I cross all the seas, it's fine by me...

In ultima vreme nu am fost prea mult prezenta prin intermediul blogului, dar am avut motive destul de intemeiate. O sa incerc, pe scurt (desi presimt ca iar o sa scriu un post de un km), sa rezum ultimele doua saptamani.

PETRECEREA a fost fenomenala. Pregatirile le-am terminat pe ultima suta de metri, am primit si ceva ajutor de la colegii mei de casa, deci am avut suficient timp cat sa ma si aranjez. Cativa invitati au fost extrem de punctuali, asa ca i-am primit in papuci pentru ca nu apucasem inca sa imi pun cizmele (asta era practic ultimul "retus" pe care il mai aveam de facut). Am fost putin stresata pt ca nu stiam daca Alex si Gabel mai ajungeau sau nu in noaptea respectiva in Anglia, apoi, dupa ce am aflat ca da, nu mai stiam cand...Bine ca au venit, pentru ca la cat de ametita am fost (nu de la bautura, ci din cauza statutului de gazda), nu am pus tortul intr-un loc sigur si mi-a fost mancat de "forte misterioase", asa ca am avut nevoie de un bucatar priceput care sa incropeasca repede ceva din materiile prime de care dispuneam. In fine, multa lume, muzica, galagie mare in interior, fara ploaie afara (chiar ma temeam de asta) - ce sa mai , mi-am castigat popularitatea in Coventry! Am primit numai comentarii pozitive dupa petrecere, inclusiv de la invitati cu care m-am intalnit pe strada.
Iar a doua zi, dupa ce ne-am trezit ca oamenii, am reusit sa facem casa mai curata decat a fost vreodata - am scos chiar si o guma de mestecat ce se lipise de covorul din sufragerie. In rest, nimic nu s-a spart, nimic nu s-a furat (ne temeam un pic de asta pt ca nu putem sa ne incuiem camerele pe exterior, dar eu oricum aveam laptopul jos, deci ar fi fost chiar evidenta o evenuala lipsa a lui :D), nimeni nu s-a batut, nimanui nu i-a fost rau etc.









Dupa toata curatenia, i-am scos pe "musafiri" in ORAS, le-am aratat aproape tot ce era de vazut in Coventry (nah, intr-o zi nu ai ce face...). Am intrat astfel si eu pt prima data in noua Catedrala, construita chiar langa ramasitele celei bombardate in Al Doilea Razboi Mondial (in mod similar cu Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirchen, in Berlin). Cred ca Alex s-a simtit fooooarte bine, caci a facut o groaza de poze (pe care le vedeti voi acum pe blog), dar sa nu cumva sa va asteptati sa il vedeti si pe el in vreuna (sau pe noi, fetele)...



















Seara am organizat o cina pt toti cei din casa. Ma rog, Alex si Gabel au gatit ca, nah, d`aia era ziua mea (poate am uitat sa precizez, dar dupa mine ziua mea a durat cam o saptamana anul asta :D)!

A doua zi, luni, ne-am trezit de dimineata si ne-am indreptat spre STONEHENGE, locul unde am decis sa mergem, pentru ca Alex si Gabel nu sunt mari fani ai castelelor sau obiectivelor de genul asta. Am inchiriat o masina asa ca Alex a avut sarcina de a conduce pe partea dreapata (nu pare asa de dificil, doar in oars trebuie sa fi mai atant). Bine ca am luat si un GPS, asta ne-a scutit de mult efort si probleme de orientare! Am prins si ceva aglomeratie pe drum, deci nu numai in Romania se circula bara-la-bara la un moment dat (pe un segment incomparabil redus, totusi)...

