As written by our eldest daughter who is an intern with a multi-billion dollar business in Nottingham, England....absolutely fascinating....
Updates on my job at RR:
1. I have also become a part time overdue debt collector on behalf of the company. I know which airlines owe how much and how much has not been paid. Which airlines are doing well, and which are not.
2. I got kudos from one of the staff for doing what he thought was a 'good job' on my extraction of the late payment options for Gulf Air.
3. I am working with the other interns on a Serviceable Used Material Project. Seeking ways to maximise RR's use of these SUM. I volunteered to be in charge of sorting the contractual wording and in my team are 3 white guys from stellar UK unis. One is from Cambridge. All think highly about themselves. They are intelligent but lack humility.
4. So I am the 'voluntary leader' because what they do in the meeting is go off on a tangent talking bout unrelated things. if I don't provide structure, meeting will be unfruitful.
5. Interns are extremely competitive and desperate to get a job offer.
6. Next week I have something called 'Home Week' which is basically 'don't do any real work in the name of team bonding' week. On Monday we're going to have team bonding activities at a nearby canteen. On Tuesday, we'll be visiting a factory for 3 hours and I have to come in casual clothes. These activities take priority over work, haha. I like Home Week.
7. I had a team lunch at an Indian restaurant yesterday. It was organised by one of my colleagues. Interesting to observe this side of British life. These people are doing well so they can afford things like hiring cleaners, buying houses etc.
8. Colleagues told me what they enjoy about travelling to see clients is the food as food is at company's expense. So can eat good food overseas.
9. Since I am intern with not very many things to do, I finish work quite fast. Plus point and makes me look good but then again, it is mundane work.
10. Western working culture is very different Eastern Working culture. Asking good questions here is a sign of intelligence, so people are encouraged to ask questions. It is better to ask questions and be heard than to be quiet and not be noticed. Also English people are sports crazy. Everyone is into a sport. So if people ask me what sport do I play? I say 'Badminton' although it's been years since I last picked up a racquet. Holidays take precedence over work here. Everyone is always going off on holiday. No one will penalise you for it.
11. It is also very important to take initiative. If you wait around waiting to be told what to do, then RR would not have hired you in the first place. I find myself taking initiative more than I ever have. I arrange meetings with strangers and people I don't know really well just to ask questions bout what they do. It is also very important to speak up. In the East, we tend to defer to others. Not so in the West, they have never heard of deference. People are happy to give you their time, all you have to do is ask nicely.
12. You can even talk to the Commercial Director. She likes holding sessions with us interns and talking to us about our experience so far. She reports directly to the head of Civil Aerospace and holds a lot of sway, being the head of everything. You can always arrange lunch breaks with her etc just to gain influential connections. There aren't a lot of barriers between you and the executives in RR.
More to come....
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Those were the days, my friend
Taken from an email sent to me by a good friend....though I did not do half the things stated in the email...I certainly played some of the games mentioned....:)
Hopefully this will help our grandchildren understand our life before high tech!
NOSTALGIA!
Hopefully this will help our grandchildren understand our life before high tech!
NOSTALGIA!
Ah......those were the days.
Rose Chan was our favourite performer.
Wong Peng Soon was our favorite badminton player.
Because we reared fishes, the seller was our idol.
Driving license renewal was by pasting an additional slip at the back
Of a small booklet
Susu lembu was house delivered by our big friendly and strong Bahiii
............. on his bicycle
Kacang puteh man came a peddling , walking and balancing his head top
Of 6 compartments o of different type of murukus ...
F&N orange was served in wooden crates and displayed on table during
Chinese New Year
M&M 's was called Treets ..
My addition on the good old days,
We bought bangkali bread from the Indian roti man who paddled his
Bicycle around the neighbourhood with the familiar ringing sound.
Sometimes we bought cold storage bread wrapped in wax paper. Spread
The bread with butter and kaya wrap with the wax paper and take to
School.
Crop crew cut by the travelling Hockchew barber; 30 sen a haircut; all
The way to the top. Reason easy to dry when curi swimming.
During weekends went swimming in the river, no swimming trucks, only
Birthday suit. No one laugh at you whether your "kuku" is small,
Crooked, etc.
On Sunday morning listen to "Kee Huat" radio facts and fancies and
Saturday night "top of the pops" DJ was Patrick Teoh.
Saturday go for cheap matinee usually cowboy shows or Greek mythology
Like Hercules.
Father gave 50 sen; 25 sen for ticket, 10 sen for return bus fare,
5 sen for kacang putih and 10 sen for ice "angtau". Sometimes ice ball
Only 5 sen "pau angtau" and half red sugar the other half black sugar
Or sarsee.
Never, never, never talk or mixed with girls until Form 5.
Learned the waltz, cha-cha, rhumba, foxtrot and offbeat cha cha from a
Classmate sister.
First time dancing with a girl nearly freezed; heart went "botobom, botobom"...
Do add some more >>>> surely you can ! Those were the days , my friends !!!
Subject: Dedicated To All those Born in 1940's, 50's , 60's...by Patrick Teoh
Born in 1940's, 50's , 60's (me included)
The article below was written by Patrick Teoh
Dedicated To All those Born in 1940's, 50's , 60's
First, we survived with mothers who had no maids. They cooked /cleaned
While taking care of us at the same time.
They took aspirin, candy floss, fizzy drinks, shaved ice with syrups
And diabetes were rare. Salt added to Pepsi or Coke was remedy for
Fever.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and
When we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.
