Thursday, April 22, 2010

Pe fuga...

...o sa va povestesc putin cum mi-am petrecut ultima perioada, caci apoi iar raman in urma cu postarile.

Am luat, intr-adevar, masa afara in week-endul de dupa Paste, mai tarziu decat planificasem initial, caci eu am fost la sala (unde am aflat de tragedia poloneza...cred ca sunt singura persoana care se uita la BBC cand alearga), iar Sonali si Anuj s-au trezit tarziu. Am pregatit din nou tortilla de patatas si tzatziki, iar Sonali a facut ceva asemanataor cu pita noastra romaneasca, numita 'Aaloo Prantha', dar mai complicat, caci a adaugat si cartofi (evident ca a fost si mai consistenta). Am mai incercat alta specialitate indiana, ceva care tradus ar fi "muratura dulce", practic un gem de fructe (mango in cazul asta), dar mai picant.
Dupa cum vedeti, chiar daca nu prea mai era soare, noi tot am facut putin pe snobii :)






Ah, am uitat sa va spun ca dupa Paste, luni, am avut o surpriza mai putin placuta - am ramas fara curent! Pe la vreo 12 noaptea, deci ne-am speriat putin (plus ca nu ni s-a intamplat pana acum), mai ales ca eram doar eu si Sonali. Noroc ca avem generator de urgenta, asa ca am avut lumina pe hol, la parter si la etaj...

Ce altceva important as mai avea de spus? Ah, da! Tot intr-o zi de luni, dar pe 12, am avut interviul pt programul leonardo (pt care am aplicat in ianuarie), interviu pe care trebuia de fapt sa il am pe 30 martie, dar a fost anulat in ultimul moment pentru ca persoana care trebuia sa ma intervieveze s-a imbolnavit. Despre ce e vorba? Pai, despre un internship la Berlin! Da, inapoi la Berlin! Si am trecut interviul (care a fost mai mult o formalitate), deci acum am inceput sa imi caut deja camera acolo si in curand imi voi rezerva si bilete de avion, probabil pt sfarsitul lui iunie. Internshipul ar trebui sa inceapa in octombrie (caci asa am specificat ca sunt disponibila), dar trebuie sa merg sa vad apartamente, nu? Cred ca asta a fost cel mai bine pastrat secret de-al meu pana acum...Yey! Ma intorc la Berlin! (chiar acum port tricoul cu "I <3> Berlin", ce coincidenta frumoasa...)


Apoi miercuri am fost la Londra la expozitia de Counter-Terrorism de care va spuneam. M-am trezit la 5 dimineata ca sa plecam la 7 din Coventry!!! Am ajuns relativ repede in capitala, am lasat masina intr-o parcare si am luat metroul (ce bine ca m-am incaltat in balerini!) si la destinatie, am constata ca TOATA lumea din metrou mergea in acelasi loc ca si noi. Asa ca am stat la coada aproximativ o ora si chiar a fost mai frig decat ma asteptam, dar noroc ca am colegi de treaba si nu a fost asa de rau. Chiar faceam misto - daca vreun grup terorist s-ar fi gandit sa lanseze un atac, in Londra in mod special, eradicau toata miscarea asta anti-terosista dintr-o suflare... :D
Sa nu imi cereti poze, nu a fost timp si nici cazul, doar i-am imortalizat pe acesti pseudo-hipioti-fosti-punkeri, genul ala de oameni care nu sunt in stare sa aiba o slujba decenta, dar care cred ca stiu ce e mai bine in politica externa (si in afacerile statului in gereral):



