I'm Kathy.

Born and raised in the USA, here I also completed the Bachelor of Arts in English. My double major was in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and Writing which included journalism, technical writing and creative writing.

At the age of 22, with a B.A. and ready to take on the world, I took part in a voluntary social program. I spent 10 weeks of the summer break in Europe, six of those in Cologne where I taught English and worked in a state-recognized non-denominational church.

I enjoyed my work so much that I couldn’t resist the offer I received to spend more time in Cologne. So I migrated to Germany with the intention of spending one year there, a kind of time-out before continuing my studies in the USA . . .

. . . and two and a half years were the result. In Cologne I went to the university language school and learned German as a foreign language. I’ll admit, I was more concentrated on my work than German grammar; but, I spent a lot of time with German friends and had plenty of opportunity for speaking every day. In the end I passed the exam for entering a university and enrolled in the University of Cologne.

During my Cologne days I met this nice Bavarian guy . . . and so my one year “time-out” in Germany has turned into more than 35. I moved to Neusaess and traded the Cologne dialect for Augsburg’s. We married, raised two children and still live happily here near the western forests.