Learn (useful) Spanish in 30 days or your money back!

Learning a language is more than just conjugating verbs, confusing the polite and the familiar form of the second person singular or figuring out how to recognize and properly use the subjunctive. It is about communication and it is about saying -and knowing- the right words at the right time.

So Mg got a wonderful present from his sister: a Spanish 'word/phrase of the day' calendar for 2012 and a Spanish language course. Already we are ripping the benefits since Mg has just learned his first truly useful phrase for someone who is planning to tour Guatemala. What is it, you ask?

'¿Dónde está la estación de policía?' (where is the police station?)

A phrase that a white European tourist will surely need in the land of everlasting spring :P

Something I will never forget again

Two weeks ago I was trying to figure out what to take with me for a month in Norway. I already know you don't wear that much stuff in the winter since basically you wear the same thing all the time. A few sweaters would do the trick... pajamas for staying indoors and woolen socks to keep my toes toasty would surely be enough.

My problem now was a different one than when I was packing to spend the summer on 'the continent', where the sun is hot and I could indulge in wearing pretty dresses for weeks and weeks. When I packed my bag in June I wanted to take every single piece of clothing that wasn't made of wool that I owned. Now I only wanted to take a few things, but they were so bulky that I had to go for my bigger suitcase. So the morning of the trip I took out a few things and decided against taking sweatpants with me.

That was a mistake. I am sitting here in front of a nice fire and all I have are jeans. I 'yearn' for my old sweats and promise to never leave them at home ever again!

Song

You don't have to say you love me just because I can, you don't have to stay forever, I will understand...

It just came on while I was sitting in the living room, knitting a pair of sock-booties for a friend back at school. It made me miss my friend D. and sitting in her living room, singing old songs with a glass of (ghetto) wine and a ciggie...



And one for the road!

Truffles & Pralines

The only evidence I can find of the actual existence of a deity is my wonderful box of assorted pralines and truffles.

Could there be anything better than a wonderful little box filled with tiny chocolates?

Blogging

Something has changed this last year. Somehow, I lost the will to blog. I was just talking about this with Mg, and telling him how easy it used to be. I would just sit in front of my computer and tell a funny story. A story I hoped my friends would find interesting and my blog was a way to prevent me from having to say the same story over and over again.

Now it kind of feels like a duty, like homework. Maybe I expect too much of myself. Maybe it's my thesis and the stress of writing. Maybe I just forgot how much fun it could be to just throw random rants into the intertubes without worrying who would read it.

I hope I start blogging again, and soon.

Y todo lo que ya viví lo sigo cargando

lo llevo muy dentro de mí, nunca lo he olvidado. Lo siento tan cerca de aquí, lo llevo muy dentro de mí.

Ready, set... go?

I only have about a month left before my mid-term seminar. This means that I have done more than 50% of the work that I need for my thesis (which includes all my fieldwork, two papers, one internship and a boat-load of classes). I just finished filling the forms and will need to start working on my presentation very soon.

I like speaking in public. I'm not afraid of that at all. I'm just antsy and can't help but wonder what will I do once I finish my PhD...

Harvest

Summer is over and now the leaves are turning and the wind is blowing. I can see it in nature and I can see it in people. In the street and in the office everyone seems to be dressing more formally, wearing (more serious) high heels, suits and looking just a little less relaxed than they did a couple of weeks ago.

Autumn is harvest time and since I am getting ready to leave Geneva in just a few days, and it got me thinking on what I got out of these months away from friends and family in both 'my homes' (Guatemala and Umea).

This is the first time in my adult life I've ever been homesick... but I missed two places at the same time. I wanted to see my family, my gramms, and my friends that got married, had babies and already went through a long time without me in their lives. I also wanted to go to dinner and make bread, eat chocolates, drink tea and laugh with my Umea friends. The last time I felt sad like this was when I was about to go back to Guate after my little stint with my godparents in Puerto Rico... but I was 11 so I guess it was OK to miss my mom!

This is also the first time I realized just how many lovely, wonderful people are in my life (even if they are long distance). I never noticed when I made so many friends (specially because this is not something that comes naturally to me). This summer I got to meet with many of the ones that have been far away for years, and with all of them it felt as if time had not gone by. I got to remember why we were and are friends and learned things about myself and how I've grown in the years between the last time I saw them and now. I still need to be better at writing, though!

