i mormors berså mindre

i mormors berså mindre
Originally uploaded by Elina Jonsson

elina in english is having a time out

My intention was to translate elina elina elina into English. But soon I realized it is impossible only to translate. As I rewrote the posts into a funky English and understandable for the someone who knows nothing about Swedish humor and culture - I realized it was not managable.

There are some fun translation sites that I know some of my readers already use - and I recommend them highly. Google do not translate into English yet tho. But most of all I recommend reading my guide to New York at strolling new york.

The ultimate proof of biking

So. Mark Malkoff's brilliant video of his visits to all the 171 Starbucks on Manhattan is nothing but - the ultimate proof of biking as the way of transportation in New York. By far the fastest smoothest and easiest way. For about 14 hours that is...

Mark lives in IKEA until tomorrow..!

Actually i do think this is hilarious. Mark Malkoff lives in IKEA for a week. Of course it is a major PR-happening for both of them - but it is quite entertaining along the way. Those of you staying in NY can still go there to have a look. Read the funny story at Mark lives in IKEA.

Writers cramp

I have to admit i did get some kind of writers cramp the very instant i left NYC. It was much more difficult to have parallell blogs than i thought. The thing is i cannot just translate the blog because it is so specifically written for swedish readers. I have to rewrite each post.

But still i do need to communicate with my surroundings and if it is non-swedish i have to write in non-swedish. So. This is a second try and first of all i will translate my recent swedish postings. More or less. Please feel free to comment. And enjoy..!

Posts will be published below. Synked with the real dates.

Somewhat absurd

Finally me and my brother installed wireless in our house. Realise here and now - browsing the last news before bed - i have met absolutely no one besides family since i came home. And didnt even think of it.

Sitting here in the darkness in the middle of nowhere browsing pages from all over the world. All alone. Ma & pa have gone to bed. House in the pod. A cat round my feet. Far away through the music i hear the clock strike twelve. Absolutely love it.

How easily one adjusts. Do not miss New York the very least right now. Doesnt even feel like i changed tempo. Barely as if have been there at all. Softish. But i know i will miss New York badly the 3rd of february. Because that will be the day before i leave.

A bit upset

Today i went through the mail from the fall. And actually got upset. So much information that i do not need. Not to mention all those club cards and discounts. Why not sent sent electronically instead.

Obviously it would be much more environmental and service minded to add the discounts directly into the card. But i realise companies would never afford actually giving all their customers discount.

Being pathetically upset already i decided it couldnt get worse. Loud and clear - and a tad entertaining i might add - i read my complaint letters aloud to my dad at the other side of the office desk. Dearest Complaints Receiver, i am in most cases a very satisfied customer. But i do not wish to receive any more letters. It is annoying outdated and non-environmental. Etc etc. And best regards.

Not only that letters require paper. They are to be sent. How much forest do we really have to destroy to receive absolutely superfluous information. How much carbon do we really have to use to send unwanted letters. None.

The art of leisure

Sleeping at least ten hours every night. Watching a couple of documentaries and a film a day. All the news. Going through all the books and newspapers. Outdoors for at least two hours. Spending quality time with cats dogs and horses. Cooking. Honestly. Now i feel readyleisured. Will start working tomorrow and that will be just perfect.

In love with Strindberg

Or at least with Jonas Karlsson's interpretation of Strindberg. Swedish Public TV has produced a two episode play about August Strindberg - one of Sweden's most famous writers. The play was absolutely brilliant and I am so sorry I cannot provide an english version.

The very instant the play was over me mom and dad began looking for the old books from my grandparents and great grandparents. All three of us felt an urge to read. Not having read as much as we wished.

As a russianlitlover i would say he equals Dostojevskij. Writing about good and evil - and above all - exploring god's existence. Although Strindberg has been accused of being a misogynist - my favourite book is Qualms of Conscience - about a united Europe, the Red Cross and gender equality. So he cannot be all that bad. The most famous books includes The Red Room and Inferno. Both in English.

A distortion of normalcy

That is the term. A distortion of normalcy. When something absolutely unacceptable happens so many times it eventually turns normal.

Some weeks ago i watched a Swedish documentary - The Scapegoats - about some kids at a Swedish school making so much trouble they got suspended from school. The very minister of education made a statement out of this - explaining there must be law and order in the school and that he would never - ever - accept such a behaviour.

The documentary is very sensible - almost handcrafted. A necessity not to infect the situation even more. Providing a background to all the headlines. Continuous iterations giving a picture of disappointed immigrant families who see the Swedish education as weak. Corporal punishment is seen as the universal and only way to raise children. Stunningly unaware of the fact that their children fight the worst.

All through the documentary I am fascinated by these incredibly well-spoken and bright kids. Constantly with violence in the air. Recognise them so well from the suburbs where I have been working and lectured. So much love so much hate.

If one - instead of turning them into something as self-fulfilling as scapegoats - would channel their energy in a more positive direction - we would have the most well-functioning and multifaceted society. Even the king spoke on this in his yearly christmas speech. If he sees it - why can not their own principal see it. Or the minister of education.

The question appearing clearer by every minute is why these pupils - so empathetic on the camera - are so completely different in school. Why do they feel so left out. Why do they use violence. Why. Maybe because they do not feel the respect love confidence space they deserve. Maybe because they are not treated in the same way as ethnically Swedish children.

The psychologist in the show speaks about a distortion of normalcy. What is normal in an ordinary Swedish villa suburb with a majority of ethnic Swedes - is no longer normal here. In a villa suburb the slightest slap would be reported. Here the principle says jesus we cannot run around reporting all the time. The normalcy is another one. Within the very same Swedish society.

With that insight I listen to the principals weak objections that it is impossible to argue with convinced people - ie the immigrants with a so called different culture. Or - maybe even worse - that she sees no connection whatsoever between violence at home and kids fighting. Or that she does not see a future for these children. It hurts so bad.

After listening to negotiations in the UN - where Sweden is a leading country regarding children's participation and the abolition of corporal punishment - I feel totally devastated by this documentary. And to hear the minister of education being so ignorant. It hurts even worse.

The documentary will be on the net for some more days - but unfortunately in Swedish only.

Swedish winter landscape

Almost feel like a townie when i say i have only seen one moose ever. But the other day i saw no more than four. Unfortunately i did not have time to zoom - but i am glad i had my camera. Aren't they beautiful.

Beautifully silent and dark

Maybe the most swedish thing ever - is to complain over the darkness the cold and the silence. Clearly i have never understood any of this. At the very moment i am enjoying sleeping watching movies lightening candles and really fully embrace the darkness outside.

I do think my escapades in new york have some influence on my sleepiness tho. Yesterday night i slept no less than fourteen hours without wakening up at all. Or maybe it is the lack of a busy court-yard whistling neighbors kids with toy cars sirens church bells or not to mention firemen bursting into the apt eight o'clock a sunday morning.

Tribute to Lady

In my Swedish blog i have a picture of me and a dog. It is my brothers cockerspaniel Lady as a puppy. A tad bigger now - but just as cute. Perfectly well behaved and stunningly charming.

Finally at home

Stopped by my brothers farm to have a look at his new boxer Tyra. Oh my gosh i am totally in love. What a treasure. Absolutely adorable. Not to mention Lady who runs out of the picture.

Leaving New York for a while

Airports have a certain very special shimmer. A sense of wistfulness slowly spreading. Somehow this is both an ending and a beginning. And amongst all these feelings the beautiful simple technology. No sentimentality. Silence. Love the feeling.