Sorry for stealing your slogan DJ :)
The past few days have been one of the most, if not the most busy days of my life. However, I gotta admit that it was mostly a pleasent "busy". I had to work hard for my Master course, study for the extra-course at CEMUS, solve organizational issues for "peddling-against-climate-change" and arrange another Discussion Group. So far all of them seem to be turning out well. Especially the latter two have received a significant boost today. What happened? I always ask this rethorical questions, right? Right? Probably. Well, for the the peddling initiative we had the issue of costs. We had to figure out how to reduce the overall cost of the undertaking, as accomodation (if not free) and extra-equipment would add a lot. Fortunately, Farzin, one of our Iranian team members got to know a manager of a bike shop who likes our idea and who's interested in giving away gear for a lower price. We'll visit him next week altogether. Besides that the couchsurf community responds extremely favourable to the idea and is more than willing to accomodate even 5 of us. We got places to stay in Motala, Jönköping, Halmstad, Helsingborg and Lund (not certain if we choose to get to Lund though). What are still in need of is a place in Strängnäs, Katrineholm and Gislaved. Especially the last might represent a problem, as it is a seriously small town. Let's see what's gonna happen. People are so kind and trusting on couchsurfing :)
Pfff... I am dead tired and need to brush teeth, but there's so much more to write about. I have made myself scarce on my blog recently, which is a pity, as I could write pages over pages over pages. I hope to find some time and will to get some more thoughts on the screen. Meanwhile I gotta keep working to keep things up!
Rock'n'Roll from Uppsala!
6.11.09
7.10.09
Cycling to Kopenhagen
So, as promised two blogs ago... something inspiring is on the way. Two weeks ago I had the random idea of organizing a bike ride to the Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December. From Uppsala this represents a distance of about 700 to 750 km and takes a week to cycle. First of all I got really excited and had visions on how to turn this into reality. The following few days I was introducing the idea to some of my class mates and a Swedish dude who's just moved into my house. The idea was generally well received, however apart from interest there wasn't much more. I had to get something more substantial together to get people commited. Hence I kept talking to people and found quite a few of them interested while having something to offer such as experience, promotional clip, newspaper articles and plain motivation. Yeah, somehow everything started to fall into place, so I thought "Let's organize a meeting", so everyone would get to know each other. The meeting happened last Monday and was extremely successful. People saw that they're not the only ones interested which made their enthusiasm ballon. Now we're about 8 people who have been divided into subgroups. No specific taks have been allocated so far, but we'll do that next Tuesday (2nd meeting) at Östgöta Nation 7:24pm. I'm extremely happy to work together with such a bunch of inspiring people. It's going to benefit all of us. We'll learn how to create something out of nothing and see that if there's a good idea, it's just the courage that is needed to get things going... everything else will fall into place (at least in Sweden :) ). If you're interested too, but haven't gotten into it yet, here are some info: http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=296886930499
and if you want to contact me personally, here you go: philipperother@gmail.com
We not only need people who want to cycle... everyone who's able to organize, do marketing or provide us with contacts is more than welcome!
Thanks for the attention,
Philippe
and if you want to contact me personally, here you go: philipperother@gmail.com
We not only need people who want to cycle... everyone who's able to organize, do marketing or provide us with contacts is more than welcome!
Thanks for the attention,
Philippe
30.9.09
Genocide
I have just read the chapter about the genocide in Rwanda in the book "The State of Africa - A History of 50 Years of Independence". Hutsi vs. Tutsi. I don't really know what to say or think, apart from "o my god". I have read about it beforehand and even watched a documentary, but the book made the context very clear including citations of participants. Here is one quote:
"A group of soldiers and Interhamive attacked the church. They made holes in the back walls and threw grenades through the holes. Everyone tried to take cover. The Interhamive then came in with their machetes and began massacring. At least one uniformed soldier continued to shoot into the church to protect the Interhamive until they were right inside the church and had begun their "work". The Interhamive included women and young boys, about eleven to fourteen, carrying spears and sharpened sticks. They used these to beat a lot of children to death.
