Telling it as it is...

I Giusti - Jorge Luis Borges

2010-11-29T23:26:00.001+01:00

Un uomo che coltiva il suo giardino, come voleva Voltaire.
Chi è contento che sulla terra esista la musica.
Chi scopre con piacere una etimologia
Due impiegati che in un caffè del Sud giocano in silenzio agli scacchi.
Il ceramista che intuisce un colore e una forma.
Il tipografo che compone bene questa pagina che forse non gli piace.
Una donna e un uomo che leggono le terzine finali di un certo canto.
Chi accarezza un animale addormentato.
Chi giustifica o vuole giustificare un male che gli hanno fatto.
Chi è contento che sulla terra ci sia Stevenson.
Chi preferisce che abbiano ragione gli altri.
Tali persone, che si ignorano, stanno salvando il mondo.

Vieni via con me....

2010-11-29T22:16:00.001+01:00

This is the first of a couple of lists I want to share...
they touched me I hope they can mean something to others too

Elenco di frasi di Enzo Biagi sull’Italia
(leggono Fabio Fazio e Roberto Saviano)
Gli italiani non esistono. Nessuno è riuscito neppure a catalogarli. Venire al mondo a Palermo o a Catania, è già una classifica. Qui si può morire di mafia come di cassa integrazione.
Chi sottovaluta gli italiani sbaglia. Abbiamo risorse imprevedibili. Quando un partito va male, i responsabili non si sgomentano: lo rifondano.
Gli italiani campano soprattutto per quello che non dipende da loro: il sole, la bellezza dei luoghi, la bontà dei cibi, e le opere d’arte che hanno ereditato e di cui non si curano gran che.
Ogni ottocento italiani, uno è presidente: del condominio, della Pro Loco, della squadra di calcio, di una qualche confraternita di mangioni.
Qui si condona, si esonera, si appella, si grazia. Non si previene mai, se va bene si risana. Il bilancio, il fiume inquinato, la finanza pubblica.
è sempre stato difficile avere vent’anni, e non sarà mai semplice essere italiani.
Eppure così com’è, ingiusta e anche crudele, l’Italia io la trovo insostituibile. Non è la migliore, ma è umana. Ha rispetto della vita. Chiesero alla moglie di Manzù perché le piacevano le sculture del marito. “Perché le fa lui”, disse. Mi piace l’Italia: perché mi ha fatto.

on materialism and memories

2010-10-10T18:26:00.003+02:00

This week a strange thing happened... I broke a glass... but not just any glass, one of my little collection. http://on.fb.me/9OOPyv I have this bad habit of collecting anything, shot glasses is one of them: sometimes I keep glasses I find, sometimes I buy souvenirs...
This particular glass was taken as payback back in 2004 in Hannover. While on the CC (Congress Committee of the largest AIESEC conference) in Germany we were taken out to eat at a Beer Garden by one of our sponsors... there we had this horrible waiter who had some random weird name with an R... he was such a fairy, and to be honest quite rude to ME for some reason, who knows... I think someone had a video of him too.
Well he had recommended a digestivo at the end of the meal, and Alicia (a team-mate from NZ) and I had obliged... turns out this drink was ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE.. i can still remember the disgusted looks on our faces... I was so angered by his petty picking I decided the glass was cute and original and that I would take it on holiday to Malta!! ... and that's where it's been for the past 6 years, sitting on my desk as I come and go...

breaking it for some reason made me crack....well it made something crack
I decided I needed to clean up my room, clean up my head, and well this goes hand in hand with me wanting to clean up my life...
I decided I needed to start losing a bit of my attachment to objects, and collect my thoughts instead of things.
For the past 10 or so years I've collected all sorts of stuff not to forget my experiences, travels, stories, moments.
So what did I do? ...
Collected items I had stored between wooden boxes (bought for hte specific purpose), raws and shelves and sorted every paper or picture by year... and now I have to glue them into their respective scrapbooks....

what next? I cleaned up my cupboard, wardrobe,desk and bedside table (which was also full of clutter) now I'll have to make my way through my bookshelf.
It feels really good actually. IT feels good to get rid of things...

