Bonn facts...HARIBO!

Mini tarts
- Aku rasa kan...kawan kawan saya di opis ada menjenguk aku punya blog, kerana satu kawan ternampak gambar aku yang ada budak perancis yang memang kawannya jugak! Alahh...macam ni tak boleh la nak "meng-anjing betinakan" orang orang ni! Atau nak cakap siapa cun ke tak cun...tak best la! Macam ni kena berbahasa sikit, atau nak hokkien pun boleh. An chua...anikuan tiu am kong liao lor!

- Eric is arriving today...before that i excited him by telling he will see one of the best looking trainees in Bonn...ME! (hahahahah!!!) He wont be dissapointed...



Remember the chewy gelatine that never actually dissolves in your mouth, which is shaped like a bear and basically, you need to swallow it cuz the darn thing couldnt freakin melt or break down! Yup...obviously through my first line you would know i have no particular liking for it! That damn sweet is called Haribo...rings a bell?

Thats the gelatine rubber alright...siap with a rather bogel (nude) bear, no thanks to the red bow tie!

So last Saturday, part of Liv´s agenda was to visit the Haribo factory cum store. I was like..."you must be kidding"? All the way from Paris...and to visit a gelatine sweet shop? But Amit said that Monika said that "its was a MUST!" It was then i knew that Haribo originated from Bonn...thats the "Bo" in Haribo meant! OOOHHHHHH....goes the jakun thats me!

And off went the Asian Entourage (2 Indians, 1 Phillipina and 1 good looking Malaysian) to the Haribo store, part of me thinking "what the fark am i going there for?". But hey...its part of Bonn, and since i am Bonn...in Bonn, so i shalth not waste this 'sweet' opportunity! (sweet...geddit!?)

Upon reaching the store, i was truly amazed! I was expecting like a factory, for which we can sample some of the sweet rubber (the factory word was from Amit), so obviously the visualising person in me was picturing BIG factory, siap with conveyor belts, how the gelatine is formed etc...but not a freakin small lot the size of big McD restaurant with a playground!

Inside the store...to compensate for the dull looking building, it probably was some kids heaven or something! COLOURFUL habis...sweets, gelatines as usual, the long sugary rubber ppl suck and eat and lick...the sugar coated sweets et al! Gosh, a dentist could cringe at the sight of those enamel destroyers! Such is the franchise of these stuffs, they even got Haribo shirts, caps, towels, pants, thongs, bras...you name it! Even a freakin speed car!

Childrens heaven, Dentists nightmare!

Haribo Merchandise

If you dont like the small ones, how bout the big ones!?

Last but not least, the Haribo Car! Not for sale though!

So here is some Haribo facts...at least people learn something while blogging with the Portuguese Tart.

* HARIBO is a sweets producer, founded in 1920 in Bonn, Germany by Hans Riegel. The name is an acronym for Hans Riegel, Bonn.
The founder died during the Second World War and his son, also called Hans Riegel took over the factory on returning to Germany after the War, and expanded its operations, taking over many local sweet manufacturers in countries all over the world.
Today HARIBO is one of the biggest manufacturers of sweets, namely of fruit gums, liquorice and foam (KNN...sounds poisonous right). There are five factories in Germany and 13 throughout the rest of Europe. There are sales offices in almost every country in Europe as well as in the USA.
Haribo was one of several German companies which is alleged to have employed forced labour in its factories during World War II. Haribo disputes this, and has declined to contribute to an ex-gratia payment made by other German companies to survivors. (Diu...)
Haribo's German catch phrase is "Haribo macht kinder froh / und Erwachsene ebenso", "Haribo makes Kids happy / and adults the same" In English, to preserve the rhyme, it becomes "Kids and grown-ups love it so / the happy world of Haribo" (yeah right, more like "Kids Heaven, Dentist´s Nightmare"!)

* Portuguese Tarts facts on Haribo courtesy of Wikipedia, information at the click of a mouse!


Anyways i did buy some stuffs...but nothing of those weird liquorise or foam...instead got myself some butter cookies with chocolate coatings (was delightful!) and marshmellows (the one where i couldnt find for my farewell BBQ, but berlambak here!). Wait a minute...are marshmellows a type of 'foam'??

Me and my Haribo (the sweets near my left nipple are for deco only, not mine)

So much for a Haribo adventure...the girl from Paris but originally from Phillippines didnt buy anything! Nah beh...

