Here’s
the review of what the year 2013 was like for me.
Originally,
I wrote it just for myself, but then I thought I’d share it – it might be
interesting for others, too. Well, see for yourselves :-)
It’s
inspired by the article my sister Hana found by Natasha Marie from Idaho, US:
http://natashamarieh.blogspot.cz/2013/12/twenty-thirteen-in-review-happy-new-year.html
What
did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
I started to
count that and still haven't finished... in 2013, God blessed me with an
abundance of exciting events that I could learn from. For example, I:
Got the possibility to translate my book to English and have it published
in Britain.
Met a Serbian, a Bosnian, a Ghanan, a Botswanan, an Ethiopian, a Welsh
guy...
Performed three dances at an Indian festival celebration. It was Holi,
the festival of colours, and the participants were throwing coloured powder at
one another. And so it happened that the next day, I heard this sentence in the
street for the first time: “Pardon me, miss, but your back is purple and blue.
May I clean it for you?”
Took part in an eating contest.
Visited a summer festival, danced at a concert and heard a Finnish Christian
heavy metal band live.
Saw a sentence in Hebrew on the Internet and was able to understand it.
Saw the Jewish music group Mišpacha perform live. I used to listen to
their songs when I was a small child and never thought I’d hear them perform.
And yet, there they were – singing at a Dialogue of Religions event. And a
Jewish guy, two Protestants, a Gypsy pastor and a Gypsy lady spontaneously
started to dance flamenco to their songs. Priceless.
Had a blind date that went really well. (You don’t see that every day.)
Watched a nativity play consisting mostly of North American spirituals
and gospels, sung by Africans and African Americans.
Changed the congregation.
Buried a cat.
Was photographed digitally for my new ID card, and the picture came out
horrible.
Spoke Russian on the phone. It was a business call and it was successful.
I still can’t believe it because I actually don’t speak Russian.
Translated an educational computer game for a US company.
Met my mom’s boyfriend.
Visited the Czech National Theatre in Prague. (This theatre was part of
important events of the 19th century Czech National Revival and I think every
Czech should visit it at least once. It’s a funny building, as it shows a
desire to look solemn and rich in decorations, and at the same time to hide the
fact that it was built on a ridiculously tiny piece of land. You see, Czechs
built it with money they collected among themselves, and it was just enough to
buy this small, cheap real estate on the river bank. That’s why it’s very
narrow and very tall. There are seats right above the stage and guess who was
sitting there! So, what I saw most of the time of my favourite actor Jan Hartl
was the top of his head.)
Did
you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make one this year?
Yes, and I made three this year...
Did
anyone close to you give birth?
No.
Did
anyone close to you die?
One person that actually was close to me – my mom’s friend who suffered
from multiple sclerosis and who used to be my employer. I was taking care of
her household from May 2012 to February 2013. Also, one distant relative. And
two people I only met a couple of times but took a liking to instantly – my
great-aunt who was a very nice person and my favourite Lithuanian poet,
Marcelijus Martinaitis.
And two of our cats – Yksi and Kuusi – died.
If this was
the sample of the society – nobody giving birth and four people dying – at this
rate, Europe would die out soon!
What
would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
The Mgr. (=M.A.) grade in Baltic Studies.
And it would be nice to have the possibility to live in Brno, or
elsewhere in Moravia. Prague is beautiful, but as a place to work in – not for
me. Too stressful. Most capitals are like that, I suppose.
What
countries/states did you visit?
The Czech meadows and busks, as we say :-) Or, more precisely, chateaus.
The famous, 19th century fairy-tale chateau of Hluboká:
The not-famous-but-very-ancient-feeling-and-having-witnessed-witch-trials
16th century North Moravian chateau of Velké Losiny:
The not-famous-at-all-because-opened-for-public-just-two-years-ago 19th century chateau of Zruč nad Sázavou:
And two of my favourites, not-so-famous-but-nice-and-hospitable 18th
century South Moravian chateaus of Buchlovice and Milotice:
And some non-chateau pictures, just for good measure :-) Btw, some of
the pictures I show here are actually copyright of my sister Hana.
