Papillon-ul

Back home

2012-01-28T14:22:00.003+02:00

"I'm taking the long way home", was the song from ATB. Well guess what, it was worth it, even on the long way. Imagine I am writing theese lines from the cousiness of my home, in my room, with my decorations and a cold cold winter outside the window. Not snowy, not in my town, but still winter.
Now what can you do in the cold hometown after 8 months of summer and sand , spicy food, skyscrapers, camels, salty sea and lots of work? Well surelly a lot, starting with seeing all the friends, and neighbours and family and long lost family and friends again, and old colleagues and the list could go on, visiting the city's old places, bars and clubs where you used to hang out some time ago, (re)culturize yourself with a little bit of drama (theatre), a little bit of music, a little bit of art, walk a lot or go with the trolleybus and tram :D, go in the middle of the city centre square, picture the beautiful old buildings around and carry those images with you wherever you go, visit friends new houses and play with the cats and the dogs, have a cheap and healthy haircut :)), read some books and listen to old national music, explore the city if anything new appeared while you were gone, go pray a little bit and visit old county monasteries just in case you don't have any nearby churches in the place where you now live :P, talk to the people from work to be sure you'r not missing something important :)), eat all the traditional delicious home made foods, spend lots of time with the parents, prepare all the projects for the semestrial exams when still a student :-S, protest along with the country citizens in the city centre to get rid of the president and put country on the right track, go in another city to visit you old friends, write home impressions on the blog to share your happiness with the world and of course enjoy all the small things cause you won't see them again soon.
You guessed right, this was my home vacation, ready now to go back in the desert and continue what I started last year in May, Dubai baby adventures :D

It's time. It's Christmas time.

2011-12-23T15:06:00.003+02:00

Who said you cannot enjoy Christmas if you're far away from home? Of course it's not the same feeling as when you are there, but the ones who are really making the spirit are the people with whom you spend it. And what do you know, I did it! I'm in the spirit. It took me some time, usually at home I'm in the spirit since 1 December, while in Dubai it came a little bit later, that beeing yesterday :D
The plan went wrong in the last 4 days, after buying tickets and having ready a small surprise for my family and friends to appear home on Christmas Eve, one working day on 24 Dec and the imposibility to change that ruined everything. So here I am stuck in Dubai, with 3 tickets that will not be used soon and just the dream of Christmas carolling :|
Instead of that a very nice family brightened my holidays by comming in Dubai and spending Christmas with them, my folks from home calling me and decorating the Christmas tree along with me on Skype (tree e-decorating was quite nice I must say) and my dear friends packing santa's gifts for friends and family again with me on Skype (God bless whoever invented this program) It might sound too much electronic, but when you'r away from home and from the dear ones on these special days of the year, internet is one of the most welcomed inventions :D
In the end it seems Christmas will still be about spending time with the dear ones, having lovely times and foods together and celebrating God's birth, because even doe Santas croud the places and Christmas trees are everywhere, the celebration is not about them.
Merry Christmas to all and may these holly days brighten your thoughts and hearts.

Gold card...

2011-12-14T10:43:00.005+02:00

One great thing that I like about this job is that sometimes, but only sometimes, I have quite interesting discussions on the phone with our customers. The last one, a few days back, was with a "gold member", as in a frequent flyer with Emirates, who reached the gold stage with the numbers of miles earned.
I always say that the "gold card is a cold heart", because of the amount of expectations and rudness that some of these kind of customers have, but of course every forest has its exceptions.
After giving me his booking in economy to be upgraded to business with cash (because now I reached the next stage where I am able to change tickets and know how to read aviation fare rules, which suck by the way) he told me he needs to fly to Singapore for 3 days and, what do you know, in first class. Cause according to him, Dubai is that kind of place where if you don't have fancy cars and travel in business or first class, you'r not "good enought". Of course beeing intrigued by the idea, I rejected it saying that it is each persons choice to spend money in such a way, nobody forces you to do so... The guy paused a few seconds and agreed, but still he bought the first class ticket, which was for my good sake of course :))) Besides that his assistant was travelling also, however the guy was "punished" to stay in economy, in a normal chair with a normal screen in front of the eyes, with chicken biryani and fruit, not a flat bed in an own compartment, with lcd wide screen and champagne and caviar as dinner :))
Apparently the customer was not at all boderred by my sincereness and after releasing his card of a few thousand euros, he wanted to know some more about the agent who disagreed him, within the company confidentiality policy of course, do not imagine otherwise :P And here we were after 50 minutes of chit chats, exchange of ideas and book impressions (because what do you know, I started to read here :))) ) happy with the service and with the long talk, the "gold guy" went to have a beer and I went pleased home, happy that I made someone happy that evening.
Gold card...sometimes warm heart :D

Happy nation(s)

2011-12-03T07:02:00.006+02:00

Stuck (in a good way) between 2 countries, and what a coincidence, both with the national day in consecutive days, 1st and 2nd of this month. We celebrated 2 times of course, first on 30 Nov, with Arabic goodies and traditional tea and last but not least on 1st Dec, with traditional Romanian food and Romanian colors. If you are wondering, no fireworks, no parades, no music, quite a chill celebration, not as sophisticated as I would have wanted it. And now ... a little bit of history.

1. Romania, a small country on the left hand side of the Black sea, independent from the turkish domination since 1877, completely united in 1918. Official language our own, Romanian, flag colors red, yellow and blue, cleared out from the comunism rules in 1989, when Nicolae Ceausescu was erased from the image. What you can do here, well almost everything cause you find mountains as well as sea. Winter -5 degrees even less, summer 30 degrees even more. Snow and sun, forests and sea (by the way it's not black even doe it's called Black sea, just to be clear :)) ), traditional clothes and delicious foods, welcoming people, kind of corupted ruled but which country isn't :P This is my home country which I miss so much.

2. UAE, in translation United Arab Emirates. Now here there are some interesting things to say, first may it not be confused with Arabia, as in Saudi Arabia, which is a totally different story. UAE became independent in 1971, so 40 years of life were celebrated this year. The "country" is formed out of 7 emirates: Ras al-Khaimah, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Abu Dhabi which is the capital, each with its own ruler-emir and a national president. Official language, Arabic, flag colors red, green, white and black. Well known for the strong Arabic coffee, which I do not like at all, palm tree fruit-the dates, Arabic tea which is good and the long clothes that cover the entire body both the men and women. The culture and people hospitality I cannot write about, cause I did not really meet it, probably because of the interesting fact that there are lexx than 20% of local arab people living in this area, the rest are other world nationalities. Desert and camels all the way, falcons, mosques, tall glass buildings, very less vegetation (a thing that I hate), a beautiful, extremely salty and healthy sea, dry stony mountains. This is my host country.

...in search of ...

What women really want...

2011-11-19T18:31:00.005+02:00

I somehow have the impression that I wrote about this a few years back, or maybe the topic was lot discussed here lately. Probably one of the oldest questions ever, what the hell these women always want?
Movies, magazine and newspaper articles, public debates, stand up comedies on this subject when it's all so clear. Why would anyone pay so much attention on a subject that is not at all difficult and not at all as every guy says. That women are not to be understood, or if possible, how do you do that. Well it's not hard at all, considering that she is a human being like any other, and well she might have the same basic and even not so basic need like you have. What do they want?
News flash dear male, nothing special :))) In fact a woman's mood changes according to the things happening around her (which is normal, right?). When she is seeing a romantic movie whe wants to be loved, when she's in the club having some drinks and sees sexy ladies moving like snakes she goes home and feels bitchy like (time for you, dear male, to take advantage :)) ), when she reads culinary magazines she's in the mood of cooking fancy things but when she's tired from work, be sure not to ask for food, but maybe ask her out for a dinner...and so on. When she is alone she wants attention and company, and sometimes when she has to many people around she needs some moments alone (which even men need, isn't it?), time for you guy to back up and let her be. If she had an argue with someone be sure to support her not to acuse any of her ideas or words, which is normal by the way...
So with all above examples a woman's needs change daily, every hour maybe, not even she knows all the time what she wants...so then, how should someone else know, especially if that someone else is a man :)) The best thing for you to do is be there, take it as it is, assist her and she'll be gratefull or ignore her but be sure she will remember that. She'll forgive you but remember always :P
Now don't come over my head, of course there are exceptions when nothing you do will make it better and then the inevitable question rises, "What the f**ck do you want, woman?!?" Those moments are the moments when men go insane thinking that they will never figure out what the opposite sex needs and tent to give up. Well, don't! cause it's not your fault, it's her fault, and she know it, just that she will never admit it :))
So to summarise the idea dear male friends/readers, women do not know what they want, therefore no worries in respect of you knowing that :) Just enjoy and help her do the same, and be sure to thank me after reading this article and iluminating your life :))

Surprises

2011-11-14T17:39:00.009+02:00

Few days back, tired of work and bored of staying in Dubai, a bunch of fun people decided to make a trip, somewhere quite close but still out of the "country". This is how we ended up in our neighbour country, Oman. The interesting part of the whole story is that Dibba-Musandam, the place where we've spent our day, is a small part of land and water pertaining to Oman, but surrounded by United Arab Emirates. We only needed to show our passports to enter the place.
4 people and 3 digital maps were enough to get us there in time, without getting lost on the long & many UAE highways.
UAE surprised me in a very pleasant way, with the landscapes and big mountains. After half year of no vegetation and only sand, as I keep writing in every post :)), the road to Dibba took us through some lovely hills, mountains, not all green, but new views for a change. The 2 hours drive was fast at one moment, then became fun on a undefined road where all cars and big trucks were driving however (kind of Indian style :P ) and on the way back scary, on the same "undefined" road all dark with car/truck lights blinding you all the way :| The moment we reached the main highway on the return our hearts came back to the normal rhythm and we managed to enjoy the rest of the evening.
For the first time in my life I saw, live, the amazing underwater life, the one that I always used to admire on national geographic or animal planet. Our cruise included snorkling, so of course being a fish most probably in a past life, I did not got out of the water for at least one hour. The snorkling equipment did not "fit" me at all. I panicked when I started breathing throught that long tube so I went under water just with glasses and a deep breath of air. All the fishies were looking at me curious. Different plants, corals and spiky sea creatures at the bottom of the sea were living quietly in the not too salty water. A memorable picture and experience I must say.
The last surprise of the day happened in Dubai, in the restaurant called Fridays. Funky waiters with funky place decorations, funky food, and at one point, a funky happy birthday song with a small candle cake showing at our table. It is so beautiful when you have dear people around to give you such presents on your birthday, so beautiful that not only the birthday girl was surprised but me too, so surprised that my mouth could not hide a big impressed smyle.
Life? is full of surprises. All you have to do is... believe :)

The story

I miss

2011-11-09T19:57:00.005+02:00

Just walking in the mall a few days back, looking around, staring at the places, the people, the colors. And then hundred of chaotic thought came to my mind. I realized that so much time passed since I am here, It's already more than half year and I don't remember when the days went. At home, I always used to say with my mom that the planet must be spinning faster nowadays, cause 24hrs and the months are going so fast...too fast.
Life in an Arab country can be quite hard sometimes, even if the place is so modern and international as Dubai. But even with all these fancy, tall buildings, with this blue skies and clean sea, with the palm trees all the way, with the delicious foods and exotic fruit, with a big company and a reasonable salary, I really miss the Romanian street dogs :D Today in the bus, on the way to work, I realized that I haven't felt a whole on the road since half year, also I haven't felt ground (soil) since my 5 days in India, only sand. No rain for half year, no cold weather, no animals around, no family lunch, no tram rides, no forests, no dear ones. Pfff...to many NO's just in one phrase. Instead of that Indian food, going to the beach in the middle of October, air conditioned in the middle of November and for the middle of December... yet to come :))) The worst part is doe, no real Christmas this year.
And then among the hundred of thoughts, another few thoughts come around, is it all worth it? Is it worth being sometimes so unhappy just to create your way in life for later, for when you are a "grown up"? Or I am already a "grown up"? And then hundred of answers come over. Among them the idea that life is full of sacrifices, sometimes you suffer for some later happiness, sometimes you cry and after that the "sun shines" and you smile back, sometimes you stay away from someone so long, and when you get back to him, it will be much more better.
So at the end of the day, a conclusion: it's worth it, for now, and it can go on, for now. For how long, not yet known. But man, one thing is for sure, I miss you Romania!

Have seen lately

2011-10-30T17:41:00.007+02:00

I used to write every week about movies I saw and I loved. Now I became selfish it seems, I keep them only for me :)))
One giving moment is now, when I am about to tell you all how great some "peliculas" can be.
A little princess is an old movie, back from 1995 when I was just about 7-8 years old, with no worries and no back pain :P Good I didn't see this movie then, it wouldn't have felt the same. With a big imagination and tremendous positive attitude, Sara Crewe, the little princess, managed to brighten my day so much that I am keeping this movie for dark days :))) You should try it dear reader, something will sparkle in there, I'm sure :D
The beach I saw before, long ago, but I didn't remember the scenes to come, so I enjoyed it once again a few days back. Leonardo Di Caprio is just amazing, in any role, and the story made me wanna try the Bermuda Triangle :))) Maybe there is a life after that as well.

One evening while talking to my mom, I found about a good movie that was recently played on our National Tv Station in Romania, something called Shopgirl. Life gives you many options, so what do you do then? Take them all? Avoid some of them, and if you do, for what reason? Well this is how I saw this movie, a life of choices, the choice when you can stay down and comply, or the choice when you can stand up and do something for a change, for your change. And more than that...aaaah see for yourself, don't listen to my bullshit :)))
My friend Anca told my this is a crap movie, she didn't like it because all this kind of movies have the exact story line, the exact old boring story, thank God the actors are different every time. Well you can take her opinion of course, but mine is that this movie is a lesson. And in order for us to learn the lessons, they must be repeated, otherwise in some time we forget them. A little bit of heaven from 2011 was the lesson for me, a nice and positive one, reminding that there are worst things than not having enough money to go for a movie at the end pf the month, or that a rude customer didn't get enough food on board and he screws your day on the phone. Never worry, be happy!

Today's evening movie called House of D left me and my friends with a nice taste, making us miss our homes and childhood streets and big green parks. We were also reminded what a good actor Robin Williams is, how to never let go, no matter what and that a complete stranger can be at one down moment... your savior.