As they macheted, the militia disucssed their work, pointing out wounded people to each other to be finished off. After a while they were arguing as to whether they should continue to machete or if they should start looting. They decided to loot before everyone was dead...
I had fallen under some dead. I couldn't move because there were so many dead bodies on top of me. The Interhamive left, thinking everyone was dead."
This powerlesness against societal forces makes me wonder, what the heck I am thinking when I say "I want to change the world... to make it more sustainable/ equal...". On the one hand it is good to be visionary, as without not much would be gained, due to a lack of goal. However, I think I need to incorporate some more humility in my perspective about the world and its dynamics. Humility, because I believe I can change things, but thinking of all those countless people that have perished throughout history to fight for equality and justice, I feel small and insignificant. Confidence is good, but overconfidence can make you blind. Trust in yourself is also good, but can lead to arrogance. So be careful young man by keeping an conscious eye on your development. It is definitively a good idea for me to go back to developing countries and face another reality. From that perspective religion provides many benefits. Humility, love and hopeful being conscious. There are many reasons for why I disagree with people that want to abolish religion. In secular Western societies it is being focused too much on the negative sides.
These were my thoughts of the day, or rather hour.
Let's be human to one another... that's how we change the world.
"A group of soldiers and Interhamive attacked the church. They made holes in the back walls and threw grenades through the holes. Everyone tried to take cover. The Interhamive then came in with their machetes and began massacring. At least one uniformed soldier continued to shoot into the church to protect the Interhamive until they were right inside the church and had begun their "work". The Interhamive included women and young boys, about eleven to fourteen, carrying spears and sharpened sticks. They used these to beat a lot of children to death.
As they macheted, the militia disucssed their work, pointing out wounded people to each other to be finished off. After a while they were arguing as to whether they should continue to machete or if they should start looting. They decided to loot before everyone was dead...
I had fallen under some dead. I couldn't move because there were so many dead bodies on top of me. The Interhamive left, thinking everyone was dead."
This powerlesness against societal forces makes me wonder, what the heck I am thinking when I say "I want to change the world... to make it more sustainable/ equal...". On the one hand it is good to be visionary, as without not much would be gained, due to a lack of goal. However, I think I need to incorporate some more humility in my perspective about the world and its dynamics. Humility, because I believe I can change things, but thinking of all those countless people that have perished throughout history to fight for equality and justice, I feel small and insignificant. Confidence is good, but overconfidence can make you blind. Trust in yourself is also good, but can lead to arrogance. So be careful young man by keeping an conscious eye on your development. It is definitively a good idea for me to go back to developing countries and face another reality. From that perspective religion provides many benefits. Humility, love and hopeful being conscious. There are many reasons for why I disagree with people that want to abolish religion. In secular Western societies it is being focused too much on the negative sides.
These were my thoughts of the day, or rather hour.
Let's be human to one another... that's how we change the world.
20.9.09
A month in Uppsala
By now I think I got used to the town and the daily habit of studying... again. Generally I have to admit that I really enjoy the environment. The people in our course are fun and mostly interested in learning and doing, which is good to start with. When I'm not studying I usually hang out with them, going to pubs, playing football and lately during an extra seminar on Friday. The latter may become a great tool in organizing activities and setting up projects. Regarding the course I'd say that I can only express high satisfaction. Although I have witnessed the most horrible lecture ever, given by an ecofeminist from the WWF, it is by large an extremely valuable experience. Currently we study environmental issues, which I felt pretty ignorant about so far. I have to admit that we're studying only the basics, which I still don't know much about. Thus I got a lot to catch up, but generally think that I do a good job.
