Ready for Rio - part 2

It took some time, but what the hell, the important thing is that I'm back and ready to continue the story about Rio :)
Now a little bit of history and facts to point some interesting things out, the translation of the name, Rio de Janeiro, means River of January, simply because the first discovery of the place made by the Europeans was on 1st January 1502, being under Portuguese domination  for more than 50 years, with the current nickname of Cidade Maravilhosa = the marvelous city. Besides that the spectacular city is the home of a world heritage site named "Rio de Janeiro. Carioca landscapes between the mountain and the sea" given by UNESCO on 1st Jul this year and owns the world's largest football stadium Maracana Stadium. And of course let us not forget the most representative place to visit and the most popular picture online when typing Rio, Christ the Redeemer statue on top of Corcovado hill. But before talking about Jesus, I'm just gonna tell you that there aren't so many things to visit in Rio like maybe in other capitals or crazy touristic cities in the world, and if you've been to the top of one hill, you've been to all. What we saw in Rio was first of all Copacabana, which I imagined to be a damn expensive place where we would only be having a night walk or a tan, but guess what, it's not like that. It's a normal seaside neighborhood with lots of hotels and restaurants and small shops and big shops and street food and Mc Donalds and local residences and palm trees and a long highway and 2 hills at each end and naked people (meaning in bathing suits :P ) jogging and biking and walking their dogs looking extremely HOT :))) So we easily and on the spot booked 2 beds at El Misti hostel and spend our vacation in the most fancy area in Rio ;)

At one side of the long beach we discovered Leme hill, as I said seen one seen them all, so we went on the top where an old but well kept Brazilian fortress used to protect the city from invaders and shoot the hell our of them with huge tanks :D The view was amazing, the fortress not that much of a fuss :P

Another spot on the list was (as in every tropical city) the Botanical Garden, located somewhere at the bottom of a high hill, with long walk ways in the humid jungle, with foggy views, with the entire cactus family laying around showing off in front of the visitors, with cute monkeys in the trees eating the wild fruits and staring at the people passing by. The place is perfect for an afternoon walk and it had a small entry fee, as in you don't need to be rich to see the botanical yard of the city :))

And since we talked about the bottom of the hill, the top was the most beautiful place in Rio de Janeiro. And of course we are talking now about Corcovado Hill, it's mind-blowing views and the huge statue that watches over the city since more than 60 years :) To reach up there, we had to take a small cute red train from the bottom of the hill, where the line was 1,5 hours long, the ride costing 20 euros. Totally worth it! A few facts about Christ the Redeemer statue, it is considered the 7th wonder of the world (woooww), being 39,6 meters tall with a 9,5 meters pedestal, weight of about 635 tones, considered Rio's icon monument and a symbol of Brazilian Christianity. Personal impressions regardless of the facts? Considering that is was my biggest dream since little, the fact that I stood under that monument was an inspiration that dreams indeed do come true and should not be overlooked because of different situations that make life sometimes damn hard to live. I stared at the statue for about half an hour, and another 20 minutes at the views over the city, and after that I was ready to go home and nothing else mattered :X

After the soul healing half day trip, the perfect place to relax and put your thoughts back together was an evening walk on Flamengo beach, a combination of parks with lots of sporty people, and a long beautiful beach, where the chilly ocean and breeze ended up a perfect day.
And telling you the story as me and my beloved friend lived, I wish you dear reader and wild traveler a lovely vacation, lots of inspiration and don't forget...dreams always come true :)

Ready for Rio - part 1

For those who maybe don't know, the craziest part when you work for an airline are the air prices, which end up with a discount of even 90% for staff, with the condition that you have to pay full airport taxes. Well, this was not our case, cause our ticket was free, so we only payed about 50 euro Brazilian airport taxes. Now the even craziest part in this is that you are on a standby, and the oldest you are in the company the highest priority you have, so if there are any seats available in the flight you get in, if the flight is fully booked, you wait in line for the next one :) This was our case cause the flight to our destination was booked and we were waiting at the staff check-in counter along with other few employees, with our names listed on a big board and a yellow light showing that we were on standby. We stared at that board for about 10 minutes continuously, the normal check-in for the flight was already closed and we were still yellow. Again when the board refreshed, my friend was green, confirmed for the flight. That is when my breath stopped and I only heard "Oh my God, I hope you get confirmed as well". The next page of the board had my name on it, with a green light next to it. I got my seat confirmed...destination...Rio de Janeiro.
Did I tell you that I wanted to see this place since I was little, as in it was my biggest dream to see the statue of Christ on the top of the hill? I didn't? Well, now you know :)
We had a long flight, about 14 hours, no stops, with the longest day in my life, cause the time difference between UAE and Brazil is about 7 hours; therefore we started our journey at about 07.00 local time in Dubai and we reached Rio at about 14.00 local time Brazil.