The canyon of river Doubravka in Chotěboř:
The town of Vsetín:
And my new congregation:
What
date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory?
19th February – I went to work for the first time.
5th May – Marcelijus Martinaitis died.
5th October – that’s when I moved from my father’s house.
And the 23rd December is the date when the lady with multiple sclerosis
died.
Did
you move anywhere?
From the house in Český Brod (a small town near Prague) where my father
and sister live, to a small flat about three blocks from there. It’s my mom’s
flat which she’s leaving gradually to live in Prague, and I had to move there
in one day’s time after a huge conflict with my father.
I didn’t like it at first, but I do now, as it’s quiet and full of light.
And the building is 1930’s Czech functionalism – my favourite architectonic
style!
I’m hoping to decorate it with reproductions of Monet’s paintings - both
cut out from calendars and my own, embroidered ones. Right now, I’m
embroidering The Poppy Field near Argenteuil.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting in touch with one of my favourite actors, Tony Osoba, and writing
his biography.
And getting my first steady job - one where I make use of most of my
knowledge and abilities! (That would be English, Lithuanian, Latvian,
interpreting, translating, communication with foreigners, precision, passion
for creating lists, experience with doctors...) I used to work for the
university in Brno but that job was everything but steady (in the original
sense of the word :-) ) because it didn’t have fixed working hours and it involved
a lot of travelling. This job is with an international company that provides
services to pharmaceutical companies, and I’m in charge of the database of
healthcare institutions in Lithuania. Plus I help out with various other things
– translating and interpreting for my Latvian and Estonian colleagues, finding
various resources on the Internet, and helping with contract negotiations.
What
was your biggest failure?
Falling out with my father. But we’re starting to communicate,
peacefully, again.
Not writing an article in Czech about Marcelijus Martinaitis, while he
was alive.
And I regret that I didn’t get to talk with the lady with multiple
sclerosis in the months before her death. I offered to come and play the piano
for her, but my mom said that would be too complicated because of her
relatives... that’d be a long story. And two weeks after that, she died. And I
wasn’t even able to come to her funeral because of the stupid bronchitis (see
next question):
Did
you suffer illness or injury?
Thank God, no. But I was ill most of December and still am a bit – it
looked like a cold but turned out to be bronchitis, and because I left it
uncured for a long time, it now takes a long time to recover.
What
was the best thing you bought?
Several things that I chose at Marks and Spencer and my mom bought them
for me for my 30th birthday. They were some nice pieces of clothes and some
British treats like shortbread or Earl Grey tea.
And the thing I bought for myself for my 30th birthday – the complete
series Porridge on DVDs! I bought it from Amazon.co.uk, and it was also the
first time I bought something from a non-Czech e-shop. It’s a 1973 British
sitcom that takes place in prison, and I discovered it while writing Tony
Osoba’s biography.
Whose
behaviour merited celebration?
Definitely my sister’s, who suffered a lot from my conflict with father,
but managed to stay calm and impartial.
My mom’s, because she offered me her flat without a moment’s hesitation.
My Latvian colleague’s, who accepted me as a friend the minute we met,
and we’ve been helping each other in all sorts of troubles.
The head of my department’s, who offered to deal with the bureaucratic
machinery of the faculty, so that I could graduate in June.
And my bosses‘- I now have two of them and both are the greatest bosses
imaginable.
And come to think of that, all my friends’ – each and every one of them
gave me good advice, or expressed some interesting thoughts, or showed their
kindness or patience or enthusiasm or... I could go on here for a long time :-)
Whose
behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
My father’s, and all the people's on the commuter trains to Prague who talk
loudly and use a lot of swear words.
Where
did most of your money go?
Into keeping myself alive :-P
What
did you get really, really, really excited about?
