Embrace! Småland

I had a lovely conversation with designer and curator Pia Sjölin yesterday about her latest project Embrace! The exhibition which will be on display at the House of Emigrants, Växjö, Sweden begins 14 September and runs through January 2011, and includes the works of no less than thirty Swedish-American artists, designers, photographers and musicians. The exhibition has two themes – The American Dream and Swedish Identity. But Embrace is more than a one time exhibition. Embrace has a greater mission in that it hopes to become the source for a movement. It’s founders have a dream for the future . . .  to live in harmony regardless of origin, religion, cultural background or political beliefs.

According to their website, ¨Everyone can participate, not only as a spectator, but by being actively involved in workshops, debates, and the collaboration of many different people, cultures, and ways of life, through various Embrace! venues.¨  In addition to the exhibition, Embrace! will offer events including language cafes, fashion shows, music and film screenings. Several venues in Småland are participating.

This is exactly the type of project I had hopes of developing once I reached the Swedish shores and you know I will be attending once I get to my new home. Lycka till to Embrace! curators Lixuan An and Pia Sjölin. The exhibition opens in the House of Emigrants September 14, 2011 through the end of January 2012. The activities are run by Culture Park Småland and the event is supported in part by the U.S. Embassy in Sweden.

Discover similarities. Upptäck likheter. Celebrate diffrences. Hylla olikheter.

Artist List:
Kenth Andersson, Ulf Andersson, Ragna Berlin, Siri Berg, Suss Cousins, Kristofer Dan-Bergman, Agneta Eckemyr, Helena Espvall, Helena Fredriksson, Hans Frode, Sarah Gyllenstierna, Madeleine Hatz, Jonas Hellborg, Helena Hernmarck, Irene Hultman, Inger Jirby, Maja Kihlstedt, Alexander Klingspor, Anders Knutsson, Birgitta Linhart, Catarina Lundgren Åström, Peter Norrman, Tove Ohlander, Mats Pehrson, Agneta Persson Hauser, Irene Pluntky-Goedecke, Tana Ross, Henrik Tamm, Anne Thulin, Vivianne Tvilling, Stefan Umaerus, Rasmus Wangelin, Peter Åström.

Find Embrace at:
http://embrace.se/

And on Facebook:
Embrace Småland

Utvandrarnas Hus:
http://www.utvandrarnashus.se/eng/

Swedish Embassy StockholmÖ
http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/

Travel apps

Some nice apps for those of you who might be escaping to a new country to live… or perhaps just a vacation.

Trip Advisor: Download it here from Itunes.

Foursquare: Download it here from Itunes.

Goggle Maps: For Android.

Flight Tracker: For Android.

Currency Converter: For Android.

Currancy Converter: For Iphone.

FoodSpotting: For Iphone, Ipod touch, Ipad, Android

Google Translate: For Iphone, Ipod, Ipad. For Android

Do you have others to share? Please feel free to do so in comments below.

What’s love got to do with it?

After a recent argument with my beloved, a close friend said to me with worry, relationship “shouldn’t be this hard.” I agree. I shouldn’t be. But in my heart and in my mind I know that all relationships are hard. Love is hard. Loving from two separate continents is harder still. As Tapani and I  get closer to creating a life on one continent, life becomes more stressful. Yes, exciting. Yes, adventurous. But also fraught with challenges which bring a rain of high emotion. Each day is a new journey and sometimes a new battle.

Couples who live in the same town can experience high stress when faced with moving in together or marriage. Imagine what this is like when you are moving to another continent? It’s not always going to be cake and roses. Time zone differences, separation, packing ones belongings, fear, excitement… they all lend to a mix of emotions that can be dangerous brew. Communicating with your partner on a regular basis via sms or phone is not ideal. Much gets lost in the way of 140 characters or phone conversations late at night. Misunderstandings, crossed connections and assumptions can be the order of the day. I sometimes think that this relationship of fourteen years is nothing short of a miracle. Or is it just love?

Sweden’s vipers and killer slugs

Sweden has vipers and killer slugs! Oh my! Last night listening to Radio Sweden was the blurb about warmer weather coming and those walking about in the woods and forests should beware of vipers! Vipers? Between the venomous snakes and the killer slugs, I’m thinking perhaps I’ve picked the wrong continent.

Gotta run now… out shopping for really tall boots!

Dependence Not of One’s Own

I’ve always been rather independent. Ok… maybe a bit more than that. My ex-husband would say to me “ You are too independent for your own good”. Honestly, to this day I can’t see how being independent could be a bad thing but clearly the ex had some issues with it.

So, I wonder, how is it that I’ll fare when plopped into a new country completely dependent on my fiance . Everything new and foreign. How on earth will I navigate the snabbköp where there are words like tändstickor, mjölk och tvål? How about the bus system  . . . the destinations on the wall of the kiosk are 27 consonants long. How will it be when this fiercely independent, former single Mom, has to depend on her man for the simplest of instruction. He’s going to have to help me learn how to use the washer and drier for heaven’s sake. It’s going to be a whole new world