mars 1, 2017 av asaole

Fourhundred and thirty-eighth åsic- Billy Elliot- The Musical #Londonfrossa

Yesterday I was at Victoria Palace Theatre watching an incredibly well directed and well performed show. The Musical Billy Elliot is about a young boy from the mine districts in England, who is pushed by his father to join the local boxing club, but instead ends up taking ballet lessons. The musical has two different stories in one, as the setting is the miner’s strike from 1985 and Billy’s father is active in the strike.

Apart from a lot of singing and dancing on a magnificant level, the overall impression is that the two main characters, two young boys are extraordinary in their performances respectively. Talent and hard work may be the answer to why these two young boys show such high standard in both singing, dancing and performing in their speaking acts. Being a teacher, I can’t help but wondering how they manage their schooldays and what kind of lives they lead if they are up late every evening performing! The musical is amazing. There are so many acts that are beyond every expectation. The whole ensemble are very well rehearsed together and there are no mistakes made whatsoever. Every line is set, every song they sing are in tune and not just that, but amazingly well sung! I’m so impressed! ❤

Billy Elliot the show

mars 1, 2017 av asaole

Fourhundred and thirty-seventh åsic- Long walks in London #Londonfrossa

Taking a walk in the forest leaves a certain feeling, as do a walk in a city like London. Oh how many things there are to see! There are of course a lot of things we would like to do quickly and then we’d most likely choose to catch a bus or maybe go by underground from one end of the city to the other. I do however prefer the long walks in London since they offer an experience where you actually get to see more of the city. Walking through Hyde Park an early morning gives an idea of London in earlier days when British society was different from what it is today. I mean, who would arrange such a lovely park nowadays? We all seem captured in the rapid life of IT and reluctant to go out IRL.

However taking that walk a very rainy day can be a true challenge. I bought a rain cap for my trip, knowing I might need to use it, but hoping for good luck with the London weather… träd 3 I was however in a situation where the option was to end up soaking wet, or use the silly looking rain cap… so I used it…and I was happily dry after the rain… The walk past Albert Memorial on our way to Natural Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum was a nice stop, although the rain was pouring.

Hyde Park shows a variety of trees and bushes and trees in bloom. To come from the wintery Sweden and find magnolia in bloom is a great reward! I didn’t even mind the rain that moment!

After spotting Albert Hall, we had just about ten minutes walk left until we could hide from the rain in Natural History Museum.

The visit at the Museum was long enough for the rain to hold for a few minutes when we walked on to Victoria & Albert Museum. Both museums were interesting in many different ways and I guess I will need weeks to sort all my impressions from both visits. After a delicious lunch in Victoria & Albert Museum, we walked to Harrod’s to make sure the luxurious store was still standing… Honestly, after two Museums, a walk in the store and the rain…all together made my day and as early as seven o’clock we had our dinner and then returned to the hotel to relax. Walking is fun and you get to see a lot, but it’s also exhausting… I’ll share more pix here later when I get home and sort my photos properly.

mars 1, 2017 av asaole

Fourhundred and thirtysixth åsic- London, always safe and secure! #Londonfrossa

I’ve been to London several times and it doesn’t really matter how often I visit this busy city of the world. There are always new things to see. The London fire in 1666 or the Blitz during the second world war are both examples of disasters from the past. Nowadays London may suffer from occasional terror attacks, but just like before London seems to be a city to trust… I always feel safe and secure when I walk the streets of London. I never worry. To me, the people I meet seem just as relaxed, too, as if there wasn’t anything to worry about. I do however notice that the huge trees in the parks do suffer… they seem to be victims of a no longer clean environment. Maybe the smog will win in the end?

To me it seems as is the only serious threat London City may not cope with in the end IS environmental issues. This morning I watched the BBC for a weather forecast, but I also caught a glimpse of the news where a report of recent pollution was in focus. Obviously some parts of London deal with levels above what is recommended.

