Frosty Sweden.

Sweden met me with the cold fresh flurries of air and white snowflakes which were ignoring my shaking body slowly fell by the scruff of my neck. I was surprised how quickly I got used to the warm climate and bewildered by my inattentiveness in my dress.
I was happy that I got my luggage without any hassles and was rolling my pushcart with all my might toward the parking place where my car was parked.

Foolishly unprepared to my next procedure I had no choice as to sweep the snow from the car with my bare hands. I don’t remember how long it took, but the only memory that I have, is my wishing to get over as soon as possible.
Finally I jumped into my car and darted away with strong anxiety about the price of the parking and with fear to be charged more for the each delaying moment.

After couple of minutes, when I was already on the motor way, I discovered that my driver door was not locket and I could do nothing about that, because the lube oil was frozen. To stop was not an option, with regard to a driving police car behind me and the sign of stop-forbid on a motor way. I had no better alternative as to hold the door with my left hand and to maneuver my car with the right one. After 10 minutes my hand grew dumb and was forced to stop. Luckily till that time the lube oil warmed up and the door closed automatically. I was really happy when I arrived home, partially because I was terrible tired and partially because I had the summer tires on my car and I could get in trouble if police would notice that.

The house was snowed in.

My house wrapped me with the solemn silence and warm air. I haven’t been at home for a while, thus I was roaming from side to side of the house just to revive my fading feeling of belonging to this place.

By and by, the jet-leg took over and I fell asleep in my cozy and chilly bedroom. The last what I remember is the cool breeze of the fresh crispy winter air which filled in my lungs and swept my mind away into deep sleep which lasted for 14 hours.

Coming home.

Tomorrow I am flying back to Sweden; I am looking forward to it. We are going to ski two weeks in France and then back to Sweden.

Yesterday I finished two courses and got my certificates. It feels lovely.

Two days ago we invited by G company to the Christmas party. It was a blast! We had such great time and I danced three hours without any stop. My Manolo Blahnik shoes, as it was proved, are not just beautiful shoes, but they also fulfill their purpose as a pair of comfortable shoes. A good investment, because I can’t recall when it was last time I could dance 3 hours and didn’t get any hassles with feet.

Christmas shopping is much better here, you have more variety and even when it come to price it is cheaper to buy here. So my luggage is full with Christmas gives to my family. See you all soon.

My favorite paintings of Dali.

Dream Caused by the flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate.




The temptation of St. Anthony.





Swans Reflecting Elephants.

Girl Standing at the Window.





Dali’s the most famous: “The Persistence of Memory” .

The Salvador Dali museum in St Petersburg, Florida.

After the nourishing dinner, it was time to plan for the next day. One of the travel guides recommended visiting St. Petersburg, where you can find one of the biggest Salvador Dali museums. Although half of our group wanted to explore the Marco Islands and didn’t give a fig about Dali, the second half was determined and exercised the privilege of “acoustic management” by persuading the group to visit the Salvador Dali museum. So be it. The next morning we hit St Petersburg and faced the beauty of Dali’s art.

To be honest with you, Dali wasn’t my favorite painter but I always respected him for what he achieved during his lifetime. Though many people consider him mad, history hasn't  indulged us with very many where “craziness” has led to such extraordinary success.

In order to fully understand the works of Dali, it is necessary to know about his life and personality. It is only in the light of certain facts that we can truly judge Dali’s genius and deliver it from the many prejudices and clichés that have spoiled it.

At the museum we had the guided tour, led by a devoted German woman who bewitched me with an amazing story of Dali’s divine life. I also got a lengthy explanation about his, at first look, “crazy” paintings and Dali’s obsession with small details in his paintings.

I was also amused by his deep love for his soul-mate, Gala (she was an immigrant from Russian), his creativity and efficiency. I would not be wrong if I say that there are not very many other genius painters who create so many masterpieces during their lives.




