All About Me

* About the author * My résumé * Interests * Things I missed the most about America * Things that made living in Germany tolerable * Things I'm going miss once I'm back in the States * My favorite Web sites * Links to American politics and other crazy interests

About the author

I lived in Bonn, Germany from June 1995 to July 2001. I am originally from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. Moving to Germany was a tough adjustment - especially since I am such a big sports fan, and the Indians swept the Division and ended up in the World Series during the Summer of '95 after 40 years of disgrace. Not to mention the fact that the Cleveland Browns also decided to move to Baltimore while I was gone. I got away from American sports while I was over there and got into German soccer and European league football (go Rhine Fire!), but I managed to keep up with the Indians and the Browns via friends, the World Wide Web, and CNN.

I grew up in Olmsted Falls (on the West Side of Cleveland) and attended the Olmsted Falls school system. I graduated from O.F.H.S. in 1987. Classmates.com has also helped me get in touch with a few people from my graduating class from high school as well as old friends from other schools. I attended Bowling Green State University from 1987 to 1992 (I spent my junior year abroad in 1989 - when the Wall fell - at the Universität Salzburg in Austria) and graduated with a double major in German and Russian and a minor in Political Science. After a year of working in dead-end jobs, I decided to get a Master's in German translation from Kent State University's Institute for Applied Linguistics.  The day after graduation, I received a fax from Translingua Übersetzungsdienst GmbH and within a month was living abroad.

I worked as a freelance translator and Internet researcher in Germany for six years and am still working as a freelance translator in the U.S . It is so nice to earn money doing something I enjoy. Life can sometimes get a little rough living in a foreign culture, but after surviving some of my adventures in Germany and starting somewhere where I didn't know anyone, I now know can survive anything.

Some of my Interests

• Drinking a Kristall Weizen in a cozy Biergarten or pub with friends (I came here for the beer!)

• Going to the movies

• Watching videos (classic old movies as well as new releases)

• Listening to music - my CD collection has grown quite large. I have very eclectic tastes in music - from classical to pop to jazz. Let's just say I have Diana Krall, Sarah McLachlan, and Olivia Newton-John next to Blur, the Foo Fighters, Nirvana, and Oasis in my collection. I was able to attend The Corrs in concert in Düsseldorf, and the concert was probably one of the best I have ever seen. Absolutely brilliant. I've also recently discovered Eva Cassidy, who died in 1996 but has one of the most hauntingly beautiful and soulful voices I have ever heard. I also miss hearing Xavier Naidoo, IMO one of Germany's most talented singers.

• Playing the piano - I took lessons for 8 years and two semesters in college. I'm looking forward to reclaiming my piano from my parents, but in the meantime I have a little electronic keyboard to plunk away on. There's nothing more relaxing than sitting down for a few minutes to play a favorite song. 

• Watching TV (my all-time favorite is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am absolutely obsessed with the show and own all the seasons on video. When I first heard about it, my first reaction was "what a dumb idea", but it has won me over completely and I can't get enough - either on the Internet or on t.v. I even stayed up until 2:30 am on Monday nights in Germany to tape it because it was "cut" on Saturday afternoons.)

• Reading - magazines, books, etc. I'm really into mysteries. Some of my favorite authors include Linda Barnes, Patricia Cornwell, Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton, John Grisham, and Charlaine Harris. I highly recommend Amazon and Primus Online if you are in Germany and looking for well-priced books and CDs. If I couldn't find them on eBay, I bought all my books and CDs at Amazon, and you can't beat Primus' Happy Hour for English books.

• Working on my computer - I can spend hours just catching up on e-mail, surfing, playing, writing, etc. I also enjoy trying out new software.

• Cooking for friends

• Cross-stitch

• "Kaffee und Kuchen" (coffee and cake) - I can sit in a café for hours with a Milchkaffe (similar to a café au lait) and a nice breakfast or piece of cake (not as cloyingly sweet as the American varieties).

