Steffi’s Blog

So another year is over again and we start with many resolutions in the new year 2007. It doesn’t matter on which TV programme I had a look but during the last days of 2006 there were retrospects everywhere. I know that they are really big things: What happened in Germany, in Europe, in the world? Well, I nevertheless thought about writing one as well…and voila…here we go. Don’t expect anything spectacular now, it’ll be my own personal view on the year 2006 and since I didn’t experience anything which can be labelled as having been great it may end up in yet another boring post but on the other hand…who knows.

The new year started a bit melancholy since I realised that from this year on I will have to use the term ‘last year’ when talking about my stay in Ireland . However, generally speaking, the year 2007 came upon me with some relaxing days I spent at my parents’ place in the very North of Germany. I enjoyed the Christmas holidays a lot and I tried to refuel as much energy and strength as possible for the year ahead. Unfortunately, these relaxing days will be over tomorrow when I have to go back to Freiburg. Sure, I’m looking forward to that as well but somehow Freiburg is always connected with one thing I don’t really like: work .

Anyway, let’s get started with 2006. What did the year bring? What happened throughout this year? First of all I want to divide the year in more or less three parts (I guess some of you may think that’s a strange thing to do but somehow this year was so different in the things I experienced that it might be easier to do it that way). I assume that the first part is a very obvious one: Until July I still lived in Ireland and you can take it for granted that this is something very special to me, so it deserves to be dealt with separately. I kind of thought a bit more about the next division but in the end I made the decision that the three months I spent in Freiburg (from October till Christmas) are very different from the time in between which I spent either at home or at some place in the rest of Europe .

Yeah, so what to write about Dublin and Ireland in general. I guess most of you do already know that this was an awesome time for me. I more or less enjoyed every second of the time over there (except the exam time ) and the people I met there are still very dear to me though, unfortunately, I had to experience the phenomenon what we Germans describe as ‘Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn’ which means that you can’t keep in touch with the people once you don’t see each other anymore. Well, this kind of happened with some people and I’m very sorry for that. Just in case that some of them have a look at this page every now and then: It would be great to hear from any of you again!!

There are some things that happened in Ireland in 2006 which are worth mentioning: First of all there was this party I threw in February. It was so great that I dedicated the very first post of this blog to it! It was the first time we managed to get everybody together and everybody told me how cool the party was and that it was great that everybody was there! To be honest it was a good feeling to have been the one who managed to do that! I was a bit proud of myself though I want to thank my flatmates in particular…they were a great help in organising this party and I also want to thank every one of you for having shown up!

The next ’special’ (somehow every day was a special one there but some were even more special than others ) thing were our holidays in March! If I think back the first thing I remember about them is some kind of discordance! However, we somehow managed to get over that and so we had beautiful holidays. You can’t imagine the beauty of all the things and landscapes we saw. I knew before that the West Coast of Ireland is said to be worth a journey but in fact it is not describable. It is so fantastic that it almost hurts (alright that is maybe a bit exaggerated but, honestly, go and see for yourself and you’ll know what I mean)!

Well, and in no time at all the exam season came upon us and although it was a very hard time not only because of all the learning we had to do but even more because of the social factor (social factor?? It was impossible during the exam season to socialise in any way ). Today, however, I know that I did well enough in the exams. Not long ago I got my marks for the essays and the exams and I was more than surprised of them, I never expected them to be that good! Especially the one course which was so important to me, for which I wrote a 40 pages essay…I never knew the mark my Professor gave me for that essay, so I was even more surprised when I saw it ! Anyway, marks are a fine thing but they are far from being everything or even the most important thing… I have to admit that the best thing about the exam season was the party time afterwards ! It was all great great fun and I was more than once more than a bit drunk !

Anyway, my time in Ireland…simply indescribable! I laughed, I cried, I drank (a lot of alcohol), I spent so many great days, I saw unbelievable things…ach, I could go on like this forever. One thing is for sure: This time will always be with me. It was hard to go back (although I do have such great friends over here!) but in the end I guess I am happy that I was privileged to experience such a good time and nobody can ever take that away from me! Well, even the best times have to end at some point…

After I returned from Ireland (beginning of July) I spent a while at my parents’ place at the Baltic Sea. In a way I was quite lucky again since I got my usual job at the factory almost immediately after I came back. So, I worked for four weeks…I didn’t really enjoy the work much, it is a really tough job and I had to get up at 4am in the morning since I always had the morning shift ! However, the money I earned there was really worth all that!

