Life goes on… in Amsterdam!

It’s 8:45 am, I just kissed Vik goodbye few minutes ago, he is going to work now. We had breakfast together before that, he was still yawning as he drank his coffee. I love this guy, he is always so funny. Sitting in front my desk, suddenly I feel the urge of blogging.
A bit of update about my life here. After working for one and a half months, I’ve left the company. My last day there was 6th July, ever since than I have been meeting up with friends, chatting and surfing online and traveling around with Vik. Many of my friends back home asked me why did I resign, as getting a job in Germany is not really an easy matter, especially for a foreigner like me. Well, the truth is, if they (some of my colleagues) would have treated me better, friendlier or talk less ‘bullshit’ about Asia and so on, I might stay till August. I do not want to go into the details of what happened there, but in short I can say that my time there made me felt like a Bangladeshi working in Malaysia (or even worse), if you know what I mean. But it does not mean that all Germans are bad, some of my friends here who work in McD and Burger King do have nice colleagues.
Saying farewell to the hectic work and study life, I am now back to the peaceful and serenity life of a housewife again. In fact I recognised few days ago that I appreciate my time at home more now, as compared to the time before. I’ve learned to plan my day, read books, polish up my English and German, and stay in contact with friends here. Will meet up with Farisa (from Iran) and Farid (from India) tomorrow, we want to go back to our language school and claim back our exam fees. On Saturday, Mischa, Vik and I will be going to Kassel, to visit the modern and contemporary art exhibition - Documenta. 1001 Chinese flew from China for the purpose of this exhibition, must be very ‘interesting’ I think. Then on Sunday Vik and I will drive to Munich together, will stay there for 6 days. After that I will be flying to UK to meet up with some friends, and spending the money I earned before, hehehehe… am really looking forward to this trip!
By the way, last Friday was my first wedding anniversary. Vik and I went back to Sonderborg, Denmark, the place where we registered our marriage. We spent a very nice day together, remembering all the sweet memories we shared together, from the time in Australia until now. I am really grateful to have such a nice husband, what else do I want more? Perhaps my life will be perfect if I could get a proper job here, but wait, a perfect life? Does it exist? :p
Life goes on, and I am still one of the happiest persons in the world! It is just a matter of perception, you can be one too if you want. Hugs!

Marggie, Michelle and I at my place. We cooked curry together, hahaha…

Samantha (a Malaysian) visited me in Darmstadt, it was nice to meet up with her again.

Tim, Winnie, me and Vik at Flensburg, Winnie’s place. She invited us for lunch there and wow, she can really cook!

Mischa, my old best German friend. This one is taken at his birthday party, with Annete and me, after we were half drunk! :p

I don’t
know if this theory exists, but let’s just called it the Green Grass Theory
(GGT). It derives from the old saying - The grass is always greener on the
other side of the fence. We Chinese has actually something similar as well, I
would called it the ‘Round Moon Theory’ (the moon is always rounder on the
other side of the sky?) Anyway, these 2 theories are referring to the same
thing - situations or things other people have always look better than your
own, even when they are not really so.

I have no
idea what actually I want to say here, but I guess being one (out of many) good
example of people who is already at the other side of the fence, I still find
grass at some other sides greener. This leads me to think about when will I
stop moving to the other side, and finally settle down somewhere and appreciate
my own grass, for good.

For those
who are already at the other side, I wish you all the best, stay happy and
appreciate your grass. Remember, it was you who chose to be at the other side,
no one force you there. So choose what you love and love what you choose. Of course
you still have the right to make another decision to go back, if you feel
lonely and missing the side where you have left, you can always go back. It is
all up to you.

For those
who are staying at their side and admiring or just looking at the other side
without admiration, you have chosen to stay at your own side so be happy with
your grass as well. If you want to change your mind and go to the other side,
you can always consult those who were already at the other side. But remember,
those who are on the other side took the initiation and work hard for being at
the other side. They don’t just suddenly ‘pop out’ there.

For those
who are already on the other side but still want to go to a new side, I wish
you good luck. Changing sides is good as you get to taste many different
grasses, as long as the grass didn’t poison you or cause you indigestion. When
you are tired with all other grasses, you can still choose to go back to the
first place where you came from.

