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Mittwoch, 26. Februar 2014

What is an unconference?

Last year, I discovered the concept of unconference. I will present you, what this means, why I think this is awesome, and tell you a few words about the one I am about to organize with some friends.

Definition of an unconference
On google the definition is the following: a loosely structured conference emphasizing the informal exchange of information and ideas between participants, rather than following a conventionally structured programme of events. "At this unconference, attendees created sessions on the spot, making for an energizing and freewheeling exchange"

Why do we need unconference?
As an engineer is a research center I often get to go to conferences. This is the perfect opportunity to present the work performed and hopefully get some feedback on my ideas and network with my fellows. For the networking, it works as plenty of events outside the conference are organized. However, I meet two big issues:
-if I want to go to a conference, often I get this from my boss "Your paper sounds very interesting .... But we don't have any budget and we cannot let you go on your working time". And then starts the fight to find scholarship, should I pay with my money and invest in my future? Do I want to spend my precious holidays to a conference? Well, maybe when I am looking for a job, ok, but then, really?

-I have worked on the paper during days and nights, hope to have some constructive critics, but when I get over the world, have the perfect Prezi/power point, the room looks more like this

So, at the end, I fight to get into a place on another continent to spend time in dark rooms and people are bored! 

Last year, I heard about the UNCONFERENCE concept. The goal is to have people, interested to discuss with each other. No topic are fixed, no agenda is set!

And I decided with my friends to make one in Bremen and it will be completely free! I am so excited to see the outcome of this event.

What about the Space up Bremen?
Space Up is a space unconference for people who are passionate about humanity's future in space and want to play a part in it. Space up Bremen is the second of its kind in Germany and hopes to bring space enthusiasts together in an informal environment to brainstorm on the future of space, discuss new ideas and whatever you feel like!

Space up Bremen offers:
* Inspiring talks from experienced professionals
* 2 days to talk with fellow minded participants about the future of space
* A great warm-up to the festivities of Yuri's night (http://www.yurisnight-bremen.de/)

Please register as soon as possible at http://www.spaceup-bremen.org, but hurry up because the number of places is limited to 80! 

And hopefully people will look more like this



Samstag, 22. Februar 2014

What you need to know if you plan to move to Germany in 11 Steps: Step 5 Open a Bank Account

If you have followed the steps, now you have job, a map, an apartment, and you have done the registration at the stadtsamt, so you are a legal citicien. Now you may want to get your salary by the end of the month, so go open a bank account!

But don't rush! You could do the same mistake as I did, going to the first bank you see in the city! It happened to be the most expensive one, the slowest ever and the one that makes you pay the highest fees if you want to get money from any other cash dispenser.

Take your time and compare banks and kinds of account. If you are young and you are addicted to internet, it's possible you would prefer a bank with online service. This is a comparison of the main services you can expect from both kind of banking:



For both options you will need your ID card and your "Anmeldung", and you'll be asked for your salary.

Whatever you decide:

1. Have always cash in your pocket! You cannot pay with card everywhere... I think Starbucks is the only place where you can pay a coffee with a card...
2. Forget about the VISA, and go for EC-Card! I had to pay with 3000euro in cash in IKEA because they don't accept credit cards!
3. If you have decided to open an account in a "classic" bank with offices in the city and customer service, be sure you print the abstract of your account every 3 months and save it for your records, if you don't want to pay for receiving it per post at home...

Now you are ready to get money in Germany! And also ready to pay in Germany (taxes, insurances, other fees...). We will talk about it on next posts...

Mittwoch, 19. Februar 2014

How to cook Swiss chard (en), Mangold (De), Blette (Fr), Acelga (Sp)

Every week I receive a Bio Food Basket- I get delivered some vegetables and fruits for the week. The company propose a selection of products which are local and fair. With this I know that I get good quality, new tastes and I can make comme new experiments. Sometime a vegatable that I don't know enters my life like this one:

The Unknow Vegetable
It is called Swiss chard (en), or Mangold (De) or Blette (Fr) or Acelga (Sp). It tastes a little bit like spinach.

Hopefully I get some receipe with the basket and I just have to follow the instruction. So what I did with it?