So now, after this post I'm getting rid of the glass ( I wanted to throw it away only after having actually written this thought down...) This whole thing got me back into the thoughts of my previous post... on what is actually mine, and more importantly which of these things and objects is actually necessary and significant. While throwing away stuff I realised I couldn't remember EVERY single story behind each object...so off they went, and now I'm going to capture as much as possible and get rid of the clutter. Pictures are the best way I guess... most of the objects are un-necessary anyways, so a picture should be more than enough :)

The little Hannover glass made its last toast a long time ago... I think the day I drank from it was the first and last itme I used it!
...and I dedicate a virtual toast to my team from IC in Germany.... that's a memory that doesn't fade whether I have glasses, papers or any other object...

Is everything borrowed?

2010-10-05T20:26:00.006+02:00

I heard this song for the first time on the train as I travelled between the Netherlands and Germany over a week ago... I love putting my earphones on and drowning out the noise, staring out of the window at the world and landscape go by, I find it a great means for reflection...

The song apparently is about the repercussions of the financial crisis...but mainly I like the fact that it's a note aganst materialism...
I often wonder what the real value of things and objects is to me, what can I live without? What Can I absolutely not live without? What is really "mine" apart from my memories, thoughts and feelings?

Don't really want to add much except the lyrics of the Chorus of this song... worth a listen, and worth a ponder...

"I came to this world with nothing
and I leave with nothing but love
everything else is just borrowed"

New look

2010-10-04T00:31:00.004+02:00

Today I tried to give my blog a facelift... looks a bit brighter and is a bit more personalised... I'm still unsure on whether I like it 100%, there is always room for improvement in everything..

As you can see the theme is The Lotus Flower... why? Well I've been doing some research on images and symbols that I can utilise because I identify with them and after a good deal of reading I have come to the conclusion that I identify with the Lotus.

Reasons

- In the Hindu book the Bhagavad Gita, the text speaks of the need to strive to be like the lotus blossom, "pure of heart so that the muck of earthly matters do not cling to us". Apparently the soul lives in the lotus flower that dwells in each person's heart

- The ultimate lotus flower meaning in the Hindu belief system is that the lotus flower symbol represents awakening to the spiritual reality of life. I'm starting to consider this year as a new birth, or at least a new awakening, and a new found desire for challenge and change

In ancient Egypt the lotus was also a symbol of rebirth, of the sun

Lotuses in Hinduism symbolize prosperity, beauty, fertility, eternity and eternal youth things to strive for

my favourite quote form this information "Lotus tattoos are meant to represent life, new beginnings and the possibility of people growing to change into something beautiful."

In China the Lotus also has a beautiful meaning - Chinese poets use lotus flowers to inspire people to continue striving through difficulties and to show their best part to the outside world, no matter how bad the circumstances may be - a great mantra to keep up.

Something fantastic about the lotus is that the seed starts its life at the bottom of the pond, or what other water form it is in, it then rises to the surface and blossoms....it brings beauty and light from the murky darkness at the bottom of the pond :)

Another symbolic characteristic of the lotus flower leads from the observation that the plant's stalk is easy to bend in two, but is very hard to break because of its many strong sinuous fibres... I guess I identify with that....

btw... above is the picture i'm planning to use... :)

taking a trip with myself

2010-10-02T20:26:00.002+02:00

I have made a promise to myself... to sit in silence and think once a day...

the result of this thought process might produce .. a post?.. a thought to develop? a problem to overcome? a tear? a smile? whatever the case I do realise that I need it... I need to be with me, to love me a bit better, to love me a bit more

I started reading Song of Myself - by Walt Whitman... what a read...

take a look

http://www.poetry-online.org/whitman_song_of_myself.htm

(it's too long to post, and definitely requires more than one read)

it brought a smile to my face this evening... I was getting ready to go out, getting dressed and as always worrying whether I look like a person worth looking at... which is just a disguise for the question "do I like myself?"

The silly thing is the answer is YES and I honestly don't understand why I foten get lost in a meandering maze of not liking myself... it's odd I guess... but I think it's also an natural or personal way of keeping my feet on the ground... THING IS I don't want them to stay on the ground...

I think I'll try defying gravity ...says this amazing song! ... I'm through accepting limits cos people say they're so.... is how it continues... truth is it hasn't been just others placing limits... I have too! This year I've stopped myself from doing what my heart so yearns for, it's been a healthy break at the end of the day. I've broken form student life and jumped into work life, BUT with the university ball and chain still there as I haven't finished my thesis.

If I could turn this thought into a picture it would look like this

a cliff

a big metal ball on the edge...

the ball has a chain,

and half way hanging down the cliff... ME!