If GGT is
true, then a problem might arise, let’s called it – constant side changing. When
you are at side A, you think that the grass at side B is greener. So you move
to side B, then at side B (according to GGT), you might discover side C, or you
will miss side A. Imagine this goes on and on… Maybe I should just stop here, I
am getting too far.

After
saying all this, I think I know what I actually want to say. The conclusion is –
be happy with your grass, no matter at which side you are. We are all fallible
human being, if you find yourself complaining and not being content, ask
yourself why. If there is no one concrete reason behind, than you have to
change and start appreciating things around you. But if your complaints are
solid, because you want to improve yourself or enhance your life, then get out
of your comfort zone and work something out. Complacent is not always good.

To all of
you, may you enjoy your grass and your moon.  Hugs! 

After working for 4 weeks, and still surviving, I attended Anna (Vik’s cousin) and Alexander’s wedding today. It was a brand new experience to me, as this is the first wedding I’ve attended in Germany. But this is not a typical German wedding, as the couple is not ‘pure German’ (they were born in Kergistan) and the guests are mostly Germans migrated from Russia. I would say it looks more like a ‘German-Russian mix’ wedding to me. I will be attending another wedding in August (this time real German), should be able to see the differences after attending this one.
My mother-in-law told me: Anna and Alex have been together since 11 years ago (gosh!),  Anna was 17 when they met. Alex just finished his studies and internship, he is now a lawyer (still looking for a job though).
Vik and I didn’t attend their church wedding, we only managed to catch the celebration after church. Here are some pictures

Wish them happy ever after!

Wooooohoooooo!! Rebecca is going to work next Monday! Yes, negotiations succeeded. They didn’t agree with what Vik suggested immediately though, but we insisted (nothing to lose, if they say no, then I’ll just do what I usually do at home, haha). So after some further discussion, they agreed. It is actually a win-win situation, they are still paying the same for hiring me, just that on my side, I won’t be taxed by the goverment end of the year (only applicable to minijob, subject to rules and regulations, which I still hardly understand by now), and it is not a practical anymore, but a contract job, for 3 months.
If you are interested, it is a language school which I am going to work for, located in Frankfurt, called Sprachcaffe Language PLUS . But don’t get me wrong, I am not going to work as a teacher (not qualified yet, hehe), just as an organiser for holiday courses. So it’s going to be like the time back in American Express, administrative tasks, easy. Yet it’s going to be challenging for me, as I am going to do all this in another language, German (can’t imagine how it’s going to be like…). Anyway I guess it is going to be an extremely good opportunity for me to improve my German, and hopefully I will be able to make some new friends too.
Am feeling excited, anxious and thankful at the moment. All this would be impossible without Vik’s help and support. And I am grateful to some of my friends back home, for their concern and motivation. Not to forget my family members, who constantly pray for me. I guess I am one of the happiest and the most blessed person in the world now :p  Looking forward to next Monday, and I better get back to my German books now! Hugs! (end)

Email received yesterday. They want to hire me. Suppose to be a good news, but in my reply I didn’t say yes. After discussing with Vik, we decided to NEGOTIATE with them. The thing is, the taxation system in Germany is driving me crazy! To quote from Wikipedia - Taxation is one of the most criticized matters in Germany. Germans themselves assume that it is the most complex system in the
world. Ten percent of the literature on taxation in the world refers to
the German tax system. There are 118 laws, 185 forms, 418 exceptions
and 96,000 regulations (just one comment to taxation covers 2,671 pages)… Wikipedia

I am still not fully capable of explaining it now, it is just far too complicated for me. All I know is, if they are going to say no to the conditions I suggested, I will have to say ‘Sayonara’ to them. It just doesn’t make sense to pay so much tax for such a position. I don’t plan to earn a lot, as the main reason for me to go to work is to meet people and learn new things, but still I don’t want to be taken advantage of. If there is another better way of employing me, which won’t harm them, they have to consider. And I give them time to consider… (to be continued)

” Well guess what, about 20 minutes after my second application was sent,
unbelievably I received a reply asking for my full CV. Hahaha, that
must be a joke, I told myself at the point I saw the email, but part of
me was happy too. So I took some time to look through my funny German
CV, and sent to them, hoping that somehow, somewhere, someone or
something will like it… (will continue about this job next week).”  Taken from my previous entry - I worked yesterday!

