Life goes on as normal
Work, home, friends, family. The routine of everyday life.
First pay packet!! Yay!!
More interestingly though, I was up in Berlin on the weekend visiting my cousin. My uncle was there too. My cousin had organised for the three of us to go to the Spreewald (about an hour south of Berlin) and hire kayaks to go paddling through the Spreewald canals and rivers. It was an awesome weekend, I loved it!
The Spreewald (Wald = forest) is so named because the Spree (the river that flows through Berlin) flows through this area. What's particularly special about this area is the it is low-lying flat land with lots of canals and tributaries. The whole area over the last few hundred years has been populated and farmed and in so doing, the forest area has been depleted. Now, under UNESCO observation, the area is being regenerated interestingly while still being populated and farmed. An interesting mix of man and nature and a long term plan to restore the land to its former glory.
We arrived in the Spreewald on Saturday and visited a local Nature House which had a great display explaining the history of the area and how it is being regenerated. It gave an excellent idea of what to expect when visiting the Spreewald. I didnt expect it to be soooo much better than expected!
I was really looking forward to the weekend, and then we finally got our kayaks and were in the water. Now I was happy - out and about in nature, having an adventure on the water, with two members of my family. We paddled around for hours, enjoying the scenery which was awesome. The worst part was probably all the tourists around, but all part of the experience. We paddled to a nearby town where there was a historical village which had various old houses from 100 years ago. They displayed various aspects of life back then and how people lived. We ate at a local "kiosk" (after a little arguing over where we should eat - we were all really hungry and that can mean hightened tempers!) - which was really a stand next to the river where we could 'park' our kayaks and order some food. We had 'Schmalzbrot' (slices of brown bread spread with a homemade spread of pigs fat and bacon bits) and Leberwurstbrot with pickled cucumbers. Cucumbers are the main agricultural industry in the area.
After lunch we paddled further and after 13.5kms for the day stopped at our camping spot. Pitched the tent and cooked some beans and sausage on a little camping cooker. Drank some beer together and chatted until dark. It was awesome! I loved it!
The next morning we ate fresh bread rolls (we could order them the night before through the camping office) with cheese and cold meats. Then another fantastic day on the water paddling through the Spreewald. Today was a little easier to paddle because we travelled mostly with the stream. We paddled about 18.5kms on Sunday.
Arriving back at the car, we ate some dinner at a local restaurant. The food was delicious, but it took ages to come to the table. Therefore it was cooked fresh and tasted oh so good.
Then it was off home to my cousins place in Berlin again - I slept in the car a little. After so much paddling I was really tired, but enjoyed every minute of the weekend.
Now I'm looking forward to going to Austria with some other cousins, Aunt and Uncle next weekend.
OK, that's it! I've had enough - I'm going to chuck in another job that I don't like (never did in fact). This telephone interview gig is sooooo boring it's painful! I did another shift this week, to see if I could still do it but I can't - it's too shitty! Apart from being a boring job, it's not exactly the kind of job I find morally correct. The whole concept of calling people at home, annoying them at home, asking questions that are almost positively not really going to reveal that much, is just simply wrong.
The topics that I had to ask questions about revolved around the advertisements of banks and insurance companies. Other topics that were asked about included refreshment drinks, telephone companies, shopping, energy providers blah blah blah. The questions I had to ask were really dumb and very annoying. The market research company would tell us to say whatever we have to on the phone to get an answer (nearly all questions are multi-choice answers). Most of the time the 'interviews' would take over 20 minutes, and we were told to say it only takes 10-12 minutes because "most people will forget the time when they're in the interview". Then we were told to keep asking the question when someone doesn't know something or doesn't have an answer - surely this means the results of the 'research' aren't exactly correct.
We were also only paid for the time we were logged into the questions. This meant that toilet breaks, smokos etc weren't paid.
On a happier note, I have a job now at a local Irish Pub which is much more enjoyable. It's only casual work but I like it so much better than the stupid telephone job! It's also a lower hourly rate but with tips it actually works out more. Also, I am much more prepared to do more hours.
