Exciting things have been happening! Amidst my crazy three-job every day work schedule, I was asked to translate at a wedding! The two grooms live in Germany, but one is French and one is American...so they came to the US to get married! Most of the French family didn't come for this ceremony (they'll be having another celebration in France next month), but the direct family did make the trip. But those who spoke any English didn't speak enough to act as translator...which is where I came in. I didn't translate during the ceremony (except in a lowered voice to the French groom's parents to avoid being too disruptive), so most of my work was during dinner (which was AMAZING) and during the reception.
It was such a pleasure, and an honor, to be part of such a celebration.
(And if you're curious, this is the lovely location of the ceremony and reception)
John Joseph Inn & Elizabeth Restaurant
In other exciting news, I bought a tent for future backpacking adventures!
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
the red beret goes backpacking: Scenes from Last Summer
Here's a treat- this is what I did as the Trip Director at a Girl Scout Camp last summer. Nostalgic in a way, I don't know if I'll be adventuring like this during the coming months, because of work. Fingers crossed, though.
Backpack trip in the Adirondack High Peaks
Canoe trip, starting on Upper Saranac and exploring the nearby ponds region
Backpack trip in the Adirondack High Peaks
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| A walkway on Avalanche Pass |
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| Timeout on Avalanche Lake |
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| Avalanche Lake |
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| On the peak of Phelps Mountain, looking out at the High Peaks |
Canoe trip, starting on Upper Saranac and exploring the nearby ponds region
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| Twitch washing off her feet by the grounded canoes |
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| Home for the evening on our very own island. |
Thursday, May 22, 2014
the red beret is back: Fulbright & Update
Hi. It's been a while.
I've been Stateside since I came back from Berlin (almost two years ago!) I have been traveling some, but it's been hard to keep up during the semester. So I suppose my last few trips are just going to have to remain a mystery, and hopefully the future ones will be here.
Okay, not a complete mystery. Last summer, I worked as a camp counselor and led a 4-day backpacking trip in the Adirondack High Peaks, and then a 4-day canoe trip near Saranac Lake the following week. In September, my sister and I went to Washington, D.C. for the National Book Festival, where we listened to authors (including Margaret Atwood!) talk about their works. In October, I took a short trip to Buffalo, NY to visit a friend, and that was it until... March, when I went to Chicago for a weekend and then spent my birthday week with my sister and her boyfriend in Ohio. The most recent trip was in April, when I attended the Undergraduate Research Conference in German Studies at Loyola College in Pennsylvania, and I spent the rest of the weekend with a friend in NYC.
I'm currently in Rochester, where I attend university. I'm living here for the summer so I can take some classes and work on my thesis, and it's also closer to NYC, where I'll have to go to propose and pick up my visa to study in France in the fall (!) Even though the past several months have been mostly stagnant for long-distance travel, hopefully the next couple years will be a little more upbeat. Today I'm working on my essays for a Fulbright Grant, which, if I get it, will mean I spend a year as an English Teaching Assistant in Germany the year after I graduate. Fingers crossed, and I guess I'd best get back to working on it.
Cheers.
I've been Stateside since I came back from Berlin (almost two years ago!) I have been traveling some, but it's been hard to keep up during the semester. So I suppose my last few trips are just going to have to remain a mystery, and hopefully the future ones will be here.
Okay, not a complete mystery. Last summer, I worked as a camp counselor and led a 4-day backpacking trip in the Adirondack High Peaks, and then a 4-day canoe trip near Saranac Lake the following week. In September, my sister and I went to Washington, D.C. for the National Book Festival, where we listened to authors (including Margaret Atwood!) talk about their works. In October, I took a short trip to Buffalo, NY to visit a friend, and that was it until... March, when I went to Chicago for a weekend and then spent my birthday week with my sister and her boyfriend in Ohio. The most recent trip was in April, when I attended the Undergraduate Research Conference in German Studies at Loyola College in Pennsylvania, and I spent the rest of the weekend with a friend in NYC.
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| At Cloud Gate in Chicago, sans red beret but with my trusty blue L.L. Bean. |
I'm currently in Rochester, where I attend university. I'm living here for the summer so I can take some classes and work on my thesis, and it's also closer to NYC, where I'll have to go to propose and pick up my visa to study in France in the fall (!) Even though the past several months have been mostly stagnant for long-distance travel, hopefully the next couple years will be a little more upbeat. Today I'm working on my essays for a Fulbright Grant, which, if I get it, will mean I spend a year as an English Teaching Assistant in Germany the year after I graduate. Fingers crossed, and I guess I'd best get back to working on it.
Cheers.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
the red beret: a summary
the red beret is back and ready for some adventures!
