Thursday, January 27, 2011

Obama's speech in Tucson


Two days ago I was assigned by my English tutor to analyze Obama’s speech regarding the Arizona shooting. I am ashamed to admit my unawareness to the subject, and needed to google it in order to acquire more information about the shooting. I would not be able to analyze the speech if I knew nothing about the tragedy, would I?

I could not get a hold of the video of Obama delivering the speech, but I did get it in text from my tutor. I must admit, it was very moving. Obama mentioned every single victim of the shooting and told the audience a little bit about every victim’ life story. This is wonderfully done, as it makes the speech felt more personal to the audience and easier for anybody to relate to.

The tragedy surely tells a thing or two about the US society. It tells how disagreement on something can lead into something so violence as bloodbath, how a gun that is supposed to be used for self-defense used for otherwise, and how a young man in his twenties could actually do something as hideous as shooting people randomly even after he has shot his target. People can be so uncharitable sometimes.

However, at the other side it also shows that not everyone is like that. Three of the dying victims out of six and some bystanders showed the true meaning heroism. They were willing to save others, even if it meant that they had put their life at stake. Obama’s willingness to reflect from this tragedy also shows that the US is willing to learn from mistakes, instead of running/hiding from it.

Barrack Obama, as the President of the United State, he is the most powerful man in the world and his action without doubt will affect a lot of countries in the world, thus, dare I say, his willingness to strive to be better by reflecting from the tragedy will surely affect the world and therefore it can be seen as an act of globalization. And maybe, the world will someday be a better place to live.

Globalization


The world we live in is constantly changing, regardless of where in the world we live in or what culture we grow up with. The change may vary from time to time. It can be a financial change, a cultural change or even a lifestyle change. A change that influences many parts of the world is called globalization.

Globalization may happen anytime and anywhere, irrespective of whether we are ready for it or not. An example of globalization is the English language. It is the lingua-franca and most spoken language in the world. Against of what most people may think, globalization does not always mean a good thing. If not anticipated carefully, globalization can lead into extinction of a country’s culture or lifestyle. An example can already be seen if we take a closer look at the young generations who live in big cities. Take Canada, for example. The country is globalized already. A lot of young generations of the Inuit over there only speak English, resulting in a lot of young people unable to communicate with their grandparents, who only speak Inuit-language. The inabilities to communicate with own family members are not the only thing that needs to be put in consideration. The risk of the Inuit-language going into extinction really needs to be thought thoroughly.
Greenland, just as any growing country, is now on its way towards globalization. It is still developing towards a better future and its citizens’ well-being. It can be seen with all that is going on in the education sector. The Government of Greenland and its politicians begin to take a better care for the young generations and their education, seeing the rapidly growing well-educated young people in the country. 

The good thing with globalization in Greenland is that the country is no longer isolated. There are more and more possibilities available for having a better lifestyle. However, globalization does not come without risk. Although Greenland is the world’s biggest island, it is one of the smallest as in population speaking. The disadvantage of globalization is the big risk of losing the country’s culture and at the worst case possible: it may lead to confusion, identity struggle and frustration among the people, especially young people who cannot keep up with all the changes and are forced to live in-between their traditional culture and the modern society that keeps growing, which can unfortunately lead to the increasing number of suicides.

The question is: are we ready for the change? I am not saying that change is bad. A change is of course needed once in a while. However, we should not just follow the stream of life carelessly and forget who we really are as a person. If we, as the very own citizens of a country, do not take this matter seriously, who will? A country’s culture’s lasting depends on whether the citizens of country care about it or not after all.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Poem - Christmas


Colorful lights sparkling bright
Houses filled with joy, warmth and light
A day in a year where every thing's delight

Everyone knows for sure
That this is a moment to treasure
Because it is full of pleasure

Now let us make it clear
Christmas is the perfect time of the year
To spend with those who are dear

Poem - Our Time

Remember the time when we first met each other
You picked up the ball thrown by my brother
Our hands touched and we just knew we were meant for one another

