In less than two weeks, I’m taking an official Goethe Institute exam to prove my German skills. (Feel free to question my sanity in the comments’ section).  Last month I posted about getting myself ready, but now I’m all signed up and there’s no more room for procrastination.  The exam consists of reading and listening comprehension, essay writing and an oral examination — and just like any major exam, also requires a fair amount of learning how to take the test and then practicing it again and again. And again.  Yep folks, it’s a barrel load of fun over here right now.

Simultaneously, I’m searching for apartments in Bremen, which has done wonders for my German real estate vocabulary (which, unfortunately, is *not* on the exam).  I know I’m stating the obvious here, but the amount of time it takes to comb all the ads, contact people, and set up viewing appointments is incredible — and severely cutting into my exam preparation and homework time. Seriously, my teacher has already called me out on the drop in my participation/quality of work. Oops.

Anyway, after checking out three apartments on Wednesday afternoon/evening (straight after German class, might I add — thank goodness Bremen is only a little more than an hour away), I have a better idea of what I’m actually looking for: something PERFECT.  Not possible on my budget, but since I will be commuting back to Hamburg on the weekends anyway, I’m starting to figure out where I might be willing to make compromises.  So there’s hope.  And I have three more appointments lined up for Saturday.  All I can say is, thank goodness for the Niedersachen-Ticket on the Deutsche Bahn — I can travel to Bremen and back, plus ride all the public transportation I want in both cities (especially useful when you’re trekking all over town to appointments), for only 20 Euros.

I know I can’t keep burning the candle at both ends like this and still ace the exam, so if nothing comes of this next set of apartment viewings, I’m going to put the search on a short hiatus while I focus on test prep.

Please keep your fingers crossed that all of this craziness will turn into something great!