CaliforniaGermans

All Things German In California

Southern California

My Easter Tradition

by Leave a Comment

easter-eggs-2211951_1920

MY EASTER TRADITION

Back in the days when I was a little kid and living in Germany, Easter was one of my favorite holidays.  I loved believing in the Easter bunny, which would come out early in the morning to hide eggs, candy, and toys all around the house and backyard.

My family’s tradition consisted of going to church in the morning, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Once the service was over I remember how excited I usually became, knowing there were lots of surprises waiting at home for my sister and I.  My mother was usually the one hiding all the Easter goodies the night before, but when I was little I truly believed that the Easter bunny was doing all the hard work.

At a certain age I knew that my parents were the ones behind everything, but I still didn’t mind hunting for toys and candy.  It was such a blast, especially since we had a three story home with a small yard, so there were lots of hiding spots.  Once all the surprises were collected, us kids usually inspected everything and tested the new toys.

After the first excitement of the hunt eventually subsided, it was time for brunch.  For that, we usually had a big family gathering either at a hotel or restaurant, where a buffet was offered.  It was the perfect solution and suited everybody’s taste.  Also, since we were a group of about ten people, none of our family members had to stand in the kitchen for hours.  My family is actually still holding up that tradition, just nowadays without me since I moved to the United States.

Since I have been living in America, I have been celebrating Easter, if at all, very differently.  My first Easter in the states was back in 2012, when I was living with a family that had two young children.

One year, I remember I prepared Easter baskets for them that were filled with chocolates and small toys.  I left them on the kitchen table with a note, wishing them a Happy Easter while they were out and about.  The next year, I went to a family gathering with them, but it was still not the same as back in my childhood days.

The following years, I wasn’t celebrating the Holiday at all, and if I wouldn’t have seen it marked in my calendar, I would have had no idea what date Easter was that year.  It just felt different for me over here, I can’t really explain why, but I didn’t have such a connection as I had back in Europe growing up.

Last year marked the first time in a while where I had an Easter experience somewhat similar to my childhood days.  You can describe it as the adult version of what the tradition for us kids looked like.  My now-roommate was house sitting at a beautiful home, fully equipped with a pool and hot tub.

Since she introduced a brunch tradition to her friends many years ago, she extended the invite to me, and I was more than happy to accept since I missed the family Easter brunch gatherings.

It was a beautiful Sunday, the sun was shining, and my roommates’ friends and I started arriving at the location one after another.  Entering the house, I could already smell eggs, bacon (that was the time I was still eating meat), and pancakes.

We gathered around the backyard, some people hanging out in a hammock, others in the hot tub, pool, and benches all around, while the two dogs of the homeowners kept roaming around us.

We had a great time talking, eating, and enjoying the sun together until it was time for the annual beer hunt. Yes, my roommate upgraded the traditional egg hunt to a fun-filled beer hunt, where all of us participants received a beer carton and had to find as many beers as would fit into it.

All the while knowing how clumsy I am, especially when it comes to handling fragile items such as glass, I entered this content with caution, but finished with no further incidents.

After all beer bottles were found, all participants sat back outside with their precious findings, looking forward to indulge into the liquid goodies.  I was sitting in the sun, sipping on my drink when I decided it was getting too hot and wanted to move into the shade, of course not without my cargo.

What I did not consider was that my beer carton, which was soaked up on the bottom with water from the pool, had become a little fragile.  I lifted it up, not supporting the bottom with my hands, and sure enough, it made a quick rip and all remaining bottles smashed on the concrete ground.

Everyone was staring very surprised and quietly at the mess I just had created, until some of us were able to digest the shock a little and got up to clean up the glass.  Oh well, since I am not a big drinker anyways I wasn’t too upset I wasn’t able to drink more, but I did feel very bad about the broken glass all over the floor.

My roommate did invite me again to this year’s Easter brunch/ beer hunt, but luckily I will be up in LA this time, hopefully not breaking anything.  However all of you who are celebrating or not celebrating the Holiday, I wish you a very Happy Easter!

Image: pixabay.com
———————————————————————————————–————
Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She has been living in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

———————————————————————————————–———–

sponsored by ADOLESCO.ORG

.