Ingredient:
Oignons
Sour Cream
Swiss chard (en), Mangold (De), Blette (Fr), Acelga (Sp)
Gnocchis

Cut the white part of the Swiss chard (en), Mangold (De), Blette (Fr), Acelga (Sp) apart from the green part. Then cut the white part is small piece. Cut also the oignons and Garlic. Make them all cook in a pan with butter. When they look ready, e.g cooked, add the cream in the pan. Be carefull not to have the fire to hot. Them had the green leaves in small pieces and let them cook slowly in the sauce. Add Salt, Pepper and other tasty spices you like.
In the meatime, cook the Gnochis as written on the packing.
When the sauce is ready, add the Gnocchis into it, let them cook together for a few minutes. And the tasty meal is done.

It is delicious, local and cheap! Enjoy!


The result- Some Delicious Gnockies

Samstag, 15. Februar 2014

What do you need to know if you want to move to germany? Step 4 Go to the "Stadtamt" and do the "Anmeldung"


True Story: My friend Andrea has a job, (Congrats!) is going to move to Cologne and needs to get registered :


Her: "My company wants me to get the tax number and insurance by the end of next week. But I won't have an apartment until mid-March to give a german address. I need a bank account to get a place, but don't have a place to get a bank account. And obviously no German ID until then. Currently have Italian ID and Belgian address. Thoughts? What order did you do it in?"


Me: "Kind of a chicken in the egg issue! FIRST THING! You need the ANMELDUNG (Registration). This will be your "german ID" . So get an adress at someone you know for example and change it when you have ur final one.  Anmeldung is the key for everything! To get a bank account for your first appartement etc..."

Her :"Ok. Noted. Thanks. So need friend's address. can they just write me a paper? I will ask one of my friends who lives there to write me something let me know if u have a suggestion for format of address 'proof'?"

Me: "Exactly, You need the adress of the place and the adress of the owner "vermieter", your ID/Passport and no more. Well it was the case in bremen. Take an appointement if it is possible so you don't wait too long. Check on the website because germany is a federal republique so it may change slightly from a place to another . Good luck!"


To Conclude:
Anmeldung/Registration is vital if you want to have a bank account, do anything in Germany. The procedure is fast and easy. Check the City Center/ Bürger Service of your city.


Be ready for the next step! Open a Bank account

Mittwoch, 12. Februar 2014

Date me!: An App for Saint Valentine's Day

It's been a while since I published my first app, but my programming adventure continues! I really recommend you to start programming if you've ever had some interest. I love the feeling when I see that my ideas become somehow real and can solve problems or make live a little easier.

The idea this time was to create an app for next Friday, the 14th February, St. Valentine's day! I wanted an app to send love messages to our boyfriend, girlfriend, date... this idea evolved into a "Date me" app, which can be used in every occasion, not only this Friday, and for any kind of date.

The app asks you for your name, his/her name, the place where you want to meet, the day and the time of the date. Then, if you enter the e-mail of the person you want to meet, an icon appears and you can send an e-mail with the message:

"Hi (his/her name)! I'm (your name)! Shall we meet up at (meeting point) on (DD/MM/YYYY) at (HH:MM)? I can't wait :-*"

If you enter the telephone number instead, you can send an sms with the same message! Perfect for busy people (all of us, huh?)

Screenshot of the app in the emulator

The app is simple, but you will see I'm improving :) . I have not only used images and scrolling options but also interaction with other apps, text recognition and some other methods that require java programming. You can download the app here (remember it's only for Android phones!):

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/134054594/BlogRosaEmmaBlaBlaBla/DateMe.apk

Have fun with it, and don't hesitate to publish your own apps and share them with us!

Samstag, 8. Februar 2014

How to use RSS feeds?

Do you have some favorites website that you regurlaly check out? How do you do it?
You go on goole, type the name of the website/blog and check if there is a new article. Or you just wait the article to appear in your news feeds on facebook?

What is a RSS Feed?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It is a way for you to see updates on websites on your browser toolbar!

If it is simple, why don't we use it?



Step 1: You need a RSS feed reader for your webbrowser
The symbole for RSS feeds is the following  . If you have it on your browser then you can use them. If not, click on one of the follwoing links.

