Don't steal my bike

Happy new year! (aw dammit).

So I've been planning this entry for quite a while, and now it's finally time. In one hour, the most important decade of my life will be over. One hour after that, I will make a Skype call to everyone partying at home, that will be fun.

Before I get all caught up in this, I should say thanks to those who commented in my last entry, your words were of value and I'm not really sure of how to express my appreciation (especially about the complete stranger who decided to sit down and write a long message just like that. Such kindness is almost unimaginable).

I'm not sure where I should start, whether to convey my nostalgia for these last ten years or tell you how I feel about having passed the mid-mark of my Japanese stay. Here goes nothing.


Five months, dude. That's a long time. Yet somehow it passed faster than ever before, that's weird. During this time, I've felt cut off from the "real world". A part of me is still left in the summer of '09, the most eventful summer of my life. Another part of me is still that young Swedish guy who just came to Japan, nearly scared witless by the alienation but lying to himself in order to become overconfident. The method was unorthodox, I'm sure, but it worked. Gradually I dropped the lies one by one as I accepted the truths that were in front of me.

And here I am, facing the next half of my adventure with a new vigor, ready for round two. This time without the need to put enemy level to three (it's level nine, three Meta Knights, In a team. Hardcore).

My Japanese hasn't improved at the speed I'd been rooting for. I'll see if I can amend that by working harder next year, as well as hope it improves at a faster rate the longer I've been here.

Yeah, that's good enough.


Leaving that, time to turn the nostalgia amp to eleven and get this train rolling! (*tuff tuff tuff*)

Just about ten years ago, I was seven years old, at a new year's party in the house of some friends of the family. I don't remember much of the details, but I know I knew something big was happening. I also know I was kind of let down when the big thing was revealed to be entirely subjective, and not a real event. (I mean, wouldn't it have been cool if it started raining purple and green fire from the sky while a giant bearded figure appeared in the heavens, letters in lightning appearing as he roared "Happy new millennium, future's coming, yo!"?)
Either way, the evening was pretty exciting, with the sound of fireworks all around non-stop.

(huh, just ten minutes left. This is taking more time than I thought)

A little more than nine years ago, September 2001, I got to school as usual. When suddenly the teacher told us all to gather in the mirror room (big mirrors on the wall, hence the name). She then asked if any of knew what had happened and proceeded to tell us about what had happened in far off America. America, it had been the coolest country on earth once, everything that was awesome was imported from there, they had cowboys, Disney, actors, skyscrapers, all the big things and much much more.
After that day, my innocent image of that country was replaced by tales of ridicule, embarrassment and stupidity. By the end of the decade, I barely have any respect for that particular part of the world. Let's hope the future changes that.

December 2001, more or less nine years ago. The family went to the theaters to see the movie adaption of a book my father had read to me and my brother when we were young.
The Fellowship of the Ring blew my mind just as much as it blew everyone else, I'd had no idea you could do that, with a book, in a movie, using fantasy.

In the fall of 2003, I started hanging out with a classmate of mine more often, sometimes doing stuff together during recesses and eventually visiting his house after school, playing Worms Armageddon. That classmate of mine ended up being the best friend I'd ever had, ever have and ever will have. My life would never have been as cool as it is if it hadn't been for him. Thanks man.

Moving on to 2004, I started sixth grade. New school, new class, new life. I still remember the first day, doing the opposite of everyone else by hanging out in the schoolyard with my friend, instead of staying inside (and staying inside was totally rad at that time, since in the prior grades we'd been required to go outside).
Starting from the sixth grade, I slowly evolved as a person over the four years I would spend at "Södra Ängby Skola". The change would sometimes happen in obvious steps, like after the first lesson when I had been sitting right next to Emil. I just knew I wanted to become friends with him (but shyness prevented me from just doing it the easy way). An opportunity presented itself when Niklas, Vilgot and I talked about how we could use a fourth member in our group (we'd started a "magazine" in fifth grade, but lost some members when the class split up. Maybe I should've made the creation of that magazine as an important event.. Oh well, can't have them all) aaanyways, I suggested we introduce Emil to our project during a class trip to "Skärsön". He thought it was interesting and the rest was history. Tidbit: During said school trip, my mom appeared on her motorbike (I'd forgotten something, I think) and impressed everyone, that was awesome.

During summer 2007, I went to a confirmation camp (fear not, tasteless jokes have already been made and gone old) for ten days, the longest amount of time I had spent from home so far. My fellow campmates (is that a word? ... It is now) were all of the "typical teenager" variety.
Before that camp, I had been reluctant as to whether I was okay with being nerdy and therefore different from the "normal" guys, or if I should have tried to be more like them.
After seeing their behavior during those ten days, I knew I would never want to become like them (The rules clearly said "No smoking" and "No drinking", yet those guys couldn't keep off from doing it for just ten days, I mean just come on).

During the school year past that summer, my class got an assignment in Swedish class. We were supposed to make a speech about something. I can't even remember what my subject was, but I'm quite convinced I did well. However, what a classmate of mine talked about changed my life.
She told the class about her language trip. I don't even remember where she went, but she told us all about how fun it had been and what interesting things she had done. I was hooked (though I was unimpressed by her implied partying). All in all, it is thanks to her speech that I gained the desire to make a language trip to Oxford for three weeks in the following summer, it was the longest time I had ever spent away from home. If I hadn't taken that language trip, I would never have had the courage to go all the way to Japan for ten months, the longest time I've ever spent away from home.

Thinking back to all events that have happened during these ten years, all the things I don't have the time to tell you about. I see how my life is shaped by random events, occurrences and coincidences, it's an interesting way to live, and I'm grateful for that.


Happy new year to all of you, as I'm sure you will have catched up to me by the time you read this.