Life on Erasmus #1

Catchy title, eh? But hey, it is what it says on the tin! It doesn't feel like I've only been here just over two weeks (Not sure if that's a good or bad thing!) But, from the start.

Arriving in my new town after a flight & train journey

Strangely, I had no problem leaving home. After my crying the night before, I was okay. It felt weird to be the one comforting my parents, but I took it well. Til I got on the plane, & a few tears escaped. Since then, yep, I have cried a little. The first time I Skyped my little sisters, I sobbed afterwards! But it's all good now.

View from the train station

I really like the city. It's small enough to feel comfortable here & know the place, but big enough to be interesting & there are lots of places nearby to travel to. Some of the buildings are beautiful & the scenery pretty much is breath taking. The view out my window is lovely! (Which is good, because I have no curtains.) But my room is massive, so I can deal with it.

The River Saale in the local park

Yeah, it's not all sunshine & lollipops. When we arrived, I couldn't move into my apartment for another week, so I spent a week sleeping uncomfortably. We had no internet, & wifi just doesn't seem to be a thing here. I was waiting for my phone to be unlocked to use a German sim card, & when it was unlocked, I had to wait to get internet to actually complete the process, so I was spending massive amounts of credit! We were supposed to do a language course, which was cancelled. So basically.. We probably arrived a week too early.

View from the tower

But Monday, we start college, which I'm looking forward to. We have (finally) met other students, who seem really nice so hopefully I do actually make friends! And I think this year might really change me as a person. I'll have to wait & see :)

Me & my new home!

Chloe x

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go.

That's a lie. My bags are not yet fully packed, but they will be. Soon.



Just in case there is a person left on this planet who has not yet been told; I am moving to Germany tomorrow, for one year. I study Law & German, so I'm off to study Law in Germany on Erasmus. Terrifying but exciting but confusing but it's happening. Despite my best efforts to thwart it!

I'm taking it all very casually. Out of my class, I was the one not bothered where I went, as long as it wasn't alone. I was the one to wait til last week to book flights. I was the one who just ended up being a disaster at organising myself! Two weeks ago, I was in London, where I lost my passport. Faced by the decision to either apply for a new one by Express Post (10 working days) or go to a counter (3-5 working days plus a bitta extra cash), I went with the cheapie. But hey, passport turned up last Friday. THREE DAYS EARLY.

There was then my suitcase fiasco - I bought my case last week, & started to pack it yesterday. After throwing in a few bits of clothing, my make up & some shoes, I decided to weigh it, just for some guidance on how much extra I could put in. Except the luggage scales read 30KG. A whole 10KG over. I threw out all my underwear, determined I could go commando for a while. All three tops were taken out - I was wearing them. Anything not liquid or sharp was dumped into my handbag. Surely I'd get away with it now? Oh wait. I was looking at the 'lbs' measurement, not KG. Turns out I have lots of extra room in the case!

Then there was going to print my boarding pass, with no ink in the printer. Grand, I'd do it in the library. Once there, I realised I again had no passport with me. A run home & a call to my dad in work, & we were sorted.

So for now, I am sitting in the middle of my (very clean but covered in clothes) room, which my sister has claimed strongly. I will charge my phone, iPod, & laptop before they're thrown in. I will pack some warmer clothes. I will wash myself... Just in case it takes me a while to buy shower gel in Germany. I will steal all my mammy's teabags & I will hopefully blog lots about my experience!

PS After writing this I went to look for travel quotes. I am now crying. I AM TERRIFIED. But it's only a year & it is an amazing opportunity. Onwards & upwards!

Chloe x