Ok, so like I promised, I am here to tell the rest of the story…

After a few more minutes came another email, curious, the lady
wanted to know why on earth am I applying for the position, as she didn’t see
anything related to the field of Tourism in my CV. By the way, the position I applied for is ‘Practikum beim Sprachreiseveranstalter’, direct translation to English will be - practical for language travel organiser (funny ehh?). I forward the email
from her to Vik, Vik said it’s a very typical German reply, because people here
are not like me (with my simply hentam attitude), Germans are very particular
about things. If you want to work in the field of Tourism, you must study
Tourism. Your studies will determine what job you can get.
I was nervous, I didn’t know how to reply. It is either I replied in a way
which sounds like I am begging for the job, or I can be a bit ‘LC’ (very proud
in Cantonese, if you know what I mean) , tell them Psychology graduates are
able to work in every field that sort of stuff (isn’t it true? hahaha). Well, my reply
to her questions was answered in English, because I thought it was time for her
to know that I am not really that good in German. The last sentence of the
letter goes like this ‘ If you are convinced, I am ready for an interview’. So on Monday afternoon, the reply was sent, and all I can do after that was just wait…
And they really made me wait… Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (didn’t really wait on this day, cause I was in Frankfurt promoting Basmati rice :p). After work Vik drove me home. I switched on the pc, and as usual clicked on my Firefox, and then there was a reply from the lady. Anxious, I clicked to read the message… hahahahaha (I felt like the world must be crazy), she invited me for an interview! Man, I might as well go and buy Lotto, such a lucky week for me! Still excited, I replied and an appointment was made on the next Monday 1pm…

Today is Tuesday, so the interview was yesterday. My first job interview in Germany, I can’t describe how anxious I was (Vik was even more anxious than me, hahaha). The weather was not too good, it rained, made me felt kind of moody too. To cut the long story short, I can only say that I have tried my best. It was not really good, I have no problem understanding them, yet I could not express myself very well in German, so I used English (quite rojak). I did not impressed them, I think. Well, I have nothing to loose, in fact I earned myself a new experience, cool ya :p  Anyway, they will let me know if they are going to take me or not by this week. So, I will have to wait again, but will I get it? I am hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst… (to be continued)

First time in my life, I worked in a foreign country and earned money!
The story started on Monday, after I came back from Cologne, Vik found me an online job search company in Germany (http://www.jacktiger.com). Feeling lazy and not really motivated (as my first job application in Germany was turned down 6 months ago, and ever since then I did not apply for anything anymore), I registered myself and quite reluctantly browsing through the jobs available there. I must say that it was Vik who helped and motivated me a lot throughout the whole process, end of Monday I applied for 2 jobs from that website, doubting the possibilities of them taking me.
It was really hard work though, as I have to write my cover letters in German and frankly speaking, my German is not that good yet (and after my 2 months ‘free-from-German’ holiday in Malaysia, it gets worse than before). So Vik has to help me to do the proofreading and making amendments and all… Well guess what, about 20 minutes after my second application was sent, unbelievably I received a reply asking for my full CV. Hahaha, that must be a joke, I told myself at the point I saw the email, but part of me was happy too. So I took some time to look through my funny German CV, and sent to them, hoping that somehow, somewhere, someone or something will like it… (will continue about this job next week).
As for another application, no reply and whatsoever.
Then on Tuesday afternoon, my mobile rang. I picked up the phone, and then a lady started talking to me (non-stop, bla bla bla)… When I finally hung up the phone, I was laughing to myself, hahahahaha, Oh my God I got myself a job! It was the application which I didn’t receive any reply from, it is a rice company, Tilda is the brand, and my job is to promote Basmati rice. As the promotion in Frankfurt was just yesterday, and the coming promotions will be in Düsseldorf and other cities, so it was a one day job for me. I am very happy with the payment, 10 Euro per hour, fair and square… The job was simple, I didn’t have to sell anything, just cooked some rice, let the passers by tried the rice, gave away 500g pack rice for free, and then cleaned up the booth, that was it. Ohh and I was busy the day before reading about basmati rice (all the documents are in German… so you can imagine…)
Not a permanent job (I don’t think I want to do that permanently anyway), but a good start for me in Germany, and it does encourage and motivate me a lot (I talked to total strangers in German, man… I still can’t believe it!), as I am now more convinced, that getting a job in Germany is possible for me. Vik is proud of me too, and I really have to thank him for the support and love, without him, I would be so lost…
Life goes on, wish me luck, I’m looking forward to a better job! :p

