Keeping in touch with former St Andreans: the Leibster Award

It has been nine months since we graduated from St Andrews (not that I'm counting!) and, as predicted, it has been a bumpy, if very exciting, transition for all of us. Sophie is a fabulous St Andrews friend, who is doing great things this year: her blog, HANS AND PETER, is food for the imagination and never fails to make me giggle. Recently, she nominated some of her blogger friends for a Leibster Award, so here I am. Thank you Sophie, I feel very flattered! These are the rules:

1) Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.

2) Answer their 10 questions.

3) Nominate your blogger friends and give them your own 10 questions

And here are the answers to Sophie's questions…!

1. What is your earliest memory?

I think it must be the time I got told off by my mum for doodling on our kitchen wall: I probably was about two or three, and I remember I loved spending time playing under the table in the kitchen. First time parents always learn things the hard way, I guess: don't give crayons to a toddler who likes to play in a house with white walls!

2. If you could live in any period and place in the world, where and when would it be? You’d be the same person and your family, opportunities etc. would be generally the same too.

That would be New York in the 1920s. Dancing the night away to jazz, short haircuts and hanging out with Dorothy Parker? Yes please!

3. What would your last meal be?

The flavour of extra virgin olive oil and grated parmesan cheese, and warm milk mixed with honey, are primordial to me; my last meal would have to include those ingredients. 

4. What's your favourite book?

What a difficult question! There are many books that have left an impression on me. Love in the times of cholera, by Gabriel García Márquez, is definitely one of the best ones I've ever read. I love The Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino, and If this is a man,  by Primo Levi. Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto, and Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami, are also wonderful. The Diary of Anne Frank was a childhood favourite. But who knows, I probably haven't read my favourite book yet!

5. Name eight people, dead or alive, fictional or real, who you’d invite to your ultimate dinner party.

Janis Joplin, Sofia Coppola, Ryszard Kapuściński, Charles Bukowski, Tina Modotti, Zooey Deschanel (yes, guilty), Oscar Wilde and Rosalind from Shakespeare's As You Like It. Planning the seating chart would certainly be a hoot! 

6. What is a law, custom, common assumption or norm you would change: why and how? 

What a way to put us on the spot, Sophie! This is a very difficult question. Something I've been thinking about lately, and discussing with my friends, is that there is no 'silver bullet' that can solve the world's problems; should we tackle environmental issues? Poverty? Ignorance? Abolish capitalism? Are all these not interrelated and mutually constitutive in any case? My opinion is that at the root cause of most of today's problems is corruption, and if there were a way to get rid of it there would be less suffering across nations. But how to do this? It would be wonderful if someone could come up with an answer to this question.

7. Describe your perfect day.

It has to be sunny and warm, warm enough to sit on the grass and for the grass to be dry. There has to be food, friends, good music and no concern for the passing of time.

8. What is something you have learned in the past year? (It can be a skill or specific interesting fact, but general realisations about yourself or the world are more fascinating).

I think something I've been learning all my life, but has become very clear to me since this summer, is that one thing we all seem to really want is to be listened to. It is so surprising that I should have met several people who tell me they like that I listen to them attentively (and in all fairness, I have been very surprised when someone repeats something to me that I had told them in passing or long before--"Wow, you remember me saying that?"). Listening to each other should be the norm, and yet it seems we hardly do it. Maybe that is why it is so common for some people to speak over each other--we are all trying to get heard. If it is such a simple thing to do, and if it makes others happy, why not practice listening to each other as much as we can? 

9. Name three qualities you most admire and three you most despise in a person.

Three qualities I admire: 1) generosity, 2) creativity, 3) enthusiasm. Three qualities I dislike: 1) selfishness, 2) negativity, 3) arrogance. 

10. Which three places do you most want to go in the world?

Bhutan, Japan, Morocco.

11. When do you feel most like yourself?

When I am laughing.

12. Name a skill/ ability you have and wish you didn’t, and one you don’t have and wish you did. And, one you do have and do enjoy or value, just to end things on a positive note! 

This is not an ability, but I definitely wish I was less clumsy and scatterbrained! I wish I could sing. And I am glad I am able to read quickly--this has certainly come in handy while doing a masters!

And here are my questions…

1. What do you remember about your first kiss?

2. What childhood game did you like the most, and do you think kids these days would still play it?

3. Where is your favourite bookstore?

4. What current affairs issue do you think everyone should be familiar with today?

5. How do you distract yourself when you’re travelling on your own?

6. Do you prefer homemade or restaurant food?

7. What is your favourite season?

8. Where is the most beautiful beach you have been to? Which beach destination is still on your ‘to do’ list?

9. Which writer(s) has inspired you the most?
10. Think of a moment in your life in which you felt particularly uncertain. What advice would you give your past self?