Markus efter Sverige

Again Sunday, again a post. It is not on purpose, but somehow after chilling Saturdays Sunday seems to be the perfect day to watch back. Working really becomes to a routine. Twice a week, I stand up half an hour earlier for translating these Swedish car articles. If I do not have the early shift, I try to stand up earlier anyway for being sooner at work. In return I can leave earlier. For going to sports or making laundry. This week I started sports. First on Tuesday that is called "Fitness with music". The description sound more interesting than the title. And in fact, it was fun. Wednesday, I participated in the table tennis training. I do not know why, but tennis kinds are the most amazing sport to play. Thursday, I finally made laundry. Making laundry is also kind of sports here, if you live at the third floor (German counting) and the machine stands in the basement. Very funny, after the sports two days before. Even more funny when you reach the basement and realize that

Weekends in erasmus are fun.You do pretty much the same as during the week, but in the weekend you can be sure that almost nothing compalsory can interrupt you (like lessons or work). If you hang out with 40 people every day, there are at least 5 activities you can join during the weekend. Somebody always has an idea for an event. Real life is different. A lot if you were gone for 18 months and just finished your studies. The few people you know in the area are spread over the city. And everybody is fixed in a work routine. The same for yourself. And those routines are just not as compatible as you'd wish them to be. Most of the time you do not have time to worry about that, for you have work to do what keeps you busy. But I am not that kind that lives for his work. Therefore I am happy when I can do something else than starring on a computer screen. But evenings in real life evenings behave pretty much the same as the weekends. Some free time and not really a clue what to do. Most

At the moment working still consists of paper work. Does not sound that hard, but there is so much information to gather, I am sometimes more than tired when I come home. I read a lot from different topics, getting a lot of personal lessons from my patient supervisor who answers every question and explains every connection I want to know, and I always have to keep all the things in mind I have to take care of. For every task I finish, two news questions come up that should be investigated. Therefore, for more than the reason to get some work done without getting 10 new tasks, I used a work meeting in Utrecht as opportunity to stay a day in Den Haag studying at the university's library. Since I applied too late for participating at the meeting, my supervisor gave me a lift and - after I confused the direction and took a longer walk to Utrecht's main station than to the nearer smaller station Lunetten - I took a train further to Den Haag. And reading finally worked out. On the wa

A week has passed without a feeling of time. So far the similarity between Tyskland and Sverige. The difference is that I cannot really recall what's worth to mention. My days start usually either at 6am or 7am, always depending if I have to work as translator in the morning. Depending on when I am of in the morning I have to hurry for the bus or I have to wait half an hour. This week I had to run twice. At half past 5pm I take the bus back and I am at home at 6pm. Usually I do some grocery shopping before coming home. But at least I've been out twice. Monday my flatmates brought me to a hardrock pub. Due to Monday it was rather empty, but still more people than in Sundsvall at this time. I guess at the weekends it must be similar to Medusa club in Stockholm where we have been last October . For sure not the last time I've been there. On Friday we have been out to a club. I did not really get the system of prices for alcohol. Cocktails were quite cheap/normal, beer rather e

First week at work is over. They were rather surprised about my contract, since it says I would only have to work for 2 or 3 days per week. I was surprised, too, and I did not intend to stay at home half of the time. Until now, work is fun. I learn a lot of new things and from different study fields over politics of the European Central Bank, through international card business to a lot of programming stuff. If you ever hear about SEPA then you know the initial cause why I have a job. I need all this background knowledge for my thesis, of course, but I also need these kind of information for motivation. Just working for being busy is frustrating. On Wednesday Maritha came over to Aken for a few days. During the days we went seperate ways while she studied and I worked, but in the evening we took the opportunity to get to know the city. Therefore, my first week was even more exciting than it should have been usually. On Saturday morning she left back to Den Haag. That we were busy with

I think, I had a first day that is usual for a first day in computer business. Of course, I was 20 mintues too late, because the village of the company was surprisingly bigger than one street and I ended up somewhere in nowhere. Luckily Micha could pick me up. What a start. Next getting a card at the entrance. I am not in the system, so I get a one-day entrance card. Maybe tomorrow I am already registered. Afterwards I met a lot of people, learned a lot of names. At Atos you call each other with the first name (not so usual for distance-loving Germany). And now I have an idea why they hired me. I think I met 50 people, but they had only 10 different names. Maybe they hire people because of their names. Almost everybody seems to be called Wolfgang, Peter, Stefan, Michael, and - of course - Markus. Getting to know a lot of people also means to learn about a lot of different projects. And a lot of technical terms I never heard of before. Until 12 my head was full of technical terms and cr