Filosofiska övningar med Gabriella

Like a wind

2012-02-01T00:18:00.002+01:00

Conversation with Erik at work.

Erik: I think I will help out at OOO for a while (censured because my job is so top secret).
Gabbis: Do that, you are to no use in the Support anyhow.
Erik: Ehm. Im the best, you however, not so great.
Gabbis: Pfff! I am the fastes at answering the emails! Im like a wind! SCHWOSH!
Erik: More like a adwerse wind.

Best friends

Gabbis tolkar Shakira

2012-01-25T01:07:00.003+01:00

Nu är det dags för poesistund med inhyrda allmänna vänsterkulturkvinnan Liv. I premiäravsnittet tolkar hon den fantastiska texten "Hips dont lie" av Shakira.

The Internet story

2012-01-17T20:13:00.000+01:00

I have recently moved to a new appartment which means that I have been without Internet for over a week.
I have spent the extra time wisely, reading, cleaning, cooking, learning important things that a (Ehm, who am I kidding, I been going insane - my only safe place has been at work during lunch - when I have stared at facebook without even blinking for 60 minutes straight).

Today; I had enough. I went to my landlord and asked what had happened? They excused themselves and gave me a code so that I could unlock it. Excited over the idea that the internet was just a few digits away I went home with quick steps. Did the code work? No
I went back. They told me that I needed at disc. They did not have the disc. I had to wait until tomorrow so the disc-guy could show up. BUT! There was another solution. I could go to the internetprovider and ask them to change the internet to WIFI. Then I could use the internet today - soon - like in a few hours - without any disc. Without having to wait until tomorrow!

So I went. I walked to the closest store, about 20 minutes away. But you know what, since it was a Tuesday at 15.15 the store was closed. Yes, that is Malta for you. So I went to the next store, another 15 minutes away. It did not exist!

But you should never give up! So, I decided to take a bus ride to the third store. That took another 45 minutes. And there it was. A internet store - and it was open! So I walked in, overfilled with the thought that later today, I could be spending my day off from work - watching Jersey Shore.

- No, you cannot get a wireless router unless you bring the old modem with you! the very unfriendly cashier said. BUT! You can go to the other Internet Store that is 15 minutes away and buy one for 50 euros, instead of coming back tomorrow and annoying me and getting one for free.

And look, now I have Internet. Not because I paid 15 minutes or the disc guy appeared from no where, and not even because the bitch-cashier felt sorry for me and gave me one anyhow. It is because Im a fucking loser who went to work on my day of so I could get my daily fix of THE INTERNET!

I need help.

Paying a compliment

2012-01-02T21:21:00.002+01:00

Today at work, Im wearing this awesome sweater that my grandma made for me while I was away in Hong Kong.

Me: Erik, what do you think of my sweater?
Erik: It looks like the kind of sweater my grandma would wear.
Me: Hm, I think I will take that as a compliment.
Erik: Eh... no, but I mean, you look like a grown-up.
Me: Adult like in 70 years old? 80? 90? How old is your grandma exactly?
Erik: Actually she is dead.

So, this sweater apparently makes me look like a dead old woman. And that ladies and gentlemen, is why you should never fish for a compliment!

On my way back to Malta

2011-12-28T02:04:00.001+01:00

Im at arlanda airport waiting for my flight that leaves early tomorrow morning. All-in-all, this trip will take 25 hours, 7 of those I will spend in Hamburg waiting for my transit flight. Earlier tonight I called my sister Rebecka to say goodbye and also while away some hours.

Rebecka: Oh I hate waiting. What will you do in Hamburg for 7 hours?
Me: I dont know, I downloaded some movies, but it is so hard to understand how long 7 hours are before you actually sit around and wait.
Rebecka: Yes, it is like when I was a kid. I really wanted to see this tv-show, but it started after 2 hours. So I asked dad how long two hours were. He said it was quite long, but not superlong. So I decided to sit and stare at a clock until the show started. Two hours felt like forever!
Me: You were the strangest kid! It is like the time when you saw some teasers for r another tv show and you sat up and waited and waited until you fell asleep!
Rebecka: Oh yes, that was the time I learned the diffrence between "coming soon" and "coming up next".

BINGO with consequences

2011-12-25T01:28:00.002+01:00

A tradition in Sweden the day before Christmas Eve is to play Bingo. Almost everyone who is "middle class" eats a ham sandwich (special christmas ham), dreams about winning the big cash and watch this awful tv show with swedish boy bands covering christmas carols as a entertainment between the Bingo games. In Sweden we call it "Uppesittarkväll" which is translated into "stay up all night, watch crappy TV and then complain about the fact that you never win, promise yourself that next year, we will not watch this shit or play this game ever again - but then next year, ofcourse you find yourself sitting there again".

Anyhow. The Christmas edition of Bingo is a bit different, which means that on each row, you can win different things if you get Bingo. For example, you can win 25000 swedish kronor (2500 euros), a dream vacation or a new smart phone.

This year I found myself experiencing the "Uppesittarkväll"-fenomena once again, with the difference that this time, I won. I got BINGO! But I did not win a new car, I did not even win 100 kronor (10 euros). Instead, I won two schratching lottery ticktes.

Me: What?! This is the first time I got bingo ever, and I dont even get 100 kronor. I will just get two lottery tickets and the chance that I will win money on those is even smaller than the chance I had to get bingo!
Mom: What, no! This is perfect! We will go and collect the lottery tickets on monday - and we will become millionairs!
Me: You know, that when I was young, you told me that if you win a lot of money on lottery tickets, you had to go to see a shrink!

This little girl was afraid of spiders, ghosts and winning money.

Mom: I did not!
Me: Yes you did, and for several years when someone gave me a lottery ticket, I was afraid that I had to go to therapy. You know that 25 kronor (2,50 euro) was a lot for a kid! I was afraid that I would go insane!
Mom: Well if it makes you feel better, I can get the tickets, keep the money and you can just go insane. I think you need some help anyhow.

Whatever does she mean?!

Nu vet man att man är hemma

2011-12-23T00:27:00.001+01:00

Jag har lämnat Malta bakom mig för att som den julfascist jag är, fira en klassisk svensk vit underbar hysterisk jul hemma i Dalarna. Idag anlände jag till Falun efter att ha färdats i 24 (!) timmar. Min låtsaspappa Per hämtade upp mig hos mina kusiner och öppnade upp bakluckan för att jag skall kunna slänga in min väska.

Per: Oj, här låg det ju ett däck.
Jag: Den måste ha däckat här.
Per: Ja men det är ju för att det är (h)jul!

Jocke VS Albin

2011-12-16T15:50:00.000+01:00

This is the story about a love triangle, well it is not the real story, just the ending.

Sorry you guys, this is a private joke, but if you dont mind, you can watch it anyhow to see the revival of music videos. Not that this is the new cool place to check out awesome videos or anything, but at least Im showing one music video this year...that is more than you can say about MTV.

A walk to remember

2011-11-27T23:39:00.001+01:00

Im out walking with Erik.

- Gabbis, you are like an anchor.
- I keep your feet on the ground and balance you in your life?
- No you drag me down with you.

Whatever does he mean?

Found it!

2011-11-08T01:13:00.002+01:00

When you move to a new country, there is a lot of bureaucratic and practical things that you need to fix. Like finding a place to live, getting a bank account, get a maltese ID. Since I didnt even know where Malta was located when I on a whims accepted the job I got here, I had even less knowledge on how to get all of those things.

But I was lucky. A guy called Erik who started the job at the same time as I did, had already lived here for 6 months and he taught me every thing I needed to know. Even though he is a nice guy, to be humble about this has not been his greatest strenght. According to him, he is wiser, smarter, a faster drinker and apparently BETTER AT CREATING MENTAL PICTURES (prff) than I am.

But the other day, he found out that you needed a national insurance number before friday - otherwise they would deducte your salary. I was calm, because I already got it a loooong time ago. The unthinkable then happened, Erik asked me to guide him to this place so he would not get lost.

Apparently, he doesnt read my blog and have not read this post, or this one and ESPECIALLY not this one. And I was not about to tell him, because tomorrow, THE STUDENT BECOMES THE MASTER.

Gabbis - the Maltese Guide

If I dont get lost that is, because when I went there, I took the bus, then I walked in circles for two hours and accidently found it after sitting on a bench, almost giving up.

Subtle messages

2011-10-14T00:47:00.000+02:00

Today I found a white board at work with a picture of all the french people working there. I decided to not give up hope on my french love - and sent him a message...

Why you should never talk while being drunk.

2011-10-12T20:10:00.001+02:00

Do you guys remember the french guy that Im stalking at work? The other day I learned his name - still have not learned any french though - but at least I can look at his profile pictures at facebook. Yesterday, some of my coworkers and I celebrated Swedens win and went out.

There I met some french guys and we soon realized that they work for the same company as me. After a while, the subjects of conversation started to run out, so I decided to tell them of my eternal love. Yes, I used that term "eternal love". I continued on describing how I had stalked him on facebook - that he is the BEST LOOKING GUY IN THE WORLD and that I would marry him in heartbeat. I also described our future together, with nights in the south of france - drinking wine and enjoying classical music etc etc. I seriously held a 15 minute monologue about "how awesome this guy is" - please remember that we only have said hello to eachother.

This morning, I realized what I had done - but figured that they probably would not remember this conversation since they were a bit drunk as well. I came to work, went in to the kitchen - and there he was - my eternal love. But instead of saying Hello - he looked petrifiyed and ran out of there as soon as he could.

So I guess I have to find another french love to adore - and probably keep quite about.

Varning! En ordvits!

2011-10-09T00:11:00.004+02:00

Jag sitter på jobbet och beklagar mig för min arbetskamrat Anton över att alla röster jag hör när jag har öroninflammation låter som robotar.

Anton: När jag var liten opererade jag bort halsmandlarna, då hade jag en jättepipig röst.
Jag: Va, på riktigt, hur pipig då?
Anton: Pipig.
Jag: (Försöker göra en pipig disneymus-röst) Heeej det är Anton.
Anton: Ännu mer pipigt!
Jag: Hur är det ens möjligt? Var det alltså mer: Hej jag är DiskAnt-ton?