I was stricken by the fact that Dali actually made many other paintings which are “normal,” and they are not so contradicting or as many other people would express themselves, vulgar. Now that I understand more of his art, I don’t perceive his creations as provocative.

In this museum, for the first time in my life, I saw couple of amazing Dali paintings which I never saw before, and they astonished me by their beauty.

Velázquez Painting the Infanta Margarita with the Lights and Shadows of His Own Glory.




The Broken Bridge and the Dream.



I would like to be enlightened a little bit more about the painting “The Broken Bridge and the Dream,” which has bewitched me and revived my imagination.
Just the name thrills me: unfortunately it is difficult for you to see all the details.

By peculiar and individual positioning the surrealistic figures around the broken bridge in the incongruous imagery environment, Dali reveals our human state of mind which rendered by the fact that your dream is broken.

The picture mirrors our life’s raw brutality and gives me a creepy feeling. I am bewitched by how perspicaciously Dali shows the predicable end of our life’s destiny. It shows the fragility of dreams and naivety of our perception of life.

Those who are on the broken side of the bridge are already angels and I find this propounded deep and touching.

Fort Myers.

Just enough to bed time we entered Fort Myers, I faced the terrifying view of the abandoned city with all hotels closed and the only functioning building was a local jail. I have nothing to add particular about this city, apart from that it gave me a creepy and horrifying feeling. We were recommended to drive to one big local shopping center which was located outside of city. Finally we entered to a huge shopping mall which consisted of numerous stores and restaurants with a local music and entertainment. We checked in our hotel which was comfortable and affordable, the dinner didn’t leave any memories apart from the fact that we discovered a new good California vine. It was so god that it is worth to dedicate more lines to it:
J. LOHR
Estates of Seven Oaks, Cabernet is grown in vineyards in the Estrella Hills area of Paso Robles, one of only three appellations in California that produce “world class” Cabernet Sauvignon. The Seven Oaks Cabernet has aromas and bouquets of cherry, blueberry, violets and vanilla. The flavors are lusciously full, balanced by firm tannins.
I am strong recommending it.

The Sanibel Island.

After our late lunch we drove to the Sanibel Island in hope to find some picturesque hotel with two sea view rooms. According to the old guide book which we found in our car, the Sanibel Island is renowned as gorgeous beauty with many luxury hotels which are located on white beach from where you can see unforgettable sun set.

The island by itself is not so big; it is enough 55 minutes to cross the whole island. Our optimistic mod started to cease after couple of unsuccessful attempt to find our dream hotel. The more we seek the worse was the result; four places had no vacancies, the other two didn’t have sea view rooms and the next was for big families.

We had no luck, which I alluded to the high holiday season or (which is the most likely) to our old unreliable guide book. I have to admit that we saw many beautiful private mansions, they all were situated on gorgeous beaches and the public access was denied.

[private beach house]

No doubts that the glory of the island is true, but you need to be very rich and own a house on the island in order to enjoy it.

Our last try felt at the first sight an agreeable hotel. But this impression was crossed by unexpected unpleasant muttering of the young receptionist. After long harangue we were allowed to look insight. The place was old and creepy; nothing was couching, temptations, pleasing or inviting to stay there for one romantic night. The beach area was forlorn and dirty and the inside garden was ill-conditioned. All balconies were covered by huge net, giving an impression of jail. I couldn’t hold my tong and asked the receptionist what was the purpose of that, she answered me on less polite tone that it was for the protection from mosquitoes. Her answer rendered just more questions in my mind, like about the possible side of mosquitoes who were supposed to get trapped in that net (what by size of birds??) and about the hotel management’s statement forward their customers.

Anyway, disappointed and tired, we crossed the island for the second time and left it in hope to find a better place to stay overnight. I wasn’t especially saddened but my friend, who was dreaming about to see a beautiful sun set, was completely crossed.

The never seen sun set.

