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May 20, 2009January 20, 2017

Baby Goes Transatlantic

It may come as no surprise to those learned in the ways of babies, but our 3-month-old is growing. His occasional smiles have turned into regular smiles, and his scattered coos have turned into a sort of talking, and laughing, and whining, and sharing. Small things have become exciting for me–like describing all of the items in a grocery store, or narrating the curious characters who may cross our paths.

But these developmental events will be compounded by an even grander experience for our young one: As of June 2, our family will be residents of Berlin, Germany!

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December 17, 2008January 20, 2017

Renewing Our Energy: Berlin to Hamburg

From an empty darkness came strands of golden, glowing lace, curving through the black night like an ancient language atop a lit canvas. It was only the Irish coast, and Manchester, England at 4 a.m. But the beauty was vivid, and the reality clear: my long day was about to get longer. I had left Phoenix 14 hours before, and was set to land in Berlin to tour the country’s renewable energy sites. I was eager to learn, and open to experience a European perspective on energy as presented by the German government and NGO InWent.

So as the passport official had me lift my cap as he compared passport photo to real guy, I hopped on the TXL bus toward Prenzlauerberg. That evening I’d meet my colleagues, and begin the Transatlantic Climate Bridge.

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November 28, 2008April 29, 2021

In Search of Energy

I didn’t ask for this chance.

When I returned from two months in Germany after a still-productive stint as a Burns Fellow, I planned to continue life in the states, maybe apply for a few transatlantic awards, maybe try to sell a few of my European stories to the networks here, maybe drink a smoothie or two.

But then something happened. Networking happened.

The local honorary German consul had helped me story storm before heading abroad, and I’ve worked with him on a few feature stories in the past. The German Embassy in Washington was looking for a handful of nominations from consular offices, of journalists with an interest in Germany and renewable energy.

And with my journalistic dossier continuing to fill with internationally-focused radio stories, my name happened to make it into the mix…

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November 15, 2008January 20, 2017

The World Is Flat

Being as hip as I am, I’m now reading Thomas Friedman’s 2006 book on globalization “The World is Flat.” The New York Times Columnist is sharp in international affairs, and tells the tale of outsourcing from many perspectives: the Chinese learning Japanese to serve Japanese companies; the Mormon housewives and retirees hired by Jet Blue airlines to work the company’s reservation system; the call centers in India serving any number of U.S. companies.

Friedman tells of how Indians earn about $300 a month to work in these places, with full medical coverage for ALL family and free dinners every night. Most of these workers have MBA’s, and at minimum undergraduate degrees in something impressive like engineering or mathematics.

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October 4, 2008January 20, 2017

Recrudescing in the Desert

It was clear when the wall-o-warmth hit me in the jetway, and again by the friendly faces of disdain in the terminal, that I had returned to America, and to the desert, after a short 13.75 hours in the air, not counting a glorious layover in the Newark airport. My ink-stained fingers could not deny it: the chapter of 2 months in Germany had ended.

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August 9, 2008January 20, 2017

Life on the Rhine

If you take the DW bus line, or follow the DW road signs, it comes upon you like a whisper in darkness. One moment you’re drowning the sound of noisy Mercedes, Audis, and VWs on Bonn’s busy Reutersstrasse, and the next moment you’re breezing under a canopy of helpful trees. You can see the corner of a former government building. But when Bonn lost its placing as Germany’s capitol, Deutsche Welle was drafted to fulfill the immense structure’s potential.

This is not London, but to tease the rest of this post I’ll borrow from Ed Murrow. “This is Bonn, and there is ‘life’ going on.”

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August 1, 2008January 20, 2017

Inside the Beltway

If you’ve been biting your nails waiting for the next installment of “In Search of Blue Water,” please don’t worry–it’s coming. And the pictures of sea lions and gratuitous sailing vessels will be worth your time. For now though, I must talk about more recent events.

The Arthur Burns Fellowship has had be tied up and tired for a couple of weeks now. A whirlwind orientation in Washington D.C. brought an unbelieveable amount of context to heading abroad. Speakers, bankers, politicians, lawyers, and regular ole journalists all piled into the German Marshall Fund to help 20 journalists find their way to being foreign correspondents.

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