Nu stiu daca sunt multe chestii de zis despre Stonehenge - e intr-o zona de pasune, pe un mic deal, la intersectia a doua drumuri. Poate ca nu e chiar asa de mare cum mi-am imaginat, in nici un caz impresionant (cum poate ma impresioneaza arhitectura nu-stiu-carui castel), dar, in orice caz, interesant...Planurile de viitore legate de acest monument includ construirea unui tunel pentru a inchide drumurile care trec pe acolo - mi se pae necesar, caci intr-adevar nu poti contempla Stonehenge-ul sau imprejurimile cand auzi zgomotul masinilor (desi e un fel de drum local, cu 1-2 benzi pe sens, este foarte aglomerat, dar nu stiu din ce cauza, unde duce).
Ca mai toata lumea, am luat ghiduri audio, asa ca am aflat cate ceva despre posibilele metode prin care a fost ridicat complexul, despre legendele lui etc. In final, la Stonehenge ajungi sa pierzi mai mult timp decat ti-ai planificat initial, e destul de captivant. Si arata cam asa:









La intoarcere aveam deja planuit sa oprim si vreo 2 ore in OXFORD. WOW! Ce oras! Desi are jumatate din populatia Coventry-ului estu cu muuult mai vibrant. Pare, totusi ceva mai mare (poate pt ca in Coventry eu nu cunosc decat centrul, care e destul de mic, cum poate am mai spus), are si un castel, arhitectura extrem de frumoasa. In centru (banuiesc ca era centrul) era plin de studenti, probabil ca oricum procentajul de studenti este foarte ridicat. Ne-am oprit sa si mancam ceva intr-un local foarte misto, in care eu mai fusesem cand le-am vizitat pe fete in Luftbra. Insa nu am reusit sa inteleg care e toata faza cu Universitatea asta, cum de e atat de bine cotata cand toti stateau in baruri. Poate ca acolo or fi biblotecile in Oxford...
Ce pot sa spun, totusi...Oxford-ul este un oras super, cu siguranta ai nevoie mai mult de doua ore sa il explorezi, minim o zi cred. Am fost extrem de incantati cu totii!












Ma bucur ca am avut inspiratia sa propun traseul Coventry-Stonehenge-Oxford-Coventry (in ordinea asta), caci a fost o zi foarte buna, chiar si vremea a fost de partea noastra!

Cum marti a fost cu adevarat ZIUA MEA, am decis sa fie relaxanta asa ca ne-am plimbat prin oras, am facut niste cumparaturi, mi-am luat o camera foto noua (cea veche chiar nu isi mai facea treaba bine), am mancat o prajitura asa cum a vrut Alex, dar pe banca, nu in cofetarie (i-am tot spus ca pe aici nu prea am vazut cofetarii, eu cunosc mai mult baruri). Apoi ne-am intors acasa, am mancat pizza, iar seara am iesit cu totii (insemnand si colegii mei de casa) la o bere Guiness. Chiar ne-am simtit bine!



Cu ocazia asta o sa si multumesc tuturor celor care si-au amintit de ziua mea si care mi-au transmis urari si felicitari, indiferent prin ce mijloace!

Sa continuam...Miercuri eu am mers la cursuri, iar Alex si Gabel in Birmingham, la verisoara ei, caci nu avea rost sa mai piarda o zi aici, nu mai era nimic de vazut, iar eu oricum nu as fi putut sta cu ei, plus ca Birmingham-ul chiar merita vizitat (este, in fond, al doilea oras ca marime din UK).
Nu imi mai amintesc ce am facut joia si vinerea urmatoare, sunt date mult prea indepartate in timp si spatiu :) Probabil ca nimic interesant. Ah, da! Am fost CERUTA DE NEVASTA vineri! De catre nigerianul de care v-am spus in postul anterior. Nu, nu e amuzant! L-am intalnit intamplator pe strada, cand am iesit din Jaguar Building, era intuneric si nu prea ne-am recunoscut reciproc prima data. Mai bine nu reactionam cand m-a strigat...A inceput cu faze de genul: mi-am dat seama ca esti o persoana inteligenta si frumoasa de cand te-am vazut (ma vazuse doar o singura data inainte!!!), as vrea sa te scot in oras, ca intr-un cuplu (aici eu am bagat celebra fraza: sa vedem ce spune prietenul meu), cred ca esti fata potrivita pt mine si as vrea sa te iau de sotie si sa te duc in Nigeria sa te cunoasca familia mea. A ajuns si sa imi explice niste obiceiuri de-ale lor care se practica in momentul in care iti duci viitoare familie in tribul natal - de genul mama lui iti da haine traditionale, te invata sa gastesti chestii specifice, apoi tu trebuie sa gatesti pt familia lui (Nu zau? Eu abia gatesc pt familia mea!!!). Incerca sa ma ia de mana si cu vrajeli gen "dupa ce o sa ma cunosti mai bine o sa vrei si tu sa te casatoresti cu mine".
Am incercat sa fiu cat mai politicoasa, dar se pare ca diplomatia mea a fost interpretata gresit ori nu am folosit tactica buna - trebuia sa merg mai mult in ofensiva, decat defensiva...acum stiu...

