The Dentist and his Tool

Yeah, with a skrik I realized that I haven’t updated the blog since the 5th!!! Can’t believe I’m in Germany for…mmm…close to 3 weeks now!!! Ok, so tonight – whilst this hectic storm “Kyrill” is raging outside *winds up 2 120km\h)* - I will be telling you a little more about what’s been happening…

So, I went to the Alien’s Office…applied for the Visa with all the relevant papers etc, but for that, I needed a “Immatrikulationsbescheinigung”, now this a little piece of paper that states that you are registered at the uni. I managed to only get the little piece of paper the following Wednesday. After a lot of hassle…I got the Visa Extension! I am now legally allowed to travel within any of the EU countries!!! Can’t wait to see Italy and Paris…and Austria…AMSTERDAM!!!

I have promised you that I would post some pictures of my cozy yet quaint little room. It’s really nice since I live kinda up in the attic of the house. Got a view, although not brilliant…one of the only ppl on campus with a bit of a view. I have really settled in and now need to spruce up my room a bit…out of desperation, I put up a poster of a snow-ski-dude and the map of the world (how lame).

Classes have also started last week, and they are in full swing now! We got dropped right smack dat in the middle of everything and it’s been hectic these past few days. One class in particular – ABAP Programming – is quite advanced, and with NO experience in it…tough as hell! Nobody said it would be easy right? The rest is alright, need to brush up on my Math skills once again…
The Professors and other lecturers are also from all over Germany and the rest of the world. Some of them even travel from cities like Munich (200km) and Frankfurt (90km) to come give lectures! Cause of the storm today, most classes have been cancelled…apparently the cars get blown off the road!

In terms of work…I’m set…finally! Needed that freaking Visa! I got my contract from SAP today. Tomorrow it gets posted back to them, signed and dated! I have also managed to very quickly…together with Francois…become the University President’s (Ian Cloete – also from SA) student assistant. This of course means extra work, but also extra cash!!! And believe you me, I could use the cash. Things are roughly 4 to 5 times more expensive than in SA. In public places, you even have to pay to use the toilet, which I think is ridiculous, but for that payment, the toilet’s are spotless…

There have been 2 parties on the campus since we arrived, and both times I have gotten extremely drunk!! The way it works here…dis nie van bring en braai nie…the dude/gal who’s b-day it is usually buys most of everything and ppl just rock up. Waar in jou lewe sou jy ‘n email aan die hele kampus stuur en ALMAL daag op vir die party??? Not that the campus is THAT big...only 3 buildings make up the classrooms, menza and admin sections…and the others make up the accommodation.

Read a very interesting article regarding our Uni today! Last year, we were rated the TOP (1st) for BSc IT and MSc CS (what I’m doing) in Germany and 11th overall for the Business Degree BBa! Glad I made the right choice once again.
My laptop got screwed up…and the new memory I ordered got lost in the mail, figures!!! Thought that only happened elsewhere…I’m telling you, it’s the whole we-need-humans! With Robots or Cyborgs this stuff wouldn’t happen. Go read the ROBOT rules, you’ll see what I mean…or watch I Robot, I think they mention it in the movie as well…what…the…what the hell am I blubbering on ab…

O my goodness!! Die TANDARTS ordeal! Dit was regtig nie snaaks nie! Ek verstaan heeltemal hoekom mense nie mal is oor tandartse nie...firsthand experience. Ok, so ek het al tandpyn van voor ek uit SA weg is reg. Nou, nadat ek klaar in SA tandarts toe was, begin my tande weer pyn toe ek hier kom, eveeeentually toe ek nou health insurance het en gecover is vir alles behalwe dood…besluit ek om maar te gaan. Die eerste afspraak was ok – hy se hy weet nie wat aangaan nie, want als lyk perfek – die tweede afspraak was HORRIEBAAL!!! Hy weet toe nogsteeds nie wat fout is nie, maar besluit toe dis maar beter om ‚n fullon gum-cleaning te administer. Nee…nee…wag, hier kom die kak! Dis nie genoeg dat hy my 4 keer inspuit nie, NEE, toe my bek nog nie dood is nie, toe spuit hy nog 3 keer in my verhemelte in…nou ek mind nie ‘n inspuiting nie, maar naald op been is bleddie donners seer!

7 Injections later, my mouth is feels like dead-leg! I close my eyes and just want this stuff over and done with. Not a chance! First, he asks me whether I would like to hold up a mirror and see what he is doing…really…who in the world would say yes?!?! Then, he deftly and oh so promptly and precisely shows me exactly what the little tool looks like which he will force underneath my gums and scrape around in there!!! All I can say, it’s long, sharp, shiny and curved like a hook…more than that…I would of vomited!

So, ek gryp maar die armleunings vas, maak so wyd as moontlik oop, knyp albei die ogies styf toe en dink aan die keer toe ek deur ‘n hond aangeval is…dit het nie gehelp nie. Jy weet as jy kan HOOR as daar nou iets oopgegaan het binne jou liggaam…en as jy kan HOOR hoe die bloed letterlik uit daardie iets wat nounet oopgegaan het uitstroom??? Ja, dit was so erg. Hy het regtig gekrap asof daar nie ‘n more is nie! Eventually toe hy klaar is, lyk ek soos Bride of Chucky wat deur ‚n hammer vol op die gesig geslaan is...

Pain pills are WONDERFULL!!! I’m on them right now…as we speak…or type…or read….mmmm…woohoo!!!

Het more oggend nog ‘n afspraak…I don’t want to go! I miss each and every one of you relentlessly! More than I could say…last Sunday I even got a little depressed, it was awful! Better now, but I could use some chatting…mmm…so, here is the deal right…you get yourself Skype and a headset with Microphone, and then we can chat for FREE…NOTHING…NADA…FOKOLI…NIKS!!! My skype addie is rainer.la.barre

Gotta run gotta go gotta be
Ciao
Rainer

Oooooooo....a pic of some of my close friends...and Sus!!!