Doesn't time fly?

Well that's it, the holidays are over already!

I'm being taken back to my teen years with the overwhelming thoughts of 'not wanting to go back to school on Monday'

Overall the holidays have been really good.

went shopping in Essen with Gravy, wandering in Duesseldorf with Fraser and also had a visit from my dad and sister.....during which we went to Wuppertal Zoo, got lost in Duesseldorf and went to Koeln, tonnes of fun :). Dad and Jen also came bearing lots of gifts, including a huge bar of dairy milk - i'm definitely all about the glass and a half situation.

Picking them up from Duesseldorf airport was interesting to start with, after getting kicked off the S-bahn at Duesseldorf Hbf because there was a bomb deactivation going on somewhere between Duesseldorf and Duisberg, meaning I got stuck at the Hbf while they were stuck at the airport. Never a dull moment, I of course found them sitting in the bar at Terminal C arrivals having a drink and watching the football....

Finally managed to get enrolled at Wuppertal Uni....after paying 100 euros for the privilege. Then, it turns out I'm only allowed to go to certain lectures - there's a choice of about 15 different lectures, most of which are based on History. exciting.

I am, despite this, very pleased with the success, because it really became something I was determined to see through to the end. I also found the look of sheer disdain on the woman's face when she had to enrol me hugely amusing.

Frau Kremendahl 0 - 1 Me :)

I've been thinking an awful lot about my year abroad project this week too, I would like to have a good idea on what i'm going to do some time in the near future. The plan is, to be organised with the whole thing in the hope that it gets me good marks. I'd really like it if this year the German department didn't think I was a student with poor referencing and a 'hazy command of English', to quote some of my previous essay feedback. Whether or not I get past the thinking stage in the next month remains to be seen....hopefully going to some lectures will help me figure it out.

So on the whole, I'm feeling a lot more settled. I realised the best thing to do is be more assertive and try not to get worked up by the various things I would consider to be 'rude' or 'abrasive'. The absolute solution to being stared at is to stare back, they soon look away :)