Deadlines

I've been working at a magazine for the past two weeks (and hopefully for the next five), and it's been challenging and rewarding.

I suppose those terms aren't all that descriptive, but they certainly are expected for when something of this caliber is going well. That being said, I never thought I'd be able to call myself a journalist, primarily because I've never had any interest in being one. But I do enjoy holding the title, and the associated tasks accompanying it.

So far, I've visited a few locations, conducted two interviews, and have talked on the phone for hours with persons of interest and publishers (in hopes of scoring free review copies of books). I've been able to take my trusty Moleskine notebook and feverishly scribble notes, dates, names, addresses, and telephone numbers. I've realized pretty early on that writing the articles is the easy part, and only about fifteen percent of the work for a story actually comes from the written word. The other eighty-five percent comes from the aforementioned field work (interviews, visits), conducting and recording interviews, setting up appointments and meeting times, so on and so forth.

But Exberliner is a good place to work. It's an English-language magazine usually geared toward expats living in Berlin (though they don't call themselves an expat magazine). One thing that was a little daunting at first was the amount of autonomy they gave me, in that they gave me a name, a place, maybe a phone number, and set me free. I've had to navigate my way around indie keynotes and biergartens to "get the scoop," as it were, which was an extra challenge, considering I'm still having trouble using the transportation system fluently.

But the work is interesting and the people I've met are inspiring, impassioned, and diverse. Every restaurant owner has something different to offer from, say, the authors and start-up CEOs that I've spoken with. Slowly but surely I'm getting a sense for how this city works, and--at a much faster pace--I'm learning just how little I actually know about it. Which is expected; I've only been here for three weeks. Nevertheless, I've made it a goal of mine to get to know more about the goings on around me, the anonymous happenings that are only noticeable when a bright-eyed reporter like me goes looking for them. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to visit (and sample from) the best ice cream shops in Berlin.