My 2011

It's only four days left of this year and I seek to sum up this year. The year of 2011 started out with a cold and long winter, where the snow hid my bike for months and all the streets were an icy hell. So, we kept up the temperature with dance dance dance. I remember our "halvtidssittning" in January, the class party to celebrate that we were halfway through our studies. It was a magnificient evening where everybody was dressed up, dinner, song and dance all night long.

And speaking of study. We could call the computer lab in the B-building our second home (together with the computer geeks). All our courses contained labs and some days the number of hours together with our friend Matlab exceeded the hours of sleep. That's bad. Really bad. Luckily, life was not only about manipulating pictures of a baboon and mathematical models. If the computer room was my second home I would say that Campushallen was my third home. I set PB in frequency at the gym. Also, I was a dodgeball leader at Campushallen during the spring, which was fun as I meet a lot people and could come up with own ideas to plan the classes. I discovered House dance and began to take classes. In my opinion, one should never be afraid to try new things, learning is fun!

When it comes to music I haven't seen so many bands as I wish (it cannot be to many concerts). However, I saw many singers I liked at Popadelica. Besides those, I think it was a pleasure to quietly sing along to Säkert!, dance to Håkan Hellström and rock to The Sounds.

But the main thing this year has been my Chinese studies in Taiwan. It was a long process from loose plans to health examination, school application and then wait for the admission letter, get the visa and eventually buy the flight ticket. After that, I could count down the days till the take off. To go to Taipei and study Mandarin at OCAC and the Mandarin Training Center was the best decision ever. Not only did I rapidly learn to speak and write everyday Chinese. I met nice people from all over the world, ate lots of delicious food, experienced a different culture and learned to be independent. I visited more museums than I ever been to in my entire life, learned aboriginal dance and kung fu, bathed in hot springs, tried wakeboard and hiked in the green forests. Will I go back to Taiwan? Yes, I think I will some day.
I've started to miss Taiwan. Taiwan - the country of convenience stores, lively night markets, karaoke bars and tasty beverages (but I do not miss the mosquito attacks). Moreover, the Taiwanese are so friendly and helpful, both friends and unknown people have reached out their hands whenever I needed help. Taiwan 2011 was a memory for life and I'm very thankful that I had the opportunity to experience the big city life. And now when I'm back home I appreciate home more than before. To be with family and friends make me truly glad!

Sometimes I tend to diminish the negative things. Naturally, there are ups and downs in life but I choose to learn from the bad experiences and thereafter focus on the good things rather than let ruminations take over.

In summary, my 2011 has been a very unusal and adventurous year. I fulfilled my aim to learn some Chinese and had a great time along the way.