update

EN// Where to start? Before school really started, I had two amazing weeks during Introduction and Freshers (Introduction week for all the first year students, but basically everyone is welcome to join). And looking back: Freshers was the best week I have had so far here in Leicester. Since I got lucky, I won a Freshers wristband (which was needed to be able to enter all the parties), after I had joined a competition and saved myself 50 quid. The Freshers event started on a Friday and ended on a Saturday a week later. My favourite events were Freshers ball (with Sigma playing there- HAD A BLAST!) and the pub crawl (although I was a bit disappointed not getting any free shots in any pubs. I met some nice people there although I thought that the Introduction weekend we had in Holland was better since we played little games there to get to know each other better. But in the end, I do not regret to went to almost all the parties (6 days in the row). And guess what, I laid in bed on the last weekend since I got sick (but luckily I just needed some rest and sleep.. so I recovered quickly).

Now, it's been two weeks already since school has started for me. And I have to admit: being a student in Holland is easier than here in England especially when it come to homework. Although I do not have many hours of lectures during the week (between 10-15) I still have to read and summarise a lot in order to be prepared for tutorials/lessons. Besides that, I am used to just sit in a room with 30 people during the classes/lectures so no wonder it was new to me to be in a room with over 100 students. It is sometimes very noisy and hard to understand the teacher. The tutorials, which are basically to deepen your (marketing) knowledge, are mostly taught in a small group of people (which I really prefer). After school I often go to the library to study/read/summarise and do my homework. I really like the library here since they provide more computers (including iMacs) and a silent study area (not just one small room, no a whole area). If I am not at school or in the library, I am at the gym. Yes, I finally joined the gym. It is a really nice gym which is close to our flat. Plus, since it is the school gym it is pretty cheap compared to other gyms around here. 

It costs me 14 pounds per months and includes: gym classes (such as step aerobics), sauna, swimming pool and a normal gym. A few weeks ago I started looking for a job and applied for several part-time vacancies but none of the shops/companies replied apart from McDonalds. So I got invited for an interview and had a trial hour to show if I am motivated to work for McDonalds. At the end the manager told me he liked me, wrote down my data and said he would contact me as soon as he got my timetable. Since I had to wait for my timetable, it took me a bit longer to hand it in but I eventually did hand it in 1 1/2 weeks later. After I haven't heard anything for a week (well, apart from a call from another McDonalds but outside of Leicester- WTF?), I decided to pop by and ask if they still consider hiring me. To my surprise, the manager left the company, which to them meant: I had to apply again. Since I found that really weird, I decided to not apply again but keep looking for another job (haven't found any yet). And since I do not get any money from the government at the moment (bureaucracy) nor any Erasmus (bureaucracy, too), it feels like I keep spending too much money without really earning any. 

It is so annoying to organise all the signatures or documents through e-mail (since some people just cannot be bothered to respond- of course not as it is not their money they are waiting for). And as karma isn't fighting back enough already, our washing machine isn't really working properly. It doesn't heat up to 40 degrees nor to 90 and the drier doesn't work either, which is not really handy if you want to wash your bedsheets and cover and you only brought one bed cover haha. And although we complained about it and a maintenance guy tried to fix it, it still wouldn't work properly, so I will go to Sulets (our letting company) to hopefully get it all sorted out. A little shock hit me this morning, when I thought that our freezer had broken down (it started beeping and defrosting our food and itself). But I believe someone just did not close the freezer door properly. But apart from that, everything is fine. I hope everyone is enjoying their time abroad. :) 

Hope to hear from you soon, Sonja xx

PS: Since I am very busy with school, I do not really find the time nor the motivation to blog too often. :) Plus, I hope my german friends can handle the english text haha

AND PICTURE OVERLOAD (including pictures from the trip to Stradford-upon-avon :)

PS: ONE OF MY FRIENDS IS GETTING MARRIED! CONGRATS MARIEKE AND PHILIP! (Still a bit weird since I am not even close to a wedding and she's my first friend getting married! BUT still really happy and excited for both of them) :) 

