update needed

the last weeks
feels like i´ve never read, written and presented that much before
but i love my studies
and it´s also amazing to find out how long one is able to concentrate
this will go on until february i guess

have had the priviledge of taking part in a evaluationweekend
of refugee-work-camps somewhere in Frankfurt
was so good to speak a whole weekend English again
makes me happy immediately

was in beautiful strasbourg for a day
visiting a session of the european parliament
about extremism in Europe
really interesting
and unbelivable that those parties don´t invite experts in exremism studies
but rather argue about their own opinions what the reasons for extremism might be

slowly starting to realise that its christmas time
I still don´t really know what to do with this:)
Maybe its only nice for some people:
children, grannies who love baking, people who like to hang in cafes
but not for waitresses and shop assistants

I´m going to move next month
ina really cool old non-renovated flat (yes)
where some of my mates already live
the wallpapers are still original 70´s

i miss, miss, miss, miss
Denmark, Denmark, Denmark,
and a whole lot of friends

happy next week

November

time is too busy right now
so much stuff to do for uni
and i can´t say no to all the other interesting things

I tried making a "kladdkaka" (the most wonderful chocolatecake in the world-from sweden)
it didn´t turn out that nice. Does anybody have a "functions always"-recipe?

was at a lecture about capitalism -critisism, was so good
hopefully more about it later.

The EU plans to introduce a common asylum-practice
until 2010,- so these days a lot of decisions are being made concerning this issue
lets stay tuned on http://www.no-fortress-europe.eu/showPage.jsp
- there are also petition you can sign
because i don´t want the European Union doing inhuman refugee and asylumpolitics in my name!

they lately found an american bomb from the 2nd ww in the city center
thousands of people were evacuated
i happened to go through the city center short after
what a ghost city

there are 1,2mio working poor in germany
those are people who work fulltime but have to get extra benefits as
their job doesn´t pay their living expenses

it´s been very rainy the last days

newest projects:
we started learning turkish
and registered for the half-marathon in June
hope we will make it:)

transnationalism produces hybrid identities

live and live and live

studying totally got me again,
and i´m so thankful for my studymates
we live nearby, eat together and give hugs when the down-days come
and go running along the rivers

was lately in dear Holland to visit my DK-flatmate larsi-parsi
they prohibited mushrooms in that country 3 weeks ago
(after some people thought they could fly and jumped off buildings)

Germans who sit in cafes all eating and drinking at one table in large groups
and letting the waitress count the exact amount of what they had at 1 in the night
become more and more strange to me

i´ve been at a great wedding, went there with a young soldier who is a DJ for house music and went to play somewhere in Switzerland
he was rude, at first i was speechless, then amused or a bit sad
we talked how his experiences in Afghanistan have made him hard.
always keeping a distance to people
and that politicans in a parliament decide to take part in the afghanistan war and you stand there having to decide if you kill that child with a gun before it kills you

my friend got married to a divorced man with 2 kids
they were so happy, people were dancing to electronic music half the night
and his ex-wife was there dancing and smiling too
I was so impressed

i´m really back in Germany
but still arriving
moved into a little room in a 5 girls living commune
will see how that is working out

got a new job in a cozy cafe, yep

the last days have been filled with meeting with all my dear
returned studymates,
coffee, wine, tea and dinners for hours and loads of stories
it would have been really hard to come back without them
I´m really glad to have the "gang" here and that we will do this last year or more together
and they distract me
i miss Denmark and the people there, of course

met another friend of mine here, who was "accidentially" at the same farm in Portugal i´ve been this summer,- i love those random things

and i have to pay back some studygrants i got for Denmark, because i earned too much money, which i had to earn because i didn´t get enough grants,- is this logical?...anyway, glad for having statesupport

got some interesting lectures like peace-pedagogics and sociology of migration,
looking forward to that...

