Najnowsze wpisy, strona 3


mar 27 2005 SHENZHEN
Komentarze: 8

 Shenzhen (www.matthewjbates.com)

 

 

 

-         No to Ania, co chcesz zjesc na lunch?

-         Cokolwiek, ale nie jestem za bardzo w nastroju na glowe zolwia, koty, psy I weze.

 

Bedac w Szenzen zawsze dobrze jest zadbac o to co laduje na talerzu. Jedzenie psow I kotow nie jest tam nielegalne jak w Hong Kongu, ponadto ludzie przescigaja tam mieszkancow HK w pomyslowosci dotyczacej co moze byc zjedzone. Ale w koncu Jude zabral mnie do restauracji indonezyjskiej. W rzeczywistosci to bylo bardzo chinskie indonezyjskie miejsce – glosne, z wlaczonymi odbiornikami telewizyjnymi, ogromnymi okraglymi stolami, no I poza tym skonczylismy jedzac dim sum (ktory jest specjalnoscia kantonska).

To byla swietna okazja aby podszkolic moj Mandarynski, ponadto dano mi kilka porad dotyczacych chinskich zwyczajow przy jedzeniu o ktorych nie bylam swiadoma wczesniej (jak pukanie w stol kiedy kelner nalewa herbate – to znaczy 'Dziekuje')

 

To niesamowite jak bardzo to miasto rozni sie od Hong Kongu. I mimo, ze jest zaraz po drugiej stronie granicy, to jest jak inny swiat – inna waluta, inny jezyk, prawostronny ruch drogowy, w wielu wzgledach inna kuchnia isprzedawcy uliczni pociagajacy obcokrajowcow za rekawy wykrzykujac 'Missy, missy…' I jest taka specjalna atmosfera podczas przekraczania granicy I wchodzenie na teren Chinskiej Republiki Ludowej.

 

Czuje sie bardzo zrelaksowana po spedzeniu tam troche czasu: recital zheng (niesamowicie lubie ten instrument), koncert fortepianowy I chinska opera podzialaly jak balsam dla duszy; na koniec z Jude I Cinderella spedzilismy kilka godzin przy fortepianie I spiewajac rozne utwory. Szczerze, czulam sie tak dobrze ze gdybym mogla to bym nie wrocila.

Zakochuje sie w Chinach, naprawde.

 

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-         So Ania, what would you like to eat for lunch?

-         I'm fine with anything, but I’m not really in mood for tortoise's head, cats, dogs or snakes.

 

While being in Shenzhen it's always good to take care of what kind of food lands on one's plate. Eating cats and dogs is not illegal there as it is in Hong Kong, besides people surpass Hong Kong citizens in imagination about what can be eaten.

Finally Jude brought me to Indonesian restaurant. But in fact it was very Chinese Indonesian place - loud, with TV sets switched on and with enormous round tables and anyway we ended up eating dim sum (which is Cantonese specialty).

It was great opportunity to brush up my Mandarin besides I was given some advice on Chinese dining customs that I haven't been aware of (like knocking the table while waiter is pouring tea into a cup - it means 'Thank you')

 

 It is incredible how much different this city is from Hong Kong. Even though just behind the border, in many ways it's like a different world – different currency, language, right-side traffic, in many ways different cuisine and street salesmen pulling foreigners by their sleeves, saying 'Missy, missy..'. And there is this special atmosphere while passing the border and entering People's Republic of China.

 

I feel very relaxed after having spent some time there: listening to zheng recital (I really like this instrument), to piano concert and to Chinese opera worked like balsam for soul…; finally with Jude and Cinderella we ended up sitting hours by the piano and singing some songs. Honestly, I felt there so good that if I could I wouldn’t come back.

I’m falling in love with China, I really do.

 

-ania- : :
mar 15 2005 Chor chmur / Choir of clouds
Komentarze: 4

 Nelly Sachs

 

 

No coz. Sa momenty w zyciu kiedy czlowiek ma wrazenie ze wszytko dookola zawala sie w ciagu sekundy a wszyscy przechodnie nosza ze soba mlotki gotowe aby je wyciagnac I porzadnie przylozyc w glowe. Chicago: ‘To nie wypali, przykro nam’, A: “Wszystko sie zmienilo”, HSBC: “Twoje stopnie z ostatiego semestru nie byly zbyt dobre”, Karen placze, na dworze zimno a lekarz przepisal tone tabletek, husteczki sie skonczyly.