As children, we would ride with our parents on bicycles/ motorcycles
For 2 or 3. Richer ones in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a private taxi was a special treat.
We drank water from the tap and NOT from a bottle.
We would spend hours on the fields under bright sunlight flying our
Kites, without worrying about the UV ray which never seem to affect
Us.
We went to the jungle to catch spiders without worries of Aedes mosquitoes.
With mere 5 pebbles (stones) would be a endless game. With a ball
(tennis ball best) we boys would run like crazy for hours.
We caught guppies in drains / canals and when it rained, we swam there.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE
Actually worried about being unhygienic.
We ate salty, very sweet & oily food, candies, bread and real butter
And drank very sweet soft sweet coffee/ tea, ice kacang, but we
Weren't overweight because.......
WE WERE OFTEN OUT PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, till street lights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day.WE DID NOT HAVE HANDPHONE TO BUG
US. And we were O.K. AND WE WERE SAFE.
We would spend hours repairing our old bicycles and wooden scooters
Out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot
The brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to
Solve the problem .
We did not have Playstations, X-boxes, Nintendo's, multiple channels
On cable TV, DVD movies, no surround sound, no phones, no personal
Computers, no Internet. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found
Them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and we still
Continued the stunts.
We never had birthdays parties till we were 21
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and just yelled for them!
We don't know what is "Bumiputra"......
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard
Of. They actually sided with the law ! Nobody knew about child
Psychology !
Yet this generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
Solvers and inventors ever!
The past 40 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned ......!!
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them!
|
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Gold Coast here we come!
Well she did it again with God's help!
I am talking about my youngest daughter. Her second term exams showed sterling results (better than her first term).
She studied hard because she did not want to repeat her papers. Repeat would mean having to re-sit them in August and missing the family holiday in Gold Coast, Australia. Yup...this year we will be visiting Pastor Sim and Siew Yong in August and we had all our tickets booked already.
Mummy decided that we have had enough of ships and cruises...and casinos and on-board parties! Let us do something wholesome and outdoorsy as a family. Flying to Australia would also fulfil our children's dream of taking a plane. Except for a short flight to Langkawi our youngest two have not flown anywhere.
Ai Ai worked very hard to qualify for the holidays and also a big angpow from mummy (of course). She deserved it with a CPGA of 3.67 or so.
She was brimming with happiness the day she got her results.
However what was exceptionally touching was a testimony she shared with us concerning how God woke her up during one of her exam days. She said that she had overslept and for some reason did not hear the alarm. In a dream-like state, she heard the God said to her "Don't you think you have slept enough?"
Suddenly she was jolted awake and realized that she had only one hour before the exam started! God was truly really gracious to her.
We learned something from Amanda's sharing....God does hear our prayers for our children especially the prayers we pray everyday for them to do well in their studies!
Gold Coast, Australia...here we come...!
More news to share later....
I am talking about my youngest daughter. Her second term exams showed sterling results (better than her first term).
She studied hard because she did not want to repeat her papers. Repeat would mean having to re-sit them in August and missing the family holiday in Gold Coast, Australia. Yup...this year we will be visiting Pastor Sim and Siew Yong in August and we had all our tickets booked already.
Mummy decided that we have had enough of ships and cruises...and casinos and on-board parties! Let us do something wholesome and outdoorsy as a family. Flying to Australia would also fulfil our children's dream of taking a plane. Except for a short flight to Langkawi our youngest two have not flown anywhere.
Ai Ai worked very hard to qualify for the holidays and also a big angpow from mummy (of course). She deserved it with a CPGA of 3.67 or so.
She was brimming with happiness the day she got her results.
However what was exceptionally touching was a testimony she shared with us concerning how God woke her up during one of her exam days. She said that she had overslept and for some reason did not hear the alarm. In a dream-like state, she heard the God said to her "Don't you think you have slept enough?"
Suddenly she was jolted awake and realized that she had only one hour before the exam started! God was truly really gracious to her.
We learned something from Amanda's sharing....God does hear our prayers for our children especially the prayers we pray everyday for them to do well in their studies!
Gold Coast, Australia...here we come...!
More news to share later....
Working in England
Our eldest daughter has started working in England....read her stories....fascinating...
"Working with Rolls Royce is very eye opening. Everyone is very competent. Nobody is a slacker. And Rolls Royce is very short handed at the moment.
I've been placed in the Customer Business Team-Serve and Support of the Commercial Division. The Rolls Royce site is incredibly large, and the Civil Airlines department has a large building all to itself.l I travel to work for free by walking to the railway station and taking the Rolls Royce shuttle bus.
What my team does is, it liaises with the smaller airlines, from offer, to negotiations, to signing of the contract. Then it manages the accounts, trying to minimise risk throughout the way. In the three days I've been working, I've sat in on two 3 hour conference calls negotiating contracts for Xia Men Airlines (China) and Transaero (Russian). I've been able to witness the negotiation process first hand.
I've also sat in on numerous meetings of all kinds, ranging from meetings about internal organisation, to meetings about kickstarting campaigns to win tenders from an airline in Nepal.
My line manager is a woman named Jo and she's been bringing me around with her. She's quite an expert at this negotiation thing. She also travels a lot because negotiation requires face to face time.
My colleagues are all very hardworking people. Did you know that in the three days I've been there, I've never had a proper lunch break? I've been just too busy so often, I've been forced to just grabbed a sandwich and eat at my desk while working. Jo never has a lunch break either. And neither do my colleagues.
