Kulturstadt HH

Last Sunday, bcs the weather didn't want to play on our side and let me share with it the joy of 30 people going to ice skating, I was forced to make a backup plan: Ice Skating => Cinema Evening. The fact that half of the people on the original Ice Skating list dropped out didn't stop me from going with the other half to the movies.
The choices: I am Legend ( Too bad for Will Smith. He is a pretty good actor), Eastern Promises ( A movie that was promising something but turned out to be only that) and PS: I love you ( I didn't get to see the movie bcs nobody else wanted to see it. And to let it out on the open. I wouldn't have seen it bcs it is a romantic comedy but bcs i like Hilary Swank ).

---

Yday after basketball ( now every Tue and Fday eve ) I went with Chris to the theater. It was "Richard the III"'s night. Good that the poor Shakespeare doesn't live anymore. He could have easily become insane seeing what these modern times are doing to his pieces of art.
I am a little exaggerating now, as the actors were pretty good. Only Shakespeare's English caused some problems.

<< „Richard III“ – Premiere von den University Players - Die University Players der Universität Hamburg zeigen William Shakespeares Historiendrama in englischer Sprache „Richard III“ vom 22. bis 26. Januar und 28. Januar bis 2. Februar 2008" >>

---

Today i switched from English to German.
Tonight's performance: 'Die Kameliendame' (The Lady of the Camellias ) by Alexandre Dumas, fils.

Negative points:
- Got 20 min later. Grrr. Well it would have been tragic if i wouldn't have known the play.
- The lady at the entrance didn't check our tickets anymore. Should i have spent the money then? (She told us: U have to sit in the back now as the play already started. Crap. Who says i cannot go on the side till the front?! :D ).
- 2 Euros for wardrobe. Wth? I pay 5 Euros for the ticket and 2 for wardrobe? Grrrrrr.
- During the play 3 actors stripped. Yeah yeah. Everybody read correctly. They were naked. Why?! i asked myself. Modern art? Bad actors who needed something more to make the play more "interesting"? Wasn't needed. But we are in HH and Reeperbahn is a leitmotiv.

Positive points:
- Very nice play. Sad story but the actors were so good that i felt i was taking part at their story being written/confessed, i was a witness to their emotions.
- I understood it. :D:D May be the most important aspect. I am kind of.. proud of myself. There was a short moment when i detached myself from the play and smiled thinking that i am actually laughing and crying in.. "German".

---

Next week another try: " Der Geizige " ( L'Avare ) by Moliere. Anxious ab it. Am i going to see another modern representation with who knows some more naked people? :))))

Wish us all a cultural week.

Talents - Part 3

No comment




Actually a little comment wouldnt hurt.
Now there isnt any doubt: i can get married. iuhuuuuu :))))))))))))))))))

Español III

This semester i had more time (supposedly) and decided to fill the holes i had in my knowledge regarding Spanish. People say that for us, the Romanians, it is easy to learn Spanish not because our language is similar to it, but because we can learn it from soap-operas. I don't think it is true. You need some rules you can follow.
Didn't realise until coming to HH that i can understand that good Spanish. The problem comes up once I start communicating. There isn't any communication. A monologue of the person who want to communicate with me :))))
Ehh well.. just need some practice.

So..in October i went to take the placement test. It was very funny. Most of them i 'solved' them by listening to my intuition. I knew that if i would have read a little before i would have done better. But never mind. I had a lot of fun taking the test ( Thank u, A.. for that! )

I was placed in Spanish 2. That mean they might have thought : ' Hmm..she knows some Spanish, but not enough.' :D
I found it a little slow for me. So i asked the teacher if i could come also to Spanish 3.
After 10 lessons ( in total ) i took the test for Spanish 3.

Y el resultado es:



Desafortunadamente la universidad no tiene suficiente dinero para ofrecer español 4 tambien. :((
¡Que pena!
Pero ahora solo tengo que practicar mucho con mis amigos españoles, mexicanos, colombianos etc.
hehe :D