EN// It's been a while since the last time I posted and took some time to actually write something for that blog. I have been quite busy the last few weeks: went back to Germany, back to England and finally moved to Leicester! It was good to be back in Germany, although it was just for a week, but it was nice to spend some time with the family and some friends. The week after I came back to England, I mostly packed my stuff and met friends (also friends from my first time in England- THANKS I HAD A BLAST. You girls are amazing). On the 2nd of September I then finally moved to Leicester. I had to take the train from Walton-on-Thames, which is a 2 hour train ride from Leicester. Since I love shopping, I had 2 big suitcases that I had to carry all the way to Leicester (a bit exercise is always good BUT I have to say that british people are really helpful and a lot of people offered me help and helped carrying my luggage down the stairs haha). After I have arrived, I had to wait for Josie to arrive so we could unpack and go out for dinner with her parents. The next day, we decided to go to IKEA to buy stuff such as a clothing rack or other stuff we still need for the kitchen/flat (thanks to Josie's parents we drove there by car). Josie's parents left on Thursday and from that point on we had to survive without any help ;). But until now, we are doing very well! We have walked around a lot, went on a job-hunt and went clubbing. Tip for the job-hunting: most shops/restaurants want you to apply online, so instead of printing lots of CVs and go to every shop, just check their websites first! And apply online, it's easier, saves you money and energy, too! Until now, I really like Leicester and I cannot say that I regret going here. I also like the flat & my room. I share the flat with 3 other girls (including Josie) and it is 2 minutes walking distance from school. Below some photos :)!

Hope to see ya soon, Sonja xx

PS: I started running again! The best thing: they kinda have an outdoor gym next to a park!

DE // Es ist schon etwas her, dass ich das letzte mal was gepostet habe.. Aber die letzten Wochen waren mehr oder weniger etwas stressig und deshalb hatte ich auch nicht wirklich Lust. Ich war zwischendurch in Deutschland (die meisten kennen den Grund). Es tat gut, Zeit mit meiner Familie und Freunden zu verbringen. Nachdem ich dann wieder in England war hab ich viel gechillt (UND GESCHLAFEN) und hab was mit Freunden gemacht (ich hab mich auch mit alten AuPair freundinnen getroffen und wir hatten ein super Wochenende!! DANKE dafür! Love you loads!). Am 2. September bin ich dann nach Leicester gezogen. Ich musste den Zug von Walton-on-Thames nehmen, was ca. 2 Stunden gedauert hat. Da ich ja sehr gerne shoppe, hatte ich zwei große Koffer mit mir, die ich die ganze Zeit mit mir rumschleppen musste (nicht so ganz einfach, da ich ein paar mal umsteigen musste und einer der Bahnhöfe nur treppen hatte.. yay, ABER Briten sind super hilfreich und haben mir beim schleppen geholfen haha). Nachdem ich dann angekommen bin, hab ich auf Josie gewartet, damit wir das Auto auspacken konnten und anschließend dann mit Josie's Eltern essen zu gehen. Am nächsten Tag sind wir dann zu Ikea gefahren (Josie's Eltern waren gottseidank mit dem Auto hier) um noch Dinge für die Küche/Wohnung zu kaufen (Kleiderstande für mein Zimmer LOVE). Am Donnerstag morgen sind die Eltern dann gefahren, und wir waren auf uns alleine gestellt :D. Aber bisher läuft alles gut! Wir sind viel durch die Stadt gelaufen, haben nach Jobs gesucht und waren auch schon feiern. Bis jetzt bereue ich nicht nach Leicester gegangen zu sein und ich finde es hier sehr toll :). Außerdem mag ich die Wohnung und mein Zimmer. Die Wohnung teile ich mit 3 anderen Mädchen (inklusive Josie) und ich brauche nur zwei Minuten zur Schule. Unten dann noch ein paar Fotos, die die letzten Wochen gut beschreiben :).

Bis bald, Sonja xx