Posts
Warning: this post includes a lot of complaining about little things.
I can't help but be constantly reminded by a friend of mine who also did an internship at the European Commission and later on worked there as a consultant for a few months. Samuli warned me: "On the face of it, everything seems to be working in Belgium. In reality, nothing works.
Oh, so true. It is strange how differently and SLOWLY things function (or don't at all) in Belgium. Luckily I have been spared from taking care of all these practical things such as acquiring an internet connection, electricity and gas contracts or other, seemingly simple issues. In the end they are not that simple. Most of the things take one month. Having an internet connection? 4-6 weeks. Electricity? 2 weeks, at least, if the former tenant has called in his/her electricity contract in the apartment. Fridge? About 3 weeks.
There are all these minor things that just don't make sense. For example, there is an automatic laundry place next to the house I'm living in. Which is very nice, except that at least this week they are suddenly closed. No idea how long they will be closed, because the windows are covered with papers and there is no sign on the door (nor was there one before they closed). I'm hoping it is just because this is a holiday week in Belgian schools and they will open in a few days, otherwise I will have to look for another laundry place...
When it gets to bigger issues, there is transport: public transport system is really bad compared to other European capitals. Buses and trams are always late, metro often suffers of "perturbations" and just doesn't come until after 20 minutes of waiting, and during the week there is no transport after midnight. On Fridays and Saturdays there are night buses until 3 am, but that's it.
Health system is just weird. You need to have your own doctor that you randomly choose from a list from yellow pages or ask from your nearest pharmacy. Then you pay to the doctor privately (a lot!), get a receipt which should be refunded 75 % from the local "Mutualité", or from health insurance in my case. I would rather go to a normal health centre, but there are none...I would have to even choose which hospital to go to if needed! I don't need this plethora of choices, could you make it simple, please!
Coming from a country which has one of the best library infrastructures in the world, the state of Belgium's public libraries (or the only one I've seen in Ixelles) is quite devastating. Although there are dozens of excellent bookshops, that library sucked big time - not just that the selection is very limited, but you have to pay money to become a member and borrow books! Libraries should not cost, period. Having free access to information is a sign of a civilized country to me. Sorry, Belgium!
This was not meant to be only complaints, and to balance a bit, here are my top three favourite things in Brussels:
+ yummie 1 euro samosas in the night shop just next door from my house (and having the night shop that close in general is great, open until 2am!)
+ waffles and frites...
+ interesting job, great colleagues and co-stagiaires
In the end these things make my stay here worthwhile and I would not want to be anywhere else right now. Maybe just somewhere a bit warmer, which brings me to the end of this post and a reason to write one last complaint. My heating is still not working properly, only one sixth of the radiator is actually warm. Despite the visit of a Polish maintenance man and a British landlord. So maybe it's not only Belgians that I should blame...
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Mood for Senegal
Two weeks in Brussels have passed by so quickly - it also means that already one tenth of my traineeship period at the European Commission has been completed. Have to say that I am still overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of this whole machinery of European development cooperation. From next week on, I am supposed to "replace" for a month one of our office workers who is moving to a EU delegation in the Philippines. That includes functioning as the expert on conflict prevention issues: I know the basic content of SSR (security sector reform), LRRD (linking relief, rehabilitation and development), SALW (Small Arms and Light Weapons), and some other nice abbreviations I have learnt so far, but it does not make me an expert...we'll see if I need to do something else besides taking notes in meetings.
After work there is the limited amount of freetime in Brussels, which I have mostly been spending with other stagiaires. On my own I have been going to cinema, and it has lately been orientated towards Senegal in one way or another - partly by coincidence, partly because of my interest. I went to two different independent arthouse cinemas: Flagey (10 minute walk from my home) and Cinema Arenberg in the centre, near Grand Place.
In Flagey we were only an audience of dozen people in a big theater, and the film was called "Les Tremblements Lointains", directed by a Belgian, Manuel Poutte, but filmed in Senegal. It dealt with the more-than-common phenomenon of migration from Senegal to Europe, meeting of cultures, but changed in the end into a psychological/spiritual journey towards the heart of darkness, or something like that. I quite liked the film - had no expectations, really, but went to see it because of its posters all around the city.
Another film with a slight connection to Senegal was an American film called "Goodbye Solo", directed by Ramin Bahrani whose other films I definitely want to see after seeing this one. Goodbye Solo is a story about a Senegalese taxi driver who is trying to make his fortune in a small town in the US (and eventually to become a flight attendant...), and his encounter with an old, American white man. Both characters are so real, and actors simply amazing. Highly recommended. Both the action and the plot are less important than the interaction between these two men from totally different backgrounds. The film deals with life, death, suicide, American culture, immigration...very moving.
Today I was also supposed to go to a Senegalese dance (sabar) workshop, but, hmm, I slept a bit too late and will have to try again in one month when the next sabar dance class will be organized. I had an initiation to sabar in Helsinki a few months ago, and it felt really difficult compared to other types of African dances I have been doing. But having a challenge is great, so I definitely want to continue learning!
Why all this talk about Senegal? Because - if everything goes well - I will spend at least 6 months there starting from next March. I will be volunteering for an environmental project of the Finnish Scouts, implemented by an NGO under the Senegalese Scouts. This Etvo volunteer programme is administered by Kepa, the Finnish umbrella organization for NGOs working with development issues. The exact place is Mboro, some 100 kilometres from Dakar and is situated here according to the Google map. Pretty exciting, and a welcomed change after reading through all these piles of strategy papers on development cooperation projects and programmes: to actually participate in one!
