First off, I'm writing this one from America, where I am visiting for the first time in over 2 years! How about that! But already stuck in the house for over a week with covid. How about that. I was home for about 5 days before I came down with the sniffles, and isolating for another 5 when I took a test that came out positive. And getting a test at all turned out to be lucky, since apparently there's a huge testing shortage in the US. How? No shortages in Russia, I don't get it. But here we are.
What about the rest of the year? Not a single business trip for the first time in a long time, although I did have the pleasure of speaking remotely for the 5th annual FISU Leadership Academy - a nice treat, as I was a speaker at their first in Kazan 5 years ago.
There were some personal achievements to be proud of as well. I had my first kickboxing fight in April! Officially it was a tie. Technically I lost. But I still have a first place medal, thank you very much. And I won a pair of new boxing gloves, which were sorely needed. In July I went to Sochi with some of my kickboxing group and our coach to train 3x a day for 10 days. That was another first, and something I'd love to do again. Then in October I had my second (!) kickboxing fight. That one I also lost, so you can take a guess at what my 2022 goal is.
I also took my first pottery class when my lovely friend Anna invited me to one for her birthday, the results of which I'll have when I get back to Moscow. Other than that I can't say there was anything super exciting to report. I worked, a lot. I read, also quite a lot. I got vaccinated in the end of February and my second dose in the end of March. I lived as normal a life as I could hope for "in these difficult and unprecedented times."
So as we all ease cautiously into the new year, my plans are to keep making progress in my career, keep learning, and keep moving forward. I hope you'll do the same!
