JANUARY 1996: Engagement at the Opera in Zurich as a dancer.

JANUARY 1996: Stepping out of Brisbane airport and into the hot, humid Queensland air.

APRIL 1996: For the first time I meet someone outside my family who really means something to me. I feel joy and fear.

MAY 1996: I am pregnant while sitting my school leavers exams and know that the little creature inside me and I will be a gift to each other.

JUNE 1996: As I walk past, I hear: "I’m sorry, we’re sold out." I have a spare complimentary ticket, turn round and offer it to the gentleman.

JUNE 1996: The world briefly stands still and then suddenly spins very quickly till I find out her name.

JULY 1996: Moving out from home, almost-return to Berlin. Independence. I realise that you have to do the cooking, cleaning, washing and shopping for yourself.

JULY 1996: The Post Office in Ouchy is already closed – I jump on the Metro with my letter for Sarah to go to the Head Post Office in Lausanne. When the lady behind the counter assures me it will get there tomorrow, I am completely happy.

JULY 1996: As part of the head office conference Beat and I can present the hypertext system we have developed.

JULY 1996: My son is born by emergency caesarean. In a near-death experience I feel myself wonderfully protected by benevolent powers – in the afterlife and here in the world.

AUGUST 1996: I drive a car with three passengers in Côte d'Ivoire and fall asleep. The passenger next to me wakes me up seconds before crashing into a slow driving truck. I can avoid a crash, stop the car and do no more driving for the day.

SEPTEMBER 1996: I work with Double Edge theater in Vermont (USA).

SEPTEMBER 1996: I look out of the window onto Prenzlauer Allee and don't know how I'm going to survive the four years here – but I want to dance.

NOVEMBER 1996: The baby is very ill and I turn into a lioness. I sleep for nights on end on chairs pushed together in hospital corridors.

DECEMBER 1996: After the end of a long war, I can finally revisit the town where I was born after twenty-one years. I meet family members and friends again as an adult who I left behind as a teenager.