life goes on
was back in my studytown for a few day looking for a new job and living-commune
i don´t like living- commune- casting, we don´t know which questions to ask
what you wear can qualify or disqualify you
and maybe the colour of the kitchen wall is not your thing

but in fact I´m glad that so many people in Germany want to share lifes
figured its not that ususal in other countries
already in my studytown about 150 living communes look for new flatmates

but right now its time for "hometown", some brother-hugs, moms plum-pie, and just hanging out with old friends

you can go to www.avaaz.org to sign some petitions concerning the situation in Darfur and Iraq

Schweden, Dänemark, Deutschland - ich weiß ja gar nicht wohin

listening to some German music
"... aber hier leben, nein danke..."
(...but to live here, no thank you...)
from THE german band tocotronic
i figured how long i haven´t listenened to german music
and how so many bands write that poetic and play in this way
that it really expresses the "Lebensgefühl" here

spent some easy and nice days in stockholm with resa and krister
gardening is a nice thing, windowshopping as well (sometimes)
went also biking on aaland for a day, but it was just so rainy

got to know a girl from burundi on the night bus
some last coffee with my dear dk-friends
and i took my stuff and left
can´t comprehend the moving, it still feels like travelling

spending some days now with my ex-livingcommune
like we used to, have to post some picture of this tiny wonderful flat

the kitchen, mini-garden (we have to plant more everywhere we live!)
and the profiles of our stomaches in the bathroom...

strange to hear german all around me again,
how different people express themselves







and some pics of my first stancel (?)...
it was a copy from a recordcover, i have to admit

love.leave

last working day
yes i got a bit tired of being a waitress the last weeks
but i can be thankful for having a job anyways,

just added the blogs of 3 of my dear girly friends
who i got to know here
helena, jo and jessy i appreciate you a lot
so much tea and coffee together the last days
this is a long goodbye process

made the night through in Malmø with a friend the other day
free festival, slagsmålsklubben whooaa,
Asha Ali and Balkan Beat Box- an amazing band
mixing electronic music with gypsie, klezmer, arabian
whatever, local- ghetto- rap- heros, very interesting
landed later in a punk- rockabilly-club, just because it was for free

stranded talking in broken German-Swedish
with the local shawarma guy for on hour and
nice black coffee in plasticcups,
all because we wanted chocolate milk and they haven´t had change for about 10 minutes

...funny, how I´m always so much more open to just meet people
when I´m "somewhere else"
precious

heading for more scandinavia maybe tomorrow
try to make all my stuff fit in 3 boxes

mmh

Når det sker...

people can turn into machines while working in a restaurant

closed the restaurant the other day,
its always this strange feeling, me and the restaurant alone at night
then went to see the end of a shortfilm in a park
it was about to swedish journalists in an african country documenting violent riots going on
and what happens with them while they are there, how it makes one crazy to see people die

the movie ends as they get controlled on their way by some rebells
they just got shot and that was it

walked home and passed a shop where they sell out wedding dresses
50% reduction
what a bargain

passed a turkish bakery where you can print your picture on your cake

I saw someone playing on a singer songwriter stage
he totally captured people

today i have time, ...so nice

nowhere, now here

in the city again since a while
was strange coming back without coming home
so many people left

but I´m glad i found a room for some weeks
will still work a bit at the restaurant
do lots of bureaucratic paperstuff exchange years require
and enjoy some summer here

the south was so nice
but to bike again at a rather fresh summer evening
through the city with this light feels just so good

what i also learned:
its certainly possible to travel 28h by train straight
and a good question is:
"when these buildings are so beautiful, why are people not make all buildings that beautiful?"
(a guy in spain told me he asked this question to his mum when he was little and spend a lot of time in the hospital Sant Pao,- which consists of amazing fairytale modernistic buildings)

pancakes at night is right

barrrrrrrrr the lona

i am red as a shrimp

i can't believe the hospitality i meet
so non-materialistic and non-posessive
can learn so much here

a random friend i haven't seen for years
offered me to stay in her paris-flat while shes not there
whooa

a "maid"(?) made my laundry

it makes me happy to see couples that are so smooth together
and to be with people that love to show their city
and to see beautiful people

i was hungry for music (tooo much background -TV in this country)
and la buena vida is the perfect siesta melody

i have hope that my skin turns brown one day
i have hope that we will get more peaceful the more we travel
i have hope to be able to live like a lady and a tramp
both with grace and gratitude

to travel away all fears
lala

Obrigado

had some intense days
with sleeping on the streets of madrid
or on random portugese fields
" getting totally lost is a good thing..."

