It's been one year since the last post, and I'm amazed to see that people are still checking in here- BUT there has been made important changes:
After a lot of thinking, processing, conceptualizing, programming and a bit more of thinking, I decided to leave this blogspot blog behind and open up a new website:
The blog www.alonavibe.com will also provide a section of a photo + word journal, which will be replacing this blog. But I will leave this blogspot.com open for the old stories to remain.
The new will contain stories and pictures, just like this one did, but it will do so in much higher quality and with higher ambitions. You can check out the journal/blog section here.
Why?
I decided to open up a new space, simply because I needed my site to be more professional and in-sync with my aesthetics preferences and where I am personally and professionally.
So expect of www.alonavibe.com to have a more complex and updated interface and design, and also a platform that FINALLY does not compress my photography. Oh boy how I have been looking forward to this!!
Will I see you?
I'm proud and happy of it and I hope you will like it!
Please let me know if something doesn't work, I want to make sure that you will like the change just as much as I do.
Personlig pladder Atter hjemvendt Efter én måneds tid på dansk jord, har jeg endelig sat mig ned og skrevet lidt. Jeg har overvejet om hvorvidt, jeg skulle forsætte med at blogge (jeg synes det er så mærkeligt et verbum " at blogge" pff) om oplevelserne i Brasilien. Det hele er jo allerede datid og nutiden er her i Danmark. Men meget hurtigt er jeg kommet frem til, at et udvekslingsophold ikke stopper idet øjeblik, man igen er hjemvendt. plantet fusserne i hjemmemuldet. Det er nærmere i denne efterfølgende tid at den egentlige og dybdegående refleksion over alle oplevelserne, for alvor begynder at rumstere i den øverste etage. Jeg sidder derfor stadig med et behov for at have et sted at filosofere videre... og derfor kommer jeg til at udforme nogle indlæg, hvor det hele er set en smule i retroperspektiv.
Jeg holder igen til i lejligheden på Nørrebro, sammen med to nye roomies, derudover er sidste semester på Aalborg Universitet i KBH indtruffet, og tiden går hurtigt med studieovervejelser. Jeg har i skrivnede stund iført mig mange lag uld, sidder med en kop te med ingefær, lime og honning for at holde halsproblemerne i skak, alt i mens jeg lader tankerne vandre tilbage til sydamerika, og forsøger at huske hvad der gjorde at, jeg tog netop de billeder, som jeg gjorde.
___ Eksamen i fotojournalistik I løbet af kurset fotojournalistik, skulle jeg aflevere to forskellige eksamensprojekter. Det første projekt var et "tvunget" emne, og foregik på det sagnomspundne Maracanã fodboldstadium. Det første foregik ikke uden drama. Andet og sidste eksamensprojekt var derimod valgfrit og individuelt. Jeg valgte efter mange overvejelser at samle de billeder, jeg i løbet af de første 3 måneder har taget af min gravide veninde Radhe. Det var ikke bevidst eller med et bestemt formål at jeg havde foreviget den sidste tid af hendes graviditet. Men eksamensprojektet faldt, sad jeg pludselig med et forløb af intime billeder, som viser hvordan de første spark i maven føltes så overvældende, til et festligt babyshower, til et mindre fotoshoot af hendes mave da den var på sit aller højeste, til hun til slut sad med sin lille søn, Victor Zendy, i sine arme.
Radhe er ung, ja, men hun er også et af de sejeste og roligste mennesker, som jeg kender. Hun har altid rørt ved noget storesøster lignende inden i mig. Altid har jeg haft et ønske om at hjælpe hende med hvad det måtte være, at lære engelsk, udenlandsophold eller generelt sådan noget større søskende gør (ikke at hun mangler, hun har allerede to). Jeg husker tydeligt, første gang jeg sad ved hendes side efter fødslen, hun med hendes baby og jeg med min telefon i skødet.. To yderligheder. En fuldstændig ligegyldig genstand og et af livets mirakler. Det var så tydeligt at Radhe på mange måder, er blevet meget mere voksen, moden og klar til at varetage det liv hun havde skabt, end hvad jeg ville være i nærheden af at være. Hvilket også gav anledning til at tænke over hvorfor vore virkeligheder er så forskellige fra hinanden? Noget er sikkert, og det er, at jeg ønsker, jeg en dag vil være blot halvdelen af det naturtalent af en mor, som Radhe er. Et kæmpe tak til dig Radhe for at jeg måtte dele din intime historie i et par billeder.
