28th February 2006 - Day 134

This morning, I went down to make my rent payment for the month of March. The payment is supposed to be due in the first week of March. But with the lab starting tomorrow, I will not be able to make it within the stipulated time the lady is in.

But she was not there because today is Fasching, a holiday here. I handed the money to another person instead. Initially, he wanted me to come again tomorrow. I had to explain several times to him that I would be unable to come down for the rest of the week before he finally agreed to take payment on behalf of the lady.

Now, I've to get hold of the Hausmeister and make an appointment with him on the day I leave. He will then check the room and take over it from me before calling up the lady to release my deposit of 330€ back to me. This Kaution thing is really troublesome.

I took the bus in the afternoon to go to the Mensa. But the bus took a different route because of the Umzug. I had to take another Straßenbahn before walking to the Mensa.

After lunch, I went to the town centre to take a look at the Umzug that's going to take place. Along the way, I saw many children dressed up as animals (mainly lions), insects, witches, knights, and other characters. Some adults were dressed up too.

The Umzug started later than expected. It was a lively procession. There were people in trucks throwing out sweets and such to the spectators. Some gave out beer and ice cream too. It made people on the receiving end happy.

It's pretty interesting to observe how everyone scrambled to pick up the goodies. Like pigeons pecking at bread crumbs thrown on the floor. Babies in prams have an extra advantage. The folks who threw the sweets usually stuffed a handful of them into the baby's pram.

Not so nice to observe, was that some adults "fought" with the kids over the items thrown.

There were people wearing witch or monster masks in the procession. Sometimes, instead of giving out sweets, they stuff confetti down the neck of people. I heard from Frau Böhmer, that in some towns, the witches were so wicked, that each of them had to wear a number tag. This served the purpose of identifying the culprit if someone wants to lodge a complain.

By the end of the procession about 2 hours later, my coat pockets were filled with sweets, a bottle of hair conditioner and a box of match sticks.

Maybe we can start proposing that the performers distribute sweets during Chingay.

As the roads were still cordoned off and the buses were still not in service, I walked back to hostel in the rain/snow after the event.

I guess this would be the last festivity I'll experience in Germany. I had fun while it lasted. The atmosphere is something that I won't be able to capture on any photos or video clips.

So, sweets to keep me awake while reading my notes!

27th February 2006 - Day 133

Like the past 3 Mondays I have had, I woke up early in the morning and made my way down to the dentist.

I went in full of questions marks and asked them what exactly I was doing here. The dentist and her assistant laughed. The assistant betted with the dentist that I would come in today not knowing what was the problem.

It turned out that nothing was wrong with my teeth. I think the phone call last week was to ask whether I was grinding my teeth during sleep or not.

What a joke. I must have answered yes, resulting in this appointment today.

And I thought they wanted to pluck out all my wisdom teeth. So I ate my fill before going down.

After which, I went back to hostel to pick up my organiser before going to the university to make an exam appointment. Suppose the secretary doesn't reply me, it'll be on next Wednesday in the afternoon.

The Mensa doesn't offer dinner from today onwards. They will be taking a break until the new term begins. Lunch will still be available at 4 out of the normal 7 queues.

This looks like fun. I had a hard time choosing only 5. Especially when the adjectives are quite similar to each other.

Suddenly time seems to be moving faster. Hope the trend continues until I'm about done with all my lab sessions.

I just threw all my worn clothes into the washing machine. The wash load is completely full. I don't think another sock can be stuffed in.

1 hour for the washing, 2 hours for the drying. Which means I'll probably stay up till 0230. Good. I can do some reading while waiting.

So, reading begins now.

26th February 2006 - Day 132

I wonder what I've been doing the whole day. It just slipped past without me realising it.

Maybe it's because I woke up at 1300 today.

Haven't done anything serious up till now. Read a few pages of the lab manual and decided that the experiments will not be easy.

What ever happened to the plan of studying for the exams next week?

Oh. It got chucked away as I was reading selected chapters of A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain. Here's what he has to say about student life in Heidelberg.

One sees so many students abroad at all hours, that he presently begins to wonder if they ever have any working-hours. Some of them have, some of them haven't. Each can choose for himself whether he will work or play; for German university life is a very free life; it seems to have no restraints.

Apparently not the case now. All the people on the floor are busy preparing for their exams.

There is no actual break in between semesters. The so called vorlesungsfreie Zeit simply means that there's no lectures. But all the exams and labs occurs during this period. When one is just finished with his exams, he finds that the new semester is starting tomorrow!

Of course, that is a bit extreme. But it really did happen to some people on the floor here.

This is unlike the system back home where we get pushed through the semester, rushing through mid-terms, lab reports, projects, project presentations, and the finals. Then suddenly, it's the largely undisturbed holidays where we completely do nothing related to the university,except for internship attachments or some ongoing research.

No preference for either systems. Both are as good. The person just has to adapt himself to it and work things out.

Oh well. Easy to say. Getting down to it is another matter. Just look at how I've been spending the past few days lazing around.

So, to the dentist tomorrow.

25th February 2006 - Day 131

Taking things pretty easy today.

Woke up near noon time and had a simple cereal breakfast. I think I might have been drinking too much milk. No, it's not stomachache this time. The last wisdom tooth of mine is sprouting. I hope it doesn't grow fully to be a terror.

Watched Aeon Flux. Quite an interesting action packed movie.

Went out to the other supermarket to get some of the stuffs I did not get on Thursday. Sure they might cost the same, but I tend to think one product tastes better than the other. I wonder if it's just me or is there really a quality difference.

There was a long queue at the cashier, but I managed to catch the bus back instead of waiting for the next bus in 30 minutes.

Back in hostel, there wasn't much to do. I wanted to wash my clothes, but had no coins. Uedat's out of town. Guess that'll have to wait.

I went later in the evening to K4 Bar again. This time, it's Carol's birthday celebration. Stefan came over with a bottle of beer for me, probably seeing how bored I was.

Ahh. The people on my floor.

