Let's tear down some walls

So long, best year of my life!


This is the biggest wall I ever made. Hope it'll last for decades.

What a year this was for me. A year of travel, love, new horizons, new food and new adventures. A year of many ups and few downs. A year of work, saving and enjoying. I've seen all of Taiwan and Slovenia this year, went on a trip to Macau and Seoul, toured Vienna twice, saw Bratislava, Trieste and Gorizia for the first time. I helped replacing the old roof on our house, we worked on it for 3 weeks. I constructed 3 walls in our basements and helped to pave a 10m long road near our house. I was lucky to buy me a new laptop, which helped me to blog faster and easier. In the end I even won a blog award with the help of my awesome friends. Looks like everything was somehow paying off this year. I wasn't already there where I thought I'll be by the end of 2009 (read my resolutions), but I'm happy how things turned out. I have never thought I would see Seoul and Korea so fast, I never thought I would go on such a big road trip with my girlfriend and have so much fun. There are so many more things I have not anticipated this year, too many to list them here.

So what's next in store for me? I have no idea. I have plans, hopes and dreams for next year. Moving to Taiwan and tying the knot is not something you do every day. And I hope I can have a good career and a happy harmonious life. Although I love adventures, I need a peaceful environment, where I can retreat. And in recent years it's been too much back and forth, so many travels and changes, it affects me. I need to find my base and hope that will be in Taiwan. I enjoyed my life the way it was, 5 intercontinental trips in 5 years, living in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan all together for a year has given me so many new perspectives on life, has broadened my horizons the internet could never do. I love it, when you guys read my travelogues, but my posts could never really give you that atmosphere, that feeling, when you're somewhere in rural Malaysia in a house of friendly Chinese, who cook for you and make you feel special. Or the feeing to walk in a tropical jungle or to dine on top of a super tall skyscraper with your loved one. How many times I arrived and parted in these past years. I connect tears of joy and tears of broken hearts with airports, I love and hate them. Yet, I can't live without them. It's for me hard to live without my laptop, but even that you can take away from me. But don't take away from me the ability to hop on a plane and end up on the other side of the world the next day. My life's a big journey.

I was never sitting on a pile of banknotes, I always invested them in my trips, which were fueled by my hopes and dreams. Maybe next year that will change, but I think only a little. I'm very eager to see Japan and more of Taiwan. But I don't push myself anymore. Whatever will be, will be, I just hope it will be good. You can't really plan a whole year, you can only hope that some goals you set for yourself will be realized. If it's 50%, it's already more than you could dream of. Don't have too many expectations, but don't be aimless. Don't try to push yourself too hard, but don't lack passion. Embrace a new year with all it's dangers, challenges and possibilities. Don't regret a single thing, a mistake, a quarrel, a mishap. The year will pass too quickly and soon you can make it better in another year... and then another... and another.

Thank you everybody, who went on this journey with me the past year (and the past 5 years). It will never be the same again - it will be different - but that doesn't mean it will be worse. I am now 30, experienced and wiser (or that's what I hope). Sometimes I miss the 24 years old me, who had no idea how the world really looked like. I'm not sure, if I am that much happier now, though. But we can't stop ageing, we can't stop the world from changing. What we can do is make sure, that we adjust our pace to its pulse and hope for the best.

Happy 2011, everyone! Let's tear down some old walls.

PS: I've got another award: Blogger of the year by Netster.

This year just doesn't stop surprising me. Thanks so much, bro. I'm speechless.

Racist tirades against Obama

It looked so promising in 2008

Those who followed my blog in 2008, knew how excited I was about Obama's victory at the 2008 Presidential election. I remember how closely I followed the whole campaign since 2007. Obama particularly caught my attention by that time, I had the feeling that he may go really far. And man, he really went further than my wildest expectations. His speeches gave me goosebumps and sometimes they still do. I won't ever forget that night and his speech in Chicago. in front of thousands of people, knowing that he will be the next president of the United States. It was about 4am in the morning, when I watched that speech live on CNN and I won't ever forget that moment, when Jesse Jackson cried. I guess I was moved a little, too, even though I'm not American. I think there probably wasn't a single African American, who wasn't somehow touched that night. But this was beyond America, the whole world was amazed by what just happened in that moment.

