Tinneka (Mädchenfüralles)

my name is trina. although i was born in new jersey, and grw up in pennsylvania, i have been living in europe since 1974. i orginally came to europe (germany) in 1972 as an exchange student. i stayed with a wonderful family and enjoyed everything about the country and its people, so i decided to come back.

after graduating from high school at the end of 11th grade (yes, i was an impatient one even then...), i spent a year in college in strasbourg, france, before returning to heidelberg, germany in the summer of 1975. while i was there, i met and married a native of the city in 1977. in the meantime, we have been separated since 1999, but have two wonderful children to show for our efforts; saskia alexis (21) and sean christian (19).

after leaving university, i was involved in adult education for a number of years, mostly teaching english for large corporations. eventually, though, i ended up working for a small specialized marketing agency. later i switched to a large, international advertising network, where i handled some of the largest clients.

although it was fun in the beginning, working on the operative side of the business really got to me after about five years. i was tired of not having a private life to speak of, and being around people who seemed to "talk shop" 24/7. fortunately, due to some internal restructuring, i was able to make a move into the human resources development department of our network. it's definitely less stressful, and gave me the needed space to concentrate on my personal life during the initial phase of my separation.

i began lurking on this forum at the beginning of my last relationship, and enjoyed having a place to come to where i could talk about what was going on in my life with people who had similar issues to deal with. i'm happy to have met so many different people with so many different perspectives on life - and such openness and caring!

now it's time for me to move on in life. my almost 2 yr. relationship has just come to an end, and now - feeling just a little rootless - i am seriously considering all options that life has to offer. this includes not only new partners, but also a new career, as well as the possibility of relocating.

all in all, it's been a difficult year for me so far, but i feel the the winds are changing - and favorable.

i'm looking forward to all the blessings to come!