Dec 31
Goodbye, 2009!
The year 2009 is coming to its end. Tonight I will be sitting together with my closest friends, having a buffet, drinking beer and simply sitting together, celebrating into the new year. Towards the end of the year, you can find many flashback shows, articles and stories all over the place. In this blog, you’ll also be getting one. But not the ones you have seen so far. This is my personal flashback of the year, what delighted me, what got me upset, and mostly the answer to the question: “Chrissara, how was your year 2009?”
Absurdities and sadness:
There was one thing that really got me upset at university this year. In one seminar, the professor actually did oral grades, which would effect 40% of the whole grade. I really thought I was back at school again. Of course, the participation in class is essential for a good discussion, but I do not think that by having an oral grade you can improve the participation. It has to come from oneself. In retrospect, only five students constantly raised their hand in class throughout the semester. 5 out of 40…
During the writing of my second semester paper in the summer, my laptop died on me. Sparks came out of it, it did not start anymore, nor do anything else. Of course I did not have any copy of the paper, so I had to do everything from scratch. Ever since then, I have an external hard drive, copying files nearly every week.
At the end of this part of the flashback, a short note on the tragic losses we experienced this year. Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to a few influential people. For me, it was three in particular that made me sad:
1.) Michael Jackson († 25 June 2009): THE musician and entertainer since the 80s. I kind of grew up with listening to his music; he was the originator of the music video. His life remains a mystery; his death was tragic, but I am sure that his music will stay with us and remember him for a long, long time!
2.) Patrick Swayze († 14 Sept. 2009): A good actor, who lost his year long fight against cancer. He was talented and I liked many of his movies. And without him, we would not know that “nobody puts baby in a corner” ;) !
3.) Robert Enke († 10 Nov 2009): I read about his suicide directly on the Internet, when it turned public. He was one of the goalkeepers of the German National Soccer Team; was almost surely the number one. It is shocking to me that depression in sports (especially in soccer!) is still a taboo. It is sad that Enke saw suicide as an only solution. Hopefully players, coaches, involved parties deal with this topic better in the future and speak about their feelings, fears and problems more openly, so something like this never happens again!
MBF (Music, Books, Films):
This year there were again music, books and films, which I liked very much. Here my personal Top 5:
Music Top 5: Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling, Milow – Ayo Technology, James Morrison – Broken Strings, The Killers – Human and that Robbie Williams is back!
Books Top 5: Paul Auster – New York Trilogy, Jhumpa Lahiri – Unaccustomed Earth, Stephanie Meyer – The Twilight Quadrilogy, Nicholas Sparks – The Lucky One and Jane Austen – Northanger Abbey.
Films Top 5: Slumdog Millionaire, He’s Just Not That Into You, Seven Pounds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Reader.
Travel:
This year I was on vacation four times. Actually pretty good, huh?
After the New Year’s celebrations I jumped into a cab and took a plane to West Palm Beach, Florida. A friend of the family got married there and I did not hesitate to leave the cold Germany behind me and lay at the pool in sunny Florida. Bevor returning to Germany, I visited relatives in New York City. There, for the first time in 20 years, I saw the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center. It is a wonderful tree and when I was there, it actually started snowing. It was a very magical moment.
Over Easter I was in Hamburg. We sightseed a bit and just enjoyed the city. The city is really worth the trip, it was now my second visit there. I love the Hamburg – Style of life and how the flair is.
In the summer after the second semester, three friends and I visited a portuguese-american friend in Portugal. Twelve days we traveled through Portugal; among other sites, we visited Lisbon, Coimbra, Algarve (Albufeira) and Sintra. It was a good mixture between sightseeing, culture and partying – Portugal is simply an amazing country! It was surely not the last time I visited!
Two weeks after my return to Germany, I flew to New York City with my parents and a friend.
There I showed her my home; the typical sightseeing spots like Empire State Building Fifth Ave, Central Park, MoMa, Times Square (…) 10 days later everyone flew back except me, since I wanted to find out about internships in the USA for Fall 2010. Over Labor Day weekend I took my first trip on Amtrak (great seats, so much room!) and went to visit a very good friend in Richmond, Virginia. Seems like a nice town; I had a wonderful time that weekend, simply enjoying the nice company. After my return to New York, it was not all that long until I headed back to Germany again.
Student nature:
The new year began with a great achievement: I got an B+ on my very first semester paper in my one minor Social Studies. The seminar was called “Society in Film” and my paper was on how homosexuality was portrayed in the movies “The Wedding Banquet” and “Brokeback Mountain”. My main focus was on how society deals with the topic and its prejudices can influence the relationship. On a side note: The two movies are really worth seeing!
Moreover, this year I again met many wonderful people during classes at university, with whom it is much fun to study with. Now I know a few pretty well and we go to classes together and chat also much outside of the university grounds. In connection with that, it is how I started writing for the monthly students magazine of our American Studies Institute, the A-Journal. It is also much fun and at the same time some practice to improve my writing.
Delights:
Right at the beginning of the year, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the first black president of the United States. It is a big step in American History, maybe even in World History. Change has begun (even though with a funny mistake at his inauguration) and I am anxious to find out, how his era will develop.
After my laptop crash in the summer, I decided to take a big step and get an Apple. One of the best descisions made, I am simply thrilled!
Also this year, I am grateful for still having contact with many from my friends from high school, what was and is very important. Our group still meets regulary (the next time tonight) and when we sit together, it is still a funny, talkative, relaxed atmosphere. I am very thankful for them all, since friends are a very important part in my life.
Furthermore my godchild, now 5-years old, is still a total cutie. She is adorable and can always make you laugh. I have lots of fun with her and I like watching her learn and grow. But I still have not understood that she will be starting 1st grade next summer! Wow! Time really flies.