Buried Alive, A True Story - Marklund Liza, 1995

This is a story of a Swedish young woman called Mia Eriksson, who falles in love with an arab, who turns out to be a sick criminal. He makes the life of Mia Eriksson and her new family a living hell and forces them to escape him with no limits.

The book is extremely disturbing and made me so frustrated I had to read it in 2 days. I needed to know how the story would go on. All the muscles of my body were stiff when I was reading.

It's a story of domestic violence (woman as victim), so I recommend women to read it, women who should know how and when to defend themselves, but who don't get oversuspicious about everything. If you tend to have bad dreams, this is nothing for you.

There has been discussion about if what Marklund has written has any signs of truth. Some don't believe in anything of it, some believe there are few things changed, Marklund herself claims she has written it together with Mia. I can't believe it's all junk, but I do understand we are speaking about books that have to be sold, so the story has to flow.

But it is not that important.

What is important for me is to confront these fears of being repressed, even if I just read about it. Someone who knows me, might think I'm a tough girl, but you should have seen me when my pathetic landlord screamed the shit out of me, because the safety fuse went off. I was really scared, couldn't say anything, locked the door and started crying hysterically. How can I, a girl about 1,6m tall, defend myself infront of big bad guy?

What is also interesting that the story scene is in Sweden, so to realize how the authorities react (or don't react) is very important for me, a person, who believes too much in the perfect protecting systems of the Nordic countries.

I would like to thank...

... the person who just has done 4 full machines of my laundry, dried them and folded them nicely, and who has been working 4 days through while I was learning and having party.

You don't know what it means to me.

"A Woman should always...

... have something in her purse that makes a child be busy for 30 minutes."

The result might be something like this:


And I was just taking a shower :DDD

Ich liebe dich.

Source: www.MSN.de 13.12.2009., 50 Dinge, die eine Frau können muss

Update, Part VI: Duties duties

The third week here I found a job, with some help from my aunt. Unfortunately it takes a lot of my time, but that is only a matter of organisation and giving up other things.

I'm working in a Supermarket that sells Organic Food. All is organic and I buy most of my stuff there now that I get 20% discount! Brilliant. The work itself is interesting – every time I learn to know new products. The clients are nicer than in normal Supermarkets, I swear!

The hour salary is worse than the one I got in Frankfurt. I didn't know there was anything worse than that and that I was even going to accept anything less :D But I'm doing it now, it's still funny and I'm learning a lot doing it.

Luckily the 350€ that I get from the work isn't all my incomes: I also get BaföG (German study grants), which makes it all a bit easier. Like all (good) Finns, I also finance my studies from my own money – so one stress factor less.

The studying itself takes a lot of time, a looooot of time. But that wasn't a surprise to me ...I'm surprised that I'm managing it already this well! Though this feeling of: it's never enough of work done... That is new for me. I bet some people would be astonished to see me in front of my desk this long periods. I was never a person that studied a lot. I never needed it. I listened and it was enough. Now it's definately not enough :D

Who knows me, knows I always complain my time is limited. Well, if I've ever said it before, it was all a lie: NOW my time is really limited.

Update, Part V: La chica de la bici en la ciudad de las bicis

I like living here.

In this city that is made for Bikers.

In A Coruña (Spain) I never saw people that used a bike for transport. They only did it for a hobby. Actually I heard about a man who used to cycle to work; he got paralized in a car-bike-accident. At work I was “la chica de la bici” (the girl with the bike), 'cause I used to ride the bike to work http://nutsabouttheworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-want-to-ride-my-bicycle.html. It took me less time to do that than to take the bus. My colleagues took the car and it took them longer to get to work than for me. 20 Minutes uphill every morning isn't bad workout either.

The point is, I'm very happy to be in a city now, where the bikers are more common than the car drivers. It makes it very idyllic to live here. And the distances are smaller when you reach everything with a bike! (Sadly is my bike maybe 5 € worth and looses air from its wheel all the time)

The houses are small, made from red brickstone, there are no houses higher than 5 floors in the centrum. Sunlight can reach the streets, if we get lucky and it doesn't rain that day. In Frankfurt the houses are so high that we are speaking of a complete different sizes. Here the streets are nice and open, though old and cosy as well. There are more churches than schools probably :D They say here, that it's always raining or the churchbells are playing.

Look at me, I got out of the rainy Galicia to end up in rainy Münster.

I've managed to find good friends. We got to know each other the first week and since then we've sticked together. It is a bit difficult getting to know any other people, we've all tried but it's not working that well. Time will work that out for us.

The two girls that live with me are really nice and living together is easy with them. Sometimes we cook together, if someone brings some people home everyone is invited...

At last but not at least: my boy... we are sharing work at home (I help him out at his place, he helps me out at mine), the groceries,... we have our meals mostly together, he brings me stuff to eat from his work... and our project “Home” is going on well. We write always down what we spend on money in an Excel-Table that I created for it. It's important to know where the money goes to and when you do it for two people it's more fun!

I like studying here.

The subject “Nutrition and household” is very interesting. I don't know if I'm going to continue it more than 1 or 2 Semesters, but I'm happy to be studying at all. I'm with young people with passion and goals. With people that are interested in similar things than I am. I'm treated as a person with a brain again AND I'M USING my brain again. I had forgotten how much fun learning can be. I was affraid I couldn't handle it all, mostly because of the language, but I understand 90% of the stuff and I'm working harder than ever. I didn't know I could be so productive!

Now we are doing a TV-Project and although it's one hell of a job, it's also very funny, I can use my wildest imagination and I'm learning a lot!

And about the fears presented earlier: I got a fully funktional timetable. Without using my elbows ;)

Life is going well now. It's challenging and rewarding, just like I like it.

P.S. In the picture with the bike you can see the way I bring my clothes to wash: in a rollable bag that is attached to the bike. Comfortable and fast :D