At the pub I basically help out keeping the bar and beergarden stocked with drinks, serve meals, help in the kitchen a little, and help cleaning. The other workers are friendly (on the most part - there was a grumpy lady working on the weekend) and at least I can chat with them about normal stuff...not just stupid questions about advertisements!!
I also think that if I give up the telephone job I will at least have more time to focus on practicing my German grammar. I've found a grammar book with lots of practice exercises, so I will use the extra time to practice that. I have come to a point with my german skills that I need to get rid of the ingrained mistakes I constantly make, which isn't easy.
Well, happy working and learning!
Well, I've managed to work through a second week of 'tele-interviewing'. It is a little easier now....I think the nerves in the first few days were getting to me, but I still dont like the job. At first it was just questions about banks, but now I'm also asking dumb questions about insurance companies. These questions take sooooo much longer. The other day I had a lady on the phone from 8.40pm until 9.30pm!!! A whole 50 minutes!! She was 60 years old, and the last 10 minutes were just stupid phrases about general life situations/thoughts (eg "if I work hard I can reach all my goals in life" and whether she agreed with them or not - at least 10 minutes, and about 50 phrases!!! Such a nerve from the market research company!
Thursday I also started working at an Irish Pub in town, called O'Sheas. The funny part is that the owner of the place rang me on Tuesday afternoon to see if I could drop by on Thursday evening for a chat about mabe working there. Then he umm-ed and arr-ed a bit cos he was a bit embarrassed to ask if I could work that day as well! So I said yes, and it went quite well. It's not my favourite job, but its better than tele-interviewing! And at least I can talk with people normal and I feel like I've done an honest day's work. I think I'll do a few shifts a week of both jobs - the telephone job will give me great practice in German, and the pub job will give me a good work out (it is physical work having to walk lots and carry lots of stuff around)....and of course it's all a bit of money!
My German course finished last week, but I hope to keep in touch with some new found friends. Many of my classmates will be doing the next level course as well, which will make it much more enjoyable I think. I plan to find a good german grammar book where I can practice in the weeks where I dont have school.
This weekend is the Klassik Open Air Konzert which I am going to see with my family. It is held each year and is a free concert with classical music held in a parkland area which was once used by the Nazi Party as part of their Rally Grounds. We will take a picnic and enjoy the lovely summer weather we are having lately. Although its not quite as hot as Oz, its pretty humid so that makes it a little more uncomfortable than at home.
On a different note, television here is full of CRAP!!! They have these talk shows (like Judge Judy, or where people come to 'solve' their problems) which are soooo overdone and fake, it is obvious that its always actors! I find it sooo funny to watch. If I ever need a 'pick-me-up' then I just watch one of these :-) It's also taking a lot of getting used to seeing english programs dubbed in German....it might become so normal for me that the shows back home will be strange in original language!
Hmmm, well, I have finally started a job hear in Germany although its not exactly a dream job. It's a job as a telephone interviewer for a market research company. So I'm basically sitting at a computer ringing people and annoying them with dumb questions about what drinks they like, what bank brands they know and who knows what else.
The worst part about the job is not the fact I dont like the idea of annoying people in their homes (we all know how very annoying it is!) but the fact I have a bit of trouble reading the German words to ask the questions. Its rather embarassing to talk to people reading text like a 12 year old would read a book out loud. The supervisor gave me some feedback saying I sounded sad on the phone and need to add more pep to my voice. Hmmm, we'll see how I go with it.
Maybe I'll find another job that's a bit better in the near future. We'll see.
My German course finishes in a week's time which is sad because I really enjoy it. The other class members are all really nice people, and many of them will also be doing the next course with me too.
I've started my German course, and so far its pretty good. There lots of grammar I have missed in the first few levels but I think I'm in a class at the right level now.
Havent got any work yet, but a few prospects that may be fruitful in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed. (Thumbs pressed as they say here)
I am looking forward to coming home already...even though its still nearly 6 months away! I return end of November, but going to Syd to visit some friends, then be back in Melb at start of Dec.
