Lisa by Amal, my 5 year old, who kidnapped the camera.This is gonna come across as if I have no life.
But here it goes. LISA WAS HERE. LISA WAS HERE. LISA WAS HERE. To be specific: IN MY HOME!!!!!!!!!
Ok, returning to planet Earth.
LISA WAS HERE!!!
Ok, ok, now... a deep breath. Another. Yes. That's it. Well, I must say, and this is not to flatter my "Jewish fanclub" as someone once put it, it is really true, that Lisa's blog is one of the best I've ever read. On top of that she is a successful journalist and a person with a great huge heart. Of course meeting her was a big deal for me, a little journalist- and even blogger-wannabe. But mostly because she have encouraged and uplifted me for some time now. By mail or by just reading her blog. I was mostly looking forward to meeting Lisa the person than the journalist and blogger.
Suddenly she stood there in the cold, outside my very own subway exit. Recognizing her from behind was really not that difficult, she kind of gave herself away with that sure-to-be-a-set-of-tulips wrapping in her hand. But even though, there was something special about her even from a distance. When she saw me she gave me a big, warm hug that squeezed the Swede out of me. We usually really don't allow ourselves to feel loved or worthy of appreciation (sick, I know, but that's another blogpost).
We sat in my kitchen. Mind you, that we have just moved and my home is not yet all that representable. Anyhow, we enjoyed our meal and spoke of things between heaven and earth. I was somewhat chocked of her experiences of Sweden so far, the only thing missing to mark "check" on the "Let's see if the prejudices on Sweden are true-list" was the ice-bear walking on the streets, but she do at this time still have a few days left, so who knows... Then, Rami, I should have a few chosen words with you on some other PREJUDICES, yes?
A few hours before Lisa arrived I spoke to one of my close friends and told her about the meeting. She said "Oh, what a great moment for the world-peace! It is the small meetings that makes a difference". I'm pretty sure she's right. Even though neither me nor Lisa needs to be "won over", I still felt that our meeting helped me and hopefully someone else too.
On a less "world-peace'y" kinda level (yes, I am aware I make up my own words as I go along), that is on a personal level, it felt like a healing moment. On what ever side you are, there is too much hate and distrust going on, so just to sit and eat and talk and laugh with, in my case, a Jew (however secular and balanced she may be) was for me simply healing.
But here it goes. LISA WAS HERE. LISA WAS HERE. LISA WAS HERE. To be specific: IN MY HOME!!!!!!!!!
Ok, returning to planet Earth.
LISA WAS HERE!!!
Ok, ok, now... a deep breath. Another. Yes. That's it. Well, I must say, and this is not to flatter my "Jewish fanclub" as someone once put it, it is really true, that Lisa's blog is one of the best I've ever read. On top of that she is a successful journalist and a person with a great huge heart. Of course meeting her was a big deal for me, a little journalist- and even blogger-wannabe. But mostly because she have encouraged and uplifted me for some time now. By mail or by just reading her blog. I was mostly looking forward to meeting Lisa the person than the journalist and blogger.
Suddenly she stood there in the cold, outside my very own subway exit. Recognizing her from behind was really not that difficult, she kind of gave herself away with that sure-to-be-a-set-of-tulips wrapping in her hand. But even though, there was something special about her even from a distance. When she saw me she gave me a big, warm hug that squeezed the Swede out of me. We usually really don't allow ourselves to feel loved or worthy of appreciation (sick, I know, but that's another blogpost).
We sat in my kitchen. Mind you, that we have just moved and my home is not yet all that representable. Anyhow, we enjoyed our meal and spoke of things between heaven and earth. I was somewhat chocked of her experiences of Sweden so far, the only thing missing to mark "check" on the "Let's see if the prejudices on Sweden are true-list" was the ice-bear walking on the streets, but she do at this time still have a few days left, so who knows... Then, Rami, I should have a few chosen words with you on some other PREJUDICES, yes?
A few hours before Lisa arrived I spoke to one of my close friends and told her about the meeting. She said "Oh, what a great moment for the world-peace! It is the small meetings that makes a difference". I'm pretty sure she's right. Even though neither me nor Lisa needs to be "won over", I still felt that our meeting helped me and hopefully someone else too.
On a less "world-peace'y" kinda level (yes, I am aware I make up my own words as I go along), that is on a personal level, it felt like a healing moment. On what ever side you are, there is too much hate and distrust going on, so just to sit and eat and talk and laugh with, in my case, a Jew (however secular and balanced she may be) was for me simply healing.