Weather in Rio: aprox. 27 degrees, season: winter, atmosphere: perfect for us to visit :))
Yes, in Brazil it was winter, at least this part of the country, but the weather was just great, a little bit of sun, a little bit of clouds, thank god no rain in this vacation, the ocean really cold, and anyhow waves were to huge to take a bath, but you can surely do other stuff than just laying at the beach all day. We ended up in Copacabana homeless, we did not book any room, just went from a hostel to another until we found 2 beds available, and that happened quite fast I must say, cause by evening we were ready to explore the surroundings.
Copacabana is a long beautiful beach and neighborhood, one of the safe areas in Rio, full of tourists, luxury apartments, budget accommodation, cheap and expensive shops and restaurant, perfect for any traveler. So yeah, we booked 2 beds in El Misti hostel and started our vacation.

The first impression: happy people. So many young and old aged people walking, jogging, biking, playing volleyball on the beach and boulevard in Copacabana. Second impression: expensive. Comparing to other destinations and even with Dubai, the prices in Rio are damn high for the conditions offered. The city is not really developed, even though some areas are getting improved, many people are poor, favellas in every neighborhood. Overall impression: beautiful. An amazing combination of Atlantic ocean with high hills which I like to call mountains :))

A few facts about the city in general: almost all of the buildings everywhere in the city are protected by tall metal fences, even in the touristic areas, all the buildings were jailed :D; people are walking their cute little (sometimes huge) dogs everywhere, we saw more than 20 breeds of dogs in just 5 days; people actually use public phone, which I thought were completely replaced nowadays by mobiles phone, but not in Rio; there are quite a few poor people coming from favelas (click on the word to understand the meaning if needed :) in the touristic side of the city, whom are quite friendly and not at all dangerous as everyone warned before getting there; if you stick to day walks (even night walk but in large group) and populated areas in the city you might leave Rio alive :)), we did not face any dangerous people or places, we in fact had a great vacation with no incidents.

Bottom line is that we enjoyed our time there a lot, and about the places we've visited in Rio, well, stay tuned, soon to be told, the story of Christ the Redeemer on top of Corcovado Hill...

Catre toti angajatii

In vigoare incepand cu 25 Iulie 2012,

 Codul vestimentar
 1. Se recomanda ca la serviciu angajatii sa fie imbracati in functie de salariu. Daca te vedem purtand pantofi Prada si geanta Gucci, consideram ca iti merge bine financiar, si de aceea nu ai nevoie de o marire de salariu. 2. Daca te imbraci saracacios, ai nevoie sa inveti sa iti chivernisesti mai bine banii, asa incat sa iti poti cumpara haine mai frumoase, si de aceea nu ai nevoie de o marire de salariu. 3. Daca te imbraci asa cum trebuie, esti exact unde ar trebui sa fii, asa ca nu ai nevoie de o marire de salariu.

Concediu medical
 De acum incolo nu se mai accepta certificate medicale ca dovada a bolii. Daca esti in stare sa mergi la doctor, esti in stare sa vii si la serviciu.

Concediu de odihna
 Fiecare angajat va primi 104 zile de concediu de odihna. Ele se numesc Sambata si Duminica.

Concediu de inmormantare
Nu este o scuza pentru a lipsi de la serviciu. Nu poti face nimic pentru prieteni, rude sau colegi morti. Trebuiesc facute toate eforturile pentru a convinge pe someri sa mearga la astfel de aranjamente. Cazurile rare cand prezenta angajatului este necesara, inmormantarea ar trebui programata dupa-amiaza tarziu. Cu placere iti vom da voie sa lucrezi in timpul pauzei de masa pentru a pleca mai devreme.

