Münster:

Full and bloated, I made my way to the dinner table (willingly, as always) to two helpings of warm italian spaghetti. For once, I blocked out how much weight I will put on, and how much I have already eaten during the day. My stomachs really so much rounder now (as compared to the one I had 4 weeks ago), and I am so dead sure Ive already put on lotsa weight. I helped myself to another serving after the first because I really wanted some warm food on this cold, chilly day. Hmm. I must have put on another few hundred gramms cause of that.

The worst part is- I am actually quite tired even though I didnt do much during the day. Let me sidetrack. I walked around the stupid city this afternoon just to find answers to some historical questions. I wasnt even half interested in it! Yawn. There isnt any reason to explain my disinterest. I suppose I want and am expecting something more up and going, instead of walking around aimlessly looking for some spastic answers. Okay.
Anyway, I said I am tired. I wanna sleep. But I just finished eating. I will put on even more weight if I jump into bed right now, I tell ya. Sigghh! I think I will sleep in half an hour. Dont think Im giving my stomach sufficient time to disgest all the food, but ahh whatever goes... My eyes are closing.

I chose to return home early to watch the football match over Kaffee trinken (coffee drinking) with my friends today. I love my host family.. The parents are absolutely great, and the warmness that the family exudes is priceless. Moreover, I love watching football with people who take sides, people who are informative and stuff like that! (: I always look forward to going home after a long, mindless day at school. Today, I came home as early as 530 to join the football enthusiasts in watching the match.

Haha, I dont suppose I will ever do something like that in Singapore. Socialising over going home anytime haha!... Thats odd.

I dont fancy german lessons here! They are oh so boring. Oh gosh. Tomorrow, we'll have to decide on our project topic and stuff. I am quite thankful that at least I get to CHOOSE my partners. Glad to be with Liz (haha!) and this other guy.
Its gonna be another long day at school AGAIN. + 2 hours of German film about Bern thereafter. Eewl.

Things that keep me alive in this insane world of Deutsch lessons:
- Blogging at night to lament about dinner, lunch and how FAT I already am
- Being able to return home after each damn stupid day
- Bread with Herring tomorrow for lunch in the city
- Shopping with Liz, and if possible.. I hope more people come along!
- Socialising??????
- German food!
- Mass this sunday with a few friends!

Singapore:

I booked my ticket to Frankfurt on 14.6.06. Will be leaving Münster on Friday at 6 odd in the morning cause the train's leaving at 725. I took the cheapest alternative. So... My ride is 6 hours long and I have to transit about 4 times?!! Ahh heck lah. I would rather save the money so I can buy more stuff in the city! So far, my budgeting is going really well and I am "financially stable".

Glad to learn that things in Singapore are going well for the people there. Miss attending english masses though! I wonder if I will make it in time for choir on Saturday, but I highly doubt it. Haha! Yea. But by and large, oh well, hmm I miss the Singaporean flavourrrr.

I wonder what I will be having for dinner on Saturday. Maybe I will fast and have a scrumptious meal on Sunday. Yummy! Haha! I cant believe this is true.. But I have been dreaming so much about Singaporean food for at least 5 days in a row! Unglaublich!

It will be tuition, and more tuition when I return to Singapore. Poor students of mine! Anddd... Start on my car buying plans. Yahoo!
Then.. It'll be back to school. (Ah but thats a long time more, you see!)

Love all my Singaporean friends and family! Take care! Gute Nacht!

As you can probably expect, I always begin my post with some lamentations about the yummilious fattening food that Ive eaten during the course of the day. I just finished dinner with my family, and have obviously committed the sin of gluttony once again. I tried white aspagrus that the father got from the farm that day. Yummilious Bubbilious! Sehr gut. Its really fresh and juicy. I thought I would really hate those green things, aber nein... The white stems arent that bad at all! Gut!

Gobbled down one potato, three different kinds of ham (never had so many different kinds of schniken in my entire life!), half a piece of toasted bread, scrambled eggs (and more leftover scrambled eggs), and sigh a bigggg biggg bowl of soup.. Which is of course, not bad. Not too thick nor thin. Just to my liking. But Im sure it was really fattening. Ja! Given the Singapore context, it would have been a DEFINITE no-no for me. After dinner, I couldnt resist an orange, and I am feeling so full right now. It is as if I have eaten three days' worth of food.