La intrare, o alta surpriza: numele meu nu se gasea pe lista, desi m-am inregistrat cu cel putin 2 saptamani inainte! Tipa de la calculator parea cam depasita de situatie, asa ca a intervenit un supervisor, cam iritat de fel. Mi-a cerut o "carte de vizita sau un act de identitate", caci nu aveau cum sa stie ca eu sunt persoana in cauza (desi le dadusem pasaportul, cel mai important act pe care il poate avea o persoana in Marea Britanie!!!). In mod normal, nu cred ca puteai sa te inregistrezi pe loc, dar cred ca asta au facut pana la urma, caci le-am explicat ca nu as fi venit din Coventry fara sa am o certitudine ca pot sa intru...In fine, s-a rezolvat, bine ca mi-am facut niste carti de vizit, cum mi-a sugerat un coleg!
Inauntru - mai mult tehnologii, chestii nu tocmai feminine :) Au fost si cateva standuri ale unor publicatii, companii de recrutare, am vorbit cu cineva de la standul NATO, am auzit romana vorbindu-se langa mine....chestii d-astea banale! M-am simtit foarte tanara si in minoritate, mai ales cat stateam la coada afara (caci inauntru lumea s-a amestecat si chiar nu mai conta), caci in principal erau numai barbati, si in nici un caz de varsta apropiata. Oare se simt amenintati de noua generatie care vine din urma? :D Nu paream chiar singurii studenti de acolo, asa ca uite ca exista interes din mai multe parti...Una peste alta, am avut o prima incursiune in lumea in care speram sa profesam, intr-un fel sau altul...

Un moment asemanator a fost acum cateva saptamani, cand BBC Radio a organizat o dezbatere la noi in universitate, pe tema "Afganistan - prezentam adevarul?". Nu s-a pliat exact pe ceea ce am facut pana acum, a fost mai mult o perspectiva jurnalistica, dar per total a fost interesant, mai ales ca am vazut cum se face o transmisie live :)

Simt ca ar mai fi ceva de spus/scris, dar acum ma grabesc putin...am venit de la facultate, am depus o lucrare (as putea lucra drept consultant pe probleme de reglementare a companiilor private de securitate, pentru Sierra Leone) si nu am dormit foarte mult aseara. Iar acum tocmai am primit o invitatie de la prietenii din Albany Road, la o bautura si niste carnati nemtesti. Nu pot sa nu o onorez, dar nici nu voi sta mult, caci maine de dimineata merg la Londra. Fiona, colega mea de casa, se intoarce in Anglia si cum ajunge devreme (cu trenul), vrea sa petreaca o zi in Londra, asa ca m-a intrebat daca nu as fi interesata. Bineinteles ca sunt! Mai ales ca nu prea am ocazii sa merg la Londra, iar cu Fiona pot spune ca am "compatibilitate turistica" (si nu mi se intampla des sa gasesc astfel de persoane).

Acum chiar trebuie sa plec!

PS: Va imaginati ca daca veneam acasa de Paste, eram inca acolo? Ce inspirata sunt, ca si de Craciun, cand la fix am plecat din Anglia/Romania!



................................

On The Rush...


...I'll tell you a bit how my last weeks have been, cuz later it will be more difficult to catch up...

We have, indeed, had lunch in the backyard the first week-end after Easter, a bit later than planned, because i was at the gym in the noon (where I found out about the Polish tragedy...I think I'm the only person watching BBC while running), and Sonali and Anuj woke up late. I made again a tortilla and tzatziki, and Sonali prepared something similar to the Romanian pita, called 'Aaloo Prantha', but more complicated - she added potatoes too (so it was more filling). I tried another Indian speciality, "sweet pickle", a kind of fruit jam (mango in this case), but spicier.
As you can see in the photos, even though it wasn't that sunny any more, we still played snobbish a bit :)


I forgot to mention that on the Easter Monday we had a not-so-pleasant surprise - we had a power cut! It was around midnight so it was a bit scary (especially since it has not happened before), plus that it was just me and Sonali. Luckily we have an emergency generator so we had light on the hallway, upstairs and downstairs...


What else it there to tell? Oh, yeah! On another Monday, the 12th, I had my interview for the Leonardo programme (for which I have applied in January), that I was actually supposed to have on the 30th of March, but it got cancelled due to staff sickness. So what does it mean? It means an internship in Berlin! Yes, back to Berlin! And I passed the interview (it was rather a formality), so now I started looking for a room there and soon I'll be booking a flight there, probably for the end of June. My placement should start in October (I said I'm available then), but I still have to go and view apartments, right?I think this has been the best keep secret that I've ever had until now...Yey! I'm going back to Berlin!!! (by the time I was righting the post in Romanian I was wearing my "I <3 Berlin" tee, what a nice coincidence...)

