22nd of August 2017
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we always had all the time in the world to do what we want to do?
I think so.
I am torn between so many things. I want to do so much. I want to write about my life in China and my life in Portugal. I also want to write about nothing, just the thought that is in my mind at the moment.
I have got 2 blogs. One in Icelandic and then this one here on WordPress.
The Icelandic one is older. I began because I wanted to keep my mother tongue. I never, or almost never, speak Icelandic but I do write a lot. I keep a diary and when I feel miserable for some reason my best solution is to sit down and write, and I write in Icelandic.
My other blog is here and in English. This one is more or less for my foreign friends and it is different.
Writing in Icelandic is mostly about the situation there. We all think everything is fine in the land of ice and fire. The beautiful land. The land of the Vikings. The land foreigners want to visit when on holidays.
Unfortunately there are sever problems in the tiny island. The elderly, the handicapped, the people on low income and those who don´t have work, are all suffering. Or most of them. There are elderly people who are well off, but the majority is not. It´s the majority I speak up for. The rich ones don´t need any spokes man. They are happy and the sun shines on them when they want the sun to shine. They have houses and food on their tables, every day. They travel and play golf. They can escape the cold winter and the darkness by hopping into a plain and flying to a warm sunny country. What a joy, and I am happy for them. I just wish everyone in the tiny island had food on their table every day and roof over their head. I wish everyone could afford to go to the doctor and if they needed medicine they could afford to buy it. I wish everyone could afford to go to a gym and exercise to keep their health better. I wish live was good for everyone in the tiny island. It is not. That is why I write about matters that I feel are important for the population in the land where I was born. I write about Iceland in Icelandic and it takes a toll of my sanity. My mind is tired and it is a relief to open my WordPress blog and write about everything else. Thank the almighty for variety.
I am going through pictures and letters and my diary from the time I was in China. The life there was not always easy but I miss it dearly. I miss my wonderful friends. I miss my students and I miss the art. The art that is everywhere. There is no place where you don´t see the wonderful Chinese art. I don´t know what it is in the soul of the nation but they are artists by the grace of the almighty.
Sitting and watching them cut the stones or the roots is an experience that makes you appreciate life.
They use every spot they come across to grow their vegetables. Beside the footpath there are vegetables. They are protected with plastic against the extreme sun. The riverbanks are used for vegetables and the little boat is for fishing. Everything is nurtured even in the big city. These pictures above are from my area, The Min Hou area, outskirt from Fuzhou.
Even the houses reflected in the handmade rivers are art. The bridge and its colours are in perfect harmony with everything around and you look down and see the perfect garden. Whose garden this is I don´t know. It is just there and smiles at you.
All around me in my wonderful home was beauty and art. All around there were people who smiled and wanted to know something about the rare foreigner. Everyone was friendly and smiling. Of course they tried to cheat me and have me pay more for my goods, but who cares. They think that the foreigner is a rich person and she should share with them her wealth. Is that not how it is in the perfect world? I think so.
Hulda Björnsdóttir
My thoughts shared with you 