VISTA #13: Cheers to One Year!

Hey you guys!

Soooo today is 23rd of September and this would be my official first year here in Germany! Wooo! At first I want to post the 7th post of the 30 days writing challenge (since I delayed it, again) but then again it’s my first year so I just wanna talk about it. Aaaand it’s not Saturday but here I am posting VISTA. This one is an exception :3 wuwu

I have posted some of the journey and the process for me to actually go to Germany but this post would be dedicated to my first day and first year. I arrived in Germany, in Hamburg to be precise, on 23 Sept. Before I flew here, I contacted my close friend, Keno – who lives in Munich, about my plan. Yep, he knew the process from the beginning (applying for school etc). He told me that he wanted to pick me up. And he really did that. Can you imagine, a 15 hour bus ride from Munich to Hamburg right after he just finished work? Damn. I can imagine how tired he was. Afterwards, we went to Kiel together. Sooo another one hour ish bus ride for him.

The hotel room where I stayed with Keno

He stayed with me for 3 days and 2 nights. I rent two rooms in a hotel well.. it upset him though hahaha he told me that we could save some money if we just rent airbnb or he could actually decide on better location. The location was not that bad but I agree that we could save some money if we just rent airbnb hahahaha. I just felt bad when he said that he wanted to pick me up so I paid for the rooms without telling him. And yea, that upset him again ahahhaha. Oh well

Anyway, on the second day I took care of my enrolment, bank account and health insurance. Of course, Keno was there with me all the time and helped me with stuffs. It was also my very first time to go to IKEA. We have IKEA back in Indonesia but I have never visited it.

First picture of Kiel right after I arrived ❤

After Keno went back home, everything felt different. It was the first time I actually realised I am on my own now. All alone. To be honest, it felt kinda weird because I am not the type who likes to rely on others. At that point, I realised that I took everyone for granted back at home. I have never felt alone because they are there. Not always right beside me but everyone, friends or family, will be there if I need them. And yea, my first couple of months in Germany were not very great. I managed to get some friends that I hang out regularly but something is missing. I guess I missed home at that time and hence I was so happy when my former colleagues visited Europe. Also, I am not sure what triggered it or if I already have this since long time ago but was not diagnosed, I kept getting nightmares to the point I could not sleep. So yea, things were rough.

You are lucky that you always have someone wherever you go

Keno to me in 2019

But hey, there are also many great things! I have this circle that I am very close to. I mentioned about them couple of times as well. They are from various countries and we study different subjects here. How do we meet each other? Who knows hahaha. I kept getting that question though. We call ourselves “The Herd,” well we kept changing the name on WhatsApp group but the name “Herd” always stay. It is kinda sad because some of them are back to their countries (ERASMUS students), some went to other places (doing ERASMUS) and some are still stuck in their home country due to corona. But we still talk to each other, either on the group, personal chat or other social media. We also like to play games and talk on Discord so it is fun! Ah I miss them.

Oh, I also have a really small circle with my fellow Indonesians. Yep, who else but Arki and Hanif hahaha. Last Friday we went to Berlin and I felt so bad it looked like I was in a badmood (I was). I was not upset with them but I had stye in my eyelid it was so painful to blink, to close my eyes or even to open my eyes and see. Dammit what do you waaaant.

Keno once said to me that I am lucky that I always have someone wherever I go. And he is right. Cete also said similar thing: you’re lucky you found someone, heck more than one person even, right away after you arrived here. It took me long time to get close to someone. I have Keno and Cete (my former senior back in uni) who already know me for years. I have Arki and Hanif who are right next to me. And, of course, the herd, who are umm spread around various countries? Hahaha. Oh well, some are still here though.

So yea, my first year in Germany is full with colours. Sometimes it’s gloomy and dark but sometimes it’s just full of colourful bright colours. It’s not always great living here where you dont know many people, but just like Keno has said, I always have someone wherever I go.

Cheers,

Kemmy

Hotel Review: JW Marriott Yogyakarta

Hey you guys!

Disclaimer before I start: this has been in my draft since um I dont know last year? HAHAHAHHA SORRY so the price etc may change. Anyway, enjoy!

Another 5-star hotel to be reviewed! Wow Kem you stayed at couple of nice hotels already, eh, perks of working I guess hahah. Yes! You’re right, I got to stay here because of work. So we had this event called “Away Day” which literally means we are away from the office hahaha. So we had this event, only my team not the whole office, on January. And since one of us was going to get married at Yogyakarta, Central Java, we decided to go there. Yeaaay

So I was staying in the same room as my former boss (she moves to Japan now leaving me all alone hiks). The room was soooo big. I was really impressed! Seems like the hotel was still brand new. Around 1 year old I guess by the time we were there. Alright let’s get to it!

Value

So I just checked the rate on the internet. Because obviously I don’t know how much did the company pay for our stay. So the rate that I checked was the room which we were staying and it was a Deluxe Twin Guest Room with City View. It costs 1.6 million IDR for one night. If you change the currency to USD, it’s 117 USD. Again guys, I won’t be able to afford it if I have to pay my own hahahaha

Is it worth it to pay this much? We will see on the final verdict!