It's strange. I'm getting very panicky over the dentist visit on Monday. I found myself tensed up when I thought about it. I think it's because I am still not sure what they are going to do to me. Then again, I can always find out on Monday and refuse treatment. No big deal about that.

Still have not started revision on my last module and my lab work. The intended break is taking a bit too long. Not good. I've decided to do my last exam here next Monday. Now, I just have to see if the professor has the time or not.

So, better progress tomorrow.

24th February 2006 - Day 130

I woke up at 0700 this morning and met up with the other people going for the excursion.

The excursion is part of one of the modules I'm taking here. The company we're visiting basically builds Chemieanlagen for other companies.

We left in 3 cars each with 3 people. Since there was someone leading the way with his navigation system, I just sat behind and did the usual thing as the vehicle moved, only waking up if the vehicle stops.

It so happened that by the time I woke up, we were about 50 kilometers off. The car I was in decided to break away and find our own way.

After some more wrong turns and a very irritated driver who cannot hold his anger, we reached the place 1 hour and 15 minutes late.

The others were still not there.

The irritated driver couldn't help but comment on his intelligence and the stupidity of the 2 other drivers.

*Yawn*

I was expecting to see some real chemical plants and a tour around the complex. But it turned out to be a full day lecture-styled excursion. We helped ourselves to the free flow of biscuits and drinks.

Lunch was on the company at its' own cafeteria, which is not unlike Mensa. For once, we queued and took the food we wanted without paying. The queue-up-for-food-scenes in the movies or TV programs always leave out the payment part.

Then it was back to some more presentation, some computer simulation and me falling asleep.

Dinner was at a Gasthaus which was quite cosy. Had Rippchen mit Sauerkraut und Brot, Apfel- und Traubensaft, and a cup of coffee. I was quite surprised when we walked out without paying. It was sponsored by the company as well.

We went our separate ways after dinner. I followed the same car. They decided to visit Frankfurt am Main for a while even though it was already after 2000. We went to the Stadtmitte anyway.

I was back in hostel by 2330 and decided to go down to the K4 Bar to find Nan, who is celebrating his birthday.

Met another Chinese there. I've seen him around before and thought that he must have been here for at least a year. Turns out that he came over only during last October. A pleasant guy to talk to.

Alex seemed a bit crazy today. Asked me a lot of funny questions in Chinese. Maybe he drank a bit too much.

I did not stay for long as I was a bit tired. Slept late last night.

So, clothes washing day tomorrow.

23rd February 2006 - Day 129

I woke up earlier this morning to go through the notes for one last time. After which, I went for lunch, and to the exam venue, where the professor was already waiting.

The Beisitzerin looks familiar. I can't recall where I've seen her. But I place my bets that it was during the Pfennigbasar. It's highly possible, since this module is offered by the same institute as the Hauptfach she's in.

The exam was terrible. I really couldn't understand what the professor was asking. She seemed to go about in loops phrasing her questions. It was really bad. The questions were so decievingly simple that I was thrown off track. Here's an example of my embarassment.

"Given that a batch reactor can sterilise milk at the rate of 1 litre/hour, how many reactors will be required to sterilise 10,000 litres of milk if we separate the amount into 5 batches?"

"..."

Ladies and Gentlemen! Can you believe it? The Kuching-Kurak with supposedly 5 semesters of Chemical Engineering Ausbildung actually got stuck at this question. And he had the cheek to admit it. Shameless!

*Buries head in disgust*

A primary school student who has been imparted the most elementary mathematic knowledge would have no problem answering that!

*Starts digging a hole into the ground*

I really blanked out at that point of time. A pathetic excuse would be that my brain is not in the "German operating mode" today.

When I asked her what a particular word meant, she took it that I did not know the answer to the question.

Well, the truth is, I think I've been trying to memorise everything. It comes to a point where I can tell the factors that may affect the performance of a membrane, but am unable to explain why, since I cannot find them in the notes.

To be fair, I vaguely remember that she explained the reasons why during the lectures. But I was unable to catch it, partly due to her speaking too fast, but mainly because I couldn't understand what she said anyway. Also, I did not attempt to ask her for clarification after lessons.

Like I said, I deserved it.

Not surprisingly, time passed very, very slowly while she had fun grilling me, with the Beisitzerin making more "-" than "+" on her checklist.

Luckily, there's the policy that exchange students only need to pass the exams overseas to transfer the credit points. Even if I get an 1,0 here, it's pointless too.

Be grateful that I passed!

I attended the lab briefing after the exam. There was a change of location but we were not informed. I still managed to find the place anyway, together with another 3 lost students.

It's going to be quite tedious. 15 experiments in 15 days. Lab reports to be handed in the next day before 1200.

I got the impression that the experiments here are a lot more dangerous. I'm about to find out soon if that's true or not.

Something interesting. I didn't know Grashof and Nusselt were professors at Karlsruhe. Carl Benz was a student here.

So, I should make an appointment soon for my last exam here.

22nd February 2006 - Day 128

Just as I was about to leave for the Mensa for lunch this afternoon, somebody called.

It was the Zahnärztin. If I did not hear her wrongly, I think she told me something like the Krankenkasse has approved my plan. And they would like to make an appointment with me for my next dental treatment.

???

I thought she said she was done with me on Monday! And what plan are they talking about?

Only one way to find out.

Anyway, I was unable to fix an appointment with them at the moment as I still do not know what will happen next week.

Hey... that's strange...How did they get my number? I didn't even register it with them!

Tomorrow right after the mündliche Prüfung, I have to attend the first meeting to find out how the lab here will be like.

After finding that out, I guess I can proceed to make an appointment with the professor for the last exam date.

Totally no idea what the focus on tomorrow's exam will be like. I can't seem to pick out the important points and concepts for this module. I just skimmed through the notes, and everything looks just as important! But that's too much to ask within a time frame of 30 minutes. Even if the lecturer can ask questions that fast, I can't answer back at the same speed.

I finally clarified with the lady what I have to do in order to get my Kaution back on the day I leave. Seems like I have to pay the last rent in cash in order to get it back.

After which, I happily pulled out my bedsheets and exchanged them for new ones with the Hausmeister.

