June 19, 2005
Is EU falling apart?
Today we were terrified by "top news" in THE newspaper. Europe is falling apart!!! Europe is in the profound crisis!!! Seems like last Friday they had quite rough and bitter meeting in Brussels.The commenters here are quick to quote sources that predict Europe falling apart completely or at least a high possibility for the monetary union to become defunct (e.g. some Italian politicians calling to go back to lira). Breathless I rush to my computer and what I find in Helsingin Sanomat, Delfi news and The Guardian is smth less dramatic. Yes, the meeting was a disappointment, yes, people didn't spare harsh words, but nothing is falling apart yet. Or is it, people? Let us know.. I got scared that there wouldn't be a place for us to come back after EU breaks down... :) Otherwise, it seems that creating more doubts about European future is on somebody's agenda here. The only news that we get to read about Europe here is about deep economical crisis, sky-high unemployment, plus some funny details (e.g. how French idea to shorten work hours to create more workplaces was a complete failure, or how 40% of the European budget goes to subsidise French farmers (that make up some 5% of population) and how poorer agricultural countries suffer because of that). The sentiment here is very much with the British, as they're the only ones that are more pro-business and demanding reforms. Yeah, the phrase "welfare state" you hear only in the context of aging population and how ridiculous the whole idea is... So please, I need some reassurance that Europe is still there and that there is hope. Is there?
My blog entries this month seem to appear only on Sundays. We are desperately trying to find some things to do on Saturdays, as the construction noise is driving us mad. It is so annoying to consciously try to stay away from the apartment during the day, as if our rental contract would be only for 7pm-7am. For example, yesterday we went to Sungei Buloh wetland reserve (check - one more "place of interest"). It is basically a swamp with lots and lots of birds in there. You can sit in this kind of hides and hope for a bird to fly by. And they actually do! We regretted a little bit not having a binocular, although none of us is particularly fond of birds (neither we can recognise them). I reasoned that bird-watching must be a mixture of scuba-diving and picking mushrooms pleasures - you have to go out there and be very patient. Species matter. If you see something rare, there is a feeling of great pride and joy. If it would be mushroom, you can pick it up. If its a fish, you just swim away and try to look for smth even more exciting. If its a bird? I don't know...
Kaj was very upset not to spot any crocodiles there. To his opinion, if a board says "watch it!", they have to make sure that there's a crocodile there. In fact, crocodiles in Leijonakaupunki is more of an urban legend. What Kaj was watching down there was a huge (1.5m) monitor lizard, but those you can see everywhere in here. Maybe some people with wild imagination (or bad eye-sight) spotted crocodiles, fair enough, but if you see one, there's a phone number you should call. The same goes for snakes - they send some "pest control" people there... Animals that run free are under strict control in Leijonakaupunki. Few days ago, I think I got one stray dog in trouble - I gave it out to police, because it looked well kept and very lost. I thought that they'd put it into a homeless pet shelter. What I heard from my colleagues next morning was that the big dogs they "put to sleep" right away and then they feed them to lions in the zoo.. Got blood on my hands.. :(