Upside down... hangimg there.... for too long (hence the confusion and boggled brain)

ready to fly... but still tied down

SO NOW..I'm turning up, climbing back up the chain towards that ball, and I'm going to unchain myself so that this time I can take the plunge properly

now let's see if this evening turns out well or not :)

reading about the Baha'i Faith

2010-09-30T20:42:00.002+02:00

So I'm back, back on the rock physically, but my mind is somewhere else...

At the moment one thing I know for sure is my sometimes most irritating quality to deal with is pecking at my brain again.... CURIOSITY is alive and kicking...

I've spent this evening reading external opinions and descriptions on Baha'i faith..but my favourite passage is an internal view...

just to share something small which I'd realised am inspired by, I feel serene as I read this extract.. it is a small summary of the teachings of the Baha'i faith according to Shoghi Effendi..

"The independent search after truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition; the oneness of the entire human race, the pivotal principle and fundamental doctrine of the Faith; the basic unity of all religions; the condemnation of all forms of prejudice, whether religious, racial, class or national; the harmony which must exist between religion and science; the equality of men and women, the two wings on which the bird of humankind is able to soar; the introduction of compulsory education; the adoption of a universal auxiliary language; the abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty; the institution of a world tribunal for the adjudication of disputes between nations; the exaltation of work, performed in the spirit of service, to the rank of worship; the glorification of justice as the ruling principle in human society, and of religion as a bulwark for the protection of all peoples and nations; and the establishment of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind—these stand out as the essential elements [which Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed].^["

A new path, a new page in this blog

2010-09-25T00:45:00.003+02:00

It's odd to think that when I originally opened this blog I summarised it into "Words, thoughts, meaning" as a couple of months down the line form my last post I find myself wanting to share my search for meaning as I actively do so. My last conversation tonight revolved around how classical music and its appreciation heightens your senses (well mine at least!), but yesterday and today my senses, thought process have been heightened... I feel alert, but at peace, open yet detached, involved and enthusiastic. That is why at 1:11 am I'm eager to put these words out there...regardless of who reads

Right now I am in Groesbeck, at the dePoort Conference centre attending EBBF's annual conference. This year the theme is "Making it Meaningful".. I joined this ride a couple of months back as the Communications Associate for EBBF, a virtual internship position which I hope to maximise further in the next couple of months, because it is what has become the food for a seed I started to plant in May this year.

For the past 10 years of my life all I've been trying to do is understand my place in the world, figure out what purpose i was born to serve. In May I decided to leave my previous job as I didn't feel like it contributed constructively to me and my future. I reached this decision even as a result of a new found source of meaning... EBBF....

I was touched by it and the people in this extraordinary organisation last yea at an AIESEC-EBBF conference, which drove me to start soul-searching and rediscovering my spirituality (which I incidentally put on hold that same year I started searching for meaning ten years back. Paradox? Admittedly, Yes!)

This stage in my life is, as someone told me today, "a great period of change.. a change I need to embrace, and understand" because I finally feel like I can start defining my future, where I am going to go and who I want to be.

I know what I am now, who I am, and some of the things I am capable. It's time to figure out what my calling is, what my dream is, and follow it with all my heart and might.

It's strange how a couple of conversations can reassure you, and what power they can have on consolidating your determination... I guess it's what I could consider the real essence of inspiration.

Yesterday not long after I'd arrived I spoke to a fantastic woman who gave me a metaphorical slap in the face, making me snap out of my "it doesn't matter what I do as long as it's useful" mode.

NO, what I do does matter, as what I do shapes who I am and is a manifestation of it. And now I am going to admit to myself what it is I truly want to do. I'm going to detach from all that is superfluous and stopping me from following my dreams, because this is how I will be happy, and how I will combine my thirst for meaning, purpose and love.

It's strange to say things with such determination when I only recently felt so lost and frustrated as I couldn't make a choice on what direction to pick.

NOW? I'm still unsure, but determined to sit down, really soul-search, and decide where I am going to go.

A couple of things I do know are, that I am a person who has had exceptional chances in life, great gifts bestowed upon me (by whatever superior essence or power one chooses to believe in)... it might be by God, it might be the world's energy, I don't know and don't pretend to know. As cocky as it may sound, what I do know is that I need to put this all to service of something greater, to do something significant because I know I can do it and I will.

So far this blog's contained lots of rubbish... till today...(well hopefully some stuff was insightful)....but I mean to use it better and really try and communicate at least part of what I have within and want to share.

