It has been a strange year. Maybe the tone was set only a few weeks into the year with a swarm of celebrity deaths, but it was only a beginning of what was to come. (Not that they didn’t continue throughout the year – I’m so heartbroken about Carrie Fisher.) North Korean rocket tests and terrorist bombings in Brussels created tension in international relations. I had to abandon my dream of living in Chile next year. The UK voted to leave the European Union. I travelled the most happening backpacker hub on the planet and still felt lost. In a strange twist of events, Donald Trump was elected the President of the United States. My family’s cat, which we’d had for almost a decade, passed the same day as Leonard Cohen did. And most shocking of all – Brangelina broke up.

It was the year when the World became so chaotic that even South Park couldn’t keep up.

If you only took these events and tried to construct a clear image of the bygone year, you’d feel inclined to think that it sucked. However, it has necessarily not been a bad year. It has been exhausting, strange, fear-fuelled; a whirlwind of international politics and personal conflicts, but it has not been an entirely bad year. I’ve made new friends and strengthened the bond with the old ones. I’ve learnt a new language. I’ve spent incredible amounts of time on the road this year, and with it has perhaps come some personal growth. I feel I am more introspective than I was at the beginning of the year (I do yoga multiple times a week, for crying out loud!) Am I happier? Not necessarily, but I am also not more miserable than I was last year at this time. More than anything, during this year I have come to realise how insanely privileged I am to be able to live like I want: study for my dream job, be surrounded by lovely, supporting people, and travel incessantly.

Last year I did a month-by-month recap of the year, but if I’m honest – I’m not a big fan of those. I’ve got no qualms if other bloggers do them, but often I’ve been following their blog for that whole year and I just end up skipping the post altogether. But maybe you’re new to wayfarover – or maybe you just haven’t been following with high intensity – that’s OK. Instead of a total recap, here are my ten favourite posts from this year.

Tips:

Eat your cake and have it too – how to not get sick from food abroad 

How to learn a foreign language

10 hairstyles for long-haired travellers

5 things you should know about travelling off season

Contemplations:

What it’s like being a Finn abroad

On injuries and immortality: dangers of travelling 

Myanmar: Regaining the sense of adventure 

About the importance of knowing your comfort zone 

Stories:

The cozy affair 

That time I lost my passport to Gangnam Style

And you know that moving onto a new year would be nothing if there wasn’t a bit of a “New year, new me” crap going on. Although in this case it’s not as much new me as in new blog. Last year I upgraded wayfarover from Blogger to its own domain name and transferred platform to WordPress.com. Even though with the change came annoying ads (that I’d previously sworn off), I’ve been very happy with the way my blog looks now. Sure, it could be even more professional. But then again, I’m not a professional blogger, and even then I’d consider quality content more important than a fully polished shell.

In 2017, I’m getting harder into the game. I’ve decided to up my travel photography game – because everyone likes great visuals, right? I’m also trying my best to become more active on my Existing Social Media platforms *cough* Pinterest *cough* and explore some new ones: Facebook and YouTube. You can find the Facebook page here, and if you’re a follower of this blog and would like to see more of my content on your news feed, you should go like the page! I’m going to update all my new posts onto it as well as share other content that I find interesting. (And don’t forget my existing social media – you’ll find all the links at the bottom of the page.)

Do also subscribe to the new YouTube channel! I have to admit, I am quite new to this video editing game, but I am enthusiastic to see how it works. While on the blog side of things I will keep posting different things – guides, reflections, stories -, on YouTube you can get a more recent view on what I’ve been up to. Since I’ll be living in Brazil for the better part of the next year, I thought that a vlog might be a good way of keeping in touch with you guys and keep you updated on everything that’s going on in my life.

Blogwise, I will start posting twice a week on most weeks (I’m hoping Brazilian wifi availability agrees with me on this). Once a week I’ll do one of my normal post, and then during the weekend I’ll either publish photos or a postcard. Right after New Years’ I’ve got some pictures coming up from Edinburgh, where Ben took me for a few days as a Christmas present. In January I’ll also be travelling through Portugal before flying off to Brazil.

Next year will be a groundbreaking one for me with the exchange semester and the beginning of my last year at the university, and I am excited to see all that lies ahead.

Whether you’re a new reader or a loyal follower – thanks for being a part of this awesome little community! I hope the next year will be great for you and bring with it a lot of cool adventures. Let me know if you’ve got any plans for 2017, I’d love to read what you guys are up to Happy New Year!