Whenever you need a boost of energy

Listen to this

 

Travel blogs

If you are interested in travelling or only reading about it, here is a list of travel blogs which you might like:

In English:

360degreeslongitude.com – really helpful advice for any family which wants to travel for one year around the world

Wokling.com

Joe’s Trippin

The Longest Way Home

Erik’s world travels

Vagabond journey

In Romanian:

Tedoo.ro – my all-time favorite travel blog

Amplecat.ro

Explorish.net

Alex – Dor de duca

Calatoriile lui Habarnam

Hana

Fiindca pot

Lumea mare

Dreaming about travelling

I love travelling and I wish I could do more of that. I like how it makes me feel alive, from the moment I get into a train/car/airplane until I leave back home. The excitement of discovering something new, people, traditions, languages, entire cultures or breathtaking landscapes makes life more beautiful. At least mine.

So far, I have only seen parts of Europe. Romania, my home country, is such a beauty as well! However, I do wish that one day I will see Latin America, Australia and South East Asia. And everything in between. Maybe I will take a sabbatical at some point, right now I’m just dreaming and saving up for it!

In the meantime, for all Romanian speakers, here’s a wonderful source of inspiration. It’s one of the most beautiful travel blogs I have read, Brad and Elena’s tedoo.ro.

Troubled and worrysome

It’s the first time that I realised why it happened, and what it did to me.

It made me stronger, although I did not want that. Why suffer and become stronger, when you can stay happy and weak?

And then I realized, that it may actually be good. Hurt, pain, distress, disappointment, dispair, are at certain times and proportions exactly what we need. For our own better.

It’s a tough one to believe, and that’s why I refused to believe it myself, until I eventually did. Because it is so obvious now that how I act, what I think, I say and do, will care so much more wisdom not because I was happy and worryless, but because I was troubled and worrysome.

It’s called growing up, and apparently you need it in order to reach the sink mirror without standing on your toes.

Leap in time

About one year ago today a soon to be friend of mine was talking to me about friendships. (S)he was telling me that friendships are forever, no matter what place, no matter how far. And (s)he was also telling me that (s)he never says goodbye, just “see you later”.

I didn’t understand that at the time. I just heard the words and let them go, as I usually do with things that I logically understand but that don’t click with me. For me what (s)he was saying was a bedtime story that didn’t affect me in any way. Because at that time I was a fresh newborn in the world of moving around. But now I understand.

Now I know what happens. That reasoning is in fact a coping mechanism. It’s a rational explanation, which appeals also to the heart, that the things which are happening are not for the worst and do have a reason. It’s a coping mechanism that makes up for the fact that your friends are far away, at your own choice. Or at life’s choice, take your pick.

Once you take the decision to move out of a place, to move out of an area, of a country or of a continent, you simultaneously make tens of other hidden decisions, that life will take you up on later. You decide that you are going to be alone, you decide that you are going to have to invest at least double your energy in adapting yourself to an unfamiliar environment. And you decide to invest in making new friends. Over and over again.

You decide to exchange the warm place you had to a brand new ice-cold one, with the hope that this will teach you something. That it will make you brigther, stronger, or at least, if none of the above, at least more experienced.

Now… I am not entirely convinced that experience+suffering is better than living a life of blissful ignorance. Our purpose, after all, is to be happy, not wise. Or isn’t it? However, my whole life so far I’ve been searching for wisdom, since I think happiness is too big a goal to chase. I think that one comes along when it decides to do so. My happiness has a mind of its own, so I gave up on trying to make a pet out of a wild animal.

Going back to my point, I’m trying to understand, through my own experience this time, what does living your friends behind actually mean? When do I get tired of making new ones and what is the point when I say, yes, leaving all these souls that I clicked with behind me was worth “THIS”? When did I choose to be a wanderer without even realising it?

Now I understand. And I think that, in fact, you are alone and that thinking this world is full of friends that will wait for you is a coping mechanism.

I’m still waiting for the reward. Because now I know what sacrifice I’ve made. One year ago I was just leaving for vacation, without asking myself what the “expenses” will be at the end of the year. And now the bill is coming.

