Here's to a new chapter!

525 600 minutes and many conquests

A year ago I was sad. I had flunked Translation Studies and would have the next school year to try and make it up. And afterwards... who knows?, staying at my dad's and get a job. No big deal, just random steps in a general direction into adulthood. And then - at more or less this precise hour - I went to dinner with friends and somewhat of a stranger. And my life changed. Something in me suddenly wanted to leap, for real. Huge plans started emerging in my head, bolder than anything I've attempted before. And this time I didn't settle for just planning; I acted on it.

A year has passed and here I am. I've accomplished more than I've ever did in a year. In just one week I crammed my brain out and got a great mark on Translation Studies. I worked in a sort of bookshop. I did an internship. I wrote my internship report. I did a Spanish A2 course. I ran so many errands for my uncle and my family. My uncle died. I took care of his belongings and the house. I travelled abroad alone. I went to France. I went to the UK three times. I watched a musical all by myself. I got stuck in London Bridge in the dead of night and still managed to get home safe and not freak out. I scrimped and saved enough money for the first few months in a new home in a new country. I fell in love and am happily planning my life with someone by my side.

I learned a lot. And God knows it wasn't easy. I had to let go of so many things I love. Dancing, acting, being on stage. Going out with friends, or even alone. Books, movies, running - I didn't have time for any of it. But I don't regret it one bit. Cuz I gained so much more in return. And more than ever I can say I am my own person. And I can't put a price on that. And so here's to a new chapter, just about to get started.

Something started a year ago...

... and it's made me the happiest meerkat alive. Thank you for an amazing year and let us have many many more ahead of us. Together.

Meet the übercautious

I grew up in a family of übercautious people. People that don't take a step before preparing for whatever might come. And I think it got to me too. A little at least. I prepare, I plan, I make lists, I make sure I can cope with whatever bad things might arise as a result of my actions. And at some point you just have to say enough! Have some faith and take a leap. If things go wrong we'll find a way to fix it. Cuz if you don't you'll spend most of your days planning your life instead of living it.

And now I'm moving to a different country, taking the biggest leap into the unknown ever attempted by people that share my DNA. And I'm excited, thrilled and scared. And I think it scares them too. The thought of me doing something so big. The thought of leaving them behind, of it all exploding in my face when I'm all alone somewhere so far from home. But the thing is I'm not alone. And I will be home. A new home. And I'm so thrilled about it that I don't really feel the fear.

The end of an era

(No spoilers, so feel free to keep reading!)

And so it ended. I watched the movie this evening and absolutely loved it. And yes, it does feel like the end of an era. I started the first book when I was only twelve (I'm twenty five now) and it changed me. I sorta grew up with Harry Potter. I was just a lonely kid with her nose stuck in a book, carrying the books around like mates, just for company's sake. And now that the end has come it is with a smile on my face that I say farewell to an old friend. Because as I've read somewhere in the blogosphere, the boy who lived will never die. Each time a new reader opens one of the books the magic starts all over again. And that's nice, isn't it? That all this legacy will continue to live on. And so farewell, old mate, and thank you for everything.

The thrill of a new chapter

Work to be done and the sun calling outside

The sun is shining outside. Time is flying. Only about a month until I depart for a new adventure. A new life. I'd love to enjoy every single one of them to the fullest. But there just so much to do be done. There's still 2/5 of the report to be written. There's papers to take care of. Loose ends that must be dealt with. In the end I'll have less than a handful of days to enjoy. To say goodbye for the longest period ever. To friends and family, to the sun, to my own name. I can't wait to go. To start this new chapter. But also I'd like to say goodbye properly. Is that too much to ask?

Might be getting myself into quite a pickle

There is a risk of becoming linguistically schizophrenic. Because your brain is so fluent in both languages, it is fooled into thinking that the structure you have put together in the target language is correct merely because it is correct in the source language.

Target language deprivation is one of the problems experienced by translators working in their adopted country. They become so totally immersed in the language and culture that they lose their linguistic edge - they begin to think like a native.

A Practical Guide for Translators, Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown

Soon, so soon...

Are we fast-fowarding?

It's July already?? I don't know whether I should be happy this part of my life is almost over and a thrilling new one is just around the corner or whether I should panic that there's so much to do and so little time to do it in.