Here's (finally) a summary of what we did in Europe last fall, after Oktoberfest:
walked to Poland
went to Dublin with some good friends in November
When we came back to Berlin, we discovered some of the more natural parts...
...and some not-so-natural parts.
including the Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery.
before leaving Europe in January, we made a visit to Luxembourg and Belgium, where we spent Christmas with the family.
Here's (finally) a summary of what we did in Europe last fall, after Oktoberfest:
walked to Poland
went to Dublin with some good friends in November
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| Lovely Day For A Guinness! |
(we even saw a protest while we were there)
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral |
When we came back to Berlin, we discovered some of the more natural parts...
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| Schlachtensee |
...and some not-so-natural parts.
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| Berliner Ensemble |
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| Friedrichstrasse |
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| Alexanderplatz |
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| Rotes Rathaus |
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| Berliner Dom |
including the Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery.
before leaving Europe in January, we made a visit to Luxembourg and Belgium, where we spent Christmas with the family.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
the red beret at Oktoberfest
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| The Red Beret at Oktoberfest! |
As I said, not many pictures from Oktoberfest. It was an interesting time, though. A group of us left Berlin around 7pm on train. The first train was relatively quiet and we switched in Frankfurt am Main for the train to Munich a little after midnight. Most of us really just wanted to sleep on the second train, but with inexpensive places they keep the lights on, so it's not easy. But we knew we were on the right train when, around 2:30 or 3am, a huge group of Germans dressed in Lederhosen and Dirndles came on the train and started drinking in preparation for Oktoberfest.
Yes, really.
We arrived a bit before 6am, already exhausted, and headed over to the festival. A friend and I were couchsurfing, so we got into a Biergarten early but left before noon to go meet our host. Upon arrival, we took a nap and then spent the afternoon exploring Munich a bit. We went back to the festival the day after and actually got in some of the tents, which was pretty cool. It's just a fun atmosphere. It's not as bad as I expected, really, though I was shocked to see small children there with their parents. But in the tents there was music and everyone was just singing, talking, eating, and, of course, drinking.
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| Germania looking over the crowds. Mind you, it's about 8:30 AM. |
(sidenote)
Hello friends, readers, or anyone who has randomly stumbled upon this silly person in a red hat,
I just wanted to excuse myself for the lack of postings in the last few months. A lot has changed since the Beret and I began our adventure in August. The main thing is, I changed my mind. A lot. And decided to change my major. Which meant it was best to wait on studying in France. Which means that the Red Beret is actually Stateside again. But this does not mean that the adventures will end! Instead, there will be fewer and they will not take place in Europe for the next year and a half until I do study in France.
Another thing is that I got a little bit lazy on the picture-taking aspect. And my camera died at Oktoberfest, so I have very few from there. Also, towards the end I got so busy in Berlin with my classes, volunteering, and program activities that I hardly had time to breathe, much less post my adventures.
So a big I'M SORRY from the soul and the hat, but we'll catch up and be back before long!
Here's what you can look forward to:
-Oktoberfest (all 3 pictures before my camera died)
-A Polish border town
-Dublin, Ireland
-Berliner Weihnachtsmarkt
-Beckerich, Luxembourg
-Brugge
...and perhaps a few extra that I may have forgotten.
I just wanted to excuse myself for the lack of postings in the last few months. A lot has changed since the Beret and I began our adventure in August. The main thing is, I changed my mind. A lot. And decided to change my major. Which meant it was best to wait on studying in France. Which means that the Red Beret is actually Stateside again. But this does not mean that the adventures will end! Instead, there will be fewer and they will not take place in Europe for the next year and a half until I do study in France.
Another thing is that I got a little bit lazy on the picture-taking aspect. And my camera died at Oktoberfest, so I have very few from there. Also, towards the end I got so busy in Berlin with my classes, volunteering, and program activities that I hardly had time to breathe, much less post my adventures.
So a big I'M SORRY from the soul and the hat, but we'll catch up and be back before long!
Here's what you can look forward to:
-Oktoberfest (all 3 pictures before my camera died)
-A Polish border town
-Dublin, Ireland
-Berliner Weihnachtsmarkt
-Beckerich, Luxembourg
-Brugge
...and perhaps a few extra that I may have forgotten.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
the red beret in Czech Republic: Prague
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| The Red Beret enjoying a Trdlník in Old Prague |
September 2012- Prague
Day 1: The Tower and Charles Bridge
Up the tower: the view from above
On the Charles Bridge
Walking back
Day 2: Walking Tour
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| A market in Prague |
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| Maria and Marionettes |
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| tribute to Franz Kafka |
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| Glockenspiel |
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| John Lennon "Imagine" wall |
Post-tour
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| Czech beer- Na zdraví! |
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| Prague at night, from above |
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| National History Museum |
and sbohem to Prague.
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