I start work at 8 am, as do many of my colleagues. If I come in early, I can leave at 4:30.
Anyway, they are all so busy, they really need more people but I guess it's a cost question. Rolls Royce's order book stands at GBP 1.8 billion I think, and the business is set to double in the next decade. This is based on the actual orders already in the order book, not speculation.
I've been assigned quite a heavy task seeing as I've just begun. I have to do this thing called a Commercial Order Instruction which requires me to read a contract (super thick contract) and extract the deviations from the precedent. The contract is a Product Agreement with Cebu Airlines which Jo concluded a few days ago. It's normally Jo's job but she gave it to me. So interns here don't just do office boy work.
I've visited the Repair and Overhaul centre and seen lots of engines. And was given a tour of the Heritage Centre which is like a museum with all the engines RR ever made. They are particularly proud of their Merlin which was the engine of the P-51 Mustang, a superb fighter plane during WWII.
RR has tons of employees so Derby is like RR town. I think it really feeds the economy.
The main competition right now is General Electric.
As for my office, it's open plan. Even the VPs and Senior VPS sit in the cubicles in this open plan office. It's designed to be accessible. The Sr VP gave the whole office a pep talk yesterday and he did it in a very humble way. Can see why he's a Sr VP.
Anyway, at my job, I'm not bound to my desk. Always running around for meetings and conference calls so it's not boring. Only feel like sleeping in the meetings which I don't understand"
I've been placed in the Customer Business Team-Serve and Support of the Commercial Division. The Rolls Royce site is incredibly large, and the Civil Airlines department has a large building all to itself.l I travel to work for free by walking to the railway station and taking the Rolls Royce shuttle bus.
What my team does is, it liaises with the smaller airlines, from offer, to negotiations, to signing of the contract. Then it manages the accounts, trying to minimise risk throughout the way. In the three days I've been working, I've sat in on two 3 hour conference calls negotiating contracts for Xia Men Airlines (China) and Transaero (Russian). I've been able to witness the negotiation process first hand.
I've also sat in on numerous meetings of all kinds, ranging from meetings about internal organisation, to meetings about kickstarting campaigns to win tenders from an airline in Nepal.
My line manager is a woman named Jo and she's been bringing me around with her. She's quite an expert at this negotiation thing. She also travels a lot because negotiation requires face to face time.
My colleagues are all very hardworking people. Did you know that in the three days I've been there, I've never had a proper lunch break? I've been just too busy so often, I've been forced to just grabbed a sandwich and eat at my desk while working. Jo never has a lunch break either. And neither do my colleagues.
I start work at 8 am, as do many of my colleagues. If I come in early, I can leave at 4:30.
Anyway, they are all so busy, they really need more people but I guess it's a cost question. Rolls Royce's order book stands at GBP 1.8 billion I think, and the business is set to double in the next decade. This is based on the actual orders already in the order book, not speculation.
I've been assigned quite a heavy task seeing as I've just begun. I have to do this thing called a Commercial Order Instruction which requires me to read a contract (super thick contract) and extract the deviations from the precedent. The contract is a Product Agreement with Cebu Airlines which Jo concluded a few days ago. It's normally Jo's job but she gave it to me. So interns here don't just do office boy work.
I've visited the Repair and Overhaul centre and seen lots of engines. And was given a tour of the Heritage Centre which is like a museum with all the engines RR ever made. They are particularly proud of their Merlin which was the engine of the P-51 Mustang, a superb fighter plane during WWII.
RR has tons of employees so Derby is like RR town. I think it really feeds the economy.
The main competition right now is General Electric.
As for my office, it's open plan. Even the VPs and Senior VPS sit in the cubicles in this open plan office. It's designed to be accessible. The Sr VP gave the whole office a pep talk yesterday and he did it in a very humble way. Can see why he's a Sr VP.
Anyway, at my job, I'm not bound to my desk. Always running around for meetings and conference calls so it's not boring. Only feel like sleeping in the meetings which I don't understand"
Monday, April 16, 2012
Travel tales in Central Europe - Part 3
Day 2 & 3 in Europe....
Day 2 (31/03)
Get up early to go to Berlin Zoo, Biggest Zoo in Europe. Again, were the only ones there. Ghost zoo. Weather very bad, raining and very cold. We were struggling to get around with put umbrella contantly being blown up. Only us and an old man in the zoo. Even the rhinocerous and alpacas were taking shelter from the rain. Not us.
Got to see some amazing hippopotamaus swimming in the water. One made a loud noise that shook the whole place. Very cool.
Spent some time following signs that pointed to the eis bar (polar bear). Could not find the eis bar. Saw many birds instead. All cool.
Finally found polar bears. Three of them. They were all quite funny. Swimming around and scratching themselves on rocks. Saw more cool animas including a boss like gorilla and smiley orangutan. Left zoo at 12 pm.
Visited the Brandenburg Gate. Very nice Place. Here I attach a picture of Brandenburg Gate.
Found our way to the Holocaust Denkmal (Memorial). Memorial made up of concrete blocks on undulating land. Very tempting for the graffiti vandals I imagine. That's why there's a security guard there I think. Pic of me at memorial.
Entered the visitors'c centre. Paid 2 euro to listen extremely informative automated guide. Spent two hours there. Very good Holocaust museum. Came up and it snowed while we were underground (the centre is located below the memorial). Sky very clear and very nice. Pic of me near Brandenburg Gate. You can see how clear the sky is, reflected in the water puddles some more. No need umbrella already.