I thought that the fortune is playing a mean joke with us, with consideration that we have such a gorgeous place at home which we left for the search of more romantic place where we could sit on the beach, drink champagne and see an unforgettable sun set. Instead we were driving toward the closest city, Fort Myers, in hope to find a better place to stay.

Naples, Florida.

Naples is a little picturesque vacation town with gorgeous beaches.

The first impression is that everything is almost surreal, the excessive pedantic clean streets and beautiful environment.

The main street (5th Avenue) goes directly to the beach, which is famous for the extremely white sand and immense variety of big shells.

In some books you can even find stories about entrepreneurial swindlers, who are during the First World War sold that sand as a sugar.

What hit me the most is that the shore and seaside of Naples reminds me so much of the beach in Ljunghusen (a little village in Sweden), thought the air temperature is nicer in Naples.

The streets of Naples are decorated with all kind different stature. I wouldn’t miss my chance to take a ride on the animal which I fear the most.

By rambling through the city we found a nice (at least by the first appearance) restaurant and sinking in oblivion of peaceful environment we ordered lunch. Meanwhile waiting for food we conversed about our pleasant experience of the city…until we got our food. In the moment we realized that we were in the tourist’s trap where you get bland food with really high prices. Apart from that, the city left a pleasant memory and nice impression.

Everglades, Florida.

Living here in Florida, you don’t want to miss the chance to explore its famous places and to travel around “State of flowers”. Florida, was discovered by Spanish explore, Ponce de Leon in 1512, who was surprised by overwhelming beatify and abundance of flowers.

Here are many places to visit. We decided to introduce ourselves more cloth with Naples, Fort Myers and adjacent picturesque islands.

Traveling with friends is much better idea than do it on its own. You have chance to chare your experience, discuss about seeing and have fun together. We are acquainted with a lovely couple and they are perfect companions when it comes to traveling. We all four have different opinions which renders a lot of discussions and vivacious conversations. To not delay our plan we packed our bags and the next Thursday headed to our destination.

The first what I was introduced to was the famous Everglades. Everglades, in my own simple language, is the world biggest natural home for alligators and wild creatures of similar nature.

I am not so in love with those, that why I prefer to observe these animals from the window of my car. It took more than two hours to cross Everglades, the landscape was a mixture of endless water with lilliputian-size islands. Sometimes I couldn’t distinguish the water from the fixed land and everything appears as ceaseless mire.

I didn’t see, precisely, any rambling alligator (why should they show their pretty faces to me?) but I saw many wild exotic birds which I never saw in my life. It is amazing feeling to watch how they are graciously pacing on the water surface at the same time hovering in the air.

I admired them mostly for their brave walk among malignant predators.

Ush…

The week was pretty boring, nothing special…

College - home, home –college, with intermissions for Pilatus.

My job search, so far, gives no results. I with horror think about that day when I would not have time to communicate with you, my readers, because of the job. Normally when you have a job, it is not so much time left for blogs, books, sports , etcetera.

There is a nice event, which is new for me that I started more or less regularly practice golf, the weather allows it and like it so far.

Some little sweet creature is coming visit us from Sweden this week. Someone who is so dear to me, that I need to abrupt these lines, because tears are covering my eyes; my heart is pumping extra, I am so excited!!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and everything is closed in the US.

We are not going to eat turkey. What a horror, 300 million turkeys are killed every year, just particularly for this day. But tradition is tradition, with turkey or without.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of You!


The day after tomorrow called here for Black Friday. Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. The term "Black Friday" originated due to the heavy traffic on that. During this day the sales figures in the US are the highest. The stories are opening at 5 am until 12 pm.

Stieg Larsson “Millennium”

Today is one of ordinary sunny days in Florida but the air is still chilly. When I started to read a new book yesterday (the third part of Stieg Larsson “Millennium”) and became addicted immediately.