The fact that another lady suffering from multiple sclerosis, whom I used
to teach English, became interested in Protestant theology and plans to study
it!
The Christian multi-genre festival in Vsetín (a town near the border with
Slovakia). That was wonderful beyond description.
What
was the best concert you’ve been to this year?
That’s “the best concert I’ve ever been to”, by the way – and it was part
of Mark Knopfler’s Privateering tour. To quote my sister Hana:
“Mark Knopfler & Co.’s concert in May (an online newspaper
review gave it 90%, which caused an outrage from commentators who demanded to
know what was their excuse for the lack of the remaining 10% :D)! ”
The band was at their best, the audience was
great and just when I was thinking “Now they’ve played
three of my favourite songs, I’m 100% satisfied” – they started to play another!
Telegraph Road, my favourite song of them all, performance unparalleled.
What
song/album will always remind you of 2013?
Privateering – obviously :-)
Other two Knopfler’s songs that I re-discovered and grew fond of in 2013 –
Cleaning My Gun and Camerado.
Reilly’s Sunlight
Eteenpäin by Finnish
Christian heavy metal band HB.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
1.
happier or sadder? Much, much happier. You
probably know why after reading all the previous answers. But, most
importantly, the thorn of mistrust and criticism that had been in me all my
life vanished somehow. I’m able to relate to people more. Which makes me happy
more than winning a lottery or going to my dream holiday. (Which, btw, is
Canada, and even though it doesn’t seem so important anymore, I’m still hoping
to bring it to reality one day :-) )
2.
thinner or fatter? I think I put on 1 kg :-)
3. richer or
poorer? Richer, a bit.
What
do you wish you’d done more of?
Taking care of myself. Dancing kathak. Reading Lithuanian literature for
my state exam.
What
do you wish you’d done less of?
Going to bed late and getting up late.
What
was your greatest musical discovery?
Bombino! The amazing Touareg guitarist.
And the Czech 20th century classical music componist, Petr Eben.
How
did you spend Christmas?
Mostly, sending text messages to friends and relatives. I had planned a
wonderful Christmas for my Latvian colleague – three days of watching Czech
film fairy-tales, eating, decorating spruce tree branches, visiting
relatives... and I fell ill at the beginning of December and didn’t recover for
Christmas. So I had to change the plans via SMS. In the end, we managed to have
a simple but nice Christmas Eve in my flat, and a family get-together at
grandmom’s.
Who did you spend the most
time on the phone with?
Talking
– that would be my grandmom. We’ve made it a custom to ring each other up every
Sunday. Writing SMS – my friends. One of them is the Latvian colleague, and so
about half of the messages I wrote and received in 2013 are in Latvian :-)
What
was the best book you read?
Ellis
Peters: Cadfael, The Leper of St. Giles. I got the
book from my sister for Christmas and read it in one afternoon. The Cadfael
books are detective stories that take place in 13th century England, and I love
the way Ellis Peters combines detective investigation with adventure,
descriptions of the environment and love stories.
Jan
Heller: Znamení odkazující k nebi (The Sign
Pointing to Heaven/Sky), a book of interviews with a professor who was not only
a great theologist but also a very nice and wise person.
And I’m starting to enjoy the Lucky Luke comics more and more...
Did
you fall in love in 2013?
Yes. Officially - unhappily. Unofficially – happily, because it brings me
joy just to know the person.
What
was your favourite TV show?
Porridge – see What
did you buy?
Charles
Endell Esquire – that’s another TV series I discovered while
writing Tony Osoba’s biography. It was made by Scottish TV in 1979 and it’s a
delightful comedy about a Glaswegian Godfather who returns from prison and
finds Glasgow quite different than he’d remembered it... It was a tough lesson of Scottish English.
Unfortunately, just when I started to understand and enjoy it, Scottish TV made
it unavailable to non-UK audiences, and there’s no other way to watch or buy
it.
Murdoch
Mysteries is a UK-Canadian drama about a Toronto detective at the turn of the 20th
century. It’s probably my favourite TV series of them all.
