Aka. "Destination Anywhere", "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria"... After a very intense year in Würzburg (Germany), I'm back in Salamanca. I probably won't have that many experiences to write, but there's always an excuse to post a new entry!

I thought, following the tradition I started in Dublin and continued in Würzburg, I could tell you something about this year's courses too. As I said last time, this is my final year (if everything goes right and I don't decide to do something else) and there will only be an entry about it this time, as the courses I'm taking will last two semesters instead of one and there's nothing new in the summer semester.

1. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!

Real title: Interpreting practice

Lecturer: the United Nations threesome

What it is about: Theoretically, the main aim is to show us what working as a professional interpreter looks like and introduce us to some of the problems we might face in the future. In truth, the main thing we learn is that we should have never chosen this job, how terrible it is to be an interpreter and why we'll never be good enough at that. Funny enough, all the lecturers are professional interpreters themselves... 

How to get marks: We have to take part in different workshops ( = lectures in which we're told how terrible our future job is), do some interpreting practice as the title says (with NGOs, in mock conferences...) until we've worked for 60 hours in both our languages and hand in reports about what we did, the problems we had and how useful it was. And if by the end of the year we haven't worked the 60 hours I've already mentioned, we also have to take an interpreting exam.

2. BOREDOM

Real title: Spanish-German Specialized Translation

Lecturer: la Petra

What it is about: Take a wild guess... translating! We translate business letters, standard form contracts and birth certificates. Yippieee! To be honest, it isn't as terrible as it sounds, but let's say it's my least favourite course this year.

How to get marks: Handing in our translations in time, two marked translations and a presentation about topics such as pay forms in online shopping.

3. THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BOOTH

Real title: English Simultaneous Interpreting

Lecturer: the model

What it is about: We listen to speeches about topics that change every two weeks (climate change, peacekeeping, pandemics, social forums...) and interpret them from the booth. The lecturer (I'm just referring to her as the model because she's young, skinny and sort of fashionable) listens to us in turns and then tells us what we've done right and wrong. It's been my first experience in simultaneous interpreting, and I have to say that I really like it, even though I think I should do it much better...

How to get marks: We'll have an exam in May, but besides that, we've had to record ourselves interpreting and comment it and we have to give a presentation on an English-speaking country (guess which one I've chosen).

4. THE WONDERFUL WORLD OUTSIDE THE BOOTH

Real title: English Consecutive Interpreting

Lecturer: the model

What it is about: Pretty much the same as above (same language, same topics), but instead of doing it in the booth with a headset at the same time, we listen and take notes and then one of us has to volunteer to repeat the same thing in Spanish in front of the class. Unfortunately, not many people volunteer...

How to get marks: Exactly the same as above, minus the presentation (as far as I know).

5. WAITING FOR THE VERB

Real title: German Simultaneous Interpreting

Lecturer: the comedian

What it is about: Someone gives a speech on one of the topics (they are the same for all languages and forms of interpreting)... in German and we have to interpret it from the booth... at the same time. I have to say that I was terrified by this course, but the truth is that I like it. I think I've found my technique to do it and it's working pretty well. The lecturer is sort of... alternative. Apparently, although he's a professional, bilingual interpreter, it's the first time he's ever taught interpreting, so he sometimes makes us do some strange exercises (listening to a speech, counting at the same time and then explaining all we remember about it, repeating words, summarizing short text paragraphs...) However, I think I'm learning a lot and the lecturer has surprised me positively, especially in the tutorials... let's hope things'll stay like this until the end of the year.

How to get marks: Again, same as above (no presentation either?) By the way, some of you might be wondering why I chose that title for this course. It's simple - there's a joke amongst interpreters which is that German interpreters are always the last ones to leave because they have to wait for the speaker to say the verb (in German, the main verb is often said at the end of the sentence).

No, this entry has nothing to do with Europe's hit. Sorry to disappoint you. The end of my semester - and in turn, the end of the year - is coming closer. Hence the title. I haven't updated in a while (it's been a month and last time I only posted some silly stuff), for which I apologize for the zillionth time. I've neglected this blog a lot lately, so I've decided that it was time to change some stuff. The title "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria" is totally outdated because I'm not in Bavaria and there's no boy anymore. Now, as you can see, I've finally started creating categories and I'm even considering the possibility of adding a music player.

I have to admit, though, that there's not that much I can tell you. Not that my life is not fun, but let's face it - it's not as exciting as being an Erasmus student in Würzburg and Dublin. However, let's have a quick look at the chapters of my life you've missed.