...and even though I still like to make sweeping generalizations about people, cultures and places, I really feel like I'm more 'grown-up' now.

The cautionary whale

So I found some sort of 'shuffle' thing on youtube. It's a great thing to have while I'm trying to make my 'Word art' a little more professional looking. Of course I tried to shuffle Regina Spektor first but it eventually got into the Juno soundtrack (hence the title of the blog).

This morning's song!

Oh, and the title is a not-so-obscure reference to Juno :)

En la vida...

Hoy vine a la OMS un poco después de las ocho de la mañana. Tenía ganas de sentarme y escribir, de avanzar, de tener ideas. Ahora son las 4.23pm y estoy cansada. Reorganicé mucho de mi borrador, tuve una conversación muy interesante sobre la equidad en salud y las ideologías dominantes (qué rico, me hizo sentirme como que estaba en la clase de Isa Rodas) y ya no me siento con tanta inspiración como hoy en la mañana.

Hoy decidí escribir en español por la canción a continuación. Me recuerda a tener 21 o 22 años y sentir la pasión por la sociología, por la teoría, por entender. No es que no la sienta todavía pero como todos los amores, éste se ha transformado con el tiempo, ha madurado y me ha hecho madurar a mí.

En fin, qué mejor que los Fabulosos Cádillacs haciéndole burla a los Backstreet Boys y una súper canción

Gotta have it, really need it to get by...

Nope, I'm not talking about the sugar high Renée Zellweger sings about in that iconic 1990s movie 'Empire Records'... I'm talking about decent, high-speed internet.

I really can't complain much about life in Geneva. The weather has been awesome, I get go to out and run through wonderful old houses and the huge gardens in Grand Saconnex and its surroundings, I've had friends come and I love going to the WHO everyday.

But there is always a 'but', I guess. With the really bad internet signal I have in the 'hell hole' (aka as the John Knox Center, which is where I live), I can barely log into Skype. I miss my regular Sunday chats with my mom, my e-beers with everyone and I have to say, it's really made me homesick.

Today, after more than two weeks of unsuccessful attempts at Skype I finally got to call my mom... for 1.45 minutes.

I should just go to the Parc des Nations with my Ipod and call her from there... seriously.

*sigh

'The illustrated guide to a PhD'

So does this mean my thesis is like a pimple in the face of knowledge?

That actually explains quite a lot.

Thanks for the link :)

http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

There's a small town in my mind

I've been homesick lately. I think I just move around too much. It's hard to pack up your life every three months and start again, even when you're coming and going from the same two places.

To add complexity to my nomadic circumstances, this summer I added Geneva to the mix and lately I've been feeling a little blue. Not for Guatemala though, I miss Umea. I miss my friends and my small-town life and I think I might just be tired of moving around.

So last night before going to bed I was listening to my Ipod and this song came on... and truly, there is a small town in my mind right now.

A Royale with cheese...

I just noticed that my usual shampoo has a different name in Francophone countries. Instead of it being 'Elvive' it's 'Elséve'. The funny thing is that I've had that bottle for over a week and I didn't even look ar it. I guess I'm too used to not understanding what's written on stuff from living in Sweden to even care anymore. I just get whatever looks like what I usually buy.

Have to admit, it was a total pulp fiction moment... although I'm not as cool as Samuel L Jackson (but almost).

Things you pick up along the way

It was exactly a week ago today that I came to Geneva and started living in the house of a nice family that puts up with my French and find my sock-knitting amusing. I really like it here and were it not for the fact that I can't seem to find a walking-distance supermarket, I would not mind staying for the rest of my three month stint.

But I digress. The real purpose of the blog is to say that in Switzerland, people keep their shoes on when they go into a house, which is not the custom in Scandinavia... and having my shoes on in the house feels weird (This despite the fact that the first time I went to Umea it took me forever to get used to it).

So while I'm home alone here, I'm instituting the 'no shoes indoors' rule... both to save me a little cleaning time and to make me feel a little more like home (away from home).

First impressions

I am now smack in the middle of my third day in Geneva and I more or less feel like I can go on a few random rants about my time here:

Rant 1: The city
Now, I might be setting myself up for disappointment, but I rather like it here. As soon as I got out of the train station I felt like I was going to have fun. I walked around for a few hours and even understood a map of Les Paquis (and everyone knows my map reading abilities resemble those of a poorly trained French Poodle).