When speaking about environment I have noticed that many things here are organised, such as the painted walls outside Royal Festival Hall. The minute before I noticed this ares, that may be a skateboard park, we had walked past a tunnel for pedestrians, right under Waterloo Bridge and I had noticed that there were almost no tags or grafitti on the walls. I guess the authorities have invited the grafitti-painters to share their artistery in a limited area…I enjoyed what I saw! ❤

mars 1, 2017 av asaole

Fourhundred and thirtyfifth åsic- Maybe it’s because I’m NOT a Londoner… #London

…that I love London so? My top sights that I tend to re-visit whenever I go to London are:

Victoria and Albert Museum ( …for the huge amount of things to see, the variation and professional exhibition and to get a glimpse of the uncountable collections of Queen Victoria and Albert)
Covent Garden ( an Opera House, of course, but outside, in the square you will find people of all kinds, listening to music, watching street performances, having a relaxed and enjoyable time together in a beautiful setting of old buildings and little shops and cosy restaurants).
Shakespeare’s ”The Globe”(This beautiful museum let you experience London as it was when Shakespeare lived there!)
Natural History Museum (Amazing!!! SO much fun to do and see!)
British Museum (one of THE best Museums in the world)
Leicester Square (wonderful place where you can buy tickets for musicals and shows)
Harrod’s (for the incredible exclusive display and for the many possibilities to watch wealth from a short distance…)
Dillon’s (for the reason that there are no books in English that this bookstore doesn’t store)
Hamley’s (for the wonderful feeling of finding all different kinds of toys in a huge five story building…)
The Whispering Gallery (A perfect sight for kids and their parents if you enjoy physics…)

I don’t really know how many times I have visited London, but I have always enjoyed being there. It’s a wonderful City with international pulse that I enjoy tremendously! In my opinion, strolling around is the best way to see London, but both buses and the tube is very safe and easy accessible, too. I guess it’s just a matter of taste. I also enjoy going by taxi in London. Some drivers are quiet, of course, but I have been lucky enough to find drivers who enjoy chatting. If you read Swedish, read #sextonde åseriet

I always try to visit a few of the Museums in London, and among others I think Victoria and Albert Museum is the very best. The collection of varied items let me understand, to some extent, what impact Queen Victoria made on the British Society. One thing I never miss to admire is the collection of cast iron. It’s wonderful!

victoria-and-albert-museum_1

I once went to Greenwich to actually stand with one foot in the West and one in the East, just for fun. On the site I noticed so many other things that I enjoyed, that just standing there on the Meridian seemed less important than the other impressions I got there. It is a wonderful place to be, especially when fruit trees are in blossom! But honestly, I find almost every moment in London interesting and rewarding and I don’t even mind the rain…I every corner there are umbrellas and other souvenirs to buy! 🙂

Covent Garden is another place I always return to, since the atmosphere is so relaxed there. I also find the little shops in the surrounding area very pleasant. A walk in Notting Hill reveals the Asian touch with Indian curry served in every little restaurant, whereas Soho offers Chinese food at its best, but my all time favorite is a pub lunch. Maybe ”Steak and Kidney Pie” or a ”Ploughman’s Lunch”? Places like Fortnum and Mason’s are worth the effort to visit, too. Have some ”High Tea” and enjoy scones with clotted cream and jam!

I do however not expect to find any places where there are no tourists… Instead I hope for the Londoners to share their beautiful city with the rest of us when we visit for a few days. When walking on Bond Street or Piccadilly Circus, I almost always notice people around me speaking any of the Nordic languages, such as Swedish, Danish or Norwegian. Thus I have learned not to comment too much on others when I’m in a crowd… I wouldn’t want a person saying

”Jaså, är det fler svenskar här?!” 🙂

mars 1, 2017 av asaole

Fourhundred and thirty-fifth åsic- As cold as in ”To Build a Fire”, by Jack London? #Londonfrossa

Today we had round -20C in my town. The crisp air and the cold did not bother me, since I had planned my walk in the forest thoroughly and was dressed in warm winter clothes.

