Some thoughts - and remembering Ha Noi & BKK!

It's exactly four weeks now - four weeks ago I came back to Germany after my great six-months-internship experience in the Philippines. It is great to be in touch with the people I met there and the first month back in Germany was exciting, sometimes really funny, and sometimes really tough and irritating. Somehow it gets better and better with this reverse culture shock, but still it is like loosing the ground beneath my feet.

I realized there is a post missing - about my trip to Ha Noi and the two days I spend in Bangkok before I went back to Germany. I really enjoyed the trip. I travelled on my own, and I had the chance to sort some thoughts, read a lot and I met some cool people all along the way.

Ha Noi is in the north of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and with it's 5 million inhabitants it felt small and cozy for me after six months in Manila. I shared my hotel room with a mouse - the receptionist said that it means luck in Vietnam to have a mouse in the house. That sounds sweet, but I know he just said that to keep me as a guest... But one mouse can't freak me out :-)

I loved Ha Noi - all those old tube houses from the French, the greenery in the city, and all those motorscooters...It was dynamic, noisy and sometimes a bit dangerous with all the traffic and I felt perfect in the middle of the chaos :-) I ate great noodles in some small eateries (I did not dare to eat dog...) and the beer was nice as well :-)

You can see some typical Vietnamese coffee here, yammi!

That's me in the middle of Ha Noi, close to a beautiful Chinese Temple (and yes, this is a white shirt!! It has a Batwoman print on it, and so I thought I have to buy it!)

Old toube houses - they are everywhere in Ha Noi!

I walked around Ha Noi for three days, including the Ho Chi Min Mausoleum and day trip to the Ha Long Bay (but I have to tell you, Palawan (an island of the Philippines) is much more unique, pristine, and beautiful!).

Sightseeing was interesting, but I also bought some books about Vietnamese history, especially about the Vietnam War (which is called American War there) and about the story of Kim Phuc, 'the girl in the picture' - in the age of nine, Kim was burned by a napalm attack and ran towards a group of photographers. Her clothes were burned and only one of the photographers was ready to shoot the picture that made him famous and the cruelty of the Vietnam War visible to the world.

It was an intense feeling to read the books and be in the country at the same time. I am glad I had the time to go to Ha Noi and the chance to read some books so I was able to understand a little little bit of the history of Vietnam - after six months in the Philippines I felt less like a tourist in South-East-Asia, but of course I was still recognized as a foreigner. So I felt more like a part of the continent in the inside, but being a stranger from the outside - and back in Germany, that turned around and I feel more like a stranger from the inside...

I hope I will have the chance to go back to Vietnam one day, as well as to the Philippines and that I will discover more of Asia soon!

Back in Germany

It took me a while to update my blog again - the last weeks, my first weeks back in Germany were pretty busy. I subscribed for some courses (mostly financial stuff :-)) at university and started with a short thesis, and I tried to catch up with all university-related appointments and dates. I don't think I made it ;-)

And I am back in my AIESEC local committee (the lovely LC Augsburg!), facilitating a conference, preparing another conference (I am chair of BaAHAMS!!), meeting my friends...It is really nice to be back, but it feels strange at the same time.

I really go through a reverse-culture shock right now, which is harder than I expected. German mentality (punctuality, pessimistic worldview, being very demanding and self-centered) irritates me, and most of the time I feel a bit lost in the every-day life which is 'my' life again. Let's see. I want to think about my future plans and next steps in and after university-life, but I feel like I can't concentrate on those issues right now. My marriage gives me strength, which is great - and it is really funny how David brought back some Japanese mentality, and I brought back a little Filipina inside of me, and that is sometimes like a third culture shock, but a really cute one ;-)

I enjoy the last sunny days before fall pushes through in Augsburg and I am looking forward to some more powerful days.

It is amazing how my experience in the Philippines changed me, and I miss the country, the people and the every day life a lot. Sounds strange, but I also miss the traffic, the noise, the pollution, I miss to ride a Jeepney every day to work, I miss Headway, my coworkers, my friends, the sun and of course the travelling on the weekends. It was a great time!