Victory Day

It is such a wonderful day today. Sunny and warm, the only thing that spoils is that I have to work on my exams. From my kitchen window where I sit with my PC, I see apple tree blossom and hear birds. In the middle of the day I go to Facebook and find the links to Military Parade in Moscow. Suddenly it is not just a nice day in May. It is Victory day.

Yesterday I was walking, and noticed that many houses had Norwegian flags high. Why? It is still a week till the National Day. But it made me think how little it means to me.

And here is Victory Day, and I write in my status. “all Soviet kids, today is Victory Day, don’t forget! (like I did:/). We are the winners, whatever that means”. I know that for many of my friends it has as little meaning as Norwegian flag for me. But I am touched. Because I am a Soviet Child. And other Soviet kids all over the world are touched too. Though…we could be just going around, working, studying, eating, laughing, making love…but something stops us, because it is 9th of May. Because we, humans, are cultural animals, not just animals. And this is culture – this is our past, our memory, our symbols. This is why it is important and we can spend hours in discussion about important of Victory Day, instead of just forgetting it, and eating, studying and making love.

It is just politics, we say. It is just history. But don’t say it to a Soviet child. Our generation is still touched by that war. My both grandfathers were in that war. And today my city is full of veterans who put on their medals only for this day. They are fewer each year, but they are still there. And they say: “we fought so that you can live now!” Well, modern youth doesn’t think too much over it, and just walks away to buy another beer. In the evening there is an open-air disco on the main square, so this sounds more fun than military parade. Still I have reverence for those people because they went through war. And I am grateful that no one in my family died in that war. Because my country lost some 20 million people then.

Why am I so touched today? I don’t see veterans, I don’t here the traditional tunes of Victory Day – so I go to youtube and find some of them. And tears come to my eyes. Today these songs have different meaning for me: they are not about war and veterans. They are about my home country, and my home city, my people, my past, my memories. It reminds me of Victory Day when I was 17 and I was on the main square with my friends. It reminds me that I understand those drunk folks in my city more than folks here, who are nice, but their Norwegian flags awake no feelings in me, and their joy about National day and victories in ski championship brings a little ironical smile on my face. I cannot share their joy. I am not mean. But for me ski means nothing. Just like Victory day means for them.

In the end, this is all just symbols. Ski, flags, date of May 9, songs, medals…but they are so important for us. They make us what we are. They are part of our identity. So how can we stay unemotional about them? Today I am more emotional than yesterday or tomorrow.
(But maybe I just miss home too much now)

And this video makes me cry too. And it is all about the same...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=518XP8prwZo

Bin Laden as a Symbol

Today's news:
"Bin Laden var selve symbolet på terror.
USA-korrespondent Alf Ole Ask mener dette er en viktig seier for Obama."
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/article4109119.ece

"Ti år etter terrorangrepet på World Trade Center har USA funnet og drept Osama bin Laden." It is interesting that USA did it. Not some person, not some group - but the nation. It is a fight between nation and terror. In semiotics it is called metonymy. When a part stands for the whole. Bin Laden stands for terror. This is very symbolic fight. It would be not so great if it was just some military troop against some specific person. No. It is USA against terror. And USA has won this fight. This is how we create history, this is how we create myths.

"Viktig seier for USA.

USA-korrespondenten sier dette er så viktig for amerikanerne nettopp fordi bin Laden er selvet symbolet på terror". It is important because it is symbolic. A fight between good and evil. That's why it's so important for Americans. But isn't it a bit scary that we let the symbols so easily rule us? do we have right to celebrate already?

and some practical implications: "Obama sliter på meningsmålingene for tiden. Han trengte en slik seier etter rot rundt fødselsattesten hans og kritikk rundt økonomien i USA. Dette er en god dag for Obama." If you have problems in your own country, it is always good to find some external enemy and fight against him. And see - we win! All Americans can unite in celebration and forget about internal problems. So practical...Does it work like math logic, proportionally? more internal troubles -> more external enemies.

Was it Spring?

And this is why we love spring in Norway. Because it lasts only some days.The first day I mistrustfully look at the sun outside and wear warm scarf and jacket. The second day I leave my hat and gloves at home, take a little walk after work, smell the air and ask: "can it be true? is it spring now?". The third day I wear ballerina shoes and take off my jacket. The fourth day...there is no fourth day. The fourth day is FINITO.

Yesterday I was sitting on the terrace of bakery not far from my home, wearing T-shirt and sunglasses and played a French intellectual. Sitting on the cafe terrace with chai latte and thick book of Roland Barthes "Mythologies". The sun was shining, the streets were full with people, I could hardly read because of all the noise and traffic. Today....it looks like yesterday never existed. The sky is gray, it rains, and wind turns the umbrellas inside out. I am glad that I wear a cap and a long coat (not a denim jacket like I intended), and feel like a one-man expedition to the North pole, struggling my way to the subway through the wind.

Every season is short here, except for winter

My New Inspiration

Today I heard a lecture on Roland Barthes, the French structuralist. He is famous for the book "Mythologies" where he analyzed all kind of cultural objects - Greta Garbos face, Citroen DS, Tour de France, striptease, fashion. As our lecturer said,he was good essayist, but not equally good to create a clear theoretical foundation behind his cases.
So I thought: "why can't I be like him? I am so good to produce all kind of different thoughts about so many things. But maybe not so good to draw clear theoretical line through them all..."
My classmate Tara wrote on a Post-it note: "you are the feminine version of Roland Barthes". And we found out that I was born in the year when he died - so there is an opportunity to interpret this as a reincarnation of some kind :)

Anyway. I have an ambition to produce lots of small neat analysis of Norwegian cultural objects (like Barthes did with the French ones). Hope, I will succeed...

P.S. Doesn't he look lovely on that picture? I would love to have such a lecturer :) Even if I had to tolerate his smoking...

Cheese Slicer

Today I cut my finger with cheese slicer.
I came to school, tired, sick, with a cut finger - in the need of compassion. My classmate Tara started to laugh: "how do you manage to cut yourself with a cheese slicer? This shows really that you are a foreigner!".
Yeah, Norwegians believe that cheese slicer is a Norwegian invention. I wonder: is it some kind of test? if you can use cheese slicer, are you integrated more?
Well, I am not integrated, as we see now...
But who could guess how to use that thing - without a user manual?