In fine...sambata a fost HALLOWEEN-ul, va imaginati ce nebuie pe aici, din moment ce lumea iesea costumata pe strazi, seara, inca de la inceputul saptamanii. La ziua mea am primit o invitatie la o petrecere in casa unor germani, asa ca pe la 22:30, toata casa (plus cativa "asociati") s-a urcat in taxiuri si dusi am fost! Petrecerea incepuse ceva mai devreme (persoanele importante se lasa asteptate! :D), multa lume, multe costume. Eu am fost Zana Cea Corupta si am aratat cam asa:



Mi-a placut mult petrecerea, chiar a iesit cum mi-am imaginat, evident, nu mai bine decat a mea :D Mai nasol duminica - s-a stricat total vremea, a inceput sa bata vantul cu putere si sa ploua..Tocmai de asta am petrecut-o in casa, ba dormind, ba citind...Ba ignorand telefoanele tipului din Nigeria..Ma suna cand dormeam! Si stiti ca nu raspund la telefon cand dorm, decat in foarte putine cazuri. M-a deranjat si mai tare ca a utilizat nr lui, un alt nr si un ID ascuns... L-am sunat cand m-am trezit si am avut o discutie destul de...neutra, sa spun asa. Voia sa ma invite la o petrecere, dar am refuzat politicos, folosind scuza ca abia m-am trezit.
Dar a doua zi (luni) m-a sunat din nou, foarte de dimineata (nu era nici macar ora 9). Iar eu din nou nu am raspuns si l-am sunat cand m-am trezit si cand am avut o alta discutie normala. Insa la 2 minute dupa ce am inchis m-a sunat sa ma intrebe de ce nu vreau sa ies cu el, pt ca e negru (eu si rasismul, baba si mitraliera)? A inceput sa debiteze tampenii gen: eu vreau 3 copii si doresc sa fi mama copiilor mei (surpriza, eu vreau doar 2!), esti o persoana unica (fiecare e unic in felul sau, iar eu sunt doar diferita fata de ce a intalnit el pana atunci), daca maine te-ai desparti de prietenul tau ai iesi cu mine?
A incercat chiar sa ma verifice de cat timp sunt cu asa-zisul prieten...Am inceput si eu ofensiva: a venit in Europa ca sa invete ori ca sa isi gaseasca nevasta? Ar fi normal sa ies si cu "prietenul meu" si cu el in acelasi timp? De ce insita cand vede ca avem perspective diferite asupra a ceea ce vrem de la viata?
Intr-un final, am reusit sa il conving sa isi vada de viata lui si am terminat conversatia, nu inainte de a imi ura succes in relatia mea si de a ma asigura ca ma iubeste. Mare e gradina Domnului!
Sa nu credeti ca nu a mai dat nici un semn - marti dimineata iar m-a sunat, dar nu am raspuns si nici nu l-am mai apelat apoi. Iar data viitoare cand va mai face asta ii voi spune sa nu ma mai caute, chiar nu ma voi intalni cu el, nici macar intr-un cerc comun de prieteni (nici nu exista asta, spre norocul meu). Ma voi rezuma sa ii spun "Buna" daca ne vom intersecta la facultate, la un curs comun. Iar daca subit dispar, tata, te rog trimite recuperatorii pe urmele mele in Nigeria! Sau cum spunea Chris, unul din colegii mei de casa, trebuia sa ii spun, pt a rezolva problema, ca prietenul meu e din Uganda si daca nu se potoleste, tribul lui va invada Nigeria! Super tare, frate!

