My Birthday

I can't believe I'm already 33 while I still feel like 23! In Germany, student discount is only given to students under 30. I had to lie to get a discount but I don't feel bad about it - it's not fair anyway, why should I? I can't get a scholarship in Germany either because they are offered to students under 30. It is ridiculous. Other than those, I don't feel being over 30 is any inconvenience. But still, I don't like to be asked how old I am, while on the other hand, if the questioners didn't think I'm young enough to ask, they wouldn't have asked. This is assuming they are all very polite.

I had my best birthday this year as I remember. Roland got up very early to pack the presents. We are together day and night for every day, he didn't have much chance to wrap them. But did he then have chance to prepare them? Yes he managed. That was the story he told me while I'm unpacking each presents. I had many: a pair of earrings, a children's book in German to help me study German, a box of half sphere chocolates of Magdeburg, and a pair of loving cats representing "us".

Since I always checked out earrings whenever I passed a jewelry shop, Roland thought that was a clear indication of "I want earrings for my birthday"...hmmm, it actually wasn't. Sabine wanted to make earrings for me too. Then they discussed about it on the breakfast table in German right in front of me! Roland bought the earrings, cats figures and chocolate while I was being interviewed by the University of Salford. Just a few minutes before the interview, he suddenly suggested maybe he should leave me to the interview by myself and he could do some shopping and have film developed...while he then shopped many presents!

He bought the little book in Stuttgart while we were all shopping in the same shop. He asked Sabine to take me away so that he could buy the book, and it was right in front of me in German again! The book is "Ohne Dich ist alles doof", "Without you everything is bad".

Roland's mother, Gisela is undescribably nice. She did everything for us and invited us for dinner for many times. She even bought chocolate for my birthday too, when we were in a Swiss chocolate shop. She asked Roland to distract me and she bought a box of nice chocolates for me.

I am very happy because people are so nice around me. I even decided to be a nice mother as Gisela if I had children. Meanwhile, the conclusion is: I must learn some proper German so that people can't "fool" me around ;o)