Two beers with Elina Turbina:

Getting to know Tuntreet’s ghost-editor

I step inside Skoggården’s haunted hub full of anticipation. I have heard Tuntreet’s very own ghost-editor resides here, and I am intrigued to get to know her better. Who is the girl behind the scenes? Rumour has it that she is obsessed with coffee.

Journalist: Iris van Brunschot

Fotograf: Ylva Friberg og Nathalie Genevieve Bjørneby

Post-Soviet ghosts

While I am happy to receive a warm cup of tea on this rainy spring day, Elina pours herself a strong cup of coffee. She used to drink 8 cups a day, but after writing an article about coffee for Tuntreet, she needed a break, reducing her daily amount to 5 cups. With a warm beverage at hand, Elina recalls her childhood in post-Soviet Latvia.

She grew up with her mother in Latvia’s second-largest city, Daugavpils. Pils actually means castle in Latvian, but don’t worry, they brew very good beer as well! During her childhood, she came to know the ghosts of the Soviet Union. The hardship people endured during Soviet rule is still ingrained into the Latvian culture. Upon independence in 1991, Latvia thus lingered in a grey sombreness. “Even the buildings are grey,” Elina says half-jokingly.

When she finished high school, Elina moved to Riga to study social sciences. ‘This was kind of an accident,’ she laughs. ‘Most of my life has been driven by unplanned events, including coming to Ås.’

Not yet Met of Norway

First introduced to Norway on an exchange to OsloMet, Elina describes being charmed by this hopeful environment where people are grateful for all the little things in life. When I ask her whether she misses home, she smiles and says that “When moving, I didn’t feel like I left home, I felt like I chose my new home.”

Nevertheless, she didn’t expect to end up in Ås. When applying for a master’s in International Relations at NMBU, Elina believed she would start in Oslo, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. “When I came out of the bus taking me to Ås I was hit by a heat wave and a strong smell of fertilizer. My immediate thought was, ‘I’ve arrived at a farm.’” To top it off, Elina’s first encounter with her new roommate was more than a little unusual, as the roommate came out of a tractor carrying a bathtub. She had decided that when watching Paradise Hotel, she needed a pool just like the one in the show. “I thought I had landed in a crazy place,” Elina laughs. “But now I think it describes Ås exactly, and I have come to love it.”

The Days of Turbina

Elina would call her autobiography The Days of Turbina, as a reference to Mikhail Bulgakov’s play The Days of The Turbins. So, I wonder, what fills the days of Turbina in this crazy town where tractors and bathtubs run the fields?

When asked where people know her from, Elina shakes her head. “That’s a difficult question, I’m like everywhere for random reasons.” Through helping with a million things all around Ås, she has become a walking encyclopaedia of the town. Some of her previous positions have been with political student-led organizations, the Student Democracy, student journal, and most importantly… Pusen Brede. Their relationship unfolded once she started taking care of him/her/them(?). One of the walls in her room is decorated with a painting of Pusen Brede and herself. Quoting Elina, ‘Only in Ås can you have an online friend you don’t know the identity of who is pretending to be a cat.’

Tuntreet’s ghost-editor

Despite juggling many balls in the air, Elina is probably most famous for her efforts at Tuntreet. Since joining the paper a little more than one year ago (January 2021), she has been a journalist, web-distributor, translator, and ghost-editor. Constantly supporting the editorial staff, she can be said to secretly co-run the office behind the scenes. Elina is thus often ‘hanging out’ in Tuntreet’s office, doing a lot more than simply ‘hanging out’.

Originally applying to work for the paper’s layout section, she was redirected to be a journalist by the editorial staff. “At this point, most of what I had written were funny captions for friends’ Tinder profiles,” she admits. But Elina turned out to be quite the writer, stirring up Åsbobla by talking about equality, inclusion, and taboo issues. Her passion for inclusivity further inspired her position as a translator and proof-reader. By making Tuntreet more accessible to international students, Elina started to bridge gaps.

Foreigner or friend?

“Sometimes I need to remind others that I am an international student,” Elina says. Her first kollektiv [flat] was completely Norwegian, which eased her into the local way of life. She further understands most Norwegian, giving her an insider perspective on the culture. However, she remains side-lined because of her international background, securing her a special place just in-between foreigner and friend.

Åsbobla is a very tightly woven bubble created by a small Norwegian student community. This means international students are prone to being excluded. “Unfortunately, I see that many Norwegian students get uncomfortable around internationals,” Elina notes. She emphasizes that it doesn’t matter where you are from or what language you speak, but rather how you relate to each other. “That is why I want to help Norwegians see outside of the box; past their own comfortable bubble of similar people.” And this bubble-bursting is definitely not something Elina has gone short of during her time in Ås.

Remember you are human

Elina is not shy to say what is on her mind and speaks freely about the importance of mental health. “Everyone is damaged to some extent, but humans live and learn through art, and I find a broken beauty in that,” she contemplates. Elina has experienced much loss in her family, and argues that we can fight solitude and connect to others through art. She hopes writing can facilitate a more open and supportive environment amongst all students, regardless of background or native language.