I guess, I should say thank you to a lot of people (I wonder if they'll ever read this) but

Tammara, Daniel thankyou for letting me be here to enjoy this, to learn from you and others, who I will thank for the time spent in sharing their thoughts, experience and advice.... for that in particular Francoise, Paul, Oscar, you have made me think differently, trust me.... off to sleep to the sound of Nicola Isuard (look him up!)

2010-09-24T20:46:00.002+02:00

Day 2 at my first experience of the EBBF Annual Conference. This year the theme is Making it Meaningful.
First mpressions?

Amazing!
Inspiring
I'm surrounded by successful people
I'm amid visionaries
Conversations are meaningful, andaimed at giving direction

I'm tired but happy
I'm humbled by the calibre of the people around me

I'm lost for words

I'm lost but looking for direction

and I've definitely come to the right place...

Here is the link of the conference so you can see what I'm experiencing

http://www.makingitmeaningful.org/

have a look

I'll be back tomorrow..but I'm tweeting and facebooking...

hope to upload photos and videos during tomorrow....

Detox

2010-08-03T17:25:00.002+02:00

Following my shocking visit to the doctor last week, where to my dismay I discovered that I have IBS (for those of you that aren't aware it's an unpleasant thing called Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Now considering I'm a first class foodie, and may I add alcoholie especially winie freak it did come as a shock and a blow.

I'm wondering how much my life is going to have to change now...

I guess it could also be seen as a blessing in disguise, I now might actually lose those long hated 15 extra kilos... so to take all of this "di petto" as the italians say i.e. head on, I decided to go on a detox diet for a week.

It's day 2 and since yesterday it's been strictly fruit, vegetables, water and herbal teas...

Honestly I actually feel so much better for the first time in a while detox does feel like you're cleaning yourself out, my stomach doesn't grumble anymore either :D

now it's time to detox my brain... cos there seems to be something wrong there evidently

I haven't really put my finger on it since I'm still quite well and positive..

I guess I'll figure it out sooner or later

In the meantime I got news of an interview for a weekend winter job, let's see how that goes...

fingers crossed

missing Rome...

2010-07-31T01:21:00.002+02:00

Containing Thoughts

2010-07-29T11:18:00.002+02:00

It's been 2 and a half weeks where officially my main task is now my Masters Thesis... what has this brought ? 4-5 hours a day of reading, reading, reading

about violence, conflict, death, repression, discrimination, hatred, nationalist interests, exclusion, expelling, isolation.... and the more I read the more I wonder

How is man capable of becoming so inhumane,

what drives people to the point where they can hurt, take advantage, abuse, others.

Experience?

Conviction?

Human Nature?

Is it written in our genetic code?

...Is it really?

Can we be predisposed to ill-treat others who really and truly are just our reflection through a different lense?

I wonder what it is that characterises people's frame of mind,

how for some of us all we see is people, person a,b,c,d,e .... irrespective of shape, size, colour, language....

I wonder what other people's thoughts say to them,

where do they come from?

How does a mind discern so greatly?

Discern, label, discriminate..

Maybe these are confused and jumbled thoughts, but I have them every day... now more than ever

I guess it's the result of reading over and over what unconceivable actions some humans can carry out, it just drives me to ask how are mine and those people's brains so different?

Could I be driven to that someday?

Is it animalesque behaviour that lies in all of us? If so what is it buried under? What sparks it?

I wonder if in an extreme case, in a fight for survival anyone can be driven to harm someone else...

It's just I'm not really reading about everybody's survival here...

So is it solely down to values?

I guess that's a long convoluted debate then....

Maybe someone will pick it up with me sometime soon

Back to the reports now..

speck

2010-07-28T15:04:00.001+02:00

Revamped Blog

2010-07-28T13:17:00.001+02:00

I was inspired by a dear friend who started blogging recently, while I keep attempting to keep up a blog... shall I try again? Try get some followers on board?

Well why not!

Searching for a good photo app for my account and then off we go!

In the meantime albasadventures got a makeover!

2009-06-02T14:31:00.002+02:00

every now and again, when I study I search for words I like to read, that inspire me so to speak... more than anything help me put my head straight, back in focus so as not to complain but move forward ...
today i thought of Perseverence and how it is the key to all we do and above all, want to do well

so I found

..... "Never, never, never, never give up. "
Winston Churchill
...because...
"Champions keep playing until they get it right"
Billy Jean King

and then later on in the day... as I rested after lunch a poem that rang a bell was mentioned... I sat back picked up a book I had bought ages ago by one of my favourite poets Nazim Hikmet
and here it is for you
so that you can think
so that you can smile
so that you can look forward to tomorrow

24/11/1945 Nazim Hikmet
The most beatutiful sea :
is the sea which is not reached yet.
The most beautiful child :
hasn't grown yet.
The most beautiful days of ours :
are those which we didn't live yet.
And the most beautiful words I want to tell you :
are the words which I did'nt tell yet...

