Wie die Zeit vergeht...

Somehow it's my last night in Heidelberg. I shouldn't really be blogging right now, as true to form, I haven't yet finished packing, but a year away has not improved my time-management skills, why would I start on my last night? Best logic ever.

I'm really not sure how it got to this point. It feels like only yesterday that I was desperately packing my case hours before leaving for over a year, eating ice cream, then going to the airport, crying, and boarding that plane. Yet now, almost fourteen months later, I'm sitting in my room with a year of experiences behind me, probably a different person from when I left. Or perhaps not, who really knows.

I've had a pretty awesome last couple of weeks. Last week I went out Thursday and Friday nights, got incredibly sick as a result of not wearing enough layers in the below freezing night temperatures (well, the day-time ones are below zero too), went to Morocco, bought a fez in Fez, ate tagines and couscous, drank copious amounts of ridiculously sweet mint tea, ex-matriculated (in your pants), de-registered from the city (oh, Germany), had going away drinks, climbed the scaffolding to hang out on the roof, drunk wine from the bottle, smoked a pipe, stayed up til 8am watching Disney movies, tried in vain to pack all my things into a suitcase, my rendez-vous bag, and my handbag (fun fact: my beast of a laptop fits into my handbag!), watched movies instead, had beard envy, walked in the snow, seen a German try Vegemite (she didn't hate it!), made Brezeln (pretzels) as part of dinner, climbed up onto the roof again, snuck back down the stairwell on the inside of the building instead of braving the scaffolding again, and discussed the (in)equality of men and women in various countries. I've also said more goodbyes than I ever want to again.

I've loved and I've hated my time in Heidelberg. Overall though, it's been a good year.

My room is pretty bare now. There's nothing on the walls, (almost) nothing on the shelves, the desk is back in its wardrobe door-blocking position (as it was when I moved in), and the floor is cleaner than it has been in months. Yet it's somehow still my room. It's still home. It'll be interesting to see if that's how I feel tomorrow when I have to actually leave it for the last time.

But for now, it's 1:32am, and I still need to work out my bags.

Goodbye for now, Germany. You've been awesome.

7:10pm, Wednesday the 8th, Marrakech, Morocco

It's really hard to believe that my time abroad is coming to an end. I think my currently being on holiday - and thus removed from my Heidelberg home - has staved off the reality that I'll be leaving for Australia in less than a week; that my Germany adventure will be done in six days. Sitting on the roof of this Moroccan hostel after a day of exploring the colourful souks, I'm so far removed from my life in Germany that I am just enjoying chilling out, discussing books, Sean Bean, and the possible censoring of postcards leaving Morocco.

Going on this holiday has been paramount to the enjoyment of my last weeks, I think. I've been able to look forward to going to Africa, and now that I'm here I can just be here, where everything is new, colourful, and exciting. When I think of Germany, I think of the little town on the Neckar that has become my home. When people ask where I'm from, I start thinking of the city I grew up in, and will soon be returning to. But it doesn't make me sad about leaving, because I know I've still got six days in Germany to look forward to. I guess we'll see how my feelings change as the week goes by.

10 days

I hate saying goodbye to people. I'm well and truly sick of it. Laurence left just now, and I had tears rolling down my face the whole bus ride home. Boo :(

Two weeks

In two weeks, I will have moved out of my room, got my deposit back, and be wandering around Heidelberg for the last time, with only a few hours until I go to the airport.

Last night I took most of the things that weren't photos (postcards, letters, ticket stubs etc) and half of the blu-tac off my walls (though THAT is a job I can't be bothered doing). My shelves are increasingly bare. This is becoming less of my room, and more just a room I'm keeping my stuff in. I can't imagine what it'll be like on my last day, when all I have in here is all I arrived with: my suitcase, rendez-vous bag, and my handbag, everything else having already been sent home. It's a really, really weird feeling.

It's not like I haven't moved house before. I moved house about a month before I moved to Germany, and there were similar feelings about packing everything up, and it not being my room any more (though as I feel that that room's where I did most of my growing up, I think it stayed my room until I said goodbye and walked out the front door). But I wasn't moving city. I can still go to my street, go and see all the places around where I lived. This is going to be different. I'm moving halfway across the world, and don't know when I'm going to come back.

Please continue to bear with me while this blog reflects the emotional rollercoaster that is my life :)

CAN'T HANDLE ALL THE FEELS

Just finished watching The Reichenbach Fall, the Season 2 finale of Sherlock, which I have been powering through in the last week or so. TEARS FALLING FROM MY EYES. SO MANY EMOTIONS.

Anyway, brilliant. Watch it.

Though I still find Benedict Cumberbatch's face odd. And Martin Freeman will forever be the awkward sex guy from Love Actually.

In other news, this is my last full week in Germany, which is pretty crazy. I'm going to Morocco with John and Joe for five days (from Sunday), then back on Thursday the 9th, then I leave for good (well, for this time) on the 14th. Mental.

I sent home two boxes today, both weighing less than 5kg... 84 euro if you please. I've got another one boxed/ taped up and ready to go, plus three more boxes that I can use if I need to (though I really, really hope I won't need to. Well, in fact, I'll make sure I don't need to).

Of my four subjects, I had to do exams for three of them, two of which I got back today - and I got a 2,3 for both of them, with which I'm happy, considering the amount of work I didn't do this semester. I got my Schein (basically a piece of paper that says 'Sarah went to this class. She got this grade.' that I have to hand in somewhere at the end of semester - lucky my exchange coordinator is so USELESS) for Wortschatz - 2,3 - which means that the exam was worth 100%, and participation, attendance, and homework didn't count for anything (not that I ever did my homework, so it's good for me, but bad for the people who actually put in effort). Oh well. Should get two more on Wednesday, and the last one on Thursday. I am anxiously awaiting my grades. But not that anxiously.

