Namaste! Welcome to India: New Dehli

“Namaste!”  Welcome.  Holding both hands in a prayer like position in front of your face and bowing your head slightly.  Welcome to India!  We were greeted with warmth and open-hearted friendliness.  We realized, with great pleasure, we were back in Asia…

I had this idea about Dehli as suffocating, the heat unbearable, pollution, half-limped beggars not letting you out of their sight and a concrete jungle that would pollute my soul.  But I was quite surprised to find (yes, a bit of the above) a lot of trees, green shrubbery and parks, beautiful monuments, laughing men stopping in the middle of a traffic circle to chat or just to say hi, beautiful women in colorful, bright saris which swoosh around the bells on their ankles as they walk.  Children dressed in neat school clothes on their way to school,”tuc-tucs” hooting around every corner (and every other moving vehicle for that matter).  But the noise didn’t agitate or irritate.  Instead, it welcomed, embraced and enriched the senses.   And so did the rest of India. 

Paharganj - this photo represents India for me:  the hustle and bustle, the sounds, the smells, every tangible object moving and me, the observer, caught in the middle of it all, being absorbed by it all.

The heart of Dehli

We explored the heart of Dehli on our first day and found green parks, lush trees and a lot of wreckless driving...



Rajpath (King's Way), stretching from India Gate to the president palace.  Lined on both sides by green lawns and trees. 

India Gate - commemorates Indian soldiers who lost their lives in World War 1

The Lotus temple

The Qutab Minar 

The Qutab Minar - 72.5 meter red sandstone tower

Paharganj 

Paharganj is a bustling market place, ideal for backpackers with affordable hotels, restaurants and shops.  Diwali (the 5 day Hindu festival of lights) was just around the corner and all the stalls and shops were selling lights, candles and accessories transforming the streets into a festive hub.
We used this spot to do all our shopping for family and friends back home.  Really affordable clothes, shoes, leather products, beautiful embroideries and jewellery can be found. 

 

 

Secondhand... unpublished..

THE IDEA BEHIND SIMPLY SUBLIME

THE IDEA BEHIND SIMPLY SUBLIME

After living abroad for two years, seeing different fashion trends in different countries and exploring different markets... I find myself caught up in the middle of the newest and most exciting fashion trend... Secondhand.
It's old, its new, it's vintage, it's decorative, it's inspiring, it's improvisation, it's.... used. But with a bohemian/retro/vintage touch.

"From frocks to socks to records and costume jewelry, purchases are almost cooler if used." -Regina W Bryan (Secondhand shopping streets in Barcelona)

I love the feeling of rummaging through clothes and imagining it has a history.
"Where have you been, O pink lace top? Paris?"
I love finding something great. That one item my wardrobe lacked, until now...

I love spending my time in a Secondhand shop with all its interesting objects and things (besides clothes): belts, boots, teacups, furniture, accessories... I love finding a handbag that looks just like the one my grandmother used to have (I remember because her photos are part of my childhood memories).

I love being a bit daring, a bit silly and a bit adventurous when buying, and then wearing, my new, interesting item.

After living abroad for two years, seeing different fashion trends in different countries and exploring different markets... I find myself caught up in the middle of the newest and most exciting fashion trend... Secondhand.
It's old, its new, it's vintage, it's decorative, it's inspiring, it's improvisation, it's.... used. But with a bohemian/retro/vintage touch.

"From frocks to socks to records and costume jewelry, purchases are almost cooler if used." -Regina W Bryan (Secondhand shopping streets in Barcelona)

I love the feeling of rummaging through clothes and imagining it has a history.
"Where have you been, O pink lace top? Paris?"
I love finding something great. That one item my wardrobe lacked, until now...

I love spending my time in a Secondhand shop with all its interesting objects and things (besides clothes): belts, boots, teacups, furniture, accessories... I love finding a handbag that looks just like the one my grandmother used to have (I remember because her photos are part of my childhood memories).