I could see dust flying when I slapped on the matteress and pillow. Makes me wonder if that's dust, or are those the dead skin that peeled off me.

So, the favourite activity when time is running out for exam preparation.

21st February 2006 - Day 127

Up till now, I still have 5 chapters out of 7 to complete despite having the whole day to read up on the module. It's not as simple as I've thought.

If you should think that this must be the 11th time I'm going through the notes, I'm not even anywhere near finishing it for the first time.

My mind wondered off while I was reading. I was actually thinking of what I need to do before I leave this town at the end of March.

I imagined myself packing and squeezing all my stuffs into the suitcase. I imagined myself handing back the room key to the Hausmeister and collecting back my Kaution. I imagined stepping onto the ICE train at the Hauptbahnhof leaving for Frankfurt Flughafen.

Before that happens, there are still 2 exams, 3 weeks of lab work, and lots of paperwork to be done. Headache.

I think I'll still have about a week left after all those things to enjoy the rest of my time here in Karlsruhe. I haven't been adventurous enough to explore this town. I know there's something, or some place waiting for me to uncover. But I would want to be somewhere else instead during that period for sightseeing.

It's funny how at the same time, I just want to be home sooner.

So, one thing at a time.

20th February 2006 - Day 126

I made the last visit to the dentist this morning.

Though the whole process of drilling and filling up the tooth was faster than the previous visit, I thought it was more uncomfortable. This tooth the dentist drilled into today was more sensitive. As she drilled, tingles went down my spine and it's really not a very pleasant feeling.

After she was done, she told me that everything was in order and I do not have to come back again!

Well, if I had to go back for any other dental treatment, I think I'll develop a phobia for dentists.

Since it was still early and the Mensa was not yet open for lunch, I went in a opposite direction, not knowing where it'll lead to.

Apparently, there's a circus in town. I chanced upon it during my stroll. But it's not opened today. Then I began to realise that there were actually a lot of posters and banners in town publicising the circus. It's just that I did not take notice of it.

Afternoon was spent in hostel going through the notes. It might be not easy to pass this coming exam, contratry to what I thought. There's a lot of explanations to do and very few diagrams and equations.

Speaking of explanation. During a lunch time discussion with Nan and Jason some time last year, we decided that the a good Stichprobe of one's written German ability would be to craft a well-written complaint letter, and sucessfully getting the relevant authority to recognise the problem. And in certain cases, getting your money back.

Similarly, getting your opponent in a quarrel to understand your viewpoint is the acid test for one's speaking ability.

It seems that I've just created the possiblity of testing my speaking ability in the future unwittingly.

I absent-mindedly left the kitchen door open while the drumsticks was in the oven (yes, chicken again! It's not good to keep the food opened in the freezer for too long). This resulted in the oven spewing roasted/baked chicken aroma all over the floor.

It so happened that there were washed clothes hung outside the kitchen. Can you imagine oily smelling clothes now? I would be quite irritated too if someone did this to me!

This sort of inconsiderate act requires several loud bangs on the offender's door, coupled with a menacing look, and a harsh tone. Pretty much like what you see in the television where someone was hiding some criminal in their house, and the police came with a search warrant.

Of course, the generalisation would be that such evil deed could only be commited by a not-so-clever Auslander. Which in this case, was completely correct.

See? Generalisation makes everyone's life easier!

The other day, someone else came over and asked me if I had left the windows closed after showering. This builds up a lot of moisture in the shower, leading to the growth of moulds. When I casually asked the person why she asked me, she replied that there were only 3 people on the floor who could have done this.

They were all Auslander.

It's not much of a coincidence if you think about it. When most notices are in German, one would expect that the offender doesn't know how to read. It really narrows down to a few people.

Seriously, I do think it's better this way that they come straight on and confront you. Quite unfortunately, my lousy German communication skills does not allow me to bring any valid points across should the need arise, besides the usual Entschuldigung and es tut mir Leid.

After all, it's quite cool to be able to say something like this:

"I quarrelled with a native speaker and I won!"

Crazy.

But I should really try to improve on my spoken German and engage in meaningful exchange of ideas.

Yeah, right. Settle your exams first lah!

Then again, these people are few and far between (like 2 out of 12 Mitbewohner. Achtung! This is statisically bias). It's all part of the wonderful cultural package in an exchange program. They make any exchange program more colourful and complete.

So, more revision with the sensitive tooth.

19th February 2006 - Day 125

Slept in late today. By the time I woke up, it was already near noon.

I went to the kitchen and saw Eric, Stefan and Simon sitting there having coffee and talking. I joined them for a while before I got back to my room again.

It seems that they are suddenly doing this very often. Gathering around and talking. Maybe it's because of the lecture-free period and that they're preparing for their exams. Usually, this place is quite empty on Sundays.

Sundays always fly by. It makes me wonder what did I actually do today. According to my watch, there's another 40 days before I leave this place. I guess there'll be things here that I will miss.

40 days. That's about enough time to teach a goldfish how to navigate through a maze.

Dickmann's tasted better today. The marshmallow is creamy soft. Unlike the ones back home, where you have to roast them over fire to get it soft.

I tried roasting the frozen drumsticks using another oven without Umlauf. No forced convection, so I have to turn up the temperature from 180 to 220 degrees Celcius. It turned out browner (compared to yesterday) after an hour in the oven.

Wärmeübertragung is an interesting field, despite me not having understood the topic completely, and the fact that I always had problems solving questions related to it.

It's actually correct to assume that carrots have a spherical shape, unlike what I've said earlier. The carrots that are freeze-dried looks like little orange balls.

Managed to skim through a miserable portion of the lecture notes. The lecturer likes to use abbreviations, which I have no idea what they are. She even creates her own short forms!

I've been a mugger for the past few weeks. I should go somewhere soon. It's getting warmer and turning dark later everyday. Good for visiting places. Minus the occasional rain.

So, get back to revision!

18th February 2006 - Day 124

I spent the early part of the day punching holes in my notes. Just doing some organisation before I start on the revision for the next module.

It was a lazy day for me. Nothing much done. I guess it'll be better spent visiting some other towns.