One last link in the end, to a BBC article on the young Senegalese men willing to risk their lives for migrating to Europe: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8251029.stm. Quotes from the article tell why: "I used to be able to work in Italy for just one month and earn enough money to spend the rest of the year living it up in Senegal", or: "They just see people returning from a few months in Europe and then building a flash house and driving a nice car and they think: 'I had better go and check this crisis out for myself,'" Issa told me, adding that even if you worked as a civil servant for 15 years you would struggle to match that."
After work there is the limited amount of freetime in Brussels, which I have mostly been spending with other stagiaires. On my own I have been going to cinema, and it has lately been orientated towards Senegal in one way or another - partly by coincidence, partly because of my interest. I went to two different independent arthouse cinemas: Flagey (10 minute walk from my home) and Cinema Arenberg in the centre, near Grand Place.
In Flagey we were only an audience of dozen people in a big theater, and the film was called "Les Tremblements Lointains", directed by a Belgian, Manuel Poutte, but filmed in Senegal. It dealt with the more-than-common phenomenon of migration from Senegal to Europe, meeting of cultures, but changed in the end into a psychological/spiritual journey towards the heart of darkness, or something like that. I quite liked the film - had no expectations, really, but went to see it because of its posters all around the city.
Another film with a slight connection to Senegal was an American film called "Goodbye Solo", directed by Ramin Bahrani whose other films I definitely want to see after seeing this one. Goodbye Solo is a story about a Senegalese taxi driver who is trying to make his fortune in a small town in the US (and eventually to become a flight attendant...), and his encounter with an old, American white man. Both characters are so real, and actors simply amazing. Highly recommended. Both the action and the plot are less important than the interaction between these two men from totally different backgrounds. The film deals with life, death, suicide, American culture, immigration...very moving.
Today I was also supposed to go to a Senegalese dance (sabar) workshop, but, hmm, I slept a bit too late and will have to try again in one month when the next sabar dance class will be organized. I had an initiation to sabar in Helsinki a few months ago, and it felt really difficult compared to other types of African dances I have been doing. But having a challenge is great, so I definitely want to continue learning!
Why all this talk about Senegal? Because - if everything goes well - I will spend at least 6 months there starting from next March. I will be volunteering for an environmental project of the Finnish Scouts, implemented by an NGO under the Senegalese Scouts. This Etvo volunteer programme is administered by Kepa, the Finnish umbrella organization for NGOs working with development issues. The exact place is Mboro, some 100 kilometres from Dakar and is situated here according to the Google map. Pretty exciting, and a welcomed change after reading through all these piles of strategy papers on development cooperation projects and programmes: to actually participate in one!
One last link in the end, to a BBC article on the young Senegalese men willing to risk their lives for migrating to Europe: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8251029.stm. Quotes from the article tell why: "I used to be able to work in Italy for just one month and earn enough money to spend the rest of the year living it up in Senegal", or: "They just see people returning from a few months in Europe and then building a flash house and driving a nice car and they think: 'I had better go and check this crisis out for myself,'" Issa told me, adding that even if you worked as a civil servant for 15 years you would struggle to match that."
Friday, September 25, 2009
Impressions bruxelloises
I went to Brussels for a week, and what did I get?
First, the thing I went there to look for: an apartment, or rather a room in which to stay for five months. I made the decision already after seeing four different rooms during the first two days. Finding an affordable (read: less than €500 with all charges) furnished room for a short-term rental in a city with thousands of trainees coming there every year was not THAT straight-forward. It was still a lot easier than finding a place to stay in Helsinki right now.
Not my house, unfortunately, but an art nouveau house of an architect Victor Horta, now a museum in Ixelles (a part of Brussels where I'll live).
I'll have a smallish room with two little roof windows, facing some gorgeous art nouveau buildings across the street, in a house with five other trainees of various institutions. I'd assume it's around 20 minutes by public transport to the EU Commission buildings, and perhaps 30 minutes by foot, if I'll ever feel like walking in mostly humid and grey Brussels.
Last week, however, was extremely sunny in Belgian standards (so I understood). The week-end could even be described as hot. Since the apartment issue was quickly solved – signed the contract on Wednesday, got the keys on Saturday – I had time to go sightseeing the city. Probably a good thing, considering that from 1 October onwards I'll be working every weekday from 9 to 5 or more. I also managed to open a bank account after answering to a bunch of questions during a rendez-vous I had had to schedule a day earlier. At the bank I also found out that I am a "personne physique" and not a "personne morale" - whatever that means, then, in French legal banking language.
I was planning to go to cinema – there are several independent theatres and small festivals going on almost all the time – but the excellent weather changed my intentions. It was quite enjoyable just to take a tram to another part of the city, have a coffee or lunch somewhere, and read a bit for my hopefully last exam in the university.
A somewhat strange encounter with the locals took place on a Sunday afternoon walk through St Gilles, another very mixed neighbourhood of Brussels. We sat in a brasserie which was recommended in my hip ”map for young people” to be a truly local place. Our order at the bar was taken by the angriest woman ever in restaurant business. She was nagging at the other workers for not being quick enough with the dishes, meaning that she had to pour a certain type of beer in a different beer's glass – veeeery bad, apparently. She was spreading her hands, sighing loudly and either talking to herself or to us, it never was very clear to me. Definitely a different kind of approach to customer service: not as automatized and sterile as in many places. Personal for sure, although perhaps less pleasant for customers!
All in all, Brussels really made a positive impact on me. It is vibrant, full of cultural events, has good food and nice cafés, is neither too small nor too big and is consequently great for walking around. Typically the neighbourhood changes very quickly – after admiring some of the poshest houses and shops, only 50 metres later the environment changes completely and there are blocks of run-down houses and beton flats from the 1960s. The capital of Europe is very eclectic and diverse: there is much more to Brussels than just the EU quartier. Luckily it is also cheaper than Helsinki: after five days in Brussels I was already complaining if a glass of wine happened to cost as much as 3 euros or more...