Many years ago I read the wonderful short story To Build a Fire by Jack London. If you haven’t read it, then DO! It is one of the best short stories I have ever read. Here’s a link to the full text:

To Build a Fire by Jack London

I learned from reading the story long ago that whatever we think we accomplish, we never win a competition with Nature! Jack London tells his story from the point of view of a man who decides to leave the main trail and seek another way, thinking maybe it will be a shortcut… London lets us know that the protagonist is new in the area. He has never spent a winter in Yukon Territory before. Then the author adds:

”The trouble with him was that he was without imagination.”

That is all information we need, really… We understand that he will not be fully prepared for what he will experience in this unfriendly and cold whiteness. When London describes the extreme cold, we understand the danger, but does the man?

”He knew that at fifty below spittle crackled on the snow, but this spittle had crackled in the air.”

The man does realize that it has to be below fifty, but that doesn’t lead him into the conclusion that he will not manage in this weather for long. Throughout the story several situations point out how unaware the man seems to be of the hidden dangers in the surrounding landscape. The man chews tobacco and his beard is filled with ice and along the telling of the story we notice how the beard is slowly built up like an ice-muzzle. If he will take a pause, he will not be able to eat or drink…

London describes many aspects of the Yukon winter that this man is not familiar with and as he paints the icecold scenario the reader slowly comes to the insight that this will lead to a disaster of some sort. The protagonist is followed by a dog, a native husky that knows enough of this weather as to wait for the man to soon build a fire… but the man does not stop to build a fire… As the dog once breaks through and wets his forelegs when being forced by the man to cross over at a hidden creek, the man first admires the dog’s instinct to quickly get rid of the wet and ice, then he foolishly removes his own gloves to help the dog…unaware of the risk for his own sake. His fingers instantly turn numb and that is in a way the beginning of the end…

When I took a walk today, I was taking one single step aside of the track, because I was searching for a better angle for my photo… Afterwards, my boots were filled with snow that first melted for a while, then re-froze and from being perfectly comfortable with my situation I was now slowly getting more and more cold. I was however lucky to know I was only fifteen minutes from home. I didn’t even need to think of building a fire… Instead I went indoors, thinking I was lucky who lived in the middle of a town and not in Yukon Territory, but also remembering this wonderful short story by Jack London with warmth. What a great piece of literature that is!

mars 1, 2017 av asaole

Four hundred and thirty-fourth åsic- When music serves as a tool for learning languages #Londonfrossa

musikaliska-noter-vag-i-snygg-vektor-elemwnts_753461.jpg (626×396)

When I was a child, I spent very much time with a family across the street. The two girls in that family were my best friends and we had great fun doing a lot of different things. We had a theater group and our family and friends every now and then were more or less forced to go to our shows. One of the girls was playing the piano and so was I. Sometimes we spent time learning how to play four hands, but we also sang. For Christmas we either went Carolling in the houses close to theirs, OR we went to a local church in my area and sang there. I remember one morning in their house when I suddenly realized from whom the sisters had got their skills in music and also their feeling for singing and playing instruments… From the bathroom I heard a beautiful opera aria! The father was singing in the shower. In my home my father played the violin and my grandpa played the accordion.

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I have always loved singing! As a child I WAS one of the members of ABBA… Three other kids and I, two boys and a girl, in fact spent EVERY single afternoon being soap opera actors, always ABBA, never ”the real” kids… We even painted clothes we had sown, so that they looked similar to ABBA:s stage costumes. When I drive my car alone, I sing along. An amusing detail with our very old car, is that we still have just an old cassette player… Guess what??? My collection of home-recorded cassettes is still in the attic… SO whenever I feel bored by the current music in the car radio, I indulge myself with the oldies from the seventies or eighties…

sjunga_i_bilbildekalet-re7d354ee9b5f427aaed85af7180ebae7_v9wht_8byvr_512.jpg (512×512) Apart from just being FUN, I know that learning languages comes easier when you sing along! When you sing a song repeatedly over and over again, you may be doing so because you really love that particular song. But at the same time as you enjoy the music, you also learn the lyrics by heart and you get a feeling for words and phrases, sounds and melody in language. Intonation and stress also comes easier with the help of music. So, next time you sing in the shower or in the car, challenge yourself with a new song, maybe in a language you are not yet familiar with! What if you turn out to be a speaker of a foreign language and your pronunciation is really good, because you applied your singing skills into language learning??? When words are not enough, music may be the bridge…

I remember once when I was in Italy and two choirs were having dinner. After dinner, when both choirs sang with and to each other, we didn’t know each other’s languages, but we did singalong in the melodies, since we were familiar with the music of Guiseppe Verdi. Listen to the link below. I am pretty sure that you would be able to sing along, too, wouldn’t you?

