It is always good to have at the begin of a new year a moment to look back at the year that has passed by. So lets have a short look from 2017 to 2016
I think for me personally it was a relaxed year. Of course there were things that went not completely the desired way. But there were no life shaking things that happened.
There was one thing that I really enjoyed and that was our vacation of 3 weeks to Lesvos together with our best friends (who are also the persons who can post articles on this weblog). We have seen there so many beautiful and amazing things like the wonderful nature of the island. We met such wonderful people, tasted awesome food and drank great ouzo and wine.
We laughed a lot and did fun things, which was because we know each other very well nothing else was to be expected.
And thanks to Mel we saw and learned a lot about Lesvos, the rich history and its culture. We have been at places where “normal” tourists would never come. Thank you for that, Mel. We loved and enjoyed every moment of it.
Talking about Mel: We, Marion and I, met Mel for the first time on Lesvos in 2015 (she is already for years friends with Sanne and that is how we got to know her). There was right away a good contact between Mel, Marion and me. The vacation of 2016 was the begin of a real friendship. And through the wonderful ways of modern technology we stay in close contact with each other.
I am convinced that the others that travelled with us to Lesvos also hold high and warm thoughts towards Mel.
As said, for me personal is was not really a bad year. For Marion 2016 was also a rather good year (we talked about this of course).
For Marion it was a very busy year at her work, but she managed very well. My own job was also challenging at some moments, but that also went well.
I have a feeling my left foot finally really starts to recover and that is really a good thing, although I expect drawbacks at some moments. But lets be positive and hope it continue to get better this way.
But when I look around me then it becomes very different. So many negative things are happening.
The terrorist attacks, the rise of right populism (and also of radical left), the activities of politicians as Geert Wilders and Donald Trump, the move of religions to get more influence again (and not only in the countries where the Islam is strong, but also in the US where conservative Christians try to get power again), leaders of countries as Rodrigo Duterte (Philippines) and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkey) that go completely berserk.
Not to mention the hatred and disgust against refugees that seems to live with many now. And when you ask it turns out fast that they have no real knowledge about the situation of refugees and that they act by often complete wrong information. An example, you hear often that all refugees from Africa are coming here for economic reasons. Wrong, refugees from Eritrea are coming from an extreme suppressed country (and there are more places like that in Africa). Or that refugees get a fully decorated house for free. Yes, wrong again. They get a loan to buy the basic things for living. And no, they don’t large amounts of money every month.
Although I am not complaining for myself, I do hope that 2017 will be a better year for the world….