I really wish I could just upload all my wedding pictures now, but the soft copies I got from the bridal shop are all without digital designs (not done yet), therefore I have to do the touch-up myself. In fact I am considered quite lucky to be able to get the master copies from them, as they do not usually give away the master copies.
Well, all I got from them so far are just some 4R sister pictures, a CD of 26 poses and an 11×14 inch photo with frame. My parents will pick up the rest for me when it is ready, which means I can only see my own wedding album next year (gosh, next year sounds so long long away).
 Anyway, the picture below is one of my favourites, just finished playing with it in Photoshop. I will create a new photo album here once I am done with the editing (I am learning how to use Photoshop properly now, good ya…). Hope you will like the pictures! Hugs!

Here’s the album!

Dear Friends,

I am leaving tomorrow, the flight will depart at 14:30 (Germany time), and arriving in KLIA on Saturaday at 15:00 (KL time). Then I will take another flight at 17:10 to Kuantan, where my lovely family will be there to welcome me (miss them so much!).
I know some of you have tried to leave a comment on my previous blog, but the link doesn’t work properly somehow. It’s ok, thank you for your warm CNY regards, love you (you know who you are  :p)! So I will be away from Friendster for some time, at least I won’t be blogging I think. If you want to reach me, do give me a call on my mobile: 017-6466093. I will be back to Germany on 23rd April. Take care my friend, whenever you are, enjoy life and Happy Chinese New Year again!

With love,
Rebecca

It is now about 3 days before CNY, and here I am, missing home and the CNY atmosphere in Malaysia. Believe it or not, never in my life I have spent any CNY away from my parents! Last CNY we were in Hong Kong and ShenZhen, and this CNY, I will be stuck in Germany, a country where people here DO NOT celebrate CNY like we do. There is no one single sign of CNY here, not even in the Asian Supermarket I usually go (can’t blame the boss, he is Vietnamese).
I have no idea what I want to write here. I just finished reading 3rd Degree by James Patterson, a nice thriller. Have been reading a lot lately, books from Mark Haddon, Bill Bryson and Sidney Sheldon (he passed away last month though, at the age of 89, due to Pneumonia, if I am not mistaken). And yesterday was Valentine’s Day, Vik got me a small surprise in the morning, then I spent the afternoon making Tiramisu, reading and chatting with Selena. At night we had a simple dinner together (without candle light but with a bunch of Tulips), then watched my favourite TV program - Deutschland Sucht den Superstar (direct translation will be ‘Germany looks for Superstar’, a.k.a DSDS, a.k.a German Idol). Everything was so simple and peaceful, just lovely.
And now, still cracking my head trying to figure out what can I do on CNY. Invite SooLing and her hubby over? Dinner with Frank and Christine? Another ‘Spielabend’ (board game evening) with Mischa and Matthias? Stay at home and cuddle with Vik? Go to Köln and walk around? None of these sounds better than having Steamboat with my family at home, eating prawns and sea asparagus and baby abalone and scallops and crab sticks and all sorts of ‘yong tau fu’, visiting friends and getting ‘ang pao’ (which I am not eligible of getting anymore), saying ‘Gong Xi Fa Cai’ and ‘Xing Nian Kuai Le’ to everyone… Gosh, I really miss the time back home…
Well, it is not that bad, I keep telling myself. After all, I am going back home, a few days later is better than not going back at all, no? Am blinking back tears now, yet I am sure my heart will shout for joy, once my flight arrive in KLIA in another 9 days’ time. If you are reading this, you can be sure I miss YOU a lot too! Hugs!