In Search of a Home

Welcome!! Swagat, Dumela, Valkommen, Jee Aayan Noo, Tashreef, Bula, Swasdee, Bienvenido, Tashi Delek. Thanks for joining me......


Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Mid Summer MerryMaking



Dancers at the Mid Summer Celebration


Young maidens at mid summer Celebration













The famous frog song!!  I remember dancing the song around a maypole we had created for European night at the University.  A friend from Finland had taught us this song...to hear it in Sweden brought so many memories back!!







Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Mid Summer Sights in Sweden



Please anyone who knows the names of these flowers...let me know.   Was in Stockholm for a day, last week.  Had some work, so it was not a fun trip.  Very hectic.  But how can Stockholm in summer not be beautiful and fun!!  I was amazed at how different the town was from the last time I visited it in March.  Notice the following shot and compare it to the entry titled Stockholm Snapshots.  It seems like they were taken in different countries.  These flowers caught my attention.  They were hanging carelessly outside a hotel.  People just walked by these gorgeous things, not noticing the pink, the purple, the green.  What is so important I wanted to scream.  Bills, phone calls and emails are a regular.  They never stop.  These flowers come only for a few weeks, if that.  We should be queuing around these to look at them.  I bet if they were in a museum and there was a price to have a look at them, people would plan that event weeks ahead.  Ah mankind!! Learn to smell the roses, or at least notice the purple!!

I spent 15 minutes at just an ordinary city park.  But on a mildly sunny day, at mid summer, it was buzzing with kids, smelled sweet, looked green and fresh!! It seemed it was winking at us, saying, 'I told you so, not to fret, it will be alright!!"  The above photo was taken just as I crossed the street to get to metro station.



A regular house by a regular lake.  I am told there are about 80,000 lakes in Sweden.  I took this picture when I was returning from town after running an errand.  Ahh...why do we have to work in summer.  And summers in Sweden at that.....


Two young girls dressed for mid summer celebration at Mariebegskogan, Karlstad, Sweden, 2011


Decorating the maypole


Most of these flowers grow wild in Scandinavia.  Children get excited about decorating.  Parents join in. And there is a general bubbly buzz around the pole.    


Can you hear the chatter and the chuckle?



One of the organizers adjusts the headphones on one of Folk Musicians.


And here we go.  


There it is!! I had heard so much about the Maypole.  But this was my first time seeing it in real life. 



Little girls dancing around maypole, with their parents.  Blue and Yellow dresses for little girls are especially sold for these occasions.  Nationalism aside, Blue and Yellow is a cute combination for little girls.


Another Lake View.  Can you feel the breeze flowing through the trees?


That day I hung out for a short while with some young people.  Everyone wanted to have a strawberry cake.  But they had run out.  This young man invited us all for Fika, a swedish term for coffee and cake (or something sweet).  He is training to be an engineer.  At the Fika, he brought out this strawberry cake, that he had made from scratch.  Now that is some engineer huh!! I always disagree when some one says, 'kids these days are just not same'.  If anything they might be better. I have met all sorts, everywhere!!  This post is dedicated to fun, frolic and fresh young people who continue to surprise us pleasantly.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Mid Sommar MayPole


The Raising of the Maypole, Mid Sommar, Karlstad, Sweden, 2011

Maypole decorated with wild flowers--symbol of summer and nature's benign side, at its peak!! Blue and Yellow ribbons represent the colors of Sweden.  Even Graduation bouquets are sold in blue and yellow flowers.  Blue flowers, are usually dyed.

Here, notice the green and color around.  Compare them to old pics on the blog....hard to believe this place can be covered in snow and ice in less than five months!!  One understands the 'romance' around summer in places like Sweden.  In Fiji one wonders, what't the big deal..
Ah Relativity, thou name is so true!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Swedish Summer





Stockholm at 2 a.m. June, 2011


Karlstad, Sweden at 9 pm, June, 2011



Karlstad, Sweden (from a swing in a park), 7 pm. February, 2011


Karlstad, Sweden at 9 pm, June, 2011


Karlstad from Plane, May 2011


Karlstad from Plane, May 2011



Swedish Summer

Last dredging of snow
And it is early May
Birds are beginning to talk
and ice has gone away

The nights become light
The light more bright
A look out the window
At 23:00 hrs.
And one may spot a rainbow

A barbeque at midday
Precedes a bonfire
Slight jackets
Over T-shirts
A regular summer attire

No more sleet
The air is sweet
The Sun is alive
The Stars on 
a vacation

I hear
Nature’s determination

So different from
The winter
The winter that is stark
When all remains dark
Stars and moon work
Overtime

Children’s laughter
Their squeals
Their chatter
Their hopes
Their dreams

The only thing 
That remains
Constant
Like the sky
Behind every season
As our slow
Rhythmic breath
Behind
Medley of thoughts
Year after
Year…. 

Could life be more beautiful?

