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Traditional Chinese hanfu “ from behind in silhouette “

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Not so easy, tho.

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it’s Asian American and Pacific Islanders heritage month and that means reminding everyone that America stole Hawaii for sugar money, forced Japanese ppl in internment camps, exploited Chinese workers while also denying them entry and set south east asia for fuckery w their imperialism :)

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For some reason, I find this song very sexual.

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It was evident it would not be as easy as I wanted to. But it's more than OK.

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30 Awesome Turkish Expressions

Turks have a saying for every occasion! Let’s find them out one by one. I am sure you’ll be very surprised when you read them. ツ

1. Hoş geldiniz

”Your arrival is lovely��

Said as a greeting to visitors to make them feel at home.

2. Şeytan tüyü

“The devil’s feather”

What seems like an insult is actually a compliment used to describe someone who has a mysterious, devilish charm.

3. Taş attı da kolu mu yoruldu?

“Did he throw a stone so his arm got tired?”

Said to berate someone who’s being lazy.

4. Bir yastıkta kocasınlar

“May they grow old with one pillow”

Kind of like telling couples to never go to bed angry, this is said to newlyweds who traditionally share a single, long pillow in a marital bed.

5. Etekleri zil çalıyor

“The bells on their hems are ringing”

I recently learned this evocative saying used to describe someone who’s very excited.

6. Pabucu dama atıldı

“His shoe has been thrown onto the roof”

Often said of a father when a new baby monopolises the mother’s attentions, or by anyone who has been passed over in favour of another.

7. Balık etli

“Fish fleshed”

Turkish men usually like women with a bit of meat on their bones, and this is a lovely compliment to curvy girls.

8. Havadan sudan

“Of the air and water”

Turks love to chat, often at length, and about nothing in particular. This is a great way of describing idle chatter — a lot like Irish craic.

9. Elini sallasa ellisi

“If he waves his hand fifty will come”

A great way to comfort a friend after a breakup, it means there are plenty more fish in the sea.

10. Ciğerimin köşesi

“The corner of my liver”

This anatomic description is actually used to describe someone who is very precious to you. You might hear it featured as a lyric in love songs.

11. Armut piş ağzıma düş

“May the pear be cooked on the tree and fall into my mouth”

This describes a person who doesn’t like to work, to whom everything comes ready and done — or falls literally in their lap.

12. İyi ki doğdun

“It’s good that you were born”

Turkish for Happy Birthday. I think this expression is a lot more meaningful than the English version, and I even use the literal English translation on my non-Turkish friends’ birthdays.

13. Boşver

“Give empty”

Perhaps my favorite saying, Boşver means “let it go,” a la Frozen.

14. El elden üstündür

“A hand is superior to another person’s hand”

Said to show that there’s always someone who can do a better job.

15. Battı balık yan gider

“A sunken fish goes sideways”

This one’s pretty hard to parse, but it means that the worst-case scenario has already happened (the fish has sunk), so you might as well stop worrying and have some fun!

16. Ateş almaya gelmek

“Coming over just for a light”

You can cheekily accuse a visitor of this when you want them to stay a while longer.

17. Cami yıkılmış ama mihrab yerinde

”The mosque is a ruin but the mihrap is standing”

One of my personal favorites, this phrase describes an older woman who retains her charms. It’s like saying a church is in ruins but the pulpit is standing. Basically, it’s the opposite of “mutton dressed as lamb.”

18. Geçmiş olsun

“May it be the past”

Said when someone is sick or has had a bad experience. I love how it recognizes someone’s pain, but also expresses the hope that it will soon be behind them.

19. Nazar değmesin

“May you not be touched by the evil eye”

Said after giving a compliment, particularly to a child. Although I’m a pretty rational person, I do believe in the power of the evil eye and use this saying a lot.

20. Hayırlı olsun

“May it be auspicious”

Said whenever someone has a new undertaking, such as a new job.

21. Allah analı babalı büyütsün

“May God let him/her grow up with both a mom and dad”

Perhaps the most meaningful thing you could wish for a newborn child.

22. Kolay gelsin

”May it be easy for you”

This is a great way to acknowledge another person’s labors, even a stranger on the street, who has a difficult task at hand.