My new home - Moving issues

In the middle of September '07 I had to move. Many people said i was lucky for moving 'internally', as the people who own the dorms here in HH like to say. More exactly from the 3rd to the 1st floor. Why? Every international student who wants to stay in a dorm books the room, before coming to HH, only for 1 year. After this year everybody has to move out and start searching (preferably 2 months in advance) for another room... in private this time. I got to know from my friends who had been in this situation that this takes time, a bag of nerves and brings them up to discover the city while looking for the address of the person who's renting a room.
I 'skipped' this phase. I moved from a rectangular to an oval room. :) New apartment. New room. New flatmates. New habits. New rules.
My new flatmates?
1 Russian guy (I) - a bit lazy. He wouldn’t mind for sure as he was the one who told me that one day:
He: 'Are u clean?'
I(shocked):'What do u mean?'
He: 'No no... I wanted to ask if u like to clean. Bcs if u do, u can share the bathroom with me and M, bcs we are a little lazy and you would like to clean.' WTH???
1 Cameroonian guy (M) - pretty young. He gets along with I very good.
1 Vietnamese guy (Ph) - I don’t have too much contact with him. But i talk pretty much with his GF, Ha, who is studying in a city close to HH. She is always except WEs here. A nice girl. Very ordered.
1 Russian girl (O) - who was here for 3 years and moved last week. (Soon another face is coming). Nice girl. Quiet. Didn’t like to party.

My new contract is different. I was bothered by the fact that I didn’t have curtains (Thanks to my dear friend, SSG - my former flatmate, i have an orange one now :D). But the worst thing it was the dirty room. Took me (and Chris, as he was here to support me) 2-3 days to put everything in order.
Only 1 incident is worth to be mentioned: while cleaning the lampshade fell. Didn’t buy a new one until now as we don’t find one to match. :D

On the 15th I 'celebrated' 4 months since i am in this new room. Wow.
I remember very clearly I's first remark, just after the traditional 'Hallo!': 'I hope u are going to stay longer that the last guy who lived in ur room!' :)))))))))))) 'Hello to u too, I'

Descovering Hamburg

Going back to last year. More exactly: September '07. Alex was ready to say goodbye for a short period (half a year) to HH and to greet his (new) temporary home : Aalborg @Denmark (which I was going to visit). Hamburg was living good days. Sunny and ready for new people: Bo and Kris.

Name it faith or just a mistake of the houseadministrator (hausmeister) which brought me to know Bo, a polish girl who lived only for 2 days in Alex's apartment and with whom i became a good friend.

On Alex's last and Bo's first days in HH we went on a discovering tour of the city.

Hamburger Hafen

Nikolaikirche (the brown tower in the image) - what is left from it after the air attack in 1943.
Alster - Hamburg's biggest lake.
The Rathaus (city hall) - the building with the green roof.

"Hummel Hummel!" - "Mors Mors!" :))))))

No comment 1

No comment 2

Kris ( Alex's friend from CZ), Bo & Alex

Hamburger Hafen

St. Pauli beach - a nice discovery. Artificial but the nice music, good company and a fresh drink make it the perfect way to spend some quality time.

Winter in Hamburg

Definitely Hamburg isnt a city like the ones characterized in our childhood stories 'with hot summers and cold winters'. In the summer not more that 30 something degrees and in the winter dont know if it goes under -1 too often.
This period is a small exception. Yday the thermometers in the center next to the lake were showing -4,-5 degrees and it was pretty windy..bcs of the water of course.
But unfortunately only the low temperature gives u the impression it is winter. Bcs there arent any other signs. Maybe only the frozen lakes u find in some small parks. Snow?! Neeee..

But what is a winter without snow? From Skandalouz i found out 1st ab the 50cm snow in Bukarest on the 3rd of Jan. I was sad a little for not having the feeling of waking up thinking it is an ordinary day and looking sleepy out through the window when.. suddly u feel so awake that u freeze in front of the window wondering if it is real or u are still dreaming of seeing everything covered in white.

But what can one do in winter in Hamburg?

Go swimming? It is a possibility if u think ur life isnt worth being lived.
Go skiing? Where? At least 800km south in the Alps? Or.. in a snow dome?!

"
Die Lüneburger Heide wird zum Skisport-Mekka: Im beschaulichen Bispingen eröffnet im kommenden Jahr Norddeutschlands erste Wintersporthalle. Im Fokus der Investoren und Planer: Die Zehntausenden Ski-Fans in der Hansestadt. Denn in Hamburg leben proportional mehr Skiläufer als in jedem anderen Bundesland. Nur 60 Kilometer vom Hamburger Zentrum entfernt sollen sie ab Herbst 2005 wedeln, carven, rodeln und snowboarden können.
"

But can one compare this to a region like, let's say, Südtirol?! Quoting the ones who live there : "SÜDTIROL - Ich wohne da, wo ihr Urlaub macht...", u remain only with a frozen smile in the corner of ur mouth. :))))

So.. the only possibility to say : ' it's winteeeeeeer!! ' is to go for a 2h dance on ice.

I went yday. Had to try my new skates. I am soooo proud of myself for buying them. :D


I went unfortunately alone. But i had a great time. As R said 'it is important to learn something new each time'.
Lots of people, from the youngest to the oldest. Not too much place to catch some speed, but if u practice enough u can squeeze in between the crowd.