And now, the biggest movie of them all, Time To Sleep, the one that is happening every evening after a certain hour, depending on the mood or how did the day go :D Be good you all, and watch movies, they might teach you something new :)

The lost symbol

2011-10-22T18:24:00.003+03:00

A little bit weird to write about this, since I am not a "reading" kind of person, but Brown's last book left me speechless again. Since I first got in touch with his "stories", this writer is the only one who kept me waiting impatiently for his next appearance. The last book I read was Digital Fortress, for those who don't really know this man has already 5 books, Angels and demons, Deception point, The DaVinci code and hopefully not last, The lost symbol.
What I always like about this guy and his books is that every (or at least most of them) ritual, organization and other descriptions from his books are real, imagining every time I read it, how much he must have read and documented in order to write such things.
"FACT: In 1991, a document was locked in the safe of the director of the CIA> The document is still there today. Its cryptic text includes references to an ancient portal and unknown location underground. The document also contains the phrase It's buried out there somewhere. *All organizations in this novel exist, including the Freemasons, the Invisible College, the Office of Security, the SMSC, and the Institute of Noetic Sciences. All rituals, science, artwork, and monuments in this novel are real" (Introduction in "The lost symbol" by Dan Brown)

But one thing made me think a lot of this book while reading it, the main character, the famous Robert Langdon who faced a lot of troubles and mysteries in his "booky" life. If in the DaVinci code he was the master of reading hidden messages and the man who knows it all, his unbelieving thoughts about an old masonic symbol in this last book, made me wonder. Is this guy going down? Of course the tremendous many information about old rituals and historical things about different world organizations was captivating during the entire book. Each page was giving birth to a new idea, so that at the end of a chapter, the solution or continuation would be suspended until another 2 chapters, and so on, making it a thrill to read. Well, that is actually the main thing what I like about Dan Brown, his writing style, and of course the tones of information brought out to the not so intellectual ones :P Especially about Freemasonry in "The lost symbol". So with the hope that I made you at least a little bit curious about the book, enjoy it all, until next time, "cheers mates" :)))

PS: check out the symbols around you. might be amazed

It's all about...

2011-10-05T12:13:00.004+03:00

people.
Since I was little I used to see all those movies with best friends, doing everything together and enjoying life until they grow old. I always wanted one for my own :))
And as I grew, I figured it's quite hard to have such a close person, who can accept you all the time, in all the moods, with all the imperfections.
Friends came and went, some stayed, some slowly disappeared, I don't even know if I can call those ones friends. But the ones that stayed made it all worth it.
One of them is Bianca. By the way, let me tell you the story with Bianca.
We met one late summer day, with the purpose to finish an online partnership, between her events website and our organization in which I was working, AIESEC. We had a cup of tea because she was sick and we started talking, but somehow the conversation kept going in another side than the professional one. About her, about me, about what we were doing and how we like it, finally deciding that we will collaborate, but meet again to talk more about the "terms and conditions" of our partnership. And so we met again, and again, and we realized that this might work even better as a friendship, not only as a partnership. So the events kept coming, and we kept meeting and hanging out, until we realized that we became so close friends, and when it was time for me to go, it was harder than imagined...
Now? She is waiting for me, and I am waiting to get back home to see her. In the meanwhile, we are heating up the keyboards on the laptops :)
Well what I am trying to say I guess, is that in the end, it's all about the people that surround you, and with who you live, it's about them making you happy and the other way around. It's about making yourself worthy to occupy a space in this world thanks to your good thought and acts, not thanks to the amount of money that you earn, or the cars that you own, or the jewels that you wear.
Maybe some won't agree with me, but that is fine, cause this is actually making the world such an interesting and diverse place to live in.
As for me, well, I now have the "movie kind" of friends which I always wanted, whom I love and who love me back, the ones that really like and respect me as I am, and guess what, one of them sent me this. How lucky I am, isn't it?

made by Bianca Daniliuc

Google it!

2011-09-29T08:47:00.005+03:00

Every little thing out of our reach makes us wanna know about it. So what better way to find out about things than to "google" the information. An expression that all of us used at least one time. Isn't it? But how many of us really know what Google is about? I bet not even half. I didn't knew either, until a few days ago, when in my small Indian vacation, I visited the main Google office in India, Google Hyderabad.
A big building, half covered in glass, in the high tech part of the city. Strict security service at the entry, visitors must give their name, and the employee name who they are visiting. After getting in the building, again security, again filling out names and start wearing a sticker to be easily identified, and then the fun starts.
Google-rs, as they call themselves, are the most happy employees than all I have ever seen. Inside the working area they have everything an employee might desire. Besides the snack areas on each floor, where you can serve tea/coffee, juices, snacks, large halls with relaxing chairs await for them to recreate their brains. Game room with pool, table tennis or table football machine is at the Google-rs discretion, in case of head ackes, take a break, play some pool or tennis, wash the tensions and go back to work. What more could you want. Well wait, cause there is more!
The shower area is as clean as my home bathroom, with clean towels, shower gel and shampoo so you never have to bring anything with you. Of course jobs that require a lot of sitting usually end up with back pains and even worst. Well not at Google, because the employees have their own massage saloon inside the office...how cool is that?
And the best thing of them all is the sleeping area, a room with beds where you can sleep over night in case you had an argue with your wife, or just take your afternoon nap, relax your muscles and brains, and wake up and finish the crazy report that is bugging you since morning :)))
The thing I love the most, and Indians love it as well is the canteen. A biiiiig room full of tables and buffets all around, with all sort of food, for every taste and diet, making you day at work COMPLETE. Did I mention that they have a buffet with sweets and pastry and coffees on one floor, in case you want a sweet taste after 3 hours of work? And did I mention that everything is... FREE?
Now I know you are drooling but get yourself together, put up your cv and throw it to the nearest Google office you find. And start praying :)))
As mush as Emirates is pampering their clients, that much this company is pampering its employees, and guess what, people actually work with all these recreations, and work well...if you know what I mean.
So, Emirates, some new ideas to motivate your employees????

Electricity nahi hai...

2011-09-25T15:22:00.004+03:00

...meaning, no electricity. This was one of the first things I've learned when coming first time to India. We use to reach the office in the morning, and the hot weather was taking over the entire building because...there was no electricity, therefore no AC. Not only that, but after some time, I realized even when you stay at home, there are hours when electricity is simply stopped, most probably to save energy, we think :) Zahraa, my friend, did not have such situations in Bombay, so the same thought came into our minds, why do they do this?

Imagine I was in Nagpur, one year and half back, alone at home in evening, in my bathroom, taking a long bucket shower and suddenly, with my hair full of shampoo and eyes closed, I opened them to see...nothing around, complete darkness. For an instant there I thought maybe I went blind and I was slowly starting to panic. Then I've noticed some small lights outside the window and realized that I can still see, just that electricity is...well...on a break. Then I got used to it, I even had candles prepared and my laptop fully charged all the time, in case of any lights drop off. Oh and how many candle light dinners we had, and how many early sleeping night because of this.

Well it seems in Hyderabad the situation is the same. You don't want to know how much it took me to write yesterdays article because, electricity went down during day. So while this is happening, you just wait patiently, in the heating room, with no internet, no TV, no fan, no NOTHING, so that life comes back in your house. Thank God this is a hot country and they don't need heaters in the house, otherwise...I don't want to imagine.

Oh boy how dependent we are to these modern things. What would we do without them?

Indian babe

2011-09-23T12:44:00.009+03:00

Someone told me that dreams come true only...if you're living in a dream. Of course I refuse to believe that because I am now, for real, living whatever I was dreaming about. Because dreams do come true, but only when you really believe in them.

So here I am, after one year and a half, back in India, the place that I loved the most from all my journeys till now.

I landed in the city called Hyderabad yesterday morning, here to visit my dear friend Zahraa, who was anxious like a baby to see me again...just like me actually. I flew with Emirates (duh), and as expected I had a great flight, with goodies and nice atmosphere and friendly faces there to serve you anytime.

Hyderabad is a quite big city, bigger than my old Nagpur anyways, all green (comparing to the deserted dubai :))) ) and as I expected, very crowded. Dust is everywhere, cows walk freely on the streets, people walking on the sides of the road, just like I knew it :)

So my Indian adventure started with a long walk in the city, looking guess for what, a damn exchange house. If you can easily find exchanges in any place of the world, here we had to go 30 minutes with an auto ricksha and another 20 minutes walking. Can you imagine! Colors everywhere on the streets, women in sarees walking around, fresh fruit at every corner, fried Indian snacks all the way and lots of cars and bikes. I was just walking around, breaking my neck to catch every part of the world around me, to see every move, every shop, every person passing by. The lovely but tiring day ended with a shopping session in an open kind of park-bazaar and fresh fruit. But the most adventurous experience was the way back from the open market, traveling in the auto ricksha. The traffic went crazy by evening, so besides not being able to bargain to get a good price till home, we found ourselves "squeezed" between ten of cars, bikes, and a huge buss who was about to squish us for a couple of times. Amazingly this never happens, because the ricksha drivers, as crazy and as illegal as they move around, they never get stopped or have accidents. Or at least I never witnessed one, thank God :D

Irrespective of whatever people say or think or imagine about India, I know that this is a place where I will always love to be. And this came clear to me now, when I found myself here for the second time.

Tomorrow new adventures await for us, and after a traditional romanian lunch with polenta and cheese and onions today, and Zahraa wearing traditional romanian clothes (IE), we are ready to go out there once again!

See u laters alligators!

The music room

2011-09-16T17:22:00.005+03:00

A strong cold wind blows your face when you enter. Don't dream to much, it's just an AC :) Then you step in a luxury small hall where 2 smiley faces welcome you. After that you are in.
Welcome to The Music Room.
A semi dark atmosphere with strategic lights around the room, a small stage, good live music, metallic tall chairs, a long bar with all your little heart might want, one billiard corner and one DJ in the other corner. You go in, choose a perfect spot to have a view over the entire place and your night begins.

The cute African waitress is there to make sure you have all you need, will treat you with peanuts from the house and keep you company if you are alone.
And here they are, the ones who entertain the atmosphere every single night. Urban.
The band I've heard only the 3rd time when I went to that place. During Ramadan they weren't singing. And one late night, after the holy month was over, going to Music Room was a big surprise. One beautiful girl was in the middle of the stage, singing Alicia Keys "If I ain't got you". Since that day, the song kept singing in my mind.
Then I went again and again, and there they were all the times, filling the place with an amazing sound, the sound of music. It was quite impossible not to notice the cute guy in the back playing the drums and singing "sos for love", or the amazing guitar player whose voice simply melts your senses.
Last time in Music Room I decided: I'm gonna find out who these people are. And so I did. A little bit nervous and with one bear on board, I went to their table, took a seat, and with a big smile asked if I can stick with them a few minutes. They looked at my a little bit curious but after I explained the reason everyone gave me the OK.
Karen was a little bit nervous when I started asking about her life, I could see her hand slowly trembling and her muscle faces going bananas :P She is the lovely singer, the only girl in the band, originally from the Philippines. All her life she didn't do anything else except music, nothing professional like studies or music school, simple passion, and for 2 whole years she used to sing in South Korea, besides other places in the world. And her voice...man...
Steve, the cute drummer is from Australia and use to sing there for 11 years, time when he meet Peter, the talented guitarist, and since then they kind of stayed together. His eyes are as blue as the ocean so you can simply get lost in them.
Now Peter, he is something. Started playing the guitar when he was 15 years old, having now 17 years of professional music background, he's the one who started Urban in March this year. He was actually more social and fun than appeared on the stage. Every time I saw him sing, he had the serious face, till the moment he started talking about his life. Originally from New Zealand, Auckland to be more precise, he is in Dubai since 2007, so quite some time now. He played in Australia a lot of time, when he became best friend with Steve and then about 4 years in the Middle East. I was quite surprised to hear about Middle East, I am not really imagining people in these countries going and enjoying an evening with live music. But apparently there is a music industry in this part of the globe as well, and as Peter said, a quite social and good one, especially in Dubai, thing that again left me "open jaw".
Robert is in charge of the keyboards. He came all the way from Malta to Dubai, and his family business is music. He is not very excited about the city and lifestyle, well just like most of the Europeans here, but it's fine for some time. My kind of guy :D
And last but not least, Hernan, the guitar bass guy. It took me some time to get his name, and guess what...he is from... Colombia. I so wanted to talk to him in Spanish, but it would have been rude for the other guys around. His life is music of course, and he so reminded me of the rock concerts from my home.
So officially they and Music Room became part of my Dubai life, and I am so happy for that. I would stay and listen to them hours and hours, which I will actually do from now on, whenever I get the time.

Things to do, places to see

2011-09-02T10:41:00.007+03:00

4 months of my life in the desert :))) But it's worth it, I'm telling you.
And what really keeps me hanging is mostly the idea that soon, very soon, the world will be "at my feet". Why is that? Well surely you can imagine that working in a airline you have good discounts for airfares, even on other airlines not only Emirates :D
And while selling tickets every day to different destinations around the world, it's quite impossible not to imagine where would I like to fly in the future.
Here are some of the destinations which got stuck in my mind for the next year or maybe at the end of this one if my leave days will allow that :))
Manila (MNL) the bright capital of the magical island of the Philippines. With Spanish influences and many Spanish names on the streets, Manila is the most cosmopolitan city in the islands, the second as number of population and main religion roman catholic. Definitely one trip in the Phillippines should not end in Manila, but when you don't have to many days in your pocket, you can settle with the city as well :)

One dream of mine since I came here is to visit Seychelles. The island pertains to Africa, being in north of Madagascar, situated in the Indian ocean, having as neighbors the lovely island of Mauritius, Reunion, Zanzibar, Maldives and others about which I don't know about :P With official languages French, English and Seychellois creol, I imagine I should not have any problem in finding a spot there for a few days or relaxation. Anyone else in for Seychelles (SEZ)?

My last year plan after coming back from India was to work or at least visit Brazil. To work there surely can not do right now, but what do you know, we fly to Sao Paolo (SAO) and Rio de Janeiro (RIO)... Just my luck! Since I was little I dream of seeing the statue of Jesus on the top of Corcovado mountain, so my dream is about to come true some time soon :D I won't go into carnival stuff and Copacabana, I don't wanna stretch it to much :)) Will stick to some city tour, a cool swim in the ocean and a visit on the top of Corcovado mountain. Of course Sao Paolo would not hurt either, but I would prefer Rio instead.