Utilizarea toaletei
1. In total prea mult timp este petrecut la toaleta. De acum exista limita stricta de 3 minute in cabina.
2. La sfarsitul celor 3 minute alarma va suna, rola de hartie igienica va fi retrasa, usa cabinei se va deshide si ti se va face o poza.
3. La a doua abatere poza va fi publicata la tabla de anunturi a companiei, la rubrica "Recidivisti".
4. Cine va fi prins zambind in poza va fi sanctionat in conformitate cu politica de sanatate mintala a companiei.

Pauza de masa
1. Slabanoagele primesc 30 de minute pauza de pranz pentru ca au nevoie sa manance mai mult pentru a arata sanatos.
2. Persoanele cu dimensiuni normale primesc 15 minute pauza pentru a manca o masa echilibrata, ca sa mentina aspectul normal.
3. Persoanele durdulii primesc 5 minute pentru pranz, nu este nevoie de mai mult timp pentru a bea un concentrat Slabeste-Rapid.

Iti multumim pentru loialitatea ta fata de companie. Tine minte ca noi suntem un angajator preferat si suntem aici pentru a oferi o experienta de munca pozitiva. De aceea toate intrebarile, comentariile, ingrijorarile, plangerile sau frustrarile, iritarile, necazurile, acuzatiile, insinuarile, presupunerile, spaimele sau opiniile ar trebuie adresate in alta parte.

Cu deosebita apreciere,
 Managementul

Magic and cinema

I am mesmerized. It's like I've really been there, all of it is true, the life, the cinemagician, the toy store in the station, and I just woke up from the dream by the prayers outside my window.
This is the best thing about movies I think, they take you away for a few hours, so far from the daily shit, happiness or sadness, to show you something else, something you might or might not encounter often (mostly NOT) And apparently I am not the only one who loves movies here, cause Hugo made the biggest discovery of them all by simply loving movies and adventures. Who is Hugo you might ask? Well he is the little boy who owns the movie called Hugo (duh) and who discovered or made others (re)discover the world of fantasy, of magic, of cinema. I am staring at this screen since 2 hours lost in his adventure, making me wish one for myself.
 His story, Hugo, is about discovering the french master of movies, Georges Melies, a magician in late 1800, early 1900 who put the magic on screen, in the cinemas, who made people smile and be happy with his special effects and new cinematographic ideas. Georges rediscovers himself thanks to little Hugo and comes out of his "shell" after the boy brings his old works back in the attention of the world.

 "I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured if the entire world was one big machine... I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason...Maybe that's why a broken machine always makes me a little sad, because it isn't able to do what it was meant to do... Maybe it's the same with people. If you lose your purpose... it's like you're broken." Hugo Cabret

 And if you've never been to the moon, this is a trip from 1902...
 

Waste land

I got a message today from my dear friend from home who scold me for not saying Happy Birthday in time. Of course I felt bad, stupid, tried to excuse myself, if it worked out or not I will find out when I actually get home, but till then, I've learned a new thing today after talking to her...that dreams can grow even from trash. Quite strange conclusion after a simple chat with a friend, isn't it? Well you should know that one of our points of discussion ended up with Waste land, a story about an artist who brought a change in people's lives, a story about trash, about intense feelings and happiness, about people and about their small dreams who no one believed would come true, and what do you know, they finally did, all because of the garbage around them....literally garbage.

The entire thing happened in Brazil, a few years ago, and happened for real, in my dream destination, Rio, in the world's largest dump area outside the city (and its not a joke with dream destination, OK ?). Can you imagine people living their lives in garbage, can you imagine people from garbage having dreams of normal clean lives, can you possibly imagine that people living around trash for so many years can become artists and famous all over the world? They didn't imagine it either, but eventually they did.

Not to spoil the taste and let each and everyone discover the beauty of the movie, I'm just gonna write some lines that I can still hear in my ears even though I finished the movie..."I'd rather want everything and have nothing, than have everything and want nothing. Because at least when you want something your life has a meaning: it's worthwhile. From the moment you think you have everything, you have to search for meaning in other things. I spent half my life wanting everything and having nothing; and now I have everything and I don't want anything" (Vik Muniz - the artist that created something from nothing) And to end the post artistically, I would like to thank my loving friend Sabina for sharing the story and to apologize for the late Happy birthday wish, my mom for raising me as a person who believes in herself and her dreams and last but not least I would like to thank myself for being such a great and appreciative girl. Cheers!

