In two weeks time...

... my written exams will finally be over!

I am not sure if this is something to look forward to. I guess this depends on whether the exams go well or not. Everyone who has been through such a tough time knows that highs and lows are very closely related and mood changes happen 50 times a day. However, it seems that I have come to a stage in my preparations where I resignated.

I know I have done something, I know I posess some common sense - but unfortunately I will only find out each morning at 8 am, if that is enough to pass. I have no clue what they will ask in the exam papers, 1000 years of the Middle Ages are a VERY LONG TIME and A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENED - you won't believe how many popes lived between 500 and 1125!!!! I don't know if I am able to rememeber only 1/10 of them, but I just hope the questions are fair (which unfortunately does not happen very often) and I come out of the exams without becoming ill or mad. You see, I am really confident!

So everyone, wish me good luck and keep my fingers crossed.

WELCOME

I am happy to announce that yesterday at 5.39 pm my little niece Natalie was born in Tübingen.
She is 49 cm and weighs 2690 g.
Congratulations to her parents Mario and Anita
and thanks for making me her godmother!

A sad day for London

Last night at about 7 pm the famous Camden Town market area in London went up in flames

Every time I was in London I spent a considerable time at Camden Town, as this is my favourite place in London. It is good to hang out with friends, to go window shopping and to have a decent dinner.



I draged all of my friends and family to the market when they were around to visit me. I absolutely love this place. So this is also a very sad day for me, because Camden Market will never be the same again.


BBC titled "Blaze shuts famous market area" and when I saw the pictures and videos, I could start crying. The fire brigade described the blaze at the Canal Market in Camden as "very severe" and flames were reported leaping up to 30ft in the air. They are not sure what caused the fire, but fortunately no one was hurt, even though on a Saturday night this area is packed with people.

When I look around my room here in Bamberg, I see quite a few things that I bought at Camden Market or things that remind me of Camden. I don't know what to say actually, but I am really sad. Here are a few pictures that I took during my last visit to London last Summer.
This how I will always remember Camden:

Four weeks to go

I realized today that the final exams are only four more weeks from now. This is quite a frightening thought I have to admit. However, I cannot stop "Father Time" - known to those who read "The Chronicles of Narnia" - and I finally come to the conclusion that even if I had 6 more months to study, I would not be able to get more information in my head.

It seems that everyone around me is getting a bit waspish, even I start barking at my flatmate for doing nothing at all. But surprisingly, everyone else from my study groups have this ridiculous impression, that I know all the answers. I had three "Please Help me, I know nothing at all" calls this afternoon. The funny thing is that when I ask what is wrong, they know more than me! I seem to have this reputation to be a perfect "Dear-Abby type".

There is also one of my lecturers who tries to convince me that I still have enough time to conduct a "Tutorial" next semester - she seems to forget that there are 9 oral exams for the teaching degree and 4 more for my master - telling me again and again, that she believes I would be good at that. Right, I would like to do that, it fills my wallet, but I remember my tutorials - they were rubbish and I guess I will be dissatisfied with myself.

Apart from that - it's "Karneval" in Germany. I have not been out for ages, but I will meet some friends tomorrow to have dinner together. I spent up to 16 hours at my desk studying. I do not know how I am going to survive the next few weeks. I tread myself with good food (I cooked a Curry yesterday with fresh prawns) and if possible I go walking for at least an hour - depending on the weather of course.

So wish me luck that I manage to survive - okay, everyone I know survived this heavy time at the end of their studies, but an educational degree is pure horror - my master is kindergarden work compared to it!