Go back to hotel. Exhausted. Nap. Woke up at 8. Visited the East Side Gallery in the dark. Longest remaining stretch of Berlin wall. Interesting wall that was built to keep east Berlin from getting into West Berlin. Very cold and mechanic place if not for the bright and nice graffiti that adorns it. Picture of the wall. David posing because I was the one taking pictures. Take the U-Bahn to next station. Locate amazing burger stall recommended on Lonely Planet. David ecstatic because he is a food lover. I had been talking about Burgermeister all this while but he never knew how good it really was. Burger stall situated in old public toilet. But so busy until you need to take a number to wait your turn (like at Malaysian Immigration). Burgers super good and affordable! Pic of David at the burger stall.
Walked along many graffiti stained buildings. That area very dark and dodgy at night. Slept late even though had to wake up a 4.45 am to catch train to Heidelberg. Pic of hotel before we left. It was a really really cool hotel.
Day 3- 01/04
Got up at 4.45 am to catch the train to Heidelberg. Train departed at 5:56 am on the dot from The Hauptbahnhof. Said good bye to Berlin. I really liked the Hbf, was the most memorable site in Berlin for me. Train very nice. Big, luxurious and very comfy. Even had pillows for our heads. This was the high speed Intercontinental Europe train famed for being expensive and new.
Reach Heidelberg at noon. David extremely tired because Berlin was like a marathon. Weather bad, running around, fighting the elements with only a small flimsy umbrella. Worn down, Heidelberg rejuvenated us with its slow pace and better weather. Got into the castle because it was free entrance day. So lucky! Pic of heidelberg although I'm sure you've seen it. Pic of me in the castle.
Stroll around city, eat. return and napped. Had late dinner at Next door Mcd's.
Continue next post....more exciting stories....
Day 2 (31/03)
Get up early to go to Berlin Zoo, Biggest Zoo in Europe. Again, were the only ones there. Ghost zoo. Weather very bad, raining and very cold. We were struggling to get around with put umbrella contantly being blown up. Only us and an old man in the zoo. Even the rhinocerous and alpacas were taking shelter from the rain. Not us.
Got to see some amazing hippopotamaus swimming in the water. One made a loud noise that shook the whole place. Very cool.
Spent some time following signs that pointed to the eis bar (polar bear). Could not find the eis bar. Saw many birds instead. All cool.
Finally found polar bears. Three of them. They were all quite funny. Swimming around and scratching themselves on rocks. Saw more cool animas including a boss like gorilla and smiley orangutan. Left zoo at 12 pm.
Visited the Brandenburg Gate. Very nice Place. Here I attach a picture of Brandenburg Gate.
Found our way to the Holocaust Denkmal (Memorial). Memorial made up of concrete blocks on undulating land. Very tempting for the graffiti vandals I imagine. That's why there's a security guard there I think. Pic of me at memorial.
Entered the visitors'c centre. Paid 2 euro to listen extremely informative automated guide. Spent two hours there. Very good Holocaust museum. Came up and it snowed while we were underground (the centre is located below the memorial). Sky very clear and very nice. Pic of me near Brandenburg Gate. You can see how clear the sky is, reflected in the water puddles some more. No need umbrella already.
Go back to hotel. Exhausted. Nap. Woke up at 8. Visited the East Side Gallery in the dark. Longest remaining stretch of Berlin wall. Interesting wall that was built to keep east Berlin from getting into West Berlin. Very cold and mechanic place if not for the bright and nice graffiti that adorns it. Picture of the wall. David posing because I was the one taking pictures. Take the U-Bahn to next station. Locate amazing burger stall recommended on Lonely Planet. David ecstatic because he is a food lover. I had been talking about Burgermeister all this while but he never knew how good it really was. Burger stall situated in old public toilet. But so busy until you need to take a number to wait your turn (like at Malaysian Immigration). Burgers super good and affordable! Pic of David at the burger stall.
Walked along many graffiti stained buildings. That area very dark and dodgy at night. Slept late even though had to wake up a 4.45 am to catch train to Heidelberg. Pic of hotel before we left. It was a really really cool hotel.
Day 3- 01/04
Got up at 4.45 am to catch the train to Heidelberg. Train departed at 5:56 am on the dot from The Hauptbahnhof. Said good bye to Berlin. I really liked the Hbf, was the most memorable site in Berlin for me. Train very nice. Big, luxurious and very comfy. Even had pillows for our heads. This was the high speed Intercontinental Europe train famed for being expensive and new.
Reach Heidelberg at noon. David extremely tired because Berlin was like a marathon. Weather bad, running around, fighting the elements with only a small flimsy umbrella. Worn down, Heidelberg rejuvenated us with its slow pace and better weather. Got into the castle because it was free entrance day. So lucky! Pic of heidelberg although I'm sure you've seen it. Pic of me in the castle.
Stroll around city, eat. return and napped. Had late dinner at Next door Mcd's.
Continue next post....more exciting stories....
Travel tales in Eastern Europe - Part 2
More stories coming up...
Day 1 (30/3)
David and I arrived at Berlin at 9 AM. Picked up large back pack and headed for Berlin City Centre on the S-Bahn. Bought a welcome card that allows us to travel anywhere in the city for 48 hours. Used my English-German Dictionary and map of the S-Bahn from Lonely Plane to get around.
Reached our Michelberger hotel in Warschauer Strasse. Hotel is very nice, edgy and trendy. Embodies Berlin's subculture. For the rest of the Berlin trip we were on the edges of East Berlin, former communist colony and site of much graffiti. Also very dark and dodgy at night but has some really good food.
