October 17, 2011

  • Catching the next train

                  train

    Just this past weekend, I had a hop over to Stockholm for three days two nights and had a blast visiting a few museums (Fotographiska, Nobel Museum, and Royal Palace, Drottningholm Palace, Cityhall, Skansen), as well as going on top of the Gondalen Tower, trying out the transport systems (Train, metro, and bus), and having a take away Fika from Cafe Saturnus, which is best known for their coffee in milk and Kannebullar (cinnamon buns). I really like Stockholm for its big city life but I also find it quite nice that everything isn't so condensed that you couldn't make out which building is which. I love the shorelines and the Old Town (Gamla Stan), which was where my Hostel was. And the really nice thing about Hostel this time is that even though there were still people who snored (there's never a time when you don't get people who snore), I felt relatively safe, the dorm room was only 7 people (including me, 4 girls, 3 guys) and we actually talked as a group at night because everybody comes back to the dorm at around 9 or 10 and have nothing much to do. Two ladies were from England and Two guys were from Spain, so we just talked about cultural differences and how expensive things were in Sweden (Yes some things can be quite expensive here). The weather was really nice too, in contrast to the rainy and windy weather experienced last weekend in Gothenburg.

    The palaces and city hall were quite interesting too. To step into a hall where every year the Nobel Prize winners have the banquet in and to be in a palace where the current Royal family lives in is quite an incomprehensible experience. If I had the time, I think I wouldn't have mind spending a day in each place looking at all the art works and imagining how life would be like as the architect who designed the city hall or how the princess and prince used to feel living in the palace (a day in the palace, lets per say). On top of that, I learnt to appreciate the Nobel Prize a whole lot more after visiting the City Hall and Nobel museum, because you learn about why Alfred Nobel created the prizes and how much struggle each Nobel Prize winner must've experienced fighting for their passion before receiving the rewards. And for the third time since arriving in Sweden, I fell in awe at how someone can be so determined to do something they might not be good at but succeed in doing at the end. Van Gogh never touched a drawing board or painted in his life up until he was an adult and decided to become a painter for life one day. Nick Brandt never touched photography but was determined to capture the portrait life of animals in his thirties and became a photographer ever since. And Alfred Nobel never thought about creating the Nobel Prize until the time he wrote his will. Which changed the world, I believe.

    In looking back at the last few days, I also had quite a remarkable experience going to Stockholm (its funny too, I believe). So originally, I was supposed to be at the Lund station on Friday morning at 9am, so I decided to take the 8:47am bus, which would make me arrive at the station right on exact 9am. I thought about taking the earlier bus but that would mean I'd arrive at the station 40 min earlier, and its cold waiting outside for that long. So anyhow, the bus didn't come until almost 9, so I started worrying that I'd miss my train to Malmo station. The bus driver stopped at one of the bus stops to talk with a lady for a long time in between. My friend messaged me on the way that she'd take the train from the city to Malmo without me because it was at 9:13am. I missed the train to Malmo and waited for the next one, which was 9:20 am. I arrived at Malmo at 9:40am, which made me 5 min late for the Stockholm train and I missed that. So I had to wait for 2.5 hours at Malmo for the 12:11pm train. I walked around Malmo city for a bit, ate McDonalds, got some money from the bank, bought a pair of gloves, and went back to Malmo Station. I got on the 12:11 train and asked the staff if I could board, since they assign seat numbers and I obviously didn't have a seat number for the afternoon train. So then the staff asked me "Why didn't you just take the train from Lund? You could've waited there since the train would've arrived there from Malmo at 9:47am". So lesson learned: if you think you can't make it for the train at a certain station, check if they'll pass by your station, even if you didn't pay to get on from your own station because its more expensive.

    I was quite upset for a bit on the train ride going to Stockholm by myself. Because I first thought, "darn I could've taken the earlier train if I had known! Now I'm going to miss out on some things in Stockholm! Actually, a whole day for that matter!" and then I thought it quite lonely that I had to sit on the train for 5 hours with no one to talk to. But afterwards, I realized that it was good BECAUSE I had time by myself. I finished the novel "The girl who chased after the moon" (a very very good book), listened to some music, thought about some things, and looked out the window at the amazing landscape in Sweden. And I enjoyed it that way, quite a bit. Because I was learning how to enjoy myself, a lesson that God had been teaching me for a long long time.

    Sometimes, that's just how life goes. Sometimes you miss out on something small, like a bus ride or a train ride. And you'd think to yourself, darn, how could I be in such bad luck? But sometimes, you miss out on something big, like an opportunity for the dream job you want, or the dream family that you'd like to have, and you think to yourself "Is it my fault or is this fate?" But maybe, every missed opportunity in itself is an opportunity on its own. Every obstacle you face may be a gift from God. And every thing you'd experienced in your life may be the building blocks for your future.

    If things hadn't happened the way they did a year ago, I wouldn't have been so determined to travel to break through of my constraints. If things didn't happen the way they did this year from Jan-August, I wouldn't have learnt to be stronger and to trust in things not of this world but on promises from above. If things didn't happen the way they did I wouldn't be here in Sweden experiencing things that I never imagined myself in doing. This is my gift from God. And I will treasure it.

    I didn't catch my last train. But I caught the next. What the difference is between the two, no one will ever know, because no two person ever experiences the exact same thing. We can only guess and make assumptions of the "could have beens" and "missed opportunities". But what's more important. What has been gained or what has been lost? That's a question I'm still learning to solve.