hi birgitte,
i'm writing to you from china right now. every year i visit my grandparents and also the family that raised me. i also have 2 friends here from childhood and from them, 2 godsons.
jeg skriver til dig fra kina. hvert år jeg besøger mine bedsteforældre og familien that raised mig. jeg har også to venner her fra barndommen, og fra dem, to godsons.
my days here are very relaxed. usually i'm totally destroyed by jetlag but this time was relatively mild. i spend my time going from place to place, seeing family or friends. everything here circles around food, so basically every meal time is planned. my dad's mom lives with my uncle and my mom's dad lives with my aunt, and as you have it, since a few years ago they live in the same building, so it's quite convenient for me to go back and forth. they are both in stable health and the grandpa/grandma who raised me b/t the age of 3 months to 3 years old are also quite active, at ages 83 and 87.
mine dage her er meget afslappet. usually i'm totally destroyed by jetlag men denne tur, jetlag var mild. jeg bruger min tid going from sted til sted. alt her cirkler omkring mad, så hvert måltid er planlagt. min fars mor bor sammen med sin søn min onkel; min mors far bor sammen med sin datter min tante. a few years ago, min bedstefar flyttede til det samme bygning som min bedstemor, så det er quite convenient for mig at gå frem og tilbage. de er begge i stabil sundhed og bedsteforældrene who raised mig (mellem tre months og tre years old) er også meget aktiv, at ages 83 og 87.
every time i'm back i try to learn a bit more about family history. it's fun to hear stories about the past and sometimes embarrassing stories about myself. apparently, i had 'a lot of personality'. if someone yelled at me, i'd just go stand in the corner, facing the wall and not talk or respond for a long time, as if doing that was a punishment for people around me.
hver gang jeg er her, i try to learn a bit om familiens historie. det er sjovt at høre historierne og nogle gange embarrassing stories om mig selv. apparently i had 'en masse personlighed". if someone yelled at me, i'd go stand in the corner, facing the wall and not talk or respond for a long time, as if doing that was a punishment for others.
my best friend since first grade is named ming... thought that was quite a funny coincidence. she's like my frederic. before email and phones, we used to write letters to each other when we were in school (i left when i was 11), so it's no small miracle that we have been able to stay close and in touch. we don't talk all the time but whenever we do speak or see each other it feels very natural and fluid, as if we were never separated. she had cancer last year, which was quite shocking. really makes you realize that there's nothing more important than one's health.
min bedste ven since first grade is named ming... quite a sjovt coincidence. hun er som min frederic. before emails og phones, we used to write breve to each other, så det er ikke et lille mirakel, that we have been able to stay close and in touch. vi tale ikke hele tiden men når vi taler eller see each other it feels very natural and fluid as if we were never separated. she had cancer last year, which was quite shocking. really makes you realize that there's nothing more important than the health of your loved ones and of your own.
i'm here for a few more days and will head down to shanghai for 3 days to see friends there. i lived there for 2 years from 2009 to 2011 and still have some good friends there. it's easy to stay in touch these days, but nothing like an in-person catch up. last year i thought about moving back to shanghai since there are so many more entrepreneurial opportunities but the pollution is just a bit too much sometimes. i also think for someone who's quite cerebral, new york is a much better place for me to explore different interest in addition to just work. maybe one day i'd want to live in asia again. i think i'll always miss being able to use both languages. who knows what the future'll hold?
jeg er her for a few more dage og vil gå til shanghai for tre dage to see venner der. jeg boede der from 2009 til 2011 og har stadig nogle gode venner der. it's easy to stay in touch disse dage, men intet som seeing them in person. last year i thought about moving back to shanghai since der er so many more entrepreneurial opportunities, men the pollution is a bit too much for me. i also think for someone med mange interests, new york er et bedre sted for mig, at least for nu. måske en dag vil jeg gerne bo i asien igen. jeg tror, jeg vil altid savne being able to use both languages. der er også mange andre gode steder at bo. hvem ved hvad fremtiden vil holde?
i am typing on my phone so will stop here for nu. håber due har en god start til sommeren!