SOCAL German Day 2017 at UCI

by Leave a Comment

img_5837

Yesterday on Tuesday, February 7 the UCI Department of European Languages and Studies invited to its SOCAL German Day 2017.  A day that started out with German weather in fact. But despite initial rain showers students and teachers came out in big numbers to learn what UCI’s German Studies Program had to offer.

German School campus students and the school’s founder Frau Ursula Schoeneich attended as well and joined in the three hours filled program whichUCI -German consul was put together by Glenn Levine, Professor of German and German Language Program Director at UCI. Before the crowd of students spread out to find their respective session, School of Humanities Dean Georges van den Abbeele as well as the German Deputy Consul General Kathrin Steinbrenner welcomed teachers and students to the event.

A variety of interesting and fun classes were offered including sessions led by Peter Zykowski of the Goethe Institute San Francisco, a workshop with Hanni Geist from the DAAD, and daad-workshop-with-hanni-geista class with Vera Dindoyal from the ZfA-Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Students of German School campus won the German Trivia Quiz 1 with 20 to 11 against other High School students. They joined classes of “Getting a Degree in Germany”, “Step into German with Soccer and Music”, and a “German Theater workshop”.

At the end of the event everyone could enjoy a UCI Campus Tour led by UCI’s German Studies students in German or English. By that time California sun had come out again as well and begged for a visit at the university’s ‘Mensa’ (food court). Frau Schoeneich and her German School campus students took that moment to discuss the day’s exciting moments while going through their gift bags filled with information and enjoying California fare.

———————————————————————————————–

Text/Images: German School campus & CaliforniaGermans

.

New Year, New Career?

by Leave a Comment

direction-255294_1920

NEW YEAR, NEW CAREER?

To say life has been a rollercoaster lately would be a total understatement.  These last couple months have been very challenging, and I needed to take a break from writing for a bit, even though I claim it is a kind of therapy for me.  But, as we all know, life happens, and we do have to prioritize certain things.

I usually start to slow down during the winter months for a bit, not being able to be as active as during spring or summer. Piled on top of this was my career situation.  I did start an internship in August, which I unfortunately had to terminate in November.  I had such a great time at Tricoast Worldwide, and it really wasn’t easy to leave.  I learned so much and had wonderful coworkers who made work feel like fun.  I loved the family environment so much more than working for big corporations like I did before.

But, as another saying tells, if one door closes, another one opens, which I did not see at first.  As not many of you might know, I do work as an independent contractor for an app that provides dog walking, boarding, and sitting.  I started doing this job on the side when I was still at Tricoast, but it became my full-time position once I quit.  I am a huge dog lover and have to confess that I was actually a little excited, yet also scared, to take on this career shift.

I personally rather am with animals than sitting at a desk all day, staring at a computer screen.  I also wasn’t ready to start writing applications for PR jobs again, after it took so much effort to eventually land an unpaid position- yeah, no thanks.  I told myself to take it easy over the holidays, and once New Year’s hit, I would feel refreshed and ready to give applying another go.

But you know what? It didn’t happen like that.  Yes, I did take it easy over the holidays and got some much needed rest.  But I wasn’t feeling refreshed and ready to write applications.  All I wanted was to work with dogs.  I know that probably sounds ridiculous to many people, especially in expensive California.

But I am happy.  I am truly happy to have a job that doesn’t feel like a job to me.  It never feels like work for me, and every day is different.  This, I believe, is what your dream job has to feel like.  And, since I have put a couple of these in this post already, here is another smart saying by Mark Twain that sums it up perfectly: “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

I do am aware that I will not be able to perform this job forever.  At the end of each day, I can always feel every muscle in my legs from being on my feet all day.  Also, there are no benefits, and I have to work rain or shine in order to make ends meet. But I see this position as my ground base.

I would love to be able to combine my degree in communications with working with animals at some point.  But I am not stressing out about it at the moment.  I rather enjoy what I do, be able to save up some fundamentals, and then start taking the next step of the career ladder. And also find the time to write more again.

