"Well Equiped" mode of transport! Finally got a basket for 7 euros and a lock for 5 euros=) The basket really made grocery-shopping-trips more convenient and hassel and accident-free=) haha..

Love my room more now! Look at the new additions to the room. Ikea carpet and woolly fleece! And guess wad.. i got them for free! Some ppl were moving out and did not want them! treasure...... got heaps of other stuff too.. inflatable sleeping mattress, pretty cups, utensils, carrot peeler, table lamp etc... Also, the house master repaired my bed and it no longer topples when I sit at the edge of the pull-out bed!

The sanitary pads here are different! Im sure the gals reading my blog will be able to relate better to this.. Havnt tried using them.. but was just fascinated that the pads are not individually packed and each pad is straightened and arranged one after another.. The pads in singapore are usually individually packed and each pad is folded such that it compacts into one third of its original size=) The toothpaste there cost S$0.80.. haha.. thought that it would be interesting to try that since it is so cheap!

Safety shoes that I got from Bayer! They had a range of designs that I could choose from and this looks the BEST!! haha..

Happy 21st Bdae!

Internet was up just in time! Managed to use my "Magical" Singapore line to call home for free! It was nice talking to Huanqing, Nicolas, Mummy and Daddy! Huanz: Many Thanks for organising transportation for ALL the presents across the globe. Nic: Thanks for the webcam celebration. Nice. Touched. haha.. Mum & Dad: Thanks for your concern and love! Hugz! Thanks for all out there who remembered my Bdae and for the million Facebook msges!

A bdae present from Simon's mum and family. Surprise bdae card in my letterbox. Vielen dank für das schöne Geschenk und die nette Karte! Ich habe die Karte schon drei mals gelesen! Ganz toll! Danke Ihnen! Ich war total überrascht und glücklich! ;)

Danke für den leckeren Kuchen und deinen Aufwand! Ich weiß nicht, dass du backen kannst=) Ich habe meinen Topf geguckt und du hast ihn nicht zerstört! Keine Sorge! Von wem hast du den anderen Tofp geklaut? ;) Thanks for travelling 1000km hin und zurück =)

The first experience with Spanish food was really exciting! We were not sure what surprises were in stored for us! Trying out the various side dishes was indeed an adventure. Side dishes included chicken wing, sausages(with some red spices, different from German sausages), sheep cheese with olives, tomatoes with mozarella cheese, BBQ ribs and chicken, wedges, some cripsy crepe rolled with cheese, bread and garlic spread! We shared a big portion and barely managed to finish everything. As we were almost done with dinner, we noticed a German man having the whole portion to himself! haha.. We had apple wine also.. It is suppose to be very famous in this part of Germany=) It was alright. Apple itself taste better=)

Diana, Simon and I at cocktail. Dead beat after Apple wine and cocktail! Low alcohol threshold... High Caffeine threshold though=)

Diana is an Energy giver! Energetic, nice-to-talk-to..... Looking forward to more adventures together! -hugz- Thank you for the bdae celebration=)

Badminton

Here is one of the halls I train at. Play here every Fri. I train somewhere else on Mon and Thurs. My Coach is from India. He has a blond german wife and a son=)

Sports and fitness is quite different here in Germany. They have clubs in every town where people can participate in sports. I have to pay 120 Euros for 8months of badminton here. Not to expensive on the average coz I train 3 times a week. Shuttles included.

It is definitely nice to have the opportunity to play Badminton here again. Would be quite bad if I din have the chance to touch racket for a year. Rusty!