Lite irrelevant, men det fick mig att tänka på det här:

Ordinary (and very boring) blog update

2011-10-09T00:05:00.001+02:00

Hola los gentos!

Sorry for the bad update, but my life is a bit crazy right now. I dont think I´ve slept since 1997 (actually, I took a nap about 5 hours ago, but this day has really felt quite retro). The last couple of days Dajana and I hanged out (until she sadly had to leave), Ive been working, eating fish, being a turist, drinking some random afternoon beers, got a promotion, and also; got rehired by my old job. So right now, my schedule is a bit hectic with a hysterical schedule:
05:30 Wake up.
06.10 Actually wakes up.
07.00 Start work
15.30 Finish work
15.30 - 16.00 Walk
16:00- 18:00 Free time aka buy food, cook food, eat food,watch Jersey Shore.
18:00 - 23.30 Work for my other job.
23.30 Brush teeth
00:30 Fall asleep while watching an episode of the Smurfs.

So basically, I do everything besides sleeping. This morning when my alarm went of I could not understand what the alarm wanted me to do. After snoozing for half an hour - I figured out it was a sect and that I should keep my eyes closed. 10 minutes before I was supposed to go work - I figured out that Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (my alarm clock song) probably didnt want me to go all crazy religious, just wake up.

But on monday, I finally have my first day off in like 10 days. I promise to re-appear here then. For now, here is at least proof that Im alive!

Nam nam nam

Gabi as a Maltese Guide

2011-09-28T22:46:00.001+02:00

Guess what! One of my most awesome, smart and funny friends is here visiting me! Dajana arrived last night and this is what I have showed her so far.

Occationally being lost

The house of our Lord

The historical sites

A book club.

I so wish that I had come up with this joke

2011-09-27T14:31:00.002+02:00

The Cure?

2011-09-26T02:20:00.000+02:00

You might wonder why I am at wake at this hour. There are many reasons why I shouldnt be. For one, it is 2 o´clock at night. Another is the fact that I start working tomorrow at 7 and my alarm is set on 5.30. Also a good reason to be asleep right now is that I only slept 2 hours last night and are absolutly beat! Yes, all of those reasons are valid, but Im not asleep because I have a fucking acute ear infection!

And I have no pain killers at home.

So I googled ear infection HELP ME LORD and found this website that said that you should put an onion in your ear. First I could only find a leek, but there was a fitting problem there.

So now, Im awake. With a garlic in my ear!

(Jag ser lite lökig ut)

Update 03:04 Now I have the tast of garlic in my mouth. Namnamnam.
Update 09:00 Just to clarify, the garlic taste in my mouth came through my ear, I didnt eat it afterwards! Also, I have been at work now for 2 hours and still no one has said anything about the garlic smell from my ear. But at the same time, no one wants to sit next to me...
Update 12:28 Now Im high on Latvian drugs at work. WIIIIHII!

Enjoy?

2011-09-22T19:44:00.001+02:00

At work, we never have our lunch at the same times, which means that you often sit by yourself while you eat your food. I don't mind, I often read a book or think about what I should blog about. Anyhow, people often come into the lunch room to get coffee or whatever. Many of them have a tendency to look at you a bit awkward and then proclaim: ENJOY!

Enjoying life

This confuses me so much. What are you supposed to say to that? "Yes I'm enjoying the food", "No I'm not enjoying this food", " You can also enjoy". It doesn't make any sense!

After thinking about this a whole lot longer than should be appropriate I today decided that "Thank you" is the best, but also the most boring, answer. So about 30 minutes ago, when I was in the lunch room, I was prepared.

Stranger: ENJOY!
Gabi: Thank yo...

And at this point I see how a half-eaten macarone comes out of my mouth and catapult itselfs through the entire room and lands on the strangers back.

Next time Im just going to nod, because I dont think that experience was enjoyable to anyone.

Romantic sunsets

2011-09-20T17:34:00.004+02:00

The god Lord knows that Im not a romantic person at all. My body kind of chrinches when I hear about long walks on the beach, candle light dinners and writting love letters. I cant deal with the couples who just have to declare their eternal love for eachother all_the_time in the cheesiest ways possible.

Maybe that is why my romantic sunset experiences has not been that traditional. For one, it was not with the looooove of my life, it was with a 19-year old that I always call PP (and when we told people what Pierres nick name was, the seriously told him where the bath room was at). And also, the watching of the sunsets didnt go like planned. Both them were in Cambodia, and the other day I got reminded of this little memory and decided to write to Pierre about it:

Gabbis remenice:
A memory that came to mind:

Once upon a time BB and PP were in Phnom Phen and read in the guide book about this really romantic place next to the riverside. They went there just before the sunset, very very happy, looking forward to some beautiful scenary. The ended up next to the city dump, in like the poorest neighbourhood in Cambodia. At least they didnt get robbed.

And they live happily ever after. The end.

Pierre answers: A memory that came to my mind:We are seating on a temple in Siem Reap (the temple of death) and I really want to take a shit. No paper, nothing! Nothing but my guidebook about south east Asia... If you're planning to have a lesbian trip to East Timor Gabbi, just buy another guide!!

I can see now why Pierre said that the only song that could describe or relation was Bad Romance.

Malta ABC

2011-09-19T20:43:00.001+02:00

Todays letter is N like in NOT A PLACE FOR A SHOPAHOLIC (or for any kind of shopping really).

Malta is an interesting country, but if someone say that you should go here and do some shopping. Dont. These are the reasons why.

It is impossible to find where the shops are located. Ok, there are two city centers (Valetta and Sliema) where you can find between 3-5 shops located at the same place. The other stores are located at strange places - upon mountains, down in valleys, behind strange corners, probably in caves. And they are as far from eachother that they virtually can be on a small island like Malta.
They are never open. Some of them open maybe at 8, but the close again for siesta maybe around 1 if you are lucky. If you are not lucky, the close at 10, or whatever time the shop owner feels like it. And then they open again, like in whenever. But not after 7 in the night, and forget to go shopping at sundays. It is a freaking mircule actually that anyone can buy any kind of food in Malta, because the shops and even the food stores are always closed at normal hours.
IF you find a shop, and IF they are open, they dont have what you want. On saturday, I had a desperate hung over-craving for pizza. I walked around for almost an hour before I found a pizzeria that was open. I went inside and the following scenario took place:
- Hi, I would like to see the pizza menu please.
- No, we dont have pizza.
- What? But you are a pizzeria right?
- Yes.
- But you dont have pizza?
- No.
- Why dont you have any pizza?
- Why you come here at 2 o´clock in the afternoon on a saturday and think that we have pizza?
- Eh, because you know, you are a pizza place?!
- No. We already said we have no pizza. I can give you meat pie instead. Very good.
- No thank you.

So yes, Malta I like you, but WTF, please give me pizza, not some strange meat pie!

If Malta was a TV-show...

2011-09-15T14:14:00.004+02:00

An anecdote from Gabbis life

2011-09-14T22:52:00.005+02:00

The other day I was listening to a radio show and they were talking about waking up in strange places. That made me associate to the one time I woke up on a bus, which is not the strangest place, but the circumstances around it was a bit.. ehm.. different, if we say it like that.

Last fall was a crazy time for me. I had three different jobs, wrote my bachelor thesis and was the president of the european studies program student union, active in every kind of sub-organisation of the student union etc. On top of that I tried to manage to keep my social life alive. Anyhow.

This particular day, I had worked the morning shift (6-9), spent some time at the library, probably had some meetings, before I was going to make an appearance at a masquerade. Me and two of my best mates decided to do a concept out-fit. A very good concept. We even got a little prize.

Around 2 oclock at night, after eating some cheese burgers (yes, this is a very important part of the story), I decided to make my way home. I decided to wait for the bus for 20 minutes instead of taking the tram that left earlier, just to avoid walking. Ofcourse, because I had gone up at 4.30 in the morning I fell asleep on the bus. The tragic is that I wasnt even that drunk. And all of a sudden, a concerned voice woke me up. I was at the end station, and now I had to walk home, which took me longer than if I would have took the tram.

At least I wasnt afraid that anyone would molest me (except maybe the USA), because this is what I looked like that night:

So yes, I can understand why the bus driver, looked a bit nervous when he woke me up.

Hablo espanol?

2011-09-14T17:14:00.006+02:00

A long lost dream of mine is to some day learn spanish (for some reason, I dont think that Donde esta Jose and Jose esta aqui will be enough when I move to latin america). So every now and then I decide that Im going to take an online course or buy a spanish learning book or whatever. My latest thing has been to listen to a spanish teacher recordings on my phone. Ever since I came to Malta, I been listening to this on the way to work, learning to say tengo hambre (and not tengo hombre).

The other day on the way from work, a car with an elderly couple stopped.

Man: Hola. Hablas espanol?
Gabbis: Ehm... solo un poco.
Man: Donde esta San Julian?
Gabbis: Ehm... ehm "ponting to him to go back on an other road".. calle alli, ala derecha... roundabout... circulo... el coche... grande autostrada...thinking of when the hell am I supposed to use tengo hambre
Man: Si?
Gabbis: Y autostrada... WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! *making airplane movements with hands to describe that you would go really fast on the high way*
So yes, maybe I should change that learning tape because I dont think that that description brought them to the right place. I have just simply spread the curse of being Lost in Malta.

Me, 4 years ago, lost in Barcelona.

Livets betapet

2011-09-13T16:32:00.004+02:00

Sorry my english speaking readers, this one is only understandable in Swedish.

Jag har haft många perioder i mitt liv där jag varit beroende av betapet. Sen jag kommit till Malta har detta återigen skett, eftersom det är den största underhållningen på jobbet när saker är långsamma. Därmed har betapet återigen blivit en referens i mitt lilla liv.

Chatt med Malin (eller som Malin sa häromdagen att man borde försvenska chatt och kalla det för snack - vi ses på snacken).

Malin: nej det är i sig en sanning

jag måste jobba på att gå upp i td

td?!