I love being a bit daring, a bit silly and a bit adventurous when buying, and then wearing, my new, interesting item.

When living in South Korea, a weekend in Seoul presented us with more than a few secondhand markets. Finding interesting garments in a pile was more than fun, it was an adventure. I found clothes, eg. skirts, dresses, t-shirts for myself, and my mom and sister back home, for less than R20 (2Euro). A bargain!

Secondhand market - Seoul

"As Americans look for ways to cut spending, they are scooping up bargain clothes, accessories, toys and furniture once owned by someone else. According to the article, 70% of adults surveyed last summer say that buying used is now more socially acceptable than it was a decade ago. Buying used has always been socially acceptable to me. I got in the habit of shopping at thrift stores during high school. It was the only way I could afford to add to my wardrobe." - Embracing the Thrift-Store Ethic: 18 Top Tips for Buying Used Clothes

London is the mecca for Secondhand shopping. The famous Portobello Road Market, one of London's notable street markets, known for its second-hand clothes and antiques, is one of my favorite secondhand markets I've been to. From old paintings, to china, to cutlery, to shoes... The Mecca for secondhand goods.

Secondhand & antique market - Portobello Road London

One of my recent favorite markets is the Monastiraki secondhand and antique market in Athens, Greece, right under the Acropolis. This was the most interesting market I've ever been to. Here you can find handcrafts made by the locals or real interesting antique jewellery, shoes, clothes or books... mostly anything. I loved the ruggedness of it all: The old suitcase filled with old postcards or stamps; finding a beautifully gemmed earring (but, O there's only one - because of the burglars, the woman tells me - I wonder wich one...), or just a metal piece as small as my hand with a Roman Catholic heart carved in. Rough, rugged, but so very, very interesting and odd. I could find tons of things here to put in my home. If only I had the luggage space...

Secondhand market - Athens Greece

Athens - Old suitcase

Rugged but nice - Athens

While living in Sweden one of the things that I love most about the Swedes are their fashion sense. Or no fashion sense. Their absolute "We don't care what we wear." And they look ravishing! Absolutely interesting! They mix old, new, vintage, retro, bohemian into such a delightful cocktail that I just want more and more of their fashion sense and styles! I've learned a lot after studying and doing research on their secondhand markets and shops. And what I found amazing was just how easily the Swedes can give up their unwanted goods. They all do it for a cause or a charity, which is wonderful. Visiting Secondhand and vintage shops in Gothenburg was a pleasure as "reaping the benefits" is not a cliché here. Bargain upon bargain and quality upon quality awaits you in these shops. There are many of these kind of shops, as this is the new trend in Sweden: Wear whateva! And I love it!

There are different kinds of secondhand shops: the cute, small, smells like my grandmother's house and that's the charm - shops which usually sells antiques and rusty looking furniture. The idea here is to rummage through the mess while having a blast. The only guideline here is "be retro"! Search through each rack, look for that special item. The customers are a wild mix of young people, retro clothing addicts and older people clinging to their youth. An eclectic mix.

Secondhand & antique shop in Haga, GothenburgEmmaüs - the biggest Secondhand chain in SwedenThe second kind of secondhand shop is examples like Emmaüs. This is one of the bigger secondhand chains. It is cheap and abundantly stocked. Every Thursday, the shop is restocked and it is not surprising to see it overcrowded. But it is a fun, over-indulging and (maybe) over-splurging experience. Heaps and heaps of handbags and belts are always on sale and it is a pleasure to rummage through these kind of piles. Here and there an expensive item can be found, eg. a designer label or two.  

Now in SA a new craving awaits...

she of the sun-kissed frangipani... by smitaanand

It's summertime and I found this poem relevant...