And of course should not leave aside the eastern part of Asia. Could not decide yet to a destination but Emirates flies to all corners of the world, so some options would be Osaka, or maybe Shanghai or even Seoul. Would prefer Osaka by now, but none of these places would hurt me to get there...
I would love to tell you more, but I fear this can be painful for some of my friends especially, so I will stick to these places for now :)))
Now 2 slaps over the face, a glass of cold water, a cold shower (well actually a warm shower cause we don't have cold water in this country) and off to work. Let's send some people in the world, till I'll have my chance to get there.

Fun n fly

2011-08-24T10:56:00.004+03:00

Emirates Airline, a service excellence airline company, making its way in the top companies in the industry with every single day passing by. Which is good definitely, but sometimes a little bit of imperfection makes a flight good as well, if you know how to put it of course.
Since more than 2 weeks I have this article and I keep reading it and laughing and imagining how can I get to fly with such an airline. Cause I would really love to try it someday.
People always think of these things like jokes,not really knowing that somewhere in the world, other people put the jokes in practice, even when it comes to business. Now this is Kulula Airline, a South African low fare airline. Their flights are more than fun, or so everyone "says" on the online pages. Even wikipedia caracterizes them as a fun way to fly, explaining most of its history.
Here are some of the "flight entertainments" from Kulula airline, the original article from where I actually got them and where you can find much more is here.

~~~On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, “People, people we’re not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!~~~~

~~~There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane~~~

~~~In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favorite.~~~~

~~~~As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses..~~~

~~~Another flight attendant’s comment on a less than perfect landing: “We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.~~~~

~~~Heard on a Kulula flight: “Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing. If you can light ‘em, you can smoke ‘em.~~~

...and imagine they are in the industry since 10 years, 'n still "hopping"....
Good for you guys, good for you!!!!

Tourist or local

2011-08-17T10:53:00.004+03:00

I feel like this city is getting me more and more, and I really don't want to start enjoying Dubai that much :))) So what should I do?
Anyways the idea is that in India I felt like a local since the first month, here I am still not in the "local mood"
One benefit of being a resident was clear last week, when our group went to spend a day off all together in the amazing Aquaventure Atlantis park. Being a UAE resident the month of Ramadan brought us a discount of 50% in that aqua park. And then I felt like a local. Afterwards the situation changed immediately, when spending a whole day in those pools and in that entertainment I truly felt like a tourist, being just in vacation in Dubai, having no worries, no stress, no work the next day...
One think is clear doe, the country could not live without the tourists. One major source of money here is definitely tourism, so imagine all these people not coming and spending luxury vacations in Dubai, where would we be? Hundred of hotels, with different entertainment and different attractions, making you feel like a king and taking a hell lot of your money. Well if you want to feel like a king, clearly you should pay, right?
Now some other sources of "living" here are the fines. As I mentioned before, the highways within the city allow quite a high speed comparing with other cities in the world. On Emirates road that is crossing Dubai from one end to another, the speed limit is 120km/h, but people from around here know that the radar will not catch you even if you drive with 140. But how can you drive only with 140 when you have an amazing road in front, all clear, with 7 lanes and one hell of a car that can go up to 220? So here comes the problem, speeding=>radar=>fine=>money in local budget.
The metro stations are absolutely divine here, all air conditioned, all clean and organized, metros come in time and a lot of rules. Did you know that you are not allowed to drink or eat in the metro? Most probably in all countries it's like that. Well here you actually get a fine if you do that but more than this, you get a fine if...you chew gum inside the metro. And just to clear that out, 2 work mates that were going in the city one hot summer day, found themselves having to pay a 100 Dhs (aprox 20 euros) fine because they were chewing gum inside the metro. The crazy part is that the fine went up to 110 Dhs...the extra 10 Dhs amount was...what do you think..knowledge fee. For the simple reason that they were shown the manual where it is written that chewing gum inside the metro is prohibited, they were charged 10 Dhs (aprox 2 euros) Therefore being a local is quite hard as well...
So I'm just thinking, better to be a tourist or better to be a local? Any ways you get to spend a whole lot of money on God knows what.
I could stay and write little stories from Dubai all day but time is running out and I gotta go. So stay tuned y'all.
~Cheers~

Ramadan kareem

2011-08-01T21:26:00.004+03:00

Finally the Holy month of Ramadan is here, this year being celebrated between 1-30 August. Just to imagine how this is happening in Muslim countries, this month is like the December month for Christian, especially Christmas days, with lights and decorations and fasting and others as such.
And because living in an Islamic country, of course we have to adjust to the conditions. One rule here, Ramadan or no Ramadan, Muslims are called for prayer 5 times a day, meaning that in the city you can hear the readings from Coran in the speakers of every mosque...and believe me there are a lot of mosques. The Muslim prayers are happening at specifid timings, the first prayer being in early morning at 04:26, Fajer, at 05:46 Sunrise, at 12:30 Dohor, Aser at 15:56, Magreb at 19:06 and Isha at 20:36. But especially in this month, because of fasting from morning till dawn, eating and drinking is not allowed in public...

As a sign of respect for the locals, all non Muslims should not eat any kind of food or drink, not even water in front of the Muslim people who are not eating and drinking all day.
So how to live in this crazy heat without at least drinking water. Our luck is that, being such various in nationalities, our dear company permits us, the "guests", to drink water during working hours no matter if Muslims are around or not, and to eat in public, but only in specific areas :) So we are saved.
Definitely I will need to pay lots of attention with this drinking or eating, cause today I just found myself with the bottle of water at my mouth in the middle of the bus...without realizing that I am surrounded by locals...who are fasting. I closed my bottle immediately and put it back in my bag, just like nothing happened. Luckily no one said anything, probably they were to sleepy to notice me :P
More about Ramadam here.

Once upon a time...

2011-07-29T18:16:00.005+03:00

So many things are going through my mind lately, especially before I go to sleep. I recap the whole day, I think about what might happen tomorrow, what i have to do, if I need to do follow up on any passenger, if I talked to my friends today or when will I get the time to call them and so on. And of course one main thought that is always there in my mind is... where I want to travel next. Working with an airline company is making impossible to keep this thought away.
Then I think of all the placed in the world and I imagine myself there. And somehow the images are not at all new, like I've seen that before, I've been there maybe once, that view looks familiar in a way. In those moments I believe that long time ago, before being a Oana, I definitely was something else, or someone else, maybe who traveled a lot, or maybe I was one of the palm trees from my dream views, or maybe I was an animal that lived somewhere not far.
I remember being little and my folks telling me that I must have been a rabbit in another life, cause my first 2 teeth were too big for my that time dimensions. How cool must have been to be a rabbit, I must have had a blast of a time running around from a place to another, with my small little fluffy tail, eating fresh plants all day and peeing in different colors according to whatever I was eating. Cause you know bunnies pee green when they eat cabbage and orange when they eat carrot :))
Being a frog must have been quite an interesting life for me, because of my big eyes, everyone called me at least one time froggy eyes. I wonder if I really enjoyed eating all those insects, catching them with my tongue, just like frogs do. In this case who needs Chinese food, anyways I probably had more insects than all Chinese people in the world.
What I wonder if I really was a giraffe at some point, cause my long bones would really say this about me. And if I was, it means all Africa was at my feet, right? Life must bee quite amazing to be seen from up in the sky, being able to eat leaves directly from the tree, without a later to get up in it...
I'm now thinking if I was a fish one time, cause whenever I go to the beach I hate staying in the sun for tan, I could be in the water all day, getting all pickled and full of salt. And I dive, and I play, and I swim from one side to another, like a crazy small fish who is just getting used to his habitat.
But since one year, I keep thinking that maybe one time I was an Indian, cause since I got to that place, I felt like keep going and going, and visiting and seeing, and eating and living just like Indians do. So...maybe I was an Indian a life before this one, and I tend to think that I loved my life cause I feel very attracted to that part of the globe, no matter the differences and the difficulties and the dusty roads :P Me, the person who hated bugs in the house, and who was sneezing because of dust, and who was always eating nicely with the fork and used to hate to sweat and stay out in the sun in 30 degrees :)
So here I am, with a whole lot of experience in my subconscious , living in Dubai and being OANA in this life, waiting like crazy to see where is my step going to take me, and my next life, and then the next one and next one and the next one.
Man it's so cool to be alive!

Welcome to Emirates

2011-07-22T22:59:00.004+03:00

Welcome to Emirates. This is Oana speaking. How may I help?
Life in call center is not that bad yet, I must say. But still have some more months to go, so the impression might change...right?
Anyways welcome to my world, day by the day the same phrases, the same faces, the same inquiries, but still not yet bored. Why is that? Maybe because I keep "entertaining" the customers, when I can of course, and in the meanwhile I entertain myself while entertaining them.
But the crazies thing is actually how much money people spend on travels. Every time I speak to a customer I try to imagine what would be his job, what kind of social situation he has (and if he is flying Emirates that must be quite good), if he is having a good or bad day, if he has a family or not, if he is really interested in his inquire or just calling to pass the time, cause yes, we have "customers" like that as well :) I've faced till now people who were hoping to "find" me on the phone when they call next time, frustrated people with no time not even to talk on the phone and book their own business flight, people who did not have enough credit on the phone and were expecting me to call them back..., people who are traveling for a living and spending like nothing on one way flight from Europe to Middle East, people who are barging with me to give them a better fare, people who actually know where Romania is and even have friends there :), people with huge families that travel only in business class, people who know exactly what they want when they call to book a flight, people who have no idea why they are calling and many many others. So in this case how can a day be boring, when actually besides the lines that open and end my call, I have situations to which I may respond different every day. And improvise of course in case I don't know something :P Hopefully my calls won't be listened too often :))
Last day I also realized that in my days off, I am kinda getting bored, especially if I am the only one from my friends having off. You can imagine a whole day only sleeping and eating and watching movies and again eating? I couldn't till a few days ago :P
Dubai is still not for me, and this lifestyle is still not for me, so the only thing keeping me here are actually the customers and the daily situations...how fun is that?
Life in call center: quite joyful till now! Next step? Expiry of the first 6 months and then...
MAY THE TRAVELS BEGIN :D:D:D

Lost & found

2011-07-11T15:39:00.004+03:00

Usually I never lose things, I take good care of my keys, my phone, my head, however one thing I cannot take care of is my umbrella, so this is the only thing I always lose, no matter how big or fat or colorful it is : ))) But what happened last week made me reconsider my bad memory even in terms of umbrellas, because... I lost my fresh bought I-Phone 4.
Yes, exactly! Right after paying a lot of hundred euros for this sophisticated and fancy item, I found myself in the food court in Emirates Mall without being able to make a call. It was more than weird because I didn't even remember what I did with it, after leaving the beach. So the first option was the cab. I called the cab company "crying my heart out" that I need to find my phone. Of course they would call me as soon as they find something out, however I was very skeptic about this. And because my friends did not let me leave in peace without trying to do more to get it back, I decided that I will call the police and give the ID number of the phone to track it down and bring the "baby" back home.
Therefore after 2 days, the story continued with me thinking about my lost phone every minute of the day&night and calling to the police to ask what is the procedure to get track my item down. And while I was swearing that the line is busy since 20 minutes, a weird number is calling my mobile.
"Hello, did u lose an I-Phone?" You can imagine that my knees felt like jello and my voice started trembling..."Yes! I did!"
SURPRIZE!!! My phone was in Qatar as that moment, with a nice man who found it in the cab, took it with him just in case, cracked the pass-code , found out my number and gave me a call...from Doha-Qatar to Dubai-UAE to tell me that a friend of his will be coming in Dubai, not to worry, and he will send it back to me. How amazing is that?????!!!?!??
So after another 3 days, just as the man said, a friend of his came to Dubai and returned my "baby" to me.
At the moment, me and my "baby" are living happily ever after, trying to learn more about each other and enjoying every song and application together :D
"Si-am incalecat pe-o sa, si v-am spus povestea mea"

Arabian wear

2011-07-02T14:54:00.004+03:00

We all know that black and heat never go well together. However it seems this side of the globe is ignoring this fact, because as you can see all over Dubai, Arabian tradition says... Abaya and Niqab.
Since I came here, one of my dreams became this...to wear at least one time the traditional Arabian clothes. And I will succeed eventually, I am sure.
Now about the locals and the black wear. For some it's tradition, for some it's religion, however, all locals (it seems all) have their heads covered. And they look lovely. Or at least some of them. Besides this, under that long black cover, you will be able to see the latest fashion, from all the brands in the world, especially Armani, Gucci and D&G. Just like in sex and the city movie :D
Exotic perfumes with strong essences, big sparkly bags, high heals (a MUST), hairpins, make-up, a cool mobile phone (either Blackberry, either I-Phone) all are part of the modern Arabian wear.
However, the BAG is the most important part of them all, because it is the only article in the Arabian wear that you can see completely. Some women here spend thousands of Dirhams, equal with hundred of Euros, just to have a cool, modern, fashion BAG to go with their wear. If not thousands than at least some good hundred Dirhams, just to be sure that they have the latest fashioned bag.
The purpose of the Abaya and the Niqab is of course to cover the woman's shapes, so that she does not attract the looks on her figure. She can get it off only when she is surrounded by family.
An Egyptian "story teller" told me one evening that the way the locals wear the Niqab is reflecting their social status. As big the hair bun, the higher in the social class...
One thing is amazing in this traditional wear, the fact that some woman cover themselves completely. Meaning that you cannot see not even a little part of skin from the persons body. Some Arab woman cover their face completely and also wear gloves and closed shoes, which must be quite difficult to wear I imagine...
There are the "modern" women that only cover their hair either with a Niqab, either with simple scarves. Them I would personally call "araboaice rebele" :)
I keep thinking if I would be able to live like this, if I would bare this heat combined with this wear, and those are the times when I feel happy I didn't grow up in this part of the world doe, no matter how beautiful the women are and how much money they have.
Fascinating, isn't it?