Except for that I didn’t really do much in the North of Germany…sure, I met some old friends from school but the rest of the time I simply relaxed and tried to get used to the life in Germany again. And I started to count the days until Felix and I would go on our holidays ! This was planned for September. Before I could enjoy myself somewhere in Europe there was one thing though that was something of a heavy burden for me. I had to find a new home in Freiburg. My brother and I spent a week in Freiburg and hoped to find a flat in that time though I was really a bit afraid that this won’t be enough time. Anyway, all of you who read the post about my time there know that everything turned out to be differently from what I expected. Thus, I spent a great week in Freiburg, enjoying myself a lot, suddenly realising that it won’t be that bad at all to go back, there are so many friends here who waited for me and who were happy to see me again!

Anyway, not long after that it was time for me to see Felix again ! We met in Riga spent some days in Latvia’s capital before we moved on to Cracow. Well, I don’t think that I should write again about this great time since I already posted two entries on it and I guess you’d only be bored ! Still, it was a good time!! It was very hard for me to go back to Germany (or rather to let him go back to Scotland ) but since I knew that it won’t be long until I will spend some days in Dublin and so see him again…so I let him go - reluctantly but I did let him go (I am a good girl, huh ?!)

At the beginning of October then it was time to move all my things to Freiburg…all this moving around ! My parents went with me and we spent a week together in Freiburg before they drove me to the airport and I took off to Dublin! The time with my parents was a good one as well, we did some very nice things (we spent a day at the Steinwasen Park etc) and I tried to turned my new home into a somewhat comfy place and I would like to thank my parents for all the help and support they gave me with that! Still, with guests here, it was kind of difficult to get really settled and by the time I left for Dublin I still felt a bit like a stranger at ‘my’ place.

Anyway, time for Dublin again ! Yet again another great time. It was good to be back even if it was only as a guest and it was just great to see all the people again! The only thing which was a bit sad is that somehow I didn’t have enough time for everything! I managed to get everything done (the great things like meeting friends as well as the necessary ones (bureaucratic ones etc )) but somehow there wasn’t much time left for simply relaxing and enjoying and such things. Well, I certainly don’t want to complain now I’m sure I would always do it like this again!

Alright, but after that I finally had to start working again ! University started and managed to keep me busy almost immediately. Another lucky thing that happened to me was that I was offered a job at the University’s hospital and I got it! It is good to have the opportunity to earn some money and it is a nice change with all the historic and English and, since I want to take my finals this year, bureaucratic stuff in your mind! First of all though I managed to turn my new flat into a real home and I can only say that I’m more than happy here now! Well, not all the time here in Freiburg were always just good times. University kept me really busy - now I can say that it kept me too busy! I had to realise that my perfectionism even made me kind of sick. It is difficult though to change that and still do everything as well as I would like it to do. But since it was not only University but many things which came together at that point I guess I can do better again now ! It was good, however, to meet all the friends again and to meet them whenever I want to and all that! And the next good thing is that, finally, I can see an end to all this University stuff. In February or March I will start with my dissertation and then, in autumn of this year I will have my finals in history and afterwards then the finals in English. You can’t imagine how good it feels to know that the thing that seemed to have become almost impossible is not out of reach any longer: I will finish my studies ’soon’. To be a student is a good thing, most of the time I did enjoy it but after almost six years now it is time for a change and I’m really looking forward to it already!

Yeah, so in the end, I realise that it was a really good year! While I was at my parents’ I met one of my former school mates and I realised that not only the year 2006 was a good year for me. I can certainly say that from the time in my life when I made the decision to leave home and explore the rest of Germany (and Europe) everything was more or less just great! Sure, there were times when I thought: God damn it, my life is completely messed up! But when I think about it…I would make everything just the same way again and I am really grateful for everything I could see and experience but above all I am grateful that I could meet the people I met and for all the friends who became so dear to me now! I guess I have to admit it: I am a lucky girl !

Let’s see what the year 2007 brings for us but I hope it will be a good one for every one of you and I wish everybody of you that you may experience as many great things as I did in the last year (and the year before etc… )! And just in case I should ever complain about my life…just remind me of this post !

Take care everybody