God bless people who are so talented and can write in such way that you never can stop reading and just you feel like you are disappearing in the book's world. And finally I done with the last book of “Millennium”) and thanks God for that, because I couldn’t do anything else.

I have to admit, that at some point I am a little bit surprised over myself to be so captive by this Swedish writer and swallowing his books in instant. Apparently, I didn’t read enough of Swedish classical literature (sorry for that!).

The topic of Stieg Larsson’s stories is not of my interest but they are so gripping. My last two books of Larsson I swallowed within three weeks and I am a little bit glad to say that. For me, it is a good achievement, especially when the books are not in your native language. Who knows, there are might be some people who are swallowing more impressive books in instance, but I have to do it on my way.

I like to read and reread it, and bring myself in that environment; I like to be part of it, I like to tease my fantasy (which I have in abundance), to imagine scenes behind the lines, to indoctrinate myself into writers mind, to predict his next sentence and it happens often that I realize that I am hovering for too long somewhere else not related to the book. It is like writing a parallel version at the same time.

The weekend.

This weekend I dedicated to golf. It was long time ago when I hold a golf-club in my hands. Although, that right now, I have more time than for the last past 8 years of my life, I couldn’t take off with the golf.

Partially, it was due to the hot weather (when outside is 38C, you can’t play so much) and partially due to other unexpected activities, which were rendered by moving to the US.

On the Saturday evening, I got creepy pain in my back and right arm. G just laughed at me and informed that if I would do all the swings correctly and I would feel sore in my left arm. “People are playing golf with a left arm”, - he told me. Ok, what should I say in that case? No comments, I swallowed his witty joke.

On the Saturday evening I got a creepy pain in my right arm and back. G just laughed at me and informed that if I would do all the swings correctly and I would have a pain in my left arm. “People are playing golf with a left arm”, - he told me. Ok, what should I say in that case? No comments, I swallowed his witty joke.

The next morning, early we drove to the “Plantation” golf course. The golf course was much better and the environment was more inspiring and stimulating. Saying that, I didn’t feel the same, all my body was aching and I couldn’t raise my hands. The first bucket of bolls went spoiled by all my misses and bad swings. But gradually I regained my “second breath” and overbearing the pain I improved my play to a certain level.

In general I like golf, but it takes so much time that in some cases it is overwhelming and distressing. I try to do so many other sports activities at the same time, that folks are wondering where I find all time for this, which is a riddle for me too. My sports activities today are: Pilatus, yoga, jogging, a little swimming, golf and that is it. I guess, I have never been brilliant at any of those but variety gives you the feeling that you are never bored.

Shoes mania.

I have to admit that I got a lot of response on my “Manolo Blahnik or moral parable?” story. The story is divisive and provokes your thoughts.

It seems to me that it is quite common that people are facing these kinds of dilemma on making decisions whether to buy or not. When it comes to me, I am exactly as you, my dear reader; I am pondering on this issue and facing the same problem. I am a profound believer in taxes and theirs well intended end-purpose, I am definitive not a Saint, though.

So after a great deal of rethinking, elaboration on the other possible options and investigation whether it is possible to find a sale on this brand ( and may be a little discount on top of that), I have discovered that even the “Goddess” of shoe fashion has a “stigma” in terms of quite significant discounts. In other words, “Manolo Blahnik” had a sale on last year collection! And I didn’t miss it!

Well, I think it is a smart strategy from the famous brands and it is appreciated by people, especially when the shoe factories must have their return.

Remember, that even Jesus descended on earth to appear in front of people and made the people believe in him. Action of something like that, must be taking by exclusive shoe companies in our gloomy and financial uncertain days, to be able sell their products. “Manolo Blahnik” has nothing to be ashamed off.

Then I applied my “be patient and wait” strategy. And they are. Aren’t they lovely?

I just want to add that they are comfortable, easy to walk in, stable and suitable for all your occasions; they can even match with a pair of jeans or evening gown.

The boat show.

