Cliffs and English weather

Hello again - it has been two weeks since I arrived here in England.

Finally, there is something like a comforting routine. I know what to do and where to go - most of the time, at least. I have gotten to know some of the people here - some better than others, of course, but we are at least 40 people, so this is only natural.

Last weekend, I spontaneously decided to get away and visit the White Cliffs of Dover together with some other interns. It had been hot and sunny all week, so we had almost forgotten about the "typical English weather"...until we arrived in Dover. It was so foggy that you could hardly see anything, but the bus journey had taken us almost two hours, so we decided to go to the cliffs anyway. We asked some locals for directions. When we asked, "Do we get to the cliffs if we go this way?" one of them only laughed and answered, "Yes, if you can find them at all with all this fog." We did find them, but the longer we walked, the worse everyone's mood was. The paths were muddy, and we had to be careful not to slip and fall. Also, we couldn't enjoy any great view from the top of the cliffs because we didn't even see where the cliffs ended. After what felt like hours we came to a small lighthouse. Actually we had brought everything for a picnic, but by then it was raining cats and dogs (and it was still foggy, I didn't know this was possible!). Part of our group was discouraged by the weather, went inside the lighthouse that is a café to get something to drink and then took the bus back. The rest of us was brave and even had a picnic outside in the pouring rain.

On our way back we were lucky because it brightened up a bit and we could finally get some views from the top of the cliffs!

This weekend, many people are going out because there are many people leaving this and next week and they are having "thank-you parties", but since I don't know the people who are leaving very well I would not feel comfortable there. I will probably just stay here and maybe pay the New Romney County Fayre tomorrow a visit.

First impressions

Three days ago I arrived here in New Romney, a small town on the South-East coast of the British island, where I will be spending the next two and a half months. Why, you ask? For an internship! 

I chose an internship instead of going abroad with Erasmus because this way I can make good use of the three months of summer holidays we have at university. I only applied for this one internship and kept my fingers crossed - and I was not disappointed :) Unfortunately, it is all voluntary, which means I don't get paid to work here.

When I arrived at the train station, a British girl came to pick me up with her car. She brought me to the hotel where I'm staying. On the drive, I asked her to recommend some places to see, which she gladly did :-) When I arrived at the hotel, there were three or four people in the lobby, and as soon as they saw me, they all exclaimed, "You're the new one!" - something I would hear another 50 times or so in the next few days. Our house manager, a guy called maxime, gave me a short tour through the building and afterwards I carried my suitcases to my bedroom.

I have to share the room with another intern, a girl from Germany - not very helpful in terms of speaking English... :-( The room is quite simple and still a bit chaotic - I haven't unpacked all of my things yet and Derya, my roommate, used to have the room to herself and so her things are still scattered everywhere. However, we are lucky because unlike others, we have our own fridge.

There is a kitchen downstairs from where we can take food at any time of the day as long as we eat it in the kitchen and don't carry it anywhere else. Theoretically, we have to cook all our meals on our own, but there is a "cooking team" of four or five interns that normally prepares lunch and dinner for everyone.

The office where all of us interns are working is in the same building where I'm sleeping - I only have to go downstairs and I'm at work! That means I can sleep longer than many others who stay in hotels that are further away, but it also means that working time and free time don't feel as separate as it should.

I usually work each day from 9 to 6, but the last hour consists of a workshop. In these workshops, we usually talk about ways to communicate more effectively, or there are teambuilding exercises. Today, for example, we had to think of a sketch that included 6 ping pong balls and a roll of black garbage bags...you can imagine how much creativity we  needed to include these requisites in a sketch!

Many interns spend their evening in the kitchen, cooking dinner and talking with each other, but I prefer to leave the house after work and go outside because I don't have a "second dinner" (the first one is prepared by the cooking team) and in the kitchen it feels too cramped and noisy to relax after a long working day. It is much more relaxing to take a long walk at the beach - today I even talked to some locals there :-)

So far, I feel very welcomed here and I like the international atmosphere - there are inters from many European and even African countries. One thing I have yet to get used to is that you are never alone here. I am used to living on my own and I am someone who needs time alone to relax and calm down, so it can be very exhausting to constantly be surrounded by people.

The end of a great year

Almost exactly one year ago, I arrived in Graz with a car full of tools and bags and we (that is, my dad and I) started to prepare what was to become my little student flat, my tiny refuge and a large piece of independence. Now I am packing all my things into suitcases and bags again - and a year ago I would never have thought that leaving this place would be so hard.

The last exam is written and my first year at university is over - a good time to reflect and resume.

I had never thought I would meet so many interesting people and find so many good friends in such a short time. We had the best times together - a more or less spontaneous trip to Stockholm, for example! -  and we are planning to make a dignified exit tomorrow, including a hiking tour and a dinner.

In the course of this last year I learned to budget, to deal with burocracy - and I finally learned how to cook. In fact, I even started to refer to cooking and baking as a new hobby!

As far as university is concerned, it was a challenge to get used to it at first. Suddenly, I had to make my own schedule, decide myself when and what I need to study and so on. The tasks and exams - especially in English - were often challenging and I saw too many of my colleagues fail or give up. I think the freedom and the challenges helped me to grow, and I realized how many hidden resources and how much self-motivation I can mobilise when it is needed. Most importantly, I have hardly ever been this eager to learn and I'm still convinced that studying languages is the right path for me.

Last year, I moved into this flat, with a suitcase in my hand and vague expectations on my mind. Now I'm leaving this flat that I've started to call "home" in order to go to the UK, where I will be living and working for the next three months. In less than two weeks, I will be standing at the airport in Vienna, with a suitcase in my hand and vague expectations on my mind - and the hope that this summer will be just as incredible as the last year as been.