Besides going to Uni I try to take other opportunities. I took the chance of joining an extra-course provided by CEMUS (comes pretty close to Open Eduction), which revolves around "Global Challenges and Sustainable Futures." It is every Monday for a few hours during which we get to hear someone talking and discuss the issues afterwards. Another positive feature is that Uppsala seems to be pretty popular in the academic sense, so there are many conferences happening. I have recently been to one about Tibet and another one that was concerned about Africa ("Outsourcing Land for Biofuel Production"). As you can see, I am learning, learning and learning. In the meantime I'm trying to figure out what I wanna do during my internship next year. Somehow, I do not want to limit myself to a specific occupation. There is so much to learn and do, which makes it difficult to say to become this or that. As a result I recently thought that I may try to avoid this reductionist path and try to follow a holistic perspective instead. I may encounter more difficulties, because the Wester world is basically build around reductionism, but I'm sure that I could succeed. I could imagine myself working in the media or as somehow who's got a lot of smart people around himself and simply tries to connect them through his/ her interdisciplinary knowledge. The course I am taking advocates exactly this, so perhaps I will manage to get in somewhere later by on focusing on holism.
The next few weeks will get darker and darker, but better to study I suppose. Who wants to study when the sun is shining haha. We'll have exams in the beginning of October and start taking the course "Man and Society" or something similar afterwards.
That's it. Hope I can come up with a lot of inspiring thoughts, once the course progesses and out of class activities (e.g. trips and projects) start being implemented.
Ahoi!
Besides going to Uni I try to take other opportunities. I took the chance of joining an extra-course provided by CEMUS (comes pretty close to Open Eduction), which revolves around "Global Challenges and Sustainable Futures." It is every Monday for a few hours during which we get to hear someone talking and discuss the issues afterwards. Another positive feature is that Uppsala seems to be pretty popular in the academic sense, so there are many conferences happening. I have recently been to one about Tibet and another one that was concerned about Africa ("Outsourcing Land for Biofuel Production"). As you can see, I am learning, learning and learning. In the meantime I'm trying to figure out what I wanna do during my internship next year. Somehow, I do not want to limit myself to a specific occupation. There is so much to learn and do, which makes it difficult to say to become this or that. As a result I recently thought that I may try to avoid this reductionist path and try to follow a holistic perspective instead. I may encounter more difficulties, because the Wester world is basically build around reductionism, but I'm sure that I could succeed. I could imagine myself working in the media or as somehow who's got a lot of smart people around himself and simply tries to connect them through his/ her interdisciplinary knowledge. The course I am taking advocates exactly this, so perhaps I will manage to get in somewhere later by on focusing on holism.
The next few weeks will get darker and darker, but better to study I suppose. Who wants to study when the sun is shining haha. We'll have exams in the beginning of October and start taking the course "Man and Society" or something similar afterwards.
That's it. Hope I can come up with a lot of inspiring thoughts, once the course progesses and out of class activities (e.g. trips and projects) start being implemented.
Ahoi!
29.8.09
Uppsala... hmm... I like it :)
Sooo... I guess I settled by now in Uppsala. General impression AMAZING. Swedish people are awesome, loads of smart & interesting people running around, sun is shining more than it is raining, food is good, landlords are fun and I have met someone who is just completing the course I'm gonna do and he said it is GREAT and crammed with the coolest people from all over the world. Ha! How does that sound :)
A fun topic to explain might be the nations. There are 13 nations in Uppsala, representing the different districts of Sweden. I was told that they were founded to keep an eye on the students in the 17th century. At that time studends apparently were a little more nasty than today (steeling, rioting etc.). The traditions stayed here, hence everyone at Uppsala University needs to sign up in a student nation, which automatically makes you a member of the Student Union (biggest in Sweden). You choose the nation who's activities are most similar to your hobbies. I went to Kalmar nation, which is one of the smaller ones.
Here a short description stolen from Wikipedia.