Visit Bundestag at 11 AM. Get to go in because I pre booked an appointment to visit the glass dome. Needed to bring passports to prove that we're not terrorists.
Finish Bundestag tour. It was very informative. Free Audio Guides. Head to Karlshorst German-Russian Museum because David wanted to look at some WWII tanks.
Had tom yam soup and salmon teriyaki for lunch at the Hauptbahnhof (My favourite place in Berlin).
Reach Karlshorst, had a look around the museum. We were the only ones there. Ghost museum. David a bit disappointed at the military transport on exhibition. Incidentally, stupid me forgot to bring camera for Bundestag visit so there are no Bundestag Pictures. Picture of David spread eagle on the museum floor as proof that we were the only ones there. I suggested that he act like a corpse while I took the picture from the second floor. Success! Nobody around so we could take all the silly pictures we liked. Also here is a pic of me and a tank. This tank was on the Museum's wiki page so David was very excited to pose with it.
After Karlshorst, were super tired. Went back to hotel. Ate at Russian restaurant recommended by hotel. Did not like Russian food. Slept Early.
More coming up....
Day 1 (30/3)
David and I arrived at Berlin at 9 AM. Picked up large back pack and headed for Berlin City Centre on the S-Bahn. Bought a welcome card that allows us to travel anywhere in the city for 48 hours. Used my English-German Dictionary and map of the S-Bahn from Lonely Plane to get around.
Reached our Michelberger hotel in Warschauer Strasse. Hotel is very nice, edgy and trendy. Embodies Berlin's subculture. For the rest of the Berlin trip we were on the edges of East Berlin, former communist colony and site of much graffiti. Also very dark and dodgy at night but has some really good food.
Visit Bundestag at 11 AM. Get to go in because I pre booked an appointment to visit the glass dome. Needed to bring passports to prove that we're not terrorists.
Finish Bundestag tour. It was very informative. Free Audio Guides. Head to Karlshorst German-Russian Museum because David wanted to look at some WWII tanks.
Had tom yam soup and salmon teriyaki for lunch at the Hauptbahnhof (My favourite place in Berlin).
Reach Karlshorst, had a look around the museum. We were the only ones there. Ghost museum. David a bit disappointed at the military transport on exhibition. Incidentally, stupid me forgot to bring camera for Bundestag visit so there are no Bundestag Pictures. Picture of David spread eagle on the museum floor as proof that we were the only ones there. I suggested that he act like a corpse while I took the picture from the second floor. Success! Nobody around so we could take all the silly pictures we liked. Also here is a pic of me and a tank. This tank was on the Museum's wiki page so David was very excited to pose with it.
After Karlshorst, were super tired. Went back to hotel. Ate at Russian restaurant recommended by hotel. Did not like Russian food. Slept Early.
More coming up....
Travel tales in Eastern Europe - Part 1
Read Adeline's stories of her recent trip to Europe some parts of which brought tears to my eyes....
Hi Mom, Dad, Wei Wei and Ai Ai,
I'm back from my extremely long and drawn out trip of Europe. It was
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!
I really enjoyed this trip. More so than Italy, mainly because I planned it, and also because we didn't do a tour package so we could do what we wanted.
I really love Europe! There's just so much to like about it!!
Mainly, I love Germany and Austria and Poland! I also visited the Cz Rep (Prague) but didn't like it that much (although Prague is a beautiful city).
Yes, Poland. Did you know I went there? I don't think its a highly visited country and I've never seen it advertised as a tourist destination before but I am so glad I went there. I went to Krakow, mainly to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau but ended up enjoying Krakow city itself so much. Things there were so cheap when converting from Zloty (Polish Currency) to pound. After our first meal, David and I stopped looking at prices on the menu and just ordered as we liked. We ate like kings and dined at classy, fine dining places every night. I even left a tip of more than 10% of my bill on our last night because I was so happy with the food and service and also because I could afford to!
To exemplify how cheap everything was for us, Coca cola cost us 50 p. In Vienna, Coke cost us 2 euros. Big Difference right? So every night we ate fresh seafood at this classy French-Polish restaurant. The dishes ranged from 28 zloty to over 40 zloty but to us, when converted, the meals never exceeded 20 pounds. That's a big big deal for us. And we could just spend money like water because we knew everything was so cheap! However, we held back on certain things that we felt were too over priced and unreasonable.
Anyway, enough about Poland. I'm getting ahead. My tour started in Berlin, Germany. David and I landed at Schonefeld Airport on 30/3, at 9 AM. We then took the S-Bahn to our Hotel which was located near the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin wall. Saw lots of graffitti on the way. Was not impressed by the weather. But you know what we were very impressed by?
German Engineering.
Yes, the S-bahn is so awesome! Its convenient and takes you to all the main places in the city. The trains come on time, On The Dot. The train stations are big, spacious and so organised. I was really amazed at how efficient Germany was. I really liked the main train station, the Hauptbahnhof. Best train station I have ever seen. It is HUGE and has lots of shops and restaurants. German children are very well behaved and German parents seem to take very good care of them (unlike UK families: single parenting, benefit scroungers etc). Anyway, I was very impressed by the efficiency and organisation of the Germans. However, I would later see this level of German organisation and efficiency again... but in a very different context. I saw it again in Auschwitz and Birkenau. Did you ever wonder how one single government killed more than 1.5 million Jews in a few years?