In the afternoon, I decided I'll go to Wal-Mart. No reasons in particular, just wanted to get some fresh air. I got a packet of deep frozen drumsticks for dinner, coffee, and a packet of Dickmann's.

I've been looking with interest at this particular Dickmann's thing. It looks like a solid block of chocolate on the outside. But the weight gives it away. If they were really solid, they would not be so light.

After I got back to the hostel, I made myself a cup of coffee and opened the packet of Dickmann's.

I took a bite of it and found that underneath the chocolate coating is a whole lot of cream! Actually, it's supposed to be marshmallow. I learnt that it's called a Schaumkuss.

It's quite sweet. I should buy the smaller sized ones next time. Too much marshmallow.

Some facts I've gathered about my rate of consumption of selected items in a month:

Coffee - 100 grams (amount increases during exam period)
Fine sugar with coffee - 500 grams (as above)
Bread - 3.6 loaves of 5oo grams each
Milk - 8.5 litres (no stomachaches now surprisingly)
Eggs - 25 (that's almost one every day!)
Pizza* - 8 of 350 grams each
Potato chips* - 5 packs of 300 grams each
Shower gel - 250 millilitres (dependent on brand used)
Toothpaste - approximately 60 grams (assuming I forget to brush my teeth on 2 nights every week)
Euro - Variable. Averages about 650 per month due to exam period where travelling is non-existent.

Note *: Stopped eating as they are believed to be responsible for my expanding waistline. Number was taken last month.

I ran out of movies to watch. Watched Big Fish again, this time restraining myself from fast forwarding.

I should have placed the exams slightly earlier. I'm losing momentum. Have to pick up speed again after relaxing for 2 whole days.

So, marshmallows for coffee break tomorrow!

17th February 2006 - Day 123

I passed my mündliche Prüfung in Stastistische Methoden in Verfahrenstechnik.

Basically, it was really off standards compared to the exams other students are subjected to. I spent my time on mastering the derivations for the 3 chapters which will probably come out and understanding all the trivial stuffs related.

During the exam, the professor asked me to come up with the basic equation for the Normalverteilung, which was unfortunately not in any of the 3 chapters. No big surprise that I could not answer.

The professor proceeded to tell me the answer. Then he asked me something which I read up on Konfidenzintervalle, and I scribbled furiously on a piece of paper while trying to articulate what I was doing.

He asked me another question which I had keine Ahnung.

Sensing that the student had spotted questions for the exams, he said he would like to know more about the second part of Konfidenzintervalle.

This, I answered with ease. Time passes slowly when you're stuck not knowing what to do. But 30 minutes was already up.

I know I'll definitely pass. I had expected that there would be questions on Fehler 1. und 2. Art and Regression. But it was not asked since I had already had problems explaining basic terms and equations.

I was more than zufrieden with the results, though I think I do not deserve it with the amount of basic principles which I did not know.

The professor justified that as there were some points which I was not clear about (actually, I think he meant a lot of points), and that there is inevitably Spracheschwierigkeiten, it was the grade he decided upon together with the Beisitzer.

The Beisitzer said this module is not some Mickey Mouse stuff, not forgetting about the deciphering of the notes. You know, the usual stuffs you'll tell Austauschstudent to encourage them.

Anyway, another exam is over. I do think I've learnt a lot over the past 2 weeks going through the notes over and over again to get the meaning in. Reading a Statistik book in German is not so much of a problem for me now.

As I was walking from the Mensa to the Straßenbahnhaltestelle, there was a young lady on her bicycle coming in my direction. She looked at me, and I briefly glanced at her. A short while after she passed by me, I heard a crash.

She rode into some bushes. I was quite amused. So were the other 2 old ladies nearby.

The hazards of riding bicycles without keeping your eyes on where you're going.

Since it'll be another 5 days or so before my next exam, I went to town just to walk around. It was a pleasant stroll down the familiar streets. I wonder why, but the weather today was exceptionally warm. I think I can leave my coat at the hostel soon.

Cleaning up the room was the next thing to do. The last time I cleared it, it was on the eve of Chinese New Year.

Had some in-room entertainment after dinner. I watched Big Fish and enjoyed it. Facts can sometimes be too far fetched to be believed.

So, some well deserved rest.

16th February 2006 - Day 122

Today marks the end of all the lectures I'm having here.

I recieved the confirmation that another oral exam of mine will take place on next Thursday. In the meantime, I have to prepare for the exam tomorrow before starting on the other module.

There's still another exam which I have not made an appointment for yet. That should probably come in 2 weeks' time. This can only be confirmed once I know more about the lab timing at the briefing next Thursday.

Effectively, I'll be "free" from tomorrow afternoon until next Thursday. I am beginning to wonder where I can go for a short getaway. I have to do some travelling before going back. Am looking at options like Innsbrueck, Prague and Barcelona.

Perhaps I'll try to hitch-hike to my destination this time round. That should be the cheapest option available.

The temperature today hit the double digit mark at 10 degrees Celcius. But it was raining in the afternoon. I think it hasn't stopped yet.

As the weather gets warmer, I looked at the unworn clothings which I've brought along. What was I thinking bringing so much clothings? Now I still have to bring them back.

I'm also reminded that I forgot to do something while there was still snow. I should have gone to the Schwarzwald. Well, I've taken a train through the Black Forest the last time I went to Konstanz, and it was snowing. But it's quite a pity that I did not aussteigen at that time, simply because it was too cold.

It's late and I have an exam tomorrow. I should be revising, so that I can answer at least one-third of all questions and secure a pass.

It's really quite embarassing when the professor looks at you, gives you all the hints, and you're still unable to give an answer. From the side of your eyes, you see the Beisitzer slowly shaking his head while producing the "tsk tsk tsk" sound. How they wonder about the state of university education in Kuching-pura.

In Kuching-pura, students do not have the luxury of having a free education. However, one can expect some form of subsidy from the generous government if one is "deserving" enough of an university education.

But events have made it necessary for the premier institutions in Kuching-pura to raise the tuition fees again in response to the increasing operating costs (some say wastage for a certain university).