Had lunch at the Mensa today. It sucked terribly! But nonetheless, all the fattening stuff (inclu half a portion of the cinnamon rice pudding) slid down my gullets, throat, intestines and whatever. I didnt really want to waste the money. So oh well, decided to eat those fattening food.

I have never had so many potatoes in my entire life as well! I must be a ton heavier now. The most dreaded part is.. I think I will have to eat breakfast tomorrow cause the family will be down early and stuff (and school starts early). So its not quite nice to exclude myself... If you get what I mean. More food now. More fats on the way.

The day was somewhat okay for me.
The teacher thought I was 'astonished' to learn that we'll be having 4 hours of lessons tomorrow. She even questioned me on that! Thats basically absurd! I wasnt even 'astonished' to begin with! What the hell! Anyway, her german is too complicated for me and I dont understand what she is trying to say half the time. So I kinda ignore her and just look even more astonished. Wth.

German lessons are similar to those in Singapore. Theres nothing really extraordinary today. We had to (as usual) introduce ourselves and our friends and say what we've done over the weekends. Okay. Crappy and boring. Its something that I will never choose to attend. The reason why I am here for the immersion, I guess, is because I really want to delve deeper into the German culture and get to live with a german family for some time. I guess Ive already gotten my wish, and that is why I am complaining about the price of what I have to pay in order to experience this - The lessons!

I cant believe lessons will be 4 hours tomorrow. How am I to survive that? I have 18 more days to go. Isnt that a really long time? Tomorrow, I heard Ive to walk down the streets to ask the residents questions about Münster in german.. get their reply and write it down. Alright. Sure. On wednesday, its even more ridiculous. Theres gonna be a film. What a stupid thing.

And of course, more GERMAN projects. More writeups in GERMAN. I have nothing against this. In fact, I really love the language. Its just that I think I am bored exploring and stuff. And the lessons are not hyped and engaging enough for me. No frau Verry. No entertainment.

Ive never expected this, but strangely, I am looking forward to the games and sports (and a grill thereafter) on thursday. I dont know if I am looking forward to the grill or the sports. But whatever goes.
And of course, I love Friday.. Cause the afternoon is free (for shopping) and Deutschland will be playing in the evening. So, I will definitely be home to drink beer and watch the match again.

Saturday sucks cause we'll have to explore Bremen. I dont wanna do more exploring. I am sick and tired of visiting the cathedrals after cathedrals, museums after museums. These cathedrals here cannot be compared to the magnificent ones in Italy and France anyway. So well. I hope the day will be done and over pretty soon.

Sundays free for me. Hope somethings nice is in store for me. Keeping my fingers crossed there.

Sigh. So fat. So fat. How? Sigh. I wanna go back to Singapore now. How? Sigh. I dont wanna visit more museums. How? When will the 18 days be over? In 18 days? Really? Or will it be in 81 days?

So, I was greeted with a splendid breakfast (half english, half german) this morning. Scrambled eggs, Deutsches bread (bread thats really common in Germany, but not in the other parts of Europe), Salami, Orange Juice, Coffee, Baked Beans, and strawberry milk fresh from the Strawberry/Aspagarus Farm. It was really cool cause the father brought Glory and I to the farm, bought eggs, veg and strawberries and made strawberry milk juice for us right after we're back. There, they allowed us to try the strawberries. My oh my, its hell different from the ones in Singapore. Its so soft, so sweet... You'll never believe theyre strawberries. Im really in love with the red things now.

Didnt really do anything really significant in the afternoon and in the evening, except to meet up with the rest to discuss nonsense. Haha. If you even call that a discussion. Glad to meet Liz and know that shes doing well! I certainly wish Im living with her instead. But I guess there are no complaints about living with Glory as well. Its just a preference thing. Liz looks like she is having a great time with her host family and having a luxurious home to herself! And! Shes so lucky cause her family is almost fat free and weight conscious or something akin to this. So that means she wouldnt be putting on too much weight as of now. Haha! As for me. Hmm. We shall see.

I will be starting school tomorrow. Mondays are always great days cause we only have lessons for two hours!! But on the other weekdays. Man! 4 hours of Deutsch Unterricht! Unglaublich! I think I will fall asleep! Argghh! I hate school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Haha! Right. Its 19 days more before I step foot on Singapore ground. I cant wait.

