Author Archives: Åsa Giertz

In an Empty Washington DC

Posted on by under My life

After a very hectic first day back in DC with twelve hours of work on Thursday, it’s been really slow here. I have a report to finish before Christmas, but it doesn’t require weekend work, and both Mr M and Monika were away this weekend so admittedly, it’s been a little boring. I should probably try to make some new friends, but it seems like every time I meet someone nice, he or she moves away. A really nice colleague of mine just moved to Romania and another is moving to Austria after Christmas – it’s a hopeless city!

Instead, I went down to pretty and super Christmasy Georgetown yesterday to look for Christmas gifts. They closed down their Barnes and Noble there a while back, so I hadn’t been there since this summer. I found a couple of things, but I have to say the walk there and back is a lot nicer than the actual shopping!

Today, I took out my book, after not having written much on it since September or so (because of my dissertation), but even though I actually enjoyed reading what I’ve written so far, I didn’t really find the inspiration to write. I guess most authors go through less productive days. Hopefully, I’ll get back into it soon and can finish it in not too long. Perhaps a good New Year’s resolution for 2013? Now I’m watching Downton Abbey’s Christmas Special to get some Christmas spirit, which is going a lot better than the book. Can’t wait for next weekend!

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Writing at Java House

 

Short Stop to Clean the Stairs in Stockholm

Posted on by under My life

On my way back from Montenegro, I managed to stop by Stockholm for a few days. I didn’t really plan it, but it coincided with my cleaning week in my apartment building. I have a small apartment in Stockholm and in order to keep the costs down, we share the responsibilities for maintenance of the building, including the cleaning of the stairs. And last week was my week. Lucky me! Stockholm was also hit by unusually heavy snowfalls in early December, and even though it was very cozy with all the snow, the stairs in my building were a mess. I felt very Downton Abbey! But it was great to have a few days in my little place, to spend time with my friends, indulge in Swedish Christmas buns, and to speak Swedish. I was only there fore three days, so unfortunately, I didn’t have time to see everyone that I wanted to, but better than nothing for sure. Even if I had to spend a couple of hours cleaning the stairs!

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My Last Days in Montenegro

Posted on by under My Travels

My last days in Montenegro were intense but nice. We worked a lot but I work with a great team there, and we also had time for coffee breaks and dinner. Montenegro has with its long crop season and proximity to the ocean wonderful, locally produced food. My personal favorite is their seafood risotto – I ended up having it for dinner three times this trip! But any seafood, prosciutto, local cheeses, and local wine can be recommended. Next time I go to Montenegro will be late in the spring or early summer, and I already look forward to it!

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Long work days

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Coffee break with my Montenegrin colleagues, who agreed to be in a picture here.

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My favorite seafood risotto at Restaurant Dali

Pics from Podgorica

Posted on by under My Travels

My schedule is quite hectic and there is unfortunately not much time for tourism this time in Montenegro. A few of my colleagues got to go to the coast today to visit a couple of sites but I spent the day in front of the computer. The sun came out today, though, so I took a few rain-free pics on my way to the office.

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Top: The Moraca River the Millenium Bridge, and then a statue in front of a local art gallery. I have to add that the coffee is great here (as all across the Western Balkans). Café style even in our office!

 

Heroes or Role Models?

Posted on by under Our World

I’m watching CNN Heroes Award Ceremony on TV tonight. They present amazing people and inspiring initiatives, from a woman helping kids that are caretakers (i.e. that help take care of sick family members) with their homework and organizing out of school activities so that they get some time to be children; a man providing a structure for people fighting drug and alcohol addiction, and another is helping poor kids in South Africa get through school and get a bite to eat; a woman teaching Afghan girls, another supporting teenage moms breaking the circle of poverty in the slums in Catalina, Columbia, and a third supporting rape victims on Haiti. Etc, etc, etc. Many of them have gone through similar challenges as the people they are trying to support and they are truly admirable individuals! Ironically, this ceremony is competing with the news of the Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy and morning sickness, which they break for now and then, and the contrast in terms of importance could not been starker! But although I think that all these individuals are extraordinary (there are even children among them), I’m wondering if instead of being referred to as heroes, they shouldn’t be regarded as role models for the rest of us? Americans love heroes but to me, a hero is someone who is almost supernatural, whose deeds are something beyond that of ordinary human beings. By calling them heroes, haven’t we set our standards too low in our behaviors towards other humans? Without taking away all the admiration that I feel for these people, aren’t they simply role models for what actually should be expected from all of us?

A Very Creative Menu

Posted on by under My Travels, On Agriculture and Food

I don’t write as much as I should about the variety of food that I come across when I’m out traveling. I will try to better! (Food culture is after all one of my main interests!) In the meantime, I came across this very creative children’s menu at one of our regular dinner places (Restaurant Dali) here in Podgorica. It has dishes like “I’m not hungry”, “I don’t want anything”, “I don’t like”, “I can’t”, and “I ate”. Seems like Montenegrin kids can be as picky about food as kids in Sweden and the U.S.!

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12 Ways to Live a Better Life

Posted on by under Our World

I found this little set of advice in Washington Post the other day, and without analyzing it further (there are things I might do without and there are things I think are missing) it gives a nice reminder of some of the simple things that makes up a good life. Have a look and see what you think!

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No 6 on their list is “Travel more” and needless to say, I fully agree! Above: in the middle of Northern Kazakhstan, from May this year. 

Quick Update from Podgorica

Posted on by under My Travels, On Agriculture and Food

I am out traveling again. Nowhere new I’m afraid, but nevertheless in one of my favorite countries – Montenegro. It is the first time I’m here this late in the fall, and it’s been raining beyond belief since we arrived on Tuesday. It even pored into the breakfast room one morning, but that’s another story. It is a very busy stay here this time, but since I work with agriculture, I still had a chance to go outside the city on Saturday to meet with several farmers. It rained almost all day and was quite cold, but it cleared up a bit while we visited a goat farm up in the mountains and we had a chance to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful surroundings. My colleague told me that Montenegro is number 2 on Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Countries for Best Travel in 2013 and I am not surprised – I can really recommend a stay here (though perhaps not during the rainy season)! Here are some pics from my farm visits:

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Visits to a goat farm and a dairy farm on  Saturday. Livestock is an important source of income in rural  Montenegro. 

A Glimpse of Bono

Posted on by under My life

There was a celebrity visiting the World Bank today. An awesome celebrity! I am normally not a fan of celebrities trying to save the world but there are exceptions, and Bono is probably the best. I have been to several U2 concerts, but these days, I tend to think of him more as a poverty elimination advocator than as a rock star. So I couldn’t resist the opportunity to go and listen to what he had to say. It was mostly a pep talk, but all I can say is that getting a pep talk from Bono is great! (Even though I couldn’t see much because I was so far back…) The event was part of the discussion What Will It Take to End Poverty? I think everyone, at least in the development sector, knows what is needed, and what we agreed once more today in this event was that a lot more can be done. It is NOT OK that 1.3 million people still live on less than 1.25 dollars per day and that 870 million people are chronically undernourished! Things are certainly improving, but not fast enough for all those individuals around the world who still don’t have access to clean water, enough food, healthcare, or education.

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