First of all thanks for all the good responses I have had from everyone reading. I am very grateful – Thank you.
As I wrote last we went on the Wicklow Way to test our stamina and experience the Irish nature, which has been so remote in our time spent behind the dime glasses in the library this semester. We had prepared for everything. Rain, wind, storms, water and food shortages, mountain lions, etc.
We had taken all the necessary precautions and even brought sunblock (factor 50) as we noticed the sun was shining the day before we were going to leave. That sun block came in instant use, as the sun had a clear sky to smile down from. And boy did the sun smile! At midday we had already applied two layers of sunblock and were reaching temperatures of 20-25°C, which is pretty unique for Ireland. The sun kept shining through the day and after seven hours of exposure we made our first camp destination. As we set up the tent, in the beautiful surroundings of a completely green valley with forest and trees up both sides and a river running only a few paces from our tent, we noticed that we were both quite tanned – not to say red.
During the night it became clear that we were both suffering from a minor and severe sunburn. We decided to head back to Dublin as we realized that the following day was going to be no less sunny. It was slightly disappointing to abort the trip and head back.
However as my Dad always used to say – ‘There’s nothing so bad, that it does not do any good!’
Once again he was proven right. When we got back we figured we had to spend the next coming days inside and my mind drew onto freelancing. I spent the rest of the day setting up an online account as a freelancer and made some bets for a few jobs. Three days after I landed two jobs and have already fulfilled the first milestones in the projects.
It is interesting to do these freelance tasks as they require no proof of your abilities (e.g. references or diplomas). You simply take a few online tests or bid low enough to get your first chance. Naturally you have to perform outstandingly in order to get a good reference for your future profile and biddings. What I find interesting is that most of these jobs fit perfectly for international students. Most international students are bilingual, some even trilingual or more. This gives you the ability to perform translations for online websites, product descriptions or give cross-cultural advice. Most of the international students also knows how to work Google Docs, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Facebook or even do basic programming. These skills are also often required by small companies who do not have the capacity to hire a professional. Instead these companies offer these jobs to freelancers as a one-time job, yearly or sometimes even as monthly tasks.
For me it is not so much about the money. I appreciate that and it helps me funding my education and living costs. But most of all I like the success, being able to apply the skills that you have picked up and create something useful is quite an achievement.
While working on these tasks I also got to restart my Couchsurfing profile and start meeting up with CS’ers (Couchsurfers) again. Couchsurfing is a very interesting idea where you can offer you couch to travellers or simply just show travellers around your city and tell them local tales or listen to their stories. Often there are gatherings where CS’ers meet in a city for food and drinks. I have been to a few of these gatherings and there tend to be many people from all over the world with many stories and things to tell. As it happened I met up with a guy from L.A. (USA) and talked about his experiences in Africa, the Azores and here in Dublin. He also turned out to be a TV series writer and used to make a living writing soap operas and comedies, etc. A very interesting guy all in all.
Christian Petersen – “When Good Goes Bad And Flips Back Good”
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First of all thanks for all the good responses I have had from everyone reading. I am very grateful – Thank you.
As I wrote last we went on the Wicklow Way to test our stamina and experience the Irish nature, which has been so remote in our time spent behind the dime glasses in the library this semester. We had prepared for everything. Rain, wind, storms, water and food shortages, mountain lions, etc.
We had taken all the necessary precautions and even brought sunblock (factor 50) as we noticed the sun was shining the day before we were going to leave. That sun block came in instant use, as the sun had a clear sky to smile down from. And boy did the sun smile! At midday we had already applied two layers of sunblock and were reaching temperatures of 20-25°C, which is pretty unique for Ireland. The sun kept shining through the day and after seven hours of exposure we made our first camp destination. As we set up the tent, in the beautiful surroundings of a completely green valley with forest and trees up both sides and a river running only a few paces from our tent, we noticed that we were both quite tanned – not to say red.
During the night it became clear that we were both suffering from a minor and severe sunburn. We decided to head back to Dublin as we realized that the following day was going to be no less sunny. It was slightly disappointing to abort the trip and head back.
However as my Dad always used to say – ‘There’s nothing so bad, that it does not do any good!’
Once again he was proven right. When we got back we figured we had to spend the next coming days inside and my mind drew onto freelancing. I spent the rest of the day setting up an online account as a freelancer and made some bets for a few jobs. Three days after I landed two jobs and have already fulfilled the first milestones in the projects.
It is interesting to do these freelance tasks as they require no proof of your abilities (e.g. references or diplomas). You simply take a few online tests or bid low enough to get your first chance. Naturally you have to perform outstandingly in order to get a good reference for your future profile and biddings. What I find interesting is that most of these jobs fit perfectly for international students. Most international students are bilingual, some even trilingual or more. This gives you the ability to perform translations for online websites, product descriptions or give cross-cultural advice. Most of the international students also knows how to work Google Docs, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Facebook or even do basic programming. These skills are also often required by small companies who do not have the capacity to hire a professional. Instead these companies offer these jobs to freelancers as a one-time job, yearly or sometimes even as monthly tasks.
For me it is not so much about the money. I appreciate that and it helps me funding my education and living costs. But most of all I like the success, being able to apply the skills that you have picked up and create something useful is quite an achievement.
While working on these tasks I also got to restart my Couchsurfing profile and start meeting up with CS’ers (Couchsurfers) again. Couchsurfing is a very interesting idea where you can offer you couch to travellers or simply just show travellers around your city and tell them local tales or listen to their stories. Often there are gatherings where CS’ers meet in a city for food and drinks. I have been to a few of these gatherings and there tend to be many people from all over the world with many stories and things to tell. As it happened I met up with a guy from L.A. (USA) and talked about his experiences in Africa, the Azores and here in Dublin. He also turned out to be a TV series writer and used to make a living writing soap operas and comedies, etc. A very interesting guy all in all.