A New Friend Found

Everyone say “Hello” to my new companion, my new friend found! Being with it brings me great joy even though it doesn’t answer questions that I post nor does it response to what I say=) Enjoy its company when I brought it out for a ride yesterday! A bicycle is really essential here to get around. Some random thoughts: I always wanted to capture a photo of an ang-mo gal wearing a nice dress and cycling a bicycle with big wheels along the nice cities of Germany but I was never close to accomplishing that. Was quite close in Munich during EURIP but my camera did not cooperate. Still keeping a lookout! All photographers out there, challenge yaself to this task! And send me the photos after that! Hahaha…. ;)

I got the bicycle free from the housemaster, Herr Gimpel, of my hostel yesterday. How nice of him to fix it up for me! Danke viel mals Herr Gimpel! Es war wirklich sehr nett von Ihnen! =) I am eagerly looking forward to cycling to work, to badminton trainings and to grocery shopping with it in the nice weather. I am hunting for /buying a bicycle lock and awaiting the “arrival” of a basket for my bicycle from Herr Gimpel.

Incidents like this make me believe/affirms my belief that “nice” people still exist in this world. I know that “nice” is a word which has been overly used. What I meant is that: In societies that are “money-driven”, it is nice to take comfort in the fact that there are people around who do things/help without ulterior motives or expecting anything in return, going beyond that and finding the true meaning in life! This becomes more significant coz I don’t know him at all! He is very fatherly=)

Hmmz.. actually the weather is getting really cold nowadays, with rather frequent rains. Rain here is different from back home. Light rain. Cold. Over in a while. It gets really annoying coz I feel myself literally freezing in the rain! I need to increase my threshold for the cold if not I am almost 100% certain that I will die in winter. You will find me cuddling under my blanket all day! *Hibernation Mode*Despite my fear for the cold, I am actually looking forward to experiencing the four seasons in Germany! It will be an interesting experience! I can already see myself building heaps and heaps of snowmans! Anyone who is interested, feel free to come and visit me! My first was in the US and that was also the last till now=) But that wont be the last in this lifetime of mine=)

Here’s a picture of my Keller-cold and huge. Can probably accommodate 2 or 3 visitors for the night=) All genders and age groups are welcome! Believe or not, everyone has a PRIVATE Keller! Havnt used it though, too troublesome=)

-Happiness is not how much you have but your capacity to enjoy what you have-

Familiarization

I am starting to see a pattern in what I do in lab everyday! Familiarization? Repetition? Boredom? =) For now, I think it is FAMILIARIZATION =) The Round Bottom Flash is a set up I do for EVERY experiment with varying substances! Cool eh! The Bubble Detector detects the flow of argon gas to ensure an inert environment for reactions. The “dropwise” funnel allows the addition of reactive substances in a dropwise fashion to prevent the sudden rise in temperature.

Separation Funnel(on the left) used in school has always been very primitive: the need to shake the funnel and releasing gas occasionally to prevent the build up of pressure. This set-up is easy and convenient! It stirs the aqueous and organic phase with a built-in stirrer. Allow the mixture to stand and separate the layers! Power eh.. I was quite amused when I first saw it!

Here is a picture of how the kitchen in my hostel is like. It amazes me. Nic: remember how I felt that the kitchens in NZ hostels are big and spacious? Mine is better now! You will see when you come=) I even have a shelf below the stove which can be locked. Every tenant in the hostel has their own PRIVATE stove. There is a huge kitchen at every level of the hostel!

Received the train ticket that I ordered on ebay which allows for 4 trips on the trains within Germany. Paid 111Euros. Approximately 27.8Euros per trip, a considerable amount cheaper than the ticket one buys from the DB website=) Will come in useful when I visit Thomas(a doctor who did his attachment at NUH and stayed at nic’s hse for a while. He just got married! Cant wait to see his pretty wife!), Renate(a gal nic and I met in NZ at Rainbow Lodge), Prof Hugl (visiting prof last sem at NUS for Petroleum and Industrial Organics, and my Guardian Angel who got me an Internship at Bayer. Vielen Dank!) and maybe a trip down to Munich end of Sept for OktoberFest(just wanna go there for the atmosphere. Totally not for the Bier). Travelling here requires meticulous planning because transport gets MORE expensive towards the date of travel especially for the trains.

