It has been a really good weekend. Silver and Patrick came on Friday, we hit it off instantly, and the whole weekend felt like a sleepover with old friends. It's amazing how one day you're complete strangers, and the second day you are cooking pancakes together like you've been friends forever. It just feels natural, albeit in a surreal way. *checks fingers* It's just really fulfilling to have stimulating conversations that last forever, people who really get you, and understanding that the feeling is mutual that you want to keep in touch and take the trouble to make plans to fly halfway across the globe to see each other.
As I host more and more people, it seems that my trip to Europe next summer becomes more and more inevitable. It's like a painting that every CSer from Europe adds a few strokes to, it gets more and more colourful, vivid and real. Swiss CSer Stefan had talked about an annual CS Paella Party that is held in St Gallen, Switzerland every mid July. I was thinking quite seriously about going, and then now we have Silver telling me about this folk music festival held in Viljandi, Estonia, every end of July.
So Silver and I pored over the world map and fantasized about a two-month romp for me around Europe, starting in the UK (because I'd probably be flying Air Asia haha), to Switzerland for the CS Paella Party, Poland to meet Kasia, Estonia for the folk music festival and to meet Silver at his countryside home, over to Sweden to see Marten, then Germany for Val, Holland for Robert, and finally back to the UK to fly back to Singapore. Subject to deviations and detours.
Photo creditAnd I know, if I make it a goal, it will become true. That is how I went to New Zealand, that is how I went to the States, and that is how I will go to Europe next year. Full speed ahead for the confirmation report, and seriously figuring out the budget that I need. And I just checked - Malaysian passports don't require visas to get into any European countries. Is that true, guys?
So yeah. Summer plans are in place, Val's coming and we're going to Sarawak in March, and I figure next year's going to be a very busy year with all the work and travel. I'm pretty happy actually. I miss everyone that I'm going to see, I want to go hiking with Kasia, I want to see Marten if he's gotten rid of his dreads, I want to drink beer and cook with Robert again, I want to share so many stories with Val, I want to go to do organic farming with Silver... and all the reminiscing! We'll have so many things to talk about, the good old days when we travelled together, the amazing sunrises that we saw, the funny people that we met, names of places and animals, the running gags, the stupid games that we played! And I can't wait to give big bear hugs to everyone when we finally meet again.
Soon, I promise. Very soon =)
