Einpacken

When I lived in Germany in 2011-2012, I made a few notorious language mistakes. Obviously, anyone speaking their second language on a day-to-day basis is bound to. I remember the day I told a technician I was "enttäuscht" (disappointed) that he had helped me, when I meant to say I was "erfreut" (delighted). I regularly mispronounced "Kirchen" (churches) and "Kirschen" (cherries). And then there was the day I said "einpacken."

I told a colleague how excited I was to "einpack" the ship. I thought I was saying "put boxes inside the ship," but "einpacken" means something more akin to "gift-wrap." I had told him how excited I was to cover a giant research vessel in wrapping paper. The image has stuck with me ever since.

Well, friends, I've done a lot of packing in the past few days. I put together two large boxes of supplies for a cruise I'll be going on this summer and sent them off to my colleagues in Germany. The larval traps I've been building are in there, along with various other things I'll need at sea. I surrounded my supplies with bubble wrap, sealed the lids on the containers with zip ties, and sent them off. No bows on these packages - just a shipping label and a customs form.

It was a big undertaking, but I'm glad to have the boxes off my desk and off my to-do list. I look forward to seeing them again on the ship!

Not quite gift-wrapped: my two boxes ready to ship.