I posted this on Facebook yesterday and emailed a few folks about it, but I had my cell phone stolen last night. I was walking home when a random guy on the street offered me a smoke (I declined), chatted me up, then tried tripping me before grabbing my cell phone right off my belt.
This happened at 1:30 AM in a rather touristy part of Berlin, and I had just left the social event we had for our HIA Conference. So I was wearing a full suit and tie and probably didn't do myself any favors by looking like a good target.
In any case, I was furious and shoved the guy against a car immediately after and shouted at him to give me my phone back. I don't know how he did it, but it happened in a split second and the phone was gone. He pushed my arm away and sped off across the street.
I fumed all during the 40 minute ride home and probably scared off a few people with how angry I looked. I know it's just a phone, but when this actually happens to you, I think you will understand the fury of having just been wronged. I didn't calm down till I woke up this morning.
Today was the last day of our HIA Conference, and I found myself instinctively putting my hand on my right hip a few times throughout the day as I typically do to make sure my phone is still there. Of course, it wasn't, and I felt somewhat naked not having my phone.
There are some people who absolutely love not being connected; I am not one of them. I go crazy for up-to-date information, so not being connected whether with a phone or to internet drives me nuts. Oh well, I will pick up a cheap phone tomorrow for the rest of my time in Berlin.
On the flip side, I finally have a real reason to get a nice new phone once I'm back in the States. I would really like an iPhone.
This morning, I'm guessing 80% of the Fellows arrived late after such a long night of partying last night. Aside from the cell phone incident, it really was quite a fun night, and I had a blast having fun with so many fellow Fellows.
Of course, like everyone else, I was exhausted this morning, but I showed up on time anyway because I'd been asked to introduce one of the speakers. So I did.
Henry is a good friend of mine from HIA back in 2008. He had offered to help me out with any needs I might've had during my fellowship, and I appreciated his help very much. His seminar this morning was on writing policy memos, and it was definitely the seminar I got the most out of this weekend.
As Henry was outlining how to write these concise briefs, I realized that the style of writing in policy briefs is much more in line with how I think than academic papers. As Henry explained, in academic writing, we strive for deep analysis while covering as much as we can. With policy briefs, the point is to present the problem and then the recommended solution, so there's no need for all the fluff that often goes into academic writing.
Henry is the chief of staff for the Minister of Justice in Germany, so he definitely knows his stuff when it comes to policy briefs. Really glad I was in his seminar today, and I know a lot of people were as well.
The HIA Conference sadly came to a close today, so we had to say many goodbyes. It's always somewhat bittersweet when friends you made during the conference have to fly off somewhere after, but thanks to Facebook we can all stay in touch. The new HIA website also has a new feature called HIA Connect, which allows HIA Senior Fellows to connect, network, and potentially collaborate.
This weekend, I spoke with one fellow who wants to initiate a study trip to Rwanda, and I offered to help him out since I have a few contacts with strong ties to Rwanda and have done amazing work there. That might be a potential project I work on in coming weeks. Who knows. But the website is pretty cool, and there's also a public profile for each fellow with a link to their research from HIA.
Tomorrow, I am going to Brandon's to get my haircut and then catch up with him before he heads back to the States for a short vacation. He's been awarded a DAAD Fellowship, so he'll be completing his Masters in Berlin next year. Lucky guy, but he works extremely hard, so he deserves it completely.
He also organized a July 4th party in the evening for some Fulbright program students, plus a bunch of Americans and Germans, so it should be a fun evening of softball, football, and grilling. The only downside is that it's been raining in Berlin all weekend, and tomorrow seems to hold more rain. Crap.
My buddy, Ben, is also staying over with me and Lenz at the moment, so it's nice to have another friendly face from Seattle. We will hang out with the UW Honors Program in Berlin in the next few days as well. Looking forward to it!
I have lots of things to do before I head back home, but it seems like I'm running out of time!
Until next time,
Sam
This happened at 1:30 AM in a rather touristy part of Berlin, and I had just left the social event we had for our HIA Conference. So I was wearing a full suit and tie and probably didn't do myself any favors by looking like a good target.
In any case, I was furious and shoved the guy against a car immediately after and shouted at him to give me my phone back. I don't know how he did it, but it happened in a split second and the phone was gone. He pushed my arm away and sped off across the street.
I fumed all during the 40 minute ride home and probably scared off a few people with how angry I looked. I know it's just a phone, but when this actually happens to you, I think you will understand the fury of having just been wronged. I didn't calm down till I woke up this morning.
Today was the last day of our HIA Conference, and I found myself instinctively putting my hand on my right hip a few times throughout the day as I typically do to make sure my phone is still there. Of course, it wasn't, and I felt somewhat naked not having my phone.
There are some people who absolutely love not being connected; I am not one of them. I go crazy for up-to-date information, so not being connected whether with a phone or to internet drives me nuts. Oh well, I will pick up a cheap phone tomorrow for the rest of my time in Berlin.
On the flip side, I finally have a real reason to get a nice new phone once I'm back in the States. I would really like an iPhone.
This morning, I'm guessing 80% of the Fellows arrived late after such a long night of partying last night. Aside from the cell phone incident, it really was quite a fun night, and I had a blast having fun with so many fellow Fellows.
Of course, like everyone else, I was exhausted this morning, but I showed up on time anyway because I'd been asked to introduce one of the speakers. So I did.
Henry is a good friend of mine from HIA back in 2008. He had offered to help me out with any needs I might've had during my fellowship, and I appreciated his help very much. His seminar this morning was on writing policy memos, and it was definitely the seminar I got the most out of this weekend.
As Henry was outlining how to write these concise briefs, I realized that the style of writing in policy briefs is much more in line with how I think than academic papers. As Henry explained, in academic writing, we strive for deep analysis while covering as much as we can. With policy briefs, the point is to present the problem and then the recommended solution, so there's no need for all the fluff that often goes into academic writing.
Henry is the chief of staff for the Minister of Justice in Germany, so he definitely knows his stuff when it comes to policy briefs. Really glad I was in his seminar today, and I know a lot of people were as well.
The HIA Conference sadly came to a close today, so we had to say many goodbyes. It's always somewhat bittersweet when friends you made during the conference have to fly off somewhere after, but thanks to Facebook we can all stay in touch. The new HIA website also has a new feature called HIA Connect, which allows HIA Senior Fellows to connect, network, and potentially collaborate.
This weekend, I spoke with one fellow who wants to initiate a study trip to Rwanda, and I offered to help him out since I have a few contacts with strong ties to Rwanda and have done amazing work there. That might be a potential project I work on in coming weeks. Who knows. But the website is pretty cool, and there's also a public profile for each fellow with a link to their research from HIA.
Tomorrow, I am going to Brandon's to get my haircut and then catch up with him before he heads back to the States for a short vacation. He's been awarded a DAAD Fellowship, so he'll be completing his Masters in Berlin next year. Lucky guy, but he works extremely hard, so he deserves it completely.
He also organized a July 4th party in the evening for some Fulbright program students, plus a bunch of Americans and Germans, so it should be a fun evening of softball, football, and grilling. The only downside is that it's been raining in Berlin all weekend, and tomorrow seems to hold more rain. Crap.
My buddy, Ben, is also staying over with me and Lenz at the moment, so it's nice to have another friendly face from Seattle. We will hang out with the UW Honors Program in Berlin in the next few days as well. Looking forward to it!
I have lots of things to do before I head back home, but it seems like I'm running out of time!
Until next time,
Sam
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