Finally I've reached!! :):)

Guten Tag alles!!

Im finally in Germany! This is Day 2 in Germany..

Alhamdulillah, the flights were alright.. No problems at all at the immigration or security checks.. Karin from Technische Universität Darmstadt (TUD) picked me up from the airport. She is sooo nice and bubbly! She was an exchange student to NUS 1.5 years ago, it was cool! She knew alot of things about Singapore, so it was super easy to relate with her.. I asked her alot! She said the lectures are super nice and flexible! She's a 5th year student, and I asked her bachelor's degree was how many years.. She said 5 years! But most wont finish in 5 years.. I asked why.. And she said it's possible, but you'll be studying and studying.. Internships are not taken into account.. [So Walid Jumblatt, dont buruk sangka!] She'll be graduating in after her 6th year.. :) Anyway, she said it was quite stressful for her at NUS.. Lol!

Karin was so cute, because she didnt know the airport, so we had to find the bus terminal... BTW the airport is really interesting because you can use the trolley even on the ordinary escalator! Lol!! We took the bus to Darmstadt.. I had to pay 7,20 euro!! So expensive for a short trip.. Then I found out that when I get my student travel pass, I can travel anywhere within a certain region (public transport only) for free! Private transport (like certain buses or trains) will still be charged, but at a lower price.. Apparently, I can go to Mannheim, Stuttgart or even Heidelberg for free! Maybe need to pay a few euros only.. So cool!! Now Im sooo excited to travel Germany, because its sooo cheap! :):)

Karin brought me straight to the youth hostel.. I'll be staying here for 2 nights, before I move to my student residence in Dieburg.. There seem to be some problems with the student residence in Darmstadt.. They didnt reserve ANY for the exchange students! Soooo mean!! The international office of TUD had a hard time, so they found us one in Dieburg.. Its a super small town.. Darmstadt is small, BUT Dieburg is even smaller!! LOL!! Im alright with it la.. It takes about 30mins to get to school.. I guess its ok..

Anyway, the youth hostel costs 24,40 euros per night!! That apparently is cheap in Germany! I thought it was so expensive!! I took a shared room, 4 beds.. But I only have 1 roommate.. I settled down etc.. Karin brought me a map of Darmstadt.. So she showed me nice places to go.. She showed me where to buy cheap groceries etc.. My hostel is beside a lake.. She said the lake is a family bathing place too.. So during the summer, families will come for a swim in the lake.. I stupidly asked her if I can swim in the lake now.. She said NO! And when I saw the lake, I understood why.. IT WAS FROZEN!! LOL!! Sooooo cool!! I felt like an idoit who has never seen a lake before!! But it doesn't look safe to skate on it, because the ice looks thin.. AND there's a slide!! The lake has a slide!! I soooooo wanna slide into the lake when its summer!! So cool!

There wasnt any network on my hp, so I rushed to use the internet.. 5,00 euros per 24 hours.. I think its okla.. I didnt do much after that.. I slept at about 7pm.. I slept the whole night because I was sooooo tired!! I didnt sleep that much on the plane.. Anyway, my roommate only came back later, while I was sleeping! I said hi, I dont know what nonsense things I said, then went back to sleep! She's Aleena, speaks Russian, German and little English.. But I still spoke to her in English! Lol! I'll try to speak German to her from now on..

Day 2, I woke up at 5.45am.. It was still dark.. It got bright at about 7.. Breakfast was provided, from 7-9am.. So early la! Lol! I was the only one there, and I sat by the window overseeing the lake.. It was nice.. Very serene..

Then I walked to the city centre.. Everthing wasnt open yet la.. So I walked to the TUD international office.. I reached the road, Dovilostrasse, at 9am.. TUD offices open at 9am btw.. I thought it was Dolivostrasse. 5.. I spent half an hour looking for the building! I walked around the buildings sooooo many times!! Then I finally found the building!! And it was a residential building.. I thought it wasnt right, something is wrong.. So I checked the map (Karin marked the exact place) and I checked the address.. It was Dolivostrasse. 15!! I walked around the building a few times la!! Gosh!! I was already freezing!! My toes were freezing! They were so numb!!

I met Frau Nothnagel in her office.. Just chat with her.. Karin was there.. I met a girl, who was waiting to meet Frau Nothnagel.. She's German and she's going on an exchange to NUS next semester!! So cool! We chatted, exchanged email addresses etc.. Im going out with her tmr.. Her name is Martina.. She's accompanying me buying bedsheets and pre-paid card! She said its the cheapest! hehe! She'll help me ask around where the mosques and halal restaurants are.. Anyway, TUD has a Muslim society, for Muslim students.. AND there's a mussolah on campus! Alhamdulillah!! I think Im sooo lucky! The people are sooo nice (so far).. I met nice people, like Karin and Martina.. And everything seems good now.. Im really glad to be here in Darmstadt.. Alhamdulillah! I hope everything will go smoothly for the months to come, insyaAllah..

Thats all for now.. :):)

p.s. I would like to thank the people that sent me to the airport! Thank you for coming down at midnight, to send me off!! I really appreciate it.. :):):) And to those that want to come down, but cant (because there's no bus or train), thank you.. :):):) And thank you for the well wishes! :):):)

p.p.s I apologise for the previous German entry.. If I write in German, I'll try to translate to English ya? :)

Here are some pics of Darmstadt.. Sorry it was too cold to take nice shots, and I actually gave up after awhile.. So there you go! A few pics only.. hehe! Oh, and I dunno the name of these places yet.. I just took whatever nice as I walked.. hehe!