Image: pixabay.com
———————————————————————————————–————
Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She has been living in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

———————————————————————————————–———–

From Glamping to Camping

by Leave a Comment

img_4878

From Glamping to Camping

Those who know me really well know that I am usually not the “Camping Type.”  I prefer sleeping in a room with four walls, a comfortable bed, and a running shower.  But for my girlfriend’s birthday, I made an exception.  I am aware that this sounds like total diva behavior, but I went on a camping trip back in 2010 and it was brutal.  But more to that in another article.  This week I want to give my girlfriend’s birthday trip the attention it deserves, because it ended up being freaking awesome!

The idea arose about a month before Laura’s (name changed due to privacy) actual birthday.  She is well-known for celebrating her birthday in style. Last year, we all went to Catalina for the day, which was a lot of fun.  So I wasn’t very surprised when she told me her plans for this year.  Even though I was not a camping admirer, I was excited to spend a weekend with a group of fun people out in the woods of Santa Barbara.

So when the actual weekend finally arrived, I left my house all packed up at 6 a.m. to make my way up to Santa Barbara.  This was literally the first time I didn’t run into any traffic driving through LA, something that usually never happens.  With only two-and-a-half hours of driving I made my way into the woods, meeting up with my friends who had already resided at the campsite since the night before.

I arrived at the perfect time.  Eggs were already broiling on the camping cooker, and everyone just started gathering around the picnic table.  The campground was really great structured.  Each site was spread out so nobody ended up being crammed to a strange neighbor.  It was also equipped with a big table and grill, even though at this time of the year campers weren’t allowed to BBQ with charcoal or firewood due to the fire danger.  Thankfully we had planned ahead and brought small portable grills that ran on propane.

Since I had decided to sleep in my car through the duration of the trip, I didn’t end up taking space from my other friends who brought three tents they had to set up.  Even though with two small tents and a five person one we still had plenty of room to spread out, which we used for setting up an additional camping table and a game of corn hole.

We cleaned up breakfast right on time before a bunch of nasty flies invaded the campsite, buzzing around our ears for almost an hour before it became too hot and they disappeared.  That was when we decided to explore the nature hood around us by going on a hike.  That was not a very smart move.  With two cars filled with six people and one tiny French bulldog called Stout, we drove a couple minutes toward an open hiking trail.

img_4877

While on route, we witnessed firsthand the damages the severe dryness of the mountains had caused: the forest on one side was half burned down.  What used to be a sandy walking trail was now only black ashes.  Once we arrived at the open trail and stepped out of the car, a wave of pure heat blew right into our faces.

We had left camp way too late and didn’t manage to avoid the massive hot temperatures.  Trying to keep up a positive attitude, our group made its way up the mountain, only to decide that five of us would be going back to camp ten minutes after we started our hike.  One of our friends, also known as the daredevil, withstood the severe heat and continued to climb up the mountain.

Back at camp all of us searched for shade and didn’t move out of it for a while.  After three hours, our one hiking survivor made it back to the campsite and joined us for an afternoon filled with a corn hole tournament, barbecuing, and playing games before it turned dark.  As every camper knows, that is the time you start telling scary stories, which we did.

Once it was time to hit the sheets I really tried to make myself comfortable in my car.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to put the seats all the way down, nor did I fit onto the back bench.  What can I say, it was more of a sleepless night than I would have imagined, and I would rather sleep in a tent in the future than re-positioning myself the whole night.

The next day we had breakfast and then started packing our belongings together.  While four of the group decided to part ways early and head home, four of us wanted to explore the surrounding area a little more.  We drove to a nearby lake, or at least to what was left of it.  While we thought we would be greeted by deep blue waters, in reality the lake looked more like a puddle.  A big portion of it was dried out, showcasing big cracks on the ground.  It was very saddening to see how far the drought has actually come by now.  This experience was definitely an eye opener.

img_4880  img_4881

All in all this entire trip changed my perception of camping in general.  One point that contributed tremendously to the shift of my emotions toward it was the fact that we actually had a flushable toilet. This really made a difference to the whole camping experience, let me tell you.

