What is your favorite word?

It sounds nerdy, but being a polyglot has thought me that there are some very nice words out there.

Some people like accents, others like words and others like the way someone talks. The way we express our selves verbally is actually pretty interesting. 

I have never been the accent person, I am not fond of accents that sound foreign to my ear. I only think Russian is not pretty and German sounds horrible. However, when you start to learn the language and the meaning of it, a world opens up. Honestly. German eww.. now when I have been exposed to German by Germans on a constant basis, I actually think they have some nice words. The accent is still horrible. 

But what am I to say that some language sounds horrible? People laugh at me when I speak Finnish. Apparently the Finns sound like the Minions from Despicable Me. That is horrible news for the Finns who are very masculine, strong and proud. Sisu perkele. We sound like peeping idiots. Touché. 

I have one favorite word in several languages. Its actually an animal. Libélula (Spanish), Libelinha (Portuguese) Trollslända (Swedish), Dragonfly (English) and Sudenkorento (Finnish). In Finnish its actually not so attractive, though when thinking of it I don't know too many beautiful Finnish words. In Latin its known as Libellula. All so cute. I love the way the word plays in the mouth when it is spoken.


I might sound Cockcoo crazy. Thats what Sunday does to you.



What is your favorite word? 

Ericeira state of mind

We escaped Lisbon this weekend. Its funny how we have been in Portugal for almost 1,5 years and we have literally been nowhere... There's no time, no resources, too expensive, too lazy etcetera. Its easy to come up with reasons.

However, this particular weekend some Finnish friends were at Ericeira. And we took a crazy leap of faith. Omg the risks associated with a change in normal routine.. going to Ericeira... A true jump in the unknown. Not. Just a bunch of reasons. 


We travelled by bus (and through every single village on the way sighh) to Ericeira. It took us two hours, and the roads were small. I tried to enjoy the scenery, but had this nice cold sweat feeling and felt the blood escape my face.. I haven't been car sick since I was a child. Nevertheless, the air conditioning was state of art. Can you sense the sarcasm? It was raining outside, and the air inside the bus was extremely humid... and the windows were so dim it was impossible to see outside. I felt like a dying fly, or at least could relate to one.




I loved my girlfriend duty this weekend. Be supportive. The guys went surfing, although the weather was not optimal. According to our two pro surfers. (Who had surfed as many times as you can count with two hands) As girlfriends, we had to be close by, so we took chairs to the beach front and sat in the sun. Occasionally you would have to wave from the chair or do a thumbs-up to show that you were watching. Otherwise it was great time spent gossiping and speaking about life and realities. Optimal. Something I have been missing. On surfing round two (guys new attempt to go in the water) we moved up to the beach restaurant. The sun was better there. Wine time.

At night there was laughter, telling of crazy stories and eating good food. And the wine. Wine time.

Ericeira is a good place for surfers, and supportive girlfriends (in case they don't surf). It is small, cozy, friendly, there's nature, good food.. I wish to return. The relaxation was maximum. The feeling of sitting and just being there, having fresh air. It is irreplaceable. Namaste.

Sometimes you can have a full week of holiday in less than 24 hours. Enjoy the Sunday folks!

I am a Dancer

It surprises me how many dancers travel to Lisbon to 'learn how to dance' or study dancing. Last Summer the parking lot in front of Jazzy Dance Studios (the biggest and most known dance school in Lisbon) was crowded with caravans. The location is absolutely perfect, its physically on the brink of Rio Tejo and therefore the scenery is a-w-e-s-o-m-e. And its most probably pretty cheap... Imagine living in a house wagon. Whaaaaat? Pretty cool.

I am going to briefly explain some topics related to dancing. This is the first time I am stating my opinion. Anybody is free to be of another opinion and also state it. But I ask, please keep it civil. No attacks on me. Obrigada.

1st A dancer is a dancer Anybody who dances can call him/herself a dancer. You dance = You are a dancer. If you run, you are a runner etcetera. Got the picture?
After dancing for some years and various styles, I can honestly say that you do NOT need a seniority, experience, status, accumulated years etcetera to be able to present yourself as a dancer. You dance? You are a dancer! Congratulations.

2nd Dance classes If you choose to attend classes for any reason; to know more about the style, to get exercise, to find peace, its a hobby.. you need to respect co-dancers. Again. Even if you would be the "best" dancer in the school or you have danced X-amount of years or you are in a crew, you cannot take space like you own the place, or walk in front of another dancer. Respect others. Believe in Karma.

3rd Learn the foundations I am the worst in this. When I freestyle, I want to do everything else (or my body wants to). Learning a dance style is like learning a language. You need to master the foundations before building your own style on top of it. It means millions of hours of repeating the same move. This applies to any style. If you skip the foundation the dance style looses its meaning. For example: English, if you do not know the basic grammar and have vocabulary, how can you have your personal way of speaking English? Omg you would sound Mongolian.

4th Enjoy! Have fun! There are people who have the grimmest face when dancing. Its about becoming the best (my personal experience). For years I danced 15-20 hours a week. Because I needed to be able to call myself a dancer. And I needed to become the best. But I had no goal, no one I looked up to, I didn't want to become a professional either...Then I lost motivation.
Have fun!! If you have a goal, try to reach it. But remember what brought you to your very first dance class or what made you groove the way you do. The more you enjoy, the better you get.