Auschwitz (in Poland) stayed with me for hours and will maybe stay on for days, after I took the tour. In my quiet moments, or just before falling asleep, the bunkers in the concentration camp, Birkenau would flash before my eyes. I would repeat every exhibit I saw, every picture of every person that I looked at. I can still remember the smell of the bunker, and I can still feel the atmosphere. Auschwitz really left a very deep impact on me. I kept imagining what it must have been like for them. I was really haunted. Still am.
Yet, it was the best tour I have ever taken and it was the best for David too. If you ever want to travel not just for leisure, but to learn, you should go to Auschwitz. I cannot imagine the depths of men's hearts to the point that man was capable of creating such a place and such a system for other men to live and die in. Our tour guide ended the tour so aptly with these words: ..now you can see..how one man... created a living hell for another man to live in. It was a really really tragic tour. Nobody clapped when the tour ended. We were all just too shocked. I gasped out loud a few times during the tour because I was just too taken aback by what I saw, smelled and felt. It happened over 50 years ago but the camp remains, just as if it happened recently. Also, in all our pictures of Auschwitz and Birkenau, neither me and David can be found smiling. It just wasn't appropriate. The tour guide even scolded the parent of a kid who was throwing stones on the camp grounds because it was disrespectful.
Back to the question. How did a group of men exterminate over 1.5 million Jews in just a few years? Birkenau is a testament to that. When I first saw the camp, the first thing that struck me was how organised it was. The bunkers were neatly spaced, everything was neatly organised. To be honest, the camp, reminded me, of Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Disturbing right?
They thought of everything. Hitler and his men devised the concentration camps in their conference: The Final Solution to the Jewish question. They chose Auschwitz as the final destination for many of the Jews in Europe. Jews were brought from as far as Oslo in Norway and Thesaloniki in Greece. The Jews in Greece even had to pay for transport to Auschwitz. As you know, Jewish discrimination had been going on for a while. In some places, Jews were already moving and living in ghettos, not allowed to mingle with the general population. So here was what they did:
1. First, they took over Auschwitz which was a former soldiers' bunker. They expelled all the villagers living within 40 km of Auschwitz. They didn't want anyone to know what they had planned.
2. Auschwitz was first used as a prison for Polish political prisoners. Later on, the first Jews started arriving in overcrowded trucks. Many died on the trip there.
3. Auschwitz was not big enough. So they built Birkenau, a camp a few km away. This was where their organisation and efficiency shone.
4. The Jews were told that they were being transported to a country in Eastern Europe to start a new life. They did not want to cause panic. They also told them that they could only bring a limited amount of luggage. So the transportees only brought their most valuable items.
5. The Jews are then loaded onto cramped trucks to make the very long journey to Auschwitz. Many die from suffocation and exhaustion during this trip, especially the elderly and the young.
6. At the camp, the Jews are separated. The army doctor examines them. Those deemed fit to work are given uniforms and led to one area. THose deemed unfit (elderly, children, pregnant women, sickly looking people) well....
7. They are told that they will be going for a shower... to clean them up.
8. They are led along a stretch of road in Birkenau.. to these 'showers'. (We walked along this same stretch). As you know, the showers are not real showers. These are the gas chambers which helped the Nazis exterminate over 1 million of the 1.5 million that they killed.
9. In the gas chambers, the people are told to strip. There are signs on the wall saying 'This way to the showers'. There are hooks for you to hang your clothes up. For all purposes, the place really looks like a public shower. The Nazis did not want to cause panic.
10. The Jews are cramped into a room. There are shower heads on the wall. But these do not work. Instead there is a hole in the ceiling. From here, the Nazi soldiers will pour the poison Cyklon B. This poison will cause death by internal suffocation... within 15 minutes. The Nazis lock the shower doors. The Jews still think they are going to have a shower.
11. They lock the doors, they pour the poison. Jews die by the hundreds. There is massive vomitting and bleeding as the poison takes effect.
12. After the gas subsides, the doors are opened. Jewish prisoners are forced to search the bodies for gold teeth. They cut the hair from the bodies. This human hair will be used to make yarn and wool for the Nazi soldiers' garments. ( I saw the human hair exhibit. They preserved it. It made me feel so sick). The belongings of the dead are taken to Germany to fund the German army. The Auschwitz was not only useful in getting rid of the 'enemy', it was also very profitable. The German army made over 80 million marks from the camps. l
13. These Jewish prisoners are then shot. The Nazis did not want any eye witnesses of their crimes.
Okay. This is the end of Part 1. I can go on but have to take a break as it is too... sad. I was there on the camp grounds. I walked inside the gas chambers. I saw the crematorium which was used to cremate the bodies. Nobody knew what the Nazis were up to. The Allies only found out about the scale of this evil after they defeated the Axis. The soldiers who liberated the prisoners say that they will never forget what they saw.
I can tell you that the bunkers which housed the prisoners affected me the most. The smell was terrible but I am sure that the camp prisoners had much much more terrible smells and living conditions to deal with. Those who did not die in the gas chambers died because of appaling living conditions, starvation, overly long roll call, execution, beatings etc.... The bunkers. I could go on and on. I can understand why survivors develop so many phobias and fears. They will never forget, definitely. Most who arrived in the camps died within a few months of being there. Even young, able bodied people.
Okay, have to end here.