walking and walking and walking
siestas in a hangmat
getting excited about beautiful mediterian tiles
shanti, shanti and garden work
irish music at bonfires
so good conversations
and finding myself again and again
in places and situations where i wake up asking
is this me whos allowed to experience all that

i am challenged, partly annoyed
and glad again, so much to think about
days without make-up and physical work
were good for me
obrigado barbara and tom

right now at the mediterian coast
hospitality from a studymate again
spend some hours at the beach
havent done that for years
waves are something nice
beachculture still feels foreign to me

4 more days

so much these last days
Madrid has been the impression overkill
so many different people
beautiful buildings
been in the Reina Sofia, one of the huge art museums in Madrid with modern to contemporary art
it hosts also the massive artwork of Picasso "Guernica", which he painted in response to the German bombings on this basque (republican) village
didn´t know all these things, didn´t know that Hitler tried to support Franco with bombing Spanish villages
and it feels like every time i travel i learn more about the history of my own country
Germany i can´t get away from you?

Spent the weekend with some spanish friends
somewhere in the solitude of the mountains of Burgos
there took a little creative-hippie-punk-festival place
in a village that became empty and some people try to recreate
a stage somewhere on a lonely rock
houseruins
a tiny church with self-build wooden altar
lots of creative courses over the day
did some ceramics, fimo and balloon animals
so nice to do something with my hands again
concerts at night
and me the only non-spanish speaking person
and i was lacking some dreadlocks
this area was so extremely beautiful

had also some strange days
am about to leave Salamanca now
had a beautiful evening here with some random spanish friends who
visited us once north and invited me for some Paella and going out
had such a nice time with really good talks
strange, how quickly you can click with people

gracias

pink toiletpaper

on the road again
or better on interrail
finally in first time in france
stayed at a friends in Rennes, bretagne
what is it about the french and using pink toiletpaper?
Ate too much whiteflourproducts, the danish would say
we wandered through the city
lot of small old stone houses
cidre and galettes for lunch at a creperi
watching people and being watched at the "street of thirst"
so nice
the talks about life as always

paris drove me crazy, as i had to get from the one big trainstation to the other one
never felt so stupid speaking english
this city leaves the feeling of wanting to conquer it


railed for hours and hours down south
went in Irun at 6 in the morning to a morning bar full of men
for some cafe solo, felt very right
hours through so dry land
mountains
Madrid is far too hot, maybe i will get finally some kind of tan:)
wandered for hours through the city, plaza after plaza after plaza
people stay here on the streets until 1
with their kids on weekdays in lavapies
"maddin" and i talk nearly only social work and immigration
passionate as we used to
so nice to be able to spend some time with my german studymates
we have to go to explore some more city

morning conversation

this morning i went into the room of my flatmate
to fold his laundry (yes) just because i needed the "clothdryhangything"
and then he asked me how late it was.
It was just around half past ten, so his reaction:
"so early? is it already sunday or is still saturday?"
me: "no its still saturday"
he: "because, you know, it could be possible because i have these post-its-block with 24 written on the side..."
me: "???"
he: "so it could be possible to sleep 24 hours"
me: "???"
he: "well, what i mean is, you know, sometimes you just wake up and talk crap and you are so convinced the stuff you say makes sense..."


i also kind of moved today
which means i moved some boxes to my flatmates room
which i will store somewhere else the next weeks
moving the next days to a friends summerhouse in suburbia
and then southern europe is calling me


had a week of womenshelter- together- on-holiday,
was fun, especially because my collegues convinced me that I should feel the freedom to phart loudly:)
and had some sorrows with 2 more flatmates leaving
so arrgh! when you got used to live together, and your live is suddenly missing so many small details
and the presence of people you started to love

enjoy the summer

juno

distortion electronic festival
every day in a different part of the city
in small shops and galleries on the streets in the parks
starting with an opening service in one of the biggest city churches
yep, exactly
with a viking bold head red beard priest
speaking clear words to electronic sounds
about its just love give it away
and respect to god and creation