Of course, the student population understand that costs will rise eventually (just like how everyone wants a higher salary). But where did the money go to?

Nobody has a clue, though rising costs was largely pin-pointed to facilities, administration and professors with their research.

Rumours has it, that it was spent on building better facilities for example, a grand looking building, which unfortunately the students won't get to use.

Administrative personnel are trying their best to help students who run into funny administrative problems in the course of their studies. Unfortunately, they aren't exceptionally efficient with all the red-tape around. A pay raise might help change that.

Some speculate that higher pay has to be given to the professors in order to attract more talented professors, who will then come from all around the World and do researches, which will have far reaching consequences in whatever field in time to come.

Oh yes, the last point is important. It makes the university more...distinguished. Everyone will then hear the name of the University and be wowed. The graduates stand to gain from this too. Imagine, a graduate from one of the top ranked universities (in the region)! How cool is that?!

The Beisitzer is still shaking his head.

So, better go back and do some more revision.

15th February 2006 - Day 121

Didn't sleep well last night. Kept waking up for no reason.

I made my way down to the exam venue on the other side of the town after having a larger than normal portion of cereals. I might not have the time for lunch due to the scheduling of another exam.

I reached the venue 15 minutes earlier than the appointment time. One of the secretaries had to open up a room for me to go in and wait.

I spent the time taking out the gelbe Zettel for the Bewertung later and kept all the remaining stuffs.

The secretary came and told me to go into the office for the Prüfung. The professor and the Beisitzerin were already there. The usual greetings and such, and the Prüfung began.

According to my observations, I believe this is how the grading goes. Of course, take it with a pinch of salt.

Let us begin with the assumption that any student who first steps into the office starts with a Note of 5,0. This is the lowest possible grade in the grading system here (which corresponds to a "fail"). The lower the number, the better one's exam performance is (to a maximum of 1,0).

• Student enters the office - 5,0
• Student shows gelbe Zettel proving exchange student status - 4,0
• Laughing at the professor's jokes even though they are not funny or you don't understand a thing - 3,0
• Giving some comments reflecting the background of your studies and that you do know what you're actually doing - 2,7
• Professor asks a question and student is stumped - 3,3
• Student sprouts some nonsense which is not even vaguely related to the question - 3,0
• Professor gives clues to help student - 3,7
• Student answers question correctly after some time - 2,3
• But still with some misconceptions - 2,7
• Professor ask another question to which the student answers correctly - 2,0
• Allowing the professor to relate his adventures, with the student confirming that the phenomenon observed by the professor is indeed true - 1,7
• Taking the advice which the professor has to offer and showing determination to continue learning German in the future - 1,3

There you have it. I walked out with a final Note of 1,3 for this module. The fact is, I learnt more during the 35 minutes discussion than all the lectures I've attended for this module.

You could say I was not paying attention to the lectures or how little I've absorbed. But the professor touched on some issues and it set me thinking. That is correct. The jelly in my thick skull is hardly ever utilized.

By the way, Umsatz can either mean "conversion" or "turn over". I almost answered wrongly because of that.

I happily made my way down back to attend another lecture, which I would have the exams for the module shortly after.

It has been enjoyable attending the lecture, even though the professor does not write legibly. It seemed to have revived my interest in a certain field. I finally knew what the funny looking, inverted cone shaped structure along Old Tampines Road is for. It's funny how answers come up at places where you never expect to find them.

I followed the professor to the exam venue after the lecture ended. This is the last time this module would be offered. As I have said in the earlier entry, it has to make way for newer modules.

Along the way to the exam venue, I asked the Professor some questions.

1. He's been teaching since 1977. The module which I'm taking, has been offered since 1985!
2. No doubts about it, he drives from Köln to Karlsruhe everytime there's a lecture. That's about 6 hours for a return journey.
3. Arbeitslos rate remains high at over 10% in Germany.
   
4. There are good job opportunities for a process engineer in Germany. Apparently there is a shortage of Verfahrenstechniker.

The exam began shortly after the Beisitzer arrived. This really feels like an exam where in a short span of 30 minutes, everything under the sun could be asked.

I thought I was ready for this exam since I spotted the questions (although the voice said spotting 5 chapters to read out of 6 doesn't really count as spotting) and made all necessary preparations.

I was wrong. Remember about the illegible handwriting? It turns out that the parts which I scribbled (because I wasn't sure what he wrote on the blackboard) were tested as well, even though I thought they were relatively insignificant.

Coupled with the fact that my short term memory shut down yesterday, there were a few graphs which I either forgot how to draw, or what the axes should be labeled as.

Language difficulties can be an advantage with such a good professor. I pronounced the first and last syllabus of a word, he filled in the blanks for me.

Still, ich habe die Prüfung gut bestanden.

I even had time left to catch lunch before going off for another lecture.

I tried to register for another exam after that. It was quite amusing. The secretary described a certain event to me. After which she proceeded to write the word down. I just said genau at the word, and she thought that my German is good!

Well, you told me what the word meant. Einzelprüfung simply means individual testing according to what I gathered from the secretary.

Today was the last lesson for Phonetik classes. There were only 4 students. We did some revision on the previous exercises.

Frau Böhmer told us the some funny Nachname. Like Herr Rund, Herr Dick und Herr Lang. Or Herr Schwarz, Herr Rot und Herr Grün. When she was a student, she was known as Herzog. Along with her at her Studentenwohnheim there were 2 other girls known as Kaiser und König. Wouldn't know if she made the story up but it was funny.

It feels strange when things are coming to an end. The thought of people you might never see again. The people who have been in the same class with you for 14 weeks. The people who you do not talk to, but quietly acknowledge the existence of. You start to miss them. Then slowly, you forget about them. Until your path crosses theirs again.

So, a little celebration for completing 2 exams in German!

14th February 2006 - Day 120

An impending sense of doom has striked.

Panic. Panic. Panic.

I think I still don't know a thing about the exams tomorrow. I don't seem to recall anything at all. I take back my words. It is difficult to read stuffs in another language, especially when there's not much time left.