Actually, I also visited many nice and beautiful places during my trip. I saw the Alps for the first time. They were beautiful and so majestic. I had a great time in Berlin. I had an even better time in Munich. I loved Vienna. David and I did not really visit the landmarks. We went cafe hopping instead. Viennese cafes are a cultural institution and I guess we really simmered into Viennese lifestyle. The cafes are amazing. The waiters are all dressed in tuxes, no matter how shabby the decor is, and the food is really good. The pastries are amazing. I had Sacher Torte from the historical and famous Sacher Hotel twice. I watched a concert performed by a quartet of 3 violins and 1 cello. It was amazing. I really liked Vienna. Then I went to Prague. It was meh. People were rude, didn't speak English and for some reason, Prague had so many tourists even though it was only early spring. Nice city though, very fairy tale like. The Cz Rep's landscape reminded me of all the storybooks I'd read before. The drawings seem to come straight out of the landscape. Heidelberg was nice but it paled in comparison with the other cities. I went to Neuschwanstein and had a really good tour guide who made us laugh. Castle was very nice from outside but inside was like.. what, that's all? That's because Ludwig II didn't have time to complete it.
I visited two zoos, and one Parliament (German Parliament, the Bundestag). I watched one German opera in Vienna (Der Fledermaus by Johann Strauss). I heard Mozart, Dvorak and Strauss played live in front of me. I really enjoyed it. I visited three castles. Heidelberg castle, Neuschwanstein and Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. I ate all kinds of things. Travelled on all kinds of trains. I really liked the experience I had. My favourite train was the newest Intercontinental Europe train. It was super fast and super comfortable.
okay. got to go now. Will write more later.
Love,
Adeline.
Hi Mom, Dad, Wei Wei and Ai Ai,
I'm back from my extremely long and drawn out trip of Europe. It was
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!
I really enjoyed this trip. More so than Italy, mainly because I planned it, and also because we didn't do a tour package so we could do what we wanted.
I really love Europe! There's just so much to like about it!!
Mainly, I love Germany and Austria and Poland! I also visited the Cz Rep (Prague) but didn't like it that much (although Prague is a beautiful city).
Yes, Poland. Did you know I went there? I don't think its a highly visited country and I've never seen it advertised as a tourist destination before but I am so glad I went there. I went to Krakow, mainly to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau but ended up enjoying Krakow city itself so much. Things there were so cheap when converting from Zloty (Polish Currency) to pound. After our first meal, David and I stopped looking at prices on the menu and just ordered as we liked. We ate like kings and dined at classy, fine dining places every night. I even left a tip of more than 10% of my bill on our last night because I was so happy with the food and service and also because I could afford to!
To exemplify how cheap everything was for us, Coca cola cost us 50 p. In Vienna, Coke cost us 2 euros. Big Difference right? So every night we ate fresh seafood at this classy French-Polish restaurant. The dishes ranged from 28 zloty to over 40 zloty but to us, when converted, the meals never exceeded 20 pounds. That's a big big deal for us. And we could just spend money like water because we knew everything was so cheap! However, we held back on certain things that we felt were too over priced and unreasonable.
Anyway, enough about Poland. I'm getting ahead. My tour started in Berlin, Germany. David and I landed at Schonefeld Airport on 30/3, at 9 AM. We then took the S-Bahn to our Hotel which was located near the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin wall. Saw lots of graffitti on the way. Was not impressed by the weather. But you know what we were very impressed by?
German Engineering.
Yes, the S-bahn is so awesome! Its convenient and takes you to all the main places in the city. The trains come on time, On The Dot. The train stations are big, spacious and so organised. I was really amazed at how efficient Germany was. I really liked the main train station, the Hauptbahnhof. Best train station I have ever seen. It is HUGE and has lots of shops and restaurants. German children are very well behaved and German parents seem to take very good care of them (unlike UK families: single parenting, benefit scroungers etc). Anyway, I was very impressed by the efficiency and organisation of the Germans. However, I would later see this level of German organisation and efficiency again... but in a very different context. I saw it again in Auschwitz and Birkenau. Did you ever wonder how one single government killed more than 1.5 million Jews in a few years?
Auschwitz (in Poland) stayed with me for hours and will maybe stay on for days, after I took the tour. In my quiet moments, or just before falling asleep, the bunkers in the concentration camp, Birkenau would flash before my eyes. I would repeat every exhibit I saw, every picture of every person that I looked at. I can still remember the smell of the bunker, and I can still feel the atmosphere. Auschwitz really left a very deep impact on me. I kept imagining what it must have been like for them. I was really haunted. Still am.
Yet, it was the best tour I have ever taken and it was the best for David too. If you ever want to travel not just for leisure, but to learn, you should go to Auschwitz. I cannot imagine the depths of men's hearts to the point that man was capable of creating such a place and such a system for other men to live and die in. Our tour guide ended the tour so aptly with these words: ..now you can see..how one man... created a living hell for another man to live in. It was a really really tragic tour. Nobody clapped when the tour ended. We were all just too shocked. I gasped out loud a few times during the tour because I was just too taken aback by what I saw, smelled and felt. It happened over 50 years ago but the camp remains, just as if it happened recently. Also, in all our pictures of Auschwitz and Birkenau, neither me and David can be found smiling. It just wasn't appropriate. The tour guide even scolded the parent of a kid who was throwing stones on the camp grounds because it was disrespectful.
Back to the question. How did a group of men exterminate over 1.5 million Jews in just a few years? Birkenau is a testament to that. When I first saw the camp, the first thing that struck me was how organised it was. The bunkers were neatly spaced, everything was neatly organised. To be honest, the camp, reminded me, of Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Disturbing right?