gladness

the final party on one of the harbour islands
with beach excellent view on the city
and weired music in old factory halls
the masses of people wandering back in the morning
but sun rising at 3 o clock doesnt really push the party feeling

missed lot of these festival days
missed G8
but was glad that the normally conservative prime minister of my country put environment on high agenda

gladness again
as i read today that germany is getting a new law on foreigners where
so many people living with a "temporary suspension of deportation" finally will be allowed to work
big discussion also in denmark as they got critisised for letting Iraki asylum seekers wait in the asylum camps for years so their psycological constitution gets so bad they are not able to work

my flatmates annoy me, right now someone is shooting me with a water pistol...
i want to hit and hug them all the day
it often feels like i cant bring my life together at all
all these different worlds
when i come home from the women shelter
where we tried to laugh against upcoming fear and where i try to let things not come to close
i come home and can't take stupid boy jokes
i thought guys reading FHM are all "stupid" but that was also arrogant thought
loveable they are


my spanish flatmate woke me up at 4 the other day
telling me he can't sleep and if I'm joining him for a walk
i put a sweater on and we had small fighting about where to go
finally i gave in and followed him to an empty house we thought of checking out a while go
i was tired and cold

we found an open window in the backyard
matrasses and sleeping bags inside and some ungdomshuset tags
i was a bit scared and wanted to go again
com on tabea just lets go upstairs to check out the rooms there
uhyggeligt the danes would say
suddely there were lots of candles leading to the half rotten sunterrace where all my living commune sat with tea in thermo, music and cake wishing me happy birthday as the sun rose
guess that was one of the coolest birthday presents ever...

... the content of my fridge doesn't change just by looking more often in it...

Zeit, Tid, Time

too long
masses of letters and emails waiting to be answered

so much happened these last weeks
i'm still doing my internship at the women shelter
and enjoying it
still danish lessons
and a new job at a Japanese restaurant

got more into the topic of human trafficking for my work and also in connection to some documentary night of the international Student fellowship some of my friends started
+ a little bit street action
I had the feeling these small things went well and even if one doesn`t reach thousands with this topic raising awareness in few peoples mind might help

experiment last month (a few times):
just mix totally random people you know from different places in your living commune kitchen and see what happens

had my friend uli from my actuall studytown over, enjoyed long tea sessions again and some time with my small group and dancing, of course
and easter celebration: we cooked eggs, painted each one of them and hid them in the garden to look for them again,- we also made some easter bread and had it with the eggs at brunch
was nice to see how the boys sad all so concentrated painting their eggs

the weekend after a "scandinavian congregation" came over, from finland, norway and sweden.
guys, it was good to have you here: the walking around, reminding me, talks on the sunterrace, naps in the parks, prayers on the bed, the talks we had with other people of the city, ... thank you

Had also some changes in the living commune again, a danish girl living with us for two weeks, a new guy from holland who fits nicely in with his cozy nature, and very new an polish man who is quite older than all of us. I'm feeling really challenged by all of that,- just want to come home after my long days and feel safe. It's just taking me so much enery to get to know new random people and work out a living together, whether you fit together or not. My tolerance is streched and I'm trying right now to find a balance between feeling my needs and making those clear without being the grumpy complaining girl in the house...
Yesterday they had a fight with cooked potatoes in the kitchen, pieces of potatoes at the wall, on the floor,...
this is the chance to learn to get maybe more easy with things (not always), and maybe also to just take up people.
Anyway, I love it that they are just there when i come home, that they built a race track on the kitchen table (with 4 little cars!!!), that they are so hospitable...

I've also been in beloved Dresden the last weekend, my heart ached a bit when i went through my old quarter, and it was nice to join a small girls group i used to be part of and experincing how open and honest they are to each other and how freely they share their thoughts with god.
My friend got married, i felt a bit strange that whole day. It was just all to much to comprehend, the new couples, how friendships changed, and that i still feel that getting married is a pretty extreme thing. And too short time with my family. How do you keep in contact with the people meaning something to you?