VAR ÄR MINA VOKALER?!
Gabbis: Du kanske tror att vi spelar betapet och inte blir tilldelad några vokaler? Så kan det vara ibland. Med vokalerna alltså.

Malin: Vadå, livets betapet?
Gabbis: Haha. Ja! Vad gör du om livet ger dig konstonanter?
Malin: Då flyttar jag till Finland.

Gabbis: Hahahahaha! och om man bara får vokaler får man flytta till Kina!

Im back from that mountain

2011-09-13T16:21:00.002+02:00

To be honest, I have had the computer back for a while now, but so many things have been going on in Malta (like work, work, a little bit of alcohol, work, work, being lost etc. You get the picture). But after some complaining from my dearest friends I will start blogging again.

We start where we left off. I got the computer back after a week. During that week I went out for walks, read a lot, wrote a bit on my new project (since Im not a big blogger that needs to keep anything secret, my new project is a chick-lit) and went to sleep much earlier than usual.

So you can say that that week wasnt boring.

IT WAS WORSE! IT FREAKING SUCKED!

But now Im back, I watched all the jersey shore episodes I missed, even started to watch an even worse TV show called Jerseylicious. Yes.

And do you guys want to know the funny thing about that week from hell. There was no problems with my charger, there is just a radial clerance with my adapter.

The Swedish girl who went up a mountain and never came back

2011-08-29T20:23:00.003+02:00

Just before the rooster called out the start of a new day, I woke up and got ready for this monday mornings mission: to find a computer store in Malta. You see, Malta does not have a city center, their shops are just placed randomly, I imagine it is because they need something to do here.
"Lets go and find a shop" - mystery. Anyhow, prepered with a bottle of water and my computer, I set off.

Now you might wonder if I had any idea of where I was supposed to go. Well as always in Malta, I had looked at a map on the job computer, tried to remember where it was at, repressed all memories I had about how I was always lost and then started walking trying to find this little mountain store. It did not go too bad, after walking uphill for 45 minutes, I decided to stand on a stone, and there I was. But it is not enough to know where it is at, the biggest problem in Malta is to figure out how you are supposed to walk there. Nemas problemas, I thought, I will pretend that Im a car. I crossed a round-about as fast as a ferrari and saw a little sign "Klikk computer store" - go to the left. Happy about my success as a car, I started walking to the left.

But as always when I think I have figured out how the map system works in Malta, I was lost again. Soon I was surrounded by half-naked maltese men saying hello. Soon enough, however, I found a women in a worse state than me. Her car was broken down, and she was sitting underneath a palm three, relaxing, waiting for someone to come and fix her car.

- Excuse me, do you know how I can find Klikk computer store?
The women looked at me, with a smile that made me realize that she was feeling more sorry about my situation, than her own. After half giggling for like 2 minutes, she answered.
- Yes, well you kind of have to walk there dont you. So try to go up there, because the store is alongside the main road, and that´s not where you are right now.
I followed her advice, strangely enough, but it was the only one advice I had. After another 10 minutes, I was as close to the main road as I could be, if there wouldnt be a fucking fence between us.

But all of a sudden, Karma went on a break, and I found a hole, sneaked through it like I was rambo. But no, nowhere was the store to be seen. Since I walked around now for nearly 90 minutes and I had to go to my job, I decided it was time to go back, and just hope that the computer store would be on my way.

And guess what, IT WAS!

I went in, talked with this maltese IT-guy (yes he looked like you would expect him to look like if you work with computers anywhere at anytime) and after trying this and that, he stated with a clear voice.
- I believe that your problem is that your charger doesnt work.
Afraid that he would be offeneded, I did not mention that this was what I said when I came in to the store 15 minutes earlier.

He went to get me a new charger, and for some minutes there I was in heaven. Until we all realized that he could not accept my foreign credit card. Oh the joy.
So I just gave up, realized that I had to go to work now anyhow. And left. And talking about left, on the way back, I saw that if I had just walked right, instead of following the left sign, I would have saved 30 minutes of being lost.

You would think that this was the end of Gabbis looking for a computer store in the maltese mountains. But no. On the way back, I got lost. Ofcourse. I had no more water, I was about to start work and even though I was on top of a mountain where I could see the whole of Malta, I could not even locate where I lived, even less I could figure out where the fuck I worked.

After running around, screaming in a high pitch voice "WHERE IS THE SKATE PARK, WHERE IS THE SKATE PARK!" I finally found it. I ran, in 35 degrees celsius down the mountain, and somehow I found my job. 20 minutes late.

So now everyone, especially my boss, thinks Im a person without any job morals. Which is not true.

Im just a person without any sence of geography. And also a person without a computer.

THE END.

FML

2011-08-27T00:38:00.002+02:00

WHY?! WHY KARMA?!

My computer is dying. It has exactly 14 minutes left because it has decided that it wont charge anymore. Can someone please tell me how to find a computer store in Malta? Do they exist? And if you know about a place, please send me a letter, since I will not be able to read any comments. Or be on facebook. Or watch jersey shore.

Goodbye.

The teenage years

2011-08-26T22:37:00.002+02:00

Malin and I were once again talking about embarassing things and obviously we started talking about our teenage years and what we wrote in our diaries. I recollect specifically one submission.

When I was younger, I used to hang out with my cousins quite alot. Often, their cousins (which Im not related to, VERY IMPORTANT POINT TO THIS STORY) was with us as well.
The summer I turned 13 I was madly in love with my cousins cousin ( ONCE AGAIN; WE WERE NOT RELATED, THIS IS NOT AN INCEST STORY!) which we can call Erik.

From the diary (well sort of, since I dont have it with me in Malta, but this is how I remember it):
" We were going out for a swim, but I didnt have any swim wear. I borrowed someone elses, and I have to say, my boobs looked great in them! They were very big! As we came to the beach, my youngest cousin asked Erik if he wanted to be my boyfriend. He took a glance at my breasts and said "Yes". I dont know why, but I chickened out and screamed to his face: I WAS JUST JOKING! You know, before he could say that to me!"
Sadly, after this summer, we started a new school, and he became one of the cool ones, and I was obviously the geek and outcast.He ignnored the fact that he even knew me and my little teenage heart was forever broken. I didnt speak with him, he didnt look at my boobies UNTIL! I met him in a pub a couple of years ago.

He came up to me, with quite a flirty smile on his face and said:
- Hey, didnt you used to be my girlfriend when we were younger?
I stared at him, this now probably nice boy that had treated my teenage self so bad! I answered:
- No, that was just a joke.

And that, my friends, is what we call TEENAGE REVENGE! Booya! (also, we call it close-to-incest-experience).
The boy in this picture has nothing to do with this story, but this is taken when I was 17 years old.

What if - day 6

2011-08-26T17:59:00.003+02:00

Day 6 : what If you could be another person for a day, who would you be?

There are always things that you wished that you had and people who has it, like money ( do I want to be Bill Gates), beauty (or Heidi Klum), Fame (maybe Brad Pitt), knowledge ( like Steven Hawking) or awesome humor ( like Eddie Izzard). But no, I dont want to be anyone of them. I think Im pretty awesome, so I wouldnt like to be anyone else because of any of those factors. I would however like some power. No, I dont want to be Obama, but I would like to be Kim Jong Il.

It is not because I like to look at things that much (http://kimjongillookingatthings.tumblr.com/) but would it not be awesome to be him, give up his power and freaking liberalize this country once and for all?

No, I dont believe in all the glory of capitalism, but I most definitly believe in that more than the horrors of autocracy. Yes, there are obviously a group of horrible dictators that are just as bad. But at least, this also combines one of my oldest dreams of going to North Korea.

So it is like a win/win situation for everyone, except maybe for Kim Jong - Il...

Picture challenge - day 6

2011-08-26T13:19:00.003+02:00

Day 06 - a picture of a hard time in your life you overcame

On a regular friday in HK, Annika and I was supposed to go to Macao with some friends. When the alarm bell rang, we realized that we, because of the previous night in LKF maybe enjoyed the free alcohol a bit too much, could not move an inch. Instead, we decided to sleep in for a bit and meet up with them later on. We did somehow manage to get to Macao, but we got lost. And spent 2 hours on a bus. And then 1 more hour looking for a map, until we ended up at the same place we started from. After maybe 4 really hung over hours, we found our friends and then Christer took us to a pizza place. The first part of the day was a really hard time in my life, but I overcame it with a little help from one of my best friends - cheese.

Annika and I, in Macao. Also, I would like to wish her happy birthday! So happy birthday Annika!

What if - day 5

2011-08-25T17:35:00.002+02:00

Day 5 : what If you could ask God any one question, what would it be?

Actually, I dont think I would ask anything, because if I was given the chance to ask God anything, that would mean that he exists. So I would already know that. Also, I wouldnt like to know any of the answers to the "big questions", or what would happen in the future or how I would die. I think that the most amazing thing about being alive is that you can N E V E R know what´s going to happen. If I knew that, then my life probably would be a bit more boring (and obviously predictable) and I would not learn or experience what I need to learn and experience. Even though I would like to ask "Donde esta José?", the thrill of finding him would be lost.

But at the same time, it would be bad to waste such an opportunity. So I would probably ask if Elvis andTupac was still alive, and had like a secret society, where they planned different actions to "half reveal" themselves.

Scenario:
Elvis: Today, Im going to call into a radio show and say that Im Elvis!
Tupac: Ha! That is nothing! Im going to realese yet another single, that "someone" just found!
Big Foot: Oh, you guys are amateurs! I will go out for a walk in the forest and see if someone can take a blury picture of me.

Oh lord, I hope he answers yes!

Picture challenge - day 5

2011-08-25T00:48:00.005+02:00

My blog pause is over, so lets get started again!

Day 05 - a picture of a time in your life that you miss.

I have lived for quite a long time now which means that I have lived in many cities, meeting many awesome friends. I do miss my friends at Beyond (Newcastle) and I do miss the student life in Gothenburg, and I do laugh when I remember that summer that I spent with my some of my closest friends in Falun. Even though I love all those memories, if someone came up to me and said that I could do one period of my life all over again, I would without a doubt in my mind say Hong Kong.

