Day 4: Cold summer

Yesterday J and I went to Frankfurt. Walked around at Ziel, then the Iron Bridge, then Frankfurt Cathedral. We went back to Offenbach to buy shoes, because my Wakai slip-ons were painful to walk with. Got a pair of shoes for around €40 from a shop. What was weird was that they didn’t even give the box. Lol.

Today we took the dog Nicky for a walk around the neighborhood. There was a big allotment garden nearby. I’ve been around the block a couple of times, but I still can’t remember streets well enough to feel confident about walking alone.

I still have to get used about the daylight times. I feel like it is three PM when it’s actually past seven. So the only thing fucked up is my siesta schedule, I guess.

Gotta have to sleep early tonight. Tomorrow is the meet-the-grandparents-and-the-dad-and-everyone-else-on-that-side-of-the-family-day.

Also, I have booked the flights for the September Japan trip. Gonna have to work out an itinerary.

Right now, watching the new season of Designated Survivor.

 

Day 1. Frankfurt and Offenbach

Flying Singapore Airlines practically spoils everything for me. I was on one on my Jakarta – Singapore flight, and it was easily the best airline experience I’ve had so far. They also had the classiest flight safety information video ever. So when I got on a Lufthansa for the Singapore – Frankfurt flight, I was kinda overwhelmed. I mean, Lufthansa is not bad, but Singapore Airlines is just too good. Too bad though, I will not be able to afford it for long-haul flights lol.

It was a very long walk from the plane to the immigration. When I got there I was a little nervous, and was asked pretty much the standard questions. “What is your destination?” to which I reply, sheepishly, “Germany?” I mean… lol. And then the guy asked for hotel booking, and onward flight ticket. All standard, right? Right?

So, anyway, I got through, got my luggage, and met J at the arrival area. Pretty unreal, eh, him waiting for me at the airport instead of the other way around. A first in the six years we’ve been together lol. Anyway we went and I withdrew cash from a random ATM, where the rates are not bad at all, and then got on the train, where, I finally realize what a spoiled Asian princess I have been. Lol. I look at the things I took for granted, like air conditioning in the train or basically anywhere, ride hails, bidets and yeah, can’t see it here. And then we walked. And walked. And walked some more around the neighborhood and towards the River Main. I told J that he should have taken it easy with me. After all, with Jakarta and Semarang not having pedestrian-friendly streets, I don’t really walk anywhere and just take the convenience of a Grab or Go Car ride. The walking was too much, but admittedly something that I need to get used to. My legs are sore, but yeah, will have more of that again tomorrow, I guess.

The summer days here are long. We had dinner with J’s landlady W outside, where there is still light at 8.00 PM.

W has a dog, Nick, and we’ve been fast friends. He likes playing fetch endlessly, until he has to be commanded to take a break. I thought I was special, but then I was told that he is like that to everyone. Thanks, Nicky. Lol.

So sleepy right now. It is only half past 10, but then in Indonesia it is already 3 AM. Is this the so-called jet lag? I don’t really know.

Visa denied.

I had posted a while back that I applied for a visit visa to Germany. As I had feared, they refused to issue me a visa on the 3rd of July. The reason they zeroed in on was that I could not substantiate that I would return to the Philippines because of a lack of a) employment b) self-employment and c) real estate property. So never mind if the flights were fully paid, never mind that I bought insurance, never mind that I had a sponsor who had to get the documents proving that twice – all that was moot. Nevertheless, I applied for a remonstration. In my appeal letter, I wrote my reasons as to why I could not satisfy that particular requirement no. 9: a) I decided to not get a new work contract because this particular visit to Germany was personally important; b) I was employed for a long time in Indonesia, unmarried, have no kids, living in my parents’ house when in the Philippines and therefore there is no point to buying a house that will be empty for most of the year; c) said employment in Indonesia was way lucrative and secure than doing menial jobs in Europe as an illegal immigrant. I suggested that they look at my travel and employment history that I had indeed traveled for leisure before, and had never overstayed anywhere. But yeah, I guess, the bureaucrat’s job is made easier with very specific, objective rules, so one does not need to be understanding of another’s condition. If it doesn’t meet it, trash it. Fine.

Anyway, I would like to thank the German embassy in Manila for curtailing my right to travel and wasting a year of my time. I’d also like to thank them for very graciously shelving me as a Potential Illegal Immigrant. I wish I had met the definition of an illegal economic migrant – that would be so rad. But sadly, not all Filipinos salivate at the thought of working in Europe, illegal or not – I did apply for a school in Bonn after receiving the visa refusal. Their recruitment brochure was available online, and after taxes (which is a hefty 42% for single persons with no dependents) and paying for housing and bills, I’d earn comparatively more with a good school in Jakarta. Heck, my friend there earns more than what the published salary brackets are in Bonn, and that is after taxes and with housing provided for. Not to mention that the cost of living is lower and Indonesia is conveniently close to the Philippines, affording one to come home once or twice a year. Unfortunately, because I had decided last year not to work to experience life in Germany before deciding to settle there, I passed up applying for such schools in Jakarta. So thank you, Ralf. I owe you one.

Also, it is funny that Germans would just rent a flat instead of buying one – my own boyfriend scoffs at the fact that I am paying for a condominium unit and is actively convincing me to get rid of it and use the money elsewhere.

Anyway, my passports that I enclosed with my remonstration arrived today. As expected, visa denied with a final suggestion of a legal remedy of filing a complaint in Berlin. Right! Well, at least I didn’t have to pay the cost of getting my passports back to me, so that 60 euros was not entirely paid to make them look for a reason to unjustly racially profile me. Well, who should I blame, those Filipinos who went TNT and spoiled it for everyone else, or my own optimism and good faith that given my background, I would not be denied the right to travel where I want to be? Either way, this whole experience speaks of nothing but elitism. So only those who are rich, with property or both can travel. That’s how the world works, hun. Suck it up.