Looking back on my third summer here in Germany I’ve
realized it’s been a summer of firsts for me. It’s the first summer I didn’t
have to go to the immigration office as my visa is good for another year
(woohoo!). I passed my theoretical road test on the first try (double woohoo!).
And I just got back from my first typical German holiday.
So about the theoretical exam; I know I’ve written
several posts about it describing how nervous I was and how difficult the
content would be. Truth be told, the software I was using to prepare (http://www.my-fuehrerschein.de) turned out to be perfect. Admittedly, I had to put in a fair bit of work. I started with it
last year but then cooled off after a few months. I then resumed back in
April and worked pretty consistently for a few hours several times a week up until September. In
the days after my California trip I was studying at least four hours a day
leading up to the exam. I must say, it paid off.
I was nervous going into the
exam-I knew the test would be on the computer, but I had no idea what the
layout would be, if the questions would be variations of the ones I so
diligently committed to memory, or even if maybe there would be topics I hadn’t
discovered yet. But seriously, any expats in Germany looking to get their
license transcribed who need to take the theoretical exam (in their own
language), without going to driving school, I would sincerely recommend that
website because the actual exam was no joke exactly like the software. I sat
down and blasted through the 30 questions in 15 minutes. I started to go back
and check my answers, but like any multiple choice test I've taken, and having graded enough of them myself, I decided your first choice tends to be the
safest. So I submitted my work and moments later saw on the screen that I had
passed.Though it’s an occasion to be proud of, I am not 100% road legal yet. I
am now allowed to drive on German roads, which means I have scheduled my first
behind the wheel lesson. I still need to pass a practical (driving) exam, and
in theory could do that whenever, but figured it’d be best to get a few lessons
in first to get an idea of what the examiner will be looking for.
So on to my other first, a typical German holiday in
Mallorca. For those unfamiliar, Mallorca lies in the Mediterranean Sea and is
part of the Balearic Islands (including Menorca, Cabrera, Ibiza, among others).
Mallorca has developed into a
prototype of mass tourism with all the comforts and attractions expected by
tourists. It welcomes millions of visitors per year (nearly 10 million in
2006), 80% of whom come from foreign countries. From the graph you can see that
the largest group of foreign tourists is German with the British coming in
second.
So to put it in a nutshell, tourists abound! That
doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. We stayed in Sa Coma, a town on the eastern coast of the island in the municipality of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar. The weather was warm and sunny, the beach
was minutes away, and I had with me a guide who had visited the island plenty of times and thus knew where to go and what to see. I must admit, the bulk of the
six days we spent were either on the beach or by the pool. I went through
2 books, numerous podcasts and a bottle of sun screen.
Of the millions of visitors who flock to Mallorca
annually, more than half of them are “package tourists,” which means that their
flight, transportation to and from airport and hotel costs (usually including
food) are all together. This has advantages and disadvantages, particularly for
the local economies as the money spent at a hotel chain doesn’t necessarily get
pumped back into the local economy directly. If you book an “all inclusive”
package, then you pay extra, but drink for free at the hotel. To those looking
to enjoy a sun and alcohol soaked vacation, this seems like an obvious choice.
However, it also means you’d probably spend most of your time at the hotel
choosing from the shrunken drink menu of the all-inclusive package. I found it
better to walk around and find local joints where to enjoy a few drinks. On one
such stroll we went to a restaurant my guide had frequented in his youth. The
food was outstanding and the service was just as good. The server, a friendly
older Spaniard, asks where I’m from, I say, “California.” He then proceeded to
drop a little knowledge on me. For the Californian readers, you may recall as
an elementary school student learning about Father JunÃpero Serra and all the missions he founded (I’ll avoid describing
treatment of the locals in said missions for now). Well, would you care to
venture a guess as to where he is from? If you said Mallorca, then you’re
correct!
Anyway, it was a truly
relaxing vacation. I enjoyed plenty of sunshine and will now proceed to cover
up the tan I acquired with layers and scarves as all of a sudden it’s fall in
Germany! The new semester is upon me and I have plenty of work to get done. I’ll
conclude with a few highlights of the trip. Hope everyone had as nice a summer as I did!