Right in the beginning...

Ofcourse people have asked me what HK was like, and it is always hard to explain. First of all, HK is an amazing city which has it all! The shopping, the night life, the sea, the nature, the free alcohol. But the one thing I miss the most, is the people. When you go on exchange, you are thrown together with people that are so different, but you biuld the strongest friendships in the shortest amount of time. I think that the sadest thing is that I can always go back to Gothenburg, Newcastle or Falun and most of my friends would be there or nearby, but The Hong Kong life will never be again.

Conversation with Malin

2011-08-24T16:25:00.003+02:00

For you english speaking readers, you might not know that a regular feature on this blog is conversations with my best friend Malin (haha sorry Malin, since I cant use facebook at work, this was the only picture I could find on google). We usally talk about animals, but sometimes we talk about "the big questions". That happened the other day.

Malin: Ever since we talked yesterday, I cant stop thinking about what happens after you die! How you can just disappear from the face of the earth!
Gabbis: When I took a class in creative writing, my teacher read this short novel about a russian worker and how he dies and then, the last time someone says his name, and then the last time someone reads his name. After about a 100 year or so, there was no trace of this human ever being alive!
Malin: You live and you die, and then you have a burial place for a while, until someone else needs your spot, because you have been dead for too long, and they just died!
Gabbis: I read that Simon Cowell would freeze himself after he is dead!
Malin: Why?
Gabbis: Yes that is what I was thinking too? Im a dualist, and I dont think that your soul just hang around in your body in like forever! And anyhow, most people die from age, how can they fix that in the future? With a face lift?
Malin: And does people in the future really want Simon Cowell to be alive again?
Gabbis: It is not like our civilization hasnt got enough people on the earth! Will they have them like a back up-population. "Oh no, the swin flue hit us again, half of the earths population is dead, we better unfreeze Simon Cowell".
Malin: Also, where are they going to store all these bodies? Are they going to shot them out into space?
Gabbis: Is that Orion? No it´s just Simon Cowells dead body floating around!
Malin: Looking at the stars will have a entirely different meaning!

(As compensation for that picture, I googled myself and found this, hope we are even)

What if - day 4

2011-08-20T22:47:00.001+02:00

Day 4 : what If one song were to describe your life, what song would it be?

No words are necessary.

Picture challenge - day 4

2011-08-20T22:22:00.004+02:00

Day 04 - a picture you’re tagged in on facebook that you aren’t actually in.

Actually the whole student party committe that I was in back in Gothenburg is tagged in this picture, and I this could so easily be one of us. (Yes, ofcourse the lowest odds on actually recreating this picture would be on me).

The french loooove

2011-08-20T15:33:00.004+02:00

We have many different nations represented at my work, but everybody sits in seperate areas (the swedes are in one, the french are in another and so on). The only time you actually meet someone who is not swedish is when you are in the lunch room. I have checked out this guy from the french team, and for some reason e is always in the lunch room when Im there. (OBVIOUSLY because he wants to be close to me, not that we are on the same lunch schedule or anything like that).

I have tried this Hello-onliner that is obviously the "thing" in Malta. I dont know if I pronounce it right or if Im just have not mastered the tone, but this pick up line is without success! Dont get me wrong, he says hello back, but the conversation stops there. I thought that he might not be interested in my wonderful companionship, until I realised that the most believable scenario is that he doesnt speak english, only french! (OBVIOUSLY, why would he not like my wonderful companionship?).

And that is a problem, the only thing I know in french, thanks to DeliPierre, is

"Montrer ma bit pour la popcorn" = OBS! Grandma, dont read the translation:
Show me your cock and you will get popcorn.

So to get to know this guy better I have two options:
- Learn some more french.
- Or say the things I know.

I think that the last option is the most obtainable one, so my plan is, next time I see him, I will use this line, trying to look like I dont know what it means.

Scenario:

Gabbis: Hello!
hot french guy: Hello!
Gabbis: Montrer ma bit pour la popcorn? (Point at the coffee cup, pretend that Im asking him if he wants coffee)
hot french guy: Que?
Gabbis: Montrer ma bit pour la popcorn? (Asking him how his day was)

I think this plan is safe as fuck! Save the date people, save the date!

Picture challenge - day 3

2011-08-19T21:49:00.004+02:00

Day 03 - a picture of you being absolutely ridiculous

Are you kidding me? There is so many of them! But this is certainly one that is in the top. I was on a costume party and Im dressed as... can you guess? No neither could anyone else. People just thought I showed up with a normal dress... and really bad make up. My dearest of friends Sofi thought I had used the wrong concealer, and she was embarassed for my account the entire night until just when we were supposed to leave, and I explained to her that I was supposed to be:

The woman from the James Bond movie Goldfinger, who died from been given the gold treatment. But hm, in hien sight, I would claim that I look more like a rich oompa loompa. What do you guys think?

What if - day 3

2011-08-19T21:10:00.002+02:00

Day 3 : What If the whole world were listening, what would you say?

I would like to think that I would make a joke, like:

Why didnt the the skeleton go to the party?
- Because he had nobody to go with

But actually, I think I would be very political. I just finished reading a self biograph about the war in Bosnia (In swedish: Sista kulan sparar jag åt grannen). The book describes how this woman see her friends and neighbours get torn into pieces by war and literally by bombs and former friends becoming enemies just because they have a different national identity. Brothers fighting on differents sides, because they have different fathers and young people becoming soldiers, to kill or to be killed. The thing that made the most impact on me however, was at the very end of the book, when she describes her and her sons first night in Sweden.

"The first night in Sweden, my two sons went out for a walk, to enjoy their newfound freedom. Suddenly a gang passes them on motorcycles, after a few minutes, the turn around, come back, and beat them up. I think that Sweden is a very open and liberal place, but as the rest of the world, there are ideas that some people from some nations are better than others. How long will it take for the world to understand, that nationality doesnt make you stand above anyone, we are all the same, flesh and blood - and should be judged as a person, not as a nationality"

So simple, but yet so hard. So I would stress the importance of equality. There is no "quality" difference between people, and there is no difference between men and women. We are just one humanity.

What if - day 2

2011-08-18T23:23:00.003+02:00

Day 2 : what If you had only 24 hours to live, what would you do?

Hm, first I thought I would answer that I would do everything in life that I enjoy the most, but then I relized, that it might not be suitable to do that. Like sleeping in, not really a good idea when time is precious. So, first of all, I would not sleep at all. Im seing myself, sitting in my room back in Falun, watching the sunrise, writting funny letters to everyone I love. I would have the biggest breakfast ever (especially plenty of swedish cheese sandwiches) with some of my closest friends gathered. After that I would go for a walk with my mum and talk about nothing and everything. Then I would rent a motorbike, cruize around for a bit and then come home and play some piano and eat some more cheese sandwiches.

I imagine the rest of the day being like a great wedding party. I would gather all my friends and family, wear an awesome white dress and then let everyone know how much I love them, by making cheesy speaches. I would get a bit drunk, not because I love it SO SO much, but because, I think that is how I would cope with the fact that I was about to die. And I would sing kareoke, and dance.

And then, two minutes before I die, I would write my last facebook status update:

Why did the mushroom go to the party?
- Because he was a funguy.

The End.

Picture challenge - day 2

2011-08-18T01:18:00.004+02:00

Day 02 - a picture of you most recently taken

This picture if from this sinister night when I managed to turn of the electricity in my entire house. I think this picture reflects quite well how I felt: frustrated, in disbelief and in search for somewhere to hide. I think my comparison that night about me being Saddam Hussein of Maltese electricity was really on point, because can you see the resemblence in our facial expressions?

Embarassments

2011-08-17T18:21:00.004+02:00

My friend Malin and I were talking the other day about things that all of a sudden creeps into your head. Those things are often embarassing memories, situations or feelings that you thought that you had forgot all about, but from nowhere rises to the surface, like a deadly shark attack! Your body always shiver with uncomfort and a sense of that you need to escape this situation FAST follows, but the problem is that it can sometimes be problamatic to get away from your own train of thoughts.

I often deal with these situations by banging my head really hard with my fist, saying loud and clear "NO GABBIS!". My strategy is simply to teach my brain that if it ever tries to recreat embarassing moments, it will be punished!
Malin on the other hand, deal with this in a more peaceful way, by singing LA LA LAAAAA! Which, unfortunaly, can create new embarassing memories, since walking around like you are on a Sound of Music-set, isnt always looked upon like a sign of mental health. Neither is banging your head with your fist, screaming out your name, come to think about it.

The most interesting thing is that it doesnt matter how old those memories are or that you even knew that they excisted, they dont even have to be that embarassing, the feeling of discomfort is still very manifestable.

I have one specific memory from when I was about 8 or 9 years old. In school, every friday we had like 30 minutes when a group of pupils had arranged something special for the class. I had gathered my whole class in the assemble room, for some singing. Ofcourse, since I since I was young liked being in the center of everything, I was the choirmaster. It should be added, that I didnt know anything about being a chorimaster, since I was 8-9 years old! All of a sudden, I point to one guy and yelled out, stomping my feet to the music: YOU! SING SOLO!
Everybody went quiet, except the guy who bravely started to sing by himself. So long, so good.

But since I actually had no idea what the term "solo" meant, I started to give everybody who wasnt singing an evil stare. WHY ARE YOU NOT SINING! I cried out in that high pitch voice that only mentally insane children can do. DONT YOU LIKE ME, WHY ARE YOU NOT SINGING! SING! SING! Everybody looked really uncomfterable and started to sing. HIGHER! HIGHER! I screamed from the top of my lungs! EVERYBODY SING HIGHER, AND YOU (I pointed to the solo guy again) YOU SING SOLO HIGHER WITH EVEYBODY ELSE!

Thankfully, I have not been a choirmaster since. I say thankfully, since if I had been allowed to do that again, imagine how many times a day I would have to beat myself up!

What if - Day 1

2011-08-17T13:49:00.003+02:00

Day 1 : What If you were in a fire and you could only save one object what would it be?