This weekend was beautifully slow, some totally free days since weeks. Just slept so much, had BBQ with my flatmates in the park and went to a free concert of Ane Brun and Teitur, so beautiful
- one of the things i love this city for.

It's enough,
i should just sit down and be quiet for a while :)

...

one of the ways to keep violence going is to not problematise it, not to act about it, not to talk about it... to distract from it (free translated from Per Isdahl "the meaning of violence")

Danmark as one of the countries taking part in the irak war doesn't want to give asylum to about 600 irakian refugees waiting here in camps for a better life while sweden said yes to take up about 15000 refugees

Right now theres a big discussion in the media that the minister of culture threatened the public TV channel with an email to be less critical in reporting about the irak war

A country where humaniatian issues are/used to be valued extremely high and so the freedom of press...
to grant asylum to people from irak maybe would be an act of recognising that they didn´t suceed in a way they planned until now, that all of this could be wrong...


there´ve been lots of soap bubbles in the kitchen the last days
and an interesting talk with a gran canarian guy about the african immigration issue at a toga-party

by the way

check out the blog of steven
if you are interested in more
information on the riots and backgrounds

a veces si, a veces no

it`s been a while
my computer didn`t like to be forced to switch this blog to google
but finally we got forced

anyway, there are some news and thoughts
started a practical placement at a womens shelter for women who have been treated violently mostly from some ex- husband or partner. There are so many things we don't see.

so far it's really been a good time, especially cos the working-environment is really encouraging.
though speaking and listening to Danish all day is challenging.
I'm reading a lot about violence and am realising how much of an issue it actually is or can be in our daily life. How normally it is to get forced with power to do things you actually don't want to,
-the strange feeling in my stomach when i see a policecar.
Some more reflections on that might come later.

By the way,- the 25th of march is freedom day- which is used by the organisation www.stopthetraffik.org as i big action day against human trafficking. Might be good to check out and see what we can do in our local areas.

By reading all these free-newspapers here you can learn so much about the culture here
how people see themselves, what they estimate as important, how their view on problems is.
According to some research the Danes are the most happy people in the world.
(There are also lots of other researches pointing out Nigerians, Australians or Puerto Ricans are the most happy,- but anyway) Danes found that a bit strange and found out due to further research that their happiness is so high because their expectations are so low that they are more often positively surprised. Or maybe people are satisfied with less?
How does this fit together with every 7th Danish schoogirl cutting or damaging herself in other ways?
Do we believe we have to be "happy"?
Whats the difference between joy and happyness?

The riots here calmed down the last 2 days. It was interesting to see how suddenly there was a chance to stand up for something, to really fight, maybe too violently most of these days but beautifully with people demonstrating peacefully with flowers yeaterday,- and people just joined in a country whereelse people don`t seem to have to fight for so much concerning their local area. Where everything seems to run so smoothly.

Got new flatmates again- now we are spanish-italian-indian-israelian- german. The Dinner-times changed to late night, and there is more caring about each other which is great. I can't speak a spanish "r" which makes me, saying the names of my flatmates, sounding hilarious. I started to "waste" lots of time with my flatmates and guests again and i enjoy it- though there are parts when i feel so challenged, when things hit my face- but hope it's all part of a good learning process. gotta go

Another person in the computerroom just offered me a piece of chocolate... nice

invisible children

we had lately a documentary night with the international student fellowship
some of my friends started
showed the movie "invisible children" which is basicly a documentary made by 3 young american guys just going to sudan and north uganda to figure out what happended with all the children soldiers there,- they did it without experience, without any organisation and they met hundreds of forgotten kids, hiding every night in busparks to sleep in fear of getting abducted by rebellforces
they didn't want to be the people who will also forget them and started a movement called "invisible children" to mobilise people just not to forget