Facility & Service

Well what do you expect from a posh hotel like Marriott? Definitely it’s top class service. The staffs were very friendly and helpful. I went back drunk and stayed in the hotel lobby until morning, blabbering stuffs (I ran away from my room after my friends tucked me in) and I am just glad they didnt throw me away hahahhaa (bet they wont though). I didnt take any picture of the hotel apart from my room but I love the facility that they have. The gym could be bigger though but the equipment is great. They have plenty. There were not many people when we were there but if there are, I dont think the gym is big enough. Oh and I love the pool. It is located at the umm forget which floor but not the ground floor. So it is like a rooftop pool which is awesomeee. The gym is also located at the same floor

Location

The location is perfect for me. I went there with my colleagues and we wanted to attend our colleague’s wedding. The location is not very far from the venue of the wedding and there is a mall just right beside the hotel. Great! Hairdresser is only couple of steps away from my room woo! Well apart from that, there are some minimarkets around and small restaurants, so it’s perfect if you wanna walk around the city. But, this part of the town is not as crowded as Malioboro so when I arrived there (it was pretty late: 11pm or so?) no one was opened. So if you want anything, you could order room service instead or food from Go-Food or Grab Food. Oooor just go out to the center which is not very far.

Atmosphere

Posh. Very posh. I mean… Marriott… The hotel was fairly new when we went there, I guess 1-2 years only? So umm no one was there? We even had the restaurant for ourselves and I must say the food taste soooo good yum! I like it but I just dont think I am the posh kind of type so yea hahaha I meant… getting drunk and just randomly called my guy friend in the hotel lobby until 4 or 5 am? Yea, nope. Definitely not posh, Kem.

Comfort and Cleanliness

The room was soooo spacious for 2 people! The bathroom was very spacious as well and so well lit. It’s nice to do your makeup there because the light was bright enough. Cleanliness? Damn 5 out of 5. Well as I have said, the room and the bathroom are so big for 2 people, I changed to another hotel because I extended my stay with my friends and the other hotel seemed so small for us hahahha

Internet

Do I need to say more? Uh 5 out of 5! Too short? Eh. I dont have other thing to say about this really hahahha

Final Verdict…

Soooo I would give it 4.3 out of 5 because I dont really fit into luxury hotel and although it is great that the room was soooo spacious, I prefer a smaller room. You know, not too small not too big. I can understand why my friend kept calling me and asking me to go back when I was out with the others. Because it could get creepy when you are alone hahahha. And I know it is not the hotel fault because most of the stores are closed at night but I would love to have some stores open. When I arrived, I had my period and didnt bring any pads. It was pretty hard for me to get one so yea, again not their fault but it’s just my preferences. Anywayyy, would I stay there again if i have the money? Probably yes (doubt that I can afford to spend that amount of money just for 1 night lol). But if someone is paying for it, then I dont see why not hahahhaa

Cheers,

Kemmy

Kuliah di Jerman: Mengurus residence permit/izin tinggal (Aufenthaltstitels)

Hey you guys!

Kali ini gue mau cerita tentang pengalaman gue urus residence permit atau izin tinggal di Jerman. Jadi setelah gue urus daftar penduduk ke Rathaus (cek apa aja yang harus diurus disini ya), gue dapet kertas termin atau appointment untuk urus si izin tinggal ini.

Kalian tau gak, ini gue udah draft dari lama tapi ga gue selesaiin gitu dan ga gue post-post sampe gue udah mau urus perpanjangan si residence permit ini HAHAHAHA AMPUN

Okay baiklah mari kita selesaikan apa yang sudah dimulai tapi ga dikerja-kerjain. Ah aku.

Ini ada cerita bodohnya juga sih tapi, ah ntar aja di belakang wkwkwkwkkw. Duh Kemmy kapan ga bodoh deh ah. Disclaimer lagi ya, pengurusan ini bisa beda beda di tiap kota jadi kalian tetep harus cek lagi di tempat kalian itu bagaimana nantinya. Terutama masa pandemik begini, kemungkinan bisa berubah baik dari caranya maupun requirementnya. Harus selalu rajin ngecek sendiri dan nanya kalau ada yang kalian ga paham, oke?

Nah jadi gue dapet surat dari Immigration Office untuk perpanjang ijin tinggal gue. VISA gue itu valid sampe Maret tapi gue udah dapet surat ini dari umm Oktober awal dan gue dapet Termin tanggal 10 Desember jam 09.50 (iya sampe spesifik jamnya). Ada kasus dimana temen gue ga dapet dapet jadwal termin sedangkan gue dapet dengan sendirinya. Kenapa bisa begitu? Sejujurnya gue pun gatau. Bisa jadi suratnya nyasar atau mungkin ada alasan lain. Jadi kalo kira kira kalian belom dapet jadwal untuk perpanjang umm mungkin sekitar 2-3 bulan sebelum visa/permit kalian abis masa berlakunya, bisa minta langsung ke officenya ya. Jadi apa aja yang gue perluin?

