Bing did these in 2022

In a few weeks, we’ll start getting the Christmas letters, in the mail, typewritten single-spaced on three sheets of paper, and will be sending out our own. My husband writes them in Danish then translates them, and I proofread his English. There is space in each year’s letter for a few paragraphs recounting my year, but the project is on the whole his. He belongs to a different generation, one that still sets a store by newsletters like these, unlike mine, which has come to rely heavily on social media posts with their subservience to algorithms. A meme I found on Facebook, cobbled together by a Gen Xer like myself, probably, called such lengthy Christmas letters the annual humble brag. 

Okay then. Here is my very own “humble brag”, a run-down of the things I did that mattered a lot to me in 2022. Be warned: I’m inspired and might just elaborate on a few of them in future posts.

1. Began a “100 faces in 300 days” challenge: drawings on A4 and A3 paper of people I found in the margins of my travel photos dating back 10 or 20 years.  

2. Taught English to Ukrainian refugees.

3. Thought a lot about war and visited what had once been a war zone (Sarajevo). Rewatched two movies about boys bearing arms – Taps (1981) and Hornets’ Nest (1970)– both of them improbable, both resident in the realm of fantasy, yet with interesting similarities.

4. Edited a book written by my father.  

5. Visited my Philippine home two times. I went through my old drawings and stories, opening a box that hadn’t been touched in more than 20 years and looking at stuff I hadn’t seen in 40 years.  

6. Found the Hornet’s Nest boys as they are today (most of them, anyway) and was finally able to match faces to character and actor names, but for two or three. If you were a kid in the Philippines in the early 70s and early 80s, you will know exactly who the Hornet’s Nest boys were. Made a promise to myself not to post their current photos online unless with permission (that goes without saying, but I thought I would stress the point early on). Have not established contact with any of them.

7. Wrote my second novel in about six weeks, off and on. The best parts were tapped out while in a cabin with a view of the sea, on the island of Bornholm. No sightseeing was done on that week-long vacation, though Bornholm had originally been my idea.

8. Filmed myself speaking in Tagalog and Cebuano for a campaign video, a joint effort of Philippine writers in support of Leni Robredo’s candidacy for president of the Republic of the Philippines. But it was Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who ended up in Malacanang Palace.  

9. Began to wear pink. Again. For too long I had stayed away from this color, preferring black, maroon and navy, in an attempt to age myself and look “professional.” But in 2021-2022 pink took on a courageous new meaning in the Philippines – that of resistance against the vilification and belittling of women, including those with an excellent track record in public service.   

10. Served on a team that proctored the Medborgerskabsprøve and the Indfødsretsprøve, two high-stakes exams taken by those wishing to obtain permanent residency or citizenship in Denmark respectively.  

11. Visited Italy again. My husband and I went to Bologna and to Rome; last year we were in Sicily. Travelled to the Wadden Sea (the western part of Denmark) and from there to Germany. Visited the former Yugoslavia and  Malaysia as well.

12. Made new friends and kept old ones. A surprising number of these interactions occurred on Facebook.

13. Finally resumed my study of Spanish and took the first faltering steps into Italian. All this courtesy of Duolingo and Google Translate.  

14. Taught English to learners (mixed nationalities) at the A1 level.  A1 in the Common European Frame of Reference designates people who are “Beginners”. For some it is the first time they are shaping words in the Latin alphabet. It was an insights-rich experience. Prior to that, most of my students had been in the B1 to C2 range, C2 being the highest level in the CEFR.

15. Completed and delivered portraits of the 14 deans of the Silliman University Divinity School in time for the D.S.’s centennial celebration, and which were unveiled at the Silliman Founders’ Day celebration in August.

16. Got CoVID. On a bus heading to DTU (the Technical University of Denmark) of all places. I’d assumed that with three vaccinations and a recent trip to Italy behind me to test their efficacy, I would now be Covid-proof and that what I had was no more than an annoying cold. I slept on a mattress in the living room so as not to bother my husband with my coughing, and continued to work from home, even on days when I felt like shit. I only discovered what it was when, after over a week, I still had symptoms (albeit diminished) and so took a test to clear myself for a 12-hour workday helping to administer a Cambridge exam. 

17. Had my blood tested as part of a University of Aarhus study on the presence of Covid antibodies in the vaccinated. I’ve been a part of this study since March 2021. I feel proud to hold out my arm and brace myself for the prick of the needle in the interest of medical research.

18.  Lost 8 lbs without trying. I didn’t diet, but in the period right before I started writing my novel and during the writing itself, I couldn’t sleep and had no appetite. Ran on empty. Regained 3 or so lbs eventually, especially after the second visit to the Philippines and then on to Malaysia, but now I know what to do when I want to do it. Corollary: began to eat far less (and less meat!) than before. Let’s see what surprises the scale will have to offer, though, especially after the December chocolate orgy.

19.   Several times took a deep breath and disengaged myself from people and situations that required unfair self-sacrifice. Learned that it isn’t worth it to smile and endure. Took rejection in stride. Learned to say “no.”