5th People are different There are the fanatics. Respect. Then there are all the people who come and go. Feeling based. Time based. Personal reasons etcetera. We co-live the community. Let's build it together. Everybody does not have the energy to put every breathing moment into dancing. But when dancing together, lets build the future of dance. Through foundations, por favor. Lets learn from each other.

6th A freestyle dancer and a dance class dancer are both dancers. Now I stepped on toes. These are two branches of dancing. Respect each other.

7th Anybody can dance or state an opinion. I am sorry to say this, and I am sorry to read people attacking each other for the opinions/styles they have. If I choose to dance Hiphop combined with Irish Dance steps (Mastering foundations), it is my way of expressing myself. Let me be.

Finally, dance is a veeeeeeery big word. Think about dancing as a tree. The tree is called dance. The roots are the foundations, the thing making dance what it is and the one keeping dance alive. The branches are the categories, sub-categories and styles. Finally leaves are the dancers. The tree is always growing, new branches are forming with new sub-branches and leaves. But dance cannot survive without the roots.

Peace
Heidi

Outono = PSL e Dia das Bruxas

Omg, it arrived. The fall. I was not sure how long I would be able to take the pressing heat. It is actually nice to have some semi fresh air in the lungs. I said semi fresh because it is nothing compared to the Northern fresh air. Fall is my favorite time of the year.





Lunch walk


Vertical Rain. Fall here is not only colorful leaves, but a never frickin´ ending vertical rain. Normal outfit consists of: raincoat, rubber boots, umbrella and a water proof hat. Never forget the outfit! Otherwise you will get soaked, sick and unhappy. Like me for the past week…

Fall equals to October which equals to Halloween which equals to Pumpkin Spiced Latte. PSL FOR LIFE!! I had already two of them. Not going to miss any chance to obtain more. October also means cold, which means that we (I) need an extra fat layer. Hello love handles. (Duly noted, the over consumption of PSL…)

Besides PSL, I love Halloween (Dia das Bruxas). That is why I organized a Halloween party at work. Because I cannot party in my own house (sensitive neighbors who own cats). I decided to benefit of work. HA. I am going to be dressed as Dracula at 8am sharp. (The party starts at 3pm). But a Vampire is always sharp...I can work on the red eyes by intensively staring at the computer screen for eight hours before the party. And then I travel home by buss. If someone stares too long I bite.

On the contrary to love handles (which will appear latest at Christmas), I bought a Jawboneup2, it’s an activity band alright. The smart device tells me when I have been sitting for too long. After 45 min it vibrates. I jump from my chair like a bolt of lightning and take a walk around the office. If someone thought I was weird before, now they certainly do (they don´t know about the band). Power walking back and forth. The up2 also measures my sleep, food consumption (paired with Lifesum) and overall steps during the day. It’s a-o-k. I am walking extra much this week because we are making cinnamon buns (korvapuusteja) on Saturday. I had cardamom from Finland.

 

On the pictures you see me power walking during lunch break, taking evidence (pictures) of the fall in Lisbon...  

Jag tycker että me could jantar fora on miercoles noite?

When I see the word "polyglot" I instantly think of the green monster in Monsters Inc. Sounds like a small monster, a language monster. Maybe I am.

There are several good and several bad things of being a multilingual person. I did not choose to become one, it happened to me and I decided to feed it once I was at it.

You are not born with a knowledge of Swahili, nor do you learn Chinese in a week. To learn languages takes time and effort. You want to learn a new foreign language? Put ur butt into it. A language does not jump into one persons mouth. You will stumble and you will fall, but then you learn. When you think you do not learn anything, that is actually when you learn the most. 

When you get strong on one language (thus, repeated exposure), you will get weaker on another. Ironically, my mother tongue is Swedish. I am honestly the worst Finnish-Swedish person. I still wonder how fox (räv/rev) is written. I am also dyslexic, but ONLY in Swedish. Ironic, huh?
If I speak a lot of Portuguese, I forget Spanish. When I get the Spanish engine on (30 min later) the Portuguese is non-existent. And then I speak every third word in English in-between sentences.

Thinking happens in every language. Sometimes my mind wonders in English, sometimes in Swedish (usually when I argue with one family member). Sometimes I have no control of mind and mouth and say something like; Jag tycker että pode-se fazer un articulo in the intranet? That was five languages compressed in one sentence.

I share some of my embarrassing moments with you accompanied with a silly picture: 
1. Sopa de polla - Penis soup (I thought of ordering female chicken for a change..except that female chickens are a standard and you should not replace o with a).
2. Queijo de cabrón - Asshole cheese.. (Its cabra alright..)
3. Quatro patas - something extremely sexual (I tried to say hands and knees on the floor)
4. Vinho de burbulhas - Pimple wine (All good, but I mixed Portuguese and Spanish)

Jack of all trades? I know many and I know nothing. Meddling and hustling. I am not perfect in any language. However, I do not get embarrassed anymore. Not even of --> picture.

Best way of learning is trying and failing and then trying again. Be in the core of the language. Move to the country or spend time there. Btw the languages; Finnish, Swedish, English, Spanish and Portuguese. I should learn German next to be out of the box..

Nyt on dags mennä to sleep.

Boa noite