My exams are over!
I haven’t been on Steemit for almost a month. There were a couple of days that I even forgot to turn on my laptop. Believe me, this is the first time it happened to me in many years. Technology became such an important part of my life that I couldn’t imagine being without it but frankly, it is possible 😊
You might know that cooking is my passion and I usually cook every day (sometimes even twice a day) but lately I’ve started to cook bigger batches so that I don’t need to cook that often and have more time to read and translate my German texts.
I also try to go out every day. I like to get fresh air, go for long walks and take tons of pictures. I must admit that there were not that many times that I left my apartment for other reason than grocery shopping in the last month or so.
I spent all days studying. It’s been a long time since I’ve tried to memorize some texts and it’s been the first time in my life that I’ve tried to memorize a text that was in German – 300 pages of local rules and regulations.
I’ve made a lot of sacrifices but was it all worth it?
Last Tuesday I had my exams. That night I couldn’t sleep, and I was sure I would forget everything even though I spent almost 2 months trying to get it done. The exams started at 9 AM and I was there already at 8:30. I was just walking in circles at home, so my husband told me it would be better to go there 😊
And guess what? I was not the first one there! There were 4 other people already. It made me feel better that I was not the only one who was stressed out like a teenager.
When I finally opened the exam papers I was horrified. I was skipping one question after another. They were so different to what I expected! I realized I had to put some system in place as otherwise it would all go totally wrong.
There were a few questions that I could answer without any doubt, so I started with those. Then I moved to the ones that I was not so sure about and read them carefully. Slowly, I worked my way through almost all of them and started to relax a bit.
There were 3 questions that I didn’t understand very well so I discussed them with the guy who was making sure that we were not cheating. As I’m not a native German speaker he helped me to understand the content so that I could answer them.
It took me around 90 minutes to complete the exams and I was offered to wait for about 30 minutes if I wanted to know the results. If not, I could go home, and the results would be sent to me the day after. Of course, I chose to wait 😊
After 30 minutes I was asked to join the group. My heart was racing like I was running a marathon… I approached them and they all smiled and nodded. At that point I knew all was good.
They congratulated me and told me that my results were the best that they ever had there. From 192 points I only lost 3! I couldn’t believe me ears and they could see that I was surprised so they asked me why.
I told them how important it was to me and that I was afraid because of the language and the guy who was helping me during my study said that he had no concerns and he was sure that I would pass with no major issues. That guy believed in me more than I did! 😊
I was extremely happy and called my husband who told me that after all those hours that I put in studying he was also sure that I would pass. Then I called my mom, my friends and it looked like everyone believed in me and I was the only one who was not so sure about it.
Did I learn anything from this experience? NO! I’m sure that if I would ever have to pass some exams again, I would be freaking out like I always do 😊
And now I am legally allowed to get my business license!
Thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Martina
wow, this is very impressive Martina! You should be very proud of yourself and know that people like me are too! I knew you were going to be something special one day from the minute I come in contact with you :)
Now you made me blush yet again Dave! :)
I'm so happy for you Martina, you are now one step closer to your dream. With all that focus it's clear how badly you want to succeed in your business and I'm sure you will :) Bravo!
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Thank you Dan! :) One step closer.. that's true :) I might just have to look for another location as I'm facing so many issues with the owner.. it looks like he doesn't even want to rent out the place as he doesn't co-operate at all. But regardless the place, I can open the restaurant now :) Hope you're doing well! Any posts planned?
The owner should decide if he wants to rent or not and agree with the contract terms, you'll have enough things to take care of afterwards, he should be out of your way once the contract is signed and rent payed. You can apply one simple principle: if the owner/location it's not a big YES, than it's probably a NO and you should start looking for another. Hopefully I will share my post today :)
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Nice nice niceeee :) taking exams in german..pfiiuuf sounds scary...btw your approach of tackling the easiest first reminds me of my uni times haha :D exactly as you said - it makes you feel more relaxed once you know you've maybe at least passing :D
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That was indeed scary, lol :D He said the instructions in Swiss German and I almost fainted as I don't understand Swiss German, especially when people speak so fast :D But then I thought I actually don't need any instructions and focused on questions :D
I was doing the same during my studies :) You feel like you at least have a few of them right..