But what really made this trip amazing was the particular group I went with.  When you are going with the right people, everything else becomes kind of less important.  I didn’t care I was wearing the exact same dirty clothes the next day or that I wasn’t able to take a shower.  I just enjoyed the great company and rather focused on making my friend’s birthday memorable.  I wonder what she will have in store for next year…

Good Things Come to Those Who Hustle

by Leave a Comment

Good Things Come to Those Who Hustle

the-end-1544913_1920

I really didn’t intend to make a whole separate series out of my internship. It just so happened that I went through some major stages I think are worthwhile sharing, and I just wasn’t able to fit it all in one article without having to write a novel. But this one is going to be the last one, and then I will be done with this topic, I swear.

My first few weeks with CBS didn’t go so well for me.  In fact, I was terrified in the beginning to actually go back after my disastrous (as I saw it) first day.  I put so much pressure on myself, trying to perform like a pro when I only had been there for a couple days.  This behavior affected my sleep, my eating habits, my workouts and my friends.

My friends were  true angels in that situation, listening to me whining about possibly leaving the internship.  They tried to lift me up in every possible way.  I really am thankful they didn’t want to rip my head off after I always managed to turn the conversation to how unhappy I was in this position.  I just didn’t feel I was suited for the it.

Until that one week my supervisor was sick and had to leave the office.  That was my time to shine and to step up.  At first, I was terrified when she announced that she had to go home because she wasn’t feeling well.  I hated answering the phone, but now that was my responsibility.  And what can I say; I was actually compatible to do it.  It is really not rocket science to take phone calls and transfer them.  After the first couple times I started to become more comfortable with it and started to lose my fear.

I also got to know my boss a little more during that time since I now had to work directly under here.  We had some good conversations, and she told me how much she appreciated me being there.  That really boosted my confidence, and I became ambitious to fulfill each of my tasks the best I could.  I started thriving and believing in myself.  I actually was capable of handling responsibilities in a gigantic corporation where you are confronted with deadlines and a high-pressure environment.

One day during that week, my boss let me accompany her while she was guiding a television crew around the lot.  This was one of the first times when I saw the perks this job brought with it.  It was fun to not be tied to the desk all day and just walk around and watch the crew film sets and interview talent such as late night host James Corden (love him, by the way).  I happily stayed an hour past my off-time just to be around this environment and observe.  I think I thanked my boss a gazillion times that she let me come with her.

When my supervisor got back, the relationship between us became better, too.  I had a way more positive attitude, and it showed.  From that moment on I knew I didn’t want to terminate the internship and saw it as a great experience and a way to enhance my resume.  Of course there were moments when I hated my job, but that happens in my current position too.  It is something everybody goes through from time to time, as long as the positives outweigh the negatives.

The highlight of my internship actually happened during my last week. It was the week of the LA Screenings, which are happening in May each year.  It is an event where the major networks present their upcoming new summer/fall shows to interested buyers from all over the world.  Working this event was a lot of fun, not only because the interns got to work with A-listers such as Katherine Heigl or Michael Weatherly.  We also got to watch the pilots of the new shows.  On top of that, we had an In-N- Out truck catering the event, which was definitely one of the best things ever.

Yeah, that week I realized how lucky I actually was despite all the difficulties I had in the beginning.  And what can I say, when I had to say goodbye, I started crying.  I knew I would miss the environment and the work.  The only thing that I was looking forward to was to not sit in traffic anymore.  Until I landed my current job, which is located in Culver City.  But that is another story.

Image: pixabay.com
———————————————————————————————–————
Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She has been living in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

———————————————————————————————–———–

.

What Doesn't Kill You…

by Leave a Comment

street-sign-141396_1280

What Doesn’t Kill You…

Before I started my great adventure at CBS, or so I imagined, I had about a month off to get prepared.  Since I attended school as an international student, there were certain regulations I had to follow and documents I had to organize.  As it usually goes with bureaucracy, difficulties arose, and I almost didn’t receive all necessary documents in time, fearing to lose the internship position.  But thankfully, one day before the estimated beginning of the job, I was able to pick up everything I needed.

I was starting my internship on a Friday in January.  That Thursday before, I went out with a girlfriend for dinner, trying to get distracted from my emerging nervousness.  Unfortunately though, all the good Thai food we had didn’t calm me down one bit.  I had a pretty sleepless night, waking up at least once every hour before my alarm rang.  Feeling like a Zombie but trying to portray a motivated attitude, I made my way out of the door two hours before my orientation appointment in Santa Monica.