I also realized, thinking the thoughts which made me write this post, that my travels are not nearly over. I have so much more to see and so many more things to do. I still have stupid decisions to take, because until now I believe I took only the smart ones. I want to go be scared by angry tropical spiders and mosquitos (how ignorant of me, right?!) and to be shocked by a culture in which women drink their own pee every month in order to purify themselves from the blood they are dropping (which is in Nepal, by the way). I want to see the Delhi brothels in which 6 years old girls practice prostitution as a consequesnce of being sold into slavery by their own families. I want to see a Brazilian favela and be able to say that I’ve survived it. I want to see how a surfer goes under a wave in one of those Pacific sunny beaches. I want to give up doing all of the above if the right reason stands behind it! I want to go to a country that I have so many prejudices about and see how many of them are actually true. I want to do something that I think I will hate and love it instead! I want to start a business from scratch and raise it like my own baby. And if it fails, I want to see how I react to the failure. I want to have my born children in my arms while they smile loudly back at me. And then, when I will have known all these, I am so curious what I will think and do about it!

Recomandari

Am niste recomandari de facut, asa ca let’s get on with them:

Wallpapers:

www.vladstudio.com

www.interfacelift.com/wallpaper

TED Talks (descoperite la Cosmin Alexandru):

Hans Rosling

Benjamin Zander

Sir Ken Robinson

Pentru statistici care se vad:

www.gapminder.org

Tragem linie

Ma aflu la finalul unui an foarte intens care, asa cum ma asteptam, a lasat urme in traiectoria pe care vroiam sa o urmez in viata. Am pornit fara sa cred prea mult ca voi reusi, dar cu gandul ca daca nu incerc nici n-are cum sa iasa. De fapt, asta cred ca e lucrul cel mai constant la mine: incertitudinea lucrului neintamplat inca si siguranta ca daca incerc toate optiunile posibile una dintre ele va functiona.

Asa am intrat la facultate, asa am castigat majoritatea premiilor si concursurilor la care am participat de-a lungul anilor, asa am ajuns si in Olanda la master si exact aceasta mentalitate sper sa ma ajute si pe viitor. Dar inainte de a pleca spre noi cuceriri si descoperiri, as vrea sa ma opresc putin si sa trag linie. Va fi o linie lunga si groasa, pentru ca am multe ganduri a caror greutate trebuie sa o sustina. 

Nu voi face acest lucru intr-un singur post, pentru ca eu consider ca fiecare moment important isi merita o descriere mai larga. Dar aici pot puncta cateva lucruri pe care le-am realizat, si pe care le voi dezvolta in viitor:

- ma bucur ca mi-am confirmat trasaturile de caracter pe care le am. Sunt constante, pentru ca le-am folosit pe aceleasi de cate ori a fost nevoie. Ma cunosc mai bine si stiu pe ce anume dinauntrul meu sa ma bazez atunci cand situatia o cere.

- am invatat sa am incredere in mine si in ceea ce pot realiza. In mintea mea si in capacitatile mele. Prima conditie pentru ca muntii sa se mute din loc e sa crezi ca se pot muta din loc.

- cum pot sa vreau si sa nu vreau ceva in acelasi timp? I have a love-hate relationship with my country and my people. Telul meu este ca dragostea sa castige din ce in ce mai des.

- cred ca cel mai important lucru pe care l-am invatat este faptul ca, desi nu stiu drumul de la inceput, daca am curajul sa merg pe el voi ajunge acolo unde doresc. E foarte usor sa te pierzi in incertitudine, sa cauti numai concretul si sa astepti situatia perfecta. Aceasta situatie nu exista, si cu cat stii sa identifici oportunitatile dintre capcane mai bine cu atat mai repede poti ajunge la punctul final.

Sleepyhead – very inspiring song

In Leiden si Delft

Dupa o luna ianuarie cum n-am mai trait pana acum, azi am facut o plimbare pana in Leiden si Delft. Rezultatul, in pozele de mai jos

Faceti cunostinta cu noile mele prietene…

Viorica si Panseluta (no infringement intended to the real Viorica and Panseluta flowers).