 

Ale patrzac na pozytywna stone, to zawsze dobra szansa na zaczecie wszystkiego od nowa. Granie na pianinie, plywanie i planowanie podrozy pomaga. No I mam dziwny nastroj na Nelly Sachs (piszaca o Holokauscie), The Doors I herbate truskawkowa.

 

 

Jestesmy pełne westchnień, pełne spojrzeń,
Jestesmy pełne smiechu,
Nieraz oblicza wasze przybieramy.
Jestesmy blisko was.
Kto wie, ile waszej krwi się unosi
I nas zabarwia?
Któż to wie, ilescie łez w naszym płaczu
Przelali? Ile tęsknot nadało nam kształt?
Jestesmy umierania graczami,
łagodnie przyzwyczajamy was do smierci.
Wy niedoswiadczeni, których noce niczego nie ucza.
Dano wam wiele aniołów,
Lecz wy ich nie dostrzegacie.


 

(tłum. Leopold Lewin), Nelly Sachs “Chor chmur”

 

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Oh, well. There are moments in ones life when one have an impression that everything around just collapsed in a second and all passers-by are carrying hammers ready to bump one’s head. Chicago: ‘It won’t work out, sorry’, A: ‘Everything changed’ HSBC: ‘Your grades from the last term weren’t good enough’, Karen is crying, weather is cold and the doctor prescribed tones of medicines, tissues are out.

 

But looking at the bright side, it is always a good chance to start everything from the beginning. Planning journeys, playing piano and swimming helps, and I have a strange mood for Nelly Sachs (writing about Holocaust), The Doors and strawberry tea.

 

We rehearse tomorrow’s death even today
while the old dying still wilts within us -
O humanity’s dread not to endure -

O death-accustoming down into dreams
where night scaffolding breaks into black fragments
and moon glows like bones on the ruins -

O humanity’s dread not to endure –

[Nelly Sachs]

 

-ania- : :
mar 13 2005 “Riders on the Storm... into this house...
Komentarze: 3

 

 

Sonatine

 

Zobaczylam kolejny film Takashi Kitano I jestem nawet pod wiekszym wrazeniem nimz po “The Boiling Point”. Jego filmy z tamtego okresu maja cos wspolnego z Pulp Fiction. Moze to dziwne porownanie ale podobienstwo w koncepcie smierci jako gry jest uderzajace. W Sonatine postacie reaguja na przemoc z ironicznym stoicyzmem – nie widac prawie zadnych ekspresji na twarzach kiedy spluwa jest wymierzona prosto w ich kierunku.

“Nie bac sie zabijac ludzi znaczy nie bac sie zabic siebie?”

(Murakawa wyjasnia ze nosi bron aby uniknac walki)

“Kiedy boisz sie caly czas, prawie chcialbys byc martwy”

 

Murakawa przygotowywuje dobrze zasloniete pulapki w piasku nap lazy:

“Szefie, czy to nie jest dziecinne?”

“Co innego moge robic?”

 

“Cos do picia?”

“Dzgnales mnie w brzuch I to nadal boli”

 

Lubie filmy Kitano (w Sonatine zagral on glowna role) za medydacje zycia I w pewien sposob egzystencjalne podejscie bohaterow.

 

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W piatek, na reszcie, wybralam sie na wystawe: “Impresjonizm: Skarby z Narodowej Kolekcji Francji”. Fantastycznie bylo zobaczyc wszystkie te obrazy (bylo ich 40-iles, wszystkie z Musee d’Orsay_Lubie impresjonistgow bo ich obrazy zostawiaja tak duzo miejsca dla wyobrazni. Prawie kazdy ktory tam zobaczylam przywoluje wspomnienia z przeszlosci albo uczucia ktore kiedys byly czescia mnie.

Kilka ulubionych z wystawy pomizej.