My second attend to visit the Boat show was more successful. The next day G and I went to the show. It was crowded, though we came just before opening. A couple who passed by, asked us whether we were going to the show and when they received positive answer, they gave us two free tickets; their friend didn’t show up and they had two tickets extra.

It was a promising beginning. The show didn’t disappoint us. I liked the environment and mingling with the people. The bouts sizes varied from small to large and to gigantic.

I used my imagination to understand how it feels to be an owner of one like that. Unfortunately, I did not prevail over my sober perception of life (I can never have one like this) and my fantasy for once failed.

Every man was drooling over this Ferrari boat.

Boys and their toys!

On small once you could see a price and even on the bigger boats too but not on those which were enormous. I guess if you have money in abundance and you can afford one of those, so it doesn’t matter $1million more or less.

Those boats are like a luxury house for tons of people with such lavishness inside, that I doubt whether I have seen something like this in normal houses.

The impressive boats.

But still, according to our friend, the prices were 1/3 of Swedish level.

The boat that I liked (and I can assure you, I am not a boat person) was “just” $60 000. I guess it was one of the modest, among all those. The next level is around $6 Million dollars and higher. The assortment of boat was impressively immense.

The small boats.

In the whole everything that the show was offering was great, it was worthy visiting, but I would not come from Europe for that, at least if you are determined to by one, for “bargain” price.

This week was really a good week; I had such positive energy through the entire week. I have no explanation for that. I am happy and I don’t know why. It scares me a little bit that I can be happy and not knowing the reason for that, but I love this feeling. It is like you have magic wings and hovering over yourself.

I have started an introduction with American job market; right now it is really gloomy when it comes to employment. The unemployment level is the highest for the last 25 years. Pitch dark!

My pronunciation teacher says that I am really progressing; my relatives are saying that I got Texas dialect right now. In general, I just enjoy what I am doing, as a child, I ban all restrictions on myself and on what I do and how, I am just observing everything what I see and hear, and it pays off.

The week has been wound up with the cozy home dinner and shared bottle of really nice wine (“Sterling Vintner’s Collection” from 2005) that we got from our Swedish friends, who were visiting us here last week.
Thank you guys, the wine was fantastic!

Wilson stole the show.

Every year, during the last 50 years, Fort Lauderdale has been hosting one of the biggest boats shows in the US.

This year the weather is extremely hot for this time of the year and outside is still 35 C. For me, who can’t endure the sun in a large extent, it is painful to go around, because it would take hours and hours to introduce yourself with everything that offers the show; at the same time you do not want to miss anything.

With consideration that people are coming to Fort Lauderdale from different countries just for this show and I, who have the opportunity just to drop by, haven’t done this yet, I have determined to visit the show, regardless all obstacles. I can tell you, there are plenty of those, like a burning sun (already mentioned), impossibility to find any parking place in the surround areas; all high prices on water, food, etc & etc & etc.

My first attempt to visit the show was with a friend of mine and a dog (that day she was taking care of the dog, which belongs to her landlord) has failed. We came all the way by foot and the security did not let us in because of the dog.



Any way it was a remarkable experience. The dog, named Wilson, is of breed Giant Schnauzer and it is he-dog. Although Wilson just one year old, he has impressive size and really charming. So, all the people were stopping and talking with us about the dog, asking about the breed and age, offering their water and everything else. I was choked by the situation, because in normal cases nobody tries to talk to you, out of the blue on the street, even in the US. People of different age range: from youngsters to old couples, all were friendly and curios. To be honest, I never expected such an attention, I never had a dog.

I shared my experience with G, he exploded with laughter and told me that it is an old-well-known pick up attention trick. Usually girls or boys, who are striving to draw attention from an opposite sex, are practicing in this.

Anyway, Wilson was a beauty but I was tired. He demanded so much solicitude and care as if he was a human child.