Diversity...in europe

Mini Tarts
- I finally know how to count the numbers in German, thanks to jus a dictionary.
- Its a holiday this Thursday...think the whole office took Friday off as well. But am not gonna waste one of my 24 day off...(yup its TWENTY FOUR days!!)...moreover i come back to work on a Flyyyday!
- Eric is coming on Flyday from Belgium...yayy...i got myself a Chinese boyfriend to entertain for the weekend!
- A friend of mine asked me where am i now, in Msia or eating german hotdogs? My answer- With german chicks eating my hotdawg! (yeah right...!)



Last weekend, a friend of mine who has suffered the same, seemingly endless wait to finally get a traineeship / job came over to Bonn. Liv, who comes from the land of "cry-athon every single episode" tv series (which my mum absolutely adores!)...in other words Phillippines, had got a traineeship couple of months earlier than me in Paris. Of course with the constant encouragement and the "i understand how you feel, i was there before...but you ll get one soon" speeches...(which worked of course, and i am doing it now to my dear friend at home, Shooks!), its no wonder i gave her the biggest "We´re finally here" hug ever when i finally met her!

And her welcome gang consists of Amit (who also doubled up as her agenda master), lovely Mon (whom i think is the most unGerman girl ever!) and me. It was funny when during a conversation, Mon exclaimed how diverse the group was (not really sure of what she meant), but of cuz us Asians on the table looked rather puzzled. 3 Asians and one German in Bonn...how diverse can that be?!

Anyways as it was a Friday night, always without fail theres a plan. This time, i am happy the venue is right at my place, the bronx of Bonn i call it...where my fellow immigrants all live happily ever after, with or without valid permits...Tannenbusch! Unknown to me...it seems there was a bar at the basement level of my apartment, called Tabu Bar! How cool...although i couldnt locate it at all before this! Luckily, i got this even to attend, so i ll just follow the crowd! Eventually i ll get there.

The event was to commemorate the farewell of some trainees, 2 whom i hardly knew cuz they were always making out in front of me...and one cool polish guy which i wished could stay longer! I thought i connected well with him...even while he was sober! Oh well...

Bar was excellent...drinks were dirt cheap! I mean...1,50euros for a whisky cola! Beer for a buck...and best still...a glass of wine cost you 50 euro freakin cents! I saw this customer paying it myself...himself shocked at the price perhaps! But anyways i prefered my milo ais more than anything...!

Anyhow...weekend was alright, at least i had something to do. Unlike last week where i actually cried *cough cough* when i wished my mum Happy Mums Day! Of cuz she didnt noticed!

Watched DaVincis code...i always thought it would be the Catholics thats publisizing how much the show sucked, but sadly...after 9,50 euros...i came out hugely dissapointed! I guess i completed the cycle..."Oh how con the show was"! Break that code!

Worklife balance...

What is "worklife balance"?

Is it coming to office, reading through all mails and replying them (work ones of cúz)?
Or is it coming to office, going through business mails...while also having your msn online!?

Now top it up with blogs, friendster, gmail + chats...etc, and plus working...thats what I call worklife balance! Balancing your social and work life together...in one pc screen/laptop!

But this is where my company tops it up!

Last Thursday, colleagues were all abuzz about some tango dancing that would be happening after work. Well i did catch posters bout it, and yeah seems interesting. What i didnt know was its actually the company´s initiative for worklife balance. As usual i am always stuck at work till after 7...sometimes 8 (most of the time updating blogs!), this time decided to leave extra early (at 7++pm). Wasnt really sure where the event was in the tower...and i didnt wanna miss the chance of seeing Sandra doing the tango! (scenes of a blind Al Pacino doing the tango with a babe in a forgotten movie)

Wasnt that hard to find the place...as i could already hear loud music and all. Shit...must be late! So as i entered the lobby of the tower...fulamak...there was a like a stage with colorful lights, and a live band playing jazz and south american music! Man...i didnt know it was SOO FREAKIN ELABORATE!! And this was the moment where all managers, interns, cleaners (saw none though) would come together and network! It was like a lounge man...really cool! As it is...i already missed the tango dances (apparently someone wore a skirt so shirt, while dancing her panties was showing)! So of cuz me being the jakun that i am...began to cam whore! As i wasnt with my tie...and using my beg sekolah as always...wasnt surprised when a group asked me to snap a picture of them!

There was wine, champagne, beer...and light snacks! Syiiook habis sialll!! Too bad...i had to pay for them! Nah ah...no way!

But really cool...took the time to network as my predecessor was hushing me here and there to meet this manager and that manager...wasnt really prepared for small talks with managers! But all in all...another great eye opener to the working culture in Europe. Good news is...this things happen once a month, sometimes more! And the name of the event...aptly called "Evening at 6".

