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.

Sister Winter on her way

The first snow came yesterday, and with it came the realization of just how fast these last few months have passed by. In a month my financing runs out, and I need to have finished my article. Tick tack...

Despite being stressed about all the things I am doing and all the things I should be doing (working out, cleaning my room, packing my things, arranging my visa...), I feel quite happy, and all that is due to my wonderful friends and house mates. As long as I have plans during the weekends, it feels ok to sit at Uni 24/7 the rest of the week.

And today I even got good news. A response from an SA uni about my PhD dreams. There is hope. Time will tell what God decides for my future. But wow, the landscape sure is expanding. It is too much to think of, and I can hardly believe it. Just need to remind myself not to get ahead of myself here... Focus on the here and now. Finish the article at hand.

Autumn in Tromsø

Kitten, the boss of the household

Elin, and our dear friend Amarula on an average Friday afternoon. Mys!

Autumn (morning) sky over the Campus

Autumn (morning) sky over Tromsø

View from my house

Love the colour!!

The spirit of autumn

The London I

Russell Square, the area in which I lived this time around. I love how London has all these parks in the middle of everything else.

Trees are awesome!

The bar in Russell Square. I want this fireplace for the library in my future home:)

Super stars of African literature. Nigerian author Chinua Achebe and critic Simon Gikandi. Major MAJOR rock stars of African literature indeed!! AND I shook Achebe's hand!!

The SOAS campus in London on a beautiful autumn day. I could live with having my lunch in surroundings like that...

All Work and No Play

After a weekend in London with perhaps more pleasure than business, I return home to the ever-increasing mountain of responsibility that is my life these days. The London trip was SUPPOSED to be a business trip, with a side dish of pleasure, but the call of that city always gets the better of me, and I let myself be tempted again and again. However, even if my few days of fun has set me back a little in terms of my other responsibilities, I do not regret it.

So. Today has been my first day of proper work since I got back. In addition to the article I am writing for the CPS, I have a few other things piling up (or perhaps it is the article that is in fact piling up..?).

• I was offered a translation job from Norwegian to English, a curriculum for an MA program in child and adolescent mental health. However, I only have 30 days to finish it, and I find I am having a lot of trouble doing it, seeing as they use numerous terms which I am not familiar with... I am starting to wonder if I am biting off more than I can chew.
  
• My former professor has asked me to do an introduction in one of his courses on one of the novels I wrote my MA thesis on. Naturally I want to do it, but it means a little extra work, and yet a distraction from my article.
  
• My former professor FURTHER has hinted in no uncertain terms that it be a good idea if I also use the time I have for my article to write a PhD proposal... Only problem is, I do not know what I would have liked to do a PhD on... So that would have to be figured out BEFORE I could WRITE the actual thing, which means even more reading...
  
• I have to apply for my SA visa. Which means having to call the embassy, and then organize numerous papers... *sigh*
  
• I have my volunteer obligations, which I fear will be what will have to suffer now that I am engaged in so many other things.
• I have my job in the Bookshop which I also have to go to at least once a week.
  
• To top it all, I have to get a new phone and sim-card since I lost mine in London.
  
• Oh, and of course the fact that I am blogging heavily, both here and at the myspace...
  

*continues to chew, with the help of a little wine*