The singular positive of searching for an apartment in cologne? I’m learning the names and locations of neighborhoods very well. Ehrenfeld? Yeah! Mülheim? No thanks!

If you’re wondering why/how I am so pop-culture-illiterate, see exhibit A, my mother: I love this song! open.spotify.com/track/4X1qDzQd… Me: You know that’s by Britney Spears, right? Her: Really???

Talking to this kid at the rink (she’s about 14) and she’s listening to “the phoenix” by fall out boy and “everybody talks” by neon trees. I said “wow, these songs are from when I was your age” and she goes “yeah I have very old taste in music, all the stuff today is trash” 💀💀

Just faxed some documents. I’m officially certified to work in an office circa 1995

It must be a sign that the first episode comes out the day I fly to Europe

tomorrow!!!!

Nabil from Deutsche Telekom is my favorite customer service person, he is very helpful in getting an eSIM. But more importantly he’s a good sport about getting my gender wrong (Jillian doesn’t look very feminine really) and then I admitted to googling his name as well. We bonded

tbh the craziest thing about german classes is that they begin in two weeks and I’m not signed up for all of them yet, and that’s okay by everybody

Unabashedly eavesdropping on my neighbors having a lil dinner party and the one English speaker (Irish?) is having to explain what craft beer is to three generations of Germans 😂😂

I have been Germanized. I just opened one bottle with the other bottle.

reading the spanish translation instead of the latin because it’ll be faster (how will it be faster) (my spanish is middle school level at best)

Breaking news to nobody but me, but translating from German into Latin is hard

I don't miss u.s. restaurants... I miss costco

writing a paper in german is finally forcing me to learn the past tense passive voice. just wrote "geschrieben worden war" and I think it's even right

Germans spell Aeneas "Äneas" and while that's lovely, ctrl+f will be my friend in changing every single Aeneas (the /correct/ way and only way I can spell it) to Äneas at the end of my paper

Finding out this isn't real is extremely sad. My two things: languages and ice skating, brought together in one spectacular show, and yet...

My first feature for America Magazine (and this week’s Cover Story!): Catholic disability ministry is personal to me. Here’s where it's thriving today—and where it still needs to grow. americamagazine.org/faith/2024/08/…

For the last few months I’ve been working on this feature story on single-sex Catholic education for America Magazine. As an all-girls school alum, this is close to my heart. I’m so grateful to Boston College High School, Dominican Academy and Regis Jesuit HS for their contributions! americamagazine.org/faith/2024/08/…

Pope Leo XIV, America Magazine reader