Hey guys, to cut a long story short: I am homeless by now. I have moved out of my apartment today with the help of a lot of great people. Thanks so much, dudes! I have transported all my furniture to a friend in Jena who offered her cellar to me for the whole time. Dana, you are great! Thanks.
Now I’m living with some friends for the time being. Just a few days to go, some remaining hours of work to do. The day of my departure rolls on quickly now. In the same way my excitement starts to grow.
May 29, 2010
May 15, 2010
Two options
Just a short update this time. Today I received a call from my director telling me that he finally managed to find a solution for keeping me in the company. You certainly can imagine how happy I have been. He even offered me two alternatives to choose.
The first one is linked to a 6-months trip to Canada while still receiving a part-time salary. After my return I would be working full-time but with the same salary. After deep consideration this option didn’t seem too suitable for me because of two reasons:
1. a 6-months stay in Canada is not what I have been planning and prepared for.
2. The fact of still receiving a salary while in Canada first appeared to be very comfortable as I told you to keep the “work” part to a minimum. But after thinking of the time after my return to Germany, a part-time salary definitely isn’t what I call satisfying, especially not in an expensive city like Frankfurt.
The second possibility was perfect. The bank offered to accept a one-year sabbatical without paying any further salaries but me still being a part of the company.
I informed my director about my decision, after all. Now I’m awaiting the new contract details with the discussed arrangements.
Lucky guy, am I not?! ;)
The first one is linked to a 6-months trip to Canada while still receiving a part-time salary. After my return I would be working full-time but with the same salary. After deep consideration this option didn’t seem too suitable for me because of two reasons:
1. a 6-months stay in Canada is not what I have been planning and prepared for.
2. The fact of still receiving a salary while in Canada first appeared to be very comfortable as I told you to keep the “work” part to a minimum. But after thinking of the time after my return to Germany, a part-time salary definitely isn’t what I call satisfying, especially not in an expensive city like Frankfurt.
The second possibility was perfect. The bank offered to accept a one-year sabbatical without paying any further salaries but me still being a part of the company.
I informed my director about my decision, after all. Now I’m awaiting the new contract details with the discussed arrangements.
Lucky guy, am I not?! ;)
May 5, 2010
Oh my gosh!
Brainstorming! Yes, that's it: Brainstorming! The solution to this absolute chaos in my head!
Although I started my plannings in mid-December, a lot of things to take care about came up my mind and still there is a bunch of remaining things to do. My brain was like a bath tub that started to overflow because someone (was it me?!) forgot to turn off the water. So there came the time to think of flowing off the water somehow. Brainstorming seemed to be the best idea.
So I began to write down everything that was stuck in my head, no matter if it had anything to do with Canada or not. You cannot imagine how liberating this has been to me. After a couple of hours I got the feeling that my tub was a lot emptier than before and...hey, someone turned off the water, too! ;)
Well, the bad news were that the sheet of paper I have used, turned out to be a 1:1 reflexion of my former head chaos. I noticed that on the paper words were linked to others that have nothing to do with them. Maybe you are able to find the relation between "health insurance" and "outdoor equipment" or between "membership of hosteling international" and "selling the car".
Anyway, I have successfully used the past months to organize a lot of stuff. Below you will find a short list with the most important things to care about whenever it is about to start a long-term journey. This might be useful to some of you, at least. For all the rest, skip the next passage:
Although I started my plannings in mid-December, a lot of things to take care about came up my mind and still there is a bunch of remaining things to do. My brain was like a bath tub that started to overflow because someone (was it me?!) forgot to turn off the water. So there came the time to think of flowing off the water somehow. Brainstorming seemed to be the best idea.
So I began to write down everything that was stuck in my head, no matter if it had anything to do with Canada or not. You cannot imagine how liberating this has been to me. After a couple of hours I got the feeling that my tub was a lot emptier than before and...hey, someone turned off the water, too! ;)
Well, the bad news were that the sheet of paper I have used, turned out to be a 1:1 reflexion of my former head chaos. I noticed that on the paper words were linked to others that have nothing to do with them. Maybe you are able to find the relation between "health insurance" and "outdoor equipment" or between "membership of hosteling international" and "selling the car".