The heavy LA traffic that I was supposed to be stuck in three times a week from that point on didn’t lift me up either.  But once I arrived at the HR offices and felt the cool vibe that was going on there, I felt a little better.  Also, the people that held the orientation were super nice and friendly and made me feel comfortable.  After an hour of listening and signing papers, I was sent off to drive to Television City located right in the middle of LA where the office I worked in was located.

During the 20-minute drive, I kept reminding me that everything will be fine, it was my first day, and that I was there to learn and nobody expected me to be perfect.  Unfortunately, on that day I became my own worst enemy.  Once I proceeded through the entry gate, parked my car, and was guided upstairs on the third floor where my work space was located, my nervousness resurfaced pretty strong.  And the encounter with my boss as well as supervisor didn’t help that emotional stage.  I instantly got the impression that something was off, but didn’t want to judge anything too soon.

I received a quick introduction and run-down of what I was supposed to do from now on before my supervisor took me around the lot to get my ID I had to use from now on to be able to access the studio and the building.  I was beyond tired, but tried to remember every little detail she was telling me.  Once we got back upstairs to our work spaces, I was directed to go over the intern information one more time, and then go on my lunch break.  When I came back and my supervisor wasn’t there, I felt a little lost.  And that was when things started to take a turn downwards for me.

At first, I had problems logging back in to my computer, due to a typo in my login information that was provided to me.  After a couple minutes of trying, I finally figured it out and was able to access my computer.  Puh, first small challenge survived.  I checked my emails and saw that my supervisor had asked me to do the table of contents for that day’s press clips. She had attached a template of how to do it, and so I instantly got on the task.  It probably took me an hour to finish it, with my supervisor asking several times when I would be done.  That and the fact that I made a lot of formatting mistakes put a lot of extra pressure on me.

My personal problem is that I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself and want to please everybody instead of realizing that nobody expects me to be perfect on my first day.  But I wasn’t able to think like that, and so all I wanted to do was to finish the table of contents as quick as possible, regardless of several typos I had to fix anyways.  My supervisor sent me an email of what I needed to keep in mind in regards to the table of contents in the future.

After I was finally done with this task, I was asked to start the clips for the following Monday by putting them in a Word document and saving them under a specific folder my supervisor told me earlier about.  Unfortunately, I forgot which folder, and when I asked my supervisor, she wasn’t really pleased.  In a moody voice she told me, “The one I told you earlier about.” My brain was still blank and I couldn’t think of the location of the folder.

So, feeling even more uncomfortable, I went back to my supervisor and asked her really nicely if she could show me one more time where I could find it.  Expecting another annoyed answer, I was very surprised that she kept calmer this time and quickly showed me where to find it.  But from that situation on, I had an even more uncomfortable feeling.  I don’t want to disclose too much, but sometimes, she made me feel stupid when I was just being an intern who was there to learn certain things.

In addition to this incident, I was also being told off that day for not properly following the call protocol, meaning that I forgot to ask who the caller was before transferring her to my boss’s phone.  I understand what I did wrong, but from that moment on, I was terrified to make that mistake again and to pick up the phone in general.

At the end of the day, I didn’t feel that my supervisor and my boss were really pleased with my performance.  It took forever for me to finish assignments, I had problems with handling the phone, and my electronic hour log didn’t work, so I had to run out to my car, get the paper version I was handed during orientation, had to scan it and send it via email to the HR department.  All this made me leave the office half an hour late on my first day.

I know this all doesn’t sound as dramatic on paper, but I was devastated.  I felt like a total failure and doubted that I would be able to handle the pressure well.  Once I sat in my car to drive back home, I started crying, not wanting to go back the following week.  It took many conversations with friends, patience, and my supervisor being sick to finally realize that I was capable of doing the job, and that I had the potential to learn a lot.  I just wasn’t able to see that right away.

Images: pixabay.com
———————————————————————————————–————
Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She has been living in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

———————————————————————————————–———–

.

