The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Happiness is … a life without money in rich Germany Posted: 20 Aug 2011 03:11 AM PDT WILHELMSHAVEN, Aug 20 — Sixty-nine-year-old German Heidemarie Schwermer never thought she could go so long without money, but what begun as a 12-month experiment became a unique lifestyle 15 years ago. With only a touch of makeup, a light pink cotton sweater and string of fake pearls, the elegant pensioner with a warm smile says she can hardly remember the last time she spent a cent.  Schwermer sits on her bed holding her suitcase containing all her belongings. — AFP pic Not a religious ascetic or a commune dweller, Schwermer is an urbanite living in the heart of a materialistic society and says she has no plans to go back to the world of euros and cents. "Giving up money gave me quality of life, inner wealth and freedom," she says. Turning one's back on consumerism in Europe's top economy, particularly now in a period of relative growth compared to its neighbours, has a radical charm rooted in a tumultuous life history. Born during World War II in what was then East Prussia, Schwermer as a child joined the flood of refugees expelled by Russian forces. Her family arrived in Germany penniless. "I saw how you were considered to be even less than worthless if you did not have possessions or money," she said. In the late 1960s, she spent a year in Chile, and "I saw extreme poverty there." Back in Germany, she had two children, divorced and moved to the western city of Dortmund in 1982, where she opened a psychotherapy practice. "I wanted to understand what is going on in the minds of human beings. But that was not enough, I wanted to do more for the world," she explains. Thus the idea was born in 1994 to start a swapping network for people short of cash — a groundbreaking notion. Pensioners and students answered the call in droves. Schwermer began to housesit in exchange for payment in kind. She quickly noticed that she could take care of almost all of her material needs without ever stumping up. In 1996, she took the decisive leap: she quit her job, moved out of her rented home, gave away all her possessions, closed her bank account, cancelled her health insurance and threw herself into what was planned as a year without money. Those closest to her were baffled. "My daughter was worried to death, my friends nearly cried. Now they're behind me." Schwermer flopped on sofas where she could and started writing a book about her experience, which has also been translated into other languages. "I earned a lot of money with that book," she confides. "I gave it all away to passers-by, in five-mark bills", Germany's currency at the time. She has appeared on television, moderated seminars and been the subject of a documentary film. Now she is editing her third book in a house in the northern seaside city of Wilhelmshaven where she is crashing for a while. In return, she takes out the trash and mows the lawn. Schwermer gives her pension of €700 (RM3,000) per month to "acquaintances who need it" and refuses to think about old age or go to the doctor. She found a health food store in Dortmund that gave her discarded produce, and now in Wilhelmshaven a friend sometimes hands her vegetables from her garden. If need be, she occasionally seeks the help of a soup kitchen. "Of course I worry if there is nothing in the fridge," she says. "In the beginning I was afraid all the time but what I love above all (about the lifestyle) is not knowing what will happen tomorrow." Schwermer said she is not seeking disciples but perhaps "to help people reflect on their way of life and their relations with others." In two months, she will take out her small suitcase, which holds all of her earthly possessions, bound for Destination Unknown. — AFP-Relaxnews Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Military boot camps lure South Korean teens, families Posted: 20 Aug 2011 01:59 AM PDT SEOUL, Aug 20 — They rappel off an 11-metre height in seconds, run with an open parachute strapped to their shoulders, march with a heavy pack and brave a gas-filled chamber. It could be a typical day at the South Korean army's Special Warfare Command base in western Seoul — except that the "soldiers" are teenage boys and young women, often accompanied by their families.  South Korean women pull a parachute during a training camp for civilians at a military base. — AFP pic They are open to anyone aged over 13 who pays 40,000 won (RM108) and have drawn more than 17,000 people so far. Military culture is deeply ingrained in South Korea, ruled by army-backed regimes till the mid-80s. All able-bodied men are still subject to a mandatory two years of conscription to guard against attacks from North Korea. Boot camps — run by the military or private firms — have become increasingly popular in recent years, drawing people ranging from nostalgic veterans to school kids, company employees and those seeking special family vacations. The army says they are an opportunity to "test your limits, enhance physical ability...and learn a strong spirit of 'making the impossible possible'." "Boys obviously make up the biggest part because they have the mandatory service coming up," said Major Lee Joo-Ho, a boot camp spokesman. "But more young women are showing an interest, since they were allowed to join a college-based officer commissioning programme last year." On a typical day this month the muddy training field at Gangseo echoed to squeals, screams and shouts from 230 participants on their third day of training. In pouring rain, youths practised a mock parachute landing — jumping into a sandbox with their hands in the air and repeating instructions to land on the balls of the feet. "Yes, sir!" "I can do it!" they shouted, hitching up baggy, rain-drenched uniform trousers with sneakers peeking out underneath. "Let me hear your voice! Shout out your girlfriend's name real loud!" a military instructor commands a boy climbing down a cable from a 20-metre platform to simulate a descent from a helicopter. The nervous-looking trainee murmurs inaudibly, prompting the stern-looking commando to grab the cable and leave him in mid-air. "Is this what you got? Louder!" he orders repeatedly, until the boy finally yells "I love you, Choi Yoon!" and is allowed to descend. Fifteen-year-old Yeom Hyuck said he was "very nervous but thrilled" before he hurled himself off an 11-metre parachute jump tower and ziplined to the ground. "Everything is fun — but right now I miss my parents," he said. Kim Tae-Hoon, 17, said his father's dream of joining the army was foiled by poor eyesight. The father pushed his son to attend camp as soon as he turned 13. Since then, Kim has been back every summer and winter — a total of nine times. "This is so good at relieving stress and much more fun than playing computer games," he said. Since last winter Kim has been joined by his younger brother Tae-Hun, who found it "so thrilling" even to experience the gas-filled chamber, designed to test training against chemical attacks. "I'm glad I've lost some weight... and I feel more like a man," said the chubby, red-cheeked 13-year-old. Not everyone was so thrilled. Cho Byung-Chan, panting hard after rappel training, said he was "a little bit" angry with his parents for sending him. "They said I need to grow up," said the 15-year-old, who usually spends school breaks playing computer games. "It's hard... I'm hungry," he said. Former army commando Yoon Jeong-Sik was spending his summer vacation at the boot camp with his two daughters and wife, 24 years after retiring from the same unit. Yoon said he wants his family to learn what he did — self-confidence, pride and how to get along with others. "So I cajoled my ladies into coming here for character education," said the 47-year-old, water dripping from his hair and soaking his uniform after a mock river crossing. "At first they were pretty jolly since they had no idea how hard it would be... now I'm trying not to meet their eyes," he said, bursting into laughter with his family. — AFP-Relaxnews Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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