You are probably supposed to answer that you would save pictures of your ex boyfriends cat or all your important papers and stuff. But since I am a restless soul that cant bring stuff with me everywhere I go, I have detached myself from most material things. Except for one thing. My SNES. So I would save my SNES and at the same time hope that I was wearing ALL of my white dresses when the fire started.

Picture challenge - day 1

2011-08-17T00:29:00.003+02:00

Day 01 - a picture of you truly being yourself

Oh there are so many of them, but I have chosen this one:
White dress on - CHECK
Bangs all over the place - CHECK
Feeling the passion - CHECK
Enjoying "Dont stop believing" so much that you look like a retard - CHECK

Blog challenges

2011-08-16T17:02:00.004+02:00

I have always tried to be original and creative when it comes to what I post on my blog. It is time to stop that. Even though Malta gives me plenty of insperation for blog posts, sometimes Im just uninspired. Therefore, I have decided to do a 30 day challenge (however, I will blog about other things to, like my new favorite topic Malta ABC). Since I found two interesting lists and have so many things to tell, I decided that Im going to do them both. Here they are:

The What if-challenge
Day 1 : what If you were in a fire and you could only save one object what would it be?
Day 2 : what If you had only 24 hours to live, what would you do?
Day 3 : what If the whole world were listening, what would you say?
Day 4 : what If one song were to describe your life, what song would it be?
Day 5 : what If you could ask God any one question, what would it be?
Day 6 : what If you could be another person for a day, who would you be?
Day 7 : what If you could be invisible for a day what would you do and why?
Day 8 : what If you could choose how you were going to die, what would you choose your death to be?
Day 9 : what If you could commit any crime and get away with it, what would you do?
Day 10 : what If you could have only one food for the rest of your life (assuming that this strange situation would not affect your health), which food would you choose?
Day 11 : what If you could hear what someone is thinking for a day, who would you choose?
Day 12 : what If you could travel back in time, where would you go?
Day 13 : what If you got arrested for murder, whom would you call with your telephone call from prison? And why?
Day 14 : What would you do if you found the wallet of your next-door neighbor who you hated?
Day 15 : what If you could stop a bad habit that you have, what would you stop?
Day 16 : what If you found a suitcase full of $1,000,000, what would you do?
Day 17 : what If you had 25-hour days (while everyone else continued to have 24-hour days), what would you do with the extra time?
Day 18 : what If you had to choose between love and no money or money and no love for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
Day 19 : what if you were given three wishes what would they be?
Day 20 : what If you had to choose between your best friend and your boyfriend, which would you choose?
Day 21 : what If you had to choose, would you give up your sight or your hearing?
Day 22 : what If you received lottery tickets as a gift at the office party, and you won $30,000.00, would you share the winnings with the person that gave you the gift?
Day 23 : what If you saw a robbery, would you report it?
Day 24 : what If you were given a chance to go to the moon, would you go? Why or why not?
Day 25 : what If you were given one million dollars, what would you buy?
Day 26 : what If you were going to a deserted island and could only take three things with you, what would you take?
Day 27 : what If you were marooned on a desert island with one other person how would you survive?
Day 28 : what If you were walking through the forest and you suddenly saw a tiger, what would you do?
Day 29 : what If your friend could not have a child, would you carry her child for her?
Day 30 : What kinds of problems would you have if you had to always tell the truth?

The picture challenge

day 01 - a picture of you truly being yourself
day 02 - a picture of you most recently taken
day 03 - a picture of you being absolutely ridiculous
day 04 - a picture you’re tagged in on facebook that you aren’t actually in
day 05 - a picture of a time in your life that you miss
day 06 - a picture of a hard time in your life you overcame
day 07 - a picture you had no idea was being taken
day 08 - a picture of you with a fake smile
day 09 - a picture of you when you were a different person than you are now
day 10 - a picture of you in a swimsuit (whether you love or hate it)
day 11 - a picture of your craziest day.
day 12 - a picture of you with someone you love
day 13 - a picture of how you’d like the world to see you
day 14 - a picture that describes how you’d like to spend every day
day 15 - a picture of a time when everything was changing
day 16 - a picture that makes your heart hurt
day 17 - a picture that makes your heart smile
day 18 - a picture of one of the best times of your life
day 19 a picture of yourself when you were little.
day 20 - a picture of your "crew"
day 21 - your favorite picture of your best friend/s
day 22 - a picture of you on your birthday or favorite holiday.
day 23 - a facebook picture you have untagged yourself in.
day 24 - a picture you just couldn’t leave out.
day 25 - a picture of you in your favorite outfit.
day 26 - a picture of you from your favorite trip
day 27 - a picture of you from your favorite night out
day 28 - a picture of you in a silly costume.
day 29 - a picture of you when you are drunk.
day 30 - your favorite picture of all times.

Malta ABC

2011-08-16T00:53:00.005+02:00

According to Gabi´s alphabet, we have now come to the letter M as in:I know one word in maltese (yes that is apparently a language) and that is hello, which suprise suprise, means hello.

In Sweden it is an unwritten law amongst all swedish people that you are NOT to speak to anyone, E V E R, that you dont know (unless you´re drunk, then everything goes). Even if you met a person several times, and probably have them on facebook, there is always an uncertainty if you are supposed to say hi to them if you see them on the street.

Therefore, the worst culture chock I have come into contact with here in Malta is that maltese men´s favourit word is hello!

When I was out walking (ehm, being lost as always) the other day, an older man with a dog stopped me, said hello and then explained that I should never ever give my mind, body or soul to anyone if I wasnt married. I didnt have the heart to tell him that that might be to late... Anyhow, after 10 minutes talking to him, he said goodbye and I wondered if I should ask him to be my facebook friend, since we already passed the awkward hello-dilemma. (Ehm, and also because Im a bit desparte after friends here in Malta). I didnt.

Otherwise, there is more often young men who wants to say hello, especially at night when Im walking home from work. Hello, hello, they say with a flirty smile, but I never stop ofcourse. But I wonder, does this hello-bit work on regular maltese women? Do they think that "ooh there is a charming fella, and he has such a way with words! I should stop and talk to him, then wait until we are married to give him my mind, body and soul!"

I just wonder, because if that is the case, then Hello is like the most genious pick up-line I ever heard!

Väder?

2011-08-14T14:23:00.004+02:00

Det här med väder kan vara väldigt spännande, och journalistik är aldrig bättre än när man lyckas visa upp två sidor av samma mynt. Båda inläggen är publicerade i lördagens tidningar och första saxat direkt från expressen , som tagit en mer domedagenärnära-hållning medan konkurrenten aftonbladet istället har vänt det till en solskenshistoria:

Var är Heikki Vesa när man behöver honom?

Friday the 12th

2011-08-13T11:38:00.002+02:00

This is yesterdays story:

Since I had the day off, I had decided to do some chores that I have not had time with during the week, like laundry for example. I put everything in the machine, it started and everything was peaceful, UNTIL I decided to take it out. Nothing was clean; actually it was even more dirty then when I put it in, and to add to it, it was soaking wet and a little lake had been created in the washing machine. Hm, I though, well, I just have to do it again. So I drained the machine (by hand) and put back the clothes, closed the door and pressed the start button. But apparently, I have underestimated the power of my midget hands, because all of a sudden, the start button said såaighags. and disappeared into the back of the machine, leaving a freaking whole where it was supposed to be.

But I didn’t let this bother me too much, since I for once in Malta had some nice evening plans with my coworkers. I dolled up all nice and fancy, started to walk (hm, still have not figured out how the buses work) when I realized I needed some cash. So I went to the only withdrawal machine I knew, put it the card, pressed my digits, but NO. Sorry, this machine will not accept your freaking card today. I tried it once, twice, a hundred million times, until I realized the machine said såaighags: WARNING WARNING, we will take your card soon. So I took out my card and decided to go home.

But this did not bother me too much either, since back home I had some episodes of Geordie shore (new favorite tv show) waiting for me, I came in, turned on the light and all of a sudden the light went såaighags.. Total darkness. No worries, I thought, I will just go to the switch panel and switch it back on again. No success.

After sitting alone, in my dark room all glammed up, I decided: this cannot be! There must be something I can do. And I remembered seeing the main switch board for the whole house down in the lobby. AHA! Lets go down there and see if I can fix it! I went into the elevator, but all of a sudden the elevator said såaighags. The doors didn’t close and everything went black. But this didn’t bother me too much, since I could always use the stairs. Free exercise! Down in the lobby, I could see that there was a strange red light on the board. Hm, I thought, I should not touch the switch, because who knows what could happen. I will just press this button. So I did. And it said såaighags and now the whole house is without electricity.

So now im sitting here in my pitch black room in hiding, like Im freaking Saddam Hussein of Maltese electicity. Im sweating my balls of since the AC is not working. But at least I am not alone with the darkness anymore, since approximately 20 other households are experiencing the same thing.

FML.

Gabi´s facebook do and donts

2011-08-10T18:49:00.008+02:00

Im at work (to my boss, if you read this, Im on my lunch break...) where facebook is forbidden. A painful reality for a crazy facebook stalker addict like myself. So to get over my facebook withdraw, I made a little list about what I think is acceptable and not so much acceptable in the world of facebook.

Do share funny experiences, but dont copypaste some random bullshit about nothing.
Dont poke people, it is confusing! Why does someone poke someone and what are you supposed to do with a "poke". Are you supposed to poke back? There is NO LOGIC to the poke!
Do fall in love, but please expect that if you are too lovey-dovey on facebook, people will press hide on your facebook-updates.
Dont harass me with your new book, project or whatever, sending me a personal message. If you have something cool going on, or if you updated your blog, just post it on your wall. I will find it and probably like it to.
Dont believe that bullshit about how employers look at your drunken night out-pictures just to figure out if they will employ you or not (but they might look at your blog after you already are an employee). They will look at your CV and how well you do at your interview, soo...
Do leave your profile a bit open. It is freaking annoying when you want to stalk people and they have decided that only the dear 2148 very close friends can see.
Dont untag yourself in pictures where you look like you the twin brother of the hunchback in Notre Dame. You probably looked like that (photo proof) that night, and it is like free entertainment for us all, even yourself!
Dont ask me to be your friend just because you saw me on the "you might now this person"-advert. If you knew me, we would already be friends on facebook (since I stalk people like crazy and add them after I have spoken to them once). My profile is open to anyone anyhow.
Do write to people even if they dont answer you back, but...
Dont be suprised if they respond by giving you the FACEBOOK DEEEELETE-treatment.

