Namaste!!

So, I´m back home after an AMAZING month in India....don´t even know how or where to start. As I wrote earlier, the whole India trip happened because of me joining CISV. It was the best experience I lived so far..I learned sooo much about my self..met amazing people and even made friends for life.




I left on the 27th of December 2008 and arrived the day after. When arriving in Delhi, we (the kids and I) where supposed to be picked up by CISV members from Delhi, but this wasn´t the case. Instead, there where 2 men, one of them could hardly speak any English. We were really worried and concern, specially me..travelling with 3 eleve- year olds..but luckely we met another delegation there. The Norwegian delegation were also going to the same place, so we both joined and tried to ask the men for directions and after a loooonng while, we manage to understand that we had to take a taxi to get to the domestic airport. It took forever to get a taxi and when we did, it was an adventure. The We had 3 taxis..one for us, one for the Norwegian delegation and one for the luggage..the luggage was of course distributed between all the taxis. It was supposed to be only 2 km to the domestic airport, but it took us 2 and a half hours to get there!! We were left in the wrong place, the luggage somehow dissapeared..and etc...but finally we found it.

Once inside, we were denied the entrance, because they only allowed passengers whose flight was due withing 2 hours..ours was not due until 6 hours!We begged to get in because the kids were tired, hungry and needed the rest room....so, finally, we managed to get inside. What happened there was even worse..once we were to do the security check, the man checkin our passports refused to let my kids travell with me, although I had all the permissions and papers in order...he wanted money!!I got really angry, but scared at the same time. There was this man standing between me and the kids, holding a gun, telling me that he was not going to let them go with me. I got so pissed that I started to yell and draw attention to myself..which in the end turned out to be a good thing. His superior saw me and approached us, told the man something in hindi, and we were on our way..

When we arrived in Lucknow, we were greeted like movie stars...there was a lot of people taking pictures, there was music and we had to walk on a red carpet...my kids didn´t understod what was going on..me neither. Eventually they explained that this was the way they were going to greet all the CISVers coming to Lucknow. The kids were sent off with their host families and I got sent to the camp. This is where the real adventure began...

It would take forever to write down all the things we did at camp, so I´m just going to mention some of them..
The first week was spent getting to know each other, all the kids, the staff, JC and the leaders...it went ok, but soon we saw that some kids were being left out, so we immediately tried to solve it by engaging the kids in more activities during their free time..and it actually worked quite well. The kids btw were so sweet, inteligent and great!!I miss them all so so so very much..I never thought I could get so attached to 42 kids from 12 different countries...in the pic below, there are only some of them..couldn´t find a pic with all of them...but don´t worry, I´ll probably write more about this trip =) Btw, we only had 3 JC, the nicest we could ever ask for!!There were from Brazil, Germany and Canada...I got along really well with 2 of them...=)




As for the leaders..there were some that I felt really connected to from the very beginning..the leaders from Finland, France, India, USA, Denmark, Japan and Norway were the ones I spent most time with. However, there were 2 that became my best friends there..two very amazing, loving and absolutely great people..Kiti and Eric, from Finland and France. These guys became my best friends..I miss them, I love them..and I really hope to meet them again soon...





I experienced a lot of things there, as I mentioned before...but for now, this is all...I´ll write more about this amazing CISV experience later...the pics that I put last are from the entire leaders group, then pics with my best friends there..=)

Stay tune for more...

L'obscurité est ici..

Salut tout le monde!
In case there is anybody reading this, that is.
I´d forgotten about this blogg..I´ll try to keep it more updated though.

I have way too many unimportant things to talk about, but I´ll leave it for another time. For now, I´ll just give my review of the Coldplay concert I went to in Stockholm on September 18.

The opening band for Coldplay was Albert Hammond Jr. When he started to play there was hardly anybody in Globen! (where they played). The few people there didn´t even knew who he was I think, because they just stood there like freaking candles, emotionless. Mr Hammnond tried to get the crowd going, but nothing. They played a few songs from their new album and some of their old stuff. When they got off stage, Globen was still not filled with people...



When Coldplay came on stage, people started to arrive! And so it began..and I have to say I expected more..

The concert was good, but in my opinion it wasn´t nearly as good as the last one they played in Stockholm in 2005. The reason for me not liking it is because they played loads of songs from the new album, wich I´m sorry, but I have to say it´s not good. I only like about 3 songs in it, so I wasn´t happy about them playing so many songs from the new album. Most of the songs were from the A Rush of Blood to the Head and X&Y. I really wished they would have played more from Parachutes, but they didn´t.