Desperate House...hunting: Most of you will already know that, but this is my final year at university - which is good and bad at the same time. I only came back from Germany in mid-August, so I had to look for a flat in September. Something you should know is that looking for a flat in September in this place is quite a bit of stress, but there's something fun to it. All the flats feel like the United Nations - there's at least a foreign student in each one of them. Actually, I visited one where there were a guy from Nigeria, two Chinese and a Spaniard. And my flat is not far away from that.

From left to right: Alexandra (Belgium), me, Irene (Austria) and Elisa (Italy). There's another one missing (Jenna, also from Belgium, but from the French-speaking area). A very international flat, as you can see :)It's just a pity that all of them are going away next semester :(

Getting close to the finish line: As I mentioned before, this is my final year at university (for worse or for better!) If everything goes right, I'll graduate in May / June. I still have no idea what I'm gonna do afterwards, so please don't ask me. In the next entry I'll tell you about my courses. Besides that, it's a completely new group. I only knew one of the girls before, but so far they've made a good impression. I was a little scared at first because most of them are bilingual, but the atmosphere is pretty nice.

New social life: Well, it hasn't been as hectic as in Würzburg, but it's not like I can really complain. Last weekend for example has been great fun - Mexican dinner with my flatmates, teaching the Austrian girls how to make tortilla, a short walk with Raquel, Natalie's birthday and meeting Lola again after such a long time. I mainly hang out with my flatmates or with the girls in my class (sometimes we go for a coffee or lunch together). I also met different candidates to do tandem, but none of those worked too well. Besides, I've seen Raquel a couple of times for a coffee or this sort of stuff.

I don't think there's much more I can tell you. My birthday was a couple of months ago, so it makes no sense to tell you about it now. I haven't had any real exams and I'm not having any in January, so I think that's all for now. It's good to be back in the blogosphere! :D

Write a poem by putting your itunes/mp3 player/whatever you listen to music on on shuffle and writing down the first line from the first 20 songs that pop up. Use the first line from the 21st song as a title.

Sanctus Spiritus, redeem us from our solemn hour

Come as you are, as you were

Years ago, when I was younger

What is love? Baby don't hurt me

G-R-EE-N leaves!

You spin my head right round

Slip inside the eye of your mind

Oh, we are mirrors in the sun

I was young, I was told I should follow my dreams

I wanna run, I want to hide

How can I stay when you are away?

Oh, the wind whistles down

Everytime I think of you

My dream is to fly over the rainbow so high

Master!

I've never had a friend like you

Woke up this morning and bought myself a gun

I don't wanna be the girl who laughs the loudest

See the mirror in your eyes

I'm lying here on the floor where you left me

Here are some pictures of some of the people I mentioned in my last entry.

My choir buddies :)

David and Natalie

Ollie (the keyboard player) and Ross

Andy and Patrick (our director)

The boy and girls from County Amsterdam ;)

Annuska, Cristian and me

Tiia, Annuska, Pilvi and me

Anneleen

My dream flatmate

Albrecht and me

Last time, I also forgot to mention to some important friends of mine from the Internet.

Raquel:

Thanks for following this blog so faithfully... and for forcing me to update XD It's sad that we never got to see each other in Germany, but now we have a whole year in Salamanca to catch up.

Xavi:

You've also been following my blogs since Ireland, and during my time in Würzburg we've become really close, which I really appreciate. It was also a great time with you in Frankfurt (I've been obsessed with Sushi ever since).

Adi:

We met absolutely by chance, but I'm really glad we bumped into each other. You've been very supportive to me since we started writing to each other and we still have great talks about fiction and real life.

Tita:

I don't know whether you'll get to read this, but I know you've been visiting my blog since the old days in Ireland (just like Xavi), and I felt really proud that you even got to overcome your fear for techonology and leave a comment.

And now, last but not least, I'd like to do a little tribute to my tree. Every day I've spent in Würzburg, the first thing I'd see from my bedroom window was this tree.

I don't know what kind of tree it is, but I got to love it. I've seen it changing through every season - yellowing leaves in autumn, leafless and covered in snow in winter, blossoming flowers in spring and green and strong in summer. I just wish I had taken a picture each season...

By the way, if you relate this to the fact that I've been living in the Galgenberg, a hill where they used to hang people centuries ago, I have to think of a certain song. I was planning on posting and translating the lyrics, but as probably no-one will read them, so I'll leave you with this video instead.

It's been ages since I updated for the last time... and it's been over a year since the adventure in Würzburg began. My current adventure is probably not going to be that exciting, so I'll get the chance to tell you some things I didn't have time to tell you about Würzburg and Germany. Now let's get to the point.

What can I say? It was a great year. I can't believe a journey that started so desperate turned into such an amazing time with so many changes and new experiences. I've learnt a lot - and not only German. I can't say it often enough: I strongly recommend going abroad to everyone if they get the chance. It's really worth it. Just like on every special occasion, I'd like to mention some people who have been important during this time.