My Internship with CBS – Part Two

by Leave a Comment

 

hands-1445472_1920

My Internship with CBS – Part Two

I hope everyone had a great, relaxing, fun-filled Labor Day, not worrying about having to be at the office at 9 a.m. and fighting through rush hour.  Speaking of heavy traffic and labor, beginning of this year, I made my first big steps toward a future in the entertainment business.

Even though I had been affiliated with the Newport Beach Film Festival and got a glimpse into the film industry, the doors that were about to open for me in January had a major impact on which route I wanted to approach.  But before that, I had some hurdles to tackle.

The first one was the phone interview I talked about last week.  I was nervous, but I managed to stay calm and professional, and I somehow must have left a good impression because I was invited to an actual in-house interview during that same phone call.

Saying that I was excited about this opportunity is a clear understatement.  I swore myself that this is my chance to lay the building blocks towards a great career, and I didn’t want to jinx anything.  I took the preparation for the upcoming interview to a whole other level.  Don’t get me wrong, I do prepare for every interview properly, but I definitely took it up a notch for this one.

I started studying the backgrounds of the company that same night, thinking about every possible question they could ask me.  I practiced my answers to any potential questions while taking a shower, while watching TV, or while driving.  I also laid out my outfit a day in advance, figuring out that I had to run to the store to get a more appropriate blazer.  I also had to buy a watch to cover my wrist tattoo and got my nails done.

In addition to all this, I rented a car for the day of the interview, just to make sure I would definitely make it without having to worry about my personal, older vehicle to break down.  Oh boy, that interview preparation probably cost me more than what I got paid the first week of actually working at the company.

When the big day arrived, I made sure to leave the house two-and-a-half hours in advance just to avoid crazy LA traffic.  Of course, I arrived way too early, but thankfully The Grove was located right next to the interview site, so I spent some time there.  30 minutes before my appointment, I started driving around the studio  a couple times, being amazed with how complex the lot actually was.  All I kept thinking was: I have to go in there in 25 minutes.  Me, the German girl with the funny accent was about to step into the grand halls of fabulous TV making.  Yeah, I was intimidated.

Reminding me to keep it together, I followed the instructions I was given by my future supervisor and parked the car in the lot after I passed the guard at the gate, who took my information.  I confidently stepped out of the car, making my way toward the grand entrance, where another guard greeted me and asked for my information, before I was guided upstairs to actually meet with my future supervisors who were conducting the interview.

On the third floor, I was friendly greeted by one of the women, leading me to the office of the Vice President of Communications.  I instantly felt welcomed by the two women, and when they started asking me questions, I was most of the time able to hide my nervousness.  After the interview was done, I was being told that I would be notified during the next couple of weeks. I felt beyond relieved stepping out of the building.  I took a deep breath before I had to make my way to join in the fun of driving in LA traffic.

Ten minutes into my drive back, my phone started ringing, displaying a number with an LA area code.  I pulled over onto the nearest available parking lot, when I saw that the person who called had left me a voice mail.  Instantly, I dialed my voice mail, and I couldn’t believe what I just heard.  It was the HR lady from CBS, letting me know that I got the job.

I don’t even know how to describe the emotions I felt in that moment, but I was freaking happy, to say the least.  I actually managed to land a paid internship with one of the most successful television networks in the USA.  And they wanted me, the humble German girl with the funny accent.   At that time, I had no idea how this internship was about to challenge me.  But more about that next time…

My Internship with CBS – Part One

by Leave a Comment

clapper-board-152088_1280

My Internship with CBS – Part One

I have always been a fan of television and movies since I was a little girl.  Watching Saturday morning cartoons while my parents were preparing breakfast belonged to my childhood ritual.  Throughout my teenage years, I went to the movies with friends almost every weekend.  During the week, I kept up with my go-to soap operas before ending the day.  Back then it didn’t really occur to me to pursue a career in entertainment, it was more leisure for me after a long day of school, homework, and activities.

That changed though when I was about to transfer from Community College to California State University, Fullerton a couple years ago.  One of the assignments in my English Writing course required us students to write a compare and contrast essay, in which we were supposed to compare two potential transfer universities with each other.  I decided to look more into the Cal State schools in my surrounding neighborhoods and wrote about Long Beach and Fullerton.