Step 2: Add your favorite website : Rosa & Emma Blablabla


And it is done! Easy! Know you can enjoy you favorite website without facebook and loosing time checking them on. You are sure not to miss a thing!

Mittwoch, 5. Februar 2014

What you need to know if you plan to move to Germany in 11 Steps: Step 3 The Apartment

Recently I've been looking for a new apartment. I've been living alone for 3 years and I thought I should try to live with someone again, and share the evenings, the meals, the costs and the dirt! My friend Eva was also thinking about moving so we started the search together.

I had forgotten the peculiarities of the apartment search in Bremen... You may be surprised when you visit apartments on the 4th floor without elevator, and when you see there's no kitchen at all. In some cases you may be lucky and have the possibility of paying 2000€ for the already installed kitchen, paid by the last tenant (because he found the aparment with no kitchen!). You have to be very careful because the monthly price of the apartment can increase with every little thing. This diagram has helped us to find a nice one, but you can improve it with all your requirements; for example, you can add a "washing machine installation" block, and decide if you are are ready to go to a laundry 1 km away or not...

* the commission for the agent is 2,38% of the rent without utilities, cold rent or Kaltmiete (in German)

We have also prepared a very simple xls-tool to calculate the equivalent rent and have an overview of the real costs of the apartment. You can use it, improve it and have a look to an example! Click here to download it.

These are our favourite links to start the search:
  1. www.immobilienscout24.de: all kinds of apartments, where you have to pay for the "Makler" (commission)  at the beginning
  2. www.wggesucht.de: for the ones they want to share an apartment. You will have to be in Germany to get a room, because your future flatmates will want to interview you personally!
  3. www.bremen.de (in case you are in Bremen): apartments with no "Makler" fee, so be fast, because there will be lots of people willing to move in
Good luck!!

Samstag, 1. Februar 2014

Very important information if you have never cooked with ginger!

Last week I went to my favourite restaurant in Bremen and ordered a pumkin soup. Well, the Germans call it soup, I would call it purée, since it had a dense texture. Anyway, it was delicious!!! I make this soup very often at home, but it tasted much better at the restaurant. I realized it had an ingredient that I never use: ginger!

I have drunk ginger tea many times and I've read dozens of articles talking about its many healthy properties:
- antioxidant
- improves blood flow
- it stops nausea or sickness
- perfect remedy if you have a cold or sinusitis
- remedy against pain
- digestive
- fat burner
- ... wow amazing, huh?

I was so excited about this experience that on the next day I bought a huge piece of ginger and some veggies, and I run home to prepare the soup! Before I started I googled about ginger once again and read it could have a sweet but also "strong" flavour...

Ingredients: zucchini, ginger, onion, carrot, milk, cheese, salt 
I had never cooked ginger but it looks like a potato, doesn't it? (yes, the ones who DO cook with ginger are terrified, I know...) So I took a piece of ginger (4 cm long), pealed it and boiled it with a zucchini, two small onions and a carrot. It boiled during 30 minutes (yes, that long!!) and then took the water off and pureed everything together! It smelled sooo good! I couldn't wait to taste it! I added a pinch of salt, milk and creamcheese*, I took a big spoon and put a full one in my mouth! AGHHHHHHHH IT WAS DISGUSTING!!!! SOOOOOO PICANTE, SPICY, DAMNED HOT!!!!!! Was that the "strong" flavour!?!?!?! Couldn't that person write what really happens when you use too much ginger during so much cooking time????


I tried to reduce the hotness with more milk, cheese and yogurt... nothing worked. I couldn't even put it in my mouth. I had to through it away and the ones who know me are aware that I cannot stand that the food is wasted...

Now I know what can happen with ginger, and I wanted to share it with you! Next time I will try to make this soup with a smaller piece of ginger. I've also got the advice not to puree it with the other veggies, just remove it once it's boiled.

Do you have some good ginger recipes? And most important, does anyone of you know a trick to reduce the hotness of ginger???

* If you want to make this soup without ginger, you can use roquefort cheese to give it a creamy texture and an incredible and surprising taste!