I spoke to Arianna(my boss) today. She wanted to find out more about my background and what lab experiences I have had. All the work I do in lab revolves around Organic chemistry!! Horror!! I only did 1 module of Organic Chemistry! Whenever I am stuck with some organic stuff at work, the first person I think of is….. LILENG!! The lab technician whom I work with is really nice and helpful. Always seek SOS from him=)

If you know me, you will realize that I always ask endless questions. It is just me. And I like asking questions=). During my conversation with Arianna today, she said,” Please ask as much questions as you want. It doesn’t matter if it is a silly question! The more you ask, the more you learn!” I immediately grinned from ear to ear ;) All my life, no one has encouraged me to post as much questions as I want explicitly! At that juncture, it felt like I was in for a “Free Questioning Buffet” which was even more enticing than a “Free Japanese Cuisine Buffet”! It was really very nice and I like the learning environment that I am in. I am determined to be a teacher who encourages endless questions! Haha.. The next generation of kids will be one where everyone ask questions non-stop! Noise Pollution… hahah! I wonder what is the working environment for the rest of my fellow applied chemistry pals in Singapore like! Lileng, Alan, PK! Keep me posted eh….Thanks pals!

An unexpectedly fruitful week end

It all started when I was talking to Diana, a Latin-American girl who is staying in the same hostel at me. I bumped into her when I was moving in on the first day. After some conversations, I realised that she is also working for Bayer CropScience at the Industriepark in Höchst but in a different building! What a coincidence=) It is a rare sight to see ppl around the hostel really. Probably coz most people are having summer vacation now. Diana invited me to join her friends and herself at the Frankfurt city centre on Saturday. That was very nice of her! Thanks Diana. Appreciate it! It was great fun and it was great meeting ya friendß! Es war echt super!

We were looking for Jeans for a while before settling down at a “Beach Club”! I like the whole concept of the Beach cafe! It was on the 5th Floor of a random building in the city centre where all the shopping centres were and there was sand, water and sun! It was like a huge Pent House with a private pool and bar! We anchored ourselves there for about 3 or 4 hrs before heading for dinner at an Asian Restaurant!

This sight is so common in Thailand! 20 Baht for the seat and 20 baht for coconut! haha.... Just imagine this in the CBD area in Singapore! Lucrative idea..... =)

Private pool for kids! Havnt seen adults swimming in it yet=)

Here is a photo of Diana, natalia and her husband=) I could learn Spanish from them if i really want to and live my first dream of wanting to learn Spanish initially =) Figured that it might be a better idea to just concentrate on German...

At the Asian Restaurant, I had Thai Tom Yum which was nice. Was just wondering how much I would have paid for one in Singapore or Thailand! It is totally different eating Asian Food overseas for me coz I am ASIAN! It is interesting to compare the difference in taste of the Thai/Asian Food in Germany, Singapore or even Thailand! But to be paying 4 Euros for that feels a little rip off! It will probably cost 1 Euro in Thailand? Nicolas knows better=)

After dinner, we headed to the movies! Watched "The Chronicles of Narnia" in German! My 4th movie in German(1st in Spore during German Filmfest, 2nd: Finding Nemo, 3rd Eisbärchen)! It was not too bad=) Paid 8 Euros for that though... Looks like movies in Spore are not expensive at all=) haha....

On Sunday, Diana and I did lunch together and we had Asian food! Fried rice with grilled chicken=) We had a chopsticks session at lunch=) Managed to use wireless internet at Diana's room=) Internet at my roo is gonna take a while... What to do... Germans' efficiency are limited!

Workplace.'Home'.

Two nights ago, I received a very nice message from Nina and it really warmed my heart. It has always been a nice feeling knowing that your friends are always there for you. I guess it somehow became more significant when I am surviving on my own overseas, away from home, away from my comfort zone. It is indeed a very refreshing experience. It is nice to know that things are more or less falling into place for me=) Thank you “mei mei” for always helping me everyday=) LOVE YOU! =) Will miss you when you go Australia…. Will definitely go visit you and cook for you (as long as you wash up.. haha!)