Then, the following Wednesday, I went to London to that Counter-Terror Expo that I kept telling you about. I woke up at 5 a.m. to leave Coventry at 7!!! We arrived in London quite rapidly, we left the car in a parking lot and took the tube (I'm so glad that I wore my flats!) and at our destination (Olympia Hall) we realised that EVERYONE for the tube was going to the same place as we were. So we queued for about an hour and it was much colder than I expected, but I'm lucky to have nice colleagues and it wasn't that bad. We were actually joking - if a terrorist group had though of another attack, on London particularly, they would have eradicated the whole counter-terror movement in the blink of an eye...:D Don't ask for pictures, there was no time or the proper occasion, by I did captured those pseudo-hippies-ex-punkers (in the photo above), those type of persons that aren't able to have a proper jib, but who think that they know what's best for foreign affairs (or state politics, generally speaking). At the entrance I had another surprise: my name was not on the list, although I have had registered at least 2 weeks in advance! The lady behind the computer seemed overwhelmed by the situation so a supervisor intervened (he was quite irritated). He asked for a "business card or a photo ID", beacuse how were they supposed to know I'm the person I'm claiming to be (although I gave them my passport, the most important document a person can have in the UK!!!). Normally you weren't able to register on the sport, but I think this is what happened in the end. I explained them that I wouldn't have come all the way from Coventry without a certainty...Whateva, we got it done, lucky I followed the advice of one of my colleagues and made business cards! Inside loads of technologies, not that feminine stuff! :) There were some stands of publications, recruitment companies, I spoke to someone at the NATO stand, I've heard Romanian spoken right next to me...just the usual stuff! I felt quite young and in minority, especially while queueing outside (inside people got mixed up and it really didn't matter). There were mostly men and definitely not a close age. I wonder, do there people feel threaten by the new generation coming up next? :D We didn't seem quite the only students over there, so there is interest in this field...All in all, I had a great first experience in the domain we are hoping to work, one way or another...

A similar moment was a few weeks ago, when BBC Radio 4 organised a debate in our Uni, "Afghanistan - are we embedding the truth?". It wasn't that appropriate to what I'm studying, rather a journalistic approach, but it was very interesting and I saw how a live transmission is made :)

I feel there is something more to tell/write about, but I was in the hurry by the time I was writing the initial post...I was just coming back from the Uni, I submitted a paper (I could work as a consultant on issues of regulating the private security and military companies in Sierra Leone) and therefore I have had not slept too much the previous night. And by the time I was typing I got an invitation form my friends in Albany Rd, to have some drinks and German sausages. I couldn't have said no, but I tried not to stay long - the next day (yesterday) I was supposed to go to London. Fiona, one of my housemates, was coming back from France (by train!) and she was thinking of spending a day in London so she asked me if I would be interested in. Of course I was! Especially since don't get too many occasions of visiting the city and I can say I have a "touristic compatibility" with Fiona (and that doesn't happen with every person I know).

Soon I'll tell you all about my trip to London!

PS: Can you imagine that I would have still be home if I had come there for the Easter break? I'm very fortunate and make good decisions, like Christmas time, when I left England/Romania just on time!

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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Masa de Paste si Altele...

Cu mic, cu mare si o intarziere de o ora (deh, nu e usor sa fii bucatar, am constatat), ne-am deplasat (cu masina!) spre 31 Siddeley Avenue, nu inainte sa ne oprim la magazinul de la colt, sa cumparam o punga de orez...Asta pentru ca Anuj, prietenul lui Sonali (indianca din casa mea) a varsat tot orezul in chiuveta, incercand sa il scurga (in prealabil Sonali varsase si ea o parte prin aceeasi operatiune).
Pana atunci eu nu mai fusesem acasa la Mihai si Nicoleta, deci nu stiam exact cum arata casa, asa ca am sunat la nr. 31, sperand sa raspunda cine trebuie. Daca s-ar fi aratat altcineva la usa, as fi spus ca suntem de la firma de catering si ca am gresit adresa. Oricum, paream din acelasi film, cu o groaza de pungi cu mancare si bautura.

