Inspiring: ViErLike

It is always good to hear that we are doing something right. AND after merely replying to an email, we have ensured another contribution to Nkosi's Haven. I guess that is one of the advantages of being a small foundation, not having too much bureaucracy...

For inspiration's sake, I just had to post a link to Trine Lise's blog here: http://trinelise88.blogspot.com/2008/11/gaver-med-mening.html

Each One ~Reach one...

My new fave wine:)

Just had to post what will be this season's red wine for me... Last year it was Stormy Cape that kept me warm through the winter, but unfortunately they no longer have it in store (I can order it, but I prefer shopping wine on impulse).

So until now, I've been trying different red wines to find a new one to call "my own", and I have finally found it! Kumala Shiraz was tested out on Saturday, with great success. The taste has a little edge to it, which I find really refreshing. The label is nice and unique, and I love that it is purple!

To top it all, the price is just right, so I guess this is the bottle I'll be bringing home for Christmas.

Too bad I am going away in January, so that I can't enjoy it throughout winter. On the other hand, I'll be in SA then, and have ample opportunity to enjoy both that, and other bottles of wine.

On My Way

At long long last the tickets have been booked. A Monday late in January, just before the sun shows its face again in Tromsø, I'll be on my way to South Africa. I've been checking prices regularly for the last few months, and NOW it's suddenly about 3000 Nok cheaper than last time I looked. I can't claim it was cunning speculation that made me wait so long to buy them, however. I simply haven't been able to afford them until now!

So the date has been set, and I'll be on my way unless something goes awry with the visa. Nkosi's Haven and 5 months of volunteering awaits. At least that's the plan for now. I can't wait to participate actively in the project my friends and I raised money for last Christmas. We encouraged friends and family to give a more meaningful gift, and our web page is still up and running. ViErLike earned 130.000 Nok last year. Hopefully we'll be able to raise some money this year too:)

Otherwise I am excited to see what will happen with NorthWest University, just outside Jo'Burg. I've wanted for a long time to study in SA, and this is a possibility. There are a few problems, however. One is financing. Norwegian PhD-students earn a decent salary for their work. The rest of the world are not necessarily as generous. At present, the financial aspect of the PhD is not resolved. I am meant to start repaying my student loan after Christmas, and I am also too much of a luxury animal to lead an ascetic life style. The other problem is timing. The academic year in SA runs from February to November. The initial plan is to be at Nkosi's Haven until late June. If these two problems of mine remain unsolved, then perhaps it simply wasn't meant to be. There are other Unis out there, AND other courses to take.

Right now I am just grateful for having the tickets ready. There's an article to finish, two translations to complete, books to place into shelves, some moving to be done, two years of life to be placed into boxes, suitcases to be packed, vaccinations to be had, Christmas gifts to get ready, mental preparations to be done, snow to clear, kisses to be shared, people to see, places to go, food to eat, wine bottles to be shared, things to be had... So much living, and all before I leave. And then... Who knows what awaits me?

The Book of Not by Tsitsi Dangarembga

I am currently pleasure reading the sequel to Nervous Conditions. Although not as accessible as the first book, I am starting to get into this later work, and curious to see if Dangarembga manages to eventually entice me as much as Nervous Conditions did.

Here's a little excerpt that really caught my fancy, and which puts many of my own opinions into words:

Stepping into the library was as exciting as stepping into a winnow basket, the first transport choice of local magical people, as others board a flying saucer or a magic carpet. Away, away you whisked in that place, into the pictures of other people's imaginations, the pages of other people's histories. And how warming it was to be not here but somewhere else, over there, between this and that, where you could become anything at all and where anything, including good things, could happen! [...] ...book in hand, but not really there, somewhere else. It was a small ecstasy of being.