London Philharmonic Orchestra – Nabucco: Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves (Va’, Pensiero, Sull’ali Dorate)

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mars 1, 2017 av asaole

Fourhundred and thirty-third åsic- Three different perspectives #Londonfrossa

Yesterday I spent eight hours between a young Indian woman and a middle-aged American man. The three of us were seated in the same row during a flight between London Heathrow and Newark, NJ, USA. We had very little in common, but made friends during the flight and talked about different aspects of life. Since we came from three different continents, three different societies, it was very interesting to share viewpoints and thoughts. We all had three different reasons to travel to the USA.

The young Indian woman was going to reunite with her husband after two months apart. The young couple were newly wed and had planned to start their life in the USA. Since they were both engineers and he already had a position in a company the three of us started to talk about HER options in her new country. The American man currently works as a lawyer in a big national bank on Manhattan and he travels frequently abroad to make agreements with other banks, companies or financial departments in countries worldwide. Me, the Swedish teacher, between the two of them, found it most interesting to learn more about possible futures for engineers in NJ or what bank lawyers think of life, at the same time as I was comparing their English accents. We were all three genuinly interested in each other’s stories, so it seemed anyway. Meeting people like that, sharing thoughts and ideas, is very rewarding, I think. It is a perfect way of learning, since you are doing it for fun and you are motivated, since you very much like to understand that other person. Sharing moments like that is important to me.

mars 1, 2017 av asaole

Fyrahundratrettioandra åseriet- Möten känns minnesvärda när delandet upplevs som äkta och närvarande! #Londonfrossa

Portieren ringer upp mig och berättar att vår bil har kommit. Vi skyndar ner i hissen med alla väskorna. Taxichauffören är en gladlynt man som genast småpratar så att den förestående resan känns lockande och intressant. Jag tänker på mina elever hemma i Sverige och känner direkt en stor samhörighet med den här mannen, för att han i så stor utsträckning påminner mig om dem. De andra sitter i baksätet och jag sätter mig bredvid chauffören. Han kör en högerstyrd bil och det är ovant för mig att sitta till vänster, så jag skojar och säger att jag nog kommer att bromsa hela resan av gammal vana. Sedan pratar vi om allt mellan himmel och jord och trots att resan inte är speciellt lång, bara från Barbican till Paddington, hinner vi avhandla ett stort antal samtalsämnen och jag vet att för min del kommer mötet att vara ett sådant jag minns. Jag kommer att tänka på dikten av Hjalmar Gullberg, Människors möte. Det är inte ångest jag känner när jag åker taxi, men den lättnad som dikten beskriver vid själva mötet, påminner om hur lätt jag känner mig inombords, trots att jag skulle kunna vara drabbad av resfeber inför den förestående flygresan. Jag är helt uppslukad av konversationen med taxichauffören hela vår resa till tåget.

Det har alltid fascinerat mig hur det första intrycket kan vara avgörande vid mötet med en vilt främmande person. Samma fascination känner jag kring det faktum att man själv kan påverka utfallet, genom att vara vänlig och tillmötesgående och bjuda på sig själv. Man vinner gemenskap genom att dela med sig av sig själv. Så upplevde jag just den här taxiresan.