Anyway..I can´t say much about it because it wasn´t as memorable as their other concert, but they´re still worth seeing live..

Here are some pics of the concert...I´m off to bed now.

an update

Still don´t know who´s reading this, but I thought of making an update of my life...

To start with, my mum is now on chemotherapy because of her breastcancer..although the doctors were able to remove the cancer, the tumor was bigger than they had thought, which means that mum is in a riskzone of getting the cancer back. Because of this, the doctors recommended her to do the chemotherapy. She has done now 2 sessions of 4, so we´re halfway through..it´s been tough, but she´s really brave and taking things ok..she hasn´t been feeling too bad which also makes me happy. She will be finish with the chemotherapy at the end of june and after that she´ll start with the radiotherapy. However, despite of all of this, I´m just glad to know that this is to prevent the cancer from comming back and we´ve all learned to make the best out of the situation. I really admire my mum..I wish I could be as strong as she is..=)

On another subject, I turned 26 on April 14..yes, I´m older..wiser?..I hope..but older anyway. My darling friends are taking me on a spa day at the end of the month..I had way too many stuff to do last month and this, so it will have to wait til the end of the month. I also got lot of lovely things..I love my friends! Anyway..I don´t feel like an adult..I wonder when that will happen?hmm...

Yesterday my big brother turned 30 and had a party..it was fun..lots of food and drink! I haven´t got the pics of the party here, but I´ll upload some whenever I get a chance..

Right now I should be preparing myself for Tuesday..yes I know it´s not Tuesday yet, but I´m finally presenting my thesis then!! After that I can finally breath and be free!!(for a while anyway). Oh, and I finish this work this week too..the Spanish courses are over now! One of the courses ended last week and I thought it would be nice to take my students out to eat at a Spanish restaurant..(the restaurant has a chinese owner though)..anyway, the only waiter that spoke Spanish at the place is this really creepy man..(he looks about 45-50) and he kept flirting and asking me this weird questions. When he found out that I spoke Spanish, his first question was if I was married or had children..hm..=s. I said I´m too young for either one..=p..Anyway, he was annoying, kept bothering us during dinner and was very rude to my students because they didn´t understand everything when he spoke to them. I strongly felt how he disgusted me. The thing is that the students of the other courses also wants to go there this week, which means I´ll bee seeing him twice this week!!=(

Anyway, this was a little bit of what I´ve done lately..I´ll try to keep this blogg updated..like I said..don´t know who reads it but it feels good to keep it as a diary.

Sov sött!

Thesis almost done...

Back to English..just in case someone out there is bored and want something to read.
Updates on my mum cancer situation. After surgery, the doctors were able to remove the whole thing without taking much of her breast..=D She had a month to recover at home and now she´s back at work, but taking things really slowly. Not an easy thing to do because she works with kids..age 0-3 years old.

I spent yesterday and today finishing the last changes for my thesis and I´m finally done! I just hope it get approved now so that I can present it and get it done with! I´m also almost done with my last teacher trainee,so that will be something less to do. I´ll miss the kids though..I´ve had them as my students since I started the teacher programe. I´ll see them occasionally though, ´cause I work evenings at the same building.

Oh, I have something to tell. I´m off to Mexico and Guatemala for the summer!!I bought my tickets the other day and now it´s decided..=D I can´t wait!!Mum, my brother and his girlfriend are also comming along, only they come a month later..but still..=)

Then later in December I´m off to India! CISV has approved me as a leader and now it´s decided..I´m off to India!! We still miss one boy to our camp, so apparently I´ll be on the local paper..my boss wants to do an article on CISV and try to make some pr to find a boy so that the group can be complete. I need to study a bit on India..I don´t know much, but I´m really excited!!

I won´t be leaving any pictures today, but I´ll upload some later. I cut my hair a month ago and so far I´m happy..I miss having long hair from time to time though..

Well, nothing more to add so I´ll head off to bed.

God natt på er alla!!

Mucho por contar..