To have an idea ab the ice skating track here in HH (the link isnt always working):

Entrance : 3.5 Euros.
Shoes: 4 Euros.
A small discount for a 10er Karte.

Tomorrow if it doesnt rain ( like today :| ).. another round.

New Year - New expectations - A better life?

A new year has begun. What should one expect from it? Is there anyone who wants the new year to be worse than the previous one? Everyone dreams of an improvement, of something at least as good as the best moments of 2007 ( supposing that 2007 >= 2006 - inequality in the class of 'good moments' ). Greedy?

I tried to make everything possible to close all my debts for 2007 ( these stupid superstitions/ traditions :D ). I am sure i still forgot some things but if they are forgotten it means u couldnt solve them :D

Ok. No more philosophies.

I went after almost 1 and a half year home. What was the feeling, what was the atmosphere? What was the 1st impression, what was the last one? Soon more ab it.

What happened in the meantime, since my last post? I will try to collect the best and important moments and talk ab them.

People say that how u spend the last day of the year u will spend the whole year. So? Did this last day turned out to be as expected?

Chinese Zodiac Horoscope - How true it is?

I am "THE WATER DOG".

Chinese Symbols :
Animal Symbol - The Dog

Element Symbol - Water

Ancient Symbol - The Eleventh


Description:
Dogs will never let you down, they are honest, and faithful, they put others first but often worry too much.

Positive:
attentive, well meaning, helpful, warm-hearted, altruistic, modest, devoted, philosophical, dutiful, discreet, intelligent and enthusiastic
Negative:
nasty, mean-spirited, disagreeable, bad-tempered, self-righteous, judgmental, quarrelsome, accusing, nervous, anxious and impossible to live with

General Description of All Dogs:
"Dogs can be a bit overwhelming, due in part to their attentive natures. They can march in and take control of a situation, even when it doesn't involve them directly. This can lead people to think Dogs are nosy or gossipy, but in reality, he just means well. Money and status don't matter to the Dog. He is more concerned with the welfare of his family and friends and will do whatever it takes to help them out of a tight squeeze or a rough spot. Once Dogs determine a subject of interest, they usually master that before taking off for a new adventure. They like to finish what they start. They are honest and trustworthy people, ethically strong and morally kept. They make loyal friends and companions."

Detailed Description of The Water Dog:
These Dogs have great foresight and are well-educated on many different things. This quality helps them appreciate other points of view, making them quite flexible and liberal. They are easygoing, but this can cause them to be too spendthrift with money and less loyal with friends. Still, because of their flexible natures and their ability to appreciate difference, these Dogs always have friends and are usually popular people.


Remarcable..

Name analyser

Acording to some crap analysis reflecting my feelings and personality 'they' came up with this:

Charming
Attractive
Ready
Modest
Elegant
Nice

Stupid or what?

Romanians in HH

In September i went with Aurel ( the 2nd romanian from my uni ) to a romanian evening. It was my 1st one, Aurel's 2nd one. What brought me there? Most of it..the couriosity to see how are the romanians who live in HH, if they are high class or any other type of class :D.
The 'meeting' took place in a restaurant called 'Wappenhof & Dubrovnik'..
When we arrived, we saw something like 50 people there, different ages, different 'categories'. Some eating, some drinking, some laughing and a guy singing some romanian traditional music. The atmosphere was nice..
The bad part was i had a little cold, so i took only 2 cups of black tee. If i would hv know it will cost me a fortune, i would hv asked for a cup of water..tap water. Anyway i took some pics, had some small conversations with some of the people around there, the guys danced a little on 'perinitza' (national romanian dance) and at 11 pm we decided to leave the place and go to another party. Much more interesting than this one :D




Will it be a 2nd time?

Ostsee - Baltic Sea

Already 1 year gone since i am in HH.
Went twice to Lübeck ( Hansestadt Lübeck ) but never to the sea. Actually i never knew it was that close. When i told Lore ' hmm.. there is also the posibility to go to the Baltic Sea. It is close.' (without knowing where exactly it is) .. Me and my big mouth. :D

So.. we got used to this idea so we started searching for the way to get there. With short moments of adventure ( we thought we lost the ticket..and it was 'only 30euros'), i can say i never regret going there.
If i have to characterise it in 1-2 words: 'A different world'.

Again.. a selection of photos:

At the beginning presenting a little the city Lübeck.. for the architecture style that i like so much.