Romania Revisited

2009-05-29T01:17:00.002+02:00

As promised here I am again rambling on about my special trip to Romania. So to the sound of the Fratelli's 2008 Album (and after finding my notebook... whose misplacement was the real delay to this post) I'm off to take a dive into what I decided to call

My favourite Curious Contradictions - Romania Revisited :)

-- Curious fact no.1 --
A strange pipeline runs all along the train track between Timisoara and Cluj. Above the ground, uncovered and continious this diametrically huge pipe became my focus of my 6 hour train trip, humouring me when it framed roads rising a few metres above the ground, just enough to allow cars and other vehicles pass under it!

-- C. F. no. 2 --
Queues in Oradea are DIAGONAL. I stood in line waiting to buy my train ticket and for some strange reason kept being skipped by people from my right! There I stood a bit baffled at how rude this guy seemed to me... then I turned around and realised I was the only fool standing right behind the person at the glass and not on it's right hand- side.... :S

--C. F no. 3 --
Out of 5 train stations that I stopped in 1 had a subway passage... for some reason the preferred path seems to be Over and not under... sounds familiar .. the pipeline...

--C. F. no. 4 --
The main train stations have enough seating room for a couple hundred people... ORadea had Rows upon Rows upon Rows of empty chairs ..looked kind of lonely :P

--C. F. no. 5--
Italy prevails...wherever you look you have Italian brands, restaurants, cafes, adverts, products,.. well predictable I guess, but a bit unexpected for me :)

--C. F. no 6--
Local food is absolutely great. Tendentially though it's kind of difficult to understand what things are in the menu except for a few words... a few times I was adventurous and just pointed at something on the menu - still worked out fine :P others I was lucky to get a translation :D

Part 3 of my Romanian trip is on the way... this time with a few special words about my strange and wondrous encounters :)

2009-05-28T00:38:00.001+02:00

Was watching tv today and the Enel Reneqable Energy advert came on... apart form it being real nice i was drugged by the soundtrack.... dazzled might be a better word...
take a look
and if you get the chance download Far Far by Yael Naim

Far far, there's this little girl
she was praying for something to happen to her
everyday she writes words and more words
just to spit out the thoughts that keep floating inside
and she's strong when the dreams come cos' they
take her, cover her, they are all over
the reality looks far now, but don't go

How can you stay outside?
there's a beautiful mess inside
how can you stay outside?
there's a beautiful mess inside
oh oh oh oh

Far far, there's this little girl
she was praying for something good to happen to her
from time to time there are colors and shapes
dazzling her eyes, tickling her hands
they invent her a new world with
oil skies and aquarel rivers
but don't you run away already
please don't go oh oh

How can you stay outside?
there's a beautiful mess inside
how an you stay outside?
there's a beautiful mess inside

Take a deep breath and dive
there's a beautiful mess inside
how can you stay outside?
There's a beautiful mess
beautiful mess inside

Oh beautiful, beautiful

Far far there's this little girl
she was praying for something big to happen to her
every night she hears beautiful strange music
it's everywhere there's nowhere to hide
but if it fades she begs
"oh lord don't take it from me, don't take it"

She says, "I guess i'll have to give it birth
to give it birth
i guess, i guess, i guess i have to give it birth
i guess i have to, have to give it birth
there's a beautiful mess inside and it's everywhere

Just look at yourself now
deep inside
deeper than you ever dared
there's a beautiful mess inside
beautiful mess inside

Romania to me

2009-05-13T20:57:00.002+02:00

I love to Read. I love to learn. I read to learn... but no lesson derived from a book can replace those that come from experience. Last week I was reminded about life-long lessons, real values, and just how wrong some stereotypes can be. This is my insight into my last destination: Romania

Sunday 10th May
"Tears are waiting to burst from my eyes as my train pulls out from Suncuius moving deeper into the mountains and countryside. My short trip to Romania was nothing like I expected it to be
It left a mark in my heart.

