Bring on 2012

I left New Zealand in late 2010, and I find it hard to believe a whole year has passed over here!

Amsterdam, photo taken in August

As I hinted at recently, more change is on the cards for me as the family I'm nannying for pack up and move to Amsterdam at the beginning of March. I took my time deciding whether or not to go with them, but in the end I've decided that I've seen and done most of Luxembourg and the surrounding countryside, and five months living in Amsterdam will give me the chance to explore a country I don't know so well.

I'm not one for New Years resolutions, I'm more for gradual change than making big declarations, and I don't think New Years has as much relevancy for making changes in my life as a new school semester or a new job is, but a Stuff.co.nz article asking 50 NZers what they were hopeful for in 2012 got me thinking about what I would like to get out of the year ahead.

I am hopeful that this year I really will learn to live within my means and get my finances into better shape. Anyone who knows me will know that I don't have many skills in the money department, and ever since I blew all my savings while trying to make Spain work out, I've been struggling to get my head back above water. I can but hope...not even two weeks into January, and my budget for this month is already a disaster!

Amsterdam, photo taken in August

I hope that I really make progress in learning German, and pick up a little more french and dutch. I came to Europe to learn a third language, but after a year here, I'm failing miserably! I have some basics in all three, but I couldn't have a conversation in any! The frustrating thing is I'm really really passionate about learning German, but I missed out on a german course last semester, and now I'm waiting for my bosses to sort out how things are going to work with the move.

I am optimistic that Amsterdam will be a positive move for me. Again, I've thrown all of my plans to the wind in leaving Luxembourg before my year is up, but Im viewing it as a chance to discover another corner of Europe. I've kind of seen and done most of Luxembourg and the surrounding countries, whereas I haven't spent much time in the Netherlands and it being so small and with cheap public transport, I should be able to travel around a lot, and hopefully even make it over to Hamburg or part of northern Germany. I'm also hoping that a change in location will see me settle down, make friends and feel at home in a way that I haven't in Luxembourg. I love Luxembourg, but its hard to live here as the Luxembourgers really stick to themselves, and the foreigners living here are all on short-term contracts, meaning its hard to make good friends with people and as soon as you do, they leave anyway.

Amsterdam, photo taken in August

I am also hopeful that I can evade immigration officials until I apply for a visa for Germany, and hopeful that Germany grants me one without any problems! I'm not going to make any wishes about what will happen once I'm inside Germany - I've learnt enough making plans while on an OE to do that now!

And finally, I am hopeful that I really make the most out of every opportunity that living in Europe in 2012 has to offer me. After my first three months of traveling around, I'm finding that now I tend to return to the same locations rather than discovering new ones. I can put this down party to wanting to catch up with my closest friends, and I guess that being able to do so easily is in fact one of the things that living in Europe has to offer, but also to me just not having the money or time to travel very far from where I'm based here in Western Europe. I would love to head over towards Eastern Europe, and also up to Scandinavia, so if I can sort out my finances a bit better, hopefully I can achieve one or the other by the end of the year.