Anyway, I have successfully used the past months to organize a lot of stuff. Below you will find a short list with the most important things to care about whenever it is about to start a long-term journey. This might be useful to some of you, at least. For all the rest, skip the next passage:
- application for visa/working permit; in addition inform yourself about the conditions of entry, before getting into trouble with the immigration officers at the airport
- book the flight (do that ASAP; I did and you know what?! Got the direct flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver for 322 EUR!!!)
- get your health insurance for abroad; speak with your insurance company whether it is possible to do it with them or finding a cheaper one and save money; I got my health insurance over ADAC (German Automotive Association) for round about 350 EUR for a whole year; of course, it depends on the country you like to visit, your age and the time you'd like to stay over there
- check the validity of your passport (notice: it is absolutely required to have a biometric passport photo when travelling to Canada or the U.S.)
- re-think the equipment you like to take with you; try to keep it at a minimum as the capacity for baggage during flight is really low; with Condor your are permitted to take 20 kg with you + hand baggage; believe me: this is not MUCH!!! ;)
- make sure where to stay/accommodation ; this is up to you whether to keep it "low budget" or "splurge"; I prefer two possibilities: (1) Hostel or (2) Couchsurfing.org; I'll come to that later on
- don't forget about the last-minute organisational stuff , like looking for the best ride from the airport to the city or planning the first days at your destination
May 1, 2010
What it's all about
Maybe some of you might be confused or in some way irritated when reading the description of this blog. Tell you what: You are supposed to be confused!
Of course, I do not intend to follow his example by living an isolated life in the woods. Nevertheless, after five years of working in the financial sector, I felt that there should be more about life and the way of enjoying it. The more intense this feeling has grown in me, the more I identified myself with Thoreau's expectations.
That's why I decided to go on my Canadian adventure. An adventure that might proof to be the worst idea I have ever had, though very unlikely. ;)
In any case it will definitely be a good possibility to gain some more expierences and maybe to figure out which next goal to aim in my life.
The time for doing this kind of experiment is quite perfect. I have enough working experience and knowledge gained on my work to probably convince my employer of letting me stay and, with that, giving me the chance to get back into my job after my return to Germany. Furthermore, I am not bound to anyone or anything up to now which makes it easier for me to leave my home for a whole year.
A year that is called "Working Holiday" or "Work and Travel". I don't think that an explanation is necessary as the name describes it to the full. I will try to reduce the "Work" part to a minimum to fully enjoy what this country has to offer. There will be times however when I cannot avoid using the possibility of my working permit to cash on a lot of Loonies and Twoonies. ;)
I hear a lot of you wondering "Why Canada?!". Well, that is a good and rational question, though easily answered: It should be an English speaking country that is not too close to Europe (so the UK is dropped out), not to hot (which is a "no" to Australia and New Zealand) and with access to untouched nature and beatiful landscape. My decision has been an easy one and made within minutes!
And that was when the planning began... .
Actually, it's an own modified quotation of Henry David Thoreau's described motive for abandoning civilization and modern society, documented in his book Walden:
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. "
Of course, I do not intend to follow his example by living an isolated life in the woods. Nevertheless, after five years of working in the financial sector, I felt that there should be more about life and the way of enjoying it. The more intense this feeling has grown in me, the more I identified myself with Thoreau's expectations.
That's why I decided to go on my Canadian adventure. An adventure that might proof to be the worst idea I have ever had, though very unlikely. ;)
In any case it will definitely be a good possibility to gain some more expierences and maybe to figure out which next goal to aim in my life.
The time for doing this kind of experiment is quite perfect. I have enough working experience and knowledge gained on my work to probably convince my employer of letting me stay and, with that, giving me the chance to get back into my job after my return to Germany. Furthermore, I am not bound to anyone or anything up to now which makes it easier for me to leave my home for a whole year.
A year that is called "Working Holiday" or "Work and Travel". I don't think that an explanation is necessary as the name describes it to the full. I will try to reduce the "Work" part to a minimum to fully enjoy what this country has to offer. There will be times however when I cannot avoid using the possibility of my working permit to cash on a lot of Loonies and Twoonies. ;)
I hear a lot of you wondering "Why Canada?!". Well, that is a good and rational question, though easily answered: It should be an English speaking country that is not too close to Europe (so the UK is dropped out), not to hot (which is a "no" to Australia and New Zealand) and with access to untouched nature and beatiful landscape. My decision has been an easy one and made within minutes!
And that was when the planning began... .
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