2013
A Hello
Hiya! I suppose I should introduce myself here. If you’re reading this because I asked you to, feel free to stop reading round about now. You won’t learn anything new, but thanks for taking a peek! If you’ve somehow accidentally stumbled across my little corner of the internet, here’s the basics:
My name’s Lauren, I’m 19, and I’ve spent my whole life living on the outskirts of Glasgow. I’ve decided to start a blog primarily to record my year abroad as a British Council English Language Assistant, which I’ll be spending in Germany from September. But you’ll also find thoughts and rants of mine that I feel deserve a bit more consideration than being stuck between cat pictures on my tumblr.
I love to travel, if and when money allows, and last summer I spent holidays in Berlin, Paris and Strasbourg. This summer I’m heading to Barcelona, and obviously as of September I plan to take full advantage of Germany’s central position and my unbelievably short working hours by taking impromptu trips around Europe; I can’t wait!
Other hobbies of mine are messing about with my gorgeous Praktica LTL camera, slurping mojitos and dancing with the girls, and stuffing myself with pizza and episodes of Pointless. I’m also a big fan of flavoured tea and my PS2.
That’s about it, I think. Happy reading!
Lauren xx
My name’s Lauren, I’m 19, and I’ve spent my whole life living on the outskirts of Glasgow. I’ve decided to start a blog primarily to record my year abroad as a British Council English Language Assistant, which I’ll be spending in Germany from September. But you’ll also find thoughts and rants of mine that I feel deserve a bit more consideration than being stuck between cat pictures on my tumblr.
I love to travel, if and when money allows, and last summer I spent holidays in Berlin, Paris and Strasbourg. This summer I’m heading to Barcelona, and obviously as of September I plan to take full advantage of Germany’s central position and my unbelievably short working hours by taking impromptu trips around Europe; I can’t wait!
Other hobbies of mine are messing about with my gorgeous Praktica LTL camera, slurping mojitos and dancing with the girls, and stuffing myself with pizza and episodes of Pointless. I’m also a big fan of flavoured tea and my PS2.
That’s about it, I think. Happy reading!
Lauren xx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)