A taste of Tanzania

2011-06-23T19:16:00.009+03:00

Life can be very fun sometimes, but other times it can be quite difficult. Some stories make you laugh, some stories make you cry, essential is to listen to them, maybe they will come handy at one point...
Tanzania, an African country, situated in East Africa bordered by Kenya, Congo, Zambia and other exotic countries, as you can read on Wikipedia.
Long time ago, in 1840, Zanzibar, a separated land next to Tanganyika, was the capital of...Oman. In 1964 the 2, Zanzibar and Tanganyika united their "forces" and became The Republic of Tanzania, as we all know it nowadays, with the capital in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam the biggest city (a city where Emirates flies by the way :P) Resulting from this story that Oman and other Arabic countries are now hosting a lot of "Swahili" people :) One of them being...A.
A was born in Tanzania (duh) but is now living in Dubai. When he was 1 and a half years old he moved in UK at his grandma, and after another almost 2 years of staying in UK, which he barely remembers, he moved in Dubai where he is living since then. He is 35 years old and is my colleague in Emirates. Being crazy curious about Africa and what amazing things that part of the globe hides, A started telling and telling stories that actually made me want to write about him.
The vegetation in Tanzania is savanna style of course, with green borders in Arusha and Moshi. The country is proud of its amazing national park, Serengeti, that is famous for it's annual migration of wildebeest and zebras, and of course with Kilimanjaro, the "little shining mountain".
Quite interesting till now, right? Well guess what, there is more to come.
A studied in Rostov, Mother Russia, for 7 years, so he is taking calls in the call center in English and Russian. His mother, sister, brother, aunt and other family members work with Emirates and Dnata, so he joined the group. But A's life became "windy" before starting this experience.
Credit cards, a sin on earth and one of the biggest temptations after women probably =)) Well, imagine having a credit card and going wild with it, what do you think might happen? A spent 46 days in prison in Dubai, for using a credit card and not paying the bank back. Banks are always nice with you and caring until the moment you open a credit account and start "eating" their money. After that, hell starts and your pink little world becomes dark. As dark as a jail cell. But fortunately, the prison in Dubai is not that bad as I've been said :P McDonald's, KFC and lots lots of friends. This was prison life for A, a "cool" place as he categorizes it. But the funny part is how he got there. One day, being tired of the bank's warnings and letters after letters, A went to the police department and said "I came to give myself in". The police men started laughing and asked him why...
In the hostel in Russia, A met lots of people from all over the world, however, one of the most memorable moments was with Sri Lankans. The girls called him for food one evening, but something felt kinda wrong since the very beginning. Being hungry and eager to taste the delicious beef with rice, A started enjoying his dish without asking what it actually is. At one point he found himself stared with big eyes by his hosts. Finally the moment was ruined by a Russian girl who started screaming when he saw him eating and ran out of the room. In the end, a Korean guy put an end to the whole charade, asking A if he knows what he's eating so eager. Can u guess? A DOG... The last piece was the hardest to swallow, making A always from then onward asking about the food he is about to eat...
~A Chinese once had 2 pets, a cat and a turtle. And because the cat was sick, the Chinese decided: "No problem, I chop and eat it..."~

Did you know.. (part 3)

2011-06-17T11:13:00.002+03:00

* Alcohol. A forbidden word on this side of the globe. Or at least in UAE. But I’ve heard Saudi Arabia is the same, even worse, and many other countries from Middle East. Just so you understand, in order to buy drinks, as in alcoholic drinks, you need to have a permit. With the permit you go in special liquor shop and you purchase whatever you desire. Of course I do not have an alcohol permit here, but from time to time we are having a drink. Where is that? In the clubs and bars where we hang out in weekends. Some of them serve, some of them don’t. And of course the ones that serve are full all the time =)) Now if you want to drink at home and you go in Carrefour hoping to buy some beers or a good wine to come with the tasteless Pakistan veil ;)))), you will never find them my friend. NEVER :P You will find all the beers in the world (well almost all) but non alcoholic, which will always fool you for the first time you see them.

* And if alcohol is something rare here, there is one thing that would make you love Dubai. The petrol price of course =)) Can you just imagine how cheap is the petrol in this country? Probably not. Well I’ll illuminate this aspect. As per what I know, in Romania a full tank would be around 60-70 Euro, for the average car let’s say. Well hold your horses, cause in Dubai a full tank is around 15 Euro for the same average car. Don’t you just love that?

* The weekend as you already know is including Friday and Saturday here. Well anyways it’s better than in India, where Tuesday was my only day off in a week. So the previous weekend, being the last weekend with our trainer cause Monday we had the final assessment, we went out for some beers and entertainment. We visited Irish Village, a cool Irish bar & restaurant with good music and very nice atmosphere, where we had some beers of course, then we had a nice dinner at McDonalds (which is by the way not that good as home or other European countries) After so much fuss we went at a hotel’s restaurant, next to the airport, where Emirates staff apparently had discount, and we played pool and had some more beers of course. But on the way to our final destination, while “flying” on the highway, a flash burned our eyes. Can you imagine what that was? Yeees, the most awaited technology in radars, an automatic flash radar that makes the local authorities so rich. Our colleague told us that it is impossible not to get a fine here, cause you have these huge highways, all waiting for you to go wild, and you have only 100 km/h speed limit... It is so unfair. If you go in Dubai, most of the highways have flash radar, and they always get what they are “looking for” :P So speeding in Dubai is normal, but it’s expensive also.

* This crazy city has no warm places except the malls, definitely. Therefore since we came here, one of the biggest issues is that...we have NO cold water... Morning, afternoon, evening, night, either for washing dishes, showering, or baths, the water from the sink is at least 20 degrees, making our showers and morning freshening so hard to get. I must say in India was the same, but at least at night the water was cool, so officially, here is worse =))

Working for Emirates

2011-06-07T21:13:00.004+03:00

Just so you all know Emirates Airline is part of Emirates Group, a huge, if not the biggest, company in UAE, the airline industry being actually the jewel of this “titan”. When you drive around in Dubai you will see lots of buildings pertaining to Emirates, in all city areas. Of course the Headquarters (HDQS) is located right next to the airport, terminal 3 to be more precise which is by the way exclusive for emirates flights, and you can easily recognize it thanks to its immensity and luxurious aspect.

When you walk in any Emirates building the first thing that will welcome you is precisely this, the luxury. All covered in marble, inside and outside, the places are big, very very clean shining all they ways, nice smelling and of course very chill (about 20 degrees indoor, if not even less :P ) You can easily get lost in them, but fortunately you have guidance on every corridor, either from receptions either from signs that will tell you which way is were.

I already have 1 month in the company, God only knows when the month passed that fast cause I didn’t even felt it, and I must say that it is a dream company. Who wouldn’t want to work in such an environment? And I am saying this not only because of its aspect, but because of its quality in...well, EVERYTHING. From a new joiner’s pint of view I must say that we were welcomed in a very hospitable way, with traditional Arabic coffee and sweets, with Arabic history and music, with a city & safari tour and nice and helpful people. No bad looks, no stress, no shouting, no superiority, just smiling faces giving a whole bunch of information, very aware that half of it will be forgotten quite soon :P

The training is programmed for 1 month and a half, after which I will start live “on the floor” as we call it here, meaning I will start getting phone calls and actually doing everything I’ve learned till now. Definitely I am paid in the meanwhile, I am waking up every 6 in the morning and I am cooking my lunch every day. So... a normal day job this training, what can I say. After 6 months the night shifts are most probably to start, therefore I need to enjoy everything I can until that time, cause I’ve heard that will be painful in some ways : )) But coming back to the training, the interesting thing that we have been told since the very beginning is to be proactive (AIESEC style) For everything that we are saying, asking, wondering out loud, we are getting marked, noted, in a good or a bad way. “Everything that you say can and will be used”...in this case either against you either for your benefit :D My batch has 3 nice trainers, one from India and 2 from the Philippines who are there for us with all the information that we require and even that we do not require. I feel very lucky I can say, cause I’ve heard one of them is the best there is :D

What am I doing in short words? Of course the main things are the ticket bookings for different locations where Emirates fly, and even for code share flights (meaning flights of Emirates operated by other airlines) Besides this, ticketing (so I will be getting lots of money from the people :D ), counseling people in their different flight/holiday requests and other things as such. It may not seem much, but for one person to remember this quantity of information, it’s a lot, believe me. Actually I am very eager to start taking the calls, I am sure I will be quite good at this =))

Therefore if anyone interested in a nice holiday in the Maldives, or maybe New York, or even in New Zeeland, give me a call, I’ll do my best to make your holiday a blast, with Emirates of course ;)))

Did you know... (part 2)

2011-06-04T19:21:00.005+03:00

Just 3 stories about life in Dubai this time, but many more to come :)

* Last night we went in a club named Barasti. Actually going in the club is probably the only thing you can do here in weekend at night. And here comes the funny part of it all, the closing time. If in Romania I was used to leave a party at minimum 4 in the morning, in Dubai all clubs close at 2,30... I don’t really know the reason but it’s very annoying. When you get in the mood, bang music off, light off and everyone has to leave. Silly thing, isn’t it?

* Besides this, of course people do not kiss here. I barely see from time to time couples holding hand in public, but kissing, definitely NOT. Well, actually in India was the same, but comparing the number of foreigners from Dubai with the number of foreigners in my ex home town in India, it should have made a difference. But no. It seems even tourists respect this local rule in public, they do not make out at all. Which is quite good from my point of view. Well maybe not as strict as it is here, but still. Most of all, I’ve heard, only heard not seen with my eyes, that there is a certain authority in UAE that is in charge of these show offs in public, so if someone see you doing this on the streets, or wearing to short clothes or transparent or any how indecent, you get a fine. Therefore no short skirts for me :P

* I am sure everyone knows the Islamic rule which says that Muslim women have to walk covered, some only hair, others only face, but anyways covered. I am curious how many know what is a woman like this wearing under that long, hot, black robe? Guess what? From Gucci, till Louis Vuiton, from Armani to Chanel and many many others, the Islamic woman have an amazing passion for clothing, especially shoes and bags, because these are the items that you can see coming from under the robe, which is actually called...abaya. And the unmissing parts of the look, gold jewelers and the phone, which is either Blackberry or I Phone. I was asking an Egyptian woman one day how they can bare the scarf on the head in 45 degrees. Don’t they sweat like crazy? Well it seems they don’t, because they are doing this since they were little and the body got used to it. Amazing, huh?

More fascinating things about UAE in the next episode :P

Did you know... (part 1)

2011-05-30T18:01:00.002+03:00

Some things about Dubai that are not very well known for people around the world.

* The entire city of Dubai hosts 195 nationalities from all over the globe. Working in different companies, in different fields, or just in vacation, with or without their families or friends, people come in Dubai seeking for things they did not find in their home countries, with the idea that they will have maybe a better life, or just to make a change, or to have a great holiday. And amazingly get all that. The city provides such conditions so that people can have a normal life, above the poverty limit. Therefore no poor people on the streets, no dust and no garbage (except for some small areas).

* Besides the garbage and dust, one thing you do not see on the streets of Dubai are dogs. These animals do not seem to exist in this area except in people’s houses, as in owned dogs. Our trainer sais cats are everywhere, but since I came here I saw only 2, one on a beach and one in my building at the doormen. * And actually today, on my way to the city, I saw in a neighborhood 2 cats next to a shop, eating like crazy. So a total of 4 cats in one month... Man I miss animals :X

* Emirates Group itself is the home company of 165 nationalities, brand no. 270 in the world with the most eco friendly aircrafts in the airline industry.

* Besides the 195 nationalities within Dubai, not remembering the exact number, more than 60% or the people living in Dubai are Indians, so imagine the amount of spices on the shops, of course never comparing with Bombay or any other city in India : )

* An amazing thing in the city are the highways, that have between 2 and 6 lines on each side. Just to have a clear impression, imagine the highways that connect Hungary to Austria. Those you find within Dubai, but much better kept. And of course if you have highways you have speed, so the maximum speed limit within some of these highways is 120 km...IN THE CITY.

* By the way I didn’t hear not even 1 car horn since I came here, these people are very peaceful when it comes to driving, even if they speed. Every car on its line, not like in India :P, every cab chauffeur wearing uniform, all civilized and in place.

* Dubai Mall is the mall with the biggest nos. of shops in the world, and inside you can find the biggest indoor aquarium if I well understand. It is simply amazing. When you stand outside the mall, in front of Burj Khalifa, the lovely Dubai Dancing Fountain will cheer you sense, with its unique capacity of actually dancing...

* I suppose that I don’t have to mention that Burj Khalifa is the major attraction in the city, being the tallest building in the world, of more than 820 m high. Inside you cannot find much, just hotels, restaurants, among these the Armani hotel (which I don’t want to know how much expensive it is) and others :P The building tour costs 100 Dhs if you book in advance, or if you just go to see it without booking it costs 400 Dhs.

* Vegetation is totally missing in this city, except some areas where there are some improvised parks, barely staying green thanks to a good irrigation system. The rest is all sand and specific desert plants, half green half yellow. I am craving for a forest you guys...heeelp!!!!!

To be continued...

Life in Dubai, the beginning

2011-05-23T19:23:00.007+03:00

It’s been more than 2 weeks since I moved in the luxurious Dubai, one of the cities with the fastest growth in the world (if not the fastest) For those who do not know I am working with Emirates Group, in Emirates Airline as a customer sales and service agent. All this meaning I am in call centre, attending Emirates calls in English and Spanish. How it is till now? I am proud to say GOOD =)), but not in work yet, in trainings, cause Emirates is well known as the company who teaches its new joiners all about airline industry. So yes, I am attending free classes, more than that, I am getting paid for them, a basic salary. Till now it’s all been amazing, the company is very serious, with lots of focus on people, both inside and outside Emirates (as in employees and of course customers), very much different that any work I have experienced till now.

And here comes the long awaited part, the actual “dubaian” life for me. I came here with the idea that everything is at least 2 times more expensive than in Romania. But as we all know, the stories are most of the times different than reality. So in conclusion NO, life in Dubai is not that much expensive as expected. But taking in consideration that they cannot grow parcel and carrots here, they do not have cows everywhere or fruit trees, all is imported, so not very cheap either. I am doing my weekly shopping in Carrefour :D, where amazingly you can find ANYTHING, even Romanian cookies as we noticed this week. The currency here is AED-Arab Emirates Dirham (Dhs), where 1 Euro=5 Dhs and 1 Dollar=4 Dhs (approximately) So to make it clear, a kilo of carrots is about 4,5 Dhs, 1 liter of milk is at least 4 Dhs, 1 kilo of Indian grapes is at least 13 Dhs, 1 kilo of cheese about 30 Dhs, and of course meat is expensive, starting 20-25 Dhs depending on the type and the country. Fortunately my life here is based on fruit like grapes, apples, melons and many others, cause of the heat, so I don’t really eat anything else except chicken from time to time, beans and eggs.