..y así se paso este tiempo. Todo vuelve a lo "normal" con la uni y el trabajo. De hecho hoy empiezo a trabajar y ahorita se supone que deberia estar corrigiendo mi tesina pero realmente no tengo muchos animos. Ya tenia muy descuidado este blog, pero la verdad no tenia tampoco muchas ganas de escribir. Pero bueno...empezaré por contar que porfin vino mi novio y que fue un tiempo muyyyy bonito! Se regreso a México el viernes y ya lo extraño muchisimo..despues de tantos años juntos, pensaria que ya deberia de estar acostumbrada pero no. Me hace mucha falta =( En su estancia aqui nos dimos unas cuantas escapaditas para visitar lugares, pero la mayor parte del tiempo la pasamos en casa, lo cual tampoco fue nada malo. Me encanto tenerlo aqui!!!Ahora solo espero poder llegar para verano. Me hace muchisisisima falta!!! Para todos aquellos que si puedan tener a su pareja cerca, no los descuiden!!

Ahora..a las noticias que han sido la razón de mi ausencia en este blog. Antes de navidad mi mama encontró un bultito en su seno. Nos asusto mucho a todos y la forzamos a ir al doctor. Los resultados que se habian obtenido no eran suficientes y le tuvieron que hacer otros examenes. Hace dos semanas nos dieron la noticia. Tiene cancer en el seno y la tienen que operar. La operan mañana mismo, y realmente espero que puedan quitarle todo el tumor...mañana ire con ella al hospital y quiero quedarme a dormir alli tambien. Solo permiten que un familiar se quede en el hospital con ella, asi que no se se si me quedo yo o mi hermano mayor. Tengo mucho miedo...mi mama siempre ha sido una mujer muy sana. No bebe, no fuma, come bien, se cuida..todo..y aún asi..cancer. El doctor nos dijo que realmente no se sabe del todo pq sale esto, pero si que una de cada 10 mujeres esta en riesgo de tener cancer.
El hecho que mi novio haya estado aqui cuando recibimos la noticia ayudo mucho..fue un apoyo muy grande..no solo para mi sino para la familia entera. Se que no fue facil para el, pues su familia tambien esta pasando por una crisis con la enfermedad de su hermano. La enfermedad de su hermano y de mi mama es algo que aún no puedo creer..aveces se siente tan irreal...estoy muy agradecida con mis amigos aqui quienes me han estado apoyando todo este tiempo...enserio, nunca he tenido mucha suerte con los amigos, pero esta vez creo que me saque la loteria. Los quiero muchisimo a todos!

Aparte de esto, ya volvi a la uni..tengo clases diario, lo cual hizo que este semestre no pueda trabajar tanto..y necesito dinero..=( Como espero que mi mama salga bien de la operación, espero que ella también pueda viajar con nosotros (mi hermano chico, su novia y yo) a México para este verano. Si guarda el reposo que le pidieron, se cuida y la radioterapia sale bien, están seguros de que el cancer desaparecera...pero estara bajo estricta vigilancia almenos por los siguientes 10 años.

Bueno..creo que debo seguir con mi tesina....la tutora, quien por cierto nunca pense que me fuera a caer taaaaannn mal!! Enserio...no hay palabras para describirla..pero bueno..la tutora quiere la tesina para mañana, asi que mejor sigo escribiendo.

Luego escribo sobre la operación y de cosas más divertida..de momento me siento demasiado pesimista.
Solo dejaré una foto que me da un poco de alegria.

En dag mindre tills du är här...

Esta semana me la he pasado contando los dias para las vacaciones. No solo podre "descanzar" (no lo hare, tengo que seguir con la tesina..) pero tambien podre volver a ver mi special one..jeje..=) Mi novio viene por fin el 27 de este mes, y como entenderan, estoy muy feliz con su llegada!!

Pero bueno..un update de lo que ha pasado desde la ultima vez que escribi. El miércoles de la semana pasada fui a un gig en la uni, al parecer una vez al mes, mi uni suele tener un gig night, en donde grupos bastante desconocidos llegan a tocar..la entrada es sumamente barata y la bebida tambien. El evento es llamado "Din Mamma" (Tu madre) y estuvo buenisimo!

Tocaron dos grupos, Esthersister y La Fleur Fatale. Ambos tocaron muy bien y hacian todo lo posible para que el publico se divertiere. Sin embargo, me senti mal por Esthersister..primero, pq les toco abrir la noche, y segundo pq llego muy poco ganta..y por ultimo pq todos no estaban lo suficientemente borrachos para ponerse a bailar/cantar/ aplaudir. (Se debe mencionar que los suecos sin alcohol son extramente callados y timidos..y todo lo contrario una vez el alcohol empieza a afectarlos)..asi que por mas que Markus, el leadsinger, saltaba o gritaba nadie reaccionaba más que con una sonrisa. Sin embargo, recibieron los aplausos muy merecidos al final. Cuando era la hora de La Fleur Fatale de tocar, ya habia hecho efecto el alcohol y se sentia ambiente de concierto.