Miercuri, slava Domnului, nu a venit la cursul asta comun, asa ca am avut si eu parte de o zi normala...Toate bune la facultate, discutam despre chestii interesante, mai putin la cursul despre Metode de Cercetare, care mi se pare destul de plictisitor, caci nu facem nimic legat de studiile noastre. Dar daca trebe, trebe...
In continuare se anunta o perioada misto: o sa vedem niste filme, o sa avem invitati care or sa ne vorbeasca pe diverse subiecte, la sfarsitul lui martie mergem in Sicilia. Am inceput sa imi caut un loc pt practica, in Anglia si nu numai, incerc sa gasesc si niste idei pt dizertatie, dar incerc sa ma concentrez acum pe lucrarile pe care trebuie sa le fac pentru perioada urmatoare...

Una peste alta, maine plec la Berlin, abia astept! O sa ma reintalnesc cu Daniel, Lidia, Tamara si alte cateva persoane. O sa avem parte de multe evenimente, trebuie doar sa ne hotaram cam ce vrem sa vedem, caci timpul este limitat. Numai ca am inteles ca e destul de frig acolo (a si nins putin acum cateva zile), iar eu am doar un bagaj de mana...Dar ma voi descurca - fix acum un an mergeam la Stockholm, cu aceeasi geanta!

In mod cert nu voi mai avea timp sa scriu ceva pana plec, asa ca ne "citim" de marti incolo!
V-am pupat!




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

22 Years And 10 Days

(To my Romanian readers please read the English version as well, there are some thing that happened at the party and that I couldn't write in Romanian for objective reasons)

Lately I haven't been too much around through my blog, but I had quite good reasons for my absence. I'll try, briefly (though I have this feeling that I'll write a kilometre long post), to resume the last 2 weeks.

THE PARTY was fantastic! I finished the preparations in the last minute, I had some house from one of my housemates, so I had enough time to get myself ready. Some guests have been pretty punctual, so I welcomed them in my slippers. I was a bit stresses out since I didn't know if Alex and Gabel where coming or not to England anymore and after I found out the will, I didn't know when...It was great they came, I was so dizzy (not because of the alcohol, but due to my hostess status) that I didn't put the B-Day cake in a safe place and some "mysterious forces" ate it. So I needed a good chef to make something really quick and with the things that I had. Anyways, a lot of people, music, noise outside, no rain (I was afraid of that). The neighbours started to complain really soon after the party started (though I had talked to them in advanced) so they called the Noise Abatement Department from the City Council, who further called the Police. But both of the authorities saw that there was absolutely no problem with the music, it was just the people talking in the back yard. After some of my guests left, they were waiting for a cab in the front of my house, they made some more noise, so other neighbours called again the Police. I found out about this the next morning, when I had a discussion with my landlord. As you can imagine, he has received several calls from my next door neighbours and even though at the beginning he was pretty calm and relaxed, a few days after he became very irritated because of the outcome of the party. He was convinced that I've destroyed the house (well, it was just the new living room carpet that had some chewing gum on it) but he didn't believe me that everything is fine nor want to come and check it out himself...English people!

In the end, the neighbours have moved out the next week-end (I'm pretty sure that not because of the party) and I gained my popularity in Coventry! I received only positive feed-back after the party, including guests that I've met on the street.