Rant 2: Housing
For the next couple of weeks I am staying with a nice Swiss-French family that entertains my awfully rusty French. They live in a small, cozy house with a big garden that has apple trees (from which we get our apple juice). On my first night, there was a freshly baked pie and my bed has two down pillows (could life be any better?).

Rant 3: Buses
So I should totally get a fake ID... I mean, I have the looks for it, apparently. Turns out I almost got the child's buss pass (and would have it had I not shown my passport with my birth year). No, it was not my idea... the dude at the station did it that way and then realized I might not be underaged... I'm happy that continental Europeans are just as prone to giving me the child discount as Scandinavians. Nice to see they have stuff in common. I wonder how much longer I will be able to get away with it... maybe next year I can ask for a 'young person' discount seeing as how I'm going to be 30 and everything.

Rant 4: The WHO
So after 1.5 days at the WHO I can say that I like it. Sure, they don't fika (which is not a plus, let me tell you), but the building where I'm interning has huge windows overlooking some birches (that make me miss Umea a little less) and a lot of other trees. My supervisor is really nice and interested in my work and there are a lot of Spanish speakers around (sorry to say that no Chapines around... so no one's called me 'patoja' just yet).

Rant 5: French
Apparently, if you go six years without practicing your French... you lose it. My accent sucks and for the first few days of French (during the summer vacations with Magnus), I kept bumbling Swedish phrases (that I didn't know I knew). It's slowly coming back though... and I do plan on taking a couple of classes while I'm here.

Rant 6: Travel
Is there a grant place I can apply to for extra traveling? I'm just saying...

Maybe I've been here too long.

One thing that Sweden has that Norway doesn't is fika. That means that Sweden is light years ahead of its neighbor in the snacks issue. Normally, that doesn't matter since when I'm in Bergen its just to visit Magnus and not to have normal work activity. However, these last two weeks have been filled with classes, lectures and poor coffee brakes with lousy tea that don't get anywhere near normal Swedish fika.

So today we got a special treat: large plates of 'exotic' fruit (in Scandinavia everything that's not apples and Lingon berries are actually exotic). I found myself munching on slices of pineapple and watermelon. As I was enjoying my pale fruit I noticed it tasted 'great'... which got me to thinking: is the fruit better during summer or have I been here too long?

I'm still waiting for my taste buds to totally die so I can have some Scandinavian mango.

What I do is art

Today I started thinking that in reality, there is no difference between being a researcher and being an artist. Artist are people that look at the world through their own perspective, that see things that others don't, and that are able to translate that into movement, be that with paint, words or their own bodies (or an instrument).

Researchers look at the world differently than 'normal people'. We have special eyes to see, special senses to understand and a different mindset that allows us to focus on something and figure out what is behind it, to grasp that which is beyond what other people understand. We find something and then we take it apart... just to put it together later, not as it was originally, but channeled through our experience with that object.

As I pondered these thoughts, I realized that I think of myself as a writer. I approach my research as I think other writers do: it is inspiration, a good eye and lots of hard work that make a good paper. Isn't it the same with stories or novels?

I am a writer, and my research is art. I put puzzles together, and then I take them apart.

A Swedish sock

Every year, I set some personal and professional goals for myself. Last year I wanted to do most of the fieldwork for my thesis, submit my first paper and take most of the class credits I need for my PhD.Those were my school/professional ones.I accomplished all of them and are well on my way for 2010!

Among my personal goals was learning how to knit a sock. I've always loved knitting, but one can only make so many scarfs and other 'flat knitting things'. This year, when my advisers came to visit me in Guatemala I got surprise: my new adviser Kj would gladly teach me once we were both in Umea.

So I started. I had much to learn because I had never used five needles at the same time. However, practice and perseverance go a long way. Today, while on the plane to Bergen I finished my first sock EVER! It won't have a partner, as it was just a practice run, but I am very proud of myself and can't wait to do many, many more!

A very good present indeed

I should be finishing up one of the chapters for my thesis now. However, I got a present from one of my advisers today and I am so happy I just needed to 'write it out'.

So today I got a cook book: 'Swedish cakes and cookies'. It has hundreds of recipes to make all sort of Swedish desserts, and even some variations on cakes I already know how to make.

Have to go back to writing now, but this weekend you will find me in the kitchen making cookies!

