By Veve Hitipeuw

This is the first time to live outside my country, Indonesia, and to experience what people call a season change. I tried to learn and interpret every season. In Indonesia we do not see a significant difference of weather, because we only have two seasons, namely rainy and dry season. In the rainy season people might bring umbrellas when they go outside. But it is also not a must because usually we can easily find children offering their service to borrow their umbrellas for very little money. But here in Germany there are four seasons, and they differ a lot.

Change of Time

At the end of October last year I was really surprised when one of my classmates came to visit me and apologized for being one hour early. This was strange for me because I checked my watch and I was sure that she was on time. But she explained that she had seen the clock at the main station. I immediately checked the church clock next door and it showed the time was indeed one hour later than my watch. Fortunately, our class has a mailing list, which allows us to share and question about many things related to our study, living in Germany, and leisure time. Through this mailing list my friends explained that at the end of October, the time changes to winter time, which is one hour later.

At the end of March this year, I planned to go to a Sunday evening service. I was surprised to see the clock at the station. There the time was one hour earlier. Suddenly I remembered that my classmates had discussed that the time would change to winter time soon. And I realized that I missed the service. When I got home, I read some emails from our mailing list; my friends confirmed that the summer time had just started.

Now I know, when entering autumn in Germany people use winter time, where time slows down for one hour. And when spring begins, they use summer time, where time moves forward one hour. I learnt: There are four seasons with two-time systems.

Change of Fashion

In Indonesia, people do not have certain clothes or jackets for the rainy season, because the temperature does not change dramatically. We do not really differentiate fashion according to the season. But here, it is very different.

One day my friend wrote on her Facebook status that she was separating her winter from her summer socks. First it sounded strange to me, because I have never done such thing before. But soon, I followed her example and sorted out my socks, t-shirts, coats and jackets. My friend was right; it is not comfortable wearing thick clothing when the weather is so warm. In winter people wear thick coats and most of them have dark colors. But now, I often see many girls wearing colorful t-shirts with flower pattern. Shops also offer colorful clothes. Spring has arrived and I packed my winter stuff into a big box.

Change of Spirit

In autumn and winter the sky becomes dark very quickly. It feels as if a day has less than 24 hours. Time just goes faster and suddenly it is dark and very cold. May be this is the reason why autumn and winter are often used as a symbol for old age, sad times or loneliness. I easily felt very tired. The temperature was really low and often it turned me into a bad mood. I only wanted to stay at home enjoying a cup of hot chocolate.

But on the other hand, the atmosphere at Christmas with snow everywhere brought its own special impressions. It was my first time experiencing the snow fall. It was so beautiful and very romantic. And luckily it was also snowing on Christmas day, so I was able to enjoy a white Christmas for the first time ever. I was so happy and for a moment I forgot the darkness of the sky during winter.

Since spring started recently, I feel now differently. Not only flowers begin to blossom and leaves start to green, but the heart is also flowery. The sun shines brightly and the air is warm. The weather is so beautiful, that people are very excited to go out and do many outdoor activities. I and my classmates for example organized a picnic and a barbeque at Rheinaue, a big green park in Bonn. Every morning I also observe people in the subway, almost all of them seem to be happy and enthusiastic. Maybe the colorful flowers and the bright sun bring a magical spirit to all people.