And most importantly:
Dont freaking forbid facebook at work, it drives people like me insane and makes me write meaningless blog posts.

Malta ABC

2011-08-09T12:46:00.003+02:00

Oh yeah, I promised to tell you guys what the thing was with fireworks. Apparently, every village on Malta has a fiest, where they celebrate a saint. To let people know that the saint is on display, they shoot fireworks. But they dont only use fireworks to call people to church for festive occations. According to a reliable source, they also use fireworks to let people know that the mass will begin soon. And since Malta is a super religious conutry = fireworks 24/7. I love Maltas forward thinking, because you know, church bells are so last century!

Anyhow, lets go on to todays Malta ABC, where the next letter we will take on is L like in
Lidl is like Maltas own personal mekka. People goes on Pilgrimage to Lidl and spend hours upon hours in this food store. (For those of you who´s not from Sweden, Lidl in Sweden is considered to be a white trash store (sorry, but yeah, that is what people think!) where you would not even go to buy milk). I have seriously heard about people at my work who spent hours trekking to the closest Lidl store and everybody is quite jealouse of my apartment. Not because it is mint, (which it is) but because Lidl is located 100 meters away from where I live.

And actually, Im quite liking it too! Not that Lidl have the best supply of goods (they have garden gnomes but not lunch boxes) but sence I still get lost, trying to find my way back home, I can always ask people where Lidl is at.

So in conclusion, Lidl is not my Mekka, but more of my guiding star.

Oh my lord!

2011-08-08T23:05:00.005+02:00

Sometimes it is hard to try to run a humour blog when you find websites like these where people are hilarious without even knowing it: www.landoverbaptist.net

The first thing you see when you enter this page is this infomerchial:

Demons? In my rectum? It is more likley than you think. You cant even make that stuff up!

Here are some other quotes from this wonderful site:
About the Moomins:
"The Moomins themselves are white pig/hippo like demons that live in the Moomin Valley. Their appearance is taken from bible part where Jesus drives devil out of two men.

The Hemulen

Maybe the most deviant of all creatures in Moomin valley. This seemingly harmless elder chap is truly a libertine and abomination. He lives alone, wears a purple dress, collects butterflies and stamps and like frolicking with younger males of the Moomin valley. This lewd sodomite goes constantly on sex vacations. "
- Hm, Im afraid I missed that part when Hemulen went on a sex vacation, is it like a special edition book or something?

Reasons for why Sweden is the most evil country on the planet:

Being jealous of the huge Swedish gay community, Abba star Agnetha Fältskog invented backdoor sex between males and females. She created an entirely new pornographic industry that way and directly caused the global AIDS pandemic which caused million of horrible deaths.
Sweden has completely integrated its pornographic industry with its religious activities. It is quite common for Pastors to have threesomes during ceremonies.
In Sweden, they celebrate the new year with human sacrifice and bestiality. While it is true that about 80% of the Swedes belong to the church, the actions of those people tell whole other stories. According to several studies, the 2% of the Swedes that actually attend church, only go there to get drunk, masturbate and have Satanic orgies. The other 78% are busy hating God and trolling the internet. In fact, there will probably be several Swedes in this very thread saying that what you're saying is not true. They'll go to ridiculous lengths to get their false point across

Well I should say that these reasons are quite enough for God to hate Sweden, if they were TRUE!

But my favorite thing is not actually all these "facts", it is this guy:

FINALLY, someone is putting back the "stud" in Bible Study! YOU GO PASTOR EZEKIEL!

Gabi laughs in different Asian Countries: Vietnam nam nam

2011-08-08T19:56:00.003+02:00

So, finally! Part 2 of my Asia trip, this time it is off to Vietnam!

blog questionnaire

2011-08-07T22:58:00.006+02:00

Name: Ida Gabriella Magdalena Larsson
Born: In Falun, Sweden.
Places you lived: Falun, Gothenburg, Linköping, Sälen, Newcastle, Hong Kong, Malta,
Special features in your personality: I laugh really loud all the time, at everything, at nothing.

Your mom´s best qualities: That she is funny and is easy to talk to. Always happy with a big heart. I also love the fact that she loves suprising me.
Your dad´s best qualities: He is always there to help if you need him to, is really smart and marches to his own drum.

When were you last outside?

Just a few minutes ago. Imane and I went out to eat some hung over food.

If you were on death rowe and had to decided one last meal, what would it be?
Swedish cheese sandwiches! With orange/apple juice.

If your life was a move, what genre would it be?
I think it would be like a romanic comedy, without Prince charming sweaping me away. There would be drama (since Im drama central) and you know the "a girl is new in town"-concept going on.

What would critics think about it?
The critics would probably say that it was too easygoing and mainstream, but I would have hardcore fans, like the people who worship sex and the city. I think the fans name would be Gabihards.

On a scale 1-10, how happy are you with your life?: 8

Why are you single?

Three reasons:
1. My restless soul, which makes me very egoistic in the sence that I go up and move, anywhere at anytime. I mean, I dont want anyone following me around the world, and I dont want to feel like Im leaving someone behind when I move to Malta or wherever.
2. I freaking love being single, you can do anything ( and anyone) you want, whenever you want!
3. I have not met Jose yet.

Tell me about the shirt you're wearing?

Actually, today Im wearing my golden eurovision song contest- dress that my faboulous friend Hanna bought me after I sadly had relized that I didnt own any bling bling clothes.
What's currently bothering you?

Just the fact that I start work at 7 tomorrow, and it is already 23.00. Dear God, why wont you let me sleep in? And also, this freaking heat. I know that when you are swedish you are not supposed to complain when the weather is nice, but seriously, this heat is killing me. I look like I had a bath in sweat and I feel even worse.

What do you currently hear?

Im having this song on repeat:

When was the last time you had your hair cut?

Before Hong Kong, I didnt dare to get my hair cut, in HK after I saw Pierre´s pineapple haircut:

What are you doing today?

Right now, Im just gonna go to sleep, otherwise I have just been chilling, skyping with friends and watching a movie.

When is your Birthday?

19 July. This year I turned the big 25 and spent it with my lovely friend Anna in Uppsala.

The way to win your heart?

Be funny, but not funnier than me. Be smart in the way that you can make fun of yourself and respect yourself enough to not be cruel to people. To be named Jose Gloppestad is also a safe bet.

What are you going to do this weekend?

Well, this weekend just passed. I did some sightseeing with one of my flatmates, went to the beach, and then went out in Pachville, which apparently is the place to be if you´re in Malta. It was also the place to be if you´re 15. I was like the oldest person there, but at least I was allowed to drink alcohol. WHOP WHOP!

Were you happy when you woke up today?

Happy, but mostly sweaty.

Have you ever crawled through a window?

Haha, yes! One time I was so borred during class, that I jumped out from a window. True story. I got an A in that class.

What do you do when you're stressed out?

I do my "fast walk". I am a firm believer that when you walk, you should relax and enjoy your surrondings, or if you want to get there fast, run. I hate people who walk like they are about to miss the bus all the time. But when Im stressed out, my tiny midget legs goes faster than they are supposed to. This just makes me freak out more, so it is not recommended as a solution to any stress related problems.

Do you open up to people easily?

Yes and I always tell them the strangest things. Like when I met this guy Andreas the first time and I told him I was "a christian schooled game-leader who didnt apprieciate sex games".

What was the first thing you thought this morning?

"WHY IS IT SO FREAKING HOT IN THIS ROOM?!"

Where is the person you like right now?

Not in Malta.

What was the first thing you did this morning?

Had a shower. Then I had a pizza race with Fredrik Sjöholm.

Do you care of what people think of you?

Well, no. Ofcourse I dont like it when people say bad things about me, but I like myself and I think that´s the most important thing.

Do you miss someone?

Yeah. I miss the HK-pps. I never though I would say this, but I miss going down to Festival walk, trying to figure out what to eat. And I miss my gothenburg friends, just having a beer at the Queen. And Linnea and my sister and the rest of my family. And Malin, that goes wihout saying. Haha apparently, I miss the whole world!

Is there a person of the opposite sex that means a lot to you?

Yes.

If you could go back in time and change something would you?

Well, I think it is a bit late for that now, but I might not have moved to Linköping, when my course was taken place in another city 40 minutes away from there. Who the fuck moves to the wrong city by mistake?

Is it hard for you to get over someone?

Hm. Yes. Well I like to analyze things, and sometimes that takes a while (you know, my brain activity is not as fast as my legs when Im stressed).

Does anyone hate you for no reason?

One of my best and dearest friends Jasmin, hated me for 6 months just because I laughed so loud the first day at University.

Have you ever kissed someone whose name starts with the letter P?

I dont kiss and tell.

Ever been in love?

Yes.

Are you wearing make-up?

Haha, just the left overs from yesterday. This going to bed a bit drunk and then waking up with make up all over your face-thing is freaking hot!

Last time you saw fireworks, with who & where?

Tonight, you know Malta is the place of fireworks. Tomorrow I will tell you why!

Friday and I, crusoeing

2011-08-05T18:30:00.001+02:00

A question to my readers

2011-08-04T23:42:00.004+02:00

I saw this advert today and I cant really get my head around it. For you english readers this ad is about a women, looking to by 30-35 kilos of wild boar meet. ASAP!

I cant figure it out. Why does someone need 30-35 kilos of boar meat? URGENTLY?! Is she going to have a Asterix and Obelix-party (my first guess) or has Lady Gaga ordered a new meat dress that needs to be done by tomorrow? (my second, and last guess)

Since this blog is called philosophical exercises with Gabriella, I think we should have a discussion about this. What do you guys think? Can any of my guesses be correct, or is this just a woman who loves her wild boar meat-bacon?

Anyone wants to be my friend?