One crazy thing in this crazy city is definitely the heat and climate. I am experiencing since I came here at least 30 degrees every day, sometimes even 40 (and summer is not even here yet), I am going at the beach, but still NO TAN. The sun is so powerful but it seems it does not like me very much, cause I am still white =)) Well I have time to get some tan, who knows how many years I’ll spend here :P

But you know, besides all these, there is not much to do or see in Dubai, reason for which I don’t realy like the city. Besides being enormous, it has no attractions, no vegetation except some irrigated almost dry flowers on the highway sides. Burj al Arab and its beach, Burj Khalifa-the tallest building in the world and the Malls are the best things you can do in Dubai. Of course you can visit the spice market and the gold market, you can go on the sea with the boat, you can fly with the balloon or go for a safari, but that’s about it. I am starting to wonder what will I do after 6 months of living here? I will have nothing new to see... Therefore I will save some place for later, in order not to get bored ;)))

Well this would be it for now about Dubai, hopefully I will be able to keep this blog “hot” during my stay here :P But one thing is for sure, comparing with my last work experience from India, here I am already missing home and friends, and it’s not even been one month. I truly hope I will manage, otherwise, guys, I’ll be coming home early...again :P

Till next time, one small quotation from the locals “People who produce good results feel good about themselves.” (Atilla the Hun) Think about it...

Ghidul 7 - Kanyadaan ceremony

2011-04-28T10:04:00.004+03:00

And here we are, with a small delay of 2 weeks cause my friend Zahraa was out of station, with the last ceremony of a traditional Indian wedding, where the bride no longer belongs to her family, but to her husband. The ceremony called Kanyadaan.

An idiot’s guide to an Indian wedding

6. Kanyadaan

The evening of the Nikah (the official marriage ceremony) was the reception. Anywhere from 500 to 2000 guests are invited. It's a strange sight, almost like a circus where everyone is turned up in really sparkly clothes.
Most Indian weddings are outdoors, usually in a lawn or a park. If it's too late, tents are erected. Otherwise, chairs are scattered everywhere. My brother's wedding was in a synagogue.
The bride and the groom are seated on a stage. The guests are expected to go up to them and wish them , instead of the other way around. It's considered auspicious to give the couple money in denomination on Rs 1. For example: they would give and envelope stuffed with Rs 1001 or even Rs 5001.
To keep a track on these envelopes, we had to take turn to be on our "duty". Also there is no specific dinner timing. The dinner opens at 7.30 pm and the guests are expected to eat whenever they are hungry.
The reception dies at about 1 am-after which the couple leaves. The father of the bride now symbolically places her hand into the groom's hand and asks him to take care of her. This last ritual called Kanyadaan, loosely translated means "donating the bride".

The Human Planet

2011-04-27T20:47:00.028+03:00

"Only one creature has carved the life of itself in every habitat on Earth. That creature is us. All over the world we still use our ingenuity to survive in the wild places, far from the city lights, face to face with the raw nature. This is the Human Planet."

Since 3 days I am simply fascinated while discovering our "small world", even doe it's through some lenses, on a sophisticated machine called computer. I am calling it sophisticated because everything I have seen in the past few days has been so simple and natural, just like long looong time ago, before many things got to rule our living.
The whole above description refers to BBC documentary, Human Planet, an amazing combination of sounds, images with a remarkable story teller, actor John Hurt, bringing in front in every single minute the extraordinary relationship that humans have with nature.
The documentary was first launched in UK on BBC One, during 8 weeks, starting 13th Of January 2011. The stories are spread in 8 episodes, but the filming of the entire movie took about 3 years in many many countries, on all continents.
I usually don't have the patience to watch serials, but this is one is simply amazing, making me forget that it finishes in 8 episodes. Or may I say it never finishes. Actually in every story I am fascinated and I think how lucky and blessed those people were (the working team I mean) to witness such amazing human rituals, and how much those scenes have changed their life values.
Each episode has a topic, like the human life and global waters, human life in the jungle, in the mountains and others.
I am going to tell you some of my favorite discoveries from these episodes, letting you discover the rest while watching them, if I made you curious of course (and I am sure I will :P )

One of the stories brings in front Sulbin, a normal man as it may first seem, who lives with his family in the Sulu Sea from Borneo. And when I write "in the sea" I mean that the houses are actually constructed in the sea, kilometers away from land. Sulbin's family is used to live here, they find small happiness moments while sailing with their wooden boat on the crystal waters. The sea is just like land for them, more than that, when they set foot on land they feel the thing called land-sick (equivalent with the sea-sick that we have when we sail the seas) But Sulbin's normality fades away when he starts showing the BBC team how he provides food to his family. He has the capability to stay under water for maximum 5 minutes, with only one breath. It was amazing to see how the super equipments of the team were nothing comparing to Sulbin, who was walking on the bottom of the water, at more that 20 m down, in his underwear with one spear, with which he was catching dinner for his family.

In the hearts of the Himalayas, at huge altitudes of over 4000m, where vegetation is just a dream and the air is quite rarefied, Do Tharap, one of the highest communities of Earth has one major problem : the disposal of the dead. What do you do with the body where there is only rock and no wood to start a fire for an incineration, when Buddhist don't have the habit of borrowing the corps?
There are certain people that have the job to prepare an old Buddhist ritual, a sky burial. The family walks along with the corps on a high mountain top, says the last prayers and goes back to the village, letting the funeral person, a non Buddhist, to do the rest.
On the top of the mountain the undertaker receives the help of other creatures living at those heights, the vultures. After the man cuts the body in peaces, the birds eat it, clearing the worries away from the community.

In the village of Djenne in Africa, the people have a huge problem in a certain time of the year, when the monsoons bring the rough rains and winds. Their religious home is an old mosque, completely made of river mud. When the monsoons come, their mosque is on the verge of being flushed away if the locals don't interfere. Therefor, every year, the entire village starts working on the fortification of the mosque, before the heavy rains begin. The people carry baskets full of mud from the nearby river, and paint the entire mosque, all together, to fortify it and make it strong in front of the weather. This habit has kept the religious house standing for more than 700 years.

A human habit in the jungles of Brazil was astonishing for me, especially because it is practiced by small local children. When the kids get hungry, they rush in the jungle to find some "snacks", and oh my Good what snacks. The food they often seek for is named Goliath, and is actually the largest spider in the world. They catch the spider with their hands, using a small stick to immobilize the victim. After each kid gets its spider, they make a small fire, cook them and eat them. They say it's delicious, but I have my doubts.

It's all about community, help, survival, about the laws of the nature and how we, the people, managed to adjust or even change some of them. It's about ways of life but most important about us. It's all about us. I hope I made you curious enough to seek for the stories yourself. If it is so, enjoy =)

"More than half of us now live in cities, and we are using up nature's resources as never before. We are, without doubt, the most inventive and powerful creature on the planet. We are so successful, we've highjacked the whole world for our own ends. But the consequences of our voracious lives are spiraling out of control. Are we pushing the natural world towards a crisis? Where do we go from here?"

Cand te manca in fund... te scarpini

2011-04-27T01:05:00.002+03:00

Recunosc ca intotdeauna am stat prost cu rabdarea, insa de cand cu India am invatat sa-mi mai stapanesc iesirile, nerabdarile, impacientarile si altele de acest fel. Nu pot sa spun, mai am scapari, dar nu atat de dese ca inainte, si in general ma abtin si chiar pot sa spun ca am destula rabdare. Dar ce faci cand ajungi aproape de punctul critic? Pai eu de obicei pun mana pe telefon si sun.
Pentru ca povestea mea sa aiba vreun sens, am sa va destainui ce fac eu cand sunt pe ultima suta de metri, dupa o lunga asteptare.
Inainte sa plec in India, dupa multe cautari, promisiuni si alte asteptari de alt fel, cand mi-am gasit firma "gazda", urma desigur interviul. MARELE interviu care urma sa decida soarta mea pentru urmatorul an. Stabilisem data cu HR-ul, aveam resursele pregatite, aka telefon sau skype, si...asteptam. A trecut o zi, au trecut 2-3 zile si nimic. Nu mai dadea nimeni nici un semn. Si fiinda nu mai suportam asteptarea (atunci nefiind calita in nici un fel), am pus mana pe telefon si am sunat eu HR-ul, pentru interviu desigur. Omul ramasese perplex, singurul lucru care a putut sa il spuna a fost "Oana from Romania???!?! Is that really you???!!!??!" De fapt nu cred ca eram eu, era a doua mea personalitate, care iese la iveala in situatii de maxima frustrare, insa nu stiut nimeni asta =P Omul saracu' avea mana rupta de asta nu m-a sunat la timp, dar a fost incantat ca am decis sa fac eu pasul cel mare si nu am asteptat dupa el (culmea)
Acum din cate observ, istoria se cam repeta, insa de data aceasta sunt pe ultima suta de metri dupa o asteptare parca prea lunga zic eu. Stiu ca Dubai ma asteapta, stiu ca totul este programat, dar faptul ca nu am mai vorbit cu HR-ista de o saptamana, dupa ce i-am predat ultimele acte, ma tortura de-a dreptul. Asa ca astazi m-am pus pe treaba si ce credeti ca am facut? Exact. Am sunat! =)) M-a intampinat cu o voce calda, m-a verificat pe portal dupa numarul de candidat si mi-a spus ca totul este in regula. I-am explicat ca nu mai auzisem nimic de la ea de o saptamana si eram curioasa daca totul este in regula, ca nu prea mai am rabdare, abea astept sa incep. Si ce sa auzi? M-a intrebat daca nu vreau sa vin mai repede... Ei dragilor, uite asa s-a ales subsemnata cu un avans de o saptamana in Dubai, cu plecarea pe data de 6 mai in loc de 13-14. Sunt de treaba tare astia de la Emirates, n-am ce spune =))
Asa ca totusi cand "te mananca", eu zic (din propria experienta desigur) ca uneori e bine sa "te scarpini", poate iesi ceva bun =D

Criza... spirituala

2011-04-21T15:20:00.004+03:00

Si pentru ca imi plac traditiile culturale, ar fi culmea sa nu urmez tocmai traditia noastra romaneasca, nu? Asa ca astazi dimineata m-am trezit devreme sa rezolv o problema...spirituala, si am plecat la biserica sa ma spovedesc si impartasesc (sau invers?) iar in timp ce ma "spalam de pacate", a venit parintele cu geniala idee, ca de fapt nu exista criza economica/financiara cum vrei noi sa o numim. De fapt conducerile se afla intr-o criza...spirituala, pentru ca nu stiu cui sa ceara ajutor nenorocitele, in schimb il cer de unde nu trebuie... si raman tot mai tare fara bani, intelegeti? Trebuie sa recunosc ca are o perspectiva interesanta parintele, nu ma gandisem niciodata la criza in felul acesta.
Si pentru ca sunt la capitolul biserica, iata aici un lucru care nu imi place in mod deosebit si care m-a facut de ceva ani incoace sa evit usor usor biserica. A nu se intelege ca sunt atee, ba din contra, cred tare, dar nu inseamna ca trebuie sa ma duc sa pup toate tablourile si sa asist la fiecare slujba posibila. Oricum revenind, ceea ce nu imi place la biserica e faptul ca toti, dar absolut toti oamenii lasa BANI.
Zi noapte, luni, miercuri, duminica, e un prost obicei, pe care "enoriasii" il duc mai departe, si care am observat, de-a lungul timpului, ca se extinde din punct de vedere al serviciilor bisericesti pe care le rasplatim.
Vine popa acasa de anu nou sa sfinteasca, bagam bani in buzunar (bleax)
Vine popa sa faca slujba la mort, ca deh murim fir-ar sa fie, ii bagam bani in buzunar (pfiu)
Mergem la biserica sa ne inchinam si sa multumim sau sa cerem una alta, bagam bani in cutiutza (ooff)
Insa cel mai tare imi displace faptul ca mergem si noi de sarbatori sa ne spovedim, sa povestim ce rahaturi am facut sa ni se "spele", si cand sa iesi de sub "poala popii", pac lasi bani pe masuta alaturata.... (la naiba) Deci asta NU, nu suport si nu am sa fac niciodata.
Dragi oameni care cititi si care nu cititi asta (hmmm, dar cum va ajunge mesajul la aia), nu va mai lasati resursele financiare in biserici, ca au popii bani sa renoveze bisericile chiar daca nu lasam noi zilnic hartii verzi sau rosiatice in cutiutele din lacasul sfant. Nu va fie rusine sa iesiti din biserica fara sa lasati bani, ca doamne doamne nu se supara pe voi =)
Am zis!
Doamne ajuta!