Cu putina timiditate, ne-am pus pe treaba - mai intai pe baut si apoi pe mancat (si iar baut). Iata cum au iesit bunatatile:




Tortilla de patatas (de care spanioloaica din mine e tare mandra!) si piepul de pui vienez




Puiul curry (orezul era inca la fiert), nepicant, spune Sonali (nu si Antony ) si cozonacul + ouale multicolore vopsite de Mihai si Nicoleta


Aparent, indienilor le place obiceiul nostru de a ciocni oua. Sonali il suspecta, totusi, pe Anuj ca avea un ou de lemn, caci mereu il spargea pe al ei:





Apoi ne-am jucat Monopoly, eu si Nicoleta am trisat mult (pentru ca stateam una langa alta). Unii chiar au falimentat (Sonali), unii au dus-o chiar bine (eu), iar altii au dat cu pumnul in masa de ciuda, spargand un pahar si udand tabla (Antony - un francez).




Si cam asta a fost...Ne-am intors acasa pe la vreo 3 (banuiesc) si am inceput sa curatam bucataria, caci nu a mai fost timp inainte sa plecam si era dezastru! Dar stiti ce repede se termina treaba cand esti beat?


Pe de alta parte, aici e inca vacanta de Paste (inclusiv saptamana urmatoare), dar englezii chiar muncesc. Proprietarul a trimis un 'om bun la toate' (Mike) sa faca niste reparatii mai mult sau mai putin minore prin casa. Pe langa faptul ca ne-a inlocuit furtunul de la dus si s-a ocupat de izolatia geamului de la living, a mesterit si la unul dintre picioarele fotoliului.

Banuiesc ca nu stiati ca la petrecerea de ziua lui Guillaume (mai bine spus 'dupa'), Valou, unul dintre francezi (semi-coleg de casa, caci e mai mereu aici), a simtit nevoia sa se incline un pic spre dreapta, cu tot cu fotoliu, rupandu-i un picior. O vreme am stat cu el asa, de forma, incercand sa nu ne asezam prea tare. Dar proprietarul a venit sa repare internetul la putin timp dupa petrecere (de care nu a aflat, evident) si s-a asezat pe fotoliu, dand la o parte niste cabluri pe care eu le pusesem special acolo, sa nu ia loc. Nu va puteti imagina in ce situatie eram: ma bufnea un ras, uitandu-ma la Fiona si Guillaume (si ei de fata) cat de seriosi erau, dar trebuia sa ma prefac uimita de cele petrecute. Am bajbait ceva de genul "Parea cam instabil fotoliul, dar asta nu s-a intamplat pana acum", desi nu cred ca a muscat galusca (nah, proprietarul nu are "ciunga-n par"...asta pt ca e cam chel oricum :D). Apoi, pana miercuri, fotoliul a aratat cam asa:



Tot Mike ne-a adus, de la prorietar, o masa plianta de plastic (gros)...MOV! Si cum a venit primavara, maine planuim sa luam masa afara, caci in garaj (da, avem garaj, desi poarta & aleea sunt prea inguste pt orice masina) avem si scaune de plastic, pe care trebuie doar sa le stergem. O sa fac din nou tortilla, ca vad ca le-a placut mult indienilor! Chris nu este invitat (s-a intors ieri, a fost plecat o saptamana in nu-stiu-ce-oras-de-care-nu-am-auzit, langa Oxford), iar gratarul (avem si asa ceva in garaj) il lasam pt cand se vor intoarce si ceilalti. Un picnic pana atunci e totusi tentant...

Joi au venit 2 tipi sa taie copacul din spatele casei si a durat o zi intreaga! Nu mi-am imaginat cata munca poate fi. Cand m-am uitat prima data pe geam, curtea era plina de ramuri. Saracul pom, e chel acum...Iar cei doi "taietori de copaci" au facut un gest frumos si au curatat apoi curtea, caci langa poarta era plina de mucuri de tigara. Erau ei cam dezgustati de ce vazusera, dar le-am zis ca nu e problema mea, cei 3 fumatori din casa ar trebui sa se ocupe de asta. Mi-au sugerat sa ii impusc...Le-am zis ca ar trebui...