Scared of writing

So I've been in Umea for a month and a half. That's right, about six weeks of fika, korridors, ever-longer days and my bike. In that time I've taken a class, bought and Ipod, made a bunch of cakes, missed my boy-friend, gone shopping and taken up running. Notice something missing in the mix? Something that should be my main focus?

That's right folks, I am scared of writing. Well, I was. It took me a month to actually put fingers to keyboard to do something else besides up-dating my FB status. The thought of my advisers saying my writing was bad, my logic off, that I lacked structure (and all the other fun comments that come with a first draft of the manuscript) made me find a thousand other things to do.

How do you get over your fear of writing? It just so happens I wrote what other people said. I just started reading and taking out full quotes and grouping them into 'themes' to write later. Then, last Saturday I got a nice first paragraph and it was been fun since then. I think I might have found my trigger for writing, and a useful activity while I wait for inspiration.

And I have an meeting for that paper on Friday, so I expect to freak out about how badly I did... but it's always bad and then it gets better..... right?

Finally!!!!

After about a week of being lap-top-less, she's finally back from the doctor. She just needed a new cord and now she's back!!!

*happy dance

Elastic waist-band?

Have you ever noticed how tight Swedish-girl jeans are? I have. I've also wondered how that is even possible.

Well... now I know! Yesterday I went down to H&M to look for a birthday present for my little sister and looking through tops and cardigans I noticed that they had proper pants and then some sort of tights with a big-old elastic waist made to look like acid-washed jeans, indigo-blue jeans, stone-washed jeans and black pants. I had to look at them more carefully and examine them to actually tell that they are tights! So know it all makes sense to me: Swedish girls don't really wear pants that are really tight... they actually wear tights that look like pants.

Oh the things you learn in Scandinavia...

Amazing.

A much needed brake

After all the worries and problems in Guatemala, and before I start stressing about turning my fieldwork into a thesis, I decided to come visit my boyfriend in London. It's been a great week so far, and time has gone by really fast with all the gap-minding in the tube and looking tot he 'wrong' side of the street before crossing it.

The days have been really nice: not that much cold and hardly any rain. I also got a bit of sunshine for my birthday, and got to welcome my 29th year of existence with a whole day at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. Magnus has gone with me to so many amazing places and even though he has to do his fieldwork, I know he's taken extra time off to be with me :)

Today, I took the day off from London and decided to catch up on a little work. The day is clear and sitting in the sun with my computer is so nice that I haven't managed to work that much anyways!

Leaving on a jet plane!

And I'm not sure when I'll be back again.

I've always left Guatemala knowing when I'm due to return. I've also never been away from home more than four or five months at a time. However, 2010 looks like a heavy travel year and I'm not sure if I'll even make it home before 2011.

I feel bittersweet about that not coming home for so long. On the one hand, I have my internship, my papers to finish (and a mid-term seminar to be had), two little vacations with Magnus, and so much work ahead that I can't help but be excited. On the other, I won't have my mom around. Today is the last time I'll stuff myself with her perfectly made rice in a long time (and then my friends Alison and Gerd will have to pick up the rice-slack as I usually refuse to even try to make it). I won't be hangin' out with my youngest brother anymore and my sis will finally have some rest after 10 weeks of goofing off with her... and I won't have my puppy around anymore! I think I will miss her so much (and she is very anti-Skype, so that will not be happening as much as I would like).

I know its already mid-March, but I can't help but feel like my year is just beginning... and also like I have to leave a lot behind to do all the stuff I need to do before 2011 comes around to knock!

Four days

Its only a few days until I have to grab my suitcases and travel half-way around the world...again. I've been in Guatemala for about ten weeks and it has been quite an interesting ride. However, I am really ready for a change. I miss being in Europe and riding my bike, but most of all, I miss my boyfriend. It's been really hard to be apart for this long.

On being in Guatemala:
Being 'back home' has been a strange experience. It doesn't feel like home anymore. My family is here, but most of my friends have moved away. My house got taken over by my roommate's decorating sense (which is not necessarily a good thing) and I already moved the stuff I won't be carrying with me to Sweden to my parents' house.

Traffic has been something awful, and the ever-pending fear of being mugged seems to have escalated (whether the violence here is really higher or people are more hysterical about it, I don't know... but it sure stuck with me) to epic proportions. On the other hand, I got to spend 10 weeks in shorts and sun dresses and sandals, a luxury I could have afforded for myself in the north of Sweden (nor in Bergen, where Magnus lives).