Secretul

2011-04-19T23:39:00.007+03:00

Acum cateva zile, vreo 3 saptamani mai exact, am simtit foarte tare nevoia de o inspiratie, ceva sa ma aduca din nou pe linia de mijloc, pentru ca simteam ca am sa cad in ceva "sub" linie. De cateva zile, ba chiar de vreo 2 saptamani sunt deprimata (la naiba ca nu-mi vine nici pe facebook sa scriu nimic, dar mai pe blog =| ), am tot felu' de ganduri, cam negative ele, sunt "down" si nu am chef de nimic. Acum cateva zile, mai exact acum vreo saptamana am vizionat un film care mi-a ridicat moralul (Matching Jack), insa cel mai tare lucru e ca acum cateva minute, mai exact acum vreo 90 de minute, am terminat de vazut filmul The Secret. Iar de cateva momente incoace m-am hotarat sa scriu articolul pe blog si momentul de fata chiar asta fac =D Ce tare, nu? =)))

Care e secretul vietii pe care ne-o dorim?
Sigur multi au vazut deja filmul, insa eu ma minunez ca e aparut in 2006 si nu l-am vazut pana acum (bou ce sunt), desi il am in comp de vreo jumatate de an.
De fapt ce ne spune filmul asta este ca in noi sta puterea la naiba, si ca noi ne creem singuri starile pe care le traim, fericirile si nenorocirile pe care le traim, noi ne creem viata pe care o ducem. Ca de fapt toti suntem energii, ca suntem interminabili si ca ceea ce ne acopera, respectiv acest corp de care eu, EU ma plang in ultima vreme ca devine grasun sau e bolnav, nu e decat un mijloc de transport, pentru energia mea interminabila, pe acest glob. De fapt noi nu suntem ceea ce vedem in oglinda in fiecare zi, frumosi sau mai putin frumosi, chei sau fara o mana, noi suntem ceea ce nu se vede in nici o oglinda, noi suntem ceva minunat si ceva ce nu se va termina niciodata (huh, traiasca Yoga si energiile si spiritualitate si credinta).
Ba mai mult, tot ceea ce ne dorim se poate intampla, de la bani pana la sanatate, iubiri, prieteni si alte cele, trebuie doar sa inlocuim gandurile care contin NU cu ganduri pozitive, sa CREDEM cu ADEVARAT in ele si se vor intampla. De ce? Pentru ca atunci cand intr-adevar credem, incepem sa folosim cealalta bucata de creier de 95% care, biata de ea, bucata, doarme de obicei, pentru ca noi suntem... limitati...?! Lucru GRESIT stiintific demonstrat, pentru ca suntem infiniti, doar ca nu credem =))
Probabil ca v-ati dat seama ca sunt prins in mod serios de problema, lucru care nu face nimic altceva decat sa ma bucure. Oricum ideea e ca acest articol este pentru toata lumea, dar probabil, sau sigur, nu toata lumea il va percepe. Insa incerc, pentru ca de stricat sigur nu strica nimanui =)
Eu totusi cred ca mi-am gasit inspiratia pe care o cautam acum 3 saptamani, respectiv povestile oamenilor din documentar, si CRED ca lucrurile vor sta ceva mai bine de acum incolo, atata timp cat am sa am mereu grija sa le mentin, ca deh, e usor sa aluneci inapoi sub linie, e mai greu sa te ridici...sau nu?

Mancam in functie de grupa sanguina

2011-04-14T11:24:00.008+03:00

Probabil la fel ca mai toata lumea, m-am ingrasat iarna asta. Insa din pacate nu o simt numai eu, ci imi spune lumea care nu m-a mai vazut de multa vreme...ceea ce ma face sa imi doresc o dieta (eu, fata care nu suporta curele de slabire, fata mereu slabuta, fata maneCHINA =))
Ce fac? Pai simplu, miscare dimineata, seara, dar mai ales, mananc sanatos. Va dati seama ca am facut excese iarna asta, dar nu e niciodata prea tarziu sa te pui inapoi pe picioare :D Asa ca plangandu-ma printre prieteni ca devin grasun, am primit zilele trecute un meniu de alimente, fructe, condimente potrivite grupei mele sanguine, care sa ma ajute sa imi detoxific organismul ghiftuit cu carne si grasimi :|
Si pentru ca intr-adevar imi sunteti foarte simpatici, m-am gandit ca nu se va supara nimeni daca il impart cu lumea, nu? (nu, Korek?)
Mai jos gasiti alimentatia potrivita fiecarei grupe sanduine in parte dar si site-ul de unde veti gasi mai multe detalii despre alimentatia in functie de aceste grupe :D
Sanatate dragilor :*

GRUPA SANGUINA O

Alimente benefice
Carne : vita, vitel, miel, berbec, caprioara, inima, ficat
Peste: cod, merlucius, hering, macrou, ton, somon, scrumbie, pastrav, stiuca, – toti in
stare proaspata.
Grasimi: ulei de masline, ulei de in
Legume: orez, cartofi dulci, spanac, napi, praz, ceapa, usturoi,broccoli,anghinare, ardei,
gulii, sfecla, patrunjel, pastârnac, dovleac, fenicul, salata verde, papadie, hrean.
Fructe: smochine, cirese, afine, dude, prune, prune uscate, mango, ananas, seminte de
dovleac, seminte de in, nuci, migdale.
Bauturi: sifon, apa plata, apa minerala
Mirodenii, condimente: curry, turmeric, frunze de patrunjel, ghimbir

Alimente neutre
Carne: pui, rata, capra, fazan, iepure
Peste: crap, rechin, homar, crab, creveti, scoici, broaste.
Lactate: lapte de orez, lapte de migdale, lapte de soia, tofu (brânza de soia).
Grasimi: ulei de susan, oua de gaina.
Legume: castraveti, dovlecei, andive, ciuperci, mazare, rosii, masline verzi, morcovi,
telina, sparanghel, soia.
Fructe: mere, caise, pepene verde, pepene galben, curmale, stafide, kiwi, lamâii, piersici,
pere, rodii, seminte de pin, seminte de floarea soarelui, seminte de susan.
Bauturi: bere, ceai verde, vin alb si rosu.
Mirodenii, condimente: cimbru, salvie, anason, marar, maghiran, boia de ardei, sofran,
frunze de dafin, coriandru, capere, rozmarin, busuioc, tarhon, cuisoare, mustar, sos de
soia, drojdie de bere, maioneza.
Dulciuri: miere, melasa, ciocolata, in cantitati mici.
Suplimente: complex vitaminic B, calciu, iodina, coenzima Q10, magneziu, vitamina C,
vitamina K, Ginko Biloba, ginseng.

Alimente de evitat
Carne: gâsca, porc
Peste: baracuda, caviar, hering marinat, caracatita
Lactate: orice fel de produse din lapte: brânza albastra, margarina, cascaval de orice fel,
smântâna, inghetata, rar iaurt, kefir, lapte dulce, parmezan.
Grasimi: untura de porc, ulei si unt de cocos, ulei si unt de alune, ulei din germeni de
grâu, ulei de porumb.
Legume: fasole boabe, linte, varza, conopida, varza de Brusseles, vinete, ciuperci de
crescatorie, masline negre, muraturi,cartofi.
Fructe: mure, capsune, nuca de cocos, portocale, mandarine, fistic, seminte de mac,
alune, nuci braziliene.
Bauturi: cafea, ceai negru, bauturi carbogazoase (cola, etc), suc de mere, suc de
portocale.
Condimente, mirodenii: ketchup, otet, scortisoara, nucsoara, vanilie.
Dulciuri: dextroza, fructoza, zahar.
Cereale: grâu si faina de grâu alba sau integrala, graham, porumb, couscous, bulgur
Suplimente: echinacea, luminta noptii (Evening Primrose), gentiana, rubarba, Lcarnitina,
vitamina A

GRUPA SANGUINA A

Alimente benefice
Carne: nu se recomanda
Peste: crap, cod, macrou, somon, sardine, pastrav
Lactate: lapte de soia, tofu
Grasimi: ulei de masline, ulei de in, ulei de nuca
Legume: fasole verde, linte, soia, anghinare, broccoli, morcov, papadie, usturoi,
gulie, praz, salata verde, ceapa, dovleac, spanac, napi, pastârnac.
Fructe: caise, mure, cirese, smochine, grapefrut, lamâi, ananas, prune, stafide.
Bauturi: suc de grapefrut, suc de ananas, apa cu lamâie, suc de telina, cafea, ceai
verde, vin rosu.
Dulciuri: melasa
Cereale: faina de ovaz, orez, faina de orez, faina de soia.
Condimente, mirodenii: mustar, sos de soia, aloe, ghimbir, hrean, musetel,
ginseng, brusture, valeriana.

Alimente neutre
Carne: nu se recomanda
Peste: ton, sturioni, rechin
Lactate: iaurt, kefir, cas dulce, telemea, smântâna fermentat
Grasimi: ulei de peste, ulei din germeni de grâu
Legume: sparanghel, sfecla, varza, conopida, telina, castraveti, ridichi, fenicul,
masline verzi, mazare, muraturi, ridichi, dovlecei.
Fructe: mere, avocado, pepene galben, coacaze, curmale, kiwi, piersici, pere,
capsune, pepene verde, struguri.
Bauturi: suc de mere, suc de castraveti, vin alb
Dulciuri: miere, sirop de orez
Cereale: orz, porumb, couscous, ovaz, orez, grâu
Condimente, mirodenii: busuioc, frunze de dafin, cuisoare, coriandru, curry,
scortisoara, marar, patrunjel, nucsoara, maghiran, boia de ardei, sofran, cimbru, hrean.
Suplimente: fier, acid folic, seleniu, zinc, vitamina C, vitamina E, vitamina B
complex, calciu

Alimente de evitat
Carne: orice fel de carne, ocazional este permis pui sau curcan
Peste: ansoa, baracuda, merlucius, heringi, caviar, scoici, broaste, caracatita,
creveti.
Lactate: lapte dulce de vaca, brânza de vaci, cascaval, brânza albastra, inghetata,
parmezan.
Grasimi: ulei sau unt de cocos, ulei de porumb, ulei sau unt der alune, ulei de
susan.
Legume: vinete, ardei, ciuperci de crescatorie, masline negre, cartofi, rosii,
muraturi.
Fructe: banane, pepene galben, nuca de cocos, mango, portocale, mandarine, fistic,
nuci braziliene.
Bauturi: lapte de cocos, suc de rosii, suc de varza, suc de portocale, lichioruri,
sifon, bauturi carbogazoase (cola, sucuri, etc).
Dulciuri: zahar, aspartam
Cereale: grâu si derivate din grâu
Condimente, mirodenii: maioneza, ketchup, capere, rubarba, otet.
Suplimente: vitamina A, beta-caroten, pollen

GRUPA SANGUINA B
Alimente benefice
Carne: miel, berbec, iepure, caprioara.
Peste: caviar, cod, merlucius, macrouri, somon, sardine, sturioni.
Lactate: brânza de vaci, telemea, iaurt, kefir, lapte de vaca degresat, lapte de capra, cas
dulce.
Grasimi: ulei de masline
Legume: sfecla, broccoli, varza, conopida, morcovi, vinete, ciuperci, ardei,
pastârnac, cartofi dulci, fasole boabe, boabe de soia.
Fructe: banane, coacaze, struguri, ananas, papaya, prune, nuci.
Bauturi: suc de sfecla, suc de coacaze, suc de ananas, ceai verde.
Cereale: mei, ovaz, faina de orez
Condimente, mirodenii: ghimbir, curry, patrunjel, ginseng, menta, salvie.
Suplimente: nu se recomanda

Alimente neutre
Carne: vita, vitel, ficat
Peste: crap, hering, somon de crescatorie
Lactate: unt, margarina, cascaval, brânza Camemebert, svaiter, lapte de vaca
integral, lapte de soia, tofu.
Grasimi: ulei de in, ulei de nuca, ulei de peste.
Legume: telina, castraveti, papadie, andive, fenicul, usturoi, gulie, praz, salata
verde, ceapa, mazare, sparanghel, muraturi, cartofi, spanac, dovlecei, napi, fasole verde.
Fructe: mere, caise, mure, afine, pepene galben, cirese, smochine, grapefrut,
kiwi, lamâie, piersici, portocale, pere, prune uscate, stafide, capsune, pepene verde,
migdale.
Bauturi: suc de caise, suc de grapefrut, suc de morcovi, suc de castraveti, cafea,
ceai verde, ceai negru, vin alb, vin rosu.
Dulciuri: miere, melasa.
Cereale: faina de graham, orez, faina de soia, gris, faina de grâu.
Condimente, mirodenii: maioneza, mustar, sos de soia, otet,busuioc, frunze de
dafin, cuisoare, coriandru, marar, maghiran, menta, nucsoara, oregano, boia de ardei,
rozmarin, sofran, cimbru, vanilie.
Suplimente: beta caroten, acid folic, seminte de struguri, lecitina, magneziu,
vitamina E.
Alimente de evitat
Carne: porc, pui, rata, gâsca, potârniche, prepelita, broasca testoasa.
Peste: ansoa, baracuda, crabi, broaste, homari, caracatita, creveti.
Lactate: inghetata, tofu
Grasimi: ulei de cocos, ulei de porumb, ulei de alune, ulei de susan, ulei de
floarea soarelui.
Legume: anghinare, masline negre, rosii, dovleac, linte.
Fructe: avocado, nuca de cocos, rodii, seminte de pin, fistic, seminte de mac,
seminte de dovleac, seminte de susan, seminte de floarea soarelui.
Bauturi: suc de rosii, sifon, bauturi carbogazoase, lichioruri.
Dulciuri: sirop de porumb, dextroza, zahar.
Cereale: orz, porumb, couscous, tarâte de grâu, bulgur, faina de grâu integrala.
Condimente, mirodenii: ketchup, scortisoara, piper, gentiana, tei, urzica,
rubarba.
Suplimente: efedrina, zinc.

