Full Name: Christopher Brian S.
Age: 24
Location: The Brooklyn side of Ridgewood, NY
Occupation: Linguistic and Graphic Proofreader
Hobbies: Guitar, bass, trumpet, paint occasionally (acrylic), learn languages, read, write (songs), blog, etc.
Pets: None. My sister and I used to have a bunny rabbit named "Pudgy" when we were kids though.

1: the heavy part
Where are you from, originally? What was it like there?
I'm not sure if I'm from Springfield or Media, PA – I moved from the former to the latter at age 10. Springfield is kind of cool. It's a small suburb of Philadelphia. There are things to do there, it's pretty neighborhood-like. Media's kind of similar, yet I come from an area of Media with an identity crisis (it can't decide if it's called Upper Providence, Rose Tree, or Orchard Hills.) In any case, there's nothing to do in UP/RT/OH except ride your bike in a park. The sad thing about that neighborhood is that you can't even get to a grocery store without a car. There aren't even any sidewalks. So I guess Springfield is cooler. Or downtown Media.

Is it just coincidence that you went to the University of Pittsburgh, the same school as your sister, Beth?
You know, after being forced to go to the same high school as my sister (for better or worse) I really wanted to assert my independence and pick a different university. But after visiting various universities and meeting with each department chairperson of the German and Linguistic departments respectively, the only University that seemed to have both a decent German and Linguistic department ended up being Pitt. I was disappointed in a way, but whatever. Like Archmere (my high school), it was probably a good thing altogether. I doubt I'd be speaking Swedish now had I gone to UMass.

In ten words or less (per language), describe what brought you to each of the following:

German – general interest in language and a good high school teacher

Swedish – class in neuroscience made me vomit – had to switch schedule

Icelandic – reading encyclopedia articles, Vikings, the Sugarcubes on Saturday Night Live

Danish – Probably traveling around more than anything, Legoland, Carlsberg, Fangel Kro.

Favorite place to drink (somewhat recently legalized) beer in Iceland?
I haven't been to Iceland since July of 2000...unfortunately, I didn't start drinking until October of 2000. So I've never been to any bars in Iceland. However, I've heard that "Sírkus" is pretty good. Same with "Kaffibarin".

Are the women in Sweden as beautiful as we've heard?
I prefer both Danes and Icelanders over Swedes actually. But yes, they are beautiful.

Have you sung Karaoke in Germany? How did the crowd respond?
Yes. I sang Alanis Morisette's "You Oughta Know" in the Irish Pub in Kiel. The crowd loved me. It was one of best/worst karaoke performances. Lots of screaming (mostly on my part), etc. Unfortunately, they ran the contest like "American Idol" ("Deutschland sucht ein Superstar") and although I was the crowd favorite, I did not make the semi-finals, which SUCKED because the prize was a freaking trip to Ireland!

Is Lars Ulrich a national hero in Denmark?
Man, I don't know. I don't think so though. Hans Christian Andersen is the only Dane that Danes themselves really boast about.

How did you end up in New York?
When things in Germany started not working out mostly due to economic reasons, I seriously had no idea what to do with my life. I thought I had a solid plan after graduation, but I didn't think I'd be taken advantage of so badly by the private language schools. Since I couldn't start with grad school (no GRE, no applications...and it was February), I was just asking friends and family what to do – and although I was leaning towards Washington DC, I decided at the end to give NYC a try. It was very rough at first, I have to say. I was trying to get jobs as a secretary or vegetarian sandwich maker. I remember being really upset that I didn't get a job as an assistant to an eccentric CPA, but in the end, I just got lucky and found a job that's basically perfect for me. I work too much, but I like what I do, and it's actually 100% relevant to what I went to college for. It even utilizes my talents. And my apartment's not bad either.

Update us on your situation in life?
Hmm, I kind of just did. But yeah, I'm doing ok. I wish I worked a bit less, and I wish I were making progress grad school-wise. I wish I were recording music and spending more time learning languages, but I'm not. And there are other things...but yeah. I'm happy with my job, I have a wonderful girlfriend, who will be visiting me in less than a month and I'm actually earning money for the first time in my life, which is really neat.

