adjágas

Adjágas is a group of Sami "yoikers" from Norway. I stumbled across this cd in Stadsbiblioteket here in Göteborg and it was very inspiring music. The tonality and voice quality of this group is a little different than the music familiar to western ears. This type of music uses the pentatonic scale which is different from the more popular heptatonic scale of popular Western music. It has a mournful quality to it, and even in songs of rejoice it sounds rather--- sad. Maybe this represents the repression of the Sami culture, similar to that of the Native American tribes.

If you cannot read these pictures, they read: "...Adjágas is a state between sleeping and waking. It is where you get in touch with issues and messages that are important to you. It is also said that the sami learned yoiking from the alda people that live in another world parallel to our own, in the Adjágas state of mind. Adjágas is a celebration of the ancient art of yoiking and a search for what the future will bring..."
This really is beautiful music that gave me a new respect for the Sami cultures here in Scandinavia. It also reminds me of traditional Korean 'pansori' music, which I also like to listen to from time to time. Here's another example of pansori.

For those of you that are familiar with Korean traditional song: "Arirang."
Here's a couple versions from different regions in Korea:
Jindo
Bongwha
Kangwon
Kangwon (modern version)
Milyang

and the more familiar:
Joe Hiashi style version

You see, even though I decided to go to Sweden instead of Korea for my study abroad trip, I'm still finding out a lot about what lies in the roots and in the foundation of myself as a person.

Here, as an extra special treat... here's the refrain and one verse of a Jindo Arirang I wrote today: Yeon-Hee's Jindo Arirang (short)

a little adventure

I took a little adventure today over the Göta River and walked around in this general area:

The reason I chose this area is because there is a Swedish drama called "Andra Avenyn" that I've been watching that was filmed here. Also since I'd never been in this area and I've been wanting to see the river. Here are some pictures from my adventure.

A journey in food

Here I'll be posting pictures of some of the awesome food I've been eating.

My Address

Yeon-Hee Yim
Helmutsrogatan 15-015
SE-412 64 Göteborg
Sweden

Technology and Design

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (9.8/10)

The public transportation system here is awesome. It's called: Västtrafik. On most of the trams/busses, there is a display that shows the upcoming stop and the one thereafter, accompanying a vocal read-out. It's very simple and quick to reach destinations. I would give this system a 9.8 out of 10 because it is a very quick, efficient, and environmentally friendly way to get around town. The only downside to this system is the danger that is posed by large intersections where it's hard to tell when to cross the street and which way a tram would come if you were to try to avoid being hit by a tram. Oh, and also they do not run between like 1.30-4.00 am.

CELL PHONES (9.9/10)

My experience in buying a cell phone here was simpler than I ever thought possible. I was able to buy an unlocked GSM cell phone with internet, GPS, 3.2 Cyber Shot Camera without signing a contract and I ended up paying about 900SEK less than I was expecting to pay based on the sign. Anyone I call that has a tele2 sim card with Comviq Kontant Amigos, I call for free.

I bought the Sony Ericsson C702 for about $337 and it's one of the best decisions I've made. Its an excellent phone that is very very intuitive to use. It has a very simple interface. I never knew a phone could know exactly what I wanted. It's also very durable... I've dropped it twice already. :p Here are some pictures:

ROADS (9.8/10)

The roads and sidewalks here are very well designed. As you can see in the first picture, there are areas of certain brick sidewalks. This is is probably ideal for slippery weather. But notice that they also have flat areas. This is probably for people wearing high-heeled shoes. In the second picture, you see that the sidewalk is divided into an area for bikers and an area for walkers. No more stupid bikers in the street getting in the way of motor traffic! Just be careful when you're crossing the street because there is a lot of bike traffic!