Mindmap

This is the mindmap I produced from the Robinson Crusoe text we had to read at home last week. I am sure it could be improved or made more compact, but I still need to practice.

I never used mind maps before because I found it more confusing to produce a mind map than to simply write down key words, but I am starting to like them!

Mind the Gap!

This warning will be familiar to anyone who has used the London Underground, the oldest underground railway in the world. However, since its opening in 1863 the network has changed almost completely. The first passengers were transported in steam-powered trains instead of the electric trains we know today. This meant that tunnels had to be close to the surface and have many openings for the steam to escape. Bit by bit, the old steam trains were replaced by electricity-powered trains, more and deeper tunnels were built and lines were extended far into the suburbs of London.

The constant network changes also meant that many stations were closed, relocated or used for different purposes. During the Second World War, for example, some stations served as air raid shelters during bomb attacks. An underground branch leading to a station called Aldwych in Westminster was closed and used to store precious items from the British Museum.

Even though it is called “Underground”, only 45% of all the rails are actually underground. If you want to visit the deepest point of the Underground, go to Hampstead, which runs down to more than 58 metres – nothing for people suffering from claustrophobia! Another useless fact: Smoking on the tube was allowed until 1987, when a fire broke out due to a discarded match in King’s Cross station, killing 31 people. 

 

The next time you feel like complaining about cramped carriages or slow connections, think about the beginnings of the “Tube” and be thankful for non-smoking regulations, lifts and carriages more modern than this “padded cell” without windows:

studying history where it was made

Nowadays Hastings is a popular seaside resort in East Sussex, the South-East of Great Britian. You will find an amusement park for children, gaming arcades and a lively old town with cramped souvenir shops and cafés. But if you lift your head you will see the ruins of a castle standing proudly on a steep hill, reminding you that the city is steeped in history. In fact, there is one important event of English history that took place near this town almost a thousand years ago: the Battle of Hastings (1066).

After visiting the city last weekend I did some research on the Battle of Hastings and I will try to summarize what happened.

In January 1066, King Edward III had died. He left no heirs and there were no strict rules as to who was to become the new king in such a case. There were four people who claimed to be a worthy new king:

• Edgar the Atheling
• Harald Hardrada, a Viking king
• Harold Godwinson
• William, Duke of Normandy

Harold Godwinson

Harold did not have royal origins, but he was popular among the citizens and the Witan, a council of wise men, decided that he should be the new king. William was a distant relative of the deceased king Edward. Allegedly Edward and Harold had promised to make him king of England, which would make Harold's claim illegal.

In September, Harald the Viking king tried to invade England and claim the throne for himself. His men were defeated by Harold's army in the Battle of Stamford Bridge in the North-East of what is now Great Britian.

At the same time, the Normans under the command of Duke William invaded the South of the island. There was no one to stop them as the military was busy in the North-East. Harold's men raced back to the South to fight the Norman invasion. The Saxons (Harold's army) built a massive shield wall and at first it seemed that they would win, but the Normans played a trick on them: they pretended to retreat, which caused the Saxons to give up their formation and chase after the invaders. Now the Normans could easily attack the Saxons and eventually won the battle. According to a legend, Harold was killed by an arrow in his eye, but the evidence is not clear.

Some of the information known about the Battle of Hastings today comes from the Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidery that shows battle scenes. On this embroidery we can see a man with an arrow in his eye who was believed to be Harold. Newer interpretations suppose that it was another soldier, as people standing are usually survivors, while people lying on the ground are those killed in battle.

I love London

Over the last one or two weeks there were a lot of hellos and goodbyes - many people left, but new ones arrived, and I did not have the time to write a new blog post. I also spent one weekend in London with my roommate, and I want to tell you about this wonderful weekend and my new favourite spot in London, Camden Market:

Saturday was mainly spent on travelling to London. We took the National Express bus because it was only half the price compared to the train, but it also took twice as long. We wanted to go directly to our hotel, but unfortunately the tube we were in was stuck because of a broken signal. It was a slightly disturbing experience, and unfortunately only the beginning of a streak of bad luck regarding public transport.

Two hours too late, we finally arrived at the Warner Brother studios outside of London - after a very relaxed train assistant had charged us £4.50 for who knows what...I am not the biggest Harry Potter fan, but the studios were very interesting because they offer an insight into the world of movie-making. It was astonishing to see how many of the sets had been built in real life instead of being computer-generated, and how many hours of work there are behind each and every one of them. After browsing through the souvenir shop, we cancelled our plans of going to a club because we were both too tired and wanted to rest our feet.

The next day we set out for Camden Market - and public transport messed up our plans once again. First, we stopped inside a tunnel a second time, but luckily only for a short time because we had to let another train pass. Then we could not change to the line we had planned because its trains did not stop at that particular station on that particular day...

After finally escaping the maze of the London Underground, we were greeted by a crowd of people bustling through the streets in Camden. The shopkeepers were only just setting up their displays for the day, but the place was already crowded with tourists and locals alike. It is very tempting to buy something at the next best stand, but I advise you to stroll further and always try to negotiate - eventually you will find what you like at a reasonable price. The market unbelievably big, so many only follow the main road in order not to get lost. They definitely miss out on something! In the very last corner of the market, we found a tiny shop that sells home-made mini cupcakes that looked almost too beautiful to eat. All the sales huts and many walls around Camden Market are covered in artistic graffiti that are far from being vandalism. Do not miss the part called Horse Market, where the architecture is wonderful and you can find many stands that sell exotic dishes at a low price.

If you come to London, the Camden Market is a must-see, not only if you like shopping. Take your time to stroll through this lively and multicultural place and dare to step away from the main street in order to explore its hidden treasures.

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.