At my workplace, I though it was nice that I got my own PC=) Bayer CropScience Building comprises of many many labs, and in the many many labs are fumehoods that you see in the photo. Nothing VERY exciting! For NOW,I am kinda looking forward to start doing experiments. It feels different from Uni coz now I am doing serious work for the industry. And also, I am tired of running around, settling my visa etc. People here work flexible hours. They just need to complete the number of hours and they leave=) I find it quite nice.. Most people come in at 7am and leave at 3plus=) not bad eh..

As for my room, I am amazed at its size, much larger than my TH room (2.5 times I think). My room is about 15 or 16 sq metres, and another 12sq metres for the toilet,corridor and cupboard. I am paying 317 Euros. Reasonable for Germany=) I know of another student staying in another block. She pays 370 Euros a mth! My blanket from IKEA is my most treasured asset now=)

I went to the town hall to register myself in the town that I am staying. It was about 25min walk away from work. The interior and exterior of the building was very nice. It made the whole process of doing admin work more enjoyable! It feels like in the movies=)

On Wed, I went to the “Immigration” to extend my visa. Was walking for about 1.5hrs or more before realizing that I am no where near my destination. I then decided to take the train and I was glad I did! I underestimated the distance on the map!

Yeah.. got my visa extension in one day.. quite surprising for German’s efficiency level=) But it last till end of March only.. need to apply again when I go munich=(

First Days in Frankfurt... Adventure into the Wild.

After a 5 hour ride from Hamburg to Frankfurt in Simon’s car, I arrived on Friday at the Industriepark at Höchst, which is outside the Frankfurt city centre. The Industriepark is very huge and it hosts many different companies. Bayer takes up 2 of the many buildings if I am not wrong. The trip to and from Hamburg cost more than 100 Euros=( We shared the cost.

After going through a lot of trouble trying to find out who I was suppose to report to, I was brought to my boss, a Swiss lady, Frau Martelletti, in one of the Bayer labs. She is indeed a very nice lady. She made sure my housing was ok, and helped me a lot with settling in. Till now, I have not started my Chemistry work in the lab yet. Still settling in. Will go to that in a while.

Settling down here was indeed stressful. I am not kidding. It got worse when I realize I cant really cook coz I dun have pots, plates, cutlery and had to get food (spent 60 Euros on that so far. Expensive). I also made a trip down to IKEA and got a nice blanket ( 25+15 Euros) and other necessities. Thanks to mummy, I did not need to get a pillow here. I brought a highly compressed and flat pillow from Singapore and it fitted well in my suitcase! I am really thankful that I did not get here alone if not I would have sat along the streets and cried, booking a ticket home the next day! Felt very cui and weak then. Did not want to be brave anymore. I am kinda in “DEBT” to Simon for all the help that he has rendered from settling my handphone, internet, bank, helping out with IKEA(for “forcing” me to buy a blanket if not I would have slept in my sleeping bag), transport and advices. And of course, I am in DEBT to him coz I owe him a lot of money. Will return him when I get my card and internet banking =)

Friday (1. Aug) was spent moving into hostel and getting groceries. The hostel here is super quiet! Totally not like Temasek Hall! I have been here for 6 days and I have seen less than 10 ppl in the hostel! Unbelievable!

Sat (2. Aug) was IKEA day! The IKEA here is suppose to be the largest in Europe(according to jochen). Wouldnt have made it there if not for simon's car!

Visited Jochen at Schlangen Bad which is near Wiesbaden, maybe 40 min from where I stay with car! 40 min Is considered near in Germany .

The visit to Jochen’s place was very nice. Jochen did his exchange at NUS for 1 year, hence both Simon and I know him=) His garden was superb! Colourful flowers. Apple trees. Pumpkin. Tomatoes. We had a BBQ as we sat in the garden, immersing ourselves in the nice scenery and weather! When I offered to help with the BBQ, Jochen and Simon said that BBQ is a MAN’s JOB! I never knew that! Maybe coz the guys all very lazy in Singapore and the girls usually have to do it! Haha….