And Castle - that’s the surname of a New York mystery novel writer
that becomes friends with a female copper and they solve crimes together. A
friend recommended it to me and I enjoyed it immensely, especially the funny interactions
between Castle and his copper friend. I’d thought US
dramas/whodunnits/detective series (whatever they’re called :-) ) were just a
lot of crap because in all of them, the focus eventually switches from the
investigations to the people, relationships, psychology and whatnot– I’m more
of a Poirot and Sherlock Holmes person – but this one is good.
Do
you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I’m afraid I hate someone for the first time in my life. Trying hard not
to. Before that, I’d just hated Adolf Hitler.
What
did you want and get?
A calendar from Latvia.
What I didn't even dream of getting and got was two decorative tablecloths hand-made in Latvia, one of them dating back to the days when Latvia was part of the USSR.
Also, the signed photograph of Tony Osoba. I asked him to give me the
address of his agency, so that I could contact them about his photograph. But instead,
he sent me two pictures himself.
What
did you want and not get?
A table calendar with Czech castles and chateaus that my mom gives me
every year, but this Christmas, she forgot. I bought one for myself, today.
The kathak dancing costume my sister promised to sew me. It’s supposed to
look like this:
What
were your favourite films of this year?
Definitely this 2000 Tamil (=South Indian) film Kandukondain
Kandukondain (I Have Found). Its name corresponds with my general
impression of last year (even though I couldn’t describe what exactly I have
found), but it also got me interested in southern India (as opposed to northern
India, which differs a lot in mentality, culture, clothing etc.). And it’s sort
of... well, it‘s my film. It’s a story of four different people – an assistant
director, a veteran soldier, a software developer and a singer. It’s eventful,
adventurous at times, sometimes romantic, but I’d say the overall impression is
friendly and a bit poetic.
And I keep falling in love again and again with old Czech comedies and
fairy tales.
What kept you sane?
Or rather, who. The Lord.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the
most?
This one is
obvious: Tony Osoba :-)
And Bohuslav
Sobotka caught my attention – then he won the elections so I’m curious how he’ll
do in Czech politics.
What one thing would have made your year
immeasurably more satisfying?
Being able
to visit more events. I had to “skip” quite a number of them – like the
exhibition “The World of Mysterious Balts”, or the course of kathak dance.
What political issue stirred you the most?
I guess like all Czechs, I was excited about
the first public election of the president. And I was very disappointed at the
outcome.
Who did you miss?
See question
Did you fall in love in 2013? :-P
Also, my
sister who lives in Brno, my friends and teachers in Latvia, and Marcelijus
Martinaitis (I’m getting repetitive :-) ).
Who was the best new person you met?
This one is obvious, too – my new Latvian
friend, Elīna :-)
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in
2013.
Ha-ha, I
learned a lot of lessons, and the toughest and most important one was the one
Jesus himself taught me. But that was personal and I don’t think it applies to
anyone else.
A more
general lesson was the one about fear. Whenever I was optimistic and had faith,
everything went well (actually well beyond imagination), and whenever I gave in
to fear everything went wrong. That’s how I learned to “keep myself in the air,
at least one foot above the ground, even when it seems I’m falling”. It was a
hard minute-by-minute struggle at times.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I don’t think it exactly sums up my year, but
it will stand out in my memory as lyrics that I learned and thought of often in
2013.
It’s in Tamil and it’s from the film
Kandukondain Kandukondain.
Engae enadhu kavidhai,
kanavilae
ezhudhi madiththa kavidhai?
Vizhiyil karaindhuvittadhaa ammammaa
vidiyal azhiththuvittadhaa?
Kavidhai thaediththaarungal illai en
kanavai meettuth thaarungal.
(Where
is my poem,
the
one I wrote in my dream?
Did
it dissolve in front of my waking eyes
or
did the sunrise destroy it?
Find
my poem for me,
give
me back my dreams.)