GRUPA SANGUINA AB

Alimente benefice
Carne: miel, berbec, iepure, curcan
Peste: cod, macrouri, sardine, sturioni, pastravi
Lactate: brânza de vaci, telemea, brânza de capra, kefir, lapte de capra, cas dulce,
iaurt, smântâna degresata, tofu.
Grasimi: ulei de masline, ulei de nuci, unt de alune
Legume: sfecla, conopida, telina, papadie, castraveti, vinete, usturoi, pastârnac,
cartofi dulci, linte, soia
Fructe: cirese, coacaze, smochine, struguri, grapefrut, kiwi, lamâi, anason,
prune, alune, nuci.
Bauturi: suc de sfecla, suc de varza, suc de morcovi, suc de telina, cafea, ceai
verde
Dulciuri: nu sunt benefice
Cereale: mei, ovaz, orez, secara, faina de soia, pâine din grâu incoltit
Condimente, mirodenii: curry, brusture, echinacea, ginseng, ghimbir
Suplimente: nu sunt necesare

Alimente neutre
Carne: nu se recomanda
Peste: crap, caviar, heringi, somon, rechin, scoici
Lactate: cascaval, brânza Gouda, lapte de vaca degresat, lapte de soia, svaiter
Grasimi: ulei de peste, ulei de in, ulei de alune
Legume: sparanghel, varza, morcovi, andive, fenicul, gulie, praz, salata verde,
ciuperci, masline verzi, ceapa, mazare, cartofi, dovleac, spanac, rosii, dovlecei, napi,
fasole verde, granule de soia
Fructe: mere, caise, mure, afine, pepene galben, coacaze, curmale, piersici, pere,
prune uscate, stafide, capsune, migdale, seminte de in, seminte de pin, fistic, .
Bauturi: suc de rosii, suc de mere, suc de caise, bere, sifon, vin rosu, vin alb
Dulciuri: miere, fructoza, melasa, sirop de orez, ciocolata
Cereale: ovaz, couscous, faina graham, grâu, gris, produse din faina de grâu
Condimente, mirodenii: hrean, ghimbir, maioneza, mustar, sos de soia,
busuioc, frunze de dafin, cuisoare, scortisoara, coriandru, marar, maghiran, nucsoara,
boia de ardei,menta, rozmarin, sofran, salvie, cimbru, turmeric, vanilie, papadie,
gentiana, valeriana
Suplimente: bitter, vitamina C, vitamina E, zinc

Alimente de evitat
Carne: toate carnurile, in afara de cele permise
Peste: ansoa, baracuda, crabi, broaste, merlucius, heringi marinati, homari,
caracatita, creveti, stridii
Lactate: unt, margarina, Camembert, inghetata, lapte integral de vaca,
parmezan
Grasimi: ulei de cocos, ulei de porumb, ulei de susan, ulei de floarea soarelui
Legume: anghinare, masline negre, ardei, muraturi, ridichi, fasole boabe
Fructe: avocado, banane, nuca de cocos, mango, portocale, rodii, seminte d mac,
seminte de dovleac, seminte de susan, seminte de floarea soarelui
Bauturi: suc de aloe, suc de portocale, bauturi carbogazoase tip cola, ceai negru,
lichioruri
Dulciuri: dextroza, zahar
Cereale: porumb, tapioca
Condimente, mirodenii: capere, aloe, rubarba, ketchup, otet, anason, piper, tei,
rubarba
Suplimente: multe nu sunt cercetate

Politica my ass

2011-04-12T14:49:00.005+03:00

M-am trezit in dimineata zilei de astazi cu planuri mari, sa imi rezolv masterul inainte de plecarea in tarile arabe. Asa ca m-am repezit la faculta, iar la secretariat, in asteptarea directoarei de master, am inceput sa citesc ziarul "Tibiscus", publicatie editata de facultatea de jurnalism, comunicare si limbi moderne a Universitatii "Tibiscus" Timisoara. Interesant, hhmm si asta merge, oh uite un articol simpatic, pff iar legea educatiei...si uite ce-mi pica cu tronc "In orasul asta, cam toate evenimentele au culoare politica" (imi pare scuze daca "pica cu" e pleonasm, nu m-a dus capu' sa gasesc altceva mai bun) Nooo waayy. M-am gandit ca fata asta nu iese prea des din moment ce scrie asta.
Eu daca as fi in parlament, as interzice politica prin LEGE domne'. Deci decat sa ma uit la emisiunile interminabile in care Boc face Poc si promite bani sarmanilor profesori, sau cum doamna Elena UDrea nu iese din politica pana la 60 de ani (vorba lui Badea, da cine e atat de prost sa creada ca duduia UDrea a facut vreodata politica) mai bine ma duc la un eveniment. Si DA frate, exista evenimente FARA "culoare politica" in orasul asta.
Si pentru ca imi sunteti simpatici, am sa va impartasesc secretul vietii vesnice (o viata in care nu faceti tumori pe creier de la stres, in care politica e doar un cuvant pe prima pagina a ziarelor, o viata COLORATA :) Eu ma mentin lucida si fericita datorita activitatilor zilnice, care bat foarte mult spre campul cultural. Desigur daca sunteti manelari nu veti intelege termenul "cultural" asa ca va sfatuiesc sa nu va bateti capul citind mai departe.
(cu o o voce usor inalta si soptita) "Daca te-ai saturat de povestile cu pepe si oana zavoranu, daca nu mai suporti accentul sacadat si rar a lu base, daca vrei sa te relaxezi intr-un ambient de poveste cu oameni faini si activitati interesante, vino la evenimentele culturale din orasul tau. Acum chiar la tine acasa prin site-uri de specialitate."
Pe timpul zilei consult agenda culturala de pe siteul prietenilor Evive, iar seara ma inarmez cu haine colorate si ies din barlog. Ma bucur de seri de multiculturalitate, de film, de arta, vernisaje, ateliere de hand made si multe altele. Ajung apoi acasa cu un aer relaxat, pozitiv si sunt gata sa infrunt ziua urmatoare :D
Desigur daca nu esti din Timisoara cu siguranta gasesti site-uri cu evenimente din orasul tau (si cand spun evenimente nu ma refer neaparat la party-urile tematice sau noptile de karaoke din baruri, ca de fapt astea nici nu sunt evenimente, aviz fanilor de 24fun)
Ca se intampla prin tara, tot fara "culoare politica", insa cu un aer pozitiv, gasesti pe Romania Pozitiva, un site care numai numele iti spune despre ce este vorba.
Asa ca daca vrei, ai variante prin care sa nu te ingropi in problemele politice ale statului, sa nu iti mananci nervii cu stirile aberante si viata lui Iri si a lui Moni, in schimb sa traiesti linistit, intr-un aer optimist ca ziua de maine va fi la fel de proasta sau buna chiar daca tu te umpli cu rahaturile politice televizate sau nu :D
In speranta unei zile cat mai colorate, papillonul va pupa pe portofel :*

Apropo de ambitie

2011-04-09T10:14:00.004+03:00

Se pare ca am fost cam neinspirata saptamana asta, dar am si avut de umblat pentru noul meu "job", sa stiti. Insa ce mi-a atras atentia in dimineata asta este o stire de la Europa Fm. Si pentru ca unii oameni m-au tot intrebat ce e cu mesajele de genul "Anything is possible, hai sa fim realisti" m-am gandit sa povestesc despre ce am auzit.
Ca tot vorbim de ambitii prin mesajele astea si ca tot incurajam oamenii sa creada ca totul este posibil atata timp cat ei intr-adevar isi doresc asta (ca sa fim seriosi, nu poti sa ceri sa iti creasca parul peste noapte si sa nu faci nimic in sensul asta :P ), iata un exemplu de copila care si-a dorit din tot sufletul sa aiba... un CAL. Povestea se intampla in Germania si este despre o fetita (Regina) care de mica si-a dorit sa aiba un cal. Parintii nefiind de acord cu fata bineinteles ca nu i l-au cumparat niciodata. Si pentru ca nu s-a dat batuta, Regina i-a gasit un inlocuitor calului. Vaca Luna :) Da fratilor, e vorba de o fata care si-a dresat vaca timp de 2 ani, incat aceasta a ajuns sa se creada cal. Noh ce ziceti? Eu zic ca intr-adevar anything is possible, trebuie doar sa iti doresti cu adevarat...nu?
Articolul cu regina si vaca ei, Luna.

Ghidul 6 - Nikah

2011-04-05T09:57:00.003+03:00

An idiot’s guide to an Indian wedding

5.Nikah

The Christian equivalent of this ceremony is when you go to the church to get married. The Muslim of course go to the mosque.

My mum woke us all up bright and early, and somehow we forgot to wake up the groom, who was sleeping an hour before he was supposed to get married!

There is a tradition in my dad’s side of the family. When a boy gets married, the father gives the sisters money. I don’t know why they do this, but heck, I’m not the one to refuse money ;p

Apparently we could negotiate with my father, and ask for whatever amount we pleased, since no one told us this vital piece of information, we were short-changed.

Before the groom left the house, we all had to feed him something sweet. It could be anything, traditional Indian sweets, chocolate, pancakes etc. But every single person must feed him.

At the mosque, the Kazi (it means ‘chief official’ in Arabic) conducted the ceremony. In Islam, marriage is a contract. Both sides of the parties have some conditions, which the other one must fulfill before they get married.

The bride’s condition is usually ‘Mehr’ (bride price)- the groom must offer the bride (not her family) anything she asks for. It could be money, gold, an apartment and so on. I think in ancient times, this was a good system, because if the husband turned out to be a bad husband, and didn’t give the wife any money, the wife could still support herself.

The bride asked for 75 grams of gold and a book. In my family, the groom’s don’t make any demand, and my brother followed this tradition.

Coming back to the ceremony, the Kazi first asks if the conditions have been fulfilled. If they haven’t, then we cannot move further. Now, its like a typical Christian wedding, the Kazi asks the groom and bride if they accept. Once they do, they are declared man and wife.

We celebrate by distributing dates ad sugar, after which everyone came home for a large lunch.

The same evening was the Reception, stay tuned in for that.

Fitze

2011-04-03T03:45:00.001+03:00

Inchipuiti-va ca e a 3-a noapte in care sunt "happy" ca sa spun asa, dar ce e de fapt special in noaptea asta e ca am trecut de la o extrema la alta. Proaspat iesita din Cuib d'Arte, un bar foarte prieten(os), am aterizat, la insistentele unei bune vecine, in Phanteon (ambele in Timisoara din pacate sau fericire) Ca sa va faceti o idee, ceea ce cred ca s-a intamplat deja, Cuib d'Arte e un local destul de primitor, cu incaperi artistice/inedite, cu prieteni care servesc la bar, cu oameni placuti si normali, in timp ce a doua locatie a fost un mini shoc pentru mine. Pantheon, un club in locul fostului Eminescu din cate am inteles (habar nu am, nu prea mai am habar de nimic la ora asta de altfel) este un local cu, ceea ce se cheama in zilele noastre, FITZE. Si ce fitze frate. Nu am putut sa-mi desprind ochii de la fundurile aproape goale, de la tzatzele iesind prin maieuri, ba mai mult, de la dansatoarele cu un crac gol si unu' acoperit de niste franjuri si dansatorii goi de la brau in sus. Nu sunt batuta in cap dar nici in halul asta de "destrabalata" nu sunt. M-am crucit de-a dreptul cand am intrat in PANTHEON, iar ca sa nu fac un shoc epileptic m-am hotarat sa ma bucur de peisaj. Asa ca am zambit pe sub mustati vreo 20 de minute cat am petrecut acolo, am depistat specii care mai de care pe cale de disparitie, m-am holbat si am analizat intreaga situatie. Concluzia, cand nu ai bani (strict pt fete) trage un maieu pe tine sub forma de fusta, ia-ti un sutien si sari in cluburi cu FaTZE, sigur se va gasi vreun retard sa-ti dea de baut apoi sa te traga dupa el in vreun apartament unde veti petrece o noapte "romantica" la lumina becurilor din fata blocului, care intra pe geam.

Sa mori nu alta

2011-03-30T23:12:00.006+03:00

M-a batut sfantu' sa ma angajez, pentru ca m-am trezit dimineata nemancata, nespalata, prin spitale dupa ce altceva decat...analize pre angajare :| Si ca sa scap de cozile interminabile, m-am dus ca o nenorocita care este, la nashul meu, doctor-sef de sectie la un spital din Timisoara. In timp ce asteptam dupa el in fata cabinetului am realizat 2 lucruri mari si late:

1. Am o rabdare de fier, pentru ca de mult nu am mai asteptat atat de mult la doctor, ba chiar m-am trezit dupa o ora fiind extrem de calma, cu gandul la cai verzi pe pereti in loc sa injur toate neamurile bolnavilor din jur.

2. Sunt o gramada de oameni DEGEABA in spitalul ala...

Asteptarea in fata usii mi-a dat prilejul sa observ indeaproape cum se desfasoara o dimineata intr-o sectie aglomerata dintr-un spital mare timisorean. Doctorii bietii de ei (unii dintre ei desigur) aleargau sa-si vada pacientii in vizita de prima ora, ca apoi sa inceapa consulatii, operatii si alte nebunii, disperati in acelasi timp ca li se comaseaza unitatile. Tantile cu masa aleargau cu pita si ceaiul pe roti pe coridoare sa le dea sarmanilor taiati/cusuti sa manance sa nu lesine de la atatea medicamente. Insa am observat o specie rara (sau nu) prin spital, numita ASISTENTA. Dupa cum puteti observa chiar si in scrierea cuvantului, numele de ASISTENTA provine de la verbul a ASISTA, care semnifica "A fi de faţă, a lua parte" Ei bine exact asta faceau majoritatea asistentelor din spitalul "meu", asistau la tot ceea ce se intampla in jur. Aparent agitate, cu treaba de facut, le vedeam pasind alert prin fata mea, cu cate o foaie in mana sau un asistent tanar de brat, in timp de strabateau lungimile sectiei doar pentru a avea de unde se intoarce la cabinetul lor...de asistente. Iar acolo, sa vezi dezmat, una mai rujata ca alta, alta mai roz ca cealalta, cealalta mai ranjitoare ca astalalta, un adevarat harem fratilor. Nimic bun de facut, nici un bolnav de ajutat, nici o informatie utila de dat celor care asteptau, NIMIC.

Toate "bune si frumoase" pana la momentul in care nashul meu a ajuns in cabinetul lor sa le foloseasca telefonul pentru a suna la colegii de breasla, necesari examinarii mele. Niciuna din ele nu stia INTERIOARELE din spital frate. Ba mai mult, pe langa ca nu le stiau, nici nu se sinchiseau sa le caute printre catastifele prafuite de pe birouri, in timp ce al lor sef de sectie, urla ca vrea numarul de la oftalmologie...

Atunci am ramas soc (da soc-planta, nu shoc) si mi-a venit urmatorul gand:

Pacientul: Nu va suparati, eu MOR!
ASISTENTA: Reveniti intr-o ora...

Ghidul 5 - Henna party 2

2011-03-28T20:27:00.003+03:00

An idiot’s guide to an Indian wedding

4. Groom’s Mehendi

Well clearly this is the opposite of the Bride’s version. In this case though, the groom doesn’t get any henna on his hands!

Since it was hosted at our apartment. I expected to meet very pissed off neighbors the next day due to the loud noises.

Finally, the groom will receive his presents, from both his and the bride’s parents. His presents will be pale in comparison to the bride’s. Its quite normal for him to receive tons of wrist watches, clothes, money and so on.

There is also a special custom to give the groom’s mother a special present, maybe as a ‘thank God you’re done raising him!’ kind of present! This is usually clothes. By the end of the wedding, my mother estimated that she would not need to buy any new clothes for the next five years.
The groom’s sisters also gave him presents as well and maybe they threatened to show everyone his naked baby photos.