Si da, o sa tin minte sa le ud

No comment

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s…

No, it’s not Superman. It’s… amsterdamish street art?!

(thanks Kayla for the pictures)

Silver

M-am intors din nou la study time music.

It’s just that time of the season again. Ce sa-i faci?

Trust issues

A trecut atat de repede timpul in care n-am mai scris si au trecut atat de multe ganduri prin si pe langa mine.

A cazut un guvern la mine in tara si aici singurele care pica sunt frunzele de toamna (sau gastele in apa, pentru ca au cantitati suficiente din amandoua). Am invatat ca e bine din cand in cand sa mai am si incredere, in loc sa privesc totul cu scepticism. M-am invatat cu glasul compatriotilor mei pe strada si nu ma mai opresc din vorbit cand trec pe langa ei. Pe unii ii si salut. Unii ma si saluta inapoi.

Am fost weekendul trecut in una din iesirile mele cu pleiada de reprezentanti ai culturilor estice, vestice, nordice , centrale si sudice ale lumii. Cum la un moment dat ne-am trezit discutand despre tarile noastre, cum arata si care are potential mai mare de a fi vizitata si in timp ce ma uitam la un film de branding de tara al Letoniei, m-am entuziasmat si am vrut si eu sa ma umflu in pene cu bogatiile tarii. Asa ca am cautat unul din multele clipuri ale brandului de tara Romania.

Pe care sa-l pun? Romania, Land of Choice? Discover Romania? Branding Romania? Sunt atat de multe si atat de dispersate ca mesaj. Romania nu are o strategie de branding de tara coerenta. Cum trece anul cum trece si campania. Si cum vine anul nou, vine si o strategie noua. Cu mesaj si cuvizualuri diferite, ca altfel nu suntem la moda.

In acest articol nu vreau sa critic eforturile de branding ale celor de la ministerul turismului sau ale celor din oricare alta parte. In aceste randuri vreau sa vorbesc despre incredere. In acel moment, eu strain aflat in afara tarii, eu cea care trebuie sa poarte mesajul romanilor si imaginea lor mai departe, nu am altceva ce face decat sa am incredere in materialele pe care cei acreditati, cei indreptatiti (cel putin teoretic) sa creeze produse care sa transmita imaginea tarii in afara  le fac. Sunt prea mica si prea singura eu ca persoana pentru a vrea sa fac toate lucrurile de capul meu. De-asta am o tara si un guvern si un stat in spatele meu. Ca sa am incredere in el. Ca sa ma sprijine. Si ca eu sa pot folosi materialele pe care le creeaza intocmai pentru aceste scopuri.

Trebuie sa am incredere. Daca nu ma pot baza pe ea, tara mea si pe oamenii din ea, atunci sunt singura. Si niciun om din nicio tara nu are povara si nici dreptul de a fi singur.

Sunt campanii de branding care nu sunt bune. Care nu imi plac. Si cu care nu sunt de acord. Pe care le-as schimba. dar atat timp cat nu sunt eu cea care, pusa sefa in echipa de branding de tara de la Ministerul Turismului (sau cum s-o numi altfel), nu am dreptul decat la a avea incredere.

Si astfel au vazut letonii, lituanienii, albanezii, sri lankezii si alte natii filmul Romania, Land of Choice, in care nadia Comaneci, Gheorghe Hagi si Ilie Nastase vorbesc despre tara mea draga.

PS. E o tehnica excelenta sa faci trimitere la un site la finalul videoclipului. Asa stie omul unde poate cauta informatia. Dar realizarea site-ului, in schimb, lasa mult de dorit.

Briza marii…

Asa arata Amsterdamul atunci cand bate vantul.

Instantanee

Maastricht

Amsterdam

Paris

Valenii de Munte

Brasov

Cluj-Napoca

Sinaia

Bruxelles

Viena

Basel

Salzburg

Strasbourg

Drajna

Ploiesti

Bits and pieces of my life that remind me of where I am, where I was and where I will be.