The next day we managed to clean the house better than it was before. I got out the chewing gum from the living room carpet, but otherwise nothing got broken or stolen 9we were a bit afraid of this because we can't lock out rooms on the outside, but I had my laptop downstairs so I would've felt its absence :D), no one got into a fight, no one got sick etc.

After all the cleaning procedure I took my other "guest" DOWNTOWN, I've shown them almost everything that there is to see in Coventry (you can do its tour in one day). I entered for the first time in the new Cathedral, built right next to the one bombed in the World War II (similar to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Berlin). I think Alex felt reaaaaally good there because he made loads of photos (that you are able to see now on my blog), but don't imagine that you'll see him in any of these (or us, the girls)...In the evening we organised a dinner for everyone in the house. Well, Alex and Gabel actually cooked, it was my B-Day (maybe I forgot to mention, but my B-Day lasted about a week this year :D)!

The next day, on Monday, we woke up early and headed to STONEHENGE, the place where we decided to go, since Alex and Gabel are not too found of castles or other similar sightseeing. We've rented a car so Alex had the task of driving on the right side of the road (it doesn't seem that difficult, just that you have to be more careful in the city). We've also rented a GSP which kind of speared us of a lot of effort and orientation problems. There was some heavy traffic, like generally in Romania (but on a smaller segment though)...

I don't know if there's much to say about Stonehenge - it's in the middle of a grassland, on a low hill, at a crossroad. Perhaps it's not as big as I imagined, in any manner it's not impressive (as impressive as the architecture of a castle), but, anyhow, very interesting. The future plans for it include closing the roads that pass by there - it seems necessarily, you can't contemplate Stonehenge or the surroundings when you hear the noise of the cars (although it's kind of a local road, 1-2 lanes, it's pretty crowded).

Like everyone, we took audio guides, so we found out a bit about the probable building methods, about the legends etc. At Stonehenge you end up losing more time than initially planned, it's very captivating.

On our way back we stopped in OXFORD for about 2 hours. WOW! What a city! Though it has only half of the population of Coventry it's certainty more vibrant. It's seems, though, a bit bigger than it (maybe because I know only the city centre in Coventry, which is small enough, as I said before). it has a castle, really beautiful architecture. The centre was full of students, probably the students percentage is very high. We ate something in a cool place, where I had been before, when I visited the girls in Luftbra. I didn't quite manage to understand what's all this thing with the Oxford University though...It's so high ranked, but everyone is hanging out in bars...Maybe that's where they have the libraries in Oxford...

Anyways, Oxford is a great city, you definitely need more than 2 hours to explore it, minimum one day, I'd say. We were all delighted! I'm glad that i came with the idea of the Coventry-Stonehenge-Oxford-Coventry itinerary, it has been a great day, even the weather has been on our side!

Since on Tuesday it was really MY B-DAY, I decided to make it quite relaxing so we've walked around the city, we did some shopping, I bought myself a new camera (the old one wasn't able to do its job well), we ate some cakes as Alex wanted, but on a bench, not in a pastry shop (I told him that I haven't seen too many shops of this kind here, I mainly know the bars). Then we came back home, we ate some pizzas and in the evening we (us and my housemates) went out for a drink, a Guinness. We really enjoyed it!

I'll take this opportunity and thank to all those who remembered my B-Day and who sent their wishes and greeting, no matter the channels!!!

On Wednesday I went to the Uni and Alex and Gabel to Birmingham, to her cousin, since it was useless for them to waist another day here, there was nothing left to see and I couldn't have stayed with them anyways. Plus, Birmingham is a nice city, it's worthed a visit (after all, it's the second largest city in the UK).