Sometime while all of this was happening, the bride’s cunning sisters (or cousins) will steal the groom’s shoes and hide them. In order to get them back, the groom must pay the girls whatever money is demanded. This is a very old Indian custom, aimed at bleeding the groom dry!
Women not involved in the stealing process busy themselves by creating a pattern of colored rice on the floor. Regular uncooked rice is dyed in various colors and then used to make a design. After the ceremony, this rice is washed to get rid of the color and then donated to a poor person.

Caricaturizandu-ne

2011-03-27T17:24:00.005+03:00

Dupa un an de zile, am ajuns din nou la frumoasa zi mondiala a teatrului si cum altfel petrecuta decat cu dragii colegi si prieteni de la Thespis. Ce se intampla? Bine cunoscutul maraton teatral care se intampla deja de vreo 9 ani in trupa noastra, 24h de teatru. Sunt la casa studentilor de aproximativ 20 ore, cu 3 ore jumate de somn si multe ore de vizionat piese de teatru sau alte momente dragute (magie, concerte), urmand a fi continuate cu alte aproximativ 5 ore de activitati asemanatoare.
De ce se cheama postarea astfel, pentru ca (si prietenii stiu de ce) aici esti in alta lume, una care mie imi aduce in minte ACUM caricaturile de mai jos. Ai un mood, ai trairi mai puternice decat de obicei, ai mai multa forta decat in alte conditii sa rezisti fara somn atatea ore, ai oameni frumosi alaturi si esti de-a dreptul happy, fara alte griji si ganduri. Chiar nimic altceva nu-ti poate trece prin minte. Imagine I totally forgot about Dubai this day.
Mai, in caricatura esti ironizat vizual si nu iti pasa de asta, nu te supara (cum poate intr-o alta situatie te-ar supara) ba chiar te bucuri si te distrezi de noua ta infatisare. Ei uite asa, in aceasta lume mica si cu timp limitat, de 24h, nimic nu te supara, nici ca ai jucat obosit la 11 dimineata pentru 10 spectatori, nici ca oamenii intarzie la spectacole si scartaie usa cand intra, nici ca tanjesti dupa un dus fierbinte dar e imposibil sa ai parte de el, nici alte cele, care poate in alte conditiii te-ar supara. Esti intr-o bula plina de energie pozitiva, care te tine fericit. Pacat insa ca dureaza asa putin.
Si vai mie, pentru ca in curand toate astea vor fi doar un dor mare in sufletelul meu roz, dupa care am sa tanjesc de departe, in 50 de grade, calare pe-o camila sau scaldandu-ma intr-o apa cristalina din Orientul Mijlociu.

MULTE alte POZE aICi

Nu e banc...

2011-03-22T22:00:00.008+02:00

Un irakian, un tibetan, un camerunez si un afgan se intalnesc intr-o librarie. La un moment dat apar o ziaristă şi un psihoterapeut. Ziarista spune: “Este …”

De fapt NU E BANC, e un eveniment care a avut loc in seara asta in Libraria Carturesti din Timisoara, la care am participat curioasa (nebuna fiind dupa multiculturalitate) si despre care m-am decis sa scriu.

Totul a inceput putin dupa orele 19.00, si s-a intamplat aproape asa cum scrie la inceput, doar ca erau prezenti 2 irakieni, 2 camerunezi, 2 afgani si un tibetan. Subiectul discutiilor? Existenta lor pe taramul romanesc.

Am aflat in seara aceasta ca exista oameni in Timisoara, in Romania, care traiesc cu 3,5 lei pe zi, am aflat ca in Timisoara locuiesc niste straini care au venit manati de situatia mai mult sau mai putin cruda din tara loc, in cautarea unui loc mai bun. Nu isi doreau sa ajunga neaparat in Romania, dar cand au trecut pe aici, au decis sa se opreasca. De ce? intreba publicul curios... Pentru comunitate. Pentru ca se simt bine aici, pentru ca le plac oamenii, pentru ca suntem un popor deschis care nu i-a discriminat din cauza religiei sau a culorii pielii, pentru ca..pentru ca...pentru ca... Strainii povesteau o situatie de film, in opinie personala, cum traiesc in centrul pentru refugiati din Timisoara, cum li se asigura cazare, activitati zilnice, ore de limba romana, si....ATENTIE...3,5 lei pe zi pentru uz personal, din partea Ministerului de Externe (sprijinit de UE desigur) Curioasa fiind de cum poate supravietui un om, timp de un an de zile, cu 3,5 lei pe zi, camerunezul mi-a raspuns ca el impreuna cu ai sai colegi de camera, pun banii de zi cu zi impreuna si isi cumpara mancare, din care consuma TOTI...IMPREUNA. Si nu sunt din aceeasi tara. Pai frate mi-a bufnit o lacrima instant cand l-am auzit, si mi-am zis ca asta da comunitate.

Scopul evenimentului, pe langa acela de a aduce informatia despre un astfel de centru in Timisoara, de care probabil foarte multi nu stiu, a fost sa se adune o mini biblioteca in centrul de imigranti (ma gandesc ca asta e), astfel ca de dimineata pana acum 2 ore in Carturesti s-a adunat un cos plin de carti in engleza, franceza, poate chiar araba, pentru imigrantii din Timisoara.

Dar totusi, cum sa traiesti cu 3,5 lei pe zi?????

Ghidul 4 - Henna party

2011-03-20T22:31:00.005+02:00

Si iata-ne ajunsi, dragi prieteni, la partea cea mai frumoasa a unei ceremonii matrimoniale hinduse (dupa parerea mea desigur), ziua in care miresei i se aplica minunata hena :)

An idiot’s guide to an Indian wedding

3. Bride's Mehendi

Mehendi or Henna is a party thrown by the bride’s parents so that people can come get henna tattoos on their hands. Generally only women apply henna. The groom’s family is also invited, although, we will not get any henna.

Tradition says that the darker the henna on the bride’s hands, the more her husband loves her. I’ve seen bride’s employ all kinds of crazy methods to darken the henna, from eucalyptus oil to even pain-relieving ointments!

The only reason we (the groom’s sisters) were there was to give the bride all her presents from her mother-in-law. This huge bag included dozens of pairs of traditional Indian clothing, massive amounts of gold jewelery, shoes, bags, makeup stuff, and even irrelevant things like handkerchiefs.

If I ever decide to get married, it will only be because the above-mentioned bag lures me.

Both sets of families exchange presents. These could be anything ranging from watches, to perfume, or even gold! Normally it’s clothing. But we were incredibly lucky, because besides the clothes, we got a little travel kit and we each received Coach bags!

Although this party is aimed at women (due to the henna), lots of men are invited as well. You see, the women get henna on both their hands, and they cannot touch anything until the henna dries. The men are invited so that they can do all the work, such as feed the women.

Saptamana culturala

2011-03-20T12:58:00.005+02:00

De 2 zile mananc cultura pe paine fratilor, si e supertare. In Timisoara se intampla evenimentul numit Saptamana culturala, realizat de organizatia Noua Acropola, cu tema din acest an, civilizatii precolumbiene. Pff dupa atatea povesti si obiecte traditionale imi vine sa zbor pana in Machu Pichu nu alta =)) Ca sa intelegeti ce e asa frumos, printre activitatile de zi cu zi se numara, muzica si dans cu formatia Sin Fronteras din Peru, ateliere de pictura pe reproduceri de obiecte traditionale aztece, bal tematic precolumbian (unde am castigat un premiu apropo :P ), conferinte despre cultura azteca, expozitii si multe multe altele. Mai aveti timp sa va bucurati de zile pline de multiculturalitate pana in 23 martie, adica miercuri, dupa care nu ne ramane decat sa asteptam nerabdatori editia de anul viitor :D Toata nebunia are loc la Cercul Militar din Piata Libertatii, iar intrarea este desigur libera. Asa ca...ce mai asteptati, luati-va umbrela si pe cai :)

Doar cateva franturi din ce s-a intamplat zilele acestea in cadrul evenimentului, de la prietenii Evive

Mai multe poze aici si aici :)

Ce-ar fi daca...

2011-03-16T11:36:00.006+02:00

Din orice colt de lume ai fi, nu poti sa nu te gandesti la nenorocirea care s-a napustit asupra unei parti a globului, respectiv Japonia. Tsunami, cutremure unu' peste altu', risc nuclear, zeci de mii de morti si disparuti, o economie pusa la pamant. Ce poate fi mai rau de atat?
De fapt articolul asta il scriu in urma unei discutii avute cu o prietena draga de familie in urma cu ceva zile. Daca oamenii aia indura atata, noi de ce ne plangem? Si mai mult decat atat, daca ne tot plangem, de ce nu facem nimic sa schimbam ceva? Unele tari musulmane au iesit in strada sa-si dea jos conducerea, nemultumiti fiind de sistemul care ii conduce, japonezii sunt in misiuni de salvare de cand s-au produs nenorocirile, nu dorm zi si nopate si isi salveaza conationalii de sub daramaturi, iar noi? Noi ne uitam zi si noapte la 0TV, la ce mai fac Iri si Moni si prin ce sectii de politie mai umbla, ne uitam la magnificele telenovele romanesti...si ne plangem. Nu ne place Boc, nu ne place de x si y, si? De parca ar pasa cuiva de ce anume nu ne place noua.
Uneori ma intreb daca s-ar fi intamplat o asemena nenorocire Romaniei, ce ar fi fost de capul nostru acum?
Ce-ar fi sa ne bucuram de ce avem, chiar si de ce nu avem? Sau ce-ar fi sa iesim in strada, dar nu numai nenorocitii carora li s-au taiat salariile, sau medicii care vor deveni functionari publici, ci cu totii. Ce-ar fi sa nu mai mergem la serviciu timp de o luna, ne luam familia si sa ne mutam cortul in fata guvernului Romaniei? Ce-ar fi sa nu mai functioneze cateva din cele mai mari companii din Romania din cauza oamenilor care ies in strada? Ce-ar fi daca am face cu adevarat ceva? Ce-ai face, draga cititor, daca romanii s-ar decide la o greva generala in toata tara, ai avea curajul sa participi?
Of, cred ca sunt prea impotriva nepasarii asteia acute in care se afla romanii. Imi trebuie o vacanta, undeva in Dubai sau in America Latina : ))

Ghidul 3 - Haldi ceremony

2011-03-13T20:44:00.010+02:00

Continuam povestile despre nunta traditionala indiana cu ceremonia numita Haldi (aka turmeric in engleza, aka curcuma in romaneste)
Trebuie sa stiti ca respectivul condiment, curcuma, care se foloseste foarte des in mancarurile indiene, se descopera a fi chiar benefic impotriva unor boli precum cancer, Alzheimer si altele.

An idiot’s guide to an Indian wedding

2. Haldi Ceremony

You have been advised to wear the worst clothes you own to this ceremony. I ended up wearing something I’ve owned for 8 years.

The bride’s mother hosts Haldi. All her close girl friends are invited, although it’s common to see the bride’s brother there as well.

Haldi literally means turmeric (yes, the spice!). They make a paste of turmeric along with milk, almonds, pistachios and other nuts. It turns out to be this thick paste, which is applied all over the bride’s skin.

She sits on a chair surrounded by everyone, and one by one, we apply the paste on her face and hands. It’s supposed to make you look pretty. How does a horrible smelling yellow thing do that is beyond me? By the end of the ceremony, everyone goes crazy, and we start applying haldi to everyone present. During this application process, it may be possible that the aforementioned yellow substance may land on your clothing, thus ruining it forever. No, dry cleaning does not help. So, stick to wearing your old clothes and you will be a very happy person indeed!

Since, we have only one brother, we (the sisters) decided that it was okay for us to apply haldi to him as well. We didn’t ask him, more like we ordered him! To humour us, he even agreed!

That night, all of us (my parents and all my siblings) got into our old pajamas, and applied haldi on my brother. Somewhere it changed from being a haldi ceremony, to being a haldi fight!

Everyone was coated yellow, and I’m quite sure our maids hated us for the mess we made.

I dare you to move

2011-03-10T21:21:00.007+02:00

Mda mda, stiu ca nu e OKI sa scrii titlul in engleza si sa bagi postarea in romana, dar nu imi pasa :D Adevarul e ca anumite expresii sau cuvinte suna parca mai bine in engleza decat in romana...sau suntem noi prea americanizati.
Oricum nu asta e ideea in acest articol. In acest articol ideea este urmatoarea: "Dare to move". Eu propun fiecare sa inteleaga ce isi doreste din aceste cuvinte, pentru mine insa au o semnificatie adanca, asa ca sa nu spun deep :)))
Acum mai multi ani, am vizionat pentru prima data filmul "A walk to remember". Probabil unii se vor gandi, "of da, lacrimogenu' ala, cu fata cu sida si baiatu' care devine inger peste noapte". Probabil altii vor spune "Pfoai nebunia aia de film la care am plans o ora jumate ...MINUNAT". Cu siguranta multi nu vor spune nici una nici alta, dar va intreb acum, a ascultat cineva vreodata soundtrackul acestui film? Desigur in afara de faimoasa melodie "Only hope" cantata de Mandy Moore (dupa care cred ca a si devenit faimoasa prin ale muzicii), mai exista o formatie care si-a lasat amprenta muzicala in film. Cei de la Switchfoot. Nu ma intrebati, habar nu am de ce se cheama asa formatia, de cand sunt, cum sunt, ideea e ca atunci mi-au placut mult melodiile din film, iar acum, cand am regasit folderul cu "A walk to remember OST", am avut revelatia.
Una dintre melodiile din film "Dare you to move" (pe care observ ca am mai postat-o mai demult pe blog) cantata de Switchfoot mi-a placut in mod deosebit. Si am ascultat-o mult in acea vreme. Acum o reascult, dar semnifica pentru mine cu totul altceva. Daca atunci era doar o melodie care imi amintea secventele frumoase si pline de curaj din film, acum melodia imi aminteste de secventele frumoase si pline sau lipsite de curaj ...din viata. De ce? Pai cred (si sper ca veti face asta) ca va trebui sa ascultati melodia si sa intelegeti singuri.
Ascultare placuta si fiti deschisi :) Let it get to you :))))
(dupa acest video aveti videoclipul original pe Vevo dar mai ales...VERSURILE )

Original Swhitchfoot Video on VEVO

"Dare you to move" Lyrics

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself, to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before