Have your early to mid 20s been like you imagined? Why or why not?
No, they haven't at all. I thought I'd be living in Germany for a few years (it turned out only to be one) and then I'd move to Iceland for a little while, get a degree and then go on to get a doctorate where, but my late 20s I'd join the workforce as a professor of Scandinavian studies or something. And now I'm afraid that I won't end up going back to school for a while and not hitting that goal of becoming a professor ever. But yeah, I really thought I'd be going back to school shortly – even until I got this job, (and afterwards for a while, too) I thought I'd work for a year (maybe two) and go back to grad school, and now I'm not so sure. I also didn't think I'd have a serious relationship with someone who lives in another country...but you never really get what you expect out of life, do you?

Which was the best year, for you, of the aforementioned early to mid 20s? Why?
I've always looked at years according to an academic calendar instead of a January to January calendar or a birthday to birthday calendar. I think things were really rocking almost non-stop from the summer after my sophomore year to when I moved to Kiel...which is more like two and half years than your requested one year. But yeah – May of 2001 to September of 2003 were awesome. So: why? I traveled the world, I learned a language really well from scratch, I studied abroad twice, I got drunk a lot, I got a job teaching Swedish at a university, I had a lot of confidence, I lived two houses away from my best friend from high school and later lived with another good friend, and I didn't have much stress at all, or anything that really sticks out as being majorly upsetting. Sophomore year (when I turned 20) I had a lot of stress and almost hit a breaking point due to a few professors, and in Kiel I had my bike stolen, I got hit by a car, and I had a lot of trouble making friends and making end's meat.

Ideally, what will your life look like on New Year's Day 2006?
Wow, I don't know. I honestly don't expect much of this year. I plan to work for a while so I'm not expecting any progress towards my career goals. My girlfriend will still be in school, so I won't be living within any substantial proximity of her. I hope to make some progress in making music...maybe I'll be able to speak Irish...hopefully I'll have gotten a substantial raise by then...but other than that I don't think my life will look very much different on New Year's Day on 2006.

2: the not-heavy part
Describe a good night out...
My favorite nights out are highly conversational nights out. Put me in a bar with music that's not too loud, has Guinness on tap and a really interesting person to talk to and I'll probably have a blast.

And a good night in the apartment?
I had a good night last night. Russell and I finished off a bottle of Whiskey and talked about politics. But a Guinness and a good movie also make for really fun nights.

Current favorite ethnic food and, if possible, dish.
I'm really boring when it comes to food. I really like chicken fingers with honey mustard sauce and french fries. I also really like Chinese food...just thinking about spring rolls makes my mouth water.

What have you been listening to?
I really need to invest in some new CDs. But the only two albums that I've been listening to a lot lately are You Forgot it in People by Broken Social Scene and Die Reklamation by Wir sind Helden.

Was hast you been reading?
Ich habe been reading Iceland's Bell by Halldór Laxness and Morðið í Sjónvarpinu (Murder on TV) by Stella Blómkvist...but I'm actually reading that in German, which, for some reason has been renamed Das ideale Verbrechen or The ideal Crime. They're both really good, but I'm making almost no progress in either because since I work as a proofreader and read ALL DAY, reading's like the last thing I want to do on the subway or when I get home.

What have you been watching on TV?
I've been watching "The Amazing Race", of course – which I really love. I also really like "Endurance" and "Strange Days at Blake Holsey High", "Hey, Spring of Trivia", "Late Knight with Conan O'Brien", and a lot more. I also really like a weird German kids show called "Pengo Steinzeit" (Pengo Stone Age) about these kids who's dad's a professor, who's stepmother is a Polish immigrant, and who have a laser that, when pointed at a wall, opens a portal to a stone age German speaking family's cave dwelling.

Seen any moies lately? What did you think?
Honestly, no. I didn't even see any movies over Christmas. BUT, I'm planning on seeing two tomorrow night, one after each other. We'll see if that happens.

3: the cocktail party
So you're having a cocktail party: list five A-list guests, other than Jesus, me and your friends...
Conan O'Brien, Lukas Moodyson, Björk, Prince Harry, and Noam Chomsky.

What drinks will you serve?
Guinness, Aalborg Akvavit, Renat Vodka, Jameson, and a box or two of wine.

What will be on the stereo?
Maybe the Avalanches? I'd probably make a mix or something.

Conversation topics will include:
Moviemaking, linguistics, politics, Iceland, and what it's like to simultaneously be a prince and a loser.

How will the evening end?
Björk and I will start work on making an album, Conan asks me to be a guest on his show, Lukas casts me for his next movie, Noam decides he wants me to join the faculty of MIT as a linguistics professor, and Prince Harry gets drunk and passes out. My friends will laugh at him.