2011-08-02T21:02:00.005+02:00

Moving to new places is always fun, but it takes a while to get to know people. I kind of figured out why facebook is blocking my facebook friend requests and forced facebook me to only add stranger-friends that I either met while trolleyed, or new when I was 5. This was the last friend request I sent out, before they found out my devious plan: So, anyone have any tips on how to make new friends, besides stalking people?

The problems with being a facebook stalker

2011-08-01T23:23:00.005+02:00

Tonight, one of my flatmates and I took a big step in our relationship; we decided to add each other on facebook! After a thorough search, I finally found Imanes profile and clicked add. A big screen came up and said DENIED, and then they added this explanation: (Click to see large picture)

Apparently, facebook thinks Im one of those users who goes around and adds people randomly, writing sexy messages to them and whatnot. So, if you feel that I somehow molested you into being my facebookfriend, please speak up now. This is the ONLY legitimate time to unfriend me!

And if you do unfriend me, dont be suprised if I suddenly start to (drunk) poke you constantly, it is just the sad way of life for a crazy facebook stalker addict like myself.

Malta ABC

2011-07-31T21:59:00.004+02:00

My blog is not only about telling people of how I got lost all the f-ing time, it is also like a diary for me, to read and remeinisce about in the future. I think my biggest mistake in HK (concerning the blog, I did bigger mistakes in HK, trust me) was that I did not really write about HKs spirit, the little facts and things that reminds you that you are not at home, but somewhere else, experiencing a new culture and a foreign country. So therefore, I hereby introduce a new category in my blog:

Malta ABC.

First out is obviously F.

This weekend I have mostly just chilled out on my terass, sunbathing and reading a book. I lay there, enjoying an ice cream of any sort, when suddenly I hear a BOM! and another BOM! BOM! BOM! Instincly, I throw myself on the ground, thinking Libya is here to conquer Malta before I have even had the chance to putting my plans into action. After a while I relize, that it is not big international conflict that is disturbing my peaceful weekend, it is fireworks. In broad daylight. Apparently, the Maltese people love fireworks so much, that they dont even care that you only see a little cloud of smoke if you shoot fireworks in the middle of the day. Monday to Sunday, morning as well as night, there is fireworks. The joy of fireworks is not the colours, it is the sound. The bigger bom, the more joy they seem to think.

But somehow I like their attitude; they dont care that Malta has one of the smallest economies in Europe, they dont care that the world just experienced a big economic reset, AND they dont care that it is not new years. They just want to blow up (literaly) millions of dollars every day, and hey, who doesnt?

I just figure that they must really love their firework, OR in worst case, this is their best defence strategy to scare Libya away. If that is the case, you cant blame them for not being creative with their means. A more beautiful and peaceful military strategy can not be found anywhere.

A story from Scotland

2011-07-28T23:36:00.008+02:00

I have not even told you guys about my family vacation in Scotland! I went there with my grandma, my dad and my cousin. My Granma and I have been speaking about doing this trip for 10 years, so it was so much fun that we actually finally did it
.

We rented a car and just travelled around and stayed at different B&Bs. The Scottish landscape is amazing, but sometimes my grandma was a bit too fascinated about the things you could see in Scotland.

Grandma: Henrik! Henrik! (My dad) What kind of animal is T H A T?! (Yelling in a high pitch, excited voice).
We all looked around, and I almost stopped the car in an hault, because I would not want to miss the chance to see the Loch Ness monster.
My dad: It is a cow.
Grandma: Oh my first Scottish cow!

(More stories will come later on, because nothing creates stories like a family vacation)

Malta: A new home

2011-07-26T23:27:00.009+02:00

These last 6 days on Malta, Ive got lost about 600 times, but the great thing about Malta, is that I somehow always find my way back home. Today, after being lost for 1,5 hour, I found a new home.
Im going to live there with another girl, starting tomorrow. You guys want to see it? Okidoki, here it is:

And whop whop, look at this:
YES! This is my new home, and it is a 15-minute walk from where I work. Work is going good btw, the people I work with are so friendly, and the job actually seems quite interesting. And people call me an agent all _ the _ time.

So, life here in Malta, is yes, pretty fucking AMAZING!

Malta: Fourth day

2011-07-24T21:47:00.011+02:00

Tomorrow I start work, which is nice, because it is quite strange to be on a beautiful island all by myself. These last days, I´ve been reading books, swimming and solving word puzzles, so I haven’t really spoken to anyone since Wednesday night.

Or actually, that is not really true. I´ve spoken many more times than I wish with Silvarn, the hotel owner. Silvarn, is like a combination of Basil from Fawlty Towers (svenska pang i bygget), Gordon Ramsey when someone boils an egg too long and the South European Godfather you never wanted to have. Yesterday, I decided I wanted to sleep in and skip the hotel breakfast. 09.05, 5 minutes after the breakfast is over, the phone in room rings.
- Hello, this is Basi... Silvarn.
- Yes hello?
- Why don’t you come to breakfast? Don’t you want breakfast?
- No thank you, Im fine.
- Breakfast is important, you should eat breakfast! ! !

This morning, I did not dare to not eat breakfast, so I went up pretty early, decided that I during this day I would try to find out where the company´s office is located at, walk there so I could find it tomorrow without any problems. 09.05 the phone rings:
- Hello, this is Gordo.. Silvarn.
- Yes hello?
- When will you leave your room?
- Hm, maybe about an hour or so?
- No! That is bad! You need to go now, housekeeping will come NOW!
- Ok, I will try to hurry up, I just need to take a shower.
- NO! No time! YOU NEED TO GO!

So I decided to go, but when I looked through the email with the address to the company’s office, I realized Id forgotten to bring with me passport photos. No worries, I though, this is easily fixed! Well, googling Passport photos Malta, didn’t give much result, so I had to go down and speak to the Godfathe... Silvan.

- Hi, I was wondering if you now a place where I could take passport photos?
- TODAY? This is a Christian country and it is SUNDAY?
- Ok... but do you know any place that might be open?
- Hm, there is one place a St Georges. But it is like a 30-minute-walk, you better take the bus! He said with an evil smile.

The bus, I thought! HA!I I can see that there is something strange with the bus! But HA again! He doesn’t know who he is talking to! If he only knew that I - Gabi - once walked around a lake ( a 40 kilometer walk) just to see if I could do it, that I - Gabi - toghether with Annika, walked around the whole of Bangkok in three days, that I - Gabi - is so good at walking, that I sometimes do it when I’m asleep. Actually, come to think about it, I should be called: Gabi - The Walker. So I decided to walk (this has nothing to do with the fact that I haven´t figured out how the bus system works).

And walked I did. But once again Silvarn had played me with his evil smile, that made me not take the bus (yes, the decision was only based on that, not the fact that I dont know how the bus system works). That 30 minute walk, was more like a 5 hour walk. In 30 degree Celsius. Without a cloud on the sky. I actually had to stop and sleep on a bench for an hour, symbolizing the fact that I’m actually homeless, and maybe, perhaps, should not be called The Walker.

Too shallow to go for a swim, since I thought a passport photo of me and my forehead (see picture above for Gabi´s hot wet look) would be to crowded, walking next to the seaside all the way was just the beginning of the cruel joke that was this walk. The heat made my feet swell up to the size of watermelons, my hands where just like blobs, and my body went into "Stuck-in-a-desert"-survival-mode. So you can imagine my joy, when I at last found the damn Photo shop!

- Hi, I was wondering if you guys take passport photos?
- Yes we usually do, but not today because the machine is broken. You can come back tomorrow, by then it should be fixed.
I will not be coming back tomorrow (if I don’t figure out how the bus system works). But what I should do tomorrow is probably to befriend Silvran, because making fun of him has consequences. Who knew that Karmas best friend was a hotel owner in Malta?

Malta: First day

2011-07-21T21:30:00.007+02:00

After a long night at Arlanda Airport I finally arrived to Malta this morning.
I believe that it is very important to experience and get to know every countries habits and traditions so the first thing I did to adept to the Maltese Culture was to take a siesta. After this awesome power nap (hm, it might not be called a nap when it is 4 hours long) I decided to go out and do some exploring. I hade two missions in mind:

1. Find something to eat.
2. Find a grocery store.

Everything started out very well, my hotel is located right next to the harbor, this is the view I have to live with for the next week:
The excursion started out well. I walked for about 10 minutes, found food and, can you believe my luck, a grocery store just around the corner from the restaurant! Overjoyed with the success of my first out-in-Malta-experience I decided to head back home. Instead of taking the same way back, I saw another street leading down to the sea, I then thought:

-THIS MUST BE A SHORT CUT! (For my swedish readers, this is another example from when I thought I found a short cut: LÄNK).

After walking along the seaside for about 10 minutes, I realized I didn’t recognize anything. "Hm", I thought, "I must be walking in the wrong direction". So I decided to turn around and walk the other way. After another 40 minutes, carrying necessities like cheese, orange juice and beer, I realized I was lost. It then hit me; Malta is a freaking island, on a map it is just like a mosquito shit in the middle of the sea. I can’t just walk along the bayside, because the funny thing about an Island you see, is that there is water EVERYWHERE!

"Okey, DONT PANIC!", I was hyperventilating, "Malta only has an area of 316 kilometers, that is NOTHING, start walking away from the water, up the hill and see if you can find your way from there". I started walking uphill, cursing over the fact that I decided to buy 6 beers, instead of one. After another 40 minute walk in small alley-ways I decided to regroup. Too proud to admit to any of the locals that I was lost and ask for directions. I decided to go into a small street and look at the tiny tiny map I had brought with me (OK, it was not really a map, It was just a picture of the neighborhood where my hotel is at, that I got with the room key).

Standing there, looking very confused, finally deciding to continue to walk uphill, I hear a voice.
- Yes?
I looked behind me, no one there; I looked in the parked car next to me, empty.
- Helloooo?
I looked up, and there was the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. The sunlight was hitting his face in way that made him look like a Mediterranean angel. The fact that he was speaking to me from the window above, didn’t help me NOT to thinking of him as some kind of a God.
- Where are you going?
With a bewildered face, I handed him the map to my hotel.
- Oh that hotel is just straight down this road. About a 5 minute walk.
He pointed in the opposite direction from what I previously planned to go.
- Thank you!