They thought of everything. Hitler and his men devised the concentration camps in their conference: The Final Solution to the Jewish question. They chose Auschwitz as the final destination for many of the Jews in Europe. Jews were brought from as far as Oslo in Norway and Thesaloniki in Greece. The Jews in Greece even had to pay for transport to Auschwitz. As you know, Jewish discrimination had been going on for a while. In some places, Jews were already moving and living in ghettos, not allowed to mingle with the general population. So here was what they did:
1. First, they took over Auschwitz which was a former soldiers' bunker. They expelled all the villagers living within 40 km of Auschwitz. They didn't want anyone to know what they had planned.
2. Auschwitz was first used as a prison for Polish political prisoners. Later on, the first Jews started arriving in overcrowded trucks. Many died on the trip there.
3. Auschwitz was not big enough. So they built Birkenau, a camp a few km away. This was where their organisation and efficiency shone.
4. The Jews were told that they were being transported to a country in Eastern Europe to start a new life. They did not want to cause panic. They also told them that they could only bring a limited amount of luggage. So the transportees only brought their most valuable items.
5. The Jews are then loaded onto cramped trucks to make the very long journey to Auschwitz. Many die from suffocation and exhaustion during this trip, especially the elderly and the young.
6. At the camp, the Jews are separated. The army doctor examines them. Those deemed fit to work are given uniforms and led to one area. THose deemed unfit (elderly, children, pregnant women, sickly looking people) well....
7. They are told that they will be going for a shower... to clean them up.
8. They are led along a stretch of road in Birkenau.. to these 'showers'. (We walked along this same stretch). As you know, the showers are not real showers. These are the gas chambers which helped the Nazis exterminate over 1 million of the 1.5 million that they killed.
9. In the gas chambers, the people are told to strip. There are signs on the wall saying 'This way to the showers'. There are hooks for you to hang your clothes up. For all purposes, the place really looks like a public shower. The Nazis did not want to cause panic.
10. The Jews are cramped into a room. There are shower heads on the wall. But these do not work. Instead there is a hole in the ceiling. From here, the Nazi soldiers will pour the poison Cyklon B. This poison will cause death by internal suffocation... within 15 minutes. The Nazis lock the shower doors. The Jews still think they are going to have a shower.
11. They lock the doors, they pour the poison. Jews die by the hundreds. There is massive vomitting and bleeding as the poison takes effect.
12. After the gas subsides, the doors are opened. Jewish prisoners are forced to search the bodies for gold teeth. They cut the hair from the bodies. This human hair will be used to make yarn and wool for the Nazi soldiers' garments. ( I saw the human hair exhibit. They preserved it. It made me feel so sick). The belongings of the dead are taken to Germany to fund the German army. The Auschwitz was not only useful in getting rid of the 'enemy', it was also very profitable. The German army made over 80 million marks from the camps. l
13. These Jewish prisoners are then shot. The Nazis did not want any eye witnesses of their crimes.
Okay. This is the end of Part 1. I can go on but have to take a break as it is too... sad. I was there on the camp grounds. I walked inside the gas chambers. I saw the crematorium which was used to cremate the bodies. Nobody knew what the Nazis were up to. The Allies only found out about the scale of this evil after they defeated the Axis. The soldiers who liberated the prisoners say that they will never forget what they saw.
I can tell you that the bunkers which housed the prisoners affected me the most. The smell was terrible but I am sure that the camp prisoners had much much more terrible smells and living conditions to deal with. Those who did not die in the gas chambers died because of appaling living conditions, starvation, overly long roll call, execution, beatings etc.... The bunkers. I could go on and on. I can understand why survivors develop so many phobias and fears. They will never forget, definitely. Most who arrived in the camps died within a few months of being there. Even young, able bodied people.
Okay, have to end here.
Actually, I also visited many nice and beautiful places during my trip. I saw the Alps for the first time. They were beautiful and so majestic. I had a great time in Berlin. I had an even better time in Munich. I loved Vienna. David and I did not really visit the landmarks. We went cafe hopping instead. Viennese cafes are a cultural institution and I guess we really simmered into Viennese lifestyle. The cafes are amazing. The waiters are all dressed in tuxes, no matter how shabby the decor is, and the food is really good. The pastries are amazing. I had Sacher Torte from the historical and famous Sacher Hotel twice. I watched a concert performed by a quartet of 3 violins and 1 cello. It was amazing. I really liked Vienna. Then I went to Prague. It was meh. People were rude, didn't speak English and for some reason, Prague had so many tourists even though it was only early spring. Nice city though, very fairy tale like. The Cz Rep's landscape reminded me of all the storybooks I'd read before. The drawings seem to come straight out of the landscape. Heidelberg was nice but it paled in comparison with the other cities. I went to Neuschwanstein and had a really good tour guide who made us laugh. Castle was very nice from outside but inside was like.. what, that's all? That's because Ludwig II didn't have time to complete it.
I visited two zoos, and one Parliament (German Parliament, the Bundestag). I watched one German opera in Vienna (Der Fledermaus by Johann Strauss). I heard Mozart, Dvorak and Strauss played live in front of me. I really enjoyed it. I visited three castles. Heidelberg castle, Neuschwanstein and Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. I ate all kinds of things. Travelled on all kinds of trains. I really liked the experience I had. My favourite train was the newest Intercontinental Europe train. It was super fast and super comfortable.
okay. got to go now. Will write more later.
Love,
Adeline.
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