Different nationalities gathering together in Brussels also bring their own foods with them. During my week I ate a few obligatory baguette-sandwiches and one croque-monsieur, some African dish I had never tried before (maybe from Cameroun or Congo, not sure), Moroccan food, a Portuguese pastry and Lebanese lentil salad. The famous three Belgian dishes - fries, mussles and waffles – have to wait for my return to Brussels on 30 September.
I was lucky to have also free dinners in various places: one at an apartment I went to see (Portuguese vegetable soup and Dr Oetker pizza!), another at a meeting of local teacher-to-be students who are going to do their practice in Helsinki in October, and the third one at a certain Estonian residence in the European quartier. Thank you all very much for feeding a poor student, soon a poor trainee :)
Dinner at the Estonian residence with very ascetic furniture (pillows and mattresses) at the moment. Totally sufficient though - simple things are the best!
First, the thing I went there to look for: an apartment, or rather a room in which to stay for five months. I made the decision already after seeing four different rooms during the first two days. Finding an affordable (read: less than €500 with all charges) furnished room for a short-term rental in a city with thousands of trainees coming there every year was not THAT straight-forward. It was still a lot easier than finding a place to stay in Helsinki right now.
Not my house, unfortunately, but an art nouveau house of an architect Victor Horta, now a museum in Ixelles (a part of Brussels where I'll live).
I'll have a smallish room with two little roof windows, facing some gorgeous art nouveau buildings across the street, in a house with five other trainees of various institutions. I'd assume it's around 20 minutes by public transport to the EU Commission buildings, and perhaps 30 minutes by foot, if I'll ever feel like walking in mostly humid and grey Brussels.
Last week, however, was extremely sunny in Belgian standards (so I understood). The week-end could even be described as hot. Since the apartment issue was quickly solved – signed the contract on Wednesday, got the keys on Saturday – I had time to go sightseeing the city. Probably a good thing, considering that from 1 October onwards I'll be working every weekday from 9 to 5 or more. I also managed to open a bank account after answering to a bunch of questions during a rendez-vous I had had to schedule a day earlier. At the bank I also found out that I am a "personne physique" and not a "personne morale" - whatever that means, then, in French legal banking language.
I was planning to go to cinema – there are several independent theatres and small festivals going on almost all the time – but the excellent weather changed my intentions. It was quite enjoyable just to take a tram to another part of the city, have a coffee or lunch somewhere, and read a bit for my hopefully last exam in the university.
A somewhat strange encounter with the locals took place on a Sunday afternoon walk through St Gilles, another very mixed neighbourhood of Brussels. We sat in a brasserie which was recommended in my hip ”map for young people” to be a truly local place. Our order at the bar was taken by the angriest woman ever in restaurant business. She was nagging at the other workers for not being quick enough with the dishes, meaning that she had to pour a certain type of beer in a different beer's glass – veeeery bad, apparently. She was spreading her hands, sighing loudly and either talking to herself or to us, it never was very clear to me. Definitely a different kind of approach to customer service: not as automatized and sterile as in many places. Personal for sure, although perhaps less pleasant for customers!
All in all, Brussels really made a positive impact on me. It is vibrant, full of cultural events, has good food and nice cafés, is neither too small nor too big and is consequently great for walking around. Typically the neighbourhood changes very quickly – after admiring some of the poshest houses and shops, only 50 metres later the environment changes completely and there are blocks of run-down houses and beton flats from the 1960s. The capital of Europe is very eclectic and diverse: there is much more to Brussels than just the EU quartier. Luckily it is also cheaper than Helsinki: after five days in Brussels I was already complaining if a glass of wine happened to cost as much as 3 euros or more...
Different nationalities gathering together in Brussels also bring their own foods with them. During my week I ate a few obligatory baguette-sandwiches and one croque-monsieur, some African dish I had never tried before (maybe from Cameroun or Congo, not sure), Moroccan food, a Portuguese pastry and Lebanese lentil salad. The famous three Belgian dishes - fries, mussles and waffles – have to wait for my return to Brussels on 30 September.
I was lucky to have also free dinners in various places: one at an apartment I went to see (Portuguese vegetable soup and Dr Oetker pizza!), another at a meeting of local teacher-to-be students who are going to do their practice in Helsinki in October, and the third one at a certain Estonian residence in the European quartier. Thank you all very much for feeding a poor student, soon a poor trainee :)
Dinner at the Estonian residence with very ascetic furniture (pillows and mattresses) at the moment. Totally sufficient though - simple things are the best!
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Kahvittelua ja uutisia.
Ah, mikä vapaus gradun palauttamisen jälkeen! Vaikka sen jälkeen onkin ollut kaikenlaista pientä hommaa - rahaa pitää kuitenkin hankkia jollakin tavoin - on ollut aikaa myös vain istuskella, lukea kirjoja ja juoda kahvia. Aion jatkaa tätä vielä elokuun toivottavasti pitkään jatkuvassa lämmössä, mutta suositukseni tähän mennessä kierretyistä kahviloista Helsingissä:
Villipuutarha Kalliossa, Roskapankin vieressä.