On a Imaan & Lisa kinda level I really feel like I'v got a friend. Sending emails and commenting on eachother's blogs in all honour, but having somebodu hug you and eat your food and cookies - now that is true friendship! Thank you, miss Lisa.
Lisa Fan Club - over and out.
9 comments:
Hello Imaan,
I am glad you are back to blogging and have met with Lisa.
There is just one thing I feel uneasy about. If I read your blog correctly you are Swedish born and raised. Why does it seem such a big deal to you to meet with a Jew/Israeli? Your remark "secular and balanced" sounds as if you would assume that any religious Jew cannot possibly be balanced. I wonder why you feel that Lisa's lack of Jewish relgiosity seems to help while there is obviously no problem with your being a devout Muslima?
Could you please clarify for me?
Thanks
Ruth
Hi Iman i also wonder how you have no problem with the fact that she is a settler thanks
Ruth,
please don't mark words like that when english is not my motherlanguage. Had I expressed it in swedish I perhaps could have put it more eluquently. I don't assume anything, I simply taking about her and me.
Glad you're back too. //Imaan
Should be TALKING.
Maybe I do have a problem with that, maybe I don't. Point is that I am ready to be friend with her anyhow.
Lisa is a settler?!
Um, Anonymous: I don't know where you got the idea that I am a "settler." I live in Tel Aviv, which is the largest city inside Israel's 1948 borders; I do not live in the occupied territories.
Imaan,
Your evasive answer keeps me wondering. I am also surprised that you do not point out to the anonym. that Lisa can only be defined as settler if Tel Aviv is occupied territory, in other words by someone who does not accept Israel's right to existence (Hamas).
Could it possibly be that you know that your blog is watched by the Palestinian community in Sweden and that you have to be careful what and how to write in order not to get into trouble?
Regards
Ruth
Gosh, two posts and already in the midst of it. First of all, I'm sorry for the "settler" misunderstanding. This goes to prove that I'm not all that politically aware. I'm just simply married to a palestinian and have tried out living in Gaza, so I'm not totally out of it but certainly not all that into it either.
Let me say this, my opinions and feelings of what is right and wrong in the Israel/Palestine conflict is actually not so public. Why? Because this is not what I want with this blog, endless conversations that usually leeds to nowhere (of course depending on what the conversations are about). I am trying to think outside of the box.
It was a big deal to meet LISA, not to meet a JEW. Hello. I admire Lisa and her work and benefitted greatly from meeting her, as a friend mostly. In the same time she IS a Jew and that also contributed to making the meeting even more meaningful to me. (What, you didn't get the New World Peace memo?!)
About the "secular and balanced"... It might as well be that I ment that she was secular but EVEN THOUGH balanced, since I'm myslef is not secular and would consider religious people more smart perhaps. But mostly I think I ment that she have her two feet on the ground, and I ment it irrespective of her being secular or not.
I want to quote Britney Spears here: "It's really not that deep, man". I write simple and even though I may not always be correct in expressing myself because of language weakness, I usually mean just what I write. What you get is what you see. And if I hade Hamas swedish section after me I would not blogg at all. Not from fear but from choosing a more sofisticated way for sofisticated knowledge and information (which I don't have). It's funny to think that you think that little me standing in my kitchen cooking molokheia or watching Oprah on TV and blogging a few minutes after the children slept in the evening while drinking shai and then starting a washingmachine, would be of any interest for Hamas. It's not that kind of blogg!
I think that you didn't understand that most of my words have a smile behind them, not a deep political agenda. Not that I am not serious, but to me love and understanding, bridges and knowledge comes first.
It's never good when the blogauthor end up writing the longest comment of them all... :-)
Hej! Vad roligt att du har kommit tillbaka.. du har manga fans. Jag hoppas galna kommentatorer inte far dig att sluta skriva!
De var roligt att lasa om ditt mote med lisa, hon ar en underbar kompis och vi hade mycket kul tillsammans.
hoppas allt e bra med din familj och livet. jag har precis forlovat mig med petra, en svensk tjej fran gavle, sa vart liv ar perfekt nu! Vi vill resa till jordanien i sommar, hoppas vi kan traffas innan vi aker!
sorry about the a's and o's i dont have the swedish keyboard!
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