Maine voi face poze si la masa noastra "primavarateca"



Pentru comparatie, copacul asta-iarna!


Azi am fost un pic prin oras si m-am bucurat de vremea frumoasa...De cateva zile este soare si caldut (12-15 grade) si speram sa o tina tot asa. Florile (narcise, braduse, ghiocei etc.) au aparut, totusi, de mult prin parcuri, pe langa facultate, prin curtea vecinilor...Dar abia azi au rasarit si niste rate...mie a asta mi-au semanat. Voi ce ziceti?







............................

Easter Dinner and More...


We arrived at 31 Siddeley Avenue one hour later than scheduled, but not before making a pit stop at the corner shop, because the whole rice that we were supposed to have with the chicken curry has been spilt in the sink, first in a smaller quantity, by Sonali, and then all of it by her boyfriend, Anuj.
Until then I haven't visited before Mihai and Nicoleta's house, so I didn't exactly know if we were in the right place. So we rand at no. 31, hoping that the right person will open the door. Had someone else show at the entrance, I would have said that we are from the catering firm and we made a mistake (we looked like that kind of people, with a lot of bags of food & drinks in our hands).

A bit shy at the beginning, we started our routine: drinking-eating-drinking. Above you can see how our dishes looked like (my tortilla de patatas & Vienna chicken, Sonali's chicken curry - not spicy, she says - and Mihai and Nico's painted eggs & cozonac, a specific Romanian cake that we have for Christmas and Easter).

Apparently, the Indians really liked our tradition of tapping the painted eggs. We usually tap the front and then the bottom and the person who taps first says: "Christ has risen!" and the other replies: "Truly, he has risen!". And then vice-versa. The point is you should not get you egg broken, unless you really want to eat it.
Sonali was constantly suspicious that Anuj had a wooden leg, because he was always breaking hers.

Later that night we played Monopoly and me and Nico were cheating a lot (we were next to each other). Sonali went bankruptcy, I had a pretty good financial status, but Antony, our French friend, got really pissed off at a moment and he strongly hit the table with his fist, breaking his glass and wetting the board (plus the surrounding money and properties), so we had to stop.

And that was it...we came home around 3 a.m. (I assume) and we started cleaning the kitchen, because we had no time before leaving the house and it was a big mess! But you have no idea how quick the cleaning can go when you are drunk...


On the other hand, we are still on holiday here, but the English people really work during it. Our landlord sent a carpenter aka handyman (Mike) to do some repairs around the house (replacing the shower cord in one of the bathrooms and taking care of the lounge window). He also fixed our armchair, because I didn't tell you that at Guillaume's B-Day party Valou (another French semi-housemate) broke one of the legs. For a while we just kept it like it was and we tried not to sit too much on it, but the landlord once came to fix the Internet and he sat on the armchair (although I've put some stuff there, on purpose). You can't imagine the whole situation: I wanted to laugh sooooo badly (especially looking at the serious faces of Guillaume and Fiona) but I was suppose to restrain myself from doing that. I said something like "Oh, the armchair seemed quite unstable, but this never happened before", although I have the feeling he didn't bit the story...Then, until Wednesday, when Mike came, the armchair look just like you can see it in the above pictures.

It was Mike again who brought us a table sent by our landlord. It's plastic and...MAUVE! And since the springtime is here to stay (I hope!), we are planning to have the lunch outside tomorrow. We have some plastic chairs in the garage (yes, we do have a garage, even though the pathway is to narrow for any type of car) and they only need a wipe out. I'll cook another tortilla, since the Indians really loved it! Chris is not invited (even though he just got back from I've-never-heard-of-this-town-before, near Oxford). We'll probably have a barbecue when the others will return...

On Thursday two guys came to cut the tree behind the house and it took them an entire day! I never imagined how much hard work it can be! When I first look through my window the back yard was full of branches. The tree is bald now..And the two "tree choppers" made a really nice job and clean the yard, although there were many many cigarette butts. There were pretty disgusted by the status of the yard, but I told them that it's not my problem, since I don't smoke and the 3 smokes in the house should have taken care of this. They suggested I shoot them...I said I should...
In the photos you can see how our backyard looks like now and, for comparison, how it looked last winter!