Some of the topics sinks in, but to phrase them in my own words, it's not really possible. Sure I can read them, but that doesn't mean I can use them effectively in my speech. Definition of a certain term? I probably could only give a word or two about it. That is, if I can remember them.

Commiting them to memory is a costly option now with the amount of stuffs I have. Not that I didn't try to do it earlier. The Verweilzeit in my head is relatively short. And it doesn't make sense to memorise things which I cannot even understand.

My brain refuses to recognise any words I read. The system just completely shut down. I can't even form a proper sentence. This must be the only exam period which I spent so much time on and understood only so little.

Among all the chaos and uncertainty, a voice tells me this.

"No worries! You will definitely make it!"

"Why?"

"Because you're an exchange student! Not some full time student here. Surely you aren't that outstanding that they want to keep you here for another semester. And there's the language as a mitigating factor. Everyone else says you'll definitely pass, it's just a matter of how well you do."

I choose to believe what the voice said. After all, I did what I could during my revisions. If things do go wrong, we'll discuss that when it really happens.

So, I'm going to sleep early tonight.

13th February 2006 - Day 119

I visited the dentist in the morning.

Although I made the appointment last week, I still had to wait for half an hour as the guy before me took slightly longer than expected.

Let's just say I felt uncomfortable on the dentist's chair this time round. I was tensed up most of the time as she held a drill and started to bore a hole at the back of my front tooth. She asked me if I needed a Spritze or not. It took me some time for me to register that word. The word sank in just before she fished out a syringe out of a drawer.

No, thank you. But please do it later. If it hurts.

It was largely painless, except for the times she stuck something in between my teeth and pushed into the gums. It's a bit ticklish at times when she was finally done with boring the hole. I could imagine a worm popping out from the tooth.

She told me that the tooth has decayed further since the last time I got it filled up. Probably due to some minor fissures in the filling that the bacteria got through.

Now, let's play a game of spot the difference.

Before

After

If you're wondering about the colour of the teeth, the "Before" picture was taken under orange light (after a cup of coffee, some chocolates and biscuits).

The dentist told me to make another appointment with her. She suspects that the other neigbouring tooth has been infected by the pesky bacteria and wants to drill into it to flush them out.

Well, take a good look at my teeth again. They might all be dentures the next time you see them.

Did I read somewhere that German dentists always insist that lots of work has to be done to your teeth?

It might probably be true since the normal person doesn't visit the dentist unless there's something wrong. And when there's something wrong with one tooth, there's a high chance that the other teeth are not in a very good condition.

I count myself lucky that my childhood was not scarred by those menacing looking dental nurses who sticks funny instruments into kids' mouths in primary school. The fact that they happen to possess a pair of shaky hands did not help.

I never had a problem with dental health back then. I attribute this to the fact that I drank lots of milk, ate lots of sweets, and never brushed my teeth unless it was absolutely necessary.

Yeah, right.

I tend to think that kids who have had traumatic experience(s) with dental nurses and dentists take better care of their teeth when they grow up. Their parents might never need to remind them to brush their teeth before going to bed after that.

So, tune in again next week for more Dentures Adventures.

12th February 2006 - Day 118

I did pretty much the same things today as I did for most of the other Sundays here. Yes, the oily breakfast again.

Progress in terms of preparation for exams remains slow. I am getting dangerously optimistic again. I have to constantly remind myself that I will not be able to finish everything if I continue like this. And by everything, I mean everything that I have spotted.

I'm not terribly good at spotting questions. In fact, the last time I tried spotting questions for my exams, it was a total disaster. Absolutely nothing that I had spent my time on mastering came out. Not even as a part question a, b, c or i, ii, iii. I should say I deserved it since I was completely off the focus of the lecture.

I looked through the notes of a corresponding module in NUS (which was kindly sent to me by a classmate whose name and my name are inversion of each other) and the one which I'm doing here. There seems to be fundamental differences in which the same topic is presented.

National University of Singapore:
Understand concepts through examples.
Never mind the nitty gritty.
Just apply the equations to get the answers!

Universität Karlsruhe:
Without concepts, you cannot understand examples.
Derive, proof and show how the equations come about.
Explain the usage of a certain equation in a given problem.

Of course, these are just generalisations based solely on my observations. It might not be true for other modules. Hah. Talk about hypothesis. But the Stichprobenumfang is not big enough.

Ok. Enough of nonsense.

Each method works for different groups of people. I think they complement each other quite well.

But too bad. That would be too much to fit in a semester.

So, just solve the immediate problem and move on.

11th February 2006 - Day 117

Cooped myself up in the room the whole day. Did some reading which I was supposed to finish yesterday.

I read. I understood. I forgot. I only have very a vague impression of the lecture notes I've read. Remembering the stuffs is one thing, expressing the idea verbally is another. I can imagine myself scribbling away during the mündliche Prüfung. Like some charts or derivations to help me in my explanation.

I think it'll be worth the effort to practise the following sentences.

"Ich bitte um Ihre Verständnis. Deutsch ist nicht meine Muttersprache."

Hah. I shall say it in the most incorrect way with wrong pronounciation and with lots of stammering.

Yeah, right. That's going to help.

For certain modules, I get the feeling that reading the lecture notes in German is not very different from reading them in English. It's much easier compared to when I first started reading. Maybe because I'm more familiar with the grammatical structures and vocabulary they use.

After all, they are engineering courses, not some poetry classes. There is only so much grammar and so many words involved.

So, back to the world of Zusammenhänge und Gleichungen.

10th February 2006 - Day 116

Another of my lecture has officially ended. The exam for this module will be 1 week from now.

According to the requirements of the mündliche Prüfung, someone known as a Beisitzer also has to be there to act as a neutral party (and possibly to take down notes of what I said).

Which means that I cannot...ahem...you know...with the lecturer who is grading me.

After the professor announced the end of the lecture proper, he asked who would be free on next Friday to act as a Beisitzer so that a particular Kuching-Kurak can take his exam.

I was quite surprised. I always thought they'll get someone else. At least not someone who's taking the same class as me!