·         by smitaanand

http://allpoetry.com/smitaanand

the summer's elastic daylight
finally wraps up its realms of gold,
as tall silhouettes of trees
blessed with lush verdure and avian chirps,
stretch themselves over
technicolor bosom of crepuscule,
etching a rippling chiaroscuro
over the visage of sapphire lake.

the mangoes wink
at the sun that retreats on
footprints of glowing amaranths of red,
indifferent to forlorn droop of sunflowers;
and cicadas begin quaint threnodies
on reverberating strings of cellos,
while fireflies of aster-face
twinkle as plucked constellations of wishes
on the stalks of slumbering bushels.

mascara-tinted clouds enshroud
the darkening face of the once azure sky,
pregnant with raindrops' emotion,
thunder's heart wrenching cries of endurance
and with lingering whim of a rainbow,
this is a prologue to summer's rain.

she of the sun-kissed frangipani
that hides a glowworm of fluorescence
within its petals of sublime,
paints with colors of twilight on
the sublime breast of sailing, soaring clouds
etching variegated characters,
that whisper their own tales to rising stars.

she of the sun-kissed frangipani,
gathers stardust on fingertips of intrigue
from the vacuum of infinite,
to sprinkle as dream-seeds on eyelids
closed with hope of sweet siesta,
filling moonlight in secret cisterns
to polish her gorgeous smiles.

she collected night jasmines
of insomniac smiles from myriad octopus limbs,
in her skirt frills to scatter on threshold of tomorrow,
through her sparkling irises of amber
peeps her soul that tenderly caresses
all my faults, mistakes, errors
erasing them from the window pane
of bittersweet existence...

Last Roadtrip... Looking back

As we celebrated our one year stay in Sweden we took a drive down one of my favorite places in Sweden, the countryside. We drove along the 180 road to Alingsås and found the most amazing villages and towns along the way!  The lakes in the countryside were still frozen! Driving along the many lakes outside of Gothenburg and seeing a figure or two ice-skating on it, was truly remarkable.  In Gothenburg all the snow and ice already melted away into the abyss of the winter and forgotten memories of snow was packed away into my camera's memory.  But in the countryside people still risked (or knew their lakes) skating on thin ice in the early spring sun. 

I was completely taken aback by the small, but lively town of Alingsås.  A church, a square, small, cute shops and beautiful waterways surrounding the town and meeting the lake on the outskirts.  This town has a truly Swedish vibe to it.  And I have to say the cleanest town I've ever been in.  The streets are perfectly sweeped and the houses and shops perfectly painted in pastel and the swedish-red colored buildings.  The church is quaint and inviting and the streets a dream to wonder about. 

I've recently read the poems of Karin Boye, the famous Swedish poet and writer who committed suicide and who's body was found close to Alingsås. Knowing this while visiting Alingsås, I imagined I felt a deep contentment, a deep respect for the unknown and a deep appreciation for life.

Statue of Karin Boye in Gothenburg, Sweden

Hebba



found on http://hijab-fashion.tumblr.com/post/20782891584

Because evil walks free in this world some people have to flee from their homes and their country.

"Don't worry they are only playing with us."  Her mother said as they found safety in their house in Gaza, Palestine. 

"That's why I'm here, in Sweden."  She explains.  She is beautiful:  Big brown, round sharp eyes.  Small hands like butterflies, wrists of an angel; thin, narrow, white, soft.  She translated English and Arabic to Gaza refugees.  I asked her if she saw people getting hurt in the explosions, the bombs.  "Yes, of course," was her short, abrupt answer.  But she said it with closed eyes.  I could see her pupils moving behind her eyelids as if she saw those images again behind them.  Her face twitched.

She lost her cousin in a bomb explosion in a mosque in Palestine.  Her mother told them, "Don't worry, they are only playing with us," every time they heard a bomb explode.  She woke up with sounds of disaster and explosions every day.  "I was scared".