The live band at the specially created stage

Part of the crowd.

The person that brought me to Bonn...

Its funny how things work out. How you actually get somewhere always depend on who you meet, how big is your network, how wide open your opportunities are, how your personality is etc.

My journey from Klang circa 2001 was usually coloured with occasional trips to Johor, Langkawi and even Singapore. Upon getting a place in uni...i explored more of PJ, KL...yeah also Klang. Upon joining AIESEC, now thats where the dream to explore really took off! I began going to different universities in different states (yayy). Such was the highlight of my "travels"!

But in came 2004, and thanks to opportunities in AIESEC i got to go Taiwan (horny chicks, really good looking too), Germany (first international conference, right after Taiwan, which then brought me to Amsterdam and Brussels), Bangladesh (yawwnn) and then India (got to see one of the wonders of the world...and literally Touched / Taj Mahal). After that, i knew i want to get out of Boleh-land and do a traineeship, one which will open doors for my career.

All of my friends, in and out of AIESEC knew of that plan. But few really went all the way to make sure i do! The person that made my opportunity in Bonn possible...and was always the reason why she is the NUMBER ONE person i want to see in Bonn, happens to be Monika.

Had the chance to work for her when i was in AIESEC, although with her being the Boss of 80++ people holding the People Development portfolio, was sure she wasnt able to remember me, despite shaking hands, introductions and all back in Germany in 2004. Luckily had the chance to work with her while in Bangladesh! From there on...we became instant buddies!

Knowing my frustrations of not getting any traineeships yet, she was very keen in helping me out! At 3 mails were sent to me, all stating different jobs...but the third and last one was where i got introduced to the job opening which i am currently occupying now. The effort and time she put in...i totally owed it to her for my opportunity in Bonn.

(clarification: Its not that she passed my interview or what, but merely introduced me the job opening)

So i finally meet her...full week after arriving. Really super! And we did do some catching up...also with the 2nd most wanted to see person in Bonn, Amit. Awesome feeling after all those times thinking when else we would meet...finally right here...in Bonn.

So this is to lovely Monika...and she´s lovely too!

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Bon and Mon in Bonn...

My two most important people in Bonn

My first company event...the Family Day

Saturday, 13th May.

Now the thing bout the current season now (which is spring heading to summer) is that the sun rises as an gawd forsaken hour of 4am! And with the sun right in front of my bed...and the sensitive sleeper that i am...i am always up because of the glare! Curtains dont help either, and my beds feng shui must not be touched!

The 2nd time i got up...i remembered i was dreaming bout running! What an effect this marathon is on me...mentally!

Anyways headed to the tower at noon. The buzz of activities was quite obvious, but i number of ppl very dissapointing! I mean with thousand over employees...the amount of ppl i saw couldnt even fill 3 floors! And they re supposed to be a Family Day!

Who cares...

Anyways turns out i was too early. Had a quick lunch and met up with Rajiv, another Indian. For the AIESECers, they would know him as the President of AIESEC Intl. Dont really know each other much, but it was great as through that day we really had fun chatting and joking around! Best was when we decided to rock climb! My history with rock climbing was that many years ago before uni, i tried but i must have taken the freakin expert level. So i was damn frustrated that i cant even stay within the first two or three ledges for more than 3 seconds before falling!

One of the attractions, human foosball!
Ye i shalth conquer!


And now, a little bit apprehensive to try. But since they were four sides to the "rock", from beginner to expert...thought lets try beginner. Suprisingly no problem! Wahh...success! Next up...intermediate. Also success!
Cheh wah...now excited habis! Lets go expert level 1...surprise surprise dapat buat jugak! Hebat!
Level 2...by then my fingers were all hurting, so decided to not shame my self and left the rock climbing place feeling mighty hebat!

"I´m the king of the world!!!"

That certainly was the highlight of my evening...cuz whatever after that was total embarrasing!

While i have gathered already with the rest of the trainees, the event for the 1000m and 500m took place. I was soo happy i didnt opt for that...cuz i didnt know it was purely for the kids! A brief intro for the run and why i decided to join. This run, for every km each participant runs, 1€ would be donated by the company to the Nelson Mandela Childrens Foundation. What a noble way to do charity, and stay fit in the process! And runners get a special bag, comprising many energy related stuffs (energy bar, glucose etc), a magnet to record your time, some muscle ache gel (that serious ah?) and your number...number 111 for me!

And we head to the start of the run! Never felt this excited before, seeing many sweaty bodies cramming up in one corner (the starting flag), enthusiasm and excited filling the air...not to mention some body odour...fulamak!! And many men in tight tights...balls of many shapes and sizes! Wahh...dress for the occasion siall! Me pulak in some tracksuit and lame shirt!