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Cutely Colombian 2


I saw him at a small, cozy restaurant/shop.  He kept smiling at me.  It was easy to smile back.  A simple face, young but complete with wisdom. He must be 10-11 but there was a grace in his eyes that was beyond his years.  The family got up to leave the restaurant and I knew I had to run after him to capture that smile.  That is the best thing about being a tourist, you are not ashamed to ask, to click a photo, to sound ridiculous.....for it is all about the moment--and you may never be at the same place again!!.  M confirmed what I must say to not behave like a rude, uncaring tourist.  ¿Puedo tomar una foto por favor? May I take a photo please?  The family agreed.  He continued with his smile. His father teased him for receiving attention. I was so grateful to the boy, to the family, and the little curious, silly child in me who took the courage to run after them to ask for a photo.


This little boy was in his mother's arms quietly watching the potential buyers fiddle with the goods on the  table.  While I was only partially interested in buying things, I was very interested in getting the boy smile.  After a few minutes.....this is what I got!!

Plaza Bolivar, Bogota, Columbia.  While many adults would be afraid of so many birds around them (including Hitchcock) this little one was not only comfortable in the middle of several pecking pigeons but also gracefully posed for these pictures---looking straight into the camera!!

It was a rainy day.  I noticed these young women from afar.  They were not with any tourist agency but were promoting a bank, if I remember correctly. No one could ignore their colorful outfits, and festive hairdos.  


I stepped ahead and requested them to face the camera.  The picture looked dull in comparison to what the outfits seemed to the naked eye.  Colorful and flowing.


M suggested they hold up their skirts to show the flare, the frill and the flow of the dress.  Yup, then the picture was flowing!! Even the smiles of the young ladies got wider!!





We were at a camera shop.  One of the ladies wanted to buy a camera. Right outside the camera shop was this street vendor.  Selling -----(will have to check the name again). Dulce la leche (almost like sweetened condensed milk, only caramalised) sandwiched in two thin tortilla sized wafers.  It was sweeter than cream cookies, and softer than cookies.  Absolutely delicious.  M bought one for us.  I ate most of it.  She laughed that everyone else  kept declining her offer to take a bite. But every time she turned to me, I dug right in.  The street vendor, who you can see here, asked me where I was from.  When I told him, he thumped left side of chest with a closed fist and said 'me gusta, me gusta' I like. I like.  
Then, he took out a pencil, regular HB, painted yellow, half sharpened, and handed me that.  He continued in spanish.  I understood the word 'regala', meaning gift.  I was apprehensive.  As I am often, even though I love talking to people.  I asked M to translate.  When she did, I was humbled, touched, and pleasantly surprised.  He had said, "This pencil is a gift from me to you.  Please accept this.  Take it to your country and use it, and think of me." I bowed in humility.  I wished I had something to give to him.  The day I left I told M to give him two chocolates in my name.  But you know these street vendors never stay in the same place for long.  They just go around selling things for cheap and sharing simple wisdom for free.  In every country that I have been to, there is a character to street vendors, they see, they notice, they know.  While they are also trying to cheat and are looking to make an easy buck, many of them know that they will never be rich, have accepted that and so take life as it comes.  

This one though, really touched me.  My interaction with him was for less than 5 minutes.  I will keep the pencil that he gave me for a very long time before I use it. I hope to share that story with many, so that I can relive it, and remind myself of how much love there is in this world.  By the way, the cost of that wafer that we bought from him?  50 US cents!!  But what he sold us was sweetness that is priceless!!



M with Dora and Sponge Bob at the conference!!!

This was the first shop we visited at the market. And with my liking for kids, the little boy was the first thing I noticed. 'Como te llama?" What's your name?  I showed off my 50 word spanish vocabulary.  Cuantos anos tienes?  How old are you? 6 years, he said with pride.  He was doing his homework while his mom was taking care of his younger sibling and managing customers and onlookers at the same time.   How many children in the world grow up in such circumstances.  Still happy, still well adjusted, but do they show up in movies? news? or even literature? and how often? 



Another one of those kids, who will grow up around a little market of home-baked pots and pans.  This one was a grandchild, accompanying grandma at a sunday market by the roadside.  


M with a fresh fried snack!!


I met these 'sisters' at the airport.  Although all of them were from S. America, they were all came from different countries.  A beautiful, gregarious bunch of women of different ages.  My elementary spanish came in handy.  I asked them if they were content with their lifestyle? The oldest one, said in spanish 'Its been 41 years, I must be content.'.  They were all wearing their wedding rings.  Married to Jesus Christ.  The oldest one also talked about Vishnu and Shiva.  They all left their email addresses with me. I intend to write, although have not have the time yet to do so.  It was certainly the highlight of that day for me. The happiest of all was the one on the extreme left.  I will admit, parts of our happy conversation reminded me of Sister Act!!  


At the airport, I requested these air hostesses for a picture.  They obliged me.  Their red looked so regal!!