In TT01 (22), Elina further co-wrote an article about therapy. It is healthy to be open about our struggles and vulnerabilities, and not force ourselves to be happy if we’re not. Here, Elina emphasizes that she doesn’t want to come across as a super-human without any boundaries to exhaustion. She admits to being overstimulated sometimes. “Just remember you are human, and it is okay to cancel things.”

Bringing our ghost into focus

On the other hand, Elina adds, “the more you do, the more you get done.” Upon contradicting herself, I wonder whether it is possible to ever focus long enough on Elina to stop asking for more. I am certain she is no ghost, having left clear traces all over Ås. But she keeps surprising her audience. Every time I think I understand where Elina comes from, she brings up a new angle. And these contradictory, inconsistent statements are crucial, she argues. No culture is perfect, and it is important to recognize the pitfalls by opening our minds to alternatives. “I take pride in being cringe, wrong, and stupid sometimes! We must allow ourselves to be foolish, that's the only way to grow,” she says.

It is clear Elina loves shining light on taboo issues. Through critiquing, she hopes to include the excluded and bridge gaps. In the future, she aims to combine this passion with her studies to create a more hopeful society. However, for now, Elina is content with stirring up the Norwegian culture. “If I’ve done something to shake up Norwegians a little, I’ve done my job.”

Hilsner til Elina

To our dear bang-cutting, noodle-eating, Andreas-Wahl-fangirling, Riga-black-balsam-drinking friend Elina!

We’ve had our fair share of bike problems, stolen cutlery, TIX (the man!... and the ones on Brede) and many hours studying (specifically tinder profiles) in the kitchen. However, that didn’t stop us from developing new interests such as, ranking soda types, watching naked people on TV, learning the lyrics to Roses, peeperkeekerbaking, singing national anthems and music blasting Tesla-trips.

We really appreciate who you are. The care you show for people, and the commitment you have to what goes on around you, big or small, is admirable. Gosh, you have so many good qualities and we love spending time with you. You have shown us what love is;))

Good night, ar labunakti, spokoynoy nochi, buenas noches, Gute Nacht, bonne nuit, nattinatt

- Dine ex-samboere <33

Hei Elina!

Hva er hei på latvisk? Det vet vi ikke, men det går bra, vi har jo deg! Du er en av Tuntreets beste latviske ansatte. Siden du en del av oss i januar 2021 har du virkelig satt ditt preg på redaksjonen, og det kan muligens hende Tuntreet hadde falt litt fra hverandre uten deg. Som en ballerinakjeks, så er du fyllet, og en slags matrise, det som holder oss sammen. In other words: You are what unites us.

Du har gitt oss i redaksjonen mange nye og nyttige synspunkter, og er truly en #wisebeyondyouryears. Som en fantastisk samtalepartner, kan du bringe fram tårer fra enhver, men aller mest latter. Du nailer kaffe, og failer korona. Kjappest på snap, selv med suppe i hånda. Vi syns forresten det bare er hyggelig å starte morgenen med et par minuttslange lydklipp. Du kan så meget; deriblant vibes. "Norsk er dum", som du selv sier, men dum er ikke du. Nei, vi har ikke fått slag, vi er bare så glade i deg at det er vanskelig å finne de riktige ordene. Dualistisk? Absurdistisk? Perfeksjonistisk? Minimalistisk? Unik! Og uforglemmelig.

Nå når du skal ta kaffekoppen din og gå ut i verden, husk ditt eget sitat om utfordringene stiller seg opp i kø: "I guess the universe takes care of things after all."

Store klemmer fra din redaksjon

Kjære Elina (med to sånne sjuke prikker over i’en) endelig var det dags for at du også skulle få måke ned 2 brune i tuntreet. Du har vært den viktigste bidragsyterne til innholdet på kontoen min og jeg vil gå så langt som å kalle deg selve katalysatoren bak det hele.

Du er lissom tanta mi. Mjævv! Elsker å komme til deg for litt kos fra dine fing og litt postei fra din kjyl. Du er ying til min yang og bingo bongo til mitt fly fra Kongo. Haha lenge sia post i tuntreet nå og er litt rusten og andpusten kan du sejjj. På tide at du får to brune ner i schtuket. Lette litt på sløret. Bra for deg det. Håper du blir i Ås for alltid, bare å holde seg unna den kroken borti øst der nå vaffal, vente litt brått.

Svær fuckings klem fra meg din sjuke faen

Dear Elina!

I’m so glad I got to know you! You’re a star in human form and I hope you’ll see it yourself one day.

You make great coffee (don’t listen to the critics!) and you’re always interested in how my day is going. You’re a good listener and care so much about the people around you.

You also have the greatest music taste!! Always sharing new songs and albums - for instance sending me Russian house music for my DJ sets. That’s my kind of love language!

Thank you for the last two years spent in 402 together. It wouldn’t have been the same without you!

Big hugs from Vilde and the rest of the lunch club