We went to the beach, drank a glass of wine
That was a moment I wish I could rewind
Maybe its right when they say love makes you blind

That was our time
Wouldn't want to trade it with any dime
'Cause baby you are so hard to find

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Short story - Danish

Siden jeg var lille, havde jeg altid problem med at sove. Hverken springe en lur eller være aktiv hele dagen hjalp mit problem. Jeg var mærkeligt frisk hele tiden. Mine forældre var forvirret og udmattede. De vidste ikke hvad de skulle gøre med mig, indtil min kære bedste mor anbefalede dem at læse godnathistorier for mig inden jeg gik i seng. Må Gud velsigne hende, for hendes råd virkede! En aften, da jeg var lige blevet færdig med at børste tænder, kom min moder på mit værelse og spurgt, om jeg var interesserede i at lytte til en godnathistorie før jeg sov. Jeg så intet problem med det, så jeg nikkede mit hoved, tørrede efter min mund, og gik hen i seng. Den aften læste moder en historie om Askepot. At lytte til hendes beroligende stem, som fortalte mig om den gode fe, hvid kjole og prins gjorde mig helt afslappet. Hendes stem lød mindre og mindre, og før jeg vidste det, faldt jeg i søvn for første gang i lang tid. Den der godnathistorie læsning blev snart en vane. Min moder fortalte mig forskellig historie hver aften; Askepot, Tornerose, Pinocchio, Den lille havfrue og mange flere. Disse historier var mit barndom. Efter jeg var blevet en teenager, kunne jeg sagtens finde på at ligge i seng om natten, lukke mine øjne og forstille mig hvordan jeg ville møde MIN prins. Hvide kjoler, prinser, en frø der kunne ta...

"Georgia, er du færdig med at dagdrømme?" min bedste veninde Chloe fik mig tilbage til den virkelige verden. Hun kigger mærkeligt på mig.

"Undskyld," siger jeg, før jeg drak min iskaffe.

"Hvad er der?" hun spurgt.

"Hvad er hvad?" Jeg spurgt hende tilbage, og lød det som om jeg ikke forstod hvad hun lige sagde.

"Det er den tredje gang i dag jeg fik dig dagdrømme. Hvad er der?"

Jeg stillede min iskaffe på bord. "Jeg tænkte bare tilbage på mit barndom, og hvordan jeg plejede at forestille mig om hvordan jeg mødte min prins" jeg fortalte Chloe mens jeg legede lidt med det orange sugerør jeg fik fra min iskaffe.

"Du har da vel mødt din prins Matt?"

"Matt er en meget fin fyr, hvis ikke herlig! Han tænker på mig og jeg er bare hans topprioritet. Allermest er - at han elsker mig," Jeg drejede mit hoved til venstre og kiggede gennem vindue, uden at virkelig kigge på noget bestemt, "Jeg ved godt at jeg er en meget heldig pige for at kunne være sammen med sådan en herlig fyr, men..... suk. Jeg er ikke sikker på om vores fremtid.." Jeg kiggede på Chloe og løftede mine skuldre.

Matt Jefferson og jeg blev kæreste for fem måneder siden. Han er en meget vidunderlig fyr med det bedste smil jeg nogensinde har set. Vi mødte hinanden for første gang på et værtshus på en fredag og jeg faldt simpelthen for ham og hans herlige smil. Den eneste ting der forstyrrede mig er at han er fem år yngre end mig. Jeg er 33, og han er kun 25. Jeg har allerede et fast job, mens han kæmper stadig med sin uddannelse. Det var ikke et problem i starten men tiden fik mig til at være klar over vores aldersforskel. Der er mange der gav mig komplementer om mig og min unge krop, men jeg kan stadig ikke lade være med at føle mig usikker hver gang jeg kiggede på Matts venner og deres unge kroppe. En gang fortalte jeg ham om hvordan jeg havde det, men så grinede han bare, og sagde at han kiggede ikke på sine veninder på den måde, og at der var ikke noget jeg skulle bekymre mig om.