I also have to say I missed my mom's rice. Having it almost every day has to be the highlight of my trip here.

On packing:
I hate packing. I don't know why I take so much stuff with me. I keep thinking I will only take a few things but then my suitcase is almost at the 'Mam, we'll have to charge you extra' level. To avoid this, I made a 'draft' (or several ones) of my suitcase but its still too big. I will have to go through it again tomorrow and take out half the stuff. I know I can do it, but leaving behind a pretty dress or a shirt I've had forever is hard :)

On leaving:
Honestly, I can't wait to go! Not because of school, certainly not because of my thesis (that I can always cry over later). I can't wait to go to London and spend two weeks walking around the city with my boyfriend. I plan on spending my 29th birthday 'in town' and I'm so excited to go and celebrate with him!

So...
In conclusion I feel like my time here is up, and I'm happy its only a couple of days until I have to make myself squeeze into my coach travel arrangements and walk off T5 at Heathrow and see Magnus waiting for me!

But its still the same

Today, I met up with my friend R. at the university where I did my undergraduate education -and where I latter lectured-. I hadn't been there since I started my PhD and I wasn't sure how I felt about going.

Driving up there I noticed how much things have changed: you need to give your ID at the door due to recent burglaries on campus, the old coffee and book store is gone and new, chain ones, have opened. Most things, however, are still the same: the kids looking just the same as they did when I started school there ten years ago, the quiet atmosphere and the brisk air of zone 15 have not changed one bit.

And I also ran into some of my former students (I'm still surprised as just how many kiddies were either in the classes I lectured or TA-ed). I laughed so much, and they still remembered so many of the silly things we would pull in class. And they seem so happy to see me that I cant' help but to want to have to go there every day again. Sure, the pay was shitty, I don't really like (aka, I detest) the head of my department now, and I have to go to Sweden (and I want to go to Sweden)... but for a few hours, it was like being back home.

Same as I've always been

Over the years, I've grown quite fond of finding patterns in the way I cope with things or continuity in the way I carry out my life and deal with what's important to me. Sometimes, these mechanisms are good and they have helped me get to where I am today. Sometimes, they are bad and have also helped me get to where I am today...

So today, my mom and I went through all her papers to try and find either my Guatemalan ID, or my Guatemalan birth certificate. We were unsuccessful in both accounts. However, we did find a lot of old and cool stuff. For example, I found out that as a little girl, I had terrible allergies that kept me from going to school a lot. That happened again when I was a little older, and starting high school. I didn't have allergies, but I stayed out of school most of eight grade because I was sick. I always thought I exaggerated to get to miss class, but I also discovered I didn't. Like when I was a little preschooler, I had legitimate reasons to be away from the classroom. I just downplayed them in my head so that most of the burden of missing school would fall on me, and not my health.

I also found a lot of my old report cards. I was very much surprised with the fact I had straight A's. Over the (very) many years I've been in school, I've always thought of my self as a more or less average student that just so happened to end up doing a PhD. I've never really considered myself very intelligent, although I freely admit I am not a complete moron. Tonight, as I went through the papers with my mom, I told her that I never realized that I kept getting good grades. I only recall not being as good as I thought I could be (something I still feel today).

As I hone in on my last year as a twenty-something, its nice to see some connecting dots to all that I've been doing: I was getting good grades and enjoying school, despite being sick and having problems coping with being back in Guatemala after our small stint abroad. My teachers described me (in my report cards) with many of the same character traits that I have today, and as I was going through my stuff I realized that I didn't stumble into school, I worked for it over the course of many years. A life project, if you will. And I was doing it without noticing that I was working so hard, or that I enjoyed it so much. I guess its those little tricks we play on ourselves...

Could it be I actually had a plan behind my madness? Your guess is as good as mine. For now though, I will just entertain myself with the memories of the very willful little girl that taught herself how to read so she could program the VCR to tape her cartoons :)

Word count: zero

I don't know why, but I'm just not in the mood to write. Maybe its because I just handed in (what I hope is) a final version of manuscript 1/4. Maybe its because being in Guatemala is not conducive to academic writing. Maybe its because I can't read two paragraphs without wanting to do something else.

*sigh

I need to work.