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Not everyone goes straight to graduate school or to their first full-time job after finishing college. Some of us still have some adventures to get out of our system2 before we can settle down. That was certainly the case with me！
After my college graduation in 1998， I moved back home to my parents in Virginia. As the months went by， I found myself daydreaming about another adventure. I asked myself， “Where to next？” Luckily， we had the Internet by then， which proved to be a fun and useful tool for adventure seekers.
One day， I found an online agency that linked families with nannies3 from around the world. When I was a teenager， I worked as a babysitter so I submitted an application. I was connected with a young German family and they asked if I would go to Germany and work for them. I was so excited！
On a cold day in February， I flew from Washington， DC to Munich4， Germany. I arrived in the morning and was tired， but looking forward to meeting my “new family”. My new employer， a woman by the name of Kiersten， greeted me at the airport and we had breakfast together. Thankfully， I discovered that her English was good because I didn’t speak any German！
She drove us to her town， called Aschau im Chiemgau5， about an hour southeast of Munich. The name means the town of Aschau in the Chiemgau region. The Chiemgau is an area of southern Germany that lies between two rivers， the Inn and the Traun.6 It has long been a source of timber， iron and salt and is known for its tradition of horse breeding.7 It is also popular with holidaymakers who love the outdoors and want a stunning view of the Alps.8 Germany is just one of eight European countries that are home to a portion of the Alps， which is the largest mountain range on the continent and stretches across 1，200 kilometers.
Aschau is situated in Bavaria9， Germany’s largest state. Bavaria is rich in culture—they have their own local dialect， a number of special festivals and unique regional clothing. Traditional Bavarian clothing includes “Lederhosen” for men and the “Dirndl” for women.10 Lederhosen （which translates to “lather trousers”） is a one-piece leather outfit that consists of a pair shorts connected to two straps11 that go over the shoulders with a strap across the chest. The “Dirndl” is a dress with puffed sleeves， fitted in the bodice， with a flowing skirt.12 Often these outfits are embellished with designs and local flowers to add to the traditional touch.13 Go to any small Bavarian town and you may very well see people in these wonderful costumes.
Driving through Aschau， one main road takes you through town， with the Alps to the north and a river with little offshoots of streams to the south.14 It’s a quiet town of 6，000 people， attracting hikers and paragliders15 in the summer and skiers in the winter. As you make your way through town， you can find quaint16 little shops， from the local butcher， baker， and flower shop to sporting goods stores for adventurers.
We arrived at the family’s home to meet Kiersten’s husband Eric and their daughter， Carolyn. Eric was very friendly and also spoke good English and Carolyn， now 13 months old， was shy and very cute. Kiersten showed me to my own little studio apartment17 that sat above a garage next to their house. It was furnished with a desk， a sofabed， a wardrobe， a bookcase and a television. It was brand new and just perfect.
During the weekdays， I would take care of Carolyn for half a day while Kiersten worked in her home office. My role was to speak to Carolyn in English as she was learning to speak for the first time. One of her first English words was “duck”， because we saw a lot of them in the town’s streams when I would walk her in her stroller18.
As the days， weeks and months went by， Eric and Kiersten helped me with my German. My vocabulary was primarily around household items19 and the baby. Kiersten had also enrolled me in a German class that met once a week in a nearby town. The class was small， about eight of us， and I became friends with a few of my classmates， who did not speak any English， so we would communicate in German. It was great practice！
When I wasn’t watching Carolyn， I would go for walks along the myriad paths in the town or up to the top of the nearest peak of the Alps， called Kampenwand.20 It turned out that Eric ran a family business， which was a cable car company that sent people up to the mountains. I got to go up for free as often as I wanted！
The first time I ascended the mountain in a cable car， I saw down below little wooden huts that dotted the mountainside.21 They provide food， shelter and a good pint22 of Bavarian beer for the hikers making their way to the top. I also saw something I had never seen before： a unique pulley23 system that allowed farmers to send fresh cow’s milk from the mountain down to the town in buckets. Now that’s fresh milk.
As my time in Germany came to a close， it was an emotional goodbye. This was one of the most unique experiences of my life. I said a tearful goodbye to Eric， Kiersten and Carolyn， who by now was speaking more and more， in both English and German. Years later， I would visit them and sadly， Carolyn did not remember me because she was so young when I was there. But that’s okay： I have enough of that wonderful memory for the two of us.
