Claudia in Germany

Look at this loot! Dear Asians, Fret not: you can definitely get your fix of Asian food in this country. I didn't expect myself to miss Asian food quite that much, since I mostly prefer western food all my life. However, the scarcity of it makes me crave for it sometimes, even though I absolutely love the food they eat here in Germany. It is in a way similar to how much I hated Backstreet Boys back in their heyday, but one of their songs just came on the radio the other day and it made me smile just because they remind me of the good old days. So yes I do miss Asian food at times. First off, there are plenty of Asian restaurants. I can't say anything about them - yet - since I'm a little apprehensive to give them a visit... but rest assured that you do have that option. I prefer to cook my own things. I found some local brands selling Asian ingredients, but alas I discovered that they didn't taste very authentic. I'm not sure if they can't make

The A1 level is pretty much the lowest level of German exams you could take at Goethe Institut. There are: A1 and A2 (for beginners), B1 and B2 (intermediate), C1 and C2 (advanced). You can learn more about the level structuring  here . If you're going to apply for a national visa for marriage or for au pair work, you're required to pass the A1 exam. You can read more about the A1 level exam  here . It might be daunting to discover that you are required to pass an official exam, especially if you never took German lessons before. However, after passing the A1 exam, I can see why they require it - it's really helpful to have some basic German knowledge if you are going to move there. It will definitely make your life there much easier if you already have some basic knowledge of the language before you take the plunge. I went straight to the Goethe website and discovered that the A1 course is divided into 3 terms (A1.1, A1.2, A1.3), each term lasts for 10 w

Living in Germany is GREAT. I come from Indonesia and I have been living here for nearly 3 months now. Sure, it's a huge helping factor that I live a super smooth married life with a dreamboat husband I never thought I would ever be lucky enough to find - but him aside, it has still been such a wonderful experience to live here. I live in a small town, which is a HUGE change from where I used to live. All my life I had been living in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, with near to 10 million other human beings. My current town, Rödermark, has the population of less than 30 thousand. So I guess it brings me to my first favourite thing about living here... So much nature! The citizens of Jakarta are so used to going to the mall in their spare time. You can do and find just about anything in Jakarta malls - shop, eat, socialise, watch films, bring your kids to play... anything. Also it can get pretty hot and polluted outside, so air-conditioned malls are the most convenie