No dogs for me.

becoming American

The past ten days of my life were dedicated to different family activities. A big group of Swedish “tourists” just left our apartment after one gorgeous week of golf in Florida.

Of course everybody went to Sawgrass Mall, which the second biggest mall in the US, where you can find merchandise of all imaginable brand names for 1/3 of the price in Europe.

It was really fun to in the Sawgrass Mall this week because everywhere you could hear Swedish. Swedish everywhere. Swedish people love to spend the fall vacation in warm countries, especially when you can combine shopping with sun.

What are the odds of this situation?:
A Swedish couple came all the way from Malmoe, Sweden to Florida in order to renew their wardrobes in the Sawgrass Mall, and they ran into their neighbors from same street from Malmoe. Unbelievable!

Becoming American.

Today’s story of horror,namely visiting a hairdresser, is something that usually gives a lot of pleasure to all everyone.

I had never had my hair done in US.  When I asked my friends about the price, they told me that it is really expensive, around $165.

I couldn’t continue with my hair undone, so I decided to investigate the market and see whether I could find a cheaper option.

A friend of mine, recommended that I drive to the Alve Institution, which is a school for becoming a hairdresser. You can have your hair done in the presence of a supervisor (who is supposed to help when a problem occurs) and get an affordable price.

"You get what you pay for," Does it sound familiar?

It all started with a hairdresser student, a guy who was recommended by my friend, and I was supposed to go to him, but he did not show up. After waiting thirty minutes, a supervisor sent me to another one. When I looked at her, I immediately felt immediately felt that something would go wrong. My intuition was telling me: "Take your handbag and get out of here”. But you want to be so Swedish and "polite," thus I stayed.

Since I wanted to do highlights, the girl started with partially applying bleach on my hair.  After an hour with bleach on my hair, she had not  even finished 1/5 of my hair. (I have to assure you, that God didn’t bless me with abundance of hair.) I was so worried , that I almost felt panic, and I implored her to check what was going on with bleaching part. I don’t want to dwell on all the problems, but I have to say that my only wish was to get out of there and keep what remained of my hair.

After five hours my hair was done and I was so tired that I even forgot to give a tip to the girl, which is a must here in US. Poor girl and poor me!

And now I am mostly concerned about  my tendency to forget to tip, since in Europe you normally do not tip for such kinds of services, at least it is not mandatory. However, I am starting to feel bad when I simply forget to add a tip.  That said, the next worry was that I became saturated by the American way of living so soon.

Envy.

According to Christian teaching, all men have a tendency toward seven sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy, and pride. As for me, and according to my life experience and many years of observation, I believe that the most insidious sin is envy. If we ponder this subject and critically look at our own lives, we discover that maybe somewhere and somehow we had been victims of people’s ill-natured actions, which were rendered by human envy.


Envy, a hideous, ugly, abominable and cruel trait, can be a reason for imperceptible bad changes in the hearts of our friends. People affected by this disease are completely unaware of it, go trough psychological changes, and alter their behavior towards their friends, colleagues, and family. Everything that you have built in your relationship with this person might disappear just in seconds.

Her Majesty Envy destroys everything: friendship, faith, loyalty, and most importantly, the human heart. Envy is as an insidious poison that ploughs through one’s veins and slowly destroys a human soul. There is an expression "white envy," when a person is ingenuously glad for the success of his acquaintances, friends, or just people around him. What makes me sad is that boundary between “white envy” and “black envy” is so nebulous and vague that people don’t notice when they accidentally slip over to the other side. Unfortunately the "gray" zone, in this case, does not exist.

It wouldn’t be fair from my side to be discussing this topic and not admitting that maybe, more than once, I have also been affected by this plague. You know, somebody has a better car, a bigger house or simply whiter teeth ... (there are always a million reasons to be found!). But in the end, I realized that there are always people in our immense world who somewhere, somehow are better situated. Wasting your time, your energy, and strength on a painful and useless desire to be better than others is just demeaning and destructive; moreover, envy destroys and tears down heart and soul. We are all just merely human with our greatnesses and weaknesses.