Home style 2

Did I tell you that I was in vacation not long ago? And man what a relaxing green vacation. Destination? "No place like home". Of course I will not compare my home with any other place that I've visited but I can tell you that after one year in the desert (cause by the way I've accomplished 1 year in Dubai :D ) spending 10 days in green Timisoara (my hometown) was like a blessing. Now try to imagine this: one big yard with a 20 meter Christmas tree in front of the house, with strawberries and cherries, one cream cute medium size dog running around, a long wooden terrace with flowers, a bicycle in the back, about 3 huge wall nut trees to keep shadow, another 2 black train dogs (tekels) jumping at your feet, a rocker under the trees just perfect for afternoon naps, a huge back yard with all sort of fruit trees and vegetables, lovely neighbors and a fluffy kitty miau-ing every time you come out of the house looking for a little bit of affection. And sometimes I sit and wonder...what the hell am I doing in this freaking sandy place??? :))) Anyhow the re-accommodation is usually taking a few 2-3 days, everything looks so weird at the beginning, and all the daily habits cannot find place in the old but somehow new landscape. And by the time I am back to normal, puf, time to get back to the desert :)) Cruel life. And the fill all the gaps, 10 days home meant this time: party with loving friends, lots of gifts, ridding the bike every day, shopping, seeing a play at my drama club, plenty of walks, eating raw fruits from the very own...tree, quality time with folks, finishing my exams and clearing my studies (YAY I'm a graduate!!!), visiting all neighbors and relatives (or at least most of them), going to birthday party, seeing old colleagues and friends, drinking Silva black :X, playing with my dogs every day, driving my car, keeping in touch with Dubai stuff so that I don't completely isolate myself from the desert :))

Trei inimi ai in tine, muritorule...

Am primit, am deschis, am citit, am lacrimat, am cugetat putin, am impartasit. Fara alte comentarii proprii, o poveste de-al lui Dan Puric:

