Miss Kolka

Previously on this blog... | 23 mars 2009

"And you can bike to work in the rain wearing your suit"

This picture is for the sceptical ones.

It is heaven to work in Copenhagen, at least according to the website "Copenhagen capacity". OF COURSE, but hey, who would be dumb enough to mention the gang violence the city is fighting against or recents shootings in Norrebro if they were trying promote the city outside their country? Not me.

What is great on this website is that they talk alot about the perfect balance and show pictures of children all the time. So Im guessing they are talking about the perfect balance between work and family life. Which is handy because that's exactly what we are looking for (and I wont say no to a friendlier environment for small children). Not only that, but they show men at work with babies in their arms in the official video! Somehow I doubt that fathers take their 3 months old to work but its sweet. In our heads, Pan and I have big expectations towards this move - but I have to realise that things are perhaps not going to be so rosy and great from day 1. First of all we need to find a nice appartement in a friendly neighborhood, get a place for Felix in a "Voggustue" and a job for little miss Kolka. That might be the tricky part. But there is no going back, we have both given our resignations at work (well mine was not so much as a resignation as an agreement to leave) so now we can only look forward. Its scary but exciting. And To prepare I am reading up on the Danish royal family (As George Clooney would say "What else?").

Copenhagen, the city where the people are allegedly the happiest, here we come.

Publié par Kolka à 11:15:45 dans Miss Kolka | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens

The big city kills | 18 mars 2009

...the good spirit. I guess it is the same in other big, cosmopolitan cities such as New York, London or Rome. However I doubt that in other parts of the world (Delhi, Bejing or Rio) you would see similar things since the culture is so different.

You could almost be killed on a big parisian street after having criticised bad soup, beaten by the crazy guy from the restaurant that followed you without anyone intervening. (I know this for a fact!) Nobody cares or people are just simply too numb to notice others in trouble.

People can even cry in the metro after someone spits in their face without anyone stopping to check if they're ok.

So today - just a few kilometers from Paris, in ST Cyr to be exact I was left alone with little Mr. F when Pan had to leave to get another train. You can imagine my surprise when the security agent asked if he could help me to carry the stroller up all 215 steps to the platform (how can they make so unpracticle train stations??)I thought I had gotten my share luck for the day but far from it. A few minutes later when the train arrived a young gentleman took my stroller up into the train, without even asking, like it was the most normal thing to do. Never since felix's birth two months ago, has anyone even offered to help me in or out of the bus. Ever. Not once and my, do I take the bus often. Another man asked me if he could help when we stopped two stops later. But I was going further and so said no thank you politely. However when I got to my stop, bad luck noone. Thankfully Im strong. no problem, I can get out of a train. Then I looked at the exit. 500 steps down to the street! 500, I kid you not! Hundreds of people around me, going in and out (it was rush hour). I looked around. and again. Then I finally took the stroller by one hand, in my arms and went down the stairs carefully. not one persone, not ONE proposed to help.

Well, I was back in Paris city. Sometimes you just got to love the suburbs.

Publié par Kolka à 21:02:04 dans Miss Kolka | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens

The big training day | 10 mars 2009

Oh ...I was looking so much forward to it -it had been such a long time since we had met and the point of the trip was more exciting than ever. Instead it became a total bommer journey from A to Z.

I took my old friend betty bike to go to the swimming pool and realised that it needed some pump - pump it up - treatment before we could go anywhere. Not surprising you might say since the bike had not been ridden since june last year. When I arrived to the gas station however, instead of pumping air INTO the wheels I managed to take the little that was left out and could in no way figure out how to get air back in. I had done this a million times before but no. There was no having it - and since I had about an hour left to try to find a solution - go to the swimming pool and back - without mentioning all the swimming that was supposed to take place -I gave up and went back home. Just as well since I discoverd a major cramp in my leg after 5 MINUTES of bicycling. 5 freaking minutes. What happened to me?

That question was answered as soon as I entered the door and saw the two boys there laughing together. That's right, Im no Angelina Jolie - I dont look a million 2 months after giving birth and yes, I admit it, its tough to get back into shape. (and I haven't even entered the swimming pool!) AND she had twins, so anyone who says she just works out is just plain lying.

Publié par Kolka à 21:04:01 dans Miss baby blabla | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens

"Best of" | 05 mars 2009

Funny how when you have less time you find the time to do more things. Its probably because of greater organisational skills that are delivered to you at the maternity ward by the mystery elf of parenthood.

I also feel that many of the things I do are more meaningful now then before. Like investing in friendship and taking care of someone else than myself. I have energy to (at least think about) doing a Paris guide for Pan and I from all the restaurants business cards I have collected during my 4 years here. And its about time, before I forget about them and all the wonderful things to do here,and before we leave the city of love... (and go the city of happiness -aha to be continued...) So I seem to be gathering back my thoughts of wanting to do things after a few months of hibernation. Its another matter if I WILL actually do them but the mind will carry you a long way.

However you also have to allow yourself some meaningless times, like watching TV (although you can actually learn alot). What is great in this day and age is that you can really tailorsuite your programs and watch what you want when you want. It doesn't mean you watch less crap necessarily but at least you chose your crappy program yourself. And being such an organised person, I've started to watch "best-of"s of certain programs to win time. Then I ditch the blabla and only see the highlights (That's why I like The Grand journal's Zapping of the last 24 hours on Canal+. anything worth noticing on french TV will appear there). I've gone down to watch the "best of" of the Grand Journal itself, mainly to avoid ackward moments of translation with international superstars that are always talked to in french (ridiculous) and to spear me the lectures of the old guy who thinks he is so political and smart and ends up saying the same thing again and again.

So (finally Im getting to the point - I might be more organised but wow it still takes me a long time to finish a story!) the other day Canal+ "best of" of the weekend included the French Oscars "Les Cesars". There were a few non french guest celebrities in the crowd, Sean Penn, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. During one of the acceptance speeches, a french actress had a "little" wardrobe malfunction and when I say a little - I mean her breast was completely out of her dress and thats all the hundreds of people could focus on while the poor woman made her speech. (and probably the thousands watching at home) People were laughing and feeling akward but noone even gave her the slightest hint anything was wrong - until Emma Thompson - being such a perfect lady - ran up on the stage, turned the woman around, pulled up her dress and went back to her seat again. This image has stuck with me.

And maybe its because of my hormone-filled body (wonder how long I will be able to use that excuse?), or because I dont sleep 10 hours a night but Emma's consideration really moved me. Then I realise why. If it would not have been for her, the poor woman would have been there until the end of her speech humiliated without even realising it until so much later- and I have to say that the total non-reaction to help her does reflect how I see the french society as a whole. What happened to this great country that once cared so much about human rights and equality? Where women are now seen as less as men, children are in the way, where group efforts and even individual iniciative are rare and where your pay check is all that matters? My vision might seem unfair - but this is not a world I want my son to grow up in. And that's why we have decided to leave... perhaps so we can appreciated France and all the wonderful things it does have to offer - but this time from a distance.

Publié par Kolka à 11:58:49 dans Miss Kolka | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens

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