Meeting up with people and friends feels very different from home. We usually visit them at their homes, eat good food, spend quality time and enjoy each others’ company. Also, because of the great distance you travel to meet someone, every meeting becomes very precious, at least for me! I am not saying that meeting up with friends in Singapore is not nice! It is just different!

After staying at Jochen’s house from 1230pm-4pm, we headed to Darmstadt to visit 2 of my Guest Family, whom I got to know when I first visited Germany during my German Language Immersion programme at Technical University Dramstadt. Time was well spend catching up! The 40 min travel time from Jochen’s place was worthwhile. Felt quite good/heart-warming/a tiny tinge of sadness when all the visits came to an end.

Sun(3. Aug) was spent just walking around the city that I stayed and realized that it is nicer than I thought! There were heaps of old nice buildings. Main river is about 30 min away by foot and nice weather!

That was how my first week end was spent! Super cool eh!
Mon, Tues and Wed at work was spent running around and settling all my admin work such as getting my identity card to gain entry into the Industriepark, had safety briefing, met the lady who is in-charge of my pay, received my personal desktop at work, registering myself at the town hall where I leave, doing medical check up, getting my residence permit and extending my visa. My visa is only valid till October ‘08=( Efficiency is really not the forte of the Germans. Everything is so troublesome and bureaucratic. I only manage to get my visa extended till March’09 when I internship expires. Paid €50 for that! Bayer not paying for that =( Need to pay again when I extend my Visa for exchange in TUM! PAY and PAY in Germany! Wonder where all these money goes to man.

Have been walking a lot since I got here! It is quite nice coz of the nice cooling weather. It takes me 20 min to walk to work and about 20 min to walk to Badminton! Guess wad. I found clubs to play Badminton! It is quite different from Singapore. Sports teams are not an emphasis in school. But they have clubs for Hobby groups and for the more PRO people in every town. I think that it is quite nice and convenient that way. I went to play at the hobby group and it was alright. Play for fun, I dun consider that sports. Going for training with the PROs on Thursday and will see how it goes=) I need to get a bicycle soon so that I can reach my destination in 5 min instead of 20 min! I walked too much le! Haha…

Here's my address if you would like to send me cold hard CASh (in Euros pls,thnx;) ):
Xiuqing Loke
Heimchenweg 86
Zimmer Nr: 22
65929 Frankfurt
Germany

handy: +49 (0)1708096793

Honey harvesting

Smoked Bees are less aggressive and do not attack unless you try to be funny=) Seeing the bees made my hair stand instantaneously..

It was quite difficult for me to spot the queen... it looks similar in size with the red but apparently it is not.. may be parallex error on my side=)

Here's the machine that simon's dad used to harvest the ney.. the 'platlets' are incertained into the machine and spinned manually... The honey flows out of the comb due to centrifugal force.

Waxing process which doesnt hurt!!! haha.. The honey comb are covered with wax when they are full by the bees.. Removal of the wax is necessary to allow the honey to flow out of the comb. Honey is then filtered to remove any traces of wax. The honey taste good! Got a bottle for my green tea!

Hamburg in 8days:Habour. Fireworks. Castle. Bicycle tour.City. Nina.

Hamburg is the birthplace of the Hamburger. This is not a myth. The beef patties a German immigrant from Hamburg sold in the 1850s in New York allegedly were named after the butcher and then became a generic term.

Hamburg is considered Germany's capital of sport since no other city is home to more first league teams and international sports events. Hamburger SV, one of the most successful teams in Germany, is a footbal team in the Bundesliga (which has played in the group stages of the Champions League twice; in 2000/2001 and in 2006/2007).

Time spent in hamburg was nice and will always be remebered. A big Thank You to my Welcome Buddy, Simon who picked me up from the airport and sacrificed a fair bit of time to settle my accomadation in Frankfurt, Bank account, Internet line and most imptly-the long and expensive trip down to Frankfurt. Du hast für mich zu viel getan. Danke viel mals!

