This blog entry is probably the ‘fondest’ I have had to write to date because it regards a trip I took at the end of September 2011 to meet the department at the DAAD handling my scholarship. Up until this point, I only knew the staff in this department via e-mail and snail-mail correspondence. The [...]

Enough food and drink sampling at Anuga? How about some German technology? Just outside Hall 8 of the fair, a mini Zeppelin was spotted hovering above our heads. This fascinating craft is operated by Friedrich, a 20-year-old electrical engineering undergraduate. He flies this Zepplin nine hours a day and walks about at the north entrance [...]

I have always been compromised with my education. Since I was a child, I was always carrying books from here to there trying to devour their content. My childhood was not particularly abnormal: Accidents with the bicycle, fights with my brother, typical rebellion and summer loves. Costa Rica, as part of the basic rights for [...]

Moving to a higher level in the academic life requires two things: looking forward and looking back. Looking forward means preparing, planning, getting the information and doing what it takes so you can make the transition. Looking back means thinking about what you have done so far, what were your choices and where did they [...]

It has been quite a while since my last blog entry because the last couple of months has been a very busy but enlightening time of transitions for me. The content of this blog entry is an update of what I have been up to. As part of the requirement of the DAAD scholarship I [...]

When we leave home and head to a foreign country to study, one of the things we miss the most is FOOD.  All those delicious things that reminds us our home country!!  At the Anuga, we found people from every part of the world offering their typical food so we can have them at the [...]

After we finished our interviews, we wanted to find a nice black bag, that another Tandem-Repoter had shown us. Therefore we went to Hall 7, searched everywhere but couldn’t find it. We were frustrated and started asking people who carried the bag. Always the same answer: “We don’t remember where we got it from.” They [...]

Having spent nine hours sampling amongst more than 6.000 exhibitors at Anuga yesterday, the Tandem Reporters were absolutely worn-out. Some of us skipped breakfast in the morning due to ‘prolonged’ snoozes. Well, apparently we are not alone. As we walked from the train station to the exhibition hall, we spotted this exhausted Mr Duck. He [...]

And after a whole day at the ANUGA…  some wine!!  We found this new and practical way of serving this beverage that is always welcomed by students. You can carry these portable sealed glasses of wine with you in your purse, in your bag or even in your pocket.  The best thing is that you won´t have to [...]

Good morning everyone! Have you ever started a day waiting in the cold and hoping that the train will come anyway? Well, this is a problem every person in Cologne knows about. The train called “KVB” doesn’t put great stress on punctuality. For Cologne people it’s not a novelty – but when I went to [...]