The Flossy Flossy
Keeping it “on the real” the best I can.Archive for May, 2009
Хинрих Шмидт-Хенкель
Вомэнь цзай Осло Дацзяотан мэньвай цзяньлэ мянь; ваймянь чжэн цзай ся сяо юй. Та лайлэ ихоу, вомэнь ици цзоудао Май Френд Клуб, игэ тунсинлянъдэ санна. Саннадэ вайбяо хэнь цзиньшэнь, цзай игэ хутун’р лимянь, тунго игэ суодэ дамэнь. Цзай лимянь туодяо ифу хоу ся лоу чунлэ цзао; дэн аньаньдэ, лянь жэньдэ лянь доу кань бу цзянь, чжи нэн кань дэ цзянь шэньти хэ дуцзы.
Сивань цзао хоу цзиньлэ игэ баофан’р: чжи ю игэ чуан хэ игэ хун дэн, цифэнь фэйчан «дынджий».
Вомэнь кайшилэ. Лян шуан цзуй хусян сюньчжао, хусян таньсуо: шэтоу, сяба, хай, боцзы, сюн. Ули хэнь жэ; вомэньлядэ шэньти хэнь куай чаолэ цйлай: ибань’р хан, ибань’р туо. Водэ шоу шицзинь чжуачжу тадэ цзяньбан’р хэ хоубэй, ю ши ю хуа. Во юнюань доу бу хуэй ванцзи нагэ ганьцзье: пота и слюны, пота и слюны.
Та чунчжэ во, ганьчжэ во, дишэндэ нянь гэй во на мижэньдэ Дэюй. Тадэ шэнинь нэнмэ вэньжоу, тадэ бяоцин намэ сингань.
Айвань чжихоу, та сунлэ во дао Осло Хочэчжань, шуньлу е гэй во майлэ гэ Макдональд. Вомэнь цзай хочэчжань ибянь’р чи, ибянь’р ляотянь’р (гуанью тадэ гунцзо, юянь). Та тилэ во май хочэпяо хуэй цзя.
Finnmark
Hip hip, I am back from the Artic Circle! It was a much needed vacation. Went with Balázs, Francesco, Håvard, Guro, and Kjersti (vertsmor) up to Finnmark for the long weekend. Thursday, after my X Factor audition (which I unfortunately didn’t get around to doing ’cause of the time constraint; but it was a great morning with Doug and Xenia, and I’m betting my bottom dollar that you’ll get to see me on TV), we flew from Oslo Gardemoen to Alta. And from there, we rented a minivan and drove to Hammerfest, where we set up base at a wicked house with huge glass windows and high ceilings–very haute and modern.
On Friday we drove to Karasjok (Kárášjohka) to visit the Sámi Parliament. (The Sámi are the indigenous people of Norway.) And since we were so close to the Norwegian-Finnish border anyway, we decided to just cross over and have dinner in Finland. It was very cool, ’cause the countries were divided by a small river, but once we crossed it, we couldn’t understand a thing. All the signs were suddenly unintelligible and everyone started speaking Finnish–som forresten, er et råt språk! I had reindeer, with a side of mashed potatoes and lingonberries. (I’m really becoming fond of it–the kjøtt-potet-tyttebær combo. It’s typically Scandinavian and oh-so-good.) And at night we took a drive to a neighboring town for a midnight hike and to see the sun.
Saturday, we drove up to Nordkapp (North Cape). I’m actually now thinking of working there next summer, if it’s possible. Sent a mail requesting information to Rica Hotels. It would seem like a great opportunity; the pay’s not shabby and I’d get to continue speaking Norwegian while utilizing my other foreign language skills.
Welp, that was my weekend.
Gratulerer Med Dagen
Today, for those of you who are not aware, is Norway’s National Day: a day of parades and marching corps and general “hip-hip-hurrah” celebration. Literally all of the townsfolk were gathered on the main street to watch the happenings; I’ve never seen so much people in Horten before (or Fremont/Union City for that matter)–it’s incredible. Kinda makes me think, if Horten, with a population of just over 20,000, had a turnout like this, how would it look like if all of Fremont and its 210,000 citizens were gathered in one place…I think I would feel so small.
I honestly can’t recall the last time I saw a parade, and despite the mucky image it probably invokes in your head, it was really quite a pleasant experience. For starters, I got to wear a bunad (the Norwegian national costume) for the day. I swear, if it wasn’t so expensive I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase one myself. I always thought it kinda sucked that the USA doesn’t seem to have a national costume that could be worn for those exceptional occasions. It was very special to put on late [bestefar] Erik’s old bunad. I think, in the future, when I can afford it, I will definitely come back and get my own, haha.