The flight to germany was different from the previous 2 times here. Anxious. Stress. (maybe due to the amount of hand carry I had) Came to the conclusion that I am not very good at saying goodbye. Thanks Shan, Zec, Mei, Dad, Mum and nic for seeing me off at the airport! *hugz*

Speicherstadt was where goods like coffee, beans were stored in the warehouses. Walking around the whole day was nice!

It was a special day for hamburg as many ships were docking at the Harbour eg: Queen Mary etc.. First fireworks in Germany! It was really nice. An old man actually let me into the front row so that I could have a better view! there are always advantages of being small=) Dont be jealous! =)

Danke Hamburg!

City centre!

People who are not married when they reach 30 might have the possibility of receiving such pranks from their friends-sweeping the floor in front of the town hall and doing certain tricks like asking for 30 kisses from different girls etc.

I did a Bicycle tour with Simon to a nearby town to see a castle Ahrensburg Scholss! The route there was tough coz we cycled on sand and took the forest route! It only took us 15min on the road on our way back. the trip there was about 1.5 hrs long! Good trip. Hot sun. Worthwhile!

Ahrensburg Schloß=)

Town Hall in Hamburg

There was a Wine Festival when I was there! germany is so happening! Festivals all year round!

Make a wish. Shooting star! =)

From left to right: Sauerkraut (super sour cabbage, worse tasting than Kimchi), cheesy noddle floury thingy and German Dumpling! I get this impression that chinese is like a 'WOW' thing in ang mo country! Even Macdonals have this Asian burger called Lang Tsu(which sounds chinese). It is 5 plus Euros and it taste super awful. Super small also!

At the Harbour! My camera skills getting better eh!

A tunnel that runs under the river! Din try walking. Too long!

Yeah!! NINA(Left)! Hab dich vermisst! It was nice to meet nina again after knowing her in NZ with nicolas! looking forward to our next meeting at Horse riding! Guess wad. her fren(right) is also gonna study in Munich! Will meet her again when i do my exchange at TUM!

Drove to Bad Segeberg to watch an outdoor play-Winnetou! The process of getting the tickets was even more stressful than a roller ride! we went 2 hours before and there were heaps and truck loads of people queuing in the sun. The seemed to only move 1cm every hr! We were quite worried that all the travelling and waiting would go down the drain when they inform us that the tickets were sold out as we did not do any reservation before hand. Fortunately, after the long wait, we got our tickets and we heaved many sighs of relief! =) Winnetou is a fictional Native American hero and he became the chief of the tribe of the Mescalero Apaches. He rode a horse called Iltschi("Wind") and had a famous rifle called "Silberbüchse" ("The Silver Gun", a double-barrel rifle whose stock and butt were decorated with silver studs). Old Shatterhand became the blood brothe of Winnetou and rode the brother of Iltschi, called Hatatitla ("Lightning"). The play was spectacular with people riding round in horses and fireworks at the end. I only understood maybe 50% of the movie! The effects were superb! unbeliveable!

Fireworks at the end! 2nd fireworks in Germany, all in 8 days!

Simon's car brought me to Frankfurt! The 5 hr drive was expensive! 1 litre of benzene costs 1.4 Euros!

Chinese and Japanese food that I prepared while at their place! Simon's parents and brother were wonderful people. had fun playing table tennis with his bro, benedikt, who is usually rather soft and quiet=) Bendedikt and his dad are computer experts and I managed to call home again! Hurray!

I love the home in germany! There gardens are so nice and dining in the gardens are always something to look forward to in summer! The summer in singapore is too hot for that!

everything is very brief coz i am blogging at BAyer coz I dun have internet at my place! Wont be able to do so anymore when I start Chemistry research in the labs. I am settling all the admin stuff to settle myself in. trust me, germany is damn ma fan! need to register myself at the town i stay, need to extend my visa etc! i am starting to like juz living here! The weather plays a very important role! Walking in the day with the sun and wind has never been so good! Could walk for very long without feeling tired or sweaty!