Back then, I was still a Business Administration major and, therefore, looked into the specific programs this major had to offer.  One thing that caught my attention was the fact that Fullerton offered the concentration Entertainment and Tourism. Since I experienced the business studies so far as pretty dry, I had the impression that this concentration could put a fun twist on the profession.  But during the following semester I realized that this area was not supposed to be my path, and I changed my major to Communications with a concentration in Public Relations.

For a little while, I put the thought of working in entertainment to rest, solemnly focusing on getting good grades.  But my time to shine finally came during my last semester.  The last course I needed to be able to graduate was the Internship course.  Not exactly knowing which particular field of PR I desired to approach, I applied to several positions in different fields such as nonprofit, entertainment, tourism and fashion.  After applying for more than a month with not much success, I just prayed to get something just to be able to fulfill my graduation requirements.

Finally, in early December, I received a call from my school for an event planning internship with one of the university’s professors who was looking for a German-speaking intern. The informational interview went really well, and I was just happy to have an outlook for something.  The professor told me she would get back to me the next couple days after conducting additional interviews.

That same night, I received an email from CBS, which I had applied to a while ago and totally forgotten about it.  The email stated that I had been chosen for a phone interview.  Needless to say, I was majorly excited about the possible opportunity to land a position with one of the most successful networks in the United States.

The phone interview was scheduled for Thursday.  On Wednesday, I received an email from the lady that I interviewed with the day before, telling me that I got the job offer.  But in that moment, I didn’t want to settle with that just so that I had something.  I wanted to see if I could get my foot into the entertainment door, so I told her that I wouldn’t be able to commit until the end of the following week.  She understood, but made it clear that she wanted me on board.

The next day, I was a nervous wreck, highly anticipating the phone call from CBS.  At 11:30 in the morning, my phone rang, and I told myself to keep it together.  And I did.  In fact, after a short conversation during which I had to answer a couple of questions about my PR experiences and why I want to work in publicity, I was being invited to an actual in-house interview.  I was beyond enthusiastic, being one step closer to a possible internship with a renowned company.  But that is a story I will continue to tell next time…

Images: pixabay.com
———————————————————————————————–————
Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She has been living in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

———————————————————————————————–———–

.

Life Is Not Always All Sunshine

by 4 Comments

FullSizeRender (6)

Life Is Not Always All Sunshine

Even though I’m so in love with living in California, there was a time when my life wasn’t all sunshine and beaches.  It happened in early 2014.  I came home after a four week trip from Europe.  I am usually excited to come back after a vacation, but that time was different.  I still don’t understand why, but I fell into a deep hole; a very deep hole.

I realized it a couple days after I had arrived.  I wasn’t eager to see anyone or meet friends.  I didn’t feel like going out or being active.  I didn’t work out at all.  All I wanted to do was lie in bed and be left alone.  I didn’t want to talk to anyone- in person, on the phone, or via Skype.  I tried to keep up a straight face when I was around my roommate.  I didn’t want to become a burden to anyone.

The only thing that gave me a little bit of joy during that time was my roommate’s dog, who I loved to death.  She was allowed to stay in my room with me anytime, and I liked to take her on strolls.  At least I got some fresh air.

During this time, I started studying at California State University, Fullerton.  While I was excited at the beginning of the semester, I soon started to see school as a burden.  I managed to show up to my classes and do the required homework.  But I didn’t want to get involved with people.  I basically showed up shortly before class started, so I didn’t have to talk to anyone, and left right after.  I didn’t care about getting involved in school clubs and organizations.

Then, end of February 2014, I had four girlfriends from Germany coming to visit me.  I hoped that their visit would help me to get out of my funk.  And for a short while, it did.  Thanks to short trips to Las Vegas and San Francisco, I got a little bit distracted.  But once my girls left to travel back to Europe my deep hole welcomed me again with open arms.

I was deeply missing my friends in Europe, who have known me for many years, while I was still building up friendships in the U.S.  I was also still working on moving on from my relationship with the American guy who I met in Germany.  Those were just some of the things that took a toll on me.  So I continued with the “lifestyle” I started practicing the previous weeks- staying in my room the majority of time.

