And the Oscar goes to….

Paige Beckley for her portrayal of an experienced Hungarian researcher at the Equity in Access to Health Promotion, Treatment and Care for all European Women Conference.

The subject line is a bit of an exaggeration. I did not in fact pretend to be Hungarian or experienced at the conference. I was just a bit out of my league and tried to appear confident. The presentation itself went pretty well. Most of you know that I don’t have much problem talking in general and a crowd is no big deal. I actually only presented my research in front of 10 people because the conference broke into working groups when I presented. But then I volunteered to present a short summary of the findings of our working group to the rest of the conference. Thus, I did get a bit more exposure in the end. After that small presentation I was asked to speak on a panel in front of the group. We were given the question, “What is the biggest women’s health problem?” I gave a beauty pageant-esk response but at least it was clear and concise. Oh man.

While I did meet a lot of people at this conference and sell myself almost shamelessly, it does not appear that I have a job. Bummer. But, I did make a lot of contacts which some day could result in something. So, it looks like I am going with option 1: Go to Berlin and stay in Berlin. I’m excited about it though. I’ll spend my time here finally finishing my thesis corrections, improving my German, hanging out with my little friend below, and trying to find a job that tops selling Karaoke machines at Costco. (Tops = even more ridiculous.) I haven’t changed my plane ticket yet because I don’t know about coming home for Christmas just yet. I will be posting that information sometime soon.

I take off on Wednesday morning for a trip around Hungary, Croatia, and Southern Germany. I’ll be gone for two weeks before coming back and finding a place to live here in Berlin. Thanks for your prayers, crossed fingers, and Daumen drücken for the conference, jobs, and life and general. I appreciate the support.