And yes, I made it home!

I think I’m going to like Malta. Especially if I get to meet lost in translation-angels every now and then.

Happy birthday to me!

2011-07-19T14:38:00.009+02:00

Today is my 25th birthday and to see how I made it here (actually this is just my way to celebrate myself) I have digged out some pictures from the old days.
This is how I looked 25 years ago, already a looker!

Alexander´s first swim of the year

2011-06-30T19:18:00.005+02:00

One of my dearest and funniest friends, Alexander, is awesome at many things. He is an awesome curling player, politician, comedian and combo. He is one of thos all-around guys that seems like a superhero. Today, we and some of our friends enjoyed the swedish archipelago. Even though everyone else was in the water and didnt feel that it was that cold, Alexander had a different opinion. So, we found his first flaw, but at the same time, that is an awesome flaw to have. ENJOY! (With english subs for my oh so many international fans)

For a better link, click HERE.

Gabi laughs in different Asian countries: Cambodialoco

2011-06-29T01:36:00.002+02:00

To my great joy and to your great frustration (since you all will have to watch all of these movies) I have finally sorted out my videos from Asia. The series is named: Gabi laughs in different Asian countries. The first part is from Cambodia with PP and I. So, with no further introduction:

A postcard from Asia

2011-05-05T15:35:00.005+02:00

Since, for some reason, facebook is banned in Vietnam (Im in Ho chi Minh right now, how was that spelling PP?) im going to use the blog as a way to tell my grandma that im alive. Farmor jag lever och mar bra, jag flyger hem den 1 juni.

To all you other people that reads this blog not to find out wheter im alive or not, but rather hear about Cambodia, I can reveal that I have filmed it all (ok some things will be deleteded and only talked about between two eyes) so a cambodialoco-movie will be released this summer. Great happening for anyone who wants to hear me laugh at my own jokes for about 15 minutes in different parts of asia. Until then, I have only one thing to say about Cambodia: Best trip ever. Temples, awesome local friends, sunsets, long nights, early mornings, sweat everywhere, good food, great chillout spots, and that is not even on the top of the list of awesome things we experienced in Cambodia. Because ofcourse top of the list is just the fact that Gabi and Pierre went to freaking Cambodia!

The end of this postcard-info from asia.

pusspuss

Goodbye Hong Kong

2011-04-29T06:50:00.017+02:00

It is crazy how fast time has gone by here in HK. I remember it like yesterday, when Annika and I arrived and I looked out the bus window with big eyes, thinking that this were going to be my hometown for the next couple of months.

And what a home it has been. It have experienced happy moments, hilarious times, drunken messes, wonderful days and long nights. Thank you all the people I have met, and all the people I will miss. This has been the best time of my life!

Im now leaving Hong Kong to go to Cambodia with deliPierre. Yes this is true. And yes, I dont expect us to survive.

How to become Chinese

2011-03-09T18:50:00.012+01:00

If you are a westerner in Mainland China some chinese people get really excited and want to take pictures with you. They all do the V-sign and smile like never before. For this reason we decided to try to blend in a little bit more with the chinese in-crowd.
Apparently, high fashion in Sanya = matching hawaii-shirt-outfits (Im guessing that this is the most prominent reason to why people call Hainan Island Chinese Hawaii). So the first thing on the agenda was to find some awesome outfits.

After that, we then tried to blend in some more by going around and asking chinese people if we could take a picture with them.

We threw a traditional chinese hat into the mix.

And some awesome sunglasses.

And added a tiny amount of alcohol.

And at last, we managed to master the V-sign!

And voila, finished! Spot the westerner in this picture.

I could so easily become a chinese spy now.

Mandarin for experts

2011-03-07T08:43:00.011+01:00

Unlike Hong Kong, people in mainland china does not understand english that well. That is why it is fortunate that I now am an mandarin expert. But what Mainland China lacks in the knowledge of english, the make up in awesome transportation. The main way to get around Sanya was with a motorbike-cab.

David - or should I say Edward Cullen - and Alina going home.

After a night exploring the city's nightlife, it was time for us to go back home to our fantastic hostel - Thorn Bird. For various reasons, our group split up during the night, and when David, Annika and I realized that deli pierre was long gone with the only piece of paper that had the name of the hostel written down in chinese, it was time for my mandarin knowledge to kick in.

The conversation started off really good, with me being polite and saying:
- Ni hao, wo jiao Gabi. Xie Xie! ( Hi, my name is Gabi, thank you).
All the motocab-riders got really excited, and started to ask me where I wanted to go. My obvious answer to that question was of course:
- Máng bù máng? (Are you busy?)
More and more cab drivers started to gather around me, I was like Sanya´s main attraction. Never had they heard someone speak mandarin so perfectly! So to further explain where I wanted to go, I said.
- Ni hao ma? Chen laoshi. (How are you? Teacher Chen = the name of my teacher)
The crowd (now around 20 people) went wild! This was for many, the best moment of their life. But for some unknown, strange reason, they could not understand where we wanted to go. So I decided to draw a picture on my hand so that I could furhter explain (and entertain) these lovely cab drivers.

Oddly enough, the chinese guys did not appreciate my abstract art, but as everybody can see, I tried to paint a bridge (we went over a bridge on the way there), a bird and a tower (hostel Thorn Bird). Now you might ask why I painted a tower, but it all makes perfect sense. In swedish, the word thorn is very similiar to the word for tower (torn).

When I realized that this did not work, I repeated "Mang bu mang" and "Ni hao! Wo jiao Gabi" several times and then tried to explain that we wanted to go McDonalds, which was quite close to our hostel. So therefore you can see, in the left corner of my hand, a cheeseburger and a open mouth, eager to eat the cheeseburger.

Still, no one could understand where we wanted to go, but as always, Annika saved the night by showing them this picture on her camera:

So in conclusion, it was a safe night.

Fundering

2011-03-06T07:20:00.004+01:00

Hur kan detta vara en nyhet? Det här skulle enbart vara intressant om hon led av någon form av sexdemens.

So what could go wrong?

2011-03-03T17:44:00.011+01:00

Well, apparently everything. It should not be that complicated to take a bus or keep track of your belongings. Well, does rules did not apply to the trip to Sanya. I have made a little list of what went wrong with our journey.

1.Our first Superstar, David, managed to miss the bus. This is his story.

After running through the entire Hong Kong to the bus station, we could not find our bus. After asking every chinese person in China, David trotted off without a working cellphone, towards the travel agents counter to ask where the fuck the bus was. We, who stayed behind, found that out in 2 minutes, when a stressed bus driver came and said he was in a hurry and had to be in an other part of Hong Kong right NOW! David is no where to be seen. Annika makes a heroic decisions, jumps out the bus, finds David, jump in to the cab and scream: FOLLOW THAT BUS!
Since the rule of this trip is that karma works in mysterious ways, they actually made it.

2. The next person to make this trip more memorable is DeliPierre.

After hopping on and off that bus of various reasons, we relized that the first bus we went on was no more, and we had to go on an other bus. Everybody sighed when we understood that we left our all food on the other bus. DeliPierre was the one most disappointed because he did not only leave is M&Ms, but also is cellphone.

3. Annika is the next one out.

At last, we came to Guangzhou, we had to take a cab from the bus stop to the train station. We got really excited when we actually found the station, the only thing we could not find was Annikas bag, which included her phone, her camera and her passport! Annika ran and cought up with the taxi, where all here things where.

4. And last up, is the collective decision to take a 15-hour train.

After running around, finding food - McDonalds - and something refreshing to drink- rice wine, we only had 20 minutes until our train left. Or so we thought. The train was 3 hours delayed. So we ate, and we drank.

But, what we did not do, was to go to the bath room at the station. We should have done that. Because on the train, we had two toilets to choose between. This is how they looked and that is just half as disgusting compared to how the smelled.

But somehow, we actually made it to Sanya, but apparently, so did Karma. To be continued.

Sanya: Introduction

2011-03-03T16:20:00.007+01:00

For some strange reason, I have promised to write the following blog posts about our trip in English. I therefore expect that this is going to be the moment when my blog becomes a big blog sensation - people from everywhere will follow my daily thoughts about Ping Pong and rice. If this does not happen, my next move will be to write in Chinese. You will find that my mandarin has improved so much during this trip that it can handle any type of language test.

Let me first introduce the brave group of retards that last Friday unsuspecting of what awaited them, was very excited about this trip. From the right: David - Also known as The Coon - Alina, Heather, Myself - aka mysterion and Little Pierre - aka DeliPierre and Annika behind the camera.

Let the epic story about the most awesome, most awful trip begin.

Oh we are going to Hainan

2011-02-24T14:41:00.004+01:00

Jag nämnde i ett tidigare ínlägg att jag och Annika skulle dra oss iväg denna helg också. Vi har haft för mycket skola och för lite sol så imorgon åker vi till Hainan - även sloganmässigt känt som Kinas Haiwaii. Det här är vår teamsång för denna resa: (byt bara ut ordet Ibiza med Hainan så fungerar allt väl)

Ny facebookprofilbild?

2011-02-23T11:52:00.008+01:00

Så mitt mission med att hitta en ny profilbild börjar nu gå mot sitt slut. På grund av min fotogeniska förmåga finns det många alternativ av välja mellan. Eftersom det var länge sedan jag låtit er kära läsare att komma till tals, tänker jag nu i sann statsvetenskapliga anda - utlysa ett val. Ett val som handlar om min framtid, hur jag presenteras, det som definierar vem jag är och hur jag upplevs av framtida chefer och alternativa vänner. Så gör din medbloggiga rätt och rösta på vilket foto som skall bli min framtida facebookprofilbild.

Bild 1 - Apbra

Bild 2 - Sexy mermaid

Bild 3 - Hej hej!

Bild 4 - HOHO

Bild 5 - Filippino cool

Bild 6 - Kokooo!

Mandarin för utbytesstudenter

2011-02-23T07:53:00.000+01:00