The person who agreed to be the Beisitzer doesn't have to take an exam for this module. Apparently, he just needs a "Certificate of Participation" signed by the professor.

It seems that this module will no longer be offered from next semester onwards. The department wants to implement some other exciting modules for it's students and hence has to strike off some modules taught by the older professors. The professor here has taught this module for the last 20 years!

There's another module which I'm taking that has been slashed too. I should say I'm quite lucky to have caught the last train. If I came over a year later, I'll probably have no other modules to map.

I went to Jason's farewell party in the evening. When I reached, there were only 2 other people. More people came later.

Saw some other people who are attending the same class as I am. Nothing suprising. The number of students in the department isn't very large too.

Stayed there for quite a while and hitched a ride back as Jason was sending Augustine to the Hauptbahnhof.

So, back in hostel and feeling sleepy.

9th February 2006 - Day 115

The semester is coming to an end soon. I believe some of the other lectures have already ended judging from the number of people waiting for the bus this morning.

There used to be a lot of people trying to get on the 0750 bus on Thursday. Everyone stands near the entrance and exit of the bus, not unlike in Singapore. But the situation is not that bad here since there aren't as many people taking the bus here. Not to mention the particular bus service is more like a feeder service by SBS standards.

The lecturer probably got bored of teaching the same old thing. He got his sidekick to hold the lecture instead.

I just realised that I'm running out of time. Got a little too confident and overestimated myself on my rate of information uptake and the residence time in my grey matter. I'm taking far too long to finish my lecture notes. And I'm only focusing on the parts which I think are more important.

I will finish them all before my exams starts.

I still have another two exam dates to set. I do not want to drag it on for too long. I want to finish the exams before I start on my lab work on the end of February. It can be quite terrible writing lab reports. Not to mention it's in German now.

Now I'm reminded. I forgot to bring my lab coat with me to Germany! I shall find out if one is needed during the first appointment with the professor in another two weeks.

So, back to the routine.

8th February 2006 - Day 114

It rained today. I didn't bring my umbrella out with me even though I read the weather forecast in the morning.

I attended the lecture where the professor does not write legibly. It wasn't easy making the words out. Sometimes he speaks too fast, but I'm not writing fast enough.

I'm wondering why he repeated the same stuffs. I vaguely remembered the things on the board today were taught in the second lecture. I checked when I got home. That part was exactly the same.

Maybe that means I should read up more on that section.

Felix told me that doing half of each of the four question during the exams will not get the person a 1,0. The points for each question are not cummulative in that sense.

I realised today during the Phonetik lesson, that the last session will be next week. I'm having less problems with "zu-" now. The course did help me take more notice about the proper pronunciation of words, but my reading remains flat with no signs of commas, full stops, exclaimation marks and etc.

There's an interesting article on the Zoo in Karlsruhe. One of the zoo-keepers observed that some chimpanzees are found holding snow in their hands(?) and watching them melt away with apparent amazement.

Hah. The things I learn during Phonetik lesson.

It seems that the people on the floor are spending less time in the kitchen. Those who are still cooking, are often caught reading notes while they are stirring their broth.

So, I shall be looking forward to this time next week.

7th February 2006 - Day 113

Today was the last lecture for one of the modules.

The professor told us the format of the coming exams. Four questions in 2 hours. If you manage to finish 2 questions correctly, that's a 1,0 (or the equivalent of an "A", if we follow grade by grade up to 4,0 for a "D").

Sounds unbelievable. Does that mean doing half of each of the four questions will also get you the same grade?

Anyway, I'm not taking the written paper. I'm taking the oral one since I'm in Chemieingenieurwesen instead of Maschinenbau oder Elektrotechnik.

When I asked the professor about the format of the oral exam and what do I need to prepare, he told me the exam will probably last 30 minutes. And to eat and sleep well the night before.

Not exactly what I wanted to hear. But he told me something else. Up to date, everyone has passed this oral exam. I intend to keep it that way.

Having worked a few years in the chemical field, he probably knows more about distillation columns than me. I was quite surprised the first time he told me about drawing McCabe Thiele diagrams and introducing the feed at which plate.

Oh well, the professor is from the Business faculty. You can only believe so much fluff.

It's not easy to study in Germany. Without the steady persistance to finish studies, one might get distracted (and perhaps do some Hauptstudium in Merry Making instead) and graduate a few semesters later. Though that's not a big issue here.

So, getting back to preparations.

6th February 2006 - Day 112

Somehow, I slept through my alarm clock this morning. But I managed to get to the dentist by 0950.

The morning went something like this.

1. Was asked to show my Krankenversicherungkarte.
2. Filled in a form about personal particulars and some questions about medical history.
3. Sat on a sofa and waited for 45 minutes.
4. Went into the room and sat on the dentist's operating chair.
5. Opened up my mouth.
6. Dentist did a general check to see which tooth was there or was missing or decayed and asked which tooth I had problems with.
7. Mumbled to her which tooth it was.
8. She confirmed that there was indeed a tiny piece of tooth missing.
9. Asked me what material I would like for the filling. The "free" one, or the 10€ one which is supposedly of bessere Material.
10. Thought 10€ for better material was not too expensive, taking into account how I eat and drink.
11. The dentist proceeded to do her job with the plastic material, drill, and sanding equipment.
12. Job done, after some more sanding to make the repaired area smoother.
13. Got off the operating chair.
    
14. Asked me if I would like to fix some other tooth.
15. Hesitated.
16. Told me that it'll be on the Kasse.
17. No more hesitation.
18. Made a proper appointment on next Monday as she had other appointments for today.
19. Paid 20€ for the Praxisgebühr and the filling.
20. Happily skipped to the Mensa for lunch.
    

The consultation fee of 10€ is effective for 3 months and only valid for the same dentist, on top of the compulsory 56,62€ I pay the Krankenkasse every month.

I'm still puzzled to why the tooth broke off. The dentist commented the other teeth were still in good condition (except for the wisdom tooth which is not growing stright, and the other tooth to be fixed).

I am currently using toothpaste with a flouride concentration of 1450 ppm. I have no idea what the value is for toothpastes at home. I just don't want another broken tooth.