Hey, @delishtreats.
All this for a business license? In German?! Congratulations! This is as about as impressive as it gets as far as I'm concerned, even though I'm sorry all of this was even necessary.
I think the fact that you spent two solid months studying anything is awesome, that it was in a language not your native tongue is even more so, and that in the end, you were able to manage your own freak out to not only pass, but to get the highest score ever!
I don't think the awesomeness of this undertaking can be overstated. Well done.
Now, does this mean you'll be back on STEEM a little more? :) And will you be opening a bakery or something else related to cooking? I man, after all this, you will be doing something with it, right? :)
Rules are rules :) I'm glad that I did it though as I learned a lot.. When you say it like this it indeed sounds awesome :D And it feels so good! I was shocked at first but now I keep telling everyone that I was the best, lol. Have to enjoy my 15 minutes of fame :D
Yes, I think I'll be back a little more, not as much as I used to before but much more than in the last two months :)
I will be opening a small vegan restaurant (24 seats + 4 bar stools, in summer a couple of tables outside if possible). I'm struggling with the location at the moment but as soon as all is fixed (or if this doesn't work than as soon as I find a new location) I will be ready to open it. I've planned for October this year but if the issues with the location continue I will postpone it to the next year as it doesn't make sense to open it for Christmas :) But it doesn't matter - I've been waiting for so long that another 1 year is not going to kill me :)
Thank you for your super kind words Glen!
Oh, wow. So you've not only been studying all the time for the test, but you've been getting things lined up and setting others in motion for the eventuality of passing the test. I like it. Confident or not, you had the courage to get going on it. That's awesome.
Well, if the first location doesn't work out, maybe it's for the best. These things have a way of becoming a reality one way or another. Looks like you have the drive to see it through, too, so awesome. I can see why you won't be around as much, but maybe you can share some of your vegan restaurant experiences. Any chance you'll be accepting STEEM? No worries if not, truly. I'm just curious. :)
I think that everything happens for a reason. If I have so many issues with the location then it's maybe not the right one for me. I'm still thinking about it but at the end I will follow my heart. It usually helps me :)
Of course I will accept Steem! Well, if I figure out how it works :) I would like to accept other crypto too but I will have to look for some expert who will help me to set up the system...
I will share some updates as well, just don't want to say too much if I'm not sure how it's going to work at the end. But there will be posts about my restaurant :)
Wow @delishtreats 💥🎈💥 ...
... so very happy for you. 😊 After all that effort, I can only imagine how good that feeling must be! 🤗
With that "hurdle" successfully cleared, what is up next for you?
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I honestly thought they were joking :) But as they looked serious I understood that I really passed :)
I'm trying to get a place for the restaurant. I am in a discussion with a real estate agent for almost a month now but I feel like the owner doesn't even want to rent out the place as he is not co-operating at all. That place is in a very bad condition and requires large reconstruction but we can't agree on splitting the costs. He somehow doesn't get that the reconstruction will add value to his property and hence he should be at least a little bit flexible.
He believes that the place can be used like a restaurant without any large reconstruction but this is not true. It looks horrible and people will simply not come to such place as they would not feel good. It's on the market for almost a year and now I understand why. I guess everyone who tried to come into an agreement with the owner had a similar experience..
I'm at the point when I fear that I will have to start to look for a new place because I worry how it would be when I would take it and our co-operation would be like this all the time..
Well @delishtreats ...
... that doesn't sound encouraging. Having now passed the State test and gained their confirmation of your suitability to be a restaurant owner, now back to "real life" ...
Not an expert by any means, but I have long heard the oft-repeated "wisdom" that the 3 most important things in a retail business (of any kind, restaurant or otherwise ...) are "location, location, and ... ... location." At least that is so here in America.