Actually, I think I wanna go home already. I am starting to miss some people back in Singapore, and I am craving for some of the food quite badly. Moreover, I feel as though the immersion is not 'up and going' for me. I want to be on the move, just like how it was during the last three weeks. I want to visit places. Strangely enough, I want to navigate my way around in more countries (and get lost). Sigh. I miss the joy of travelling. I dont want to study.

Anyway, I have access to the internet as of now. I have a personal computer in my room! So glad about that! Will be using the net till late on Sundays cause I start school late on Mondays. I guess I will be blogging quite frequently, so I'll be able to keep a record of what I have been doing here.

I know this sounds crazy, but I actually keep a record of my diet since umm last night. Haha! I want to remember all the special Deutsch stuff that I ate and what the sure reasons for the exponential increase in my weight are. So yea, it makes things easier when I start on my European Scrapebook.

Rebecca and guys, you wanna come over to my place to take a look at my scrapbook when Im back? Haha!! Youre most certainly welcome ANYTIME! Hopefully, I will be able to cook some german sausages with non spicy german curry for you. I will be asking the father for the recipe just before I leave this place.

Singapore Singapore. Youre only 19 days away.

Im finally at the german home after months and months of preparation and anticipation. Everythings well and good so far. They gave Glory and I a room EACH. Wunderbar (which translates to wonderful, naturally)! Im so glad cause I have this really spacious room, overviewing a miniature garden. Theres a half full length fenster (window), a computer and a television. I feel like Im living in luxury at the moment. Glory and I have the basement (more or less) to ourselves... with a bathroom and a sauna. But um. The host didnt exactly say we could use the suana. So oh well.

The only downside is... Im not able to access my email and log into msn, and access many other important websites. What a dread. Access to all important websites is denied, except to blogger. haha! I think Im behind some firewall or something. I cant even access the nus mail or IVLE for that matter. Bummers. But well, as long as I can surf the net and blog, I dont think I will complain for now.

My afternoon was splendid. See, Im living with some Deutschland fußball fanatics. Today, Germany was playing against Sweeden. Few family friends came over to watch the match. I thought it was really hilarious when everyone had to (literally) stand to attention during the German National Anthem before the commencement of the match. Everyone was singing really loudly and stuff like that. Haha. It is hell of an experience man. Germany scored 2 goals. Each time they scored a goal, the father of the family would play some song on the hi-fi (I think its the anthem) in the background and everyone would cheer. I was quite amazed at how everything went seriously. I will never get to see something like that in Singapore man! It feels so alive here!

Ich habe ein bier getrunken und habe die Füßballspiele gesehen. (I was drinking beer and watching the match). And of course breathing in the smoke from the cigarettes. Yes. Fully immersing myself in the German spirit and culture. To be honest, I am not a beer fanatic. But oh man, the beer in Germany is AWESOME! I love it to bits and I thought one glass wasnt sufficient. But of course, I didnt really want to ask for more and stuff like that.

Dinner was absolutely great as well. Had deutsches curry und wurst and some chicken thing und wurstsalat und bread. Yummilious. I told you I will put on more weight. Oh well. Whatever. The family even said they'll cook some thai and italian cuisine during the course of my stay. Man. I cant wait for it. I havent eaten Thai food in a long long time! Cant wait, cant wait!

I'll be starting school on Monday. Oh bummers and dreads. I have to learn how to speak more Deutsch again. Bummers and dreads. I wish I dont have to study. It should be playday all the time!
I will be back in less than 3 weeks' time. 20 days more to be exact. Im neither looking forward nor dreading it. Im looking forward to more playtime and eating time though.

I wonder how Liz is coping at the other hand. Her family looks like an old one. I wonder what she is having for dinner now, and how her unpacking is coming along. She must be as glad as me to be able to iron ALL the crumpled clothes. Haha! Cant wait to hear from her tomrrow.

Glad to be living with Glory. Shes nice. No complains about that as well. Seems like alls good and fine for me. Hopefully, I will be able to log on to msn real soon. I wanna talk to people. I feel so out of touch with Singapore!

