If I could change my life ... Who I'd prefer to be...? where I'd prefer to live ...?

(exercise for Linda's class sept 20th 2006)

I can't imagine how bad must feel the unlucky people who don't like their lives, and where they're from.... It must be as hard-living as beeing a women and wanting to be a man... (the opposite is easier, surgically speaking I mean...).

But ok let's try... If I could change my life only one time and forever, I would choose to be born in a country where freedom is the most important value, maybe not France although I love my country.
Yes that's true french people are what they are but I think every people has his typical imperfections and if you only pay attention to that I'm pretty sure You gonna miss opportunities of meeting interesting people... yes I see you seem sceptical.... but trust me. Wathever.
I wouldn't choose my country only because it's not funny, I already know it, too easy, I like challenges...

I would probably choose Sweden... For different reasons :

- first they are fucking good in foreign languages ! It's true ! Actually they can only speak swedish in Sweden and amongst them... honestly who, exept the swedich, speaks swedish ? Oh... actually my cousin Sophie does (sorry Sophie if you read these lignes...)... she married a swedish guy, she has 2 cute sons and she's been living there for 5 years, maybe longer... she's the "exception which confirm the rule" (it's a french's idiomatic expression, I'm not sure it makes sense in English...) anyway... which leads me to my second point.

- Swedish people are very often fucking beautiful !... And that's really true ! And I mean life is more pleasant when you are tall, thin, blond-haired, w/ a sweet face... and when I went in Stocholm for Sophie's wedding (I was 13 and so hang ups, as you can be when you are a teenager w/ pimples, no breast (actually I still have all these problems and I'm 24... but mom told me that I had to be patient... that my boobs would get bigger one day... mom ? Did you lie to me ?... you can say it now I wouldn't be angry at you...)). So, yes... when I went in Stocholm I saw more of these creatures in the streets than in Paris or anywhere else... then my cousins became mad !... :)

- Sweden is a country where it's pleasant to live, to grow up or bring up your kids... There are many green spaces, forests, parks... I mean, I understand my cousin, it seems nice living there, even if the winter is a pretty hard season... It's dark most of the day and very cold...

- And last point it's a european country and it's easy to travel through Europe, and even study where you want, learn many differents languages and discover many different cultures.

So if I could change my life, one time and forever, I would prefer being a Swedish guy (nowadays it's still an asset to be man...), tall, blond-haired, handsome... who has access to education and most of all , free. Free to speak, free to choose his life, his wife, his studies, free to express himself through art or as a journalist, free to travel and write reports letting people know what's happening elsewhere, how people live and if they are luckier or not than us, which are their issues in their daily life...

But if I could change my life many times and after a while return to my own life... I really think I would like to take risks, to be a woman in India, in Africa, in Asia, in America, in Russia, in Maghreb, everywhere in fact... just to understand better, to have a global view of women's status in the world and yes, try to understand why women are still considered in the world (at different levels of course ) as inferior to men.

Marion

PS_ and if you were wondering... no I do not work at the swedish's office center...