23. Çok yaşa

“May you live long”

Turkish for “bless you,” çok yaşa is said after someone sneezes. The sneezer then replies sende gör (may you also see my life) or hep beraber (may we all have many more years to live).

24. Kafayı üşütt��

“They’ve caught a cold in their head”

Turks have a congenital fear of catching a chill, which can strike any part of your body. If you’ve caught a cold in your head, it means you’ve gone crazy.

25. Sıhhatler olsun

“May it bring your health”

Older generations who grew up before hot running water in homes, and who only had baths once or twice a week, will say this when you come out of the shower in case you catch a chill (see above).

26. Başınız sağolsun

“May your head stay healthy”

A thoughtful way of wishing someone condolences when they are grieving the loss of a loved one.

27. (Benim) ilk göz ağrım

“The first pain of my eye”

This is said to a first love or first child to avoid giving them the evil eye (I used to feel very jealous when my grandmother said this to my brother, her oldest grandchild.)

28. Ellerine sağlık

“Health to your hand”

Said to someone who has created something beautiful with their hands, particularly to a cook or a Turkish mom after she’s cooked up a feast for her family.

29. Bir musibet bin nasihatten iyidir

“One bad experience is worth a thousand warnings”

No explanation needed.

30. Güle güle gidin

“May you go laughing”

This is said to departing visitors to help take the edge off sad goodbyes.

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Sad but true.

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After all I think it's evident that I am god's favorite one

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Sauna for dummies

Sauna is an essential to Finnish culture. Back in the days Finns did not only bathe, but also cooked, gave birth and healed the sick in the sauna. There are also many old sauna-related beliefs.

Go naked! It’s better, trust me. If you feel shy or uncomfortable, you can always take a towel.

Bring a small towel you can sit on. For hygienic reasons. Also because the benches may be uncomfortably hot.

Some public saunas are unisex. Just letting you know. But don’t worry, people usually act very appropriately.

Don’t wear a swimsuit in a sauna if you swam in a pool! You most likely have chlorine on your swimsuit. It will vaporize and it’s toxic.

First shower, then sauna, then shower again. If you’re at a summer cottage, it might not be possible to take a shower first, though.

Spanking yourself with a birch whisk may sound weird, but it’s really worth it. It’s called vasta or vihta in Finnish. It helps your blood circulation and it smells good.

Some like it hot, some don’t. Quite often you hear Finns say that the perfect sauna temperature is somewhere between 80 and 100 °C (176-212 °F) degrees but some like lower temperatures around 60-70 degrees (140-158 °F). Or even lower. And it’s totally okay! Sauna is not a competition. Though Finland used to host sauna world championships. No more championships have been held since 2010 when the men’s final turned out to be fatal.

There’s a lot of sauna-related vocabulary in Finnish. See some examples here!

There’s nothing sexual in sauna. Though there are ”gay saunas” all over the world and sweating naked in a steamy dim room while spanking yourself with twigs may sound kind of peculiar, sauna is just for bathing and relaxation purposes. 

Electric sauna in the city is good, but nothing beats a wooden sauna by a lake in the middle of nowhere.

Experience the smoke sauna! Smoke saunas have no chimney, which means that the room will be filled with smoke. When it’s hot enough, the smoke is ventilated out and only after that you go in. It takes time and skill to prepare the smoke sauna properly and safely. 

Add some scent. Many shops sell different kinds of sauna scents which are basically scented oils you add in the water you throw on the sauna stove. Some typical scents are eucalyptus, birch and tar. Some throw beer on the stove (it will smell like bread).

Opposites attract. Run out of the steamy sauna and jump into a lake or dive into a pile of snow. Or combine these two and go ice swimming! If these outdoor activities are not possible, take a cold shower. You will feel alive.

Humidity is as important as the heat! A hot, dry sauna is very uncomfortable. Remember to throw water on the stove.

The more water you throw, the hotter it will be. Also the higher you sit, the higher the temperature.

Sauna is not dangerous, but there are some things you should pay attention to. Don’t stay in for too long. Don’t go to sauna if you are sick. You sweat in sauna, which means you lose fluids; remember to drink afterwards. If you have heart problems, avoid sudden temperature changes. 

