Annie Kisska chose to study German as a middle schooler, because it was very different from the Spanish she had been speaking, growing up at home with her mother and nanny.

   “My mother had worked in South America for a number of years, and our nanny mostly spoke Spanish. I was looking for something new, and learning German was certainly something new for me,” said the University of Puget Sound junior. Annie will be spending that junior year at Munich’s Ludwig Maximilian University, in the heart of Germany’s Bavaria. The Go See Stuff travel award will provide a $1500 stipend to defray some of her travel expenses. I recommended spending a portion of it on a Eurail Pass.

   Annie originally planned to study Exercise Science, but “after taking German 201 and 202 my freshman year, I decided to change my plans.”

   She said she loved the courses, the program and the department’s sense of community.

   “I particularly loved the weekly Stammtisch.” [Translated as “regular table,” and is an informal gathering of people on a regular basis.]

   Assuming she’ll be able to travel to Germany (a final decision is due on June 1st, Annie plans to visit some of Germany’s “eco villages” (communities organized “in line with the four dimensions of sustainability – ecology, economy, social, culture – in addition to visits to Freiburg, Berlin and Prague in the Czech Republic.

   Carolyn would be thrilled to know she was facilitating student travel to her beloved Germany and Bavaria in particular. Herself a graduate in German Language, Carolyn parlayed that skill into a lifelong career in the airline industry, with a regular gig to and from Munich for more than six years running.

It was because of Carolyn that I overcame my lifelong aversion to sauerkraut and began a lifelong love of wiener schnitzel. She had no success at all with teaching me to Schuhplattler, though.

   A true Germanophile, Carolyn drew me into all things German during the years we were together, even roping me into her German folk dancing group, complete with lederhosen and my two left feet. Whenever we’d travel together to Germany, you could see the light her eyes rise the moment we touched down at Munich’s Airport.

   Thanks to Carolyn, I was able throw out some destinations and attractions for Annie’s consideration (Andechs Abbey, Rothenberg Am Tauber, Chiemsee, Tegernsee and Neuschwanstein castle) that made me sound like I actually know what I’m talking about. (Unhappily for Annie, the 2021 Oktoberfest has already been canceled.)

   Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of Carolyn’s passing, less than three months short of her 68th birthday. She made her retirement from Delta Airlines official while in the hospital receiving chemo. She never got to enjoy one day of that retirement.

   Carolyn’s legacy has made it possible for Carol and I to continue to travel abroad. Her Go See Stuff award makes it possible for German department students at UPS to travel in her name as well. It was because of Carolyn that I overcame my lifelong aversion to sauerkraut and began a lifelong love of wiener schnitzel. She had no success at all with teaching me to Schuhplattler, though.

   If her luck holds, Annie will be off to Munich in early September. As Carolyn would put it, ” safe travels and go see stuff!”