The choir:

I loved all the songs we sang (even though there were moments when I was starting to hate "Killing me softly"), but the most important thing is that it was great to meet you guys. I just wish I had attended your coffee meetings after the rehearsals a bit more often. Special thanks to David for picking me up every Monday :)

The people in the DSH-course:

If there was an intense time, that was September last year. I can't believe we made it to go out almost every evening and still survive the four-hour intensive course! In the end, we all went separate ways and maybe we should have tried harder to meet after that, but I'd like you to know that you'll still be in my memory. Most of you are probably back home, but wherever you are, I hope you're all doing great :)

Pilvi, Tiia, Cristian and Annuska:

Tananata *nods* tananata *nods* Stupid things aside, our trip to Amsterdam was for sure one of the highlights. Cristian - I'm just sorry that we started to bond most when you already have to leave, but I hope we'll still stay in touch. Tiia - you're a really fun girl full of surprises, I just love your sense of humour! Pilvi - I hope to see you (and Tiia too) in Salamanca soon, you're great company for a night out ;) Annuska - you changed my life in ways you'd never suspect without having a clue, so I guess I should thank you for that. I wish you all the best of luck and hope to see you again - in Amsterdam or elsewhere!

The Germans:

Dominik, Jana, Manuel, Rebekka, Emine, Jakob, Mareike and (last but not least) Albrecht. It's always hard to get in touch with locals when you're abroad, but I'm glad you were able to break up with the stereotype. And Albrecht, all I can say is that you're simply the flatmate of my dreams!

Anneleen:

I loved visiting you in your hometown. You have a great family (do you think your parents would be interested in adopting a fifth child? :P) It's a pity that you could only stay five months, as you were probably one of the people I had most fun with. I'm sorry that the thing with Brussels didn't work in the end, but I hope we meet again soon, whether in Spain, Belgium or Germany again.

Marco:

We haven't had much contact for quite some time, but as I told you the last time we phoned, I just wish you all the best and a lot of happiness.

The cutest cutie in the cutieverse:

There's nothing to say to you other than what I tell you everytime we talk. You're simply wonderful and always make me feel very lucky. Or in just one word... RAKATUKUTUKUKUTUKURUKUTUNTUN!!!

And coming soon... my tree and some pictures of the "suspects" ;)

Although I'm already done with the exams (and leaving Würzburg in about a week), here's the traditional post about the courses I've been taking in the summer semester.

1. THE SECRETS OF GERMAN GRAMMAR

Real title: Sprachwissenschaftliches Seminar II (Linguistics II)

Type: Seminar

Lecturer: The one with the very long last name (again)

What it consists of: We learn EVERYTHING about German grammar - we analyze phrases using tree-shaped diagrams. It's more interesting and difficult than it sounds, really. Oh, and the best thing about it is that we foreign students seem to know some things much better than Germans (they don't even know their own verbs!)

What to do to get marks: Written assignment (thank god I did it together with the Finnish girls! Otherwise I wouldn't have survived it!) and exam... which was last week and didn't go as well as I'd like to...

2. HOW TO BECOME A TEACHER

Real title: Einführung in die Didaktik der spanischen Sprache und Literatur (Introduction to the didactic of Spanish language and literature)

Type: Übung

Lecturer: The adorable Rayman... erm... Reimann

What it consists of: Let's face it - the course is damn boring. Some terms ring a bell to me because I faintly recall having heard something about them in Linguistics, but most of the time I have no idea what it is about. It's really theoretical and I don't think I've learnt anything useful at all... but the lecturer is just adorable! He printed some documents for me and gave me some practical advice in case I want to teach Spanish in Germany. I just have to love him.

What to do to get marks: Nothing! I just got a paper stating that I visited that course for being there every day.

3.THINGS YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW

Real title: Tutorium zum Sprachwissenschaftlichen Seminar II (Linguistics Tutorial)

Type: Tutorium

Lecturer: Fat Kat (god, that was mean :S)

What it consists of: We basically repeat the same things we learnt in Linguistics, but the girl (who by the way is rather cold and boring) doesn't seem to manage to get anyone's attention... and most of the students don't seem to give a damn about it. She asks the same questions everyday and I'm often the only one who answers...

What to do to get marks: You don't get marks.

4.GERMAN FILMS FOR DUMMIES II

Real title: DaF-Filmseminar (Film seminar for international students)

Type: Kurs

Lecturer: Our good old Dominik

What it consists of: Pretty much the same as last semester, but as this time there were like twice as many people, we don't really get a chance to discuss the film in more depth or to answer questions, as we have two or three presentations every day. Some remarkable things are the lecturer, who's just a great guy, the trip to Munich we went on to visit the Bavaria Filmstudios and the film "Das Leben der anderen" (The lives of others)... simply amazing!