Chauffören, Said, berättar att han kommer ifrån Bangladesh. Han har bott i UK i hela sitt liv, med undantag för några år i barndomen, då han följde med sin far, som var läkare, åter till Pakistan. Sättet han delar med sig på är varmt och spännande och intressant. Det är ett lärande tillfälle. Jag skrattar och lever mig in i det han säger, upplever att jag kan se det han berättar om. Vi pratar faktiskt aktivt om hur mycket ett leende och ett vänligt bemötande kan betyda och jag berättar om en händelse då jag och maken var på besök i Stockholm och åkte buss på bron mot Stora Essingen, då himlen öppnade sig för ett extremt skyfall som ledde till att hela vägbanan blev mer som en flod och bussen gjorde samma avtryck i ”floden” som en motorbåt skulle gjort i en sjö. Vi hade stigit på bussen vid Fridhemsplan och jag hade hälsat vänligt på chauffören och småpratat lite med honom och frågat från vilket land han kom. Han hade svarat att han var indier, vilket man lite fördomsfullt kanske skulle ha gissat med tanke på hans turban. I samband med skyfallet, som kom och gick på någon enda minut, tittade chauffören på mig i den inre backspegeln, mötte min blick och ropade, trots att jag satt vid den bakre dörren: ”så HÄR regnar det när det är monsunregn i mitt hemland!” Jag höjde en tumme och log tillbaka i samförstånd.

Min nye vän, taxichauffören Said gillar berättelsen och säger att JUST så tycker han att en bussresa ska kunna vara. Tidigare hade han kört både stadstrafikbussar och turistbussar och guidat i London. Han berättade att han trivdes mycket med sitt nuvarande arbete som taxichaufför bland annat för att han träffade så många som ville prata i all vänlighet, till skillnad från tiden som chaufför på de vanliga tätortsbussarna, där människor sällan ville prata och vara sociala. Han menar att min berättelse om indiern på bussen i Stockholm illustrerar just att det blir allt ovanligare med mänsklig kontakt med okända på det sättet. Om min egen filosofi om IT-samhällets framväxt som ett av skälen till att vi sällan möts spontant ör att småprata, sa Said: ”Nu märks det att du är lärare! Det där hade jag inte tänkt på om du inte hade upplyst mig om det!” Sedan delar han med sig om sitt liv och hur han alltid värnat om värme och glädje och att ett specifikt minne ligger honom extra varmt om hjärtat.

Det handlar om hur viktigt det är att skratta tillsammans. Said säger att när han var sexton år så var en av hans brorsbarn källa till ständiga kommentarer från omgivningen för att han aldrig log. Vid en större familjesammankomst med närmare hundra släktingar slog Said vad med hela släkten om att han skulle kunna få sin brorson att le. Eftersom brorsonen aldrig brukade le, gick hela släkten med på att slå vad med Said om pengar, troligen för att de alla ansåg vadet vara helt riskfritt. De satsade en dollar var och ingen trodde att Said skulle kunna lyckas få den allvarliga brorsonen att le. Brorsonen var närvarande vid vadslagningen och skedde inte på något sätt i smyg.

Said klättrade upp på ett av matborden på den aktuella festen och började dansa för hela församlingen. Han försökte på olika sätt få brorsonens uppmärksamhet, men det gav inget resultat. Då klädde han av sig alla kläder och fortsatte dansa. Brorsonen brast ut i ett gapskratt som pågick en lång stund. Said vann sina pengar och efteråt när han och brorsonen var på tu man hand frågade han brorsonen varför han plötsligt hade börjat skratta. Brorsonen sa att när han såg hur Saids mamma reagerade på Saids nakna lekamen kunde han inte annat än skratta, för det såg så komiskt ut.

Said berättade detta för mig under vår taxiresa och när vi sedan kom in på det faktum att man nu sällan gör spontana besök hos varandra, så sa han att en av de många saker han saknar med Bangladesh är just de många spontana mötena och den självklara välviljan som han upplevde att människor hade gentemot varandra, men också de stora familjerna med omsorg om varandra. Han berättade att själv hade han tio syskon.

