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September 25, 2004
Happiness is...
...a bike with fully inflated tires.
But let me begin at the beginning. I woke up this morning to the very unpleasant sound of our neighbors fighting. This happens regularly—basically every Saturday morning around 9 a.m., although they occasionally make time to yell at other times during the week. Roya, Jess, and I have discussed the situation and believe that we need to make a police report. The top-of-the-lungs yelling, slamming doors, crying, etc. lead us to believe that if there isn't already domestic violence at play, there soon will be. Rather than calling the police (since we only know the emergency number), we're going to drop by the local police station and talk to the officers there. We're not exactly sure what the standard for police involvement is here in Karlskrona, but at least we'll feel like we've taken steps to curb a potentially dangerous situation (not to mention that maybe we can sleep in on a Saturday morning once in a while).
Anyway, once I was awake it was impossible to get back to sleep. Jess made an omelet for two (with smoked salmon—yum!) and we had an awesome breakfast while sitting in the kitchen sunlight and drinking iced tea and coffee.
The next couple hours were filled with leisurely reading, cleaning, and general getting-ready. Jess and I were planning on going to the farmers market, but as she is much like my sister Jess (who is notoriously slow at getting out the door), it was after 1 p.m. by the time we locked the apartment door and headed out.
We each took a gigantic bag of trash with us, coasting down the hill on our bikes to Willy:s, which has the nearest recycling center. After depositing our trash in the appropriate receptacles (it's amazing how little landfill trash there is once you sort out all the truly recyclable items and compost material), we headed downtown.
The day was beautiful, and it was the first time I had noticed the trees starting to turn autumn colors. It's just a hint, but I can tell that the fall is going to be awash with gorgeous leaves of varying colors.
At any rate, we took our time getting downtown, stopping on the way at the Red Cross secondhand store (where we purchased a new lamp for the entryway) and a gas station to fill our tires with air. We had to get some help from the service attendant, but quickly figured it out. It was AMAZING to feel the difference with fully inflated tires! I had begun to seriously question my bike-riding abilities—after all, it seemed like I had to work twice as hard as everyone else, even when riding on flat surfaces. But now I'm practically flying down the paths—I even rode up the final hill to the apartment with no trouble whatsoever! A million blessings on the guy who thought to include air pumps at gas stations.
By the time we make it to the town square, we realized we had missed the market. Instead we visited the sports store, where I got a fancy new jacket and pants that are rainproof (no more non-biking excuses!), and the ice cream parlor, where I gorged on the "1 smak" size—which is actually about 4 scoops—of hazelnut ice cream. Towards the end, I was so full that I seriously considered throwing the remainder out. I quickly checked myself and stuffed the rest down my throat before taking off back to the apartment.
On the way back, we stopped at the Frukt Huset, where Jess got some groceries and I bought batteries and some black cotton gloves (my leather gloves aren't suited to biking around). Then we biked back to the apartment, where I settled in to check email, update my journal, and admire my new purchases.
So that was my day, but it neglects the huge thoughts that are whirling around in my head. The more I read about sustainability, the more I realize what an unsustainable life I've been living. I think back to all the waste I generated on a daily basis in Maryland, and how little I took public transportation. Don't even get me started about how little I walked or biked. I didn't compost (which is such a brilliant idea that I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't even considered it), and I recycled inconsistently. I had a huge condo where I lived alone, used as much electricity and natural gas as I wanted (even sometimes turning on the heat and opening the windows at the same time—sigh, I will rot in hell for that one). In short, I was being so selfish, so thoughtless—and the worst part was that I knew it was bad, it was just easier to go on living my normal, American life.
So, I've come to a decision—I'm going to sell my car when I go back to Bethesda in November. There's no reason I need a car with D.C.'s excellent public transportation system (if I even go back to D.C. at all), and I'm more likely to use alternate forms of transportation if the car isn't sitting temptingly in the driveway each morning.
Moreover, I'm going to really commit to generating less waste. Being here with Jess and Roya (who are leaps and bounds beyond where I am on this issue) have demonstrated just how easy it is to separate trash and food. And even though it takes us an extra 10 minutes to get recycling down to Willy:s, it makes me feel so much better about myself.
I'm also seriously considering going vegan again. I've been reading articles and statistics about how far the average pound of food in America travels before it's eaten (1,500 miles!!) and how inefficient dairy and meat is to grow. I'm also trying to buy locally grown food—which is going to be particularly difficult here in Sweden, where the growing season is short. But I know that there are huge CSAs (community supported agriculture—read about it here!) in the D.C area that provide vegetables from local farms. A share (which feeds a family of 4, or 2 vegetarians, for a week) costs about $250 for the season (20-ish weeks), and provides a wide variety of produce—all produced locally. But participating in a CSA, I could support local, independent farms, reduce the environmental impact of my food (mainly through transportation), and eat better. I don't know why I didn't pursue it before. And when CSAs aren't in season, there are numerous farmers markets that go on all year (if you can get there early enough in the day!).
Anyway, each day I feel more strongly that my current way of life has to change. And I'm thinking that coming back to the United States might just make it harder. So I'm looking for opportunities in the developing world. If I can find a volunteer opportunity in Africa or South American for 6-12 months after this program concludes, I'll definitely consider it.