Im gonna sleep early. For all those out there who read my blog, please leave tags. Or maybe, sms me. I will reply when I can. I wanna contact Singapore. I am still a Singaporean at heart. Meanwhile, you take care! I need to sleep now. Its freezing cold here. Im living in an icebox btw.

I will be checking out of this lovely hotel tomorrow morning, or rather.. later this morning. Aw. Im so sad 'cause that marks the end of this absolutely clean, neat, luxurious living. I will be living with another friend and my host family tomorrow. Its both good and bad, if you think about it. Haha! At least I wont be all alone.. having to cook the farewell dinner in the kitchen MYSELF. I'll probably make a mess out of it as well. Its always better to have two heads at this kinda kitchen cooking thing than one.

Also, I realised that this will be my last night living with Liz. Both yays and sighs to that. Hopefully the in charge will allow us to swop partners. But oh well. Maybe its good to have a change once in a while.
I think I will certainly miss lotsa stuff.. things we complain about (like how dirty and yucky the cabins can get), some not too late night bitchings about certain individuals *censored*, lots and lots more. Oh well. It will something that I will always look back on and maybe... smile? but one things for sure. There's really nothing MUCH that I can complain about (in terms of sleeping in the same cabin, sleeping habits, etc) over the last weeks. So two smiles for that!

Just not too long ago, we were looking at the thousands of photos we've taken thus far (and I mean it in the most literal sense). Man. I saw the exponential increase in my weight since Paris. She even testified to that. I was so damn bloody freaked out! Argh. I dont really know what I will do about it. I don't foresee myself losing weight anytime soon. I am on a holiday, and have been enjoying excessively. I dont practice self control over here! Argh. Maybe I should. Argh. I am in a dilemma. But what the hell. I dont get to come for immersion as and when I wish right? I dont get to taste athentic german-germany Kaiserboten and Wurstsalat all the time ya?

Nevermind.

On the plus side. I have never been so happy. The joys of eating FREELY is indescribable. And man, it is some form of a liberation. Its like I cant be bothered about the fat contents, the energy value andthe calories input, yada yada. In short.. nothing. absolutely nothing.
Today, I went bread sampling around Münster with Liz. 'Coping' free bread from the various supermarkets and different bread stalls. Okay, so whats new. Its typically me and its like oh so Singaporean. Haha! I suppose if that whoever learns about it, I will definitely be condemned for such a behaviour. but oh well. I really wanted to taste the different kinds. Yes, who can ever resist the splendid variety?

I bought salmon spread (a damn fattening one), some kaiser bread and some salted vegetables. They taste MARVELLOUS. Took a bite of Kit Kat peanut butter Chunky and gobbled two big Green Granny Smith Apples. They are my favourite!! I havent ate so many apples since Singapore. Now, my stomachs bloated and I can feel myself ballooning again. What the hell.

Okay. I shall stop talking about my weight.
But wah lao. I feel like some clothes of mine are even tighter after today. I have never experienced something like that in Singapore. It can get quite scary! See to believe. Meet me when Im back.
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So. I am pretty excited for my immersion. I wonder what the host family will be doing for us tomorrow night. I wonder whether they will 'whip up a storm' hahah! I had better not get my hopes up too high. Lol. But oh man. I forgot I cant afford any exponential increase in weight. Anyone care to help me out here? But I am really getting too fat. What should I do?

I miss a certain part of Singapore. I miss the food. I miss my family, I miss some people back there. I wish I can fly back and give them a big nice warm hug and hello. I miss my bed and the days that I DONT have to wash my clothes. I miss attending mass. So far, Ive attended a French, Italian and an English mass in a short span of three weeks. Out of which, I dont understand two. I wont be able to attend weekend masses till I reach home cause I will be out of Münster every weekend to explore the various parts of Germany.

*Waves frantically*! Is anyone missing me back home? Wanna see how fat I am now? HahahA! Okay. I am just being corny. Haha. I am in some momentary I-miss-everyone-mode. But oh well. The immersion excites me further. So well. Haha! Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, Tomorrow, youre only a day away.

After all the hussle and bussle, my 14day European Wonder has finally concluded with a trip across the English Channel to Dover. I spent two days in London, and am now in Muenster, awaiting the start of the immersion programme. Cant believe I have been away for 18 days. Man. It feels like 5 days. Time really flies when youre travelling. The best part is- I am REALLY enjoying myself with NO curfew, no restrictions and stuff like that. It is really ironic cause now without a curfew, I am actually back earlier than 11pm. Yes. On My Own Accord. (: Its really too cold out there and no shops are open. Would love to drink but my friend over here is allergic to alcohol (of all things?!) and I dont have excess cash to splurge on drinks.