Sauna makes you relaxed. It is not recommended to go before exercising; it’s not dangerous, but you will feel lazy. 

Have a beer afterwards. It’s just a tradition.

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Hyvää naistenpäivää! Happy International Women’s day!

In honor of that, let me introduce you some of the many great Finnish women. 

Helene Schjerfbeck

Painter, best known for her self-portraits.

Minna Canth

Writer, journalist and a social activist; first Finnish woman to receive her own flag day (March 19th). 

Tove Jansson

An artist, best known as the creator of the Moomin series.

Armi Ratia

Founder or Marimekko. 

Leena Peltonen-Palotie

Geneticist who contributed to identification of various Finnish heritage diseases. Was considered one of the leading molecular geneticists of the world.

Elisabeth Rehn

Politician. First female minister of defence in the whole world.

Tarja Halonen

Former president of Finland. Also a human rights and sustainable development activist.

Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi

Cross country skier. Was the most successful athlete in 1984 winter olympics. 

Karita Mattila

World famous operatic soprano. 

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Urgh

Oceania Week / Feminist Friday!

Japanese family Hawaii (undated) [Source]

Korean picture brides Korea/Hawaii (1910s) [Source]

Japanese picture brides Japan/Hawaii (undated) [Source], [Source]

So here’s another form of Asian female immigration to Oceania: the phenomenon of the picture bride. 

These were women from Japan (and later Korea) who were matchmade with husbands overseas, using only the new technology of photography as a visual reference. It started in Hawaii. And really, there’s a bit of bias in the name, because really, it was the men who took their photos first:

Letters were written home requesting that their parents contact the matchmakers in the village so that respectable women could be found for the distant sojourners. Pictures of the men were taken by professional photographers who often used the same worn suit over and over so that these laborers looked a little more distinguished. The portraits were then tucked into the letters. In time they would receive from Japan the exciting news that a bride had been found and if approved, arrangements would be made to send the young woman across the seas to this foreign land. Inside the envelope would also be the photograph of the prospective bride.

Kintaro Akashi (right) shown with his picture bride, Fumi (left) Japan/Hawaii/US (1916) [Source]

The first major waves of Japanese “picture brides” began in 1908 and before all immigration was stopped from Japan in 1924, these tens of thousands of women would reshape the Japanese community in Hawai'i. In addition to being wives and mothers who took care of the home, Japanese women immigrants also worked alongside their husbands in the fields.

Japanese plantation workers Hawaii (undated) [Source]

The period of summoning families - of arranged “picture brides” and the sending for close relatives, wives and children - has been called yobiyose jidai. During the peak years between 1911 and 1919, 9,500 picture brides bolstered the Islands’ female population. And, as might be expected, this early period of stabilization of the Japanese family coincided with a high birth rate. The birth of the second generation, the nisei, in effect established the identity of the first generation, the issei. They were no longer single sons of farmers seeking wild dreams of wealth - they were responsible parents who were beginning to view the Hawaiian Islands not as a failed dream or a hostile land, but as a new home. 

That’s a terribly rosy way of putting it. The brides themselves often did not have a great time of it:

 Instead of finding the paradise they had heard so much about, many were disappointed and disillusioned when they first met their husbands at the immigration station at Honolulu Harbor. Some of the grooms were fifteen or twenty years older than the brides, and in many situations, they did not resemble the pictures sent by the nakodo. Some men sent photos of their friends who were younger and better-looking.

One bride was devastated when her husband took her to a desolate-looking home in Waiakea. The walls were made of rough lumber and the whitewash paint constantly fell on the floor. She didn’t think it was fit for human beings to live in. Her husband had sent her a photo of himself, standing proudly in front of an elegant white mansion where his friend worked as a yardman.

Goze Nakama, picture bride Japan/Hawaii (1920s) [Source]

Not all the picture brides were met by their grooms. At the immigration station, one issei woman found herself an unclaimed bride. She waited for two weeks for her husband to come; he never did. She cried every day as she watched brides who had made the same voyage leave with their husbands. She did not have any money to pay for passage back to Japan. Dr. Tomizo Katsunuma, the immigration inspector, sympathized with her, took her home, and provided lodging. Later, he played the role of matchmaker and found her a good husband. She was forever grateful to him.