It’s human to make a mistake, but to forget it is divine. Our life would be much better off if we all would eradicate this wickedness, and find rejoicing and appeasement in our own lives! I am sure that every human has a rich and prosperous life in some perspectives. Enjoy and cherish every minute given to us by omnipotent God. Be not afraid of showing gladness for your friends or neighbors sake, and your generosity will be rewarded more than once!

Every arrival of "spring" inevitably will be followed by "autumn".

The perception of my own existence provokes an indisputable feeling of indescribable excitement and curiosity of my affiliation and communion to our world.

Who am I and what is my mission? All these questions are as old as our planet and answers on this mystery would be never found.

How frightening often I change my ideas and notions; how surprisingly easy, I find myself in contradictable utmost of interpretation of my life: from the prodigious sense of purpose to the commonness apathy.

I feel that sometimes my mind like a fading life tree, which is losing its dried leaves which are slowly spinning down in their valse of agony and the frightening sense of indifference, fogged my intellect.

My mind is longing for just a few drops of magic elixir that usually appears from nowhere but them it’s enough to revive my hunger for existence and to nourish my brain with intoxicated divine sweetness of the aspiring to life.

Oh, how much I love this feeling, I enjoy every moment of this state. Each little square of my body vibrates, aggravates and brings a new burst of energy. Sense of spring, with the intoxicating scent of happiness, emerges in front my eyes and envelops my kingdom of mind; bringing boundless joy mixed with little melancholy, by knowing that every arrival of "spring" inevitably will be followed by "autumn".

I am so grateful for the opportunity which offered me by my life to meet such a great teacher that never knew so far in my life. A man who is really dedicated, he is accountable and pushing you to your utmost, trying to achieve a result. He managed to lead quiet a big group of students with such envy determination, that I start to question myself whether I preformed adequately in my life.
I wish I could meet such giving person before and not wasted my time with the people who just suck from me whatever they could.

The sweet tiredness.

I have started all my courses and you have probably noticed it, because my notes have become fewest. I like everything what I learn, though many of my courses were canceled and I was forced to take the new once. I am attending my classes every day and really enjoying the environment in my college. The pronunciation class is more challenging than anything else. Our teacher is so determined and accountable that sometimes I feel like I almost broke my tongue after all his twist-tongue exercises. I am tired every day, but it is a different kind of tiredness, filled with satisfaction and sweetness.

Cheap

Today I  executed the privilege of living in US, as opposed to living in Europe. Although there are not too many of these moments, I felt it strongly when it cost me only 288 SEK for 60 liters, which was a full tank in my car ($2.60 for a gallons, which is 4.8 SEK per liter).

I wouldn’t even dream about such a price in Europe.

The idle pursuit of uncomprehended happiness.

Human’s understanding of the vital concept of our happiness and where to find it  has always been a source of heated conversations and a subject of intense disputes.

Unfortunately our rich imagination is also a source of a profound sadness, which leads us to conclusion that happiness is somewhere far away and we do not know where, but we all want to get thither. Each of us is convinced that when fortune smiles at us, then we will live happily ever after.

Is our fortune roaming around the world and we are just marking time; or are we flying by it at a giddy pace without even noticing it?

This question remains unsettled, as the dilemma of what came first: the chicken or the egg. But one fact is still undeniable - the fact that we are forever chasing something that we can’t even describe. That is unshakable evidence that a human remains disordered in the perception of happiness.

I relate this assertion to myself. How many countries did I live in; how many languages did I study; to how many cultures did I adapt? All this is just a mere confirmation of my gut feeling, affirmation of something that I perceived long time ago: the simple fact that the writing of these lines brings me an indescribable joy and conciliation, and a tranquility of my worthy being.

Key West, Ernest Hemingway, Day 2.