Pude tomarles algunas fotos con mi celular, pero salieron bastante malas. En las fotos de Fleur Fatale, parece que el leadsinger esta maquillado, pero no..simplemente es la luz.

Recomiendo mucho que chequen a ambas bandas..(digo, por si alguien lee esto).
Este es el myspace de los grupos:
http://www.myspace.com/esthersister, http://www.myspace.com/lafleurfataletheband
Aqui fotos del concierto:

Esthersister




La Fleur Fatale





Tambien se me habia olvidado subir las fotos del dia que habia mucha neblina..asi que asi se veia mas o menos ese dia..(es la torre de la catedral de la ciudad)



Como ya no tengo nada más que contar por el momento me voy..me esta dando sueño y debo despertarme mañana temprano...

Sov sött!

Tänd ett ljus och låt den brinna...

Este domingo fui al primer mercado navideño del mes...aunque tecnicamente fui a dos. El sabado fui con unos amigos a un castillo en las afueras de la ciudad. Segun nos dijeron, este mercado es uno de los mas bonitos de la región pq venden cosas afuera y dentro del castillo. Aprendimos una lección: nunca creas en lo que te digan.

No se si se debia al tiempo o que, pero ese fue el peor mercado en el que he estado!!Primero tuvimos que pagar 60 kr(6 euros) por entrar, aunque no ibamos a entrar al castillo. Hacia un frioooo!!Unos dias antes habia nevado, pero como el frio no duro, se empezo a derretir la nieve. Aparte de eso, para el colmo ese dia llovia muchisimo!! Ya que el castillo se encuentra en las afueras, todo era bosque y lodo. El aparcamiento estaba mas o menos lejos del castillo, lo cual no me hubiera molestado en otra ocación, pero tomando en cuenta que llovia y que estaba cubierto de lodo y hacia mucho viento, ese camino se nos hizo muy largo.

El mercado era en total dos personas que tenian un puesto con gorros, bufandas, etc(pobres)justamente afuera del castillo. Adentro, habian puestos que realmente no ofrecian muchas cosas...aburridisimo!!! Lo que más nos molesto, fue que aunque pagamos poco, nisiquiera nos invitaron a una galleta o algo para beber!! Normalmente los mercados navideños son gratis..pero bueno..ahora ya se que para el proximo año no ire alli.

Para el domingo decidimos darle chance al mercado que hicieron justamente en la "Ciudad vieja de Linköping"...esta parte es como un museo al aire libre que se encuentra frende de donde vivo. Este mercado si fue gratis, como debe ser y fue mucho mas divertido. Habian un buen de cosas que queria comprar, pero puedo regresar los otros domingos. El mercado navideño se hace en Suecia cada domingo de diciembre..eso es pq se celebra algo llamado "Advent"..y se encienden 4 velas..una por cada domingo, hasta que cae navidad...es un adorno que tambien nunca falta en ningun hogar.

Así que en ese mercado lo unico que compre esta vez fue una salchicha grande de venado, (I know, me voy a comer a Bambi) que compre para cuando venga mi novio. Las veces que ha venido nunca ha comido reno o venado, cosa tipica de aqui..y como suele ser carisimo, pues con una salchicha basta..ja!

Cuando fuimos a este mercado nos acompaño un amigo que es fotografo, y fue el quien saco estas fotos...





Otra cosa...casi se me olvidaba. Mi pc murio..=( Ya no tuvo remedio..y no habia manera de arreglarla..asi que gracias a mi hermano mayor, pude comprar una laptop!!=D La he tenido solo una semana, pero es mucho mejor. Tengo más espacio tambien ahora que quite la mesa de la compu...=) Tengo que vender esa mesa y tambien la mesa de mi "sala". Me regalaron una nueva, asi que tengo que ver quien quiere comprar mi viejita...que esta bonita..es un modelo viejo de ikea que ya no se hace..ja, pero bueno, haber quien la compra.

Bueno...ahora es hora de que yo siga trabajando con mi tesina..ahhhrr!!!Solo estoy estresada por eso!!=( Lo bueno es que ya no tengo clases y me puedo concentrar solo en esto..ademas que la semana que viene es la ultima semana que trabajo!!=D