Deutsch drumming

Have taken up German again. Did a distance learning course at Dalarna University (in Sweden) last spring and really liked it, so after a bit of a break I will now continue with stage 2. I had my first online seminar this morning - isn't it amazing what you can do with modern technology?! Yes, it still amuses me that I can sit at home, the teacher is in the north of Sweden and we are then divided into groups and my partners then are in the south of Sweden and in Budapest, respectively.

I always find with languages that once you get passed the beginner stage it gets really frustrating. When a language is new and fresh, every word or grammatical rule you learn makes a difference. But now all the grammar does (and studying German means doing A LOT of grammar!) is confusing me! If I say something I must first think of the words, then the word order, conjugations etc etc. Conversation doesn't exactly flow, to put it mildly. I probably make less mistakes than I did as a beginner, but then it didn't matter; I felt that just trying to speak gave me points. Urgh, frustrating, but I will get there one day!

Pics from Belgium, last spring, where I went for a wedding. Naïve me thought I would get to practise my German. No no, those bits where we went were all about Flemish..! Or French. Schade. Buy hey, we got to see a kite contest at this awesome beach!

//Sanna

"A kite rises against the wind rather than with it"

Unknown

Horseback Happiness

It was proven to me again today: my life is not complete without horses in it. The whole time I was in London I only managed to ride thrice and there was a constant nagging in the back of my mind that something was missing. That feeling stopped today.

Have spent the morning with two of my favourite girls:

Bella:

Finally:

Needless to say, these photos were not taken today..! Snow and ice is our melody now.

Home, quick cowboy shower and then half ran half slided my way down town for the very first "semla" of the season. GOOD DAY!


Semla:

                                                                                             (Pic from: greklandnu.blogspot.com)


//Sanna

"The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears"

Arabian proverb

Brighton Brunch

Finally ticked Brighton of my bucket list, with a flying visit the other day. Flying and flying, we went by train and we stayed overnight. We = me and a friend from Sweden.

It was a bit chilly, but still believe it was a good idea to go in December; instead of battling with the crouds we had the whole beach to ourselves:

And plenty of space on the pier, so we could admire the sea:

As you can see, we even had sunshine.

The best part of the trip could possibly have been the pancake tower we had for breakfast, yum! Really cheered me up after a slightly tense night of sleep, the bed (or maybe the whole room) was sloping, so I get waking up bracing myself against rolling out of bed!

//Sanna

Strolling in the city

When I have the time, I prefer walking to places in London. Having a poor sense of directions has taught me that if I walk everywhere even I will learn to find my way around eventually. So when I had to meet a friend at Borough Market ("had to"? Sounds like it was a hassle. It was not, it was very agreeable) I walked from Victoria Station, which took just under an hour. With a coffee in hand (trying to stay warm!) I got to do some automatic sightseeing on the way as I passed Westminster, and Southwark; a new part of town for me. I found it fascinating (areas that have been run down but are now subject to major regeneration projects) so had to read a bit about it (hello wiki!). It was previously a marshy area and one of the oldest parts of London which experienced depopulation during the late 18th/early19th centuries. It seems to have had a colourful history; Shakespeare has worked here, but it was not only an entertainment district, but also a red light one, and it has been the home of several prisons. (no wonder we passed a prison museum on our way to Tate Modern) Because it was outside of "the City" it was not subject to the same trade regulations and was "a haven for criminals and free trader" (wiki again).

Walking on, across the Millennium Bridge (freeezing) and after a long coffee break, we stumbled across the Royal Court of Justice. Doesn't it look like a something out of a fairytale in the the December darkness?!

And so she finally made it to London

I think my last post was about the Olympics, i.e. ages ago! I was so gutted I didn't get any tickets for the games, but at least I have made it to London now. On the 9th of October I started on a 2-month internship with the Riding Club London. Not bad huh, combining the love of horses with living in London?!

Living my life nomad style at the moment (this post for example, is written at a café in Wimbledon.) I have moved between different hostels and friends' sofas since I came here, and I'm getting increasingly skilled at planning my journeys to make them as smooth as possible considering the fact that I'm lugging a massive lime green 24 kilo suitcase around. Seeing the word "lift" at a tube station instantly makes me warm to the place.

To make life even less stable and organised, the company doesn't have an office; instead we are all working "from home". A tad ironic when you're homeless ;)

This is what my office looked like last week: 

Not a bad space, huh? It normally thinks of itself as a dinner table.

//Sanna

HeLLo OlyMpiCs - GooD Bye WoRLd..!

Yes, I love the Olympics. Even in times of strife and struggle, nations from all over still come together for the love of sport. Simply amazing. Politics are put aside for a fortnight or so but are still very much present. But presidents, kings, queens and dictators are assigned to the spectator stands while the athletes get the chance to write history. Both sporting history (Living legends such as Bolt and Phelps are almost expected to deliver), and wider perspective history too (The London Olympics are the first games to include female athletes from every nation represented!). I could go on, but I will not.

My personal highlights will be:

• Gymnastics - My favourite sport because it is so tough and gymnasts really push the limits for what you can make your body do. Keeping my fingers crossed for Italy's Carlotta Ferlito and Sweden's Jonna Adlerteg. (http://jonnaadlerteg.blogg.se/)
• Equestrian - World no.1 show jumper Rolf-Göran Bengtsson carried the Swedish flag at yesterday's opening ceremony. It takes to two to tango (or to conquer the massive SJ course), but if horse Casall la Silla picks up his legs and stays focused, Sweden has medal opportunity here.
• Athletics - always a fav. Usain Bolt, need I say more?
• Men's football finals - really, really want to see Brasil and Spain in a ball battle!
• The opportunity to watch bits and bobs of random sports that I never hear about (like BMX cycling!)

So when not at work you'll find me glued to the TV (or computer screen, or both at once)

Ciao!

Summer points

Earning some summer points here:


# Listening to "Sommar i P1". An annual radio programme (think they said this was the 53rd year they ran it!) Basically all sorts of more or less well-known persons who get 1.5h to talk about whatever they want and play whatever music they like. It's one a day from mid-June to mid-August. Have heard so many good ones; today I'm listening to Anja Pärson, the skier, but I've heard everything from CEOs to actors to prisoners!


# Making new car CDs with music for summertime driving. It's not unlikely that I'll have to drive down to Falsterbo Horse Show by myself, which requires good music!


# About to head out in the sun (OMG OMG OMG, it's not raining!) with a good book


Off to find some Hawaiian Tropical now!