Forward By Maxwell Anthony Page

In 1960, a group of four musicians traveled to Germany with the hopes of being a huge success. But rather than posh hotels, the fellows found themselves sleeping behind the screen of a movie theater. During one performance, the stage upon which they were playing collapsed and the drummer’s instruments were lost in the wreckage. Instead of playing to throngs, the crowds were tiny. In sum, these shaggy-haired boys undoubtedly learned plenty during their unsuccessful endeavor. However, any fortune they found in Europe’s most populous country paled in comparison to the successes that followed their first hit single in the United States in 1962, “Love Me Do.”

And not entirely unlike The Beatles, our dear friend Nina Panda begins an adventure in Germany. While her profession and goals are completely dissimilar from those of the Fab Four, she will undoubtedly learn plenty, just as the band did. And like The Beatles, Nina will entertain us all through this 10in11. She will no doubt provide us her thoughts on German culture, her work experience, and her personal life. As with many personal blogs, there may be periods of high activity, and trenches of low activity. However, the thoughts she chooses to share with her friends and family will be the best vicarious traveling one could hope for.

The Beatles did not release their German recording until the late 1970s; thanks to this blog, we won’t have to wait until the late 2020s to hear about Nina’s adventures. Best of luck, Nina.

-Max Page, 3 January, 2010, St. Paul, MN

Max and Nina at the start of shorter trip