Category Archives: My life

Summarizing Another Week in Podgorica

Posted on by under My life, My Travels

I am now back in Washington after a hectic but rewarding week in Podgorica where I have been looking at how one of the projects that I support is progressing. One of the activities that is financed under the project is a grants program where farmers can apply for grants to partially finance their investments through a similar structure as for the EU IPARD funds that Montenegro eventually will be eligible for. The program is just about to be launched within the next weeks there were therefore a lot of details to sort out so that everyone knows exactly what will apply and how to process the submitted applications. This involved not only the assigned staff in the Ministry, but also those who are in more day-to-day contact with farmers, such as extension agents. It is always immensely interesting to meet them and hear their views on how programs and policies work in reality, and what they see as the main problems that farmers face.

Apart from a lot of work, I also went out a lot for dinners this week, both job-related dinners and with my colleagues. When I travel for work, I normally prefer having something light for dinner and instead have a little time to myself for reading and writing. But this time, I went out almost every evening. The food is amazing in Montenegro (as all over the Western Balkans), with delicious fish, cheeses, prosciutto, and vegetables that is served with nice local wine. (Mainly Vranac) So it was a very good week and I am already looking forward to going back!

Kramerbooks & Afterwords

Posted on by under My life, Posts From Washington DC

I think I have taken everyone who has come to visit to this place: Kramerbooks & Afterwords. A lovely bookstore with a nice, casual restaurant that has the most amazing deserts. I know I’ve already posted a blog about this place but I thought it was worth repeating. It is really one of my favorite places here, and I have spent way too much time there this winter. Most recently with my Swedish friend Monika. After dinner, we ended up sharing a banana cake with layers of peanut butter and whipped cream. It was delicious, but whoever comes up with such a cake??

A Ballet Being?

Posted on by under My life

Last week, I finally dragged myself to a ballet studio here in DC and started taking ballet classes again. I have trained a bit at home since I moved here, but for different reasons, I haven’t gotten around to take classes. And now that I started, I can’t understand why I waited so long. I really LOVE dancing! Ever since I started doing ballet in my early teens, it has been the one form of exercising that I can’t get enough of and that I actually look forward to and that I practice also outside of class. My new teacher is great and it feels amazing being back in a studio with the barres, the mirrors, and the pianist, working through every muscle in the body while creating series of beautiful movements together with other dancers. And I am definitely not the oldest in the group. There are several grey haired men and women there who are well in their 60s. It really is a wonderful way to stay in shape!

I am currently taking classes at The Washington Ballet, but there are several schools with adult classes around DC.

In Control…..I think…

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Instead of getting a personal assistant (like I wished for a few weeks ago), I made an effort to structure my spare time a little better. There is quite a lot that needs to be squeezed in: reading and assignments for my Food Policy MSc, Romanian studies, physical exercise, some singing, and of course relax and hanging-out-with-friends time. But with a bit of puzzling, I managed to fit it all in and still have plenty of time for other things. I also made a list of things that I need to get done in the weekends in order to not have too much logistics to take care of in the weeks and to not let things fall behind too much. Normal people probably do things like cleaning, laundry, shopping, and administrative stuff in the weekends, but I tend to block these things out until they are impossible to ignore. (George in Seinfeld dreamed of having 365 pairs of underwear so that he only had to do laundry once a year, and I though it was a really appealing idea!) But hopefully, having this list to tick off on my fridge will remind me of what should be done over the weekend in order for the weeks to be less stressful. And maybe one day, this will all be a habit for me like it is for normal people, and I won’t need lists anymore. Or maybe that is just a dream? Well, at least this is a start…

Participating in a Very American Holiday Activity

Posted on by under My life, Uncategorized

Tuesday, I did something that for me is very American. I went around in nursing homes, delivering turkeys and other Thanksgiving food to seniors with little means to buy holiday food for themselves. There is no season like holiday season for charities in the U.S., and I am asked for donations to various organizations almost daily. I enjoyed volunteering of course (though I have my views on charity-dirven assistance vs. government-run programs – guess I am not entirely American yet!), but I felt a little like being on the Thanksgiving episode of Felicity or some other all American TV-series. Now I am on my way to P’s family for Thanksgiving dinner, so at least I am not celebrating Thanksgiving only with friends, as they always end up doing in these college series.

The Very Interesting Topic of Languages

Posted on by under My life, On Books, Movies, Education, and Conferences

Several years ago, I read an article about a young Swedish student (Ola Wikander) who mastered more than ten dead languages. He basically approached languages the way I do, by learning the grammatical structure and the verbs, and then break down and interpret texts from there. I was really impressed and have thought about him many times since. The other day, I read about him again in the paper because he had been awarded a prize (Cliopriset) for the work he has done on dead languages, old texts, and on awakening a broader interest for this field.