It was also great to watch people you know in the borgertog (a parade consisting of town clubs, teams, and miscellaneous interest groups). And in between the parades (there were three: barnetog, borgertog, og russetog), we walked around the park, ate some ice cream, and greeted everybody. Which is kinda cool yet pestering at the same time because you can’t walk more than five steps without stopping to chat with somebody. It took us a good 30 minutes to get to the ice cream stands, which was less than ten meters away, and by the time we got there, it had been all sold out. Anyway, afterwards we went home to a hearty barbeque courtesy of Pappa.
And last night, we were witness to Norway’s history-making victory in Eurovision. A great evening spent at the Weschke household with Gayoung and Elaine. Here’s to the end of a very koselig weekend. Skål!
Auditory Doritos
I have big intentions. Huge plans and goals. I just can’t conceive them. I’ve always been in awe of songwriters; they make the process of creating a song seem so effortless. I want to do that. I want to carve out the intangible, capture and preserve a feeling, a moment, an emotion, and then pass it on to others. There exists nothing more satisfying.
But tonight, I’ll relegate myself to sharing other people’s songs, so unwax those ears.
1. Super Junior 너라고 (It’s You)
Det blir ikke ofte at jeg forelsker meg i noen, men de få gangene jeg gjør det, faller jeg tungt. Sai questa sensazione di essere innamorato di qualcuno? You’re consumed by an urge to dig, to create a niche for yourself under their skin. Du trenger å være så nær som mulig, som en del av dem. Allora, sono lì, ancora lì.
이미 너는 다른 사랑했겠지만
놓칠 수가 없어 다시 돌이킬 수 없어…
2. Kelly Clarkson Don’t Let Me Stop You
Rockin’. Relatable. Right.
3. Nek ft. Laura Pausini Sei Solo Tu
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Nek, e non solo perché è gnocco. His music and lyrics are filled to the brim with emotion and intensity; they stir up feelings of boundlessness and nostalgia, and remind us of the fragility of being human. Mi sento il vivo quando ascolto lui.
Perché mi piaci in ogni modo,
Why do I like you in every way,
da ogni lato o prospettiva, tu?…
From every side and perspective, you?…
E poi sai fare morire un uomo
And you know how to make a man die
con l’innocenza del pudore che non hai…
with the innocent modesty that you don’t possess…
Perché sei bella che mi fai male…
Because you are beautiful that it hurts me…
Sei solo tu nei giorni miei…
There is only you in my days…
Sei solo tu e dimmi che
There is only you, and tell me that
sono questo ora anch’io per te…
I am also the same to you…
4. Cajsa Stina Åkerström Långt Härifrån
This is your standard 90s midnight light rock jam, but what I love about this song is Åkerström’s voice. She traverses the octaves so smoothly and easily, it’s enrapturing.
5. Keith Urban Til Summer Comes Around
And I saved the best for last. God, this song is everything I feel right now: deserted, wishing on something that doesn’t exist yet still persistant and keeping that flickering hope alive. And the guitar riff makes me speechless. This isn’t a song to listen to, this is a song to live.
I think all the songs here on this collection reflect a fragment of my mindset right now. They sing what I couldn’t dare say.
People I’m Thankful For
As if God himself had heard my shittacular week from above and decided to divinely intervene, today was pleasantly nice. Spent the day chez Elaine with Gayoung making food, playing piano, and being silly. It’s days like these that make me go ”I’m not ready to grow up.” On second thought, maybe it’s just an Asian thing; we just don’t age as quickly as other races, physically and mentally. (And by that I don’t mean we’re mentally slow, but that we retain our youthfulness long after everyone else has matured into the seriousness of adulthood.) Think about it, it makes sense.
Anyway, it made me realize that in my passionate insobriety, perhaps I had been a bit too inconsiderate. I don’t retract what I say about the Norwegian social culture–c’est encore le goût de soufre et j’en déteste–but there have been a few people here that have made my life here very special and enjoyable, and at times, bearable. They have been so welcoming, patient, and genuinely warm, and though I don’t spend nearly as much time with them as I would like to, I cherish those fleeting moments. Breddeidrett and Historie og Filosofi with Anniken, Samfunnsøkonomi med Gulli, kveldsturer along the beach with Bjørn-Kristian, conversations about culture-shock and immersion with Gayoung, these are the moments I want to remember and take from my experience. These are the memories that truly matter. Takk.
