Posts Tagged ‘travel’

Every year the Heinz-Schwarzkopf Foundation finances 20 to 30 travel fellowships (€550,-) for young people. The journey has to be planned and needs to last a minimum of three and a maximum of six weeks and needs to have a specifically defined research topic regarding a current cultural or political development in the context of European integration. Not later than three months after the trip there should be written a final detailed report explaining the research topic, the concrete findings and a reflection on the experiences and impressions during the trip. Are you interested in a travel scholarship? Application deadlines are each year on 1 March and 1 September. Check out the website for further information and the conditions of this grant.

Before I start, please note: don’t try this at home! Taking the very first train to Germany, work all day and returning the same evening with the last train is very dangerous: it nearly exhausted me to death.

Yesterday, I gave my second eMatchmaking training about YouthNetworks. And my third and forth. I had to give three (!) trainings in a row in an international seminar in Bonn, Germany. It went quite well, actually. I got my message across, the participants were very eager to learn and there was a fun atmospeher (and very good cake!). There was, however, total chaos prior to my presentations, as my preperation had some flaws: I hadn’t asked for a computer with the newest version of Powerpoint, access to internet and Adobe Flash installed (for the brilliant animation by Roquefort). It took me over an hour to get everything right, and even then it wasn’t perfect: every 60 seconds a loud BEEEEP broke through my words (before I figured out I could turn the sound off, ofcourse). It was computer hell. Sometimes I wonder why I am giving these trainings about online YiA communities, when I know absolutely nothing about computers..

Anyway, thanks for inviting me, Germany! I am very very very sorry my preperation wasn’t as it was supposed to me, but luckily everything went very well, and I hope you are not angry with me for not asking for specific computer stuff (and if you are, pleased eat one of the stroopwafels I gave you: they’ll make you feel better). Wir sehen uns wieder!

I should have known it when I met the nun. She had just celebrated her 89^th birthday the day before with her niece, and didn’t know how to work her mobile phone. I had had a rough night: who knew Dusseldorf had two airports?  Murphy’s Law had made me very tired, but I managed to find the number she was looking for: ‘convent’. She told me she had kept her name from before she became a nun: Eileen. I said it was a pretty name. Eileen blessed me in the name of God.
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