1. Alpine： 高山的，（尤指）阿尔卑斯山的。下文中的Alps是阿尔卑斯山脉，贯穿法国、瑞士、意大利、摩纳哥、列支敦士登、奥地利、德国及斯洛文尼亚八国。
2. get out of one’s system： 尽情宣泄情感，放飞自我。
3. nanny： （儿童的）保姆。
4. Munich： // 慕尼黑，德国第三大城市（仅次于柏林和汉堡），也是德国巴伐利亚州的首府。
5. Aschau im Chiemgau： 德国地名，指基姆高（Chiemgau）地区的阿绍镇（Aschau）。
6. Inn： 因河，多瑙河主要支流，流经瑞士、奥地利和德国；Traun：特劳恩河，多瑙河的另一支流。
7. 基姆高地区以其丰富的木材、铁矿、盐矿等资源以及悠久的驯马传统而闻名。timber： 木材。
8. holidaymaker： 度假者；stunning：非常令人难忘的，非常漂亮的。
9. Bavaria： 巴伐利亞州，德国面积最大的联邦州（占国土面积的1/5），同时也是德国历史最悠久的文化圣地。
10. 传统的巴伐利亚男性服饰是皮短裤，女性服饰则为紧腰宽摆的连衣裙。
11. strap：（衣服的）背带，肩带。
12. puffed sleeve： 泡泡袖；bodice：女装的紧身上衣；flowing： 飘逸的。
13. embellish： 装饰，修饰；touch： 风格，特性。
14. 驱车沿主路穿过阿绍镇，极目望去，阿尔卑斯山脉向北方延伸，一条几乎没有支流的小河向南流去。offshoot： 分支，支脉。
15. paraglider： 翼伞滑翔运动员。
16. quaint： 奇特有趣的，古色古香的。
17. studio apartment： 一居室的小公寓。
18. stroller： 〈美〉婴儿手推车。
19. household item： 家居用品。
20. myriad： // 大量的，不计其数的；Kampenwand： 坎彭完特山，为基姆高周边的群山之一，山上为徒步者修筑了登山小路，能通到顶峰。
21. ascend： 攀登，登上；hut： 简陋的小屋；dot： v. 点缀，（星星点点地）布满。
22. pint： 品脱，容量单位。
23. pulley： 滑轮。
After my college graduation in 1998， I moved back home to my parents in Virginia. As the months went by， I found myself daydreaming about another adventure. I asked myself， “Where to next？” Luckily， we had the Internet by then， which proved to be a fun and useful tool for adventure seekers.
One day， I found an online agency that linked families with nannies3 from around the world. When I was a teenager， I worked as a babysitter so I submitted an application. I was connected with a young German family and they asked if I would go to Germany and work for them. I was so excited！
On a cold day in February， I flew from Washington， DC to Munich4， Germany. I arrived in the morning and was tired， but looking forward to meeting my “new family”. My new employer， a woman by the name of Kiersten， greeted me at the airport and we had breakfast together. Thankfully， I discovered that her English was good because I didn’t speak any German！
She drove us to her town， called Aschau im Chiemgau5， about an hour southeast of Munich. The name means the town of Aschau in the Chiemgau region. The Chiemgau is an area of southern Germany that lies between two rivers， the Inn and the Traun.6 It has long been a source of timber， iron and salt and is known for its tradition of horse breeding.7 It is also popular with holidaymakers who love the outdoors and want a stunning view of the Alps.8 Germany is just one of eight European countries that are home to a portion of the Alps， which is the largest mountain range on the continent and stretches across 1，200 kilometers.
Aschau is situated in Bavaria9， Germany’s largest state. Bavaria is rich in culture—they have their own local dialect， a number of special festivals and unique regional clothing. Traditional Bavarian clothing includes “Lederhosen” for men and the “Dirndl” for women.10 Lederhosen （which translates to “lather trousers”） is a one-piece leather outfit that consists of a pair shorts connected to two straps11 that go over the shoulders with a strap across the chest. The “Dirndl” is a dress with puffed sleeves， fitted in the bodice， with a flowing skirt.12 Often these outfits are embellished with designs and local flowers to add to the traditional touch.13 Go to any small Bavarian town and you may very well see people in these wonderful costumes.