+ epätavallinen sijainti
+ sisustus
+ suhteellisen laaja haudutetun teen valikoima, ruokia en vielä testannut
- hintavahko (tee 3,50€)
- epämukava tuoli, mutta sohvia oli myös tarjolla
- usein täynnä
Cafe Regatta
+ sijainti meren rannalla - voi katsella melojia ja Espoota
+ kahvikupin hinta: santsikupin ottaessa saa 5 senttiä takaisin, asia joka mainitaan aina kahvilaa esiteltäessä
+ erikoinen kokonaisuus kaikin puolin Sibelius-monumentin kupeessa
- pieni valikoima syötäviä asioita
- kitschin määrä on yliampuvaa jopa minulle
Viinikahvila Viola
+ sijainti Kaisaniemen kasvitieteellisessä puutarhassa
+ vehreä puutaloympäristö
+ suomalaisia marjaviinejä
- santsikuppi kahvia maksaa ylimääräistä (kahvi 2,20€)
- hintavahkot leivonnaiset
Erityistä tuntuu olevan se, että nämä kahvilat ovat hiukan syrjässä keskustasta, jonka ovat valloittaneet ketjukahvilat ja muut steriilit paikat. Näissä on tunnelmaa - voin suositella kaikkia lämpimästi!
Sitten uutisiin: ensinnäkin, kuten mainitsin alussa, se gradu on palautettu. Valmistumista odotellaan. Toiseksi, olen menossa Brysseliin harjoitteluun EU:n komissioon, DG EuropeAidiin toimistoon, joka keskittyy ihmisoikeus- ja konfliktikysymyksiin. Viisi kuukautta lokakuusta eteenpäin olisi tarkoitus viettää siellä. Kolmanneksi voin vielä mainostaa Kassandrakuoromme keikkoja ensi torstain Kuorojen kierroksella, joka avaa Art Goes Kapakka -festarit. Viimeinen kerta ainakin näillä näkymin nähdä/kuulla minut tässä kuorossa, jonka joudun - surullista kyllä - jättämään vuodeksi tuon Brysselin takia.
torstai 13.8.
klo 20 Corona, perinteikäs biljardibaari Eerikinkadulla
klo 21 Soul Kitchen, lungimpi ravintola-baari Kalliossa
klo 22 Siltanen, über-trendikäs uusi baari Hämeentiellä
Valitse omasi ja tule kuuntelemaan!
LISÄYS: Neljäs, pieni ylpeyden aihe ilmestyi viime viikon maanantaina postiluukusta kopsahtaneessa Helsingin Juhlaviikkojen tabloid-lehdessä (jaettiin Hesarin välissä, ja myös monissa ilmaisjakelupisteissä). Siinä oli mukana kirjoittamani pieni juttu Stefan Kaegin ohjaamasta Radio Muezzin -teatteriesityksestä Juhlaviikoilla. Kirjoitin ensimmäistä kertaa 400.000 kappaleen painoksena leviävään tuotteeseen...
Villipuutarha Kalliossa, Roskapankin vieressä.
+ epätavallinen sijainti
+ sisustus
+ suhteellisen laaja haudutetun teen valikoima, ruokia en vielä testannut
- hintavahko (tee 3,50€)
- epämukava tuoli, mutta sohvia oli myös tarjolla
- usein täynnä
Cafe Regatta
+ sijainti meren rannalla - voi katsella melojia ja Espoota
+ kahvikupin hinta: santsikupin ottaessa saa 5 senttiä takaisin, asia joka mainitaan aina kahvilaa esiteltäessä
+ erikoinen kokonaisuus kaikin puolin Sibelius-monumentin kupeessa
- pieni valikoima syötäviä asioita
- kitschin määrä on yliampuvaa jopa minulle
Viinikahvila Viola
+ sijainti Kaisaniemen kasvitieteellisessä puutarhassa
+ vehreä puutaloympäristö
+ suomalaisia marjaviinejä
- santsikuppi kahvia maksaa ylimääräistä (kahvi 2,20€)
- hintavahkot leivonnaiset
Erityistä tuntuu olevan se, että nämä kahvilat ovat hiukan syrjässä keskustasta, jonka ovat valloittaneet ketjukahvilat ja muut steriilit paikat. Näissä on tunnelmaa - voin suositella kaikkia lämpimästi!
Sitten uutisiin: ensinnäkin, kuten mainitsin alussa, se gradu on palautettu. Valmistumista odotellaan. Toiseksi, olen menossa Brysseliin harjoitteluun EU:n komissioon, DG EuropeAidiin toimistoon, joka keskittyy ihmisoikeus- ja konfliktikysymyksiin. Viisi kuukautta lokakuusta eteenpäin olisi tarkoitus viettää siellä. Kolmanneksi voin vielä mainostaa Kassandrakuoromme keikkoja ensi torstain Kuorojen kierroksella, joka avaa Art Goes Kapakka -festarit. Viimeinen kerta ainakin näillä näkymin nähdä/kuulla minut tässä kuorossa, jonka joudun - surullista kyllä - jättämään vuodeksi tuon Brysselin takia.
torstai 13.8.
klo 20 Corona, perinteikäs biljardibaari Eerikinkadulla
klo 21 Soul Kitchen, lungimpi ravintola-baari Kalliossa
klo 22 Siltanen, über-trendikäs uusi baari Hämeentiellä
Valitse omasi ja tule kuuntelemaan!
LISÄYS: Neljäs, pieni ylpeyden aihe ilmestyi viime viikon maanantaina postiluukusta kopsahtaneessa Helsingin Juhlaviikkojen tabloid-lehdessä (jaettiin Hesarin välissä, ja myös monissa ilmaisjakelupisteissä). Siinä oli mukana kirjoittamani pieni juttu Stefan Kaegin ohjaamasta Radio Muezzin -teatteriesityksestä Juhlaviikoilla. Kirjoitin ensimmäistä kertaa 400.000 kappaleen painoksena leviävään tuotteeseen...
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Lessons learnt in the ex-Byzant
I returned on Friday from an 11-day vacation to two of the most important cities of the Byzantine imperium: Istanbul and Thessaloniki. We spent first two days in Istanbul, then took a night train to Greece, to Thessaloniki, stayed there for two nights, then continued to a small village of Agios Panteleimon for a Greek wedding and returned back to Istanbul the same route for three more nights.