 

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Ostatnia pogawetka z Manuelem byla naprawde niesamowita. To takie zaskakujace, ze kiedy mur berlinski byl burzony on (wtedy 14latek) byl tam I bral udzial w tym wszystkim, podczas gdy ja, kilkuletnie dziecko, czekalam na tate ktory mial wrocic z Berlina z cukierkami. To bylo takie niesamowite porownac nasze historie z dwuch stron muru – moje I jego dziecinstwa, moje pierwsze spotkania z Zachodem, jego ze Wschodem; historie moich wujkow rozstrzelanych przez Nazistow I dziadkow uciekajacych przed nalotami I hiastorie jego krewnych uciekajacych z Kaliningradu przed Sowietami. Niesamowite

 

 

Edgar Degas “The Dance Class” 1873-76

 

 

Claude Monet “Rue Montorgueil, Paris. Celebration of 30 June 1878

 

 

Camille Pissarro “The Outer Boulevards, Snow Effect” 1879

 

Gustave Caillebotte “Canoes” 1878

 

 Claude Monet “The Cart. Snow covered Road at Honfleur” 1867

 

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I’ve seen another film of Takashi Kitano and I’m even more impressed than after The Boiling Point. His films from that period seem to have something in common with Pulp Fiction, it might seem to be a strange comparison but this what I find so similar is the concept of death as a game. In Sonatine characters react to violence with an ironic stoicism – there are almost no facial expressions even if gun is pointed into one’s direction.

“not being afraid of killing people means not being afraid of killing yourself?”

(Murakawa explains that he caries gun to avoid a fight) “When you’re scared all the time, you almost wish you were dead”

 

Murakawa prepares well-concealed sand-traps on the beach.

“Boss, isn’t it too childish?”

“What else can I do?”

 

“Something to drink?”

“You stabbed me and it still hurts”

 

I like Kitano’s films (in Sonatine he plays the main role) for their meditation of life and existentialist-type attitude of heroes.

 

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On Friday, at last, I made it to the exhibition: “Impressionism: Treasures from the National Collection of France”. It was incredible to see all of those paintings (there were 40-odd of them, all from Musee d’Orsay). I like impressionists because their paintings leave so much space for imagination. Almost each of those I’ve seen recalls some memories of past events or feelings that were once part of me.

Some favourites above.

 

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The last chat with Manuel was really incredible. It’s so amazing that at the time when the Berlin wall was falling down, he (then 14-year-old) was there and took part in all of those events, while I, few year old kid, was waiting for my dad to come back with sweets from Berlin. It’s so incredible to compare our stories from the two sides of the wall – my and his childhoods, my first encounters with the West, his with the East; stories of my uncles shot dead by Nazis and of grandparents escaping from raids and stories of his relatives escaping from Kaliningrad from Soviets. Incredible, it really is. 

 

-ania- : :
mar 06 2005 'Can love vanish without a trace?' / 'Czy...
Komentarze: 6

 Sous le Sable

 

 

Zjadlam zabe. Najpowazniej w swiecie zjadlam – na parze w czerwonych daktylach. I jakos tak mam poczucie winy myslac o tych wszystkich zabkach, ktorym przygladalam sie w dziecinstwie w ogrodzie. No coz… ale smakowala jak kurczak. Jeszcze tylko zupa z wezy I bede doswiadczona w lokalnej kuchni.

 

-         Czy na Zachodzie wszyscy ludzie wierza w Boga? Kazdy tam mawi ‘O moj Boze’

 

To bylo dobre pytanie. No I znowu rozmowa o Bogu, tym razem z Anrew przy skrzydelkach kurczka w miodzie w jakies malej restauracyjce na odludziu Hong Kongu (sama nie wiedzialam ze takie miejsca tutaj istnieja). Fajnie jest porozmawiac z kims tutaj o Witgensteinie.

 

W drodze powrotnej z pracy, w minibusiku, natknelam sie na jednego z moich uczniow – 3letniego Guan Guan. Jak mnie zobaczyl, to zaczal krzyczec ‘Teacher, teacher!’ I wszyscy ci ludzie odwrocili sie aby na mnie popatrzec. Przez cala droge siedzial tylem do kierowcy, usmiechal sie I machal. Poczulam sie niesamowicie wyjatkowo.