From being a C student in English and barely passing French in school, I have with all the years I have stayed in different countries, and inspired by my sister Jessica’s knowledge of the latin languages, developed an interest in languages and etymology. While I could have lengthy discussion on this topic with my friends in Rome and in Chisinau, this is unfortunately not an interest that I share with many here in Washington DC. Instead, it often feels like the languages I know are slipping and though I am doing a course in Romanian at the University of Lund, I am certainly not developing any other language skills. So the other day, I just couldn’t resist picking up this Latin book at Barnes & Noble, though I think few others than Jessica can understand how excited I felt when I got the book! Am I learning anything? Yes, absolutely! My trick when I am learning a new language is to spend a bit of time studying every morning, at breakfast or on my way to work. Even if my goal is to spend an hour every day, 15 minutes is better than nothing. And by doing something every day, it adds up to a lot only after a few weeks and I progress quickly. Studying Latin is immensely interesting and stimulating, though of course completely useless except for when I am singing classical sacral pieces in choirs! But I do believe that developing ones knowledge has a value in itself, even if it is not for immediate use. And if nothing else, I can always turn into an unbearably elitist dinner partner by dropping latin phrases if I end up on a nightmarish date at some point…

Maria Visiting

Posted on by under My life

My undoubtedly sweetest friend, Maria, came to visit me last week. Maria and I know each other from when we lived in the same dorm at Jerum about a hundred years ago, and from sining together in the choir Laudamus for many years. Since then, she is one of my best friends. She was only here for a week so we stayed in DC the whole time. Unfortunately, I got sick with something that gave me a terrible pain in my knees and ankles, so I couldn’t walk that much. (And hence Maria did not have the pleasure of me guiding her around the city and telling her the fascinating history of monumental Washington DC and my reflections over the similarities between the U.S. capital and some of the Soviet symbols that I’ve seen around the CIS during my travels – I understand that this must have been a great loss for her!) However, I could sit very well and so we spent a lot of time at cafes and restaurants. It felt very homey to have here staying with me, and I wish we were neighbors again, like in Jerum! I guess this is the backside of moving around a lot – that I am always far away from so many of my friends! But it is nice that so many are coming to visit me here and Maria and I had a lovely week.

Champagne brunch in Alexandria, American brunch on 18th Street, and Afternoon coffee at Cafe Leopold in Georgetown. (And yes, I need to figure out how to work with photos in this new blog…)

Earl Messing Up Our Weekend Plans

Posted on by under My life

This weekend is Labor Day Weekend and officially the last weekend of summer here in the U.S. So people tend to go to the beach. And so were we, if it wasn’t for Earl! We were planning to go to Rehoboth Beach but with Earl approaching, we had to cancel. Who Earl is? A hurricane. It hasn’t affected the weather here in DC though (except for that it’s been a bit windy), so yesterday evening we went to Jazz in the Sculpture Garden. Every Friday evening, a jazz bands are playing in the Sculpture Garden in the middle of the Mall, and people are having picnic and sangria in the grass. Or rather: in the grass, under the trees, on the benches, and on the edges of the fountain. It is always packed with people but a very nice to start the weekend in the summer!

June 2010 016 Packed with people around the fountain

July 2010 089 I brought cheese and baguette to our picnic, and someone else brought granola bars….

July 2010 088

Back to School! (And Very Excited About It!)

Posted on by under My life

Thursday when I opened my e-mail, this message was waiting for me!

image

In a few weeks I start a new Master’s Program in Food Policy at the City University London. It is a part-time distance program that runs over two years, which will allow for me to work at the same time. The program covers areas from food safety to the political economy of food policy and food anthropology. What I learn on this program will obviously be very useful in my current work but I also hope that it will bring me one step closer to answering the question that has occupied me for the past years: how do we ensure access and availability to nutritious food for everyone while improving incomes in rural areas where the majority of the World’s poor lives, and without compromising the environment? I don’t think the program itself will give me all the answers, but I hope it will give me some new insights and ideas. And yes, I will obviously keep everyone posted! 

Not Finding the Right Words Anymore

Posted on by under My life
I am trying to do some non-work related writing but it is so difficult. The problem? I don’t have a good language to use anymore. I started to write in Swedish but the language didn’t flow well. So I switched to English, but when I read the text that I have written, it is really poor. And I used to be great at writing in Swedish. Great to the extent that my Swedish teacher thought I should be a writer or a journalist. And now it seems like it is all gone, yet I didn’t properly acquire a new language. It is extremely frustrating! Fortunately it doesn’t affect my work since I have learned the 200 or so standard international organization expressions that are used in reports and other texts to give them an academic touch. Easy toolkit for composing economic reports! Unfortunately, I can’t really apply the same vocabulary in my teen adventure novel. Though come to think of it, since Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series have sold millions, perhaps the language is not the priority for the majority of readers…