Babyshower
One week before birth
Victor Zendy a couple of days old
Daddy Nicholas
English Recap// Homecoming After a month on danish ground I finally got myself together and wrote down a little bit. I've been considering wether I should still post some pictures and thoughts on the experience in Brazil. Now when it's all in the past and present is now Denmark. Quickly I found out that the exchange experience isn't over the day you're back home on solid ground again. It's in the subsequent time the more in-depth reflection on everything that happened starts rolling in your head. So frankly I'm still in need of a space where I can philosophize a bit while seeing it all a bit in a retro perspective. Exam in the course photo journalismIn the course photo journalism I had to deliver two exam projects. One shot at the legendary Maracanã soccer stadium. The second was optional. I chose to make a collection of pictures I shot during the first 4 months of my beautiful friend, Radhe Fabres, and her growing belly. I never really thought of taking these pictures with a special purpose but all of a sudden I had a collection showing a process of a young woman's first pregnancy. From first kicks, to babyshower, until the birth of little Victor Zendy. Radhe is young, yes, but she's also one of the toughest and calmest persons I know. She'd always touched the inner big sister in me. I've always wanted to guide her with whatever the distance allowed, being english, exchange dreams or in general what bigger siblings do (not that she's in need of sister she already has two bright ones). I remember clearly the first time I was sitting beside her with her little baby boy in her arms and me with my phone.. Two extremes. A completely irrelevant object as opposed to one of life's biggest miracles. Radhe had in many ways grown more mature, more adult and into being perfectly capable of handling this little life she'd created, than I ever would have been close to. I wish that one day i'll be just half the size of the natural talent Radhe is as a mother. A huge thanks to you Radhe, my love, for letting me portray you and show a glimpse of this intimate moment in your life.
Det er som om at tidsdimensionen her syd for ækvator er mere komprimeret og sekunderne tikker med dobbelt hastighed. Jeg begriber vitterligt ikke hvordan det igen er en måned siden at jeg sidst skriblede lidt herinde. Hvis livet skal gå så stærkt, som det i øjeblikket føles som, så har jeg jo snart et par krapyler under armen og forhåbentlig stoppet med at bekymre mig mest om mig selv og mine egoeventyr. Med det sagt så skal det ikke lyde som om at jeg tror tiden kun flyver for mig, det gør den jo for os alle. Af samme årsag har det sidste stykke tid været præget af alt for mange "åh er det allerede nu vi skal til dette?", vedmodige og kærlige -kram, -knus og "farvel og tak"-møs, til alle de smukke mennesker som har krydset hinandens veje her i Rio.
Jeg kan forestille mig at jer der hjemme pludselig har fået julen oppe over ørerne, samtidig med eksamensforberedelser og/eller arbejdsrelaterede projekter der lige skal nå at afsluttes, inden flæskestegen skal i ovnen og stjernen på toppen af træet.
Det er nok egentlig kun min mama (måske også lidt far) jeg kan forestille mig er sådan oprigtig glad ved tanken om at tiden flyver, for det lader til at hun synes at de 6 måneder gerne måtte være forbi. Og hvor er det fantastisk at mærke at der er sådan noget kærlighedsstads at komme hjem til, nu hvor datoen for 1 måned til hjemrejse nærmere sig.
Dette indlæg er det sidste i rækken af billeder fra São Paulo. Mest præget af min gadekunst og mad fetish. Lidt få ord, lidt flere billeder.
View from my room
More São Paulo commute
Abandoned buildings everywhere in the center of SP
Occupied buildings by homeless in the center
Eduardo Kobra
Gui, his friend Pedro and I went to Ibirapuera Park in SP to cruise on some boards and eat açai. Favorite combi!
Forgot to take more pictures of this beautiful space. Recommendable to pay a visit.
Graffiti in São Paulo
En
af hovedårsagerne til at São Paulo stod som et aboslut must-see på min
liste over ting jeg skulle nå inden hjemrejse, er pga. byens status
indenfor graffiti. Byen bliver anset som et af verdens centre for
grafitti og meget inspiration i denne kunstform kan spores tilbage til
brasilianske rødder, ofte fra kunstnere i São Paulo. Hvis man er bare lidt interesseret i denne kunstform så kan jeg kun anbefale af se dokumentaren Cidade Cinza / Grey City. Her bliver man bekendt med historien bag nogle af SP's stærkeste crews og
hvordan graffitien er en stum stemme der forsøger at udtrykke budskaber
i et noget kaotisk brasiliansk samfund.
