Claudia in Germany

If you have any plans to obtain a German citizenship, you have to take part in Integrationskurs. The course comprises of 2 parts: Sprachkurs (German language course) and Orientierungskurs. I didn't take the Sprachkurs because I already have a B1 certificate from Goethe Institut, which is an equal skill level expected at the end of the Sprachkurs. So I only joined the second part of the Integrationskurs, which is called Orientierungskurs. It's funny because when I started the course, everyone in the class already knew each other including the teacher as well. We started the first day by chatting casually about their B1 exams, and I just sat there listening. In Orientierungskurs we learn the basics about Germany: politics, geography, history, and culture. Which is great for me because I generally love to learn, and I also have always had an inexplicable fascination with World War II era Germany history. Everything is in German, which is why at least B1 level knowledge of the ...

Living in Germany is wonderful, because of the people. Everyone I've met has been very nice and accepting to me. My impression of the Germans so far is that they're polite, well-mannered, accepting and the men are such gentlemen. Wherever I go, I never feel like I'm a foreigner. They would speak German to me by default, and when they realise that I don't really speak German that well, they would be glad to speak slower to me. They also patiently wait when I try to string words together into coherent sentences. At first I thought it was just how things were at the premises of Goethe Institut, where all students are required to speak German at all times and all staff are required to support us doing so. But once I started going out without my husband, I realise that this is the basic attitude of German people in general: kind, helpful and accepting. I also realise that here in Germany, I am considered somewhat unique and pretty. Back home in Asia, I was just one in a ...

As much as I enjoy living here, there are a few things I don't really like about it either: Shops close on Sunday In Indonesia, weekend is the high time for retail business. No one would dream of closing their business on Saturday or Sunday. But here, nothing is open on Sunday. Including the supermarkets. So we do our weekly grocery shopping on Saturday, along with everyone else - and if you happen to forget to pick up something on your shopping trip, you'll have to live through Sunday without it. We are expected to tip in restaurants In Indonesia, we don't have to tip - service charge is already included in the bill. I prefer it that way, because I don't like to feel as if I'm judging the servers by the amount I tip them (Is it too much? Too little? Will they think that I don't appreciate them enough?). It's just making me socially anxious to decide and calculate these things. I much prefer to pay a fixed sum of service charge, usually 5% from the v...

I'm so used to buying artificial Christmas trees in Indonesia, so when my husband told me we were going to buy a real tree to put up in our home this year, I was besides myself. First thing we got was a 'Christmas Tree Stand' - it's a dish-like device with clamps where you put your tree in. It comes in different sizes for different tree heights; we chose S because we were going for a tree that's about 180 cm tall. Then we went to a 'Christmas tree market' - I had probably seen these in films, but to experience it myself was so awe inspiring! I felt like a kid who'd just seen all this for the first time... but then again, it WAS my first time. The first market we visited was in a store, and we didn't see anything we liked. The second market was at the parking lot of our local supermarket, the seller was a super friendly and cheerful man. My husband told him what we were looking for and he helped pick a right tree for us. He even switched to En...

I remember having a conversation about a decade ago, when I was in my twenties, about where I saw myself in 10 years. "Carrie Bradshaw," I replied. I never saw myself as a marrying type, especially since I was a loner who was basically invisible to men all through my teenage years; so I ditched the idea of getting married and began envisioning myself as a single career woman. I proceeded to attempt two relationships after that - and when they failed, I was determined that I was destined to be alone and it'd be better for me. Until I met him. Sometimes I wish I'd met him sooner, to spare myself all those unnecessary heartaches of the past. I would also be spared of all the social pressure I received throughout my twenties, where everybody and their mothers would a) ask why I was single, and b) give unsolicited advices to find someone as soon as possible. But when I think about it, I'm glad that I married him a bit later in life. And here's why. I...

My husband knew I'd never seen snow before, so he took me to Großer Feldberg - the highest point of our state, Hessen - this weekend. I wasn't expecting to see much snow, since we currently have none in our town. However, as we drove further up the hill, and temperature began to drop, I started squealing in delight: what was a fine mist of raindrops began to change into soft snowflakes sprinkled around us. It was such a magical moment for me, something I had only seen in pictures before suddenly came alive all around me. The soft snowflakes perched on the bare tree branches, ground, cars... it was everywhere. By the time we reached the top, I was greeted by a view straight out of a Christmas card, a view that inspired the everlasting holiday song White Christmas and Winter Wonderland; for it was indeed a magical wonderland. It was foggy and monochromatic, it was such an unreal experience for me. "I used to walk to school through this kind of weather," explained ...

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...