I was strangely at odds with the idea of going to Romania, it intrigued me but also made me thinkand reflect on all that has been said about the country recently in my life in Rome... not just by the people I know but by the general public in Italy and well to be honest also back home...The truth is that I was dying to get a glimpse of the country that is regarded by Italians solely as a source of problems and criminality.

I am so grateful that I got to visit 2 cities and return to tradition while taking a deep dive into one of the most breath-taking countryside settings I have ever seen

First Stop: Timisoara is a small gem in need of a bit of care but it's a decadent sister off Hapsburg Cities - little Vienna they call it, full as it is with liberty and 18th century architecture, the inheritance of the Austro-Hungarian empire . Littered with cafes and bars, exchange offices, churches (from all ends of the world) and an opera which makes you feel the size of an ant, Culture is definitely the word to associate with Timisoara..
I can't forget my night trip with Ana through the town and into the main square at around 1am. AI gazed at the vast parks, quaint streets and grand buldings, until I was guided to have a glass of mulled wine in a small student bar called "Papillon"(see my facebook pics)... butterflies follow me everywhere!
In the morning I set off for a lonesome walk and went straight to the Cathedral. The peace that the building emanated was unique, the ongoing traffic of people simply surprising. I never recall going into a place of worship and standing in the midst of this viavai unless it was a tourist mecca. All kinds and ages of Romanians walked in, prayed, kissed a reliquia, lit a candle, stood in silence, and left... all this while I gazed in awe at the golden walls and ceiling. Just a regular tuesday morning, but the church was fulll of faithful,, myself, the only tourist with my little trolley bag contemplateing the images to the soundtrack of constant murmur which echoed through the structure.
My mesmerised self was then rather hungry so I set off to eat a traditional meal...honestly one of the best I'd ever had...just think of the combination - pork medallions in Cherry sauce... sublime!

...that same Wednesday my trip brought me to Cluj...a six hour train ride in total absence of communication with those around me, except for sporadic hand gestures! It made me think...Lanugage is the key to our lives, to our identities, to ourselves.. be it verbal or not it is what guides us through the day. One girl that happened to know italian helped me find my place in the train.. she spoke perfectly, as well as I did, the lanugage of her favourite place in the world:. She told me about her raging desire to leave Romania and work overseas in the bel paese where she had worked for the past 7 summers doing random jobs just to earn enough t o put her through university. She was itching to flee from the ignorance that swamped her. How to blame her? Somehow I could relate as I felt similar things when I left home at 16... now I dont think that way anymore, now it's time to change things not flee them,. I wonder if with time she would ever think that way.

In the train my initial travel companion was a middle aged woman who was the first to make me realise that the all so different languages we spoke bore a strong similarity, and that with care and effort I could actually gather the sense of phrases... just with a bit of effort.
......

On my arrival in Cluj I was welcomed by three EB members from AIESEC Cluj-Napoca, who in no time I came to like. Off I went to the 3-roomed apartment of Lupo, a curious yet astounding character: slim-looking yet emanating strength, independence, and courage .. who took great care of me with his flatmate, both showering me with smiles, questions and kindness. Patient in supplying me with all I needed to get a good nights rest, including her own bed (thanks Roxi), before the day it would all begin.
The long day ahead started, bright and early we got into a cab and plugged ourselves into the morning traffic. Up the hill towards University together with Ral with whom I had shared my first boiled coffee of the week :)
In one day we ran a meeting, I ate Cluj stew - next dose of typical food, I saw the city in a dash, bought ear-rings (obviously) fled to the station ready to leave...again... this time for Suncuius... A little natural haven 3 hours from Cluj.
What a journey!!! and I don't mean the train ride, but the conference. I spoke to some of the most wonderful people : so beautiful, so ambitious, so genuine, so full of hope and dreams.
This country is on the road to growth, but it's people are definitely taking a fast track - at least those I met. The 100 or so students I had the pleasure to meet are racing upwards, surpassing many I have met in the past couple of years.

The cities I saw were brimming with students who created a non-stop pulsation, coloured with the spirit and energy of youth. One of the reasons I love the countries East of Italy is the sheer amount of children and students that populate them. We're used to the aging populations where people have less and less young, although surrounded by wealth and goodness we bring fewer children into the world every year. I notice this mainly because each time an elderly person crossed my way, clad with headscarf and unfashionable clothes my neck whipped right their way. I was stunned by the fact that there were less elderly than I was used to, and also by the fact that the vitalty they possessed was rather unparalled. I watched amazed when they climbed the 1m distance between the "platforms"into the trains, the same trains that I took 6 times in a week through which windows I watched the country scroll by.
Each station was different, yet most had no platform, and people simply stood on the ground near the tracks, sometimes crossing trains to get to the other tracks!!. Somehow worryingly they walked with nonchalance across the 5 tracks (in some cases even in stations where there was a subway passage...go figure!)
In the one train I wrote my notes, the door of my compartment wouldn't slide shut and had to be lifted across.. interesting that trains so battered somehow were still more punctual than the kinkiest italian eurostar! Oh yes, another important fact worth noting, is that the conductor always passed....twice!!!