All the stuff needed for marathoners; energy bar, muscle aching gel, isotonic powder, timing magnet...and of cuz, your number!

At the starting point...

PWWEEEEEETTTTT!!!! Off the whistle went! Mad rush from the crowd...eh why everyone so fast la!? Its a marathon la...relek la!
Shit...its not only bad to start at the back...but its worst when everyone starts to overtake you in the first 200m!! Shit...wrong strategy! Pick up pace...snapped some pics (i cam whored while i ran), ran slower...then steps became smaller and smaller...nice that the marathon took part in the huge central park like park behind the tower...was also drizzling heavily...super cold...was it sweat or my mucus running down my nose...

Nice place to run..."everybody wait for meeee..."

Losers behind me...!

Finally saw a sign with the word 2km (is it remaining or touch point??), decided to walked fast. Legs...cramps...pain...arms felt heavy, lost track of fellow trainees...many people overtaking me again and again...oooh what a babe running by me...(my mind wanted to get my camera and snap her pic...body just couldnt react)...finally slow walk.

Pit stop...got drinks and...BANANAS!? Whatever...grabbed two!
Stop by to peel the bananas...enjoyed the walk...then an old lady pass by me! Shit...began running! Need to throw banana skin...garbage can not around! Wasted more time searching for it and throwing rubbish!

Finally...i see the tower! The place where we started and would end! Woo hoo...picked up pace...can hear crowd...or was it me hyperventilating...saw some people cheering...low and behold the finish line! Wah...got pom pom girls too! Must run faster...! Managed to snap some pics of me running towards end line...

*huff* *puff*...the finish line *wheeezzz*

At least i could still afford a smile...*wheeezz*

At last...5kms!! And 5 euros to the Nelson Mandela Childrens Fund...! Judging by how i felt after the run...i should ve paid with cash!

Time of run: 32mins ++
Distance covered: 5km++
Position: 35th place

5km runners, Rajiv (sitting down) ran 10km! RESPEK!

Hot pom pom chicks!!

Hot pom pom chicks...with legs!
...........................................................

Anyways, after the race the running trainees met up with others for a bbq by the river just in front of the tower.

Needless to say, dah lah legs all tired and all, need to run for shelter when suddenly it rain heavily!! Bugger...

Kakao in the biergarten

Friday, 12th May.
Officially my first day at office.

Met my predecessor for the first time, Natasha from Russia, really nice girl. And she will the person whom I will probably bug for the whole of term!

She has been absorbed into the company, and all previous person taking up this job got absorbed as well! Great sign!

So for the whole day…brain was in automated sponge mode…listening and bombarding questions about the role, the company, the culture etc.

Whatever it was…I was realllyy looking forward to lunch!

And that's for the rest of the working day. Brain soaked with info…

Most notable event was finally being able to meet Amit, by far the most metro person ever, period! Putting him, me and Kygan (officially the "best looking" AIESECer in Malaysia, after I left) would have been a threesomeful of facials, sexist jokes, gossips and weird laughters. Now Amit would be like the 2 nd highest priority person for me to see in Bonn , and I had the pleasure of working with him while facilitating in India . So seeing him was such a welcome relieve in a period where everyone I see are total strangers. We gave each other the tightest of hugs (or perhaps it was just me), of cuz in an unBrokeback way! Pleasant to see him being surprised when I just appeared in his office out of the blue! His eyes wide open you probably need to be alert when it might actually drop out!

It being a Friday (Freistag in German), he invited me to chill with some other trainees. Finally…I thought…an invite to hang out with the trainees! I excitedly blurted out that I was heading for a "trainee party" when I was on the phone with Al. But that "trainee party" turned out to be nothing more than just a gathering of 6 trainees in a beer garden! Yippee…!

I made myself a vow…me being a person who totally dislikes beer and coming to a country where beer is cheaper than water (I´d drink the pipe water anytime!)…that I wouldn't drink a single drop of beer for a least two weeks! And I believe most of you would trust me to head for more than 2 weeks! So what do I do when a crowd order pils, beer and whatever else alcoholic…I order hot "kakao"…mit crème! Thats hot chocolate with cream! And the crowd goes "huhh"?!

Now this bier garten / beer garden…literally means an open area (hence the garden), with a café that serves drinks, mostly alcoholic (hence the beer) can be found almost everywhere in Germany! Which again explains how the Germans just love their beer. And I wouldn't wanna waste my time posting bout something which I dislike…hahaha!