Besides a lot of sightseeing - a dozen of Byzantine red brick churches, ruins, castles, half a dozen of mosques and some more ruins - and countless matches of backgammon, we indulged ourselves with delicious (and sometimes weird) food, drank refreshing white wine, shots of ouzo/raki (especially at the wedding!) and on the Turkish side at least a few glasses of excellent tea every day.
Yummie Turkish tea in Pierre Loti café in Eyüp, Istanbul.
But what would traveling be without learning things? I was happy to notice that my learning skills had not been totally destroyed by thesis-writing. After two days I could almost read the Greek alphabet, and mastered a few words of Turkish. On the return flight I surprised even myself when I understood what the stuert answered to a lady in the toilet queue in Turkish: "bir saat", meaning one hour (to landing, I presume).
Besides a few new words, tastes and experiences, I learnt that attitudes of (some/many) men in Istanbul - a very modern and cosmopolitan metropol, as it probably always has been - were really stuck to the Byzantine period when it comes to women.
I often felt like standing behind a language barrier since very few people spoke English well enough to actually discuss something. Communicating with the local people in the same way as in New York or in Africa, for example, was simply not possible. Those working with the tourism industry were obviously more skilled in English, and we ended up having a longer conversation with a bazaar salesman. He sold tavla (backgammon) boards and seemed like an enlightened, intelligent man and was also a good seller: not too pushy, inquiring carefully what we wanted and liked. But then in the middle of bargaining for a tavla board, Otto asked about this other game the guy was also selling that we had seen being played in cafés and tea houses in Istanbul. I still don't know what the game is called, but it has colours and numbers...anyway, the salesman got carried away and started to explain: "Oh, that's what women often play. You know, women are really bad at backgammon. Like driving cars, hehehe. That game was first designed for handicapped, retarded people and so, it's easy because of the colours. Women like to play that."
Snap, he had compared women to retards just like that! I stared at him silently while Otto remarked: "Do you realize what you just said in front of my girlfriend?". The seller tried to save his skin by saying that he only referred to Turkish women, obviously, and it's all different for other nationalities (quite an insult towards Turkish women!).
Somehow we ended up buying a tavla board from him (tired, not wanting to continue the bargaining at another place). It might be because of the seller's misogynist comments that the board seems to dislike me, I tend to lose more games than I usually do...
It's not only in Turkey where women are thought to be disabled to play games that require mathematic skills or thinking. I recall that in Zanzibar where I played a lot of bao, a Zanzibari guy was very astonished to hear that I could actually play the real version instead of the one that "children and women" normally play. The simplified version, as I later learnt, consists of just moving the seeds around the board and not really counting anything as in the real version. Pretty boring.
On one hand, these denigrating stereotypes constructed by men on the intellectual abilities of women (either retards or children to them) somewhat diminish my belief in humanity, but on the other hand they make me feel lucky for being born in Finland where only red&green feminists (I guess me, then) are hated by some groups of men. I also just don't get what is it that women see in Mediterranean men - not saying that they are all alike, but many have really archaic views on gender roles.
Obviously these disturbing encounters were only a small part of the whole trip. Most of all I really enjoyed being on an actual holiday which had nothing to do with my studies, work or interning of any kind (except that the wedding I went to was of another UN intern last fall). Just looking at the photo below makes me feel tranquil and thankful for being able to see such a beautiful place. Seeing different places and meeting people in their all ugliness is the point of all traveling - this trip fulfilled those goals, for sure.
Lake Vegoritida from our hotel terrace in Agios Panteleimon, Greek Macedonia.
More photos here.
Besides a lot of sightseeing - a dozen of Byzantine red brick churches, ruins, castles, half a dozen of mosques and some more ruins - and countless matches of backgammon, we indulged ourselves with delicious (and sometimes weird) food, drank refreshing white wine, shots of ouzo/raki (especially at the wedding!) and on the Turkish side at least a few glasses of excellent tea every day.
Yummie Turkish tea in Pierre Loti café in Eyüp, Istanbul.But what would traveling be without learning things? I was happy to notice that my learning skills had not been totally destroyed by thesis-writing. After two days I could almost read the Greek alphabet, and mastered a few words of Turkish. On the return flight I surprised even myself when I understood what the stuert answered to a lady in the toilet queue in Turkish: "bir saat", meaning one hour (to landing, I presume).
Besides a few new words, tastes and experiences, I learnt that attitudes of (some/many) men in Istanbul - a very modern and cosmopolitan metropol, as it probably always has been - were really stuck to the Byzantine period when it comes to women.
I often felt like standing behind a language barrier since very few people spoke English well enough to actually discuss something. Communicating with the local people in the same way as in New York or in Africa, for example, was simply not possible. Those working with the tourism industry were obviously more skilled in English, and we ended up having a longer conversation with a bazaar salesman. He sold tavla (backgammon) boards and seemed like an enlightened, intelligent man and was also a good seller: not too pushy, inquiring carefully what we wanted and liked. But then in the middle of bargaining for a tavla board, Otto asked about this other game the guy was also selling that we had seen being played in cafés and tea houses in Istanbul. I still don't know what the game is called, but it has colours and numbers...anyway, the salesman got carried away and started to explain: "Oh, that's what women often play. You know, women are really bad at backgammon. Like driving cars, hehehe. That game was first designed for handicapped, retarded people and so, it's easy because of the colours. Women like to play that."
Snap, he had compared women to retards just like that! I stared at him silently while Otto remarked: "Do you realize what you just said in front of my girlfriend?". The seller tried to save his skin by saying that he only referred to Turkish women, obviously, and it's all different for other nationalities (quite an insult towards Turkish women!).