She wears a black jacket with big black buttons and check pink and black lining.  The scarf around her head matches the make-up on her eyes every day.  Today her scarf is pink which matches the pink eye-liner on her eyelids.  The day before, she wore a sky-blue scarf which matched the color on her eyelids.  I am amazed at this.  I met her while studying.  She studied Swedish with me and was one of the favorites in the class (as well as one of the strongest students).  She was chosen as one of three of the class leaders, the only female and had to represent us on occasional meetings.  I ran into her after class.  We were both on our way to the library.  While we crossed the street, she took my hand, maybe out of pure reaction, I don't know.  And thus began her story telling. 

Her family arranged a marriage with a family they knew in Palestine.  She "met" her future husband-to-be on MSN messenger.  They spoke briefly.  Then the trip was planned and finalized.  But first she had to get married.  In Palestine.  Her future husband lived in Sweden. 

The next day she brought her wedding pictures to class and she showed them to me with a proud stillness in her eyes and on her lips.  She looked beautiful in her white wedding dress.  She was in a big hall with family and friends.  The pictures celebrate the great occasion and the Palestine photographer grabs your attention by putting emphasis on the glitter, extravagance and beauty of it all.  You will find Hebba posing in pictures with a Photoshop-background of "I love you".  This was the only and first time I saw her hair.  A reddish, dark brown with highlights put in for the wedding.  She got married, had the whole glittery wedding day with her family and friends, but there was one thing missing:  The groom.  The last couple of pictures, with the background of "I love you", were made for the groom, to be showed to him when she arrives in Sweden.

When she made her way towards Sweden, it was her first time traveling.  She really wanted me to know about the people who helped her along the way.  On the airport "a man with blond hair" helped her without her having enough courage to ask.  She lost her baggage at the stop over, but luckily he helped her retrieve it.  Her husband now (as they married in Palestine without him being present) waited for her at the airport in Gothenburg.  He later told her while waiting for her at the airport, he saw a small black woman who smiled and looked at him.  He thought it might be Hebba (as they never saw each other before) and asked the women if she was Hebba.  He admitted to Hebba that he was really afraid.  But when he saw the real Hebba, he picked her up and hugged her. 

When she talks about her new husband she smiles shyly and the love that she so obviously feels for him glows all around her, like an extra, protective blanket embracing and protecting her.  And then she told me shyly "I am pregnant".  Happiness could be described if only I could describe her face at that precise moment.

Giving up "Expat-status"

What is an expatriate or expat?  According to wiki.answers.com: "a person who is living in another country, or working overseas temporarily."

Getting back to "normal" life after "being an expat" was a challenge.  I have been craving to write, to post on my blog and not to disappoint, but arriving in one's home country, picking up again where you left of years ago (or what feels like eternities ago) is time-consuming and there is always something else to do... or family or friends to see, writing just had to wait.  But now I am back on my blog, ready to write about my new life in beautiful, sunny South Africa and wanting to attract as many attention as possible so that all my fellow expats all over the world can come visit!

Moving back to my home country wasn't an easy decision. And starting again, getting back into SA life, getting used to SA-mentality (said with the utmost respect) wasn't easy as well.  South Africans have a whole different mindset and lifestyle (and I fell in love with it all over again!).  I jumped every time I heard Afrikaans around me, in a shop or on the street.  The people around me are friendly.  Everyone talks to everyone.  The beggar on the street always has a joke to tell when you walk by, the painter greets every car that drives by, the shop owner comes out to talk to you and ask you where you've been.  I got used to "your own personal space" overseas.  This is a rare thing in South Africa.  If someone sees you buying a cool drink, they will remind you of the Red bull-special, but in the same sentence say that you don't need a Red bull because you look "lekker op-en-wakker" (wide a wake and in a friendly mood).  And then everybody laughs.  I realised that I missed this about South Africa.

I now live in a town (I like to think of it as a fishing village, but it is bigger than a village though), Mossel Bay. Mossel Bay is famous for its amazing weather, ranked as the town with the second best weather in the world, and with the rarity of houses facing north. I forgot how amazing the weather is... every morning I wake up expecting cloudy, dark skies, but wake up with beautiful warm days and sunshine throughout the day! It is really amazing (not to make anyone jealous, but I mention this rather with the idea to attract visitors!). It is officially autumn now, but it feels like summer. We are walking around with t-shirts, flip-flops and shorts and just enjoying the sunshine.