And then 2 years later at the midterm elections, Obama and the Democrats lose their majority in the Congress and the general mood in the country seems anti-Obama. And there seems to be a small but loud group of people, who think it's OK to voice racist comments. I read this article on Yahoo! News (this is just a snippet):

Since the expectations were so high in 2008, Obama couldn't possibly meet them. 2 years are too short for a decade of wrong decisions and failed policies. But well, everyone expects super things from Superman, right? Even though I admire Obama and support most of his policies, I can understand that some Americans are disappointed. But what I don't understand is the disgusting racism against Obama, that seems to be OK now, almost mainstream (I'm talking about online). I remember, when everyone ridiculed the birthers and the tea party a year ago, but now they're getting elected! Now they're mainstream. Same was with the racists: They seemed to be totally nonexistent in 2008 (with few exceptions), now it seems they can spew out their hate against Obama and even get applause from a lot of people (especially online). If you read any article about Obama on Yahoo! News these days, I guarantee you, that you'll come across a lot of flat out racist comments (accompanied with many "likes"). Let me show you some comments on the article above (published a day after Obama lost the midterm elections. I highlighted the worst parts):

Since I'm not American and my impressions about the current situation in America base on what I see on TV or read online, I wonder: Is it really so bad? Judging by the comments on Yahoo! News, America is ruled by an "African born Muslim who is an anti American racist, that can't run the country and needs to be imprisoned, if not executed". That's scary. How can someone in their mind really believe such things? Or am I making too much of it?

What I'm reading these days is a total opposite of what I was reading in 2008. America, what happened? Hope my American followers can enlighten me on this. But please, explain to me why are there more and more racist comments online on Obama. Or is my impression completely wrong?

[Read the COMMENTS by thorswitch][Screen caps: Yahoo! News]

Lady Gaga was waving the Slovenian flag!

Croats were baffled, while Slovenians cheered

Lady Gaga loves Slovenia! Well, she probably does not. But that's what Slovenian netizens think today. She had a concert yesterday in Zagreb, in the capital city of our neighboring country Croatia. Since Zagreb is so close to Slovenia, a lot of our people also went to the concert. But the crowd was not only full of Croats and Slovenians, there were many Italians, Austrians and Hungarians, she attracted people from all over the region. Well, the concert would not be so noteworthy, if there wasn't an incident, that left the Croatian fans baffled and the Slovenian fans stunned. A Slovenian female fan, who wrote on the flag "Italian girl from New York, my only love" for her (see here), threw it on stage and Gaga picked it up. She wrapped herself in the flag and continued dancing and singing, but dropped it few seconds later (so it was like nothing...) But those photos are now all over the web. You can imagine that many Croats weren't amused, especially because the relations between our countries have been strained for the past 20 years, but especially in the recent years, when a border dispute (read here) heated up like never before. Slovenian and Croatian netizens constantly provoke each other online, they come to our forums, we come to theirs. Our languages are pretty similar and it's not hard to learn few phrases and go to the opposite forum and be a jerk. And today the provocations continued. Croats were bitter, some angry at Lady Gaga and wondering, if she did that on purpose, while our Slovenians were overly proud and full of silly remarks.

Can't we all just take a chill pill and relax? She probably had no clue which country's flag that was, nor did she care, if she'll upset anyone. She didn't mean to offend Croats, nor did she express love for Slovenia. I hope those Slovenians, who are now full of national pride, would be fine, if she waved a Croatian flag in Ljubljana and I hope that those Croats, who are now offended, would be equally critical, if their flag would be waved in Slovenia. But I'm afraid both sides would react the same, just the roles would be exchanged...

How would you feel, if a singer waved a flag of a foreign country on a concert in your country?

[Read my posts about SLOVENIA][Photo source: Večernji.hr]