Jeg ville ønske tiden havde været til at opsøge de mere afsides steder i byen, som der er adskillelige af, men efter jeg natten for inden mistede min telefon og tiden som bekendt går stærkere hernede, så var der simpelthen ikke tiden til at lave de vilde afstikker, da jeg allerede om aftenen skulle med bussen tilbage til Rio. Jeg insisterede derfor på at tage til Vila Madalena, uanset hvor regnvejrs tung himlen var. Jeg kunne seriøst ikke tage hjem uden at have set bare lidt af det jeg kom for at se.
Vila Madalena
Vila Madalena er et lækkert og 'organisk' nabolag der er kendt for sine koncept restauranter, barer, designbutikker og sit endeløse udbud af graffiti. Det er oftest her man ender som turist og graffiti interesseret, men det er også med god grund for dette udendørsgalleri er absolut fantastisk. Søg efter Beco do Batman og derfra kan du bevæge dig rundt i de små gader og finde adskillelige andre værker på døre, lygtepæle, låger, huse, biler, skure og asfalt. Det mindede mig mest af alt om et stort urbant lærred og jeg elskede det. Afsides eller ej!
We ate breakfast/lunch at this place MEATS, whose owner and concept developer is said to be an amazing enthusiast of a younger year than me, a with a serious love for meat especially bacon.
I can highly recommend eating your way through one of the great burgers in the perfect surroundings at MEATS. It may not be the most aesthetically beautiful 'meat and bun' arrangement I've seen, but the taste was better than anything else I've had in Brazil.
This style!!
Thissmall shopmade mea little homesick. Not becauseI eatlarge quantitiesofcheese back homeinDenmark, butthe associationofDanishsummer vibes inbackyards andin thesmall townsaround inthecountry wherethe only thingyou eatare smalllocal delicacies, suddenlyhad it's intake on mewhen Icame bythissmallplace.
Don't know what's up but It's
like the time dimension south of equator is compressed and every second
last half the time of what's supposed to. I absolutely do not
understand how it's already one month ago that the last words were
written in here. If life passes like it does right now, I'm afraid I'll
wake up with two kiddos underneath my arms before I realize it.. That
being said, I'm totally aware that this ain't something just for me.
Time flies for all of us. Which is also why many of us here i RJ have been caught
by surprise, that the day of our saying goodbyes already arrived. The
last week has been a row of meetups where goodbye kisses and hugs and appreciation has
been exchanged in large amounts between all the persons who crossed each
others life while being here in Rio.. The low probability of never ever seeing a person who became a friend again is probably one of the saddest things about doing exchange. At least for a sensible guurl like me.
I
can imagine that all of you in your respective homes already got a bit
of Christmas fever and has some things at work and school
that has to fall into place before the Christmas is fully allowed to
arrive.
I
think my mama (maybe you too dad) is the only one who actually
appreciates that the time is flying this moment, it seems like these 6
months could come to an end if you would ask her. And how grateful I am
for feeling that I have quite some lovestuff to get back home to now
when the date of 1 month to the homecoming date is coming closer and closer!
This
entry will bring the last pictures from SP. Mostly showing my love for
urban/street art and a little bit of food too. A bit fewer words, a
bit more pictures.
Graffiti One of the main reasons that São Paulo is placed high on my list of things I have to experience before leaving, is because of the city's status within the graffiti world. SP is regarded one of the world's centers of grafiti and much inspiration in this form of art can be traced back to brazilian roots, often from artists from São Paulo.
If you are interested in this art, I can higly recommend you to watch the documentary Cidade Cinza / Grey City. Here you are able to get to know the story behind some of SP's strongest crews and how graffiti is a silents voice trying to express messages within a massive and caotic Brazilian society.
I wishit would have been possible to really dig in at seek into more remoteplaces in the city. But loosing your phone which I did the night before, is a trouble maker, having a bus back in the night and the fact that time, as you know, disappears faster down here, there were simply no timeto makeadetour. Therefore I insistedongoing toVilaMadalena, no matter how heavy and unpredictable the sky was. Iseriouslycouldnot go homewithout having seenjust a bit of what I came to see. VilaMadalenaisa charmingand'organic' neighborhood known foritsconceptrestaurants, bars,designer boutiquesanditsgraffiti!!! Often it ishereyou end upas a touristand'graffitiinterested',but it there is a ligit reason for that because the outdoor galleryisabsolutelyfantastic. Head toBeco doBatmanandfrom there you canmove aroundin the small streetsandfindseveralother workson doors,lamp posts,, doors, gates, houses, cars, cornersand asphalt. Most of all the places reminded me of creative freedom on a largeurbancanvas. I loved it. Remoteor not!