Holsten Turm - One of the towers garding the old city.
Great photo :D
City hall square.
A bronze devil sits on one of the slabs of stone used to build the cathedral. The legend says that he helped to build the church because he thought it was going to be a wine bar and when he discovered it was to be a cathedral he began to tear it down. The workers promised to build him a wine bar across the street. I didnt find it :D

And a short moment spent at the seaside. Maybe one of the reasons i liked it so much was bcs you couldnt find so many people at that time there. It wasnt only almost 7pm but also pretty cold. In spite of these 2 aspects we saw a man swimming. hmm...


Who can explain this? I refuse to think that :)))))))) . Women not allowed to swim?
Ok..I think it isnt that cold.
Deutschland ist für die Leuchttürme berühmt. Hier nur noch ein.


50m away from it.. every person felt pretty insignificant.


In center of the white area is Lübeck. Far east is Travemünde, where the sea beginns.. or ends.

For those who somehow will get there too.

Wildpark Schwarze Berge

I've chosen not to attach this story to the one about the visit of my childhood best friend bcs it is a nice one that deserves to be told separately.

As Lore asked me 1 month before coming here where are we going to go, what are we going to visit, i've started to look for nice places around HH. And i found this one: the wild park 'Schwarze Berge (Black mountains) '.
10 min by S-Bahn and another 10 by bus.

So, for the ones who dont know germ, there it is written: 'Here please dont feed the animals.'

On the hill, L got tired. And it was only the beginning :d

V V nice. My 1st time when i go inside the bat house. Dark but R caught them in the pic :D

Feeling free like the deers behind.

In the tower u could seen the view. A huge forest and lots of families of animals acting normal in a normal day (for them at least).
Can u jump? How long? I jumped like a rabbit :D
Is that good?

hehe. the animals, as people, love me. :D:D

Our friends, the ants, and their home. A huge one. But wth? In a wild park with a fence around it. Hmm.. I hv to admit it isnt the 1st time when i see this here in germ.

Swedish party-Communication problems

As the new students arrived, the parties have started.
(I will post randomly bcs of lack of time).

One of the parties was organized in my dorm in one of the Erasmus flat ( as people are used to call them, although they are students not only in Erasmus contingent ).
The organizing committee: 4 swedish students ( 2 girls and 2 guys).
Here are 3 of them and the 4th one in the 2nd pic.





But why did i want to mention this particular party.
Bcs of a conversation i had with 2 guys. The characters: K, A and M. Why was this conv for me funny?
K speaks with A in english. M doesnt know english. ( only basic )
K speaks with M in german. A doesnt know german. ( not yet at least :D )
A speaks with M in arabic or french. K doesnt know arabic ( only i think 3 words ) and can understand 5 out of 10 words in french.

How do we communicate? =))))))))))))))))))

Becoming famous ( Part 3 i think )

Location: Club LOVE ( nume sugestiv =)))) )
Date: 29.09.07

As i love to dance more than many other things i went with 2 good friends to Reeperbahn ( the famous area in HH with 'clubs', pubs (kneipen) and other things that may look interesting for some ) on a saturday night when you cannot get inside a place in a group. Even the bodyguards hv their preferences. :)
The owner of the place is a french guy. Now it explains why also the french people from last year liked this place. Ehh.. this would be one of the reasons.
The entrance is usually 8 Euros. Pretty much for a student life. On saturday ( i dont know if also on other nights) with a cuppon of 3 Euros you can get also a drink.
The music also not one of my favourites but i discovered i know how to dance on it :D
The stile: Electro House, Funky House, House, House, Soulful House, Vocal House ( as i have noooooo idea what is the difference between them :-s )

Inside lots of people. All types of people. It depends also on the theme of the evening.
On this particular night it was Gin Tonic party. I hv no idea why :D.
As also a fashion back home, there are some people ( pros??? ) who have to earn some money by taking pics of the people. As i agreed to appear in one pic ( usually i hate being in pics, i like only taking pics ), i looked for it a couple of days later.
Apparently at a certain moment the 'guy with the camera' started taking pics randomly ( was he bored ? ) so i've discovered another 2 pics of me.

Well, they are ok. fiuuuuuufff..
i mean they could have been worse :D



PS: pls notice the difference between the persons involved. hmm

Being involved in diff events

As an opportunity offered by the International Office in my uni and being lucky to be a key person around there (as i like to believe) i had a chance to take part in an important event on the 22nd of September: the 75th bday of the president of a foundation that has connections to my uni.

A nice experience.

And as the people involved were satisfied with our work, we will take part in another activity in Nov. :)

What can one give to a person who has let's say almost everything? Hard to find something.




A picture of the official photographer of the event