1. Aufenthaltserlaubnis (Izin Tinggal)

Nah karena ini pertama kalinya gue perpanjang ijin, gue belom punya ini karena gue cuma ada visa. Ini yang nanti kalian dapet sih

2. Fiktionsbescheinigung

Again, belum punya yaa. Ini nanti kalian dikasih juga abis urus permit

3. Passport

Jangan lupa cek masa berlaku passport kalian ya

4. Form yang sudah diisi

Jadi mereka juga kirim form yang harus kalian isi. Lembarannya banyak banget wkwkwk ada 4-5 lembar apa yang harus diisi. Gue ga bisa kasih liat isi formnya karena gue sendiri udah ga megang heheh

5. Pas foto background putih

Gue pake pas foto yang sama pas gue apply VISA karena gue bawa banyak banget pas foto ke jerman hahahah tapi disini bisa juga kalian pas foto kalo ga salah 6 euro dapet 4. Modelnya kayak fotobox gitu sih. Gue belom pernah coba tapi hahaha berhubung gue bawa banyak banget pas foto sampe diketawain sama orang sini pas apply asuransi

6. Rekening koran 3 bulan terakhir/bukti beasiswa

Kalau kalian beasiswa, kalian bisa bawa surat konfirmasi yang menyatakan kalian punya beasiswa gitu. Basically ini proof kalo kalian punya uang untuk biaya idup di Jerman. Nah buat kalian yang masih baru sampe kayak gue kemarin, sediain rekening koran blocked account kalian karena emang uang kalian kan bulanan turun darisana. Gue juga bawa rekening koran dari Bankkonto gue di jerman.

Nah pas gue apply gue dikasih tau kalo next time gue harus sediain minimal 10 ribu euro (jir banyak amat) di akun gue untuk perpanjang. Gue bilang yang sekarang gue ga sediain segitu karena gue masih pake blocked account dan pas gue apply visa di Indonesia, requirementnya masih 8000 sekian belom 10 ribu, gituu. Dan ya sekarang alhasil gue berhemat-hemat berusaha keep uang gue 10 ribu sampe gue dipanggil lagi buat perbaruin permit hikss padahal sepatu gue udah jebol soalnya udah 5 tahun wkwkwkw (gue emang kalo pake sepatu awet gitu dan iya emang miskin banget udah jebol ga beli beli sepatu ahhahah).

7. Bukti asuransi

Nah ini gue minta sama AOK namanya Krankenversicherungnachweis

8. Studienbescheinigung

Ini berkas yang menandakan kamu student di Jerman. Dapetnya darimana? Kalo gue ada campusmanagement website gitu dimana gue bisa log in terus download dokumen ini gitu

9. Teilnahmebescheinigung Deutschkurs

Basically ini artinya bukti bawa lo ikut kursus Jerman. Ga ngerti juga kenapa gue diminta waktu itu tapi seinget gue sih pas gue di kantor imigrasi, mereka ga minta kertas ini. Cuma gue kebetulan bawa sertif kursus goethe gue jadi ya gue siapin aja

10. Uang 100 euro

Ini buat bayar proses perizinannya dan di Kiel cuma bisa bayar pake EC Karte (kartu debit)

Udah deeeh terus nanti kalian dikasih surat lagi kapan kalian ambil permitnya. Gue dapet tanggal 4 Februari jam 10.30 dan ya harus tanggal segitu ambilnya. Eh ada ujian kan gue jadi gue ga dateng wkwkw gue email mereka ga dibales yaudah gue dateng aja besoknya. EH GABISA DIAMBIL DONG TERUS GUE BINGUNG KAN GUE MAU BALIK INDO TANGGAL 18 HAHAHA lah matek nanti gabisa balik Jerman lagi gue mikirnya wwkwkkw. Yaudah gue bilang lah aing mau balik tanggal 18 Februari terus kesini lagi 20 Maret (yang berujung pada April wk sial, ceritanya bisa dibaca disini) dan VISA aing expired pertengahan Maret. Aih piye iki? Akhirnya mereka ngasih gue jadwal baru tanggal 17 Februari mantap emang wkwkwk. Nah pas ngambil itu ada beberapa hal yang perlu gue bawa yaitu Fiktionsbescheiningung (ini dikasih abis kalian submit dokumen), passport sama si permit (bagi yang udah punya).

Udah deeh gitu ajaa. Nanti kalian dikasih kartu residence permit gitu sama kayak ada kertasnya. Nah kalo si kartu ini kayak KTP jadi kalian harus bawa kemana kemana. Kalo si kertas ga perlu kalian bawa selama masih di dalem Jerman. Tapi kalo keluar Jerman kartu dan kertas harus di bawa gitu (dan paspor pastinya ya).

Well, gitu deh dokumen yang harus kalian siapin dan cara submit dan ambil permit kalian. Gampang kan? Yang penting siapin aja dokumennya dari jauh jauh hari soalnya lumayan banyak ehehe. Lemme know kalo kalian ada pertanyaan yaa

Cheers,

Kemmy