I've handed in my thesis.
YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Summer is officially here

That's right. Summer is here. And it is official. And the reason? We went strawberry picking :D Unfortunately a couple of weeks premature for Wimbledon and we were too cheap to buy champagne, but the strawberries were very very good, especially the one's we ate before we left the picking fields... Just look at these beauties:


Other news. Last night we pretended to be cultured and headed to the Domplatz - the big square in front of Fulda's cathedral -for a Nacht der Poesie, or a night of poetry. And so, complete with sleeping bags and blankets, we found ourselves lying on the grass, starring up at the oversized cathedral, which was decorated with pretty lights, making it look rather like the evil bunny from Donnie Darko. Whilst in this state of relaxation, we were serenaded with some German bloke reciting German verse and sending us into a peaceful slumber. After about thirty minutes the novelty wore off and we started to feel a bit chilly, the Port helped us through though and we lived to tell the tale of our night of culture. Not sure I'd do it again. Like driving for 10 hours, having six hours sleep and then travelling by jeep up a mountain at 3am to watch the sunrise over a javanese volcano, it was one of those one off things that is good to have done but will probably not be repeated.

And to finish this summery mish-mash blog posting, news of my recent Berlin adventure. I headed up to our future home for a job interview, spent the time wandering around, admiring the main sights and then with Vicki in Friedrichshain, and then had a successful job interview which ended with a job offer. All good, means our move to Berlin is happening and we can start looking for flats in the big city :) And with that happy note I shall say farewell and until next time...

My mind is still open and the thoughts are still flowing but I am suffering from the little-known disease of freenetitis. This disease has seen my ability to leave blogs or even use the internet at all disappear in a puff of smoke, leaving me feeling somewhat disconnected. Unfortunately the prognosis for freenetitis is pretty dire. All I can do is visit the library and internet cafes to minimise the pain and try and find a distraction from the suffering. My thesis is doing its best to provide some relief and my illness is, admittedly, having a very positive affect on my page count (47 and counting) but it is little consolation. Alas, it is looking like it is going to be life sans internet for the rest of our stay in Fulda. I hope Bloggery can cope...

A Night of European Oneness?

The greatest Eurovision ever? Definitely the best I have ever seen. Usually it is amusing and entertaining because the songs are so bad but last night the music was of a surprisingly high standard. From Germany's swing song, to Hungary's blues to Russia's Girls Aloudesque rendition. I loved it. I was watching the event in Britain with one Eurosceptic and one ex-Eurovision lover turned cynic. My unbridled enthusiasm for the evening of European fun was somewhat outnumbered, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle and felt very happy to be European and to be able to witness such an entertaining event.

My Master thesis, which I will be starting to write soon, is all about European identity and I was wondering what Eurovision could offer on this topic. Can it be described as a night that brings Europe together? A night of true European culture? A demonstration of Europe's unity? Or is it more a case of lots of countries that happen to be quite close to each other choosing a song that may or may not represent their country (Scooch are NOT in anyway representative of Britain. I was truly embarrassed to be British last night. By far the worst song in the competition and fully deserving of the 'nul point' it would have received had it not been for the ex-colony of Malta and our darling neighbours Ireland) in the hope of beating or getting one up on their neighbours? The Eurosceptic on my sofa claimed that all those 'Eastern European' countries aren't really Europe at all. For a whole generation of Brits, ex-USSR countries apparently don't belong to their Europe. That surprised me. I'm not sure it helps the argument that Israel is also included in the Eurovision and Belarus is far more European than Israel. Probably not.

The other great controversy that accompanies Eurovision each year and that the British commentator goes on and on about is the so-called 'block voting'. This was wonderfully demonstrated by the Balkan countries - all the former Yugoslavian states voting for each other, as well as the Scandinavian countries. I actually think part of the reason the British commentator made such a big thing of it is that we get no votes from 'friendly voting' because we have two neighbours - one is Ireland, who we invaded several centuries ago and there has been a civil war there pretty much ever since; and the other is France, who everyone knows loves us about as much as we love them, which would be not very much at all. If it weren't for us having a former colony within Europe, or at least within Eurovision's definition of Europe, we would have been bottom last night. Granted, Serbia did win last night and they did get lots and lots of votes from the Balkan countries, just like Ukraine got lots of votes from ex-USSR states, but they didn't just get votes from their friends. For some reason, lots of other countries gave Serbia lots of points. Not sure why, but there you go. That is Eurovision for you.

I would like to make some meaningful conclusion about what all this means for European identity, but I'm not really sure there is one. I enjoyed Eurovision and was pleased to be European and to be a part of it. This may be to do with the fact that I live in Germany and that I have friends from various other countries represented. My two fellow Eurovision spectators certainly didn't express the same love for the event. Did it make me feel closer to other Europeans? I already feel quite European due to my living in another European country and studying with lots of people from other European countries. But for others Eurovision seemed to emphasis differences - it was all too easy for the Eurosceptic and the cynic to spend the whole time complaining about there not being enough Western European countries represented, about the rubbish songs from other countries and about the cheating during the voting. I think really it is one of those things that if you approach it with a smile, it will give you a lot back, but if you watch it determined to complain about how unfair it is that the Western European countries get no votes and the Eastern European countries all vote for themselves then you will never really get in the spirit.

So, Eurovision was a night of fun for all of Europe to share in, a night to come together and have a jolly fun time, but as a demonstration of a common European identity, of a European oneness, it has a long way to go...

I am back on the island. It is a well needed break from the monotony of having nothing to do except read for my Master thesis. This monotony had been going on since my return from Indonesia, over a month without any structure, without any routine and with dwindling motivation. Back in Britain the motivation hasn't exactly come flooding back but I am appreciating the change of scenery, being back with the family and some structure, even if it is just relating to bus times into town.

Being at home also gives me time to reflect and I am subjected to opinions of people who care. It's a good time to work out what I want. Actually, being at home is simply reaffirming what I knew: that I want to stay with him, which means staying in Germany for a wee while; that I want to get a job, to become financially independent and to achieve something to be proud of; and that it could be a difficult year ahead.

I hope that in 12 months time I can look back on the year that has passed and smile.