Matt er meget populær og har mange venner. Ofte fandt jeg to eller tre stykke papir med nogle pigers nummer ind i hans lommer hver gang han kom hjem efter en bytur. Jeg viste ham de papir, men så sagde ham at jeg bare skulle smide dem ud. En gang gik jeg i byen sammen med ham, og jeg kunne mærke at nogle af hans veninder løftede deres øjenbryn da Matt introducerede mig som sin kæreste. Jeg kunne mærke deres mistroisk i dét, de så. Jeg er da også kun en gammel dame i forhold til dem. Min usikkerhed steg opad, og min selvtillid faldt helt ned i bunden, og disse påvirkede vores forhold meget. Jeg blev lunefuld og nemt sur. Alt det ting han gjorde pissede mig af, så vi skændtes rigtig meget på det sidste. Det gjorde mig meget ked af det, men jeg kunne ikke gøre anderledes.

"Georgie, jeg ved det er en svær situation for dig, men jeg synes du skulle virkelig stoppe med at lytte til hvad andre siger om dit forhold med Matt. Et forhold består kun af to mennesker, ikke tre, heller ikke fire. Det er kun dig og ham," Chloe holdt min hånd og pressede lidt på den. "Da du fandt ud af jeres aldersforskel, du vidste jo lidt at du ville komme til denne situation, ik'?"

Jeg hadede at indrømme det, men hun havde ret. Jeg nikkede.

"Så nu tror jeg, at grunden for at I stadig er sammen er præcis den samme grund for hvorfor du stadig tror på eventyr, ik'? Det er svært at give glip af de der eventyr drøm med prins på en hvid hest, hvide kjoler og slotte. Det er fordi næste alle mennesker, inkluderer mig, har også, selv om kun lidt, håb på, at de drømme vil komme til virkeligheden; og for dig er det jo en happy ending med Matt, ikke sandt?"

Jeg var målløs... og smilede til sidst. Chloe vidste altid hvad hun skulle sige. Hun smilede tilbage.

"Nu går du og gør dét, du skal nu!" sagde hun og smilede.

Jeg tog min taske, gik ud og tog en taxa. Da jeg var endelig ind i taxaen, tog jeg så min mobil. Der var en sms - fra Matt.

Jeg kan måske ikke være en prins der rider på en hvid hest da det er næsten umuligt at finde en hest her i Manhattan. Men vi kan stadig være Jack and Sally hvis du vil, i stedet for Askepot. Vi kan fejre Halloween som Jul og gøre alt det du har lyst til mig. ;)

Jeg smilede.

Du har ikke behov for at prøve at være prins da du allerede er en.
P.S At være Jack og Sally er faktisk en bedre ide. Jeg er på vej hjem.

Til sidst er tro en sjov ting. Det er aldrig dét du forventer. Måske handler det ikke om slotte, smukke kjoler, bål, prins eller måske lykkelig-for-altid. Måske den mest vigtige ting er den glæde du føler lige nu. Fordi nogle gange skal man bare være modig og tage chancen når den kommer, og stadig være troende.

Short story - English

I always had a problem sleeping ever since I was little. Skipping a nap or being active all day did not help. I was weirdly energized all the time. My parents were confused, exhausted and did not know what they should do until my beloved grandma Allie suggested reading bedtime stories. Bless her soul, her advice worked. One night just when I was done brushing my teeth, my mom came to my room and asked me if I were interested to hear a story before I went to sleep. I saw nothing wrong with it so I nodded my head, wiped off my mouth and headed straight to bed. That night my mom read me a story about Cinderella. I felt so relaxed listening to her soothing voice telling about the fairy godmother, white dress and prince charming and gradually her voice weakened and before I knew it, I, for the first time in a long time, fell asleep. The bedtime story reading became a habit. Mom would read me a different story every night; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid and many, many more – you name them. Those stories were my childhood. Even after I grew up and became a teenager I would still lie in bed at night, close my eyes and imagine how I would meet MY prince. White dresses, prince charming, talki…

“Georgia, are you done daydreaming?” My best friend Chloe snapped me back to the real world, looking rather weirdly at me.