"Trei inimi ai in tine, muritorule.. Intr-o zi, asteptand sa vina liftul la parterul unui hotel am vazut, intr-un tarziu, cum, in pragul usilor automate care se deschideau, a aparut faptura blanda a unui copilas de o mare frumusete. In spate, discreta ca o umbra, mama lui. Dar, vai, la prima miscare pe care a facut-o, mi-am dat seama ca pustiul suferea de un handicap. Se misca greu, cu o incordare a intregului sau trupusor ce facea ca aerul sa se crispeze. Isi indrepta ochii rugatori spre mama sa si apoi, simtind sprijinul, indrazni sa paseasca. Dar pasul acela era cat o Golgota, nu pentrul sufletul lui, inca nestiutor, cat pentru biata sa mama. Si astfel, de acolo, din lift am vazut cum a coborat dragostea absoluta a mamei pentru copilul ei. Zeci de brate invizibile se intindeau in jurul lui ca aerul sa nu-l sfarame, sau ca privirea curioasa a celor din jur sa nu-i raneasca sufletul mai mult decat o facuse viata. Il apara parca, mangaindu-l incontinuu. Si, nu stiu de ce, in clipa aceea am avut revelatia ca asa trebuia iubit si acest popor roman de o frumusete rara, dar handicapat de o istorie mizerabila. M-am gandit instantaneu ca numai dragostea materna, cu dimensiunea ei absoluta ce putea iubi neclintit in fata istoriei potrivnice, ne mai poate ridica din tragedia prezenta. Dragostea de mama are ceva din dragostea lui Dumnezeu catre om, este acea “dragoste care nu cade niciodata”. Oare, astfel de mame nu sunt in fond niste martiri anonimi, ce zilnic isi ascund jertfa in tresaririle tacute ale fiintei? Si, de ce oare, m-a dus gandul ca la o prabusire dureroasa in gol, la poporul roman ? Pesemne ca am fost rapit de amintirea acelui biet preot de tara care, in timp ce neamul romanesc gemea sub piroanele criminale ale comunismului ce-ncerca sa-i zdrobeasca atata trupul cat si fiinta, indraznea sa spuna :”Ideologiile nu sunt bune pentru ca nu au mama”. Am citit candva o mica povestioara. Se spune ca, intr-o companie comerciala, un om tanar si cumsecade a murit. Mare a fost durerea colegilor sai, cand au vazut ce s-a intamplat, dar mai mare a fost surprinderea cand au aflat, nu se stie cum, ca sufletul bietului om, ajunsese in iad. Iar povestea spune mai departe cum, revoltati, acestia s-au dus pana la portile Iadului ca sa-l scoata de acolo. Dar, cu toate rugamintile si eforturile, nu au reusit. Apoi a venit directorul companiei, care s-a dus la randul sau sa-i roage pe cei care ii rapisera sufletul bietului om, sa-l elibereze. Dar totul a fost zadarnic. Disperati, in cele din urma, oamenii au apelat la episcopul locului, sa-ncerce sa faca ceva. Dar si in fata acestuia, portile Infernului au ramas inchise. Si astfel, peste toata aceasta nedreptate, zilele treceau fara speranta, adancind durerea celor care il iubeau. Pana cand, intr-o dimineata, in fata portii Iadului, cu pasi marunti, garbovita parca de o durere care-i tinea inima ca intr-un cleste, aparu o batranica. -“Tu, cine mai esti?”rasuna vocea, o voce inspaimantatoare coborata ca un trasnet din neantul Infernului. Necutremurata de nimic, decat de propria-i durere, batrana raspunse: _”Sunt mama lui. Lasati-ma sa intru! “ Si abia atunci, ca prin minune, portile Iadului s-au deschis, s-au deschis pentru intaia oara iar mama a intrat acolo ca sa-si salveze fiul. Niciun copil din lume nu a crescut vreodata atat de mult fata de mama lui, incat sa poata sa nu-i spuna mama. Ce sfanta ierarhie! De cand am fost mic si pana-n ultima ei clipa, mama imi dadea un sfat: -“Dragul mamei, nu-ti arata inima oricui!” Si nu stiu de ce, atunci cand imi spunea adevarul acesta, frumosii ei ochi albastri, erau strafulgerati pentru o clipa de o indefinita tristete. Parca ar fi vrut sa ma apere pentru tot restul vietii, si realiza ca nu putea. Dureroasa fatalitate, ce o facea sa-si traiasca viata din inabusite strangeri de inima, infinite griji ce-i marcau necrutator fiinta. O asiguram instinctiv ca totul o sa fie bine. Ca apoi, pe ascuns, sa ma arunc in valurile vietii. Iar viata, imi cerea sa nu imi ascund inima si abia atunci, destinul indiferent o lovea cu tarie, zdrobind-o. Prabusit, dezamagit cumplit de tradarile vietii, ma-ntorceam in mica ei garsoniera. Mama se facea ca nu-mi vede rana adanca ce ma-ngenunchease. Imi facea de mancare, apoi imi intindea masa avand grija sa am in farfurie bucatile cele mai bune. -“Lasa, dragul mamei, ca trece si asta!” Inima mea se refacea incet-incet, oblojita de invizibile si tandre mangaieri. N-aveam de unde sa stiu ca, vindecat, plecand apoi, inima ei ramanea cuprinsa de un suvoi de tristete, coplesita de singuratati. Se spune ca in “realitatea de Rai” oamenii aveau trupul acoperit de haina de har a inimii. Si atunci, oamenii isi vorbeau de la inima la inima. Ce minune facuse Dumnezeu, cand spusese ca “totul o sa fie la vedere!” Dar, ce cumplit ca acest “totul”a fost distrus, mai apoi, prin pacat. Si atunci, de rusine, se spune ca inima s-a ascuns in trup. “Trei inimi ai in tine, muritorule!” spun sfintii, “Cea a lui Dumnezeu, cea a sufletului tau si cea de carne si sange prin care curge viata . Si toate trei bat dimpreuna. Dar atunci cand in tine, inima Domnului nu mai bate, sa stii ca esti in moarte sufleteasca. Dar eu, simt ca langa inima lui Dumnezeu, mai este o inima …cea a mamei. Iar cand aceasta nu mai bate…esti singur!"

Europe, is this you?

