This week it’s my turn! For those of you that might not know who I am, my name is Aimée and I write SPRT’s blogs.
Fearing a cringey self-interview post this week I asked my coworker, Stefan (from last week’s blog), to switch roles and throw some questions at me so here goes…!
Well, let’s get started with the basics…where are you from?
‘Well, that is actually a tricky one honestly believe it or not!? I was born in Graz, Austria and then moved to Manchester in the UK where both my parents of from. After that, I moved to a tiny village in the very north of England until I escaped and went to University! I don’t really know where my ‘home’ is but I love travelling and living in new places!’
Haha great! Tell us a little about you, what drives and inspires you and what are you aiming for at the moment?
‘Hmmm ahh, why is asking the questions so much easier than answering them!? Well honestly I love being busy and I am inspired often by the things around me. My parents have been really instrumental in going along with some of my crazy decisions and supporting me. This gives me the confidence to do what I love and the drive to do it as best as I possibly can. What am I aiming for? I’m not really sure right now but in the short term I’m hoping to both continue writing for SPRT and also grow my own website as well as becoming a freelance writer. It’s all pretty scary but also pretty exciting!’
Nice! And what about your passions, I know you love writing, blogging and photography. How does it feel, to do this for SPRT and for your own Blog at the same time?
‘Ah great questions, well yep you’re right I have loved photography for a really long time, even when I was little I was always messing around with my dad’s cameras (looking back I’m not sure he was too thankful for that!) But anyway it’s been a real labour of love for me, I love capturing moments and discovering new places. Photography also gives me a real sense of achievement and helps me to relax.’
‘Writing is something I’ve always been doing really but it’s only since I came to Berlin that I’ve started taking it seriously. Through working for SPRT I really found my passion for writing and gained confidence in putting myself and my writing out into the world. My own website started as a way to keep my friends and family in the loop as to what I was doing since coming to Berlin and it just grew from there really.’
‘Doing both SPRT’s blogs and my own at the same time has been a bit of a juggle but I love it, both platforms have really different content and styles and I have loved been able to write whatever I feel like on each site with the freedom this offers me.’
‘Having said all of this though, languages have always been my number one passion. Admittedly I’m not sure if Berlin has done my German more harm than good…some of the things I’ve learnt have been interesting, to say the least ? but learning about other languages and cultures has always been my main thing! I’ve been learning the languages I speak anywhere between 7 years and 5 months so there’s definitely some variation but at the moment I am learning, German, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese. In the future, I feel like I should take on Italian, French or Swedish next but I’m undecided!
So what brought you to SPRT and why SPRT?
‘Well to cut a very long story short I was applying for an internship in translation and was just so sick of looking at jobs I knew were steady but I wouldn’t love, so I went a bit rogue and decided to apply for a Marketing and Social Media position here! Even with very little experience, I think the team could see how passionate I was and how much I was willing to learn. It was easily one of the best decisions I ever made [and you all didn’t even pay me to say that]!? I remember being so excited about the job after my Skype interview and knew instantly it was the place for me. It really appealed to my love of connecting people and I knew the value that sport adds to people’s lives. I also saw the passion of the team and that was the decider in me accepting the offer!’
And what will you take with you after your time here, except for Lenny??
‘First things first I would happily take Lenny with me! Just let me know if you ever need a dogsitter okay? But seriously, SPRT has given me so much. I’ve learnt an immense amount and it has definitely set me up for the future. The biggest thing Berlin and SPRT have both given me is that they have helped me decide that writing of some sort is what I want to continue doing in the future. I still intend to do my masters in Journalism and I guess after that we’ll see!’
So tell us what do you love most about Berlin? Can you name 3 things you’ll miss when you leave Berlin?
- The people. I’ve met friends for life here. People are so passionate here and there really is the feeling that you can do whatever you want in Berlin and people won’t judge you!
- The FOOD! I’m a huge foodie and the Asian cuisine in Berlin is the BEST! Warschauer Straße is usually my stomping ground!
- Everything else!? I know that’s such a cop-out but I just can’t say, there’s too much to choose from. The language, the architecture, the history, the music scene. I think I’ve found my home in Berlin!
Haha fair enough, Berlin can be both awesome and overwhelming at the same time! Have you ever experienced this and if so how did you deal with it?
‘For sure! I’ve definitely experienced this and I think at times this has really been exacerbated by the fact i’m usually speaking a foreign language. Honestly, the main things that have helped are doing a day trip out of Berlin, I find this gives me a bit of rest-bite and then I appreciate the city so much more when I come back. And secondly, getting visitors or calling friends from home, that’s what has really kept me grounded and appreciating every second of my time here.’
And we know you also play Netball, why do you play that instead of the more famous Basketball? What is your biggest achievement in the Netball side of your life?
‘Haha well believe it or not it is actually quite a big sport in England! I love Netball, mainly because of the team aspect. Everyone is always there cheering each other on and rooting for each other together. I’m also so happy it’s opening up and becoming more and more of a sport for both men and women.
My biggest achievement was being Captain for my team last year, we played IntraMural netball at Uni and we actually did really well! I definitely never thought I would have been the kind of person to lead in sports but it became my everything and we had so much fun!’
Sounds great, well done! To finish off, one last question: If you had one wish right now, what would it be?
Probably to go to Vietnam. That sounds a little crazy but it’s been on my list of places to go forever and I’m hoping I’ll finally be able to visit next summer so fingers crossed!
