Slept hard and long last night, and woke to blazing sun beating in the window - made me think I'd overslept, but when I leaped from the bed and checked the clock, it was 5:30am. Didn't want to wake S, so I made a cup of tea in a takeaway and wandered around the neighbourhood blocks smoking cigarettes and marveling in the area's resemblance to the chichiness of Westmount...Returned around 7 and met up with a cool woman from York for breakfast, hung around some more, emailed the paper to Heidi, and walked - ever so slowly - to the U with a mmm-mmm double latte. I think that's been the biggest extravagance here! Nabbed free lunch (shrimp! nice!) and decided that my conferencing - with the exception of the keynote tomorrow morning - is pretty much done...time to check out the place while I have the chance!
Also met a local who confirmed my suspicion that Norway was a more 'kid-friendly' place than elsewhere...Conference aside (which is getting mad support from the government/s here and tons of press in the local papers as a really important event with really significant work being discussed), there are pregnant women all over the place (and yes, they are beautiful and gorgeously attired), and lots of buggies and little people hangin off their folks. Apparently there are policies that have made it easier for people with kids to enjoy and engage with and be public in the city (like free meals, free stays, etc...for kids - even some of the larger boutiques and shops have a wide space in the entrance to leave your tram). Now there's a big something that makes this city different from Montréal.
oh, forgot to mention that we went to the palace last night as well...it's strange how our invitation to City Hall was such a privilege when the royal digs are in the middle of a public park. They have the royal guardsmen (yup, all dudes) on...well, guard, and circling the park regularly, but there is no public-private divide...you can reach out and touch the walls and no one bats an eyelash. Snapped a wicked shot of two of them as we walked through...
More things on my mind:
- I think the beauty secret of Norwegian women lies in the high cost of food and the reasonable cost of clothing. They must all buy new and trendy items without eating or guzzling beer.
Also:
the bizarro politics of networking. Status. Power. Rapid shifts in cultural and social capital - sometimes within seconds. Listening. Space and the taking up of it. Feigning interest in something or someone.
Missin' my baby.
No comments:
Post a Comment