Kalmar nation, Uppsala is one of the student nations of Uppsala University. It is named for the city of Kalmar. Kalmar nation was founded in 1663 when the old Smålands nation split into two; Kalmar representing eastern Småland and the island of Öland, and Wexiö nation representing the west of Småland. Kalmar nation currently has around 1,700 members and is considered a somewhat 'alternative' nation, being the only nation to regularly provide for vegetarian and vegan diets. The nation is also known for being one of the best music nation i Uppsala, playing a bit more alternative music. Kalmar nation has during the years hosted several popular clubs, often with great live acts. Many unestablished band have played on Kalmar before they got big, e.g. one of Swedens most popular pop group, Kent.As you may assume a nation can be a lot of fun. First of all it provides opportunities to learn new things e.g. theatre groups, working in a bar, writing circles, event organizer. Moreover since a nation is something like a football club that provides members with some form of identifcation, some form of group cohesion develops that makes it easier to bond with other group members. It is an ideal environment to make friends for life. I have so far shown interest in creating a writing circle that produces a periodically appearing online journal. We still have to salt out how and what exactly to do, but the idea stands. I guess we're first gonna try to advertise our idea and get more people onboard. In the next few weeks the nation is gonna host a dinner and a gasque. I will only participate in the former, as the latter costs a little much with 28€ (drinks and food inclusive). Both are excellent ways of getting to know people. Oh, and by the way, if you've signed up for one nation you can still use the facilities and join activities of all the other nations (apart from a few).
I have also made some pictures of my current "home" that have been uploaded onto my public album at google.
Other than that, I only wish that Díana would be here, as she could add even more spice to the already hot soup :)
Greets to all big and small people!!!!!!!!
P.S.: If DJ reads that... GOOD LUCK IN EUROPE and don't wait too long to show up in Sweden ;)
A fun topic to explain might be the nations. There are 13 nations in Uppsala, representing the different districts of Sweden. I was told that they were founded to keep an eye on the students in the 17th century. At that time studends apparently were a little more nasty than today (steeling, rioting etc.). The traditions stayed here, hence everyone at Uppsala University needs to sign up in a student nation, which automatically makes you a member of the Student Union (biggest in Sweden). You choose the nation who's activities are most similar to your hobbies. I went to Kalmar nation, which is one of the smaller ones.
Here a short description stolen from Wikipedia.
Kalmar nation, Uppsala is one of the student nations of Uppsala University. It is named for the city of Kalmar. Kalmar nation was founded in 1663 when the old Smålands nation split into two; Kalmar representing eastern Småland and the island of Öland, and Wexiö nation representing the west of Småland. Kalmar nation currently has around 1,700 members and is considered a somewhat 'alternative' nation, being the only nation to regularly provide for vegetarian and vegan diets. The nation is also known for being one of the best music nation i Uppsala, playing a bit more alternative music. Kalmar nation has during the years hosted several popular clubs, often with great live acts. Many unestablished band have played on Kalmar before they got big, e.g. one of Swedens most popular pop group, Kent.As you may assume a nation can be a lot of fun. First of all it provides opportunities to learn new things e.g. theatre groups, working in a bar, writing circles, event organizer. Moreover since a nation is something like a football club that provides members with some form of identifcation, some form of group cohesion develops that makes it easier to bond with other group members. It is an ideal environment to make friends for life. I have so far shown interest in creating a writing circle that produces a periodically appearing online journal. We still have to salt out how and what exactly to do, but the idea stands. I guess we're first gonna try to advertise our idea and get more people onboard. In the next few weeks the nation is gonna host a dinner and a gasque. I will only participate in the former, as the latter costs a little much with 28€ (drinks and food inclusive). Both are excellent ways of getting to know people. Oh, and by the way, if you've signed up for one nation you can still use the facilities and join activities of all the other nations (apart from a few).
I have also made some pictures of my current "home" that have been uploaded onto my public album at google.
Other than that, I only wish that Díana would be here, as she could add even more spice to the already hot soup :)
Greets to all big and small people!!!!!!!!
P.S.: If DJ reads that... GOOD LUCK IN EUROPE and don't wait too long to show up in Sweden ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