I prefer not to waste my time on searching for good restaurants during my travels for one simple reason: it is difficult to find one, especially on short notice. In my experience, all those touristic places are filled with visit-one-time restaurants. The business idea of those restaurants is simple: have a central location, nice appearance, cheap, awful food with inflated prices, and be a trap for tourists. The hungry tourists stumble over these places when they have the desire to eat. Nobody takes complaints seriously because the guests will never come back anyway, and there are so many tourists outside. So a poor tourist does not have many options to choose from, and he swallows the food with an excessive amount of wine.

By the way, I do not recommend that you (warning for Europeans) refuse to pay your bill due to the bad quality of the food; the owner will immediately call the police and you can get arrested. A friend of mine got in trouble when he refused to pay for his disgusting meal. Be smart: try to choose simple dishes that the chief can’t mess up.

Okay, after my tirade above, I got up the guts to actually recommend one restaurant in Key West: Opera Italian restaurant.

They have delicious food, reasonable prices and good service! Try it!

The main reason why you should visit Key West is to enjoy the wonderful natural setting and the beautiful sea.

The water on the Key West coast is clean, and the surrounding archipelagos have beaches with gorgeous white sand. Another reason to visit Key West is the spectacular sunsets.

The sunset in Key West.

Do not expect any fancy museums or cultural things (except for Ernest Hemingway's house).

The writer's house.

My favorite part of Key West is the museum of one of the greatest writers ever, Ernest Hemingway. Ernest lived on the Island for nine years with his thrird wife (he had five, in total). After thirteen years together and two boys, the writer had an affair with another woman. The years spent in Key West have been considered to be the most fruitful years in his creative life. He produced 50-60% of all his books on this island. When I looked at the prodigious beauty of Key West environment, I stopped wondering why was so.

The balcony of the writer.

If you get a chance, you have to visit this house. The furniture and interior design are still authentic as well as the cats. There are 44 cats running around the house. The guide told us that all those cats descended from Snow Ball, the favorite cat of Ernest, the famous character in many of his books. Unfortunately, Ernest Hemingway committed suicide, but not on this unforgettable island. (He suffered from mental illness. Moreover, several of his ancestors had committed suicide too.)

Key West, Day 1.

The concept of tropical life has always been, for me,   tantamount to an overseas tale. But now, living in this "fairy tale," I constantly complain about the unbearable conditions and relentless sun. Therefore, the idea of visiting  tropical Key West, for me, wasn’t wasn't very tempting.

But, as always before I jump to any conclusions, I have to first visit the place myself and experience it. We booked a hotel, gathered our friends, and drove off on a journey to Key West in two cars. It took us four  hours to drive, and nothing remarkable happened, except that one of our friends got sick after the lunch at one doggy tourist restaurant. By three o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived at the place and settled in the hotel; then went to explore the local attractions.

The biggest difference between these islands and the rest  of Florida is the architecture. Key West has prevailed on preserving the antediluvian houses. The view of the old houses takes you a hundred years back. If Miami is a city skyscrapers, then Key West is a picturesque village from Ernest Hemingway stories.

Key West is really a very small place, but uncommonly cozy and tropical. The atmosphere is relaxing and wild roosters (I can’t comprehend from where they came) are rambling around the town. The stream of lazy and goofy tourists (too much wine or too much heat) renders the feeling that time has ceased there.

The peaceful atmosphere goes along with the heat and even the wild roosters don't respond to the clicks of your camera.

The people passing by are constantly jumping from one side to another, trying to find shade under the huge indigenous Banyan trees in the alleys.

Key West is also one of the most popular stopping points for giant cruise ships from all around the World. The cruise ships, which are crossing the Atlantic, stop for a day or two and  bring a lot of tourists.

Most Americans still go to church every Sunday. The view of pretty churches bring peace, tranquility, and local charm.

The local church.

The depth of the coast surprised me when I saw a giant-size cruise ship causally parked by the shore.