 

A z Patrikiem zupelnie spontanicznie zdecydowalismy sie wziasc udzial w konkursie mowy publicznej. Decyzja padla pol godziny przed rozpoczeciem, napisalismy sobie zarys mowy w pietnascie minut I chwile potem stalismy juz przed publicznoscia na jednej z sal wykladowych. Zabawa byla swietna. Temat: ‘High Tech, Low touch’.

 

Na projekcji centrum sztuki, kolejny film – tym razem francuski “Pod piaskiem’ (Sous le Sable) Ozona (Czy milosc moze zginac bez sladu?). Fantastyczny :troche odniesien do ‘Fal’ Virginii Woolf. Kobieta, ktorej maz zaginal na plazy, nie akceptuje jego zaginiecia I zachowuje sie jakby on nadal zyl.

 

‘Zal zjada powod do sniadania’ Lazear Ascher

‘ Pod piaskiem pokazuje sposob w jaki zal zmusza osoby do zycia w zawieszeniu pomiedzy przeszloscia a przyszloscia’

 

 

Sous le Sable

 

I ate a frog. Honestly I did – steamed frog in red dates. And I feel guilty when I think about all of the frogs I’ve been observing in a garden as a kid. Oh well… But it was good, like chicken. Another time I’ll try snake soup and I’ll be really experienced in the local cuisine.

 

 

-  Do all people in the West believe in God; because everyone says ‘Oh my God!’

 

That was a good question; and again a talk on God - This time with Andrew while eating chicken wings in honey in a small restaurant somewhere in an almost abandoned part of Hong Kong (I had no idea that places like that exist). It’s nice to know someone here with whom it’s possible to talk about Wittgenstein.

 

On my way back from work, in a minibus, I met one of my students – 3-year old Guan Guan. When he saw me he started shouting ‘Teacher, Teacher!’ and all of the people turned back to have a look at me. During the whole way he was sitting with his back to the driver, smiling, and waving. I felt really special.

 

With Patrik, totally spontaneously, we decided to take part in public speaking contest. The decision was made half an hour before the competition, in fifteen minutes we wrote outlines of our speeches and soon after that we were standing in front of the audience in one of the lecture theatres. We had a lot of fun. The subject: ‘High Tech, Low Touch’.

 

On the Art Center’s film screening another film - This time Ozon’s “Under the Sand” (Sous le Sable), (‘Can love vanish without a trace?’). Fantastic, with some references to Woolf’s ‘Waves’. A woman whose husband disappeared on the beach cannot accept that he is no longer there and acts as if he was still alive.

 

‘ Grief eats reason for breakfast’ Lazear Ascher

Under the Sand reveals the ways in which grief forces individuals to live in a limbo between the past and the future'

-ania- : :
lut 23 2005 Chinskie Walentynki / Chinese Valentine's...
Komentarze: 1

 Hello Kitty

 

 

 

 

-         Ania, czy wierzysz w Boga?

-         Nie.

Dlaczego pytasz?

-         Myslalem, ze wiekszosc ludzi w Europie I Stanach wierzy. Mialem kiedys nauczycielke z Holandii, ktora nie mogla zrozumiec dlaczego ludzie w Chinach nie wierza w Boga.

 

 

A do karaoke pojde jeszcze na pewno. Cos niesamowitego – kapsula jak z “Lost in Translation”, duzy ekran, trzy mikrofony, taniec na stole I troche wyglupow. Zakonczylo sie “Yellow Submarine”, rapowaniem Patryka, chinska opera R. i “I did it my way”. Cos niesamowitego, nie dziwie sie teraz dlaczego karaoke jest tutaj tak bardzo popularne. Co za wieczor!

 

 

 I've lived a life that's full.I've traveled each and ev'ry highway;But more, much more than this,I did it my way. Regrets, I've had a few;But then again, too few to mention.I did what I had to doAnd saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course;Each careful step along the byway,But more, much more than this,I did it my way. Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knewWhen I bit off more than I could chew.But through it all, when there was doubt,I ate it up and spit it out.I faced it all and I stood tall;And did it my way.  

Tak chce zyc.