According to the bottle-of-water-outside-the-window index, it reports a temperature well above zero degree Celcius. The residual snow is slowly melting off, revealing ugly patches of soil and dead leaves.

So, back to exam preparations.

5th February 2006 - Day 111

I slept in late today until 1300. Absolutely nothing interesting happened today.

I need to visit the dentist. I believe a part of my tooth has been chipped off while I was munching on some cereals. The part of the said tooth feels rough as I run my tongue over. I'm glad that it doesn't hurt at the moment.

Brushing habits remains the same. Despite the increased intake of milk and joghurt, my teeth are still weakening. It sounds ridiculous, but my guess is that "un-flourine-nated" tap water have a negative effect on my teeth.

No flouride in the tap water, but they add their flouride somewhere else. It's quite common to see Salz mit Florid here. I heard that the toothpaste here also contain higher amounts of flouride compared to those back home.

I managed to find a dentist in the area through an online map. It's about 5 minutes walk away from the hostel. Even with the Krankenversicherung, I wonder how much I'll spend.

The Krankenversicherung supposedly provides very basic dental benefits. If I'm not wrong, I still have to pay at least 10€ for the consultation fee. I'll see how it goes.

So, more dental updates tomorrow.

4th February 2006 - Day 110

Did I mention about the other supermarket I found the other day? It's just three bus stops from the hostel (in the opposite direction). A return trip to the supermarket takes me about 50 minutes, and I do not have to squeeze on the bus with other people.

It's hidden from the main road. I didn't know it existed until one day I was curious and decided to do a search on the internet. At least I found it now, and on the last week here.

It seems that all the mandarin oranges here changed. I almost bought more orange-like mandarin oranges this afternoon. Tough skin, difficult to peel and sour.

Maybe because there are less people visiting the supermarket. The cashier seems friendlier too.

A mistake on my part to start watching Harry Potter. Though there are more urgent issues to handle, I chose to indulge myself in finishing all the four movies in one sitting.

To ease any sense of guilt, I finished the first chapter of my lecture notes. Which was only about....10 pages?

Yeah, right. Suffer the consequences now.

More fun with fruits. I bought a comb of green bananas about 9 days ago. Perhaps it wasn't very smart of me to throw them inside the fridge. But I had no idea that they turn yellow so slowly.

Not enough bananas. Or they should gas the bananas first before shipping them.

So, I have to keep my mind from wandering off tomorrow.

3rd February 2006 - Day 109

The lecturer decided that since he has enough time to finish his lecture, there will not be a lesson today.

I woke up quite late and went to Mensa for lunch. Because of the unexpected high consumption of fruits yesterday, I went to the supermarket to pick up more. Wanted to get some mandarin oranges, but took a bag of oranges instead.

I should have noticed that they look firmer than usual. Shall go out tomorrow again for some additional grocery shopping. Just as well. It's better to get some fresh air outside rather than coping myself up.

Remember the bottle of water outside the window? It finally solidifed after I removed the bottle cap. But I still think I won't see a whole bottle of ice even if I leave it ouside in this temperature.

Did a little revision and realised that I still have lots to learn for the module. The wonderful part is, I don't have all the notes since this is a mitschreiben lecture. But the professor doesn't always write legibly. I have to guess the words as I go along.

Now when I look back at what I wrote during the first lecture, I have to agree that it's full of non-existing words.

So, back to clearing up the mess I made.

2nd February 2006 - Day 108

No problems with waking up this morning for the lectures. A waste of time I'll say. Not much use if you're teaching students how to use a computer application when there's no hands-on session. I went back to hostel after lessons to collect a package.

After collecting my package from the Poststelle, I went off to the Mensa for lunch and bumped into Autumn there.

It was foggy today. It wasn't as cold as yesterday even though the sun went into hiding. I went to do some regular grocery shopping.

On my way, a certain building was being demolished. Should have been nothing interesting. But quite a number of people just stood there looking on.

You know it's not a good sign, when you run 200 metres after a Straߟenbahn, and still be catching for breath 5 minutes after that. Having no running shoes with me is a good reason not to start running/jogging here. The weather here is a good excuse.

There's an exhibition in Ettlinger Tor. It's about space exploration. The exhibits are free for viewing, but you might consider renting their equipment (which happens to be a flimsy piece of red-green plastic known as 3D glasses) to enhance your experience.

Or you can talk to a person who is dressed up in a jumpsuit adorned with suspicious looking insignia from the "Zulu Space Exploration Agency" along with some other iron-on patches.

I returned to hostel and spent the rest of the day dreaming about spaceships and rockets.

I just finished my shower and gave Stefan a little scare. I was waiting for him to open the door. He didn't expect to see anyone still up in the shower and got a bit...surprised. I muddle-headedly switched off the lights as I walked out of the shower/toilet, forgetting that he's going to use the toilet. I turned around to see him get startled again.

I love the item inside the package!

So, the long weekend has officially started.

1st February 2006 - Day 107

Lessons started only in the afternoon at 1400. I tried reading up some stuffs on a certain module in the morning. It was terrible. Asked myself some questions regarding the lecture notes and I just froze there not knowing how to answer.

Great. The general ideas aren't even there, and the Prüfung is in 2 weeks. Noch viel zum Lernen.

The lecture in the afternoon was not too bad. The lecturer was rattling off. I couldn't catch a lot of what she said. But, I think I understood better because she uploaded the notes earlier, giving me some time to do my Übersetzung.

Now I can't even recall anything she said during the lecture.

I lent a few of my copied tutorials to this German student, Felix, to photocopy. He has some problems with copying from the chalkboard. I think he's short-sighted and should get a proper pair of spectacles.

Attendance for the Phonetik lesson was poor. The Lehrerin knows it's because the exams are coming soon.

Nothing much interesting happened during the lesson today. It was a revision of what she went through the past 3 weeks. I still have a problem with pronouncing "zu-" though.

It's cold outside today. Can't stay outdoor for too long. All the tree branches were white with frost. The snow from last Wednesday is still here.

So, shower, study, sleep.