One thing though. Accomodation over the last 18 days really sucked like shit. There was once when I had to pay 1 Euro (2 Sing dollars) for a 5 minute hot water flow in Munich! Thats absolutely ridiculous. The system crashed on me. Its a lousy system, really. I was stuck in the COLD shower for like god knows how long. I thought I almost died. But well. Thank God thank God for Liz.. I survived.

Loved the great food over the past weeks. Man. Some sucked. Thanks to Craig for not 'whipping up a good enough storm'. His speciality, i.e.: Lagasnia wasnt *that* great after all. But nonethess,
I had:
Escargoes from France
Swiss Roll from Switzerland
Florentine Cream Gelato Ice Cream from Florence
Black ink Spaghetti and Home Made Raviolli from Venice (after TWO FAILED tries from the stupid cafes. DONT even attempt to TRY spaghetti from CAFES! They serve microwaved pasta. like who cant cook that right?!)
Wonderful yum yum bread from France and ESP from Venice. Something that you can NEVER taste in Singapore
Cornish pastry, Scotch Eggs and Chilli con Carne from London
Super smooth and not yuckified beer courtesy of an Australian guy (er i dont know his name) in the Biergarten, Munich.

Lovely. And yes, I put on hell a lot of weight. I reckon I put on at least 3kg. Yuppers! In a short span of two weeks. Now, thats TOTALLY unacceptable. Following this, I believe I will be eating a whole load of pork knuckles and sauerkaut and wurst salat. Okay. Like what the hell. I think I may have even put on another 3kg. So that makes it 6kg. Itll seem really tough for me to lose them when I return to Singapore. And itll take lotsa, lotsssaaa time I reckon.

I am craving for local dishes. Those are among the few things that I so badly miss in Singapore. I want to eat chicken rice now. Or perhaps fish ball soup would be good. Anything from holland V? I am sick of bread. Oops. I forgot. I shouldnt be thinking of food. Argh. I can barely fit into my brown pants now. Please dont tell me I put on weight when I am back. I gotta feeling I will get a terrible shock when I step on the weighing machine. Thats the FIRST thing I am going to do when I get home.

I am really very preoccupied with my weight. I am hell so fat. Eeks. I am gonna look horrendous with that balloned face, arms, tighs and whats not.

Okay. Enough ramblings I suppose.
I bought lotsa gifts for lotsa people. People who have helped me in one way or another. People whom I wanna show my gratitude to. Spent a bomb actually. Wanna know if youre in it? haha! We shall see. I am more or less done with the gifts. Dont know if the people will like them.

Anyway. Its really difficult to carry.. and let me tell you.. Carrying a 20kg bag up many flights of stairs and cars and slopes aint exactly the easiest.
So if Ive gotten you anything.. Wah lao. You had better appreciate it lah! Regardless if you LIKE it OR not. hahah.
Bye!

i know this is gonna disappoint some people who read my blog for travel information. haha. basically i am given this really lousy keyboard. am finding it really a nuisance to type. i typed a paragraph and i deleted it all.

i am not in a mood to blog.
but i just wanna testify gods love. truly and surely, he was with me all the way. i felt him during mass, in the morning, the afternoon, and especially late at night. i felt him when i almost lost my bag, i felt him when i didnt know what to do, i felt him when i was lost. i felt him when he made the wrong go right.

well, um, maybe the only thing ive got to worry about is my exponential increase in weight.

france serves the best kind of bread. nothing beats that.
tell you more about it next time.
im eating and sleeping like a glutton. my stomachs ballooning.

now, im in luzerne, sweiss. that means lucerne, switzerland. finally met the alps face to face this morning. the grandeur, the magnificence are amazing, astounding. as i climbed the mountains, as i experienced the beauty of nature, i immersed myself in gods presence.

spending like a mad pig. im running out of cash. havent gotten souvenirs for lotsa people at the moment. will be going to florence tomorrow. i want to go the churches in italy.

i feel gods amazing love burn stronger as i travel from a place to the next. its indescribable.