Australia Day in Deutschland

My third Australia Day away from Australia has definitely been the best to date; 2010 I had my handbag (which contained everything important, including passport) stolen in Prague, last year was fun but I went home pretty early, but this year almost felt like an actual Australia Day.

On Wednesday night, Monica (who is from Melbourne) and I went to Rowan's place, as her housemate has an electric beater, which we needed to make the various delicious Australian things that we did. First we attempted a pavlova, which, for our first try making one actually worked out pretty well. While that was cooling (for an hour!) in the oven, we made ANZAC biscuits, and the sponge cake which was to be lamingtons. Eventually, around 2am, we left Rowan's, burdened with baked goods which we took to my place to finish in the morning.

There were decorations thanks
to my supplies from Laura C!

I intended to go to sleep, but ended up starting to listen to the Hottest 100, and then skyped with Libby for an hour.

Four hours later, I woke up to shower and put the ANZAC biscuits on to cook that we didn't do the night before because it was already stupidly late. Monica arrived shortly after with cream and fruit for the pav, which ended up looking fairly excellent!

With two of my housemates (the third mysteriously moved out yesterday without saying a word to any of us), we took the bus to the Mensa (cafeteria) where we tried very unsuccessfully to find a table inside... so set up outside in the 2 degree cold. Although the lamingtons weren't very spongy, and the biscuits were rock-hard, everything seemed to be a hit - an English guy even ate a Vegemite sandwich!

After my class that evening, I took the train to Tuebingen to meet up with Rosie (from Perth; we met at Stuttgart uni last winter and now she's on exchange in Tuebs). We walked up a giant hill while it was snowing to a frat house, where Neville (from Adelaide; I had a class with his brother Glenn in 2010, and Glenn was on exchange here last semester) lives. 

There was a book of breasts and some beer, music and much laughter. Some of Rosie and Neville's friends were there, along with some of the guys who lived there. Eventually we moved down from the tv room to the room with the bar (this place was seriously HUGE. There was also a basement with fencing equipment in it, what) where we proceeded to drink more. At one point tequila was brought out, everyone was given a shot... then the German pouring asked who was Australian, we three put our hands up... so we had an extra shot. Then there were flavoured shots in little bottles, and the wine that Rosie and I had brought with us, and more beer. We eventually coerced the Germans into letting us put Rosie's ipod on, as it had an Australian playlist, so she and I went crazy to My People and Ice Cream before it was turned back to the other music. Schade. Oh, and I broke a light. WHOOPS. That was followed by us all just walking away from it shiftily.

Probably about 1:30am (though we really have no idea), some random middle-aged woman APPEARED in the kitchen, and said something like 'I live underneath', then probably something about how it was 1:30 and she couldn't sleep for all the noise. But who lives under a frat house, I ask you?! Anyway, we cleared off pretty quickly, and walked off back down the hill with everyone; Rosie and I singing many different Australian songs along the way. Damn noisy drunk people!

The next day, we woke up feeling not too terrible, then went on a trip to the Ritter Sport factory, though the factory part wasn't open, just the shop... at which there were many delicious purchases.

I came back via Stuttgart after saying goodbye to Rosie until we meet again in Australia at some point... and realised it would be my last time being in Stuttgart, too. It's really strange to think that there are all these things that I'm going to be doing for the last time, and that I might not even realise that they're for the last time... Until I return.

Happy Australia Day!

Three weeks left.

Out With the Old

This is the start of the end of my life. The questions I have will only be solved with time. But I won't wait quietly! I have a lot of other things to do.

While walking along a Budapest street on Friday evening, it suddenly hit me. This xkcd comic (don't worry, it didn't literally hit me), which has always been one of my favourites:

...which always reminds me of this...

Oh yes... balloon room. Such a good night.

The point is though, we are the grown-ups now. We might not be mature, or know what we want to do with the rest of our lives... but the world really is our oyster. It belongs to us. We're at the age at which we can do anything.

In Australia, I live at home (and can't wait to get back and live with my parents again), I get Youth Allowance, and I work part-time (...speaking of, I'll be looking for a job when I get home, so if anyone hears anything about a non-food-related, non-waitressing job, let me know). The time in my life for exploring  caves, trying disgusting spirits just because they're traditional, walking down a street because it looks interesting, getting lost, finding my way again, being sung to in Hungarian while eating dinner, and seeing the world is now.

I love Australia, I love Adelaide (for the people :P); it will always be home, and I want to eventually settle down there. But for now, I have no commitments, I want to travel the world, and see everything.

Dear 40-year-old me: if you didn't take advantage of this time in your life, you're an idiot.

*I've obviously said 'we' a bit here, and I am for the most part referring to me; I know that not everyone is in the same boat. And that's what makes life interesting.

Listening to: haven't done one of these for a while, but this is one of the songs that is on the radio a bit over here. I don't think you can get the official video, so here's a live one - New Age - Marlon Roudette (fun fact: he was part of Mattafix (of Big City Life fame). The lyrics in the title are from Jack & Coke - Alex Day (of Forever Yours fame).



Two exams tomorrow, and my third on Wednesday. Back to the books! (I am trying hard not to throw them across the room... das durch das Zimmer fliegenden Buch...)