 

Chadzam sobie do restauracyjkach I pubow smakujac high-life I wydajac moje ciezko zarobione pieniadze. Ale warto. Po zupie z glowy tunczyka w restauracji japonskiej, czekoladowej margaricie w pubie meksykanskim I rozmowie na temat flakow, Manuel zaczyna tworzyc sobie obraz polskiej kuchni. A glodna jestem caly czas I wieczorami napadam pokoj Patryka wyjadac mu jedzenie.

 

 

Zaoferowano mi prace w Szenzenie, rozwazam, rozwazam. Nie wiem jak upcham to do mojego grafiku, ale zawsze cos tam mozna wykombinowac. Mam strategie aby wprowadzac wszystkie plany w zycie. Wyklady ida do przodu; profesor Wong na Rekrutacji mowi jak Romeo – jest naprawde uroczy I milo sie go slucha. A profesor Lui na Ekonomii Hong Kongu wylozyl nam ekonomiczna teorie malzenstwa. Bylo troche smiechu, ale duzo w tym prawdy.

 

 

Obejrzalam kolejny japonski film Yukisady Isao “Crying out love in the center of the world!” (Pragnac milosci w centrum swiata). Jest niesdamowicie poetycki I naprawde wzrusza. Ma duzo wspolnego z ‘Trzema Kolorami’ Kieslowskiego. Warto obejrzec.

 

 

Nocna rozmowa z mama doenergetyzowala mnie bardzo. Fajnie jest tak porozmawiac I dotknac zycia, ktore zostawilo sie na drugim koncu swiata. A siostrunia zyje sobie samodzielnie w mieszkaniu, Pati rosnie a ja juz robie plany aby ja zabrac na pewne wakacje do Australii a potem do Indii. Uwazaj! Ciocia odjazd nadchodzi!

 

 

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-         Ania, do you believe in God?

-         No.

Why do you ask?

-         I thought that most of the people in Europe and America believe. I have had a teacher from Holland and she couldn’t understand why people in China don’t believe in God.

 

 

To karaoke club I’ll go once more for sure. Incredible – a capsule like from “Lost in Translation”, big screen, three microphones, dance on the table and being silly. We finished with “Yellow Submarine”, Patrick’s rap, Chinese opera sang by R. and ‘I did it my way’. Amazing evening; no wonder that karaoke is so popular in China.

  

I've lived a life that's full.I've traveled each and ev'ry highway;But more, much more than this,I did it my way. Regrets, I've had a few;But then again, too few to mention.I did what I had to doAnd saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course;Each careful step along the byway,But more, much more than this,I did it my way. Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knewWhen I bit off more than I could chew.But through it all, when there was doubt,I ate it up and spit it out.I faced it all and I stood tall;And did it my way.

 

 

I want to live like that.

 

I’m going out to restaurants and pubs tasting high-life and spending hardly-earned money. But it’s worth it. After having eaten salmon head soup in Japanese restaurant,  drunk chocolate margarita in Mexican bar and having a talk on flaki (Polish soup made of….guts), Manuel starts shaping his opinion on Polish cuisine. Besides I’m hungry all the time and raid Patrick’s room in the evenings in search for food.

 

I’ve been offered a job in Shenzhen and I’m thinking about it. Don’t know how I’ll manage to fix it into my timetable but I’m a big fan of putting all of the plans into practice. There is always a way to work something out. Lectures are going on; professor Wong from Recruitment talks like Romeo – he’s really cute and it’s nice to listen to him, while professor Lui from Hong Kong Economy was talking today about economic theory of marriage. There was a big laugh, but there is a lot of truth in all of this.

 

I’ve seen another Japanese film, this time Yukisada Isado’s “Crying out love, in the center of the world”. The title sounds a bit kitschy but the film is really good – very poetic and has a lot in common with Kieslowski’s “Three colors”. It’s worth watching.

 

Last night’s talk with mum energized me a lot. It’s great to talk and touch the life I’ve left on the other side of the world. Sis is living in her apartment; Pati growing up and I’m making plans to take her to Australia during one summer and to India afterwards. Be aware! Your wicked aunty is coming!!!

-ania- : :