Väl framme vid Paddington smet Said före en enorm kö av taxibilar, som om det var självklart. I efterhand tänkte jag att han var ett riktigt födgeni. Hans trevliga småprat och generösa berättande om sig själv, ledde till att jag snarare uppfattade smitningen i taxikön som en självklar service, i stället för oförskämt gentemot alla dem som lydigt väntade i kön. Där lärde jag mig alltså något om hur lättlurad jag själv är!

februari 23, 2017 av asaole

Fourhundred and thirtieth Asic- The Need for The Good Example in Times of Trouble

Migration is not a new phenomenon. People migrated thousands of years ago both abroad and within national borders. Despite the many negatively written articles lately, there are good examples that need to be acknowledged!

I read in today’s SvD (Svenska Dagbladet) about a small community in the middle of Sweden, where the new migrants were as many as the original inhabitants, but the people in Åre manned up and contributed volunteerly for the group of immigrants. Åre is very far away from the bigger cities. In a small community like Åre, connections between representatives of different authorities may be closer and I guess people in a small village also know each other quite well. When a busload of immigrants arrive, it may cause somewhat chaos for a short while, but true friendship in the local community is crucial. According to the article, people all contributed in their own different fields of society to help the immigrants as smoothly as possible. Today, not even two years later, the Åre society is profoundly changed in many positive ways.

I think, on a national level, when Sweden welcomed many of the refugees who had fled thru Europe in the fall of 2015, that was the only decent thing to do under those extreme circumstances. In my profession I meet many of them now, two years later and guess what? Many of the refugees who have been here less than three years, in fact cope quite well in their new lives in the wintery and snowy northern country of Sweden. My teaching subject is Swedish as a Foreign Language and I meet my students after they have passed the compulsory level and head on to higher levels of Swedish.

I cannot stress enough how rewarding it is to teach adult immigrants and share their stories about life. They learn Swedish, search for jobs and they dream of a home of their own and later a reunion with their family. Thoughts of the past, traumatic memories and losses may slow down the pace in which they learn to cope in their new environment, but despite very emotional events prior to their current situation, most of them are working hard to achieve their goals. In the long run, I think we all try to make the best of every situation despite hardships and trouble we pass along the way, at least that is what my students prove to me over and over again, every day in school.

februari 22, 2017 av asaole

Fyrahundratjugonionde åseriet- Är bokmässan eller bokrean årets höjdpunkt?

Min egen tideräkning inom yrket, är kopplad till tiden före eller efter betygsättning… När man skrivit under betygskatalogen, så kan man ta jullov eller sommarlov! Och DÅ kan man också läsa böcker i lugn och ro! Läsning är verkligen en lisa för själen!

OM man skulle bli tvungen att välja det ena evenemanget före det andra, så skulle det kräva en stunds eftertanke. #asaole, #bokmassan Både Bok- och Biblioteksmässan i Göteborg och den årligt återkommande bokrean i februari bereder mig stort nöje. När jag var ung minns jag att jag något år BÅDE var med på nattöppet vid midnatt på Blids bokhandel OCH den extra tidiga öppningen kl. 6 på morgonen på bokhandeln och de två varuhus som på den tiden hade böcker i Falun, nämligen Åhléns och Domus. För den som läser, kan jag ringa in tiden med de titlar jag köpte på rean det året… Där var bland annat Marianne Fredrikssons Paradisets barn och Sigrid Undsets Kristin Lavransdotter. Sedan läste jag förstås böckerna jag inhandlat…

Årets bokrea inleddes i morse vid åttatiden i vår stad, men då var jag på jobbet… Inte förrän på eftermiddagen kunde jag botanisera bland andra bokvänner hos Globe bokhandel i Ludvika. När jag tänker på hur mycket jag ser fram emot både bokmässan och bokrean, så inser jag att andra människor förstås har andra sådana evenemang som det hyser samma tankar om. Bland många kan det kanske vara julafton och förutom julklapparna och maten, kanske fortfarande Kalle Ankas jul?

Samtidigt inser jag att de som är sportintresserade snarare skulle dela in sitt liv i ”före och efter Vasaloppet” eller kanske ha samma förhållningssätt till O-ringen.

Jag har ett förflutet i föreningslivet. Genom arbete i styrelser och kommittéer fick jag inse att många människor också hade sin tideräkning justerad så att det snarare handlade om före eller efter älgjakten…