Moving out...

Oh Kiwittsmoor...How I will not miss you... haha

I currently reside in the Studentenwohnheim in Kiwittsmoor and I actually really do like my Wohnung and my Mitbewohnerinen but it is time to say goodbye and move somewhere in the center! I'm moving to Eilbek..its a nice area, next to the Eilbek Canal that leads to the Alster and 14 minutes away from my office in Roedingsmarkt.

If you're moving to Hamburg, and for only a short period of time like us..its nice to be in the Center. You would typically want to be somewhere near Hamburg Mitte:

Praktikum

After applying to over 25 offices in Hamburg and 1 in Koeln, and having 5 interviews, I finally found an internship Höhler + Partner: http://www.hoehler-partner.de/.


I have been there for two weeks so far. The office is spacious and my colleagues are all nice and my sponsor is very helpful in explaining all my tasks. So far I've been organizing folders of construction drawings (like the ones we learn how to do in Building Construction III) and also learning about the different types of walls in a building, and calculating the areas and volumes of materials on each floor (Beton, stahl..etc.) The language we communicate in is German, but if I don't understand than we find a way to either draw it out of look it up online or find the explanation in English. In the next weeks I will accompany my colleagues to the Baustelle to see what's going on with my eyes and sit in on meetings with the Bauherr to see how meeting are carried through with the client.


So far its been a nice change from university and the work days go by so quickly! I will write another update soon :)

CV + Portfolio

It sucks to say that they are right when they tell us to


DO THEM BEFORE YOU COME TO GERMANY .

you will have time to do them here but they are just a hassle and you are never in the mood to look at all your old projects and arrange them and bla bla bla...

PLUS there may be some documents like the Anlagen for the CV/Lebenslauf that you may need to bring with you from Amman! So it is important to prepare them before you leave...

Classes in German ?

Man oh man..what can I say?

Sorry to break it to you guys but...its almost impossible to walk out of class with full confidence of understanding.

I really really really wish that GJU prepared us better for german in our field! If I had a say, I would vote for them to at least start giving us vocab from our field majors from DEUTSCH I!

Advice: I'm actually still trying to figure out how to learn all the architectural terms in German myself. The best way I learn is watching other students in class speak and learn from them... but I would also suggest:

- list words you know you will use, translate them, and memorize them!
- watch youtube videos of lectures or anything that has to do with your field in German.
- follow german written blogs/tweets.

If you have any more ideas please add them! I think all of us GJU students could use some good advice...

Speaking German

2 and a half months in now...I would say my german has improved from a 1.5 to a 1.9. Depending on the ILR (FSI) proficiency scale: http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/languagelearning/mangngyrlngglrnngprgrm/TheILRFSIProficiencyScale.htm I would say in general when GJU students first arrive in Germany we are at level 1.5 (done with German V/B2). I think it is physically impossible to become a level 4 in only one-year's time here but I think it may be possible to reach a good level 3! BUT...you must put effort from your side EVERY SINGLE DAY!

My personal advice:

1. Have some sort of regular German channel on the radio, tv show, or songs playing as regular as possible.

2. Invest in children's books to help you get in touch with the fundamental social lingo. (I recently received "The little Prince" from a German friend and it is a very easy read and makes me giggle! I feel silly pulling it out on the U-bahn and reading but people you are sitting next to will forget you once you step of the U-bahn! :P)

3. Create a list of terms you think you will need related to your major and memorize them so you have some kind of idea what the professor is talking about in class for a starter! 

4. Speak German to the Erasmus students you meet! It is very comfortable to speak with other Erasmus students because we are all on the same level of German! Once you start out in English, it is very hard to switch back to German!

5. If your Uni offers programs of pairing you up with another student to practice german with and them english with you for example, then do so! 

6. Mingle with germans at parties, outings, dinners etc. and ask them about phrases and words you doubt and have trouble with. Also tell them to teach you local phrases!

7. Hang posters, flyers, random words, signs, lyrics on your wall in german so you see it everyday!
9. Take the German courses they offer at uni! Even if your too lazy to..push yourself and you will feel better and most confident. I take C1 now on Wednesday at 18:15-20:45...its a crappy time, but I feel much better every time class finishes!

8. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY....Review what you learned at the end of each day (even if it was just 2 words...repeat them as many times as you can to hammer them in your memory :P)

Think Smart...

Sometimes you will be rushed to think that you must purchase something RIGHT NOW or else you can't live like the others around you. That is usually not true. For example:

Moving in...: you should wait to move into your apartment to buy all your necessities for your new "home". When I first moved in, I was in a WG with three guys and was not comfortable with the living situation. Therefore, I asked to move to another WG with 3 other girls. I was tempted to buy kitchenware, and a microwave, and a vacuum cleaner etc. but I waited to see how the situation was in my new apartment. Thankfully, the girls I moved in with had almost a full kitchen set up and very generously let me use all the kitchen products. As for the vacuum cleaner, one of guys in my old apartment was moving out and gave me his! 


Another thing to consider is to bring the right things from you from Amman to "ikhtasir" buying here. Here are a list of things I found myself saying "thank God i brought this with me":

1. extension cord
2. electricity plug converters (in germany, the outlets look like this)
 
3. internet cable.
4. different size suitcases in case you travel somewhere in your time here.
5. a rolling back-pack or anything that has wheels. Why? For putting your groceries in! You do not want to haul around big bags by hand, trust me!
6. All the programs you need for university downloaded on your computer. For example, Architecture students could need Autocad, Photoshop, and a 3-D program.
7. Make sure to have anti-virus on your computer for the whole year so you dont have to pay for it here!
8. Some over-the counter medicine just for back-up in case you catch a cold or have small pains. (Ask the nearest doctor to you for more advice on that).

Can't think of anymore right now. If you have any doubts before you leave, just write me here and I will do my best to help!

Sports

There are endless possibilities of sports for you to do with the university! I will always refer to my experience in Hamburg but I'm sure smaller city universities have the same options. In HCU (HafenCity Universitaet) students have an option to pay 50 euros/ semester and have access to almost all the sports you can think of. Here's a link to see for yourself: http://hsp-hh.sport.uni-hamburg.de/sportangprogramm.htm

I've tried so far Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Rueckenfitness, Fat-Burner class, Ballett, Modern-Jazz dance, and Yoga. They were all really fun and i still take part in as many as I can!

If you still are not satisfied with the classes offered or the amount of payment, then there are other gyms and fitness programs you can apply for like Sport pass for 8 euros a month.

Tip:

1. Take advantage of trying new things because chances are you won't find the same opportunities in Amman! The classes are run in German but all you have to do is look at the person next to you if you don't understand and you'll figure it out easily :P.

2. If sports are really that important to you, try to work out your schedule so that you can be take the class you want in uni as well as comfortably go to sports so you don't have to haul your sports bag with you all day!