Ying at the Alster, Hamburg

What a difference a year makes

As I write this, I marvel at the fact that it has been so long since I last sat in front of this Macbook, to write something-anything, without being interrupted. In the living room of our new apartment (new no longer!), my five and a half month old baby girl is vigorously shaking her rattle under the watchful eyes of her father. Outside, the winter sun glowers dimly. The view from our bedroom is no longer of scattered stand alone houses surrounded by well-tended gardens but of other apartments with windows darkened with blinds.

The floors needed to be vacuumed and mopped, picture frames needed to be dusted, dirty pots lay piled up in the sink—there are a million things to be done yet there’s only two of us and we have to make hard choices. Someone has to watch lil C while one of us get to do something else. Today, I chose writing this post over household chores. It’s about time. This post has been long overdue. Too many things have happened ever since my last post and I can’t wait to share them with you, dear readers. If this post doesn’t get out by the end of this year, I’m afraid it never will.

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What Learning German Taught Me

The much awaited envelope arrived in the post. The address stamp confirmed my suspicions.

With my hands shaking, I tore it open, half-terrified to discover what I might find. Whatever that’s in there could make or break me. I’ve not felt this way since the time I got my SPM results (High-School leaving examination to the uninitiated).

The paper felt thicker this time. My eyes quickly scanned to the grade given and relief washed over me as it dawned on me: “This is it! No more German-language exams for me again. Ever!” I finally passed my TELC C1 Hochschule exam!! The operative word here is finally. Why?

Because I’ve failed it once before.

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Camping with friends in Germany

How I Spend Summers In Germany

The fabulous thing about living in Germany is that I get to experience nature changing with every season. Summers in Germany are the best. There’s always so much going on here. Summer brings out the best in Germans. With more sunshine and warmth, they are cheerier and in a better mood. They spend more time outdoors. In towns and cities everywhere, you’ll see people sitting in ice-cream cafes or in parks, licking colourful ice-cream cones. It’s not just the Instagram generation doing it, it’s literally everyone.

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food at Bendemeer Food Centre

My German in-laws in Southeast Asia (Part 1)

Sometime last year….

 

“The dinner at the restaurant was phwoar…horrible!” I shuddered at the thought of our dinner last night with some friends at an Asian restaurant nearby. “Don’t know how people can stomach that junk,” I said when my in-laws asked us how our dinner went over our weekly Sunday lunch.

 

“Really? But people like going there,” said my mother-in-law looking surprised. My in-laws’ idea of Asian food is limited to sushi, fried noodles and fried crispy duck over a steaming plate of rice with mixed vegetables on the side.  “Can the food really be so bad?”

 

Na klar. Wait till you come to Malaysia and I’ll show you the REAL deal,” I promised.

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Learning German in Jena

An epic guide: German Language Visa application to learn German in Germany*

*For Malaysians

For the life of me, if I don’t know why you’d want to learn German in the first place. It’s difficult (trust me, it is), it takes forever to master and it’ll take you a lifetime before you could pass off as a German native speaker. However, if you’re doing it out of love, for a university programme, or if you’re just plain masochistic, well then, where else would you rather learn German but in Germany? I don’t need to extol here the benefits of learning the language at the country of its origin and embracing the experience of living abroad so I’ll just get on right to how to go about applying for the German Language Visa.

 

First of all, if you find a programme that could be completed in three months, you could just sign up and learn it on a regular “tourist visa”. For Malaysians, we could enter and stay within the EU/Schengen zone  for 90 days within 180 days without a visa. Which means, you have 90 days to remain and travel freely within the Schengen area.

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Hamburg Lion King Theatre

What’s it like to watch Disney’s Lion King Musical in Hamburg

Chasing unconventional experiences is what I love best when travelling.

 

If you’ve an opportunity to do something different or unusual, you should always go for it.

 

The beauty of saying yes to a spontaneous and unusual experience somewhere foreign is always so much more memorable than going through a checklist of sightseeing spots. Like our attempt to catch a midnight movie in a cinema in Batam (but failed, because we fell asleep out of exhaustion in the hotel), watching the Valentine’s Day opera in Riga, and now, watching a famous Disney’s Lion King in Hamburg. In German.

 

Of course, this wasn’t as unplanned as the rest. The tickets to the musical was after all our wedding gift from our friends. But they must have known us well, to have gifted us with such a precious opportunity to do something completely different. I mean, they could have just bought us a kitchen appliance or simply cash, but no, these geniuses had other plans.

 

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weekend in hamburg tiny wanderer

A weekend (and a mini honeymoon) in Hamburg

I’ve got a confession to make.

Chris and I finally tied the knot in April and held the reception in August this year. I thought I’ll just mention it in passing just because someday, I intend to write about our wedding in Germany. But not today. 

 

ANYWAY

 

due to large wedding expenses (it was already a backpacker budget!) and preparation, we couldn’t travel as often as we did the years before. We didn’t take our usual 2-week summer vacation like most Germans would. And the traveller in me withered up and almost died. What, no travelling? How could you do this to me?!

So when it was finally over and done with (with only thank you cards to send out now), we heaved a sigh of relief. While all I wanted to do is to crawl onto the couch and watch Netflix for a 100 days straight, there was a gift of travel waiting for us.

 

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doing the weinmeile along the Saale-Unstrut

Walking and drinking on the the Weinmeile

…AND SOME OBSERVATIONS

I’m not entirely an outdoorsy person no matter how much Chris tries to turn me into one. My favourite pastime is curling up with a glass wine and a good book, not huffing and puffing away riding a bicycle against a mean slope. That’s more like up Chris’ alley or just about any Germans (in all stereotypical sense). I do admire the tenacity and faith of walkers of the Camino and Pacific Crest Trail, and how walking all the 800km of them would be an excellent way to not only experience nature but also to train your mind and body. But at this point of writing and in all honesty, I prefer reading about them than embarking the arduous journey.

 

In other words, I’m just your typical lazy city girl.

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tiny wanderer in Germany

A Year in Germany (Part One)

Usually friends find it hard to keep up with my whereabouts when I was still clinging on tightly to my identity as a nomad. Texts and emails that start with, “Where are you now, Ying?” are not unusual. It was always fun,and privileged to say the least, to come up with a different answer each day. Yes, last week I was in Dubrovnik and today I’m in Ajaccio—life rocks as a traveller. Traipsing from places to places had defined me. While others had labels like “The Career Woman”, “The Fun One”, “The Doctor”, I was simply called “The Wanderer”. That suited me just fine.

But these days, my answer to the question above is less exotic. I’ve been answering ‘Germany’ for a better part of the year.

Yes, The Wanderer have been living in Germany for a year. And a little bit more. Apart from a handful of short road trips (I consider 2 days to 2 weeks short), I have been a true resident of the quiet Hermsdorf.

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