I went a bit downtown today and I really enjoyed the nice weather! It's been really sunny and warm for the past few days (around 12-15 degrees), but we do have loads of spring-ish flowers (snowdrops, duffs etc.) around the city, in parks, in the neighbours' yard for some time now...But today I also saw some ducks...or at least this is what it seemed to me...What do you think?

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Saturday, April 03, 2010

Paşte Fericit!

Cum in studentie roaming-ul e prea scump, o sa va urez, cu ajutorul tehnologiei moderne un "Paste Fericit!", sa va infruptati si sa dormiti boiereste zilele astea!

Azi am facut curat in camera, putin prin casa, dar nu am terminat inca (e mai greu cand au ramas doar 2 persoane sa se ocupe de lucrul asta), iar abia maine avem masa "oficiala". Initial voiam sa o organizam aici, la noi, dar Mihai si prietena lui, Nicoleta (care au ramas si ei aici in perioada asta), au propus sa mergem la ei, caci e mai mult spatiu.

Desi credeam ca va fi primul Paste cand voi vopsi oua rosii, pana la urma voi face asta probabil la anu', caci cei doi au luat in primire sarcina asta (oricum nu voi vopsi multe, nu are rost), si, in plus, vor incerca sa faca un cozonac. Eu le urez succes, caci vor avea nevoie! hahahahaha
Partea mea de meniu va consta in piept de pui vienez, torilla de patatas si tzatziki (desi de cel din urma nu prea e nevoie, dar am zis sa fie, caci e universal :D). Dupa cum vedeti, "exclusiv" mancaruri romanesti. Totusi, am cumparat ieri malai (aici se numeste polenta), daca ma hotarasc sa schimb macazul (desi nu mai am sarmale).

In seara asta (intre 20:00 si 21:30) e un spectacol cu lumini, foc dansatori, teatru de papusi pe Far Gosford Street (la 5 minute de casa mea), ce va spune povestea strazii (una din cele mai vechi din oras). Poate voi merge, mai ales ca multe afaceri (restaurante, baruri) vor fi deschis pana tarziu, desi vremea este foarte descurajatoare (ploua)...
Ma gandeam ca poate maine va fi o slujba de Paste la Catedrala, dar nu stiu inca sigur si banuiesc ca va fi devreme. O sa ma uit pe site (da, au si site).

Acum ma duc sa mananc ceva (nici eu nu stiu ce), ca sa nu lesin! :D

PASTE FERICIT inca o data!

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Happy Easter!


Since roaming is too expensive for a student like me, I'm going to wish you a very "Happy Easter" through my blog! Have a nice time and enjoy the holidays!

Today I tidied up my room a the house, but I'm not done yet (it's really difficult to clean such a big house when we're only 2 persons left) and tomorrow we're having the "official" Easter lunch. Initially we were supposed to have it here, but Mihai and his girlfriend, Nicoleta (they both are staying here this holiday), proposed to have it in their place because it's bigger.
Although I though that this would be the first year when I'll be painting the red eggs myself, I guess I should wait until the next year, since the two of them took over this task (they won't be painting too many anyway, it's pointless) and they decided to bake a specific Romanian cake (called cozonac). I wish the good luck, they'll need it! hahahahaha

My part of menu will consist of Vienna chicken, tortilla de patatas and tzatziki (although we won't be needing this in particularly, but just in case, it's multi-purpose :D). As you can see. "exclusively" Romanian dishes. Nonetheless, I bought polenta, if I decide to change track.

Tonight (between 20:00 and 21:30) there will be a show featuring lights, fire, dancers, puppets theatre on Far Gosford Street (one of the oldest in the city), telling the story of the street. maybe I'll go, many of the area businesses (restaurants, pubs) are opened till late, but the weather is not motivating at all...

I was thinking that perhaps tomorrow there will be the Easter service at the Cathedral, but I'm not sure and I assume it will me early in the morning. I'll check the website (yes, they do have a website).

Now I'm going to eat something (haven't decided what) so that I won't faint! :D

HAPPY EASTER once more!

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