one of many things i thought at first
how much do i fight for justice?
in the discussion afterwards we found out that actually not many of us ever got involved in things concerning social justice.
I remember the passion i had as a little girl for all kinds of environmental and social things, i would fight my dad as he tried to cut our trees. My friends and i would get so upset about local trashed areas, commiting ourselves to "save" those.
This is still there, in all of us i think. Somehow i feel sometimes I read and studied so much about unbelievable and unacceptable things that i grew so fat of all this knowledge that i can hardly move, - act on it. Is it not our responsibility to raise our voice about every topic we get to know about, which is injust? But often just a feeling of helplessness, not knowing what to do or what would be the right thing to do is left.
....Either the professionals take care of it, yes it's terrible but we can't do anything about it anyway, we have to focus, daily life took it over, we got all used to it ...
I do feel capable of doing smaller things and we should not forget doing those, like Resa is often pointing out on her blog.
What about the big things? In Darfur, Sudan 200'000 people got killed since 2003 and millions were displaced. In an article from IRIN they say that besides that of course the government and rebelgroups have to agree, more international pressure is needed that the situation for the people will not get worse. Since last year december the situation also got more dangerous for the NGO's. I don't understand this conflict. I've been ignorant towards it most of the time.
I have no solutions. But haven't i also been convinced that i would act against ethnic cleansing out of all the history lessons? Not because i have a "special heart" for doing it, just because it has to be done. Because these are people made in Gods image.

Aren't we the international pressure?
How can we put more pressure on our governments to act more this issue? What can we as non-politicians do?

Hygge

After mentioning this wonderful Danish concept a lot, I found quite a nice description of it...

"-Oh aren't we having a hyggelig time!
When you are in Denmark there's no escaping the phenomenon "hygge" (the adjective form is "hyggelig"). Impossible to translate into English, the word designates a state of being and a feeling of complete satisfaction and relaxation, often in the good company of friends or relatives. Lit candles are an integral part of "hygge", The Danes just love their candles, and when the winter approaches they almost long for this cold and dark season when it's time to light the candles and have a "hyggelig" time.
Danes may "hygge" on their own, but usually it's something you do in company of one or more persons. "Hygge" very often involves eating or drinking of some sort, but it is possible to find Danes who are having a "hyggelig" time just sitting on a bench, without anything else but each other's good company. You don't neccessarily have to be with friends or aquaintances to have a "hyggelig" time,- you may hit it off with complete strangers, who will then immediately become part of the "hygge", perhaps ven without being aware of it. All they know is that when they leave, they'll be filled with a well-being in both body and soul. The "hygge"-concept is hard to explain, but one thing is for certain- it's the Danes' favourite leisure-time activity." from WHERE2GO 2007 International edition

flere historier

lately it finally snowed a lot
so much that the sky was bright at 3 in the night
and we went out to have some snowballfight

Nevertheless i bought the first yellow springflowers
and they look kinda nice

i went home from a party one early morning walking with my bike close by as the snow was to high to cycle
an elderly man took a walk with his dog at 6 in the morning he smiled at me and made some funny comment about the weather
thought that was beautiful,
i should try more to smile to people on the streets

a friend teached some good stuff the other day
about deserts which God uses to teach us to be close to him
and that these phases will come again and again.
One picture that really struck me was when he talked about the promised land as a land of milk and honey. Hope i get it together somehow. In Israel about 20% of the country can be used to grow all kinds of stuff and this is also where the honey comes from. The other 80% are dry land, where the sheeps are and the milk. The sheeps survive becuase their shepherds know the right time and places,- those places where early in the morning some small pieces of grass grow, when the sun is rising this grass quickly gets dry. So the sheep are dependent on their shepherd to lead them at the right time to these places to get some food in the desert. These places with the tiny bits of grass coming through the stones are called green pastures in Hebrew. Nothing with vast green land where the sheeps lay and grow fat, and the scripture of psalm 23 on the postcard. Just enough to go on. Talked about how easy we want to go away from the desert cos it seems like its not from god. Cos we think we gotta have it all together and then things have to run well, like if we believe right then God will give us the smooth successful life. And we miss out on his precious teachings. Was so good to hear that,- and it raised awareness in me. Thank you shepherd.

stories

i dreamed last night that the european union made the decision to introduce
Dutch as the "school-language" in all european countries, so that it would be cheaper to mainstream all education and to have exchanges...