Somehow we ended up buying a tavla board from him (tired, not wanting to continue the bargaining at another place). It might be because of the seller's misogynist comments that the board seems to dislike me, I tend to lose more games than I usually do...
It's not only in Turkey where women are thought to be disabled to play games that require mathematic skills or thinking. I recall that in Zanzibar where I played a lot of bao, a Zanzibari guy was very astonished to hear that I could actually play the real version instead of the one that "children and women" normally play. The simplified version, as I later learnt, consists of just moving the seeds around the board and not really counting anything as in the real version. Pretty boring.
On one hand, these denigrating stereotypes constructed by men on the intellectual abilities of women (either retards or children to them) somewhat diminish my belief in humanity, but on the other hand they make me feel lucky for being born in Finland where only red&green feminists (I guess me, then) are hated by some groups of men. I also just don't get what is it that women see in Mediterranean men - not saying that they are all alike, but many have really archaic views on gender roles.
Obviously these disturbing encounters were only a small part of the whole trip. Most of all I really enjoyed being on an actual holiday which had nothing to do with my studies, work or interning of any kind (except that the wedding I went to was of another UN intern last fall). Just looking at the photo below makes me feel tranquil and thankful for being able to see such a beautiful place. Seeing different places and meeting people in their all ugliness is the point of all traveling - this trip fulfilled those goals, for sure.
Lake Vegoritida from our hotel terrace in Agios Panteleimon, Greek Macedonia.More photos here.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Harrastelua.
Blogissa on ollut hiljaista, kuten aina silloin kun olen Suomessa. Vähemmän kirjoittamista, enemmän tekemistä vapaa-ajalla ehkäpä? Tänä keväänä olen voinut syyttää lisäksi gradua ajan puutteesta. Ei, se ei ole vielä valmis. Mutta melkein!
Kun yritin miettiä, mitä muuta olen tehnyt tänä keväänä kuin gradua, ei tullut oikein mitään mieleen. Tarkemmin ajateltuani tajusin, että olen sentään tehnyt muutakin kuin töitä ja gradua. Tämä kevät (ja tuleva kesä) on ollut parasta aikaa koskaan harrastusten osalta.
Viikot ovat rytmittyneet harrastusten ympärille: maanantaisin Kassandra-kuoro, tiistaisin myös Kassandra ry:n järjestämät bollywood-tanssikurssi ja rumputunti, toukokuusta alkaen torstaisin jalkapallopeli, ja sunnuntaisin flamenco-tunti (ks. tammikuun postaus Olé). Parina toukokuun viikonloppuna olen tanssinut kolmisen tuntia päivässä vierailevien afrotanssin opettajien kursseilla, joista tiedotetaan muun muassa mainiolla Afrotanssi-sivulla.
Muina päivinä jaksaessaan on sitten voinut tehdä jotain ihan toisenlaista, kuten käydä torstaisin Punaisen Ristin vapaaehtoisvierailuillla Metsälän säilöönottoyksikössä. Siellä saa vähän erilaisen näkökulman maahanmuuttoon ja turvapaikanhakuun kuin seuraamalla HS-keskusteluja. Taksvärkin kansainvälisyyskouluttajana toiminen tarjosi taas toisenlaisen tavan tehdä vapaaehtoistyötä. Suosittelen kaikille aiheesta kiinnostuneille.
Ehkä hauskinta harrastuksissa on se, että niissä tapaa niin erilaisia ihmisiä - yleensä kun tuppaa pyörimään lähinnä humanistien ja valtiotieteilijöiden kanssa. Tuttavapiiri laajenee niin paljon, että melkein joka päivä törmää johonkin tuttuun kaupungilla. Maailma kylässä -festivaaleilla ei juuri muuta ehtinytkään kuin vaihtaa kuulumisia uusien ja vanhojen kavereiden kanssa.
Toinen nautittava asia on esiintyminen. Kuorossa se on mahdollista useamman kerran kaudessa - seuraava kaikille kuulijoille avoin (ja ilmainen!) esitys on Espoon keskuksessa ensi viikon lauantaina MOVE-festivaalilla klo 11.30, näin ohimennen mainittuna mainoksena. Mahdollisuutta Kaustisten kansanmusiikkifestivaaleille osallistumisesta mietitään parhaillaan, toivottavasti lähdetään!
Tanssin osalta tilaisuuksia on harvemmin, mutta eilen flamenco-tuntilaisemme esiintyivät Tanssikoulu Baila Bailan kevätnäytöksessä. Esitystä edelsi noin 30 tanssitunnin lisäksi muunlainen valmistelu, hameiden sovittamisesta nutturan kieputtamiseen: koko kevään oppi tiivistyi kahteen ja puoleen minuuttiin ravintola Kaisaniemen tanssilattialla, yhtenä ryhmänä yhteensä 23 erilaisen esityksen joukossa. Itseeni flamencon estetiikka vetoaa huomattavasti vahvemmin kuin näkemieni salsa- tai reggaeton-esitysten enemmän kuin vihjaileva liikekieli ja hiukan halvan näköinen vähäpukeisuus, mutta makunsa kullakin.
Tiivistettynä: olen onnellinen ihan mahtavista harrastuksistani! Hienoa, että tanssia lukuunottamatta ne eivät edes vaadi juurikaan rahallista panostusta, taloudellinen tilanteeni kun ei ole kehuttava tällä hetkellä. Ehkä ne halvat huvit ovat lopulta parhaita - mukavat ihmiset ja mielekäs tekeminen riittävät pitkälle.
Kun yritin miettiä, mitä muuta olen tehnyt tänä keväänä kuin gradua, ei tullut oikein mitään mieleen. Tarkemmin ajateltuani tajusin, että olen sentään tehnyt muutakin kuin töitä ja gradua. Tämä kevät (ja tuleva kesä) on ollut parasta aikaa koskaan harrastusten osalta.