“Oh I am sorry,” I said before taking a slurp to my ice coffee.

“What is it?” she asked.

“What is what?” I asked her back, pretending that I did not understand what she just said while still slurping my ice coffee.

“It is the third time today I caught you daydreaming. What is it?”

I put my ice coffee down. “I was just recalling my childhood, you know, and how I used to imagine my meeting with my prince charming,” I told her while playing with the cute orange straw that went with my ice coffee when I bought it.

“But haven’t you already met your prince charming Matt?”

“Matt is a good guy, great in fact. He cares for me, prioritizes me and most of all – he loves me,” as I answered her, I turned my head to the left through the window and my eyes began wandering around, without really looking at something, “I know I am one hell of a lucky girl to be having a great guy like that as my boyfriend but I…” I sighed. “I am not sure I can have a future with him,” I looked back at Chloe and lifted my shoulders.

Matt Jefferson and I started dating five months ago. He is a very lovely guy with the brightest smile I ever knew. We met each other at the local bar one Friday I fell immediately in love with him and his smile. The only thing that bugged me a lot lately is the fact that he is five years younger than me. I am 33, and he is only 25. I already have a fixed job while he still struggles with his studies. It was not a problem at first but as time passed by I began to be more aware of our age gap. Even though a lot of people admired me and my young body, I couldn’t help but feeling insecure whenever I look at Matt’s friends and their young bodies. I told Matt this one day and he just laughed at me; saying that he did not even look at his friends that way and that there was nothing for me to worry about.

Matt is very popular and has a lot of friends. I often found two, three papers with some girls’ numbers in his pocket every time he went out to the town. I showed him those papers and he only asked me to throw them away. One time I went to the town together with him and I could feel some of his girlfriends raised their one eyebrow when Matt introduced me as his girlfriend. I could feel their disbelief, seeing Matt with me. I am only an old hag compared to those girls anyway. My insecurities arose and my confidence fell apart, and these had a critical damage to our relationship. I became moody and get mad easily. Every single thing he did irritated me so we have been fighting a lot lately. It broke my heart but I could not help it.

“Georgie, I know this is tough for you. But you really should stop listening to other’s opinions about your relationship with Matt. A relationship consists only of two people, not two, not three. It is only you and him,” Chloe held my hand, griped it tightly. “When you found out about the age gap, little did you realize that someday you would come into this situation, right?”

I hated to admit it but she was right so I nodded.

“Then I believe the reason you are still with him until today is exactly the same reason why you still believe in fairytales, right? It is hard to let go of that fairytale dream with prince charming riding on a white horse, white dresses and even castles because almost everyone, including me, has a smallest bit of hope that one day it will come true; and in your case, it is to have a happy ending with Matt, right?”

I was speechless for a second and smiled at last. Chloe always knew what to say. She smiled back at me.
“Now, go and do whatever you have to do!” she said to me and smiled. I nodded and kissed her cheeks goodbye. I grabbed my bag, went out and grabbed a taxi. Once inside, I searched for my cell inside my purse and saw a message. It was from Matt.

I may not be able to be a prince charming riding on a white horse you dream about since it is kind of impossible to find a white horse here in Manhattan. But we can always live like Jack and Sally if you want. We can celebrate Halloween on Christmas and do whatever you want me to do. ;)

I smiled.
No need trying to be a prince charming. You are already one.
P.S. Becoming Jack and Sally is actually a better idea than Cinderella. I’m on my way home.
 At the end, faith is a funny thing. It is never what you expect it to be. Maybe it is not about castles, beautiful dresses, balls, prince charming or even a happy ever after ending. Maybe the most important thing is the happiness you are feeling right now. Because sometimes, you just have to be bold and take your chance as it comes while still keeping your faith.

Hello world!

Just thought I might wanna say hi. LOL.