As we "sped" through the endless green plains and hills I felt serene and in awe, my heart was pounding at an irregular speed, much like it did over the past few days as I exchanged anecdotes with Szili, Adi, Anda, my piccola (silvia), Ral and Rei... etc. These people are a few of those that will pick this country up on its feet making it stand tall and tower above others at some point, surely. I'm somehow always deeply touched by those, who although live humbly and in more adversity than others still plough through strongly and in many cases are happier than those that swim in wealth. I met smiling, strong, happy, determined and most of all, passionate people.

Thankyou for letting me bring back to life my ability of seeing things in perspective, it had hibernated for a while.
Thankyou for reminding me the true values of life.
Thankyou for showing me the real Romania.....thankyou for showing me you.

Stay tuned for my Curious facts and characters from this wondrous trip!

2009-04-23T12:01:00.002+02:00

Amazing how studying is taking over my life... well the job search is currently quite weak .. there seems to benothing for me out there to do part time and just rake in some cash to save up and live on..
M thesis research is getting to me. well I need a tutor and a precise cut to the subject! Foolish old Alba decides to do it on immigration right in the middle of the heat and therefore finds herself in a sticy situation....
So well, yes I want to tackle the rights of immigrants, or more precisely of asylum seekers... but here i seem to be surrounded by walls wherever i go. Looking forward to reading Zigmund Bauman's book Liquid Fear since I apparently am swimming in it! At least I' m comforted by a little activity that I'm aiming to put up with a friend based on promotion of cultural diversity amongst children - always a good starting point...

As for me, back to the study of secession and self- determination

2009-04-14T01:01:00.003+02:00

9 days away from Malta
2 weeks away frm my Blog
and what's changed?

The Earth shook and took 290 lives due to careless building
around 6000 people left their homes to go support those that are left without
A hospital that was built in 30 years was cracked in less than 30 seconds

watching all this from Italy and then from Malta, from my sofa, doesn't make it any more distant
I'm heart- wrenched, and I think of my friend's family who live close by... who are lucky to havenot felt the quake.....

I put our lives into perspective, their comfort and the relative absence of worry we live in
... let me rephrase... the relative absence of worry of cataclismic natural disasters washing over our islands....

Our worries here are different... how different? Not at all ...they are the same as everyone else's (a few of those that everyone feels) Health, Money, Weather, Boredom, Happiness, Heartache, Partners, Children, Family, Loneliness, Friends... our cares are the same everywhere...ours?
Yes ours - as in those of Mankind are just the same.... but definitely lacking the fear of extreme dangers and problems that others face in their day to day lives...

The truth is, as time goes by, as I sit in Malta for over a few weeks after 4 years away I reiterate my personal reflection that as my grandmother would say tutto il mondo e paese.. wherever you go in the world life doesn't change too much....basic evils, ills and good of society are everywhere, but here we are safER, more Sheltered, maybe thanks to our waters.... but definitely also thanks to our size

A great consolation ... but also a little worry :) at least in the earthquake case, as many have said these days, maybe Maltese should start keeping an eye open and giving some insight into the fact that we too are on a seismic fault line....
for the rest of the things?
Let's just thank our lucky stars that one of the only differences Malta has is it is an island and its problems are the same, but with a different impact (e.g. the financial/economic crisis)

It's good to be home

But I won't stop thinking, or isolate my mind from the world around... I wish I could help other people open theirs

its gone.... or has it?