What to do to get marks: Written assignment and presentation about one of the films - in my case, it was the Star Trek parody "(T)Raumschiff Surprise", and both went quite well.

5. SLANG FOR BEGINNERS

Real title: Wortschatz (Vocabulary)

Type: Kurs

Lecturer: Bruce Willis

What it consists of: First of all, you get the impression that all German words sound the same, as most of the exercises we've done were about words that are easily mistaken. Apart from that, we learn synonyms for many words and slang. It's a very interesting course and the lecurer is great fun... and hot!

What to do to get marks: Exam, which was last week and wasn't bad at all.

6. MORE SECRETS OF GERMAN GRAMMAR

Real title: Gasttutorium zum Sprachwissenschaftliches Seminar II (Lingustics tutorium for international students)

Type: Tutorium

Lecturer: Ellen

What it consists of: A group of foreign students meets to revise what we learnt in Linguistics. Ellen, the girl in charge, is really nice and managed to get the class involved pretty well. I take my hat off for her.

What to do to get marks: You don't get marks.

7. FUN FOR FOREIGNERS

Real title: GastStudentenBegrüssung (I don't really know how to translate it)

Type: Seminar

Lecturer: Emine and Jakob

What it consists of: It's just great! We meet every Wednesday evening and do something else each week - once we analyzed poems, another time we went to the cinema or the theatre... we even had a farewell barbecue! The main purpose of it is to get to know new people and to get to know Würzburg a little better. Besides, Emine and Jakob are really nice and easy-going. She's a 24-year-old Turk and he's 26 and from Würzburg.

What to do to get marks: I didn't get marks because I didn't go to every session, but if I had, I would have had to give a presentation about my home land.

I'm back! Well, in the end the writing marathon hasn't worked the way I expected... but before the weekend is over, I'd like to leave something else from me here.

The inhabitants of every country tend to complain that tourists merely visit the biggest and most popular cities. No-one cares about small villages, which can often be much more interesting than cities... Well, I decided to follow this piece of advice and, apart from beautiful Bamberg I've been to two more German villages in the past weeks.

Probably there's not much to say about them. Both of them are engaged in wine production and they are respectively located close to two of Germany's most important rivers: the Main and the Rhine. The nicest things to do there are roaming their cute, romantic streets, while looking at their old buildings or sitting in one of their numerous inns or wine taverns. That's why there might not be much to say about them... but there are certainly things to show.

Wineyards in the Rhine area

Hana (Czec Republic) and Pirjo (Finland) by the Main

Main street of Sommerhausen (Main)

More of the main street of Sommerhausen

Anniina (Finland) and Kristiina (Estonia) in a cute wine tavern

One of the specialties from Sommerhausen - vanilla ice-cream with biscuits, whipped cream and rose jam... delicious!

Julia (Russia) in front of a traditional German house

And last but not least, a street of a village in the Rhine area. Apparently, the plans for the church were stolen from some Middle East country.

First of all, SORRY SORRY SORRY and SORRY once again! :( In order to compensate for having disappeared for one month, I'm gonna try to have a blog marathon this weekend (for once there are no interesting plans in sight...)

Yesterday our university celebrated what they called the Nacht der Lichter (Night of the Lights). As none of my German friends outside Würzburg had heard about it, I had assumed that it might be some ritual related to Würzburg. However, to be sure I looked it up on Wikipedia and (to my dismay) I found out that it's related to some religious meeting for young people in the French town of Taizé (!!!), which has little to do with what we did last night. In the end, the only thing I found on the wikipedia article which can be remotely similar to our Nacht der Lichter is a way to celebrate the change of season, so... I take it that's probably what it was about.

In the photos you'll see pretty much what it was like. It began in the campus fields around 20.30 (it was not yet dark) and I don't know how long it went on - we went home around midnight and they were still there. In a few words: chips and bratwurst, drinks, live music, fire jugglers and a certain Woodstock feeling. Here's some illustration.

From left to right: Rachel, me and Anthea. Both of them are from England. In fact, we had quite a British evening last night ;) And I have to say that they all surprised me positively, as they were quite a fun group. Besides, I had a chance to speak English.

More people in our group: Julia (Russia), Charlotte, half of Andrew, Chris, Laura and half of Anthea (all from England).

The Finnish girls also joined us, and here am I with them: Tiia, Annuska and Pilvi.

And this one so that you can have an idea of the atmosphere on the fields. Notice the nice lights all around. There were different colours and even some huge scented candles. But for me, the best was getting 'infected' with the party spirit and having a chance to mingle with people I hadn't seen for quite some time. Yes, that was definitely a nice night!