• Biking along the Rhine river

• I care about the environment. Earth Day is a definite must-celebrate holiday for everyone. We have really screwed up what we have. We need to do everything in our power to bring things as close to "normal" as we can - or we will lose more than we can ever imagine (i.e., Venice, countless animal and plant species, the valuable rainforest, our health, temperate weather, etc.). Well, at least we have great sunsets due to all the pollution in the air...

• Following American politics closely and reading newspapers from cover to cover. I like to keep up-to-date and read my Cleveland newspaper, CNN as well as the Express online.

Things about the U.S. I missed while I was living in Germany

• Customer service

• Various American television shows: Friends (Ran for a while on SAT1, but the translation isn't very good. Be sure to check out Central Perk. You can download screensavers, desktops, and the Friends font here), E.R. and The Drew Carey Show (I'm a Clevelander, how can I not watch it? I grew up where the show is set! Lots of Cleveland stuff is featured on the show.). German television tends to be a season behind the American shows.

• Comic strips: Fox Trot, Calvin and Hobbes (unfortunately no longer being drawn), Bloom County (Burke Breathed has also long since retired, but his magic lives on in the hearts of his fans.) This just goes to show why Fox Trot is so cool
  

• Taco Bell and the 7-layer burrito

• Real American-style frozen daiquiris and margaritas (American-sized!)

• T.G.I.Friday's - I actually found one in Vienna. That was a wonderful night...

Things that made living in Germany tolerable :-)

• #1 reason: BEER GARDENS and Irish pubs

• The friends that I have made

• Movies in English

• Blackstar videos in the UK - they have the most incredible service and offers

• Belgian television - check out what is showing this week on TV 1 or Ketnet.

• AFN and NPR radio

• The Outback Steakhouse - recently opened off the Cologne-Bonn Airport Autobahn at the Spich exit (20 minutes from Bonn).

• All American food importer - I actually found Arizona green tea in Germany!!!

• My softball league in Germany - and my team, the Bandits.

Things I miss now that I'm back in the States

• Living near the Rhine river with its beer gardens (Schaumburger Hof!!!) and all those wonderful castles and river tours

• The Fachwerkhäuser (half-timbered houses) and old villas from the 1700s that are everywhere you look around here

• Hearing German spoken wherever you go - I still remember how excited I got when I heard it spoken in the US when I returned from studying in Salzburg

• Fresh flowers at a great price

• Menus posted outside most restaurants so you know what to expect before you sit down at the table

• Free luggage carts in the airports

• Word of honor accepted almost everywhere - especially on the buses and trams (the Germans are so honest - it would never work in the States) 

• The German bread and Brötchen

• Milka chocolate (although you can find some Milka bars at Target and World Market and West Point Market in Akron sell Ritter and Milka - just not the crazy flavors I adore) 

• Great wine at a reasonable price (and no allergic reaction to the sulfites!)

• Ice cream being sold in the movie theaters (the ice cream break before a movie starts is such a kick and always elicits a chuckle from me - although I won't miss the sugared popcorn :-P) 

• Clean sidewalks, pothole-less roadways (I-480 in Cleveland is worse than any highway I saw in the former East Germany), no trash lying on the side of the road and almost no road kill

• The public transportation systems

• Traffic lights on each side of the intersection so you can see the other light if the sun is shining into yours

• International news (the U.S. tends to be too U.S.-oriented)

• Traveling to new places only hours away

• The German railway system

• Excellent map books for cities and suburbs

• The parks and public forest walkways

• The multi-cultural experiences

• Great beer, strong coffee and lots of Cuban cigars

• and MOST of all - the FRIENDS and ACQUAINTANCES I have made here. I will miss you all.

American Politics and other Interests

• The White House

• The FBI's web site

• The CIA's web site

• I also support Planned Parenthood, because I don't feel the government - and especially right-wing Christians - have the right to tell a woman what to do with her own body

• I also support women's rights (I'm a conservative feminist with some liberal views :-) )

• Save The Rainforests

 

© Jill R. Sommer, July 2000
Last modified: March 2004