the theoretical semester is over now, got today my credits for it,
after the last weeks have been so much work with our project about
"social work with members of ethnic minorities in the Danish Folkeskole".
Just learned so much.
The one evening i went home at midnight from the college, carrying the laptop and my broken bike through the city. Just wanted to get home and surely i didn't expected anyone to stop for helping me, maybe because i also would't do it.
At this one crossing there came suddely these 2 man, carrying big bags.
They just stopped and asked: Help you? slawian accent, i think.
I just was really amazed, that they being busy with other stuff, maybe being strangers in this
country just offered me their help. It so reminded me of how easily i get so caught up in my daily busyness that i don't realise anymore whats going on around me, don't recognise my neighbor. How much o life do we miss by this? Please God help us taking the time for each other.

Spend the other day some time again in this part of the city i like so much. It's just so alife, being often in the newspapers called "ghetto", due to its many colourful inhabitants and associated problems.
Nearly everytime i have a look in the shops, buying my fruits and vegetables, i have one or two random talks about where i come from or that black is a nice haircolour. It just makes me so glad being there, the interest, the openeness, the streetlife, the noise. A sign in one shop saying: "Foreigners, please don't leave us alone with the Danes". I like being here together.

We spend the evenings in the flat with candles, wine or tea and telling stories.
From India, Israel and Germany, Kibbuz, childhood in british-indian schools and daily stuff. Yesterday my flatmate from Israel pointed at a photo of a man in the newspaper, and told that she made once coffee for him. It was the leader of the israelian army.
These times are such a priviledge and quite challenging for me. Flatmates who require openness, changing people going in and out our flat, unpredictability, strange days, and the try to make this to some kind of home with a certain feeling of safety.
Feels like my range of actions and behaviour, they ways how i used to deal with people and things don't "work" anymore as i was used to and things just seem to slip my hands. And in all that there is still this wish for community. What if everything works totally different than i expected and what if i expected God to work and be here without seeing "all the conditions"?

besides

"at fremelske" = to further or encourage

literally translated it means "to love forth"
isn't that beautiful?

it's pushing the hardest eskimo right off the schlitten (said this self-made-sticker on this german cash-machine)

hope you are all doing well, friends
just really back in DK again
after

trying to hitchhike for 4-5 hours without anybody stopping
arriving after endless seeming hours in town of origin
for lot´s of coffees with friends, talks and stories,- the nice and sad ones
best Kebab ever with free appletea and turkish popmusic (that's how it has to be)
dancing whole night with friends i never did before
mommies cheesesoup at christmas eve
being very huggative with my brothers-
squeezing each other and the one who screams first loses
an american friend which i haven´t seen for 3 years and who is very dear to me, appearing suddenly out of my parents neighbors house
too much to comprehend
realising again, while being with my friends, how much i love them
meeting my dad in the kitchen, as always around 3 in the night with our ususal question "and what do we eat now?"
lack of sleep
travelling to holland with slow trains and cheap ticket, funny to watch how people get connected in their common enemy called german railway
being at a sunday service in holland, amazed by the way how openly people seem to share their things going on in their life with their whole community
feeling safe, feeling insecure
loving the fact that you can go in the small dutch town from house to house to hang out with some random people of church for a tea
trying to figure out friendships- we have a need for safety in our relationships

the hugs, old factories
and a random talk with a girl from iran on the way to DK

went then straight with my projectgroup on a tiny danish fairytale island
staying in an grandmothers house- the whole village lookes like a museum filled with
colourful tiny house sticking to each other with little lamps outside that light the brickstreets at night
got invited sometimes for amazing danish hospitality
it's somehow beautiful to just hang out with "normal danish people" in their houses
we also experienced an island-tradition to the "holy three kings"
the people there just put lights as signs in front of their houses and people totally covered with masks and disguised talking in high voices sad down at the table and the hosts try to find out where they are as they all seem to know each other.
really surreal and funny experience- we were immediately recognised as " what are these strangers doing here?"

I like being back
I'm glad to be here
there is so much goodness to experience
also in all that seeming to be too much for me/us