In late March, I had a trip planned to visit my best friend in Dallas.  I was staying out there over Spring Break, helping my friend and her husband with the move into their new house.  At least, I could be helpful.  I had a really good week in Dallas.  We had some much needed girl time, and she introduced me to the guy who finally helped me getting over my ex.  Even though it was just flirting and he was living in Texas while I was in California, it showed me that there were other guys out there I actually found attractive.

But once I headed back to Orange County- well, you kind of guessed it: same thing happened, no motivation, no thrive.  I was getting really worried and wanted to figure out a way to get out of it.  Then, I realized, that one of my good girlfriends from High School, who lives in England, went through such a stage in her life as well.  She had actually been diagnosed with depression.  I didn’t want to think that I was depressive, but I wanted to get her advice anyways.  We talked a long time via Skype.  It was really, really helpful.

The next day, I decided to do something for myself.  I went to get my hair as well as my nails done.  And, as silly that might sound, it helped.  I felt better about myself.  Shortly after, I decided to join a meetup group, just to meet some more like minded people who were interested in more than just drinking and going out to the bars.  Little did I know by that time that through this group I gained some really great new friends, who I am still hanging out with at least once week.

I was still very cautious of my feelings, but my life definitely improved for the better.  I think I was mostly relieved that I didn’t need any professional help to get out of this.  I swore myself to never get back into this stage, and to enjoy life to the fullest from that point on.  And so I did.

Image: © Anne-Kathrin Schulte
———————————————————————————————–————
Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She has been living in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

———————————————————————————————–———–

.

Writing Is My Therapy

by Leave a Comment

pen-543858_1920

Writing Is My Therapy

“You are kind of old to study!” “When can I expect more grandchildren?” “You are not the youngest anymore; it won’t be easy to find a job.” “Wait, you are relaxing and not writing applications?” “You won’t find a job with all your tattoos, and now you want more?” “You are working out too much; I don’t want you to get too skinny.”  These are just a few examples of what I get to hear from friends and family who think they know how I should live my life.  Don’t get me wrong, I am open to constructive criticism and well-meant advice, but I also do believe that I know best how I want to live MY life.

Yes, I do have tattoos, and I am not ashamed of every single one.  I understand that some jobs require you to cover them up, and I was pretty successful doing so during my previous internships with renowned companies.  I know that I can’t be too picky at the beginning of my career. But further down my path, I want to work somewhere where I am accepted for what I bring to the table, not if I have ink on my skin or not.

Speaking of jobs, my dream profession definitely includes traveling.  Lots of it, to be exact.  Something my family is not too thrilled about.  But let me explain something: I am not into the cookie-cutter life.  I do not desire to own a house one day, I’d rather be moving around the world.  I do not intend to have children; I want to be flexible to go wherever the wind takes me without worrying if this lifestyle is appropriate for my kids.

I do not want to be stuck in an office 12 hours a day and not be able to enjoy life.  I do believe that it takes a lot of someone’s shoulder when you earn a $100+K a year, but if you never get to enjoy it because you are continuously working, than that is not worth it. Of course, we all know that the California lifestyle is pretty expensive, and I am not saying that I wouldn’t want to earn a substantial amount of money to be able to afford my life here.

But to me, it is all about balance.  I truly do believe that we all need days off to recover, or that we all deserve a relaxing vacation for all the hard work we are providing to pay the bills. I do work hard: I nanny for two families while writing this column.  I also am a social media volunteer for an animal sanctuary, and I also draft countless applications.  So if I decide to relax one day instead of writing an application, than I do so.

I apologize that this post has such a negative undertone this week.  But writing is therapy for me, and maybe one or more of you have experienced the same issue and can relate.  We all should be able to live our life how it works best for us.  I do not tell you to not have kids, so please don’t tell me that I am missing out on life if I don’t plan on having any.

I do not tell you to go to the gym more often, so please don’t tell me I overdo it with exercise.  And first and foremost, do not ever tell anyone they are too old to change their life by going back to school or planning a new career.  We only have this one life to live, and it is never too late to change something for the better if you are willing to do so.

Image: pixabay.com
———————————————————————————————–————
Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She has been living in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

———————————————————————————————–———–

.