In the months that follow I am going to try and promote Mossel Bay, The Garden Route and the rest of beautiful South Africa. I believe people from all over the world need to see an appreciate South Africa with its remarkable history and landscape.

Follow and support my blog, keep track of what I'm up to, what cute and interesting restaurants and shops I have discovered recently and what is happening in Mossel Bay and surrounding area!

xICKx

Goodbye Sweden, Hello South Africa... My SSS

I am packing.  Maybe for the last time.  Hopefully not, just the last time for the long-run.  We've been living abroad since November 2009 and I can now readily say I am looking forward to unpacking for a while in my own home.  Tonight is my last night in Sweden.  Today I took my last bus ride, yesterday my last tram ride.  My last Swedish Fica (a tradition I want to keep doing in SA) and... my last snowflakes (yes this afternoon, while sitting on the bus a couple of snowflakes gracefully said their goodbye's)!

The last two years has been exuberant, exhilarating, exhausting, exquisite, excellent, exceptional, extravagant and a experience!  An experience I would do over and over again and one I would never forget.  It would stay rooted in my mind and heart forever, forming part of who I am now.  I can never be complete, but it started to build my completion-blocks.   

The first S:

South Korea, you came as a shock, physically and mentally.  But I overcame my fears and in the process learned things about myself and did things I never imagined I was capable of doing. 
You taught me to be patient, to make sacrifices, to be more gentle on myself, to open my eyes to a new and interesting world that existed beyond the glorified walls of a conventional life.   I met the most amazing people;  was part of a expat group in Gyeongju who I will always be grateful to for welcoming us with open arms and showing us how the expat life really should be like.  I look back on you with a proud stillness in my heart.  I will always wonder about you, South Korea.  Wonder if the 90degree backbone of your stature grew to heavy, if your rice fields still wake in the morning fog, if your women in their traditional Hanboks still walk silently up the path to Bulguksa and Songron Grotto.  If your war with the North echos into the very hearts of your youth.  I will always taste your Kimchi on my tongue, missing and hating it at the same time.  I will long for Sangipsal and the gossip around the charcoal grills and ventilation pipes.  I shall miss you, even when I'm not thinking about you. Thank you for inviting me into your realms, sharing with me your beauty, grandeur and youth.  I will always be thankful.

Sweden.  I arrived in Sweden unsure of who You were.  But then I had to shed my skin.  That was your price.  I had to grow again.  To start anew.  You taught me to trust myself again, and others.  You taught me to open my heart to new friendships and let go of others.  You nurtured my spirit with your glory mornings and snowflakes.   You showed me to stand on my own two feet again and believe in what I believe again.  You abled me to see the world and made some of my wildest dreams come true. I will always be grateful to your kindred spirit and your, sometimes, harsh words (and winters).  You showed me nature in a way I've never seen.  You shared the language with me, even just for a little while.  Most importantly you showed me childish innocence and taught me to find mine again.  And the importance of holding on to the child within me.  I will always be grateful to the people who made us feel welcome in Sweden, right from the beginning straight to the end.  For the expats who shared my frustrations and disbelief sometimes, thank you.  For everyone at work, thank you for your kindness and friendship and amazing farewell.  I will always remember that.  The lessons I've learned in Sweden are priceless and forever rooted in my soul and for that I thank You.

Now I am going back to where it all started, South Africa (My first and last S).  There are still a lot to be learned, a lot to be discovered, a lot to experience.  I will never let go of the traveler in me, I can never set her free, for she will always be part of me and steer me on different and adventurous paths I would never have dreamed to go before I met her.  South Africa holds a dream for me that I have yet realised or accomplished.  I need to chase that dream now and find my roots again in My Beloved Country.