Clockwise from left: Amit (Indian), Sandra (Dutch + Mexican), Jenny Lee (Filipina), Kenneth (Hongky) and Portuguese Tart

Me and my Kakao!

Anyways, the topic of the table was who would be joining the Family Day event the next day organized by the company. I remembered that there was lots of activity happening at the open space surrounding the tower…like inflated giant foosball arena (where humans actually play in it…inclusive of being bonded around their body), a rock climbing err…rock….and many more stuffs! I also noticed there was an open application for employees to run in the 5km and 10km marathon.

So coming back to the topic of conversation…I was thinking it would be excellent to know a little bout the company´s culture, its people and of cuz have fun. Well its not like I have any welcome party for me, nor was I invited to any cool trips on that Saturday…so what the hecked, I told the gang that since they would be there as well…count me in for the 5km run!

So…me, legs still aching and hurting, decided to join my first marathon! The last time I ran THAT FAR was 2 weeks of jogging distance combined…back in Uni days! And the last time I RAN…was when I was warming up for futsal every Tuesday! Chien, Peter and Alan knows for sure…I don't run when I play futsal! I just POSITION myself in great scoring positions! J Juggle the ball a few times and ppl know you re a good footballer!! (but that's another story)

And thus the night (which was bright) ended with us saying our goodbyes. I didn't wanna go home though…too early! And it's a Friday!! Gosh…and I don't wanna be lonely!

Trudged home…mind solely focused on the next day! I was mental exercising for the run…decided to increase my walking pace!

Shit…I think the kakao really made me do stupid things…did I just said I will run a 5km marathon!?


………………………………………………………………did Portuguese tart run the marathon?

End of Trilogy - Chronology of a Tart Leaving Home

2++ am : Need to pee…damn cold. But damn lazy…toilet outside of room…hold it

4++am: "Shit…so bright!! Didn't my alarm ring?" Checked my clock, and its only 4plus! Nah beh…sun come up so early ah? And the other day, the sun set only at 9++pm! And still wanna hold my pee!

5.30am : $%§"$!%

Ok so I didn't really slept well. But was actually excited over this 2 nd day of induction. I get to follow a postman to his job! Man, too bad they have to get up so damn early…but hey, these guys finish by noon!

7am : Arrived at the mailing hub, and was introduced to the manager there. Was brought round for a quick tour and was very impressed with the Stamping Centre. Not only do they have really special stamps (if you re a stamp collector, that place would ve been heaven!), but they have a special cancellation chop for each unique stamps! Ok no use talking bout it…


8am : Ok, met with the postman who is gonna lead me and Sandra (we had to be in partners, guess who I chose NOT to be with). Seems nice…although I know deep down he is probably thinking we´re some young farts konon la wanna learn bout the business from the bottom up.

So after going through the process of how a mail arrives (this is snail mail yah, the one without the "e"), sorted and put according to the area, now we re finally gonna do the delivery part. What I didn't know was that Mr Postman would be taking a 3 wheel trolley with all the mails in and walk the whole of the area! What happened to bikes or vans? But hey…at least I get to see parts of Bonn, this on my 2nd day! Wonderful…! (or so I thought!)


11am : My feet hurts, my leg hurts, I was dead tired….thirsty…wander how Mr Postman do it every day!! Even when it snows! Respek!
Luckily for me, Sandra also feels totally worn out! And luckily also we finish at 11! So we re done…and we re headed back to the main hub. Upon reaching there…my oh my…all the Indians were already sitting down and resting their butts! Shit…they were so much more earlier! One part of me really thought they skipped their thing…but lets not be bad!
While on the way to our van…I was making some small talks with one of the Indians, asking how was their day.

Indian MBA: Very good…although I wished they would have given US some bicycles to ride on or something while following them.
Me: (Keh si la de!! KNN!)

2pm : So we finally were done with the induction. Had lunch in the towers cafeteria…which by the way is like a dream cafeteria! So freakin huge…and it was like my first time in McD´s or something! The food…drinks…desserts…gosh how the hell to lose weight la! You take as much as you want, and you pay per meal! Siao man…and on top of that…I finally met my match…the foot long sausage!
Before I knew it I was staring at the food…best giler!

I staffed my plate with heaps of fries, some chap and breast meat (felt like going chicken that day).

After lunch, Sandra said she would be leaving for home! Wahlau… can leave work already! Best…I also join!
I was already dead tired…feet all hurting…and I really wanna sleep!
But then had to meet Carl, my AIESEC buddy to settle some admin stuff! Shit…

6pm : I finally reach home…and yes…I hit bed at half past 6 . And decided to just hibernate…!