Given human nature though, I would assume that would be true most anywhere ... The value proposition offered offset by the convenience of benefiting from the service offered ...
Given your assessment this particular property offers the best potential for the success of your new venture, have you considered buying it outright? That would solve the problem of having to obtain the owner's support. But would open you up to a much greater initial capital outlay and risk ...
Well, my dear Steemian friend, looking forward to future installments on your "new adventure!" 😊
I am still considering this place as I believe in its potential but I'm not going to go through more issues. If it continues then I'm out of the deal.. I will rather wait for another one as I also believe that the location is truly important for the success. Well, it's not possible to buy the building as there are 3 additional floors with apartments and I think that the price would be around 5 Mio :) In Switzerland you have to have 20% of the price cash to get the mortgage :) I'm sure you can guess that I don't have this much :)
I hope that you're doing well. I didn't have time to check any posts yet but I will try to catch up on yours this week :)
Good morning @delishtreats. I am way behind in my Steem "engagement," so taking a break from my responsibilities to catch up a bit ...
Your struggles with this property owner are discouraging I would imagine, but it sounds like you approach it with a good attitude. If you do not feel comfortable with the negotiations now, you are wise to "walk away" rather than make a decision you will live to regret.
Fascinating you have to have 20% of the price to get a mortgage! That sounds like enforcement of "sound money" principles are very important in your country. I wish I could say the same about America, but I cannot. All I can do is practice them myself (I owe no man anything ...) and watch in frustration (to put it mildly) while our country engages in the devaluation of its currency, along with much of the rest of the world.
This debasement of our currencies will not end well, I predict. I would love to be proven wrong, but I fear the worse. If so, perhaps a "sound money haven" like the country of Switzerland will be spared the worst of it (think Venezuela ...).
Looking forward to "future installments" on your efforts to achieve your dream and get your restaurant up and running!
Congrats Martina!! Well done for passing with flying colours! Go take a well deserved break now!
Thank you Pauline! :) I'm in the Netherlands now, enjoying the full service that I get from my mother in law, lol :) The weather is great so I will spend some time outside to compensate for those 2 months. I also need some vitamin D :)
I will be around a little bit more so I'm looking forward to reading your posts again :)
Likewise Martina, have missed reading your post!
That’s great news Martina! 😃 Big congrats! 🎉 I can understand how nervous you were before the exam (it’s already difficult for me to only do the beginner German language exams in university, not to say this type of advanced ones). I passed Schaffhausen a few days ago on the way back to Belgium and visited Rhein falls, and it’s freezing cold that day, haha...
You should have let me know that you were there :) I live just about 10 minutes walk from the Rheinfalls.. oh yes, that week was very cold but now it's about 25 Degrees there. It was just one cold week so you just had a bad luck..
Oh, the language was such an issue. I do speak German daily but still.. it's different to learn local rules and regulations :) So I am so happy that it's behind me and now I can finally focus on other things..
Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words Donica! Hope you're doing well :)
German texts, eh? That sounds fun, depending on what you're translating. Amazing how quickly you got the results, too. Congratulations on the high score! What are you studying for?
I'll be defending my capstone project tomorrow and I'm starting to get pretty nervous.
Well, I wouldn't particularly call it FUN :D it was rather hard work :)
I'm working on opening of a restaurant and for this reason I need a license. In the canton where I live it's not possible to run a restaurant unless you have studied in HORECA or you have a long experience in leading a restaurant (which you only get when you studied so this is a strange rule). Since I have none of these I had to pass an exam from the local rules and regulations to be able to get a license...
How did your project go? I'm sure you were a shining star! :)
Thank you for stopping by!
My exams are just about to start unfortunately :D Congrats on passing it and much luck with your business :)
Thank you! Good luck with your exams! I'm sure you'll pass it and will be able to enjoy summer :)
I knew you could do it, too, my brilliant friend! I'm so happy that part is done for you now. Big congratulations! 🎉
Thank you so much! I'm still so happy when I think about it :)