According to another account, a groom caught a glimpse of his bride at the immigration station and decided not to claim her. 

Despite the abuses involved, the practice soon spread to the Korean community in Hawaii:

Korean picture bride and groom Hawaii (c. 1910s) [Source]

As well as the Japanese and Korean communities on the mainland United States–a story which probably deserves to be covered in another post.

Congressional committee members examine passports of Japanese picture brides at the immigration station of Angel Island, California US (1920) [Source]

The Japanese-Hawaiian experience has also been commemorated in a film, predictably titled Picture Bride, by a descendant of picture brides. 

Kayo Hatta Picture Bride US (1995) [Source]

Unfortunately, most of its posters are kind of… wrong.

Picture Bride posters [Source], [Source]

Oh, Hollywood. Why you so Orientalist?

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Hvordan skal jeg kunne bære hele kloden på mit skød?

Hele verdens smerte kommer ikke mine ved.

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Turku on Suomen perseenreikä.

Vanha aasialainen sananlasku (via savupiipputupakka)

“Turku is the asshole of Finland” And it’s a great one. 

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After I’d learned English, Danish seemed such a clumsy and sort of primitive language to me. I mean, how could it not? There are more than four times less the amount of words in the Danish language than in the English one. Where the sound of English is smooth and takes the shape of never ending spirals, like smoke rising from a steady fire, Danish is short and flat, never really rising or falling in pitch, but continuing in a monotone line of square words and abrupt stops. It seemed to me that Danish music would have to fight to avoid sounding forced, or being dragged down by clichés, when English song lyrics and poetry could make the most ordinary things seem like great wonders of fate and mystery. I was left feeling almost betrayed by the universe to have been made grow up with this harsh and limited language that could never get me further than a bit South of the Danish-German border. I couldn’t wait to leave and most of all leave Danish behind. Then I started high school. I started the IB. Suddenly I was surrounded by English. I spoke it with my class mates, read it for my classes, wrote it for my essays. For a while it was perfect. But something was starting to happen. Now that I only spoke Danish at home my skills in the English language were improving dramatically, but my grasp of Danish was declining at a similar rate. I found myself searching for the right phrases, misspelling the simplest words, even though that was an area where I’d always gotten perfect scores. My reading pace was going down, and I started struggling to understand dialects of the language more than minimally different from my own. Against all my intentions I was terrified. But since I am going to an international school, all around me were people who were new to Denmark, and new to the language. I started to feel pride in being able to help them learn, to correct their essays and explain grammatical structures. I began learning German and French again; languages that I had previously given up on, as I initially thought they would only distract me from improving my English even more, and later that they would weaken my Danish even further. They didn’t. They just made me prouder of my ability in several languages. Suddenly I found so much joy simply by speaking of every day things with my mother. Watching an old film would have me in stitches from the humor so specific to our country. Music would no longer make me cringe, but instead leave me in awe of all the different ways these select few words could be combined to constantly create new meanings where I’d thought they had all been discovered and used over and over till they were all but dead. To me English is a language of great aspirations, possibility, diplomacy, and refinement. But Danish; Danish is the language of raw emotion, of bedtime stories from childhood, of being told off for ruining those stockings you got for your 5th birthday. Danish is the language of singing along to an old song with so much passion you can feel every inch of your chest burning. It’s the language of sunny days you wished would never end, of Christmas songs, of holding a hand so much tinier than your own, and of telling your family just how much you love them. English is the deepest of purple, so beautiful and soothing, while Danish is the brightest of white, illuminating all, leaving no room for dishonesty or misinterpretation. I’m certain that I’m not the only one feeling this way towards their native language. So that’s where I am now. I love English. I love learning it, I love speaking it, I love reading it, and I love writing it, and I can’t wait to explore it even more. A huge interest in learning new languages and about different cultures has arisen in me through all this, and I work towards that every day; but Danish is my mother tongue, my father tongue, my sister tongue, and my home; and i am so proud of that.

How international education made me love my mother tongue (via

louisedoeslife

)

I totally agree, my mother tongue is my home. No matter how far I want to go, no matter how many languages I want to learn, Italian will always be my home. I love how this is explained! :)