Driving through Aschau， one main road takes you through town， with the Alps to the north and a river with little offshoots of streams to the south.14 It’s a quiet town of 6，000 people， attracting hikers and paragliders15 in the summer and skiers in the winter. As you make your way through town， you can find quaint16 little shops， from the local butcher， baker， and flower shop to sporting goods stores for adventurers.
We arrived at the family’s home to meet Kiersten’s husband Eric and their daughter， Carolyn. Eric was very friendly and also spoke good English and Carolyn， now 13 months old， was shy and very cute. Kiersten showed me to my own little studio apartment17 that sat above a garage next to their house. It was furnished with a desk， a sofabed， a wardrobe， a bookcase and a television. It was brand new and just perfect.
During the weekdays， I would take care of Carolyn for half a day while Kiersten worked in her home office. My role was to speak to Carolyn in English as she was learning to speak for the first time. One of her first English words was “duck”， because we saw a lot of them in the town’s streams when I would walk her in her stroller18.
As the days， weeks and months went by， Eric and Kiersten helped me with my German. My vocabulary was primarily around household items19 and the baby. Kiersten had also enrolled me in a German class that met once a week in a nearby town. The class was small， about eight of us， and I became friends with a few of my classmates， who did not speak any English， so we would communicate in German. It was great practice！
When I wasn’t watching Carolyn， I would go for walks along the myriad paths in the town or up to the top of the nearest peak of the Alps， called Kampenwand.20 It turned out that Eric ran a family business， which was a cable car company that sent people up to the mountains. I got to go up for free as often as I wanted！
The first time I ascended the mountain in a cable car， I saw down below little wooden huts that dotted the mountainside.21 They provide food， shelter and a good pint22 of Bavarian beer for the hikers making their way to the top. I also saw something I had never seen before： a unique pulley23 system that allowed farmers to send fresh cow’s milk from the mountain down to the town in buckets. Now that’s fresh milk.
As my time in Germany came to a close， it was an emotional goodbye. This was one of the most unique experiences of my life. I said a tearful goodbye to Eric， Kiersten and Carolyn， who by now was speaking more and more， in both English and German. Years later， I would visit them and sadly， Carolyn did not remember me because she was so young when I was there. But that’s okay： I have enough of that wonderful memory for the two of us.
1. Alpine： 高山的，（尤指）阿尔卑斯山的。下文中的Alps是阿尔卑斯山脉，贯穿法国、瑞士、意大利、摩纳哥、列支敦士登、奥地利、德国及斯洛文尼亚八国。
2. get out of one’s system： 尽情宣泄情感，放飞自我。
3. nanny： （儿童的）保姆。
4. Munich： // 慕尼黑，德国第三大城市（仅次于柏林和汉堡），也是德国巴伐利亚州的首府。
5. Aschau im Chiemgau： 德国地名，指基姆高（Chiemgau）地区的阿绍镇（Aschau）。
6. Inn： 因河，多瑙河主要支流，流经瑞士、奥地利和德国；Traun：特劳恩河，多瑙河的另一支流。
7. 基姆高地区以其丰富的木材、铁矿、盐矿等资源以及悠久的驯马传统而闻名。timber： 木材。
8. holidaymaker： 度假者；stunning：非常令人难忘的，非常漂亮的。
9. Bavaria： 巴伐利亞州，德国面积最大的联邦州（占国土面积的1/5），同时也是德国历史最悠久的文化圣地。
10. 传统的巴伐利亚男性服饰是皮短裤，女性服饰则为紧腰宽摆的连衣裙。
11. strap：（衣服的）背带，肩带。
12. puffed sleeve： 泡泡袖；bodice：女装的紧身上衣；flowing： 飘逸的。
13. embellish： 装饰，修饰；touch： 风格，特性。
14. 驱车沿主路穿过阿绍镇，极目望去，阿尔卑斯山脉向北方延伸，一条几乎没有支流的小河向南流去。offshoot： 分支，支脉。
15. paraglider： 翼伞滑翔运动员。
16. quaint： 奇特有趣的，古色古香的。
17. studio apartment： 一居室的小公寓。
18. stroller： 〈美〉婴儿手推车。
19. household item： 家居用品。
20. myriad： // 大量的，不计其数的；Kampenwand： 坎彭完特山，为基姆高周边的群山之一，山上为徒步者修筑了登山小路，能通到顶峰。
21. ascend： 攀登，登上；hut： 简陋的小屋；dot： v. 点缀，（星星点点地）布满。
22. pint： 品脱，容量单位。
23. pulley： 滑轮。