Now that I'm in Hawaii, I have a little news unrelated to Hawaii to share. In September, I will be attending a conference in Berlin, Germany (it was a bit up in the air for a while there, but now it seems pretty sure I'll be going). It will be my first conference, and I will even be presenting a paper! This is very exciting, but it's just one more thing for me to be stressed about, seeing as this paper is not yet written, and the research isn't even exactly complete, and I have already left the job where I was working on the project. Essentially, I will be presenting something that I will have to finish during whatever free time I find in the next two months while juggling orientation and the beginning of classes and my research assistantship and settling down in a new place. Fun. Also fun will be the 12-hour jet lag from Honolulu to Berlin...
But I am very excited about the trip! I have only been to Europe three times, and never to Germany. I don't speak a word of German--OK, maybe a few words: "Guten Tag", "Nein", and "Ja", as well as "Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen" and some other not-so-useful phrases from choral pieces (though I guess that one might be useful if someone were inviting me into their house?). Language shouldn't be an issue within the conference, but elsewhere my lack of German will be inconvenient. I'll be pretty busy with the conference, but hopefully I'll find some time to see the city. Maybe a trip to the zoo!
I will surely have more updates on this trip to Germany as it draws closer.
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6 comments:
You know where you should stop on your way to Germany? England. Specifically, Newcastle. Hahaha. Maybe it will make the jet lag better!
Yay! I'd love to stop in England on the way. Haven't been there for ten years. Unfortunately, I will be missing classes to go to this conference, so staying extra time for pleasure is probably not a good idea :-(
(It seems so strange to be talking about classes again, since I haven't had a class in over two years. Eek!)
yay congrats! i've always been slightly jealous of people who travel for work!
Thanks! Yeah, it's one of the perks of the field that I hadn't thought about but was pleased to discover. I know a couple professors with children who find it sort of a pain after a while to have to go away again, but since I am currently unattached, it's just pretty great.
Hey, I could teach you some phrases in german :) Or you can check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyU-sOx-_hM her pronounciation is really good!
Viel Spaß! (Much fun!)
Oh, great! Danke! Yay, I have a German friend :)
Another useful phrase might be "I'm sorry, I don't speak German. Do you speak English?" That's like the phrase I learned when I went to France. Made me feel better about being a dumb American who doesn't speak the language, that I was at least able to apologize about it.
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