2009-03-27T00:44:00.003+01:00

D'you Like?
I like!
Me and my two hot bodyguards :) heheh well that's what it looks like... actually it's just 1 snapshot from last weekend where I had the great pleasure to chair LDS 2009.
It was such an experience.... for the first time, I think in a long while I heard and saw Maltese people that inspired me.
And it's not to be negative or anythign of the sort, but I didn't expect it honestly,. Being the chair you're supposed to fuel people with food for thought and points for inspiration and reflection.... strange and ironic that the opposite happened (at least I can testify to that)
I saw people who believe in people.... something which I used to miss noting...I left Malta many years ago as I felt like a lonely idealist.... I thought "go out, study and come back.... you'll find people out there who think like you, if you can't find them here"... and yes, I did!
This month, well last month my AIESEC career came to a close (Thank God some of you might say) ... it's a strange phase... it's a page to turn, its a book to earmark... and in this weekend I felt as inspired as I was on my first AIESEC Conference. Thanks to Mr Zahra - a superb entrepreneur who gave not just a presentation or some key clues but dished out wisdom, motivation, entusiasm and passion.... I missed that, and then I thought I can find more... and I will. I am getting ready to go on exchange and come back to dig out those other Maltese Ms&Mr Xs
well not to forget the delegates....
It had been a long time since I saw so many, if not all, delegates completely involved in the conference... it came so easy and so natural not to have to chase people....
And the faci team... pride and joy... but also source of learnings and laughs :) Thanks guys it was an honour

Now? I filled a HUGE bag with my AIESEC t-shirts for which i seem to have no place in my wardrobe and will have to go into storage.... tear.... A box of memories, a bagful of them, so strange to get so attached to something so metaphysical, yet so concrete....not the t-shirts, the organsiation!!!

Exchange here I come :)
Hoping someone takes me!
Pick me! Pick me!Pick me!

Verlaine

2009-03-25T02:03:00.003+01:00

A few years ago I used to teach English, one student gave me a gift - this poem, writing the first stanza promising more poems by mail... I think it's time I asked for more... so that I can post them here.. for now please enjoy this...
Mon Rêve familier

Je fais souvent ce rêve étrange et pénétrant
D'une femme inconnue, et que j'aime, et qui m'aime,
Et qui n'est, chaque fois, ni tout à fait la même
Ni tout à fait une autre, et m'aime et me comprend.

Car elle me comprend, et mon coeur transparent
Pour elle seule, hélas ! cesse d'être un problème
Pour elle seule, et les moiteurs de mon front blême,
Elle seule les sait rafraîchir, en pleurant.

Est-elle brune, blonde ou rousse ? --Je l'ignore.
Son nom ? Je me souviens qu'il est doux et sonore
Comme ceux des aimés que la Vie exila.

Son regard est pareil au regard des statues,
Et pour sa voix, lointaine, et calme, et grave, elle a
L'inflexion des voix chères qui se sont tues.
Paul VERLAINE, Poèmes saturniens (1866)

Next Steps?

2009-03-23T18:46:00.002+01:00

I keep asking myself where I'm going to next
The thing is, where I am now is where I am going to be for a while. I'm back in Malta and enjoying it, yes I always do for the first weeks but this time I am SET TO enjoy it! I want to because there are a lot of things to do and I can't understand why I didn't see it before!

To Do List?
- Research for my thesis... it's gonna be on Malta... makes sense for a change to do it here.... will be interesting to write in Italian!
- I'm thinking of Joinging JCI... looks like an interesting next step....
- Im gonna hunt down theme based events in Malta.... I have to!!!
- EBBF Malta - a must!
- Join the gym!!!
- READ!!!
- Maybe a car boot sale... Ebay or .....
- Go by the sea! I've been in Malta two weeks and haven't done it! I miss it like crazy
more?
hmmm dunno I could add to it :)

LOG ONTO TED.com

2009-03-18T20:50:00.002+01:00

A while back a few people mentioned this website to me, I honestly took one look and thought NO! I don't need to listen to more people speaking and not acting. Yes I think I was stressed, admittedly I had forgotten how sharing opinions and thoughts is as important as working and acting, for the simple reason that it stimulates further thought, ideas and a desire to act.

Today I Watched The Journalist Carl Honore vouch for the Slow Movement
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/carl_honore_praises_slowness.html

watch it, it's worth it, and its also good food for thought for yours truly who needs to SLOW DOWN

First Post in my new blog

2009-03-18T00:52:00.000+01:00

Hey World
This is me
Welcome to my second Blog!
Well I'm not a Blog lover, I had a blog in the past but stopped updating it, whether because of lack of time or lack of interest it remained there, un-updated for ages.

What I plan to do now?
Try a second time, but now use it to have my Say!!!

I have always had opinions, on most things, and now I have found it time for me to share them. Who wants to read will read, who wants to comment, please do... I am here and I want to speak up! This is my attempt...