Viikot ovat rytmittyneet harrastusten ympärille: maanantaisin Kassandra-kuoro, tiistaisin myös Kassandra ry:n järjestämät bollywood-tanssikurssi ja rumputunti, toukokuusta alkaen torstaisin jalkapallopeli, ja sunnuntaisin flamenco-tunti (ks. tammikuun postaus Olé). Parina toukokuun viikonloppuna olen tanssinut kolmisen tuntia päivässä vierailevien afrotanssin opettajien kursseilla, joista tiedotetaan muun muassa mainiolla Afrotanssi-sivulla.
Muina päivinä jaksaessaan on sitten voinut tehdä jotain ihan toisenlaista, kuten käydä torstaisin Punaisen Ristin vapaaehtoisvierailuillla Metsälän säilöönottoyksikössä. Siellä saa vähän erilaisen näkökulman maahanmuuttoon ja turvapaikanhakuun kuin seuraamalla HS-keskusteluja. Taksvärkin kansainvälisyyskouluttajana toiminen tarjosi taas toisenlaisen tavan tehdä vapaaehtoistyötä. Suosittelen kaikille aiheesta kiinnostuneille.
Ehkä hauskinta harrastuksissa on se, että niissä tapaa niin erilaisia ihmisiä - yleensä kun tuppaa pyörimään lähinnä humanistien ja valtiotieteilijöiden kanssa. Tuttavapiiri laajenee niin paljon, että melkein joka päivä törmää johonkin tuttuun kaupungilla. Maailma kylässä -festivaaleilla ei juuri muuta ehtinytkään kuin vaihtaa kuulumisia uusien ja vanhojen kavereiden kanssa.
Toinen nautittava asia on esiintyminen. Kuorossa se on mahdollista useamman kerran kaudessa - seuraava kaikille kuulijoille avoin (ja ilmainen!) esitys on Espoon keskuksessa ensi viikon lauantaina MOVE-festivaalilla klo 11.30, näin ohimennen mainittuna mainoksena. Mahdollisuutta Kaustisten kansanmusiikkifestivaaleille osallistumisesta mietitään parhaillaan, toivottavasti lähdetään!
Tanssin osalta tilaisuuksia on harvemmin, mutta eilen flamenco-tuntilaisemme esiintyivät Tanssikoulu Baila Bailan kevätnäytöksessä. Esitystä edelsi noin 30 tanssitunnin lisäksi muunlainen valmistelu, hameiden sovittamisesta nutturan kieputtamiseen: koko kevään oppi tiivistyi kahteen ja puoleen minuuttiin ravintola Kaisaniemen tanssilattialla, yhtenä ryhmänä yhteensä 23 erilaisen esityksen joukossa. Itseeni flamencon estetiikka vetoaa huomattavasti vahvemmin kuin näkemieni salsa- tai reggaeton-esitysten enemmän kuin vihjaileva liikekieli ja hiukan halvan näköinen vähäpukeisuus, mutta makunsa kullakin.
Tiivistettynä: olen onnellinen ihan mahtavista harrastuksistani! Hienoa, että tanssia lukuunottamatta ne eivät edes vaadi juurikaan rahallista panostusta, taloudellinen tilanteeni kun ei ole kehuttava tällä hetkellä. Ehkä ne halvat huvit ovat lopulta parhaita - mukavat ihmiset ja mielekäs tekeminen riittävät pitkälle.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Paul Auster and me.
During the last few months, I have read four books by Paul Auster, watched one of his movies and seen him twice. Might sound a bit obsessed. The reading part was because I figured New York City would be the best place to really immerse myself in his books, although the fourth one (Book of Illusions, 2002) I got as a Christmas present when already in Finland. In September I began with Brooklyn Follies (2005), on sale for 4 dollars at the Strand Bookstore at the Union Square in New York. Then I continued with his latest novel, The Man in the Dark (2008) which I bought for 20 dollars at the UN: the benefits of the sold books, donated by Auster's publisher, went for the UN staff Development Fund to build a library (hopefully to get some books in it, also!) in Uganda. When I moved from Manhattan to the Brooklyn side, I finished his most famous piece, New York Trilogy (1985) - Auster's breakthrough book which is composed of three mini novels.
Coincidences, double lives, obsessions for incredulous missions, stories inside stories - that is Paul Auster as a writer. As a speaker he is enchanting, annoying and incredibly witty. He began by telling how he was invited to this event for UN staff, flattering us a bit: "I remember when I was asked already in January if I would like to come and read at the UN - I leapt, although I usually always say 'no' to everything, but this is very special." After that he just started to read extracts from his book, first a lengthy part from the beginning, then a few pages from two other parts of the book. Later on when I opened the book myself, I couldn't help hearing his voice in my head when reading it. It felt weird, as if I was carrying his voice inside me wherever I went.
The most interesting part began after the reading: discussion and the possibility to ask questions, which the audience, mostly composed of Paul Auster fans, had plenty of. Auster was asked about the exception in his production, Brooklyn Follies, which is more humorous and perhaps more 'normal' than the rest of his books. Auster noted that it was the time of Bush's re-election and he was furious because of the state of his country: "Normally, when you are depressed, you want to write comedy, and when you're happy, tragedy". He was also asked about his youth, his writing process and how it feels like to read one's own text to an audience. All of his answers were perfect sentences, full of intelligence, humor and self-awareness.
After the reading and a Q&A session, we were allowed to rush downstairs of the UN library auditorium, buy his new book and get it autographed. Initially I was hesitant but decided to use my money for a good cause. Having the author's inscription on the first page might have had some influence in my decision, too. We had an exchange of words lasting for a few seconds (my small talk skills might still need some improvement):
"Riikka - isn't it a Finnish name?"