Moments like this I realize the main reason why I love school. It makes you think, search, discover, and after months of work and lazy habits I feel it's so damn refreshing. In case you didn't know, I'm still a student, in masters that is, but still it's school. So now, in my last year of master studies, I am preparing my last piece of paper, the final exam, the biggest of them all, the dissertation. Studies are in Romanian, in my home country and about communication in Europe mainly. So my smart ass decided to make a unique paper as final exam (hopefully last one in my early years), Islam in Europe (after so many months of living in an Islamic country that is) Cool books, interesting articles online, live impressions from my daily life, but most fascinating, one impressive documentary which I discovered today :D from my friend Anca, An Islamic history of Europe produced by BBC. I think the history lessons in primary school are to early for the young ones to understand, maybe that is why less and less of the students end up with all sort of lame jobs cause they don't really know what those teachers bla bla in front of them. I think that in order to understand these pieces of history, especially of such scale and so much information, one should physically go there are see it with own eyes. I think that the things that happen so long ago have a tremendous impact in some of the today's people, either Muslim or European or whichever and especially in out today lives, even though we do not even imagine so. I think Europe was right but I think Europe is sometimes wrong now and I think I made the best decision to write about this story, especially after living a piece of life in an Arab country. So to stop writing crap that no one understand probably :)) I'm going to tell you a little bit about this documentary, about our old world history lessons and then hopefully you'll be curious enough to watch it yourself. Islam's biggest impact in Europe happened in Spain with the invasion of vandals and Visigoths, ruling over the Latin country for more than 500 years, but bringing a great progress and a way of life called La convivencia,a time when Muslims, Christians and Jews were living together and building a prosper and equal life for their land, Andalusia. In same or not so much situations were Sicily and France, where the Muslims wisdom brought development from different points of view to the European life, until finally kicked out of their land by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Europe being taken over back by Christianity. Well enough about this cause I'm gonna spoil the fun and interest of seeing the documentary, even-though there are much more than the above to be discovered in the movie. So to end the post, Enjoy!

Crazy little thing called...

Sitting here in the comfort of my new home, a temporary home, I realize I am alone. Sometimes so alone that my thoughts take control over me, so I find myself powerless under my own mind. What a weird thing this mind, it is fascinating how much it can do with a person and how much we allow it to do, just because we don't have this power to control it. And what is this part of human body if not my own self in the end; so if it is my own self, shouldn't I be able to do what I want with it? Experience, books, advices have proved that NO, not everyone can control its mind. But many times it's the other way around. So what do I do in this case? Do i let myself being taken away by...what do you know...me?!? Now this is where auto inspiration, self motivation and others like that come in place. Music, words, pictures, they all come to help, and this is when I start taking control over myself once again. Talk to me!...I said and so I did. I told myself that I should stop thinking and start living. I freed my mind because I wanted to, I stopped wining because I convinced myself I have no reason to do so, I started laughing because I told myself a joke. Then I went to sleep cause I was to tired to be awake some more.

Mauritius island and the Seven coloured earth

This was for sure one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited in a vacation, but it's definitely after taj mahal on the worldwide atraction list :P Since we stayed in the south of the island, it was quite easy to reach this place, just hopped in a public bus and in one hour we were in the small village of Chamarel, from where we took a not so cheap taxi till up the hill where the Seven coloured earth park is. On the way to the coloured sands we were delighted by the extremely green and wild nature, waterfalls all the ways, climbind up and down on the hill, between rocks and palm trees, just enought walk to make you tired so that when you reach to see the sands, you will feel as free as them and enjoy it to the max. Aparently the composition from the soil is giving the coloures, which is iron and aluminium, from red colours, brown, violet, green, blue, purple to yellow, and even doe the heavy tropical rains from the island, they don't wash away, mix, dissapear...since more than 1960. Now the bad part about this small trip was the weather. Do not let yourselves fooled by the island weathers, cause if there is no sun, just appearing from time to time between the clouds, that does not mean that you won't get tanned...or burned....like I did :D Wear scarfs or cover you neck if having a loose t-shirt and even your nose and forehead if possible. My experience, a cruel neck, forehead and nose burnt...which still shows off after 1 week :| On the way back from the beautiful colours, next stop was Rochester water falls, a hidden place in the middle of the sugar cane plantations, where on the way we found some lovely south african people about which I'm gonna tell you soon.