There is nowhere I would rather be spending the Rutsch from 2014 to 2015 than the beautiful city of Bath; a city which stole my heart when I studied here and which I talk about too much, too often to anyone who will listen. Unfortunately I’m a bit under the weather and my first act in 2015 was to take some ibuprofen for a terrible (non-alcohol related) headache and sit around for a while feeling nauseous; it was rescued from being a disastrous start to my year by my boyfriend, who took good care of me and gave me some company.
Walking home through town last night on our way back from a new year gathering, people seemed to have cast aside their English reserve; we actually made eye contact and smiled at the people we passed, even going so far as to break the usual silence of strangers to exchange new year’s wishes. People seem to have a different, more positive, attitude to life on the last night of the year; the start of a new year gives us the chance to celebrate friendship and the year that’s past, while looking forward to new possibilities and experiences that the coming year will bring.
In January I will move to my new room in Luxembourg, in a village which is nearer work and with a lovely landlady who also works at Parliament, to continue my traineeship for another three months. I’m so happy to have been given the opportunity to stay a little longer, since I feel like I have only just begun to get to grips with translation at Parliament and that I have so much more to learn. January will also involve a trip back to the UK for a wedding, when I hope to catch up with old friends, and a trip to Lisbon with my boyfriend while he recovers from January exams. Depending on how much money is left over, I hope to travel a bit more from Luxembourg, and hopefully visit some friends. Many of my good friends are scattered around Europe, and I don’t see them nearly often enough!
After that, 2015 is a bit of a mystery, and I look forward to discovering what it holds! This time last year I would never have guessed that I would be living in Luxembourg now, so who knows what the next 365 days will bring or how they will unfold. I hope that your adventure through 2015 is full of joy and good things, and will leave you with this New Year’s wish:
May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art – write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.
Abby x
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