"Yes it is, you guessed well!"
"It's a lovely language, Finnish."
"Yes, it's a wonderful language - as are all languages, of course..."
"Yes..."
And then I ran happily off with a new book under my arm, back to my office across the street again.
I did some simple google research and found out interesting little facts: Auster has the honour of being "the most shop-lifted writer with William S. Burroughs and Charles Bukowski" (from an interview in Financial Times in 2005). He still writes all of his manuscripts in little notebooks by hand. And of course, he is not 'only' a writer, but also a translator (from French, especially in his youth), a movie manuscripter for and a director for Smoke (1995) and The Inner Life of Martin Frost (2007). Mediocracy of the latter movie somewhat reduced my admiration - or rather brought it to a more realistic level. At least he is not perfect in everything he does!
Luckily I am not alone with my Paul Auster folly. Besides the enchanted critics in several American, Finnish and British newspapers, also readers worship him. I somehow want to savour his literary production, to have these Auster-periods. The first one was in 2005 when I decided to acquaint myself with this writer I had heard only good things about. I bought Leviathan (1992) from a used-books shop in Helsinki and had hard time reading the first 100 pages - it took months to get it started. After those 100 pages I couldn't drop the book out of my hands. I was impressed. I began to read another novel, Timbuktu (2000) in Finnish, but somehow got stuck again and had to return it unfinished to the library at some point.
And the second time I saw a glimpse of Paul Auster? It was, suitably enough, a mere coincidence. I was waiting for Otto to come through the security and customs at the JFK airport in November when I saw a tall, blond woman together with a shorter, grey-haired man hurrying past me at the arrival area: it was the writer-couple Siri Hustvedt and Paul Auster. I could not but smile.
Read more on Paul Auster:
* List of interviews at Auster's official homepage: http://www.paulauster.co.uk/interviews.htm
* Interview in the Gothamist and in the Guardian in October 2008
* review of the Man in the Dark (2008) in San Francisco Chronicle
* Interview in the Times in 2004, before Bush's re-election
* summary of the UN staff event at the UN radio
Coincidences, double lives, obsessions for incredulous missions, stories inside stories - that is Paul Auster as a writer. As a speaker he is enchanting, annoying and incredibly witty. He began by telling how he was invited to this event for UN staff, flattering us a bit: "I remember when I was asked already in January if I would like to come and read at the UN - I leapt, although I usually always say 'no' to everything, but this is very special." After that he just started to read extracts from his book, first a lengthy part from the beginning, then a few pages from two other parts of the book. Later on when I opened the book myself, I couldn't help hearing his voice in my head when reading it. It felt weird, as if I was carrying his voice inside me wherever I went.
The most interesting part began after the reading: discussion and the possibility to ask questions, which the audience, mostly composed of Paul Auster fans, had plenty of. Auster was asked about the exception in his production, Brooklyn Follies, which is more humorous and perhaps more 'normal' than the rest of his books. Auster noted that it was the time of Bush's re-election and he was furious because of the state of his country: "Normally, when you are depressed, you want to write comedy, and when you're happy, tragedy". He was also asked about his youth, his writing process and how it feels like to read one's own text to an audience. All of his answers were perfect sentences, full of intelligence, humor and self-awareness.
After the reading and a Q&A session, we were allowed to rush downstairs of the UN library auditorium, buy his new book and get it autographed. Initially I was hesitant but decided to use my money for a good cause. Having the author's inscription on the first page might have had some influence in my decision, too. We had an exchange of words lasting for a few seconds (my small talk skills might still need some improvement):
"Riikka - isn't it a Finnish name?"
"Yes it is, you guessed well!"
"It's a lovely language, Finnish."
"Yes, it's a wonderful language - as are all languages, of course..."
"Yes..."
And then I ran happily off with a new book under my arm, back to my office across the street again.
I did some simple google research and found out interesting little facts: Auster has the honour of being "the most shop-lifted writer with William S. Burroughs and Charles Bukowski" (from an interview in Financial Times in 2005). He still writes all of his manuscripts in little notebooks by hand. And of course, he is not 'only' a writer, but also a translator (from French, especially in his youth), a movie manuscripter for and a director for Smoke (1995) and The Inner Life of Martin Frost (2007). Mediocracy of the latter movie somewhat reduced my admiration - or rather brought it to a more realistic level. At least he is not perfect in everything he does!
Luckily I am not alone with my Paul Auster folly. Besides the enchanted critics in several American, Finnish and British newspapers, also readers worship him. I somehow want to savour his literary production, to have these Auster-periods. The first one was in 2005 when I decided to acquaint myself with this writer I had heard only good things about. I bought Leviathan (1992) from a used-books shop in Helsinki and had hard time reading the first 100 pages - it took months to get it started. After those 100 pages I couldn't drop the book out of my hands. I was impressed. I began to read another novel, Timbuktu (2000) in Finnish, but somehow got stuck again and had to return it unfinished to the library at some point.
And the second time I saw a glimpse of Paul Auster? It was, suitably enough, a mere coincidence. I was waiting for Otto to come through the security and customs at the JFK airport in November when I saw a tall, blond woman together with a shorter, grey-haired man hurrying past me at the arrival area: it was the writer-couple Siri Hustvedt and Paul Auster. I could not but smile.
Read more on Paul Auster:
* List of interviews at Auster's official homepage: http://www.paulauster.co.uk/interviews.htm
* Interview in the Gothamist and in the Guardian in October 2008
* review of the Man in the Dark (2008) in San Francisco Chronicle
* Interview in the Times in 2004, before Bush's re-election
* summary of the UN staff event at the UN radio
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