The final destination reached on time

My room is big and a bit white and the floors are really cold. I've been looking for some cool slippers but haven't foung any nice and cheap ones. But at least the internet's working!

The orientation course has started and it's reallt a full-time job. We have every day program from 9am to 4pm. In the morning we have langauge lessons and I'm in the most advanced language group. There are about 50 new exchange students and the knowledge varies from zero to very good, so they divided us to groups. Even though some of us can't speak almost any German, in general the exchange students are talking in German also among themselves. I'm very happy about this as this way I feel my speaking ability improving all the time.

In the afternoons we are listening to lectures, visiting the library and musems and stuff like that - and working on a presentation project. Our group's subject is the peaceful revolution in Leipzig in 1989, next week we are going to interview a lady who was very active in the resistment movement here during the Wende. Very interesting! I'm working in a group with a Irish and Norwegian guys and a Danish girl. I'm the only Finnish exchange student, which I'm actually quite happy about. In the end of the cource we are going to have a presentation in front of the class.

I have to sign up for the unviersity courses I want to take next week, so my big duty for the weekend is to surf in the internet to see what they offer. As I'm not with Erasmus I don't have any guidance and am able to chooce whatever I like. I was just looking for salsa cources and other sport stuff in the interent, I'm most likely going to get a bike (and a helmet...) from by brother's friends - if it's small enough.

It's funny that the German people actually seem to be very punctual and organized and always remind us to be on time - it sometimes get to my nerves. I really think the Dutch are more relaxed, even the language is somehow more laid-back. My week in Holland went fast, in the weekend I went to see my host family on Texel and about a half of it was actually home, which is quite a good accomplishment. The children don't live on Texel anymore except for Rosa who just moved to her own house on Texel. We did some very gezellig scrabble in Dutch and I wasn't even the last one, wow. The house stills feels like home and things are always the same when you go back to Texel.

Oh yes, I also had coffee with my old school mate Tuija Mäntylä in Amsterdam! Thank God for Facebook, she saw I was in Amsterdam and we saw each other for the first time on like 4 years. It was quite funny! I thought she was back to Finland already but apparently she is not planning to go back at all.

Today I got a but lost when walking home from school (I usually take the tram) and was quite proud of myself that I found my house without a map, which I most likely accindently left at school. Leipzig doesn't seem to be too big, but there is enough to do and see. Tomorrow we have some touristic bus tour with the course (most likely the same I did with my parents..) and next weekend we make a day trip to Dresden. I have enough to do, although up to know I've been spending the evenings sorting out my email and being quite antisocial. The other exchange students are nice, but somehow I feel myself a bit old as most of them are about 20 and abroad for the first time in their life and soooo excited!!!!!!!! Haven't thus found any soul mates yet, but luckily I have very nice roommates, especially with Saskia I seem to have a lot in common (vegetarians interested in literature).

Ciao,
Iida