All posts filed under: Blog

The Exciting Uses of a Hole Puncher

Published by Sula H.

One of the fun things about living abroad is being able to witness the excitement simple everyday items can cause around here. Take a hole puncher, for example. Where I grew up, basically every member of a family would have their own hole puncher, simply because it’s needed for all sorts of things in school, work, home, etc. And believe me, a hole puncher is no reason to cause excitement there at all. Here, however, things are quite different. Here, people can be fascinated at how a hole puncher works, how it’s able to – yes – punch holes perfectly into a paper! It makes me realize how much gratitude I owe to this little thing whenever it helps me punch holes. And it makes me realize what a lucky person I am to be the proud owner of a hole puncher!

Shady …

Published by Sula H.

Today is the day when I can actually see my shadow. Which means that today is the day when the pollution isn’t all too bad. Which means that today is the day when the sun is out. Which means that today is the day when I can walk outside in a sweater without freezing for the first time this year. Which means that it’s starting to get warmer outside. Which means that SPRING is coming!!!

Pipe & Leak Problems

Published by Sula H.

It finally happened. Not that I ever wanted it to happen. I mean, I always felt so lucky whenever one of my neighbors had to deal with it, but I was spared. And I’ve been spared for years when all of my neighbors around me had to deal with it. The problem? Call it a pipe problem. Or a leak problem. Or a pipe-with-a-leak-problem … whatever you call it: the results are always the same: Water. In place wheres you don’t actually want to have it. Like on the bathroom floor. When you’ve just mopped your whole house and expect everything to be nice and in order. But this time all was not good. Because it finally happened to me: a pipe broke and now I’m having to deal with water, right before I actually wanted to go to bed. But on a more positive note: it’s just a small leak, which will (hopefully) not affect my entire home. And after it’s been my turn at last, I should be save from leaks for another …

The Promise

Published by Sula H.

I remember well last year. And the year before. When they faithfully promised us we would be able to move come the next term. Of course, me never wanting to move I was always glad that whatever promises they made weren’t actually about to be fulfilled. And now, guess what: The other day, we just got another promise. That the patio/playground would be completed within this month. Well, this is how it looks right now: And now I’m curious about the promise, and about how long it will actually take for them to actually fulfill that promise. And so, the waiting begins …

That Age Old Struggle

Published by Sula H.

They’re back. The students that is. How I can tell? Because of the internet. You see, we’ve just had a good long winter holiday. And during this good long winter holiday, all the students are gone. Gone home. Gone to visit family and friends. Gone traveling. Etc. Just gone. A whole lot of “gones” in fact. The kind of “gones” I like, because for the few of us staying behind on campus that finally means, we get to do the fun stuff online. We get to open a webpage, and it will actually open. Or we get to watch a video clip, and we can actually see the picture moving. Or, like me, you sit down to blog, and you can actually access your blog – how fun is that?! Now, however, things have suddenly changed again, and we’re back to the same old struggle. It makes me kind of wish for student-less campuses. But then, of course, what with our jobs and all, right? So, I’ll have to get my muscles back in shape …

Hibernation Mode

Published by Sula H.

It’s that time of the year to come out of hibernation again. I realize it, because I’m out in the classroom again. And I’m out shopping on campus again. And I’m out eating meals with students and friends again. And though I love being in hibernation mode (because it’s that welcome break from a rather busy life otherwise), I just as much love being out and about again.

Back to Business

Published by Sula H.

It’s back to business again, and that means work is waiting for us. Work as in, planning, teaching, but also studying and the likes. And while I’m happy to get among people again, I also really enjoyed my weeks of quiet, and having time for the things you don’t usually have time for. Now it looks like time is going to become a rare commodity for me again … Welcome to the spring semester!

The Big Return

Published by Sula H.

After weeks of campus being pretty much dead, I made a discovery today. Life has returned. In various, ways of course. Now, you can see two-legged creatures crawling around again, and then there are those four-wheeled creatures, too. It also means that work is about to begin again, and that soon our campus will be buzzing like a busy bee-hive again. Soon, as in tomorrow! Not sure, which way I actually prefer …

Bread At Last!

Published by Sula H.

You may remember how our bread supply this winter has been kept on a leash; and how we’ve been frequently given pancakes (and waffles) for a substitution of bread (not that I actually enjoy the plain white bread they’ve served for a while now, but it’s better than all the sweet breads you can get in the local bakeries). Yes, to the locals bread means sweet! But now, we’ve been finally served bread again, and I am happy, because I can have my chocolate spread back – a weakness most other Germans will share with me!

Schedule Excitements

Published by Sula H.

Finding out your schedule always is a source of great excitement. Not because it will, in fact, vastly influence the way you spend this next semester, but simply due to the fact that you usually don’t find out when you will teach your first class until pretty much the last minute. Really. There have been (times in the past) when teachers didn’t know they had to be in class Monday morning until late Sunday night. Fortunately for me, I have the right connections within the school’s mechanics, so I am lucky to be one of the first to know my schedule, and this year, it was rather early … on a Thursday, indeed!