I don't remember exactly what I've done on Thursday and Friday, these days are too far away in space and time :) Probably nothing interesting. Ah, yes! I'VE BEEN PROPOSED on Friday! By the Nigerian guy that I've mentioned in a previous post. No, it's not funny! I've bumped into him o n the street, when I exited Jaguar Building, it was dark and we didn't recognised each other in the first place. I shouldn't have reacted when he called...He started saying thing like: I realised you are an intelligent and beautiful person from the very first moment (he had seen me just once before!), I'd like to take you out, as a couple (I served him the famous phrase: let's see what my boyfriend thinks about this), I think you are the perfect girls for me and I want to marry you and take you to Nigeria to meet my family. He told me about some local customs when you bring you future wife in your native tribe - his mother will give you traditional clothes, she teaches you how to cook specific meals and then you have to cook for the whole family (Really? I barely cook for my family!!!). He tried to take my hand, saying stuff like "after you'll get to know me better you'll also want to marry me".
I tried to be as polite as possible, but it seems that my diplomacy has been misinterpreted or I haven't used the right technique - I should've gone more into offensive, rather than defensive...now I know...

Whateva...on Saturday we had Halloween, so you can imagine the craziness here, some people started to dress up since the beginning of the week. At my B-Day party I received an invitation to a party in the house of some German people, so around 22:30, the whole house (plus some "associated persons") got into cabs and gone we were! The party had already started, many persons, many costumes - I was the Corrupted Fairy! I really enjoyed the party, it ended up as I imagined it, not as good as mine, obviously! :D

On Sunday it was pretty bad - the weather got worse, it was a terrible wind and it started raining. This is the reason why I've spent it inside, reading and sleeping...And ignoring the phone calls of the Nigerian guy. He was calling when I was sleeping! And you know I don't pick up the phone when I sleep, only in a few cases. I was really bothered by the fact that he used his number, another number and a hidden ID...I called him when I woke up and we had a pretty neutral conversation, let's say...He wanted to invite me to a party, but I declined, saying that I had just woken up. But the next day (on Monday), he rang again, really early in the morning (it wasn't even 9). I didn't answered again and I called back after I woke up and we had another normal chat. But 2 minutes after I hang up he rang asking why I don't want to date him, is it because he's black? He started saying stupid stuff like: I want 3 children and I want you to be the mother of my children (surprise, I only want 2 children!), you're an unique person (everyone is unique in its own way, I'm just different from what he met by now), if tomorrow you'd broke up with your boyfriend, would you come to me?

He even tried to check me out for how long I'm in a relationship...That's when I started the offensive: did he come to Europe to study or to find himself a wife? Would it be normal to go out with him and with my "boyfriend" in the same time? Why is he insisting when he sees that we have different perspectives on life? Finally, I managed to convince him to go on with his life and I ended the conversation, not before he wishes me good luck with my relationship and reassuring me that he loves me.

Don't you think he didn't try to contact me again - on Tuesday morning he called again, but I didn't answer or ring him back. And the next time he'll do this I'll tell him to stop calling me, I won't date him, not even with friends around (thanks God that we don't have common friends!). I'll just say "Hello" if I see him at the Uni, at a common lecture. And if I suddenly disappear, dad, please send the trackers in Nigeria!
Or as Chris, one of my housemates, said, I should've told him that I have a boyfriend from Uganda and if he doesn't stop calling me his tribe will invade Nigeria!!! Cool, huh? On Wednesday he didn't show up at this common lecture, so I had a normal day...


Every thing's fine at the Uni, we discuss about interesting things, except on the course on Research Methods, which is a bit boring to me, it's not topic-related. But if we have to do it, we'll do it...

Next I predict a cool period: seeing some movies, have some guest speakers, going to Sicily at the end of March. I started to find some opportunities for my placement, in England and abroad, I'm trying to find some ideas for my dissertation topic, but now I'd better focus on the papers that I have to do for the following period...

Tomorrow I'm going to Berlin, I can't wait! I'll meet again Daniel, Lidia, Tamara and some more people, There'll be many events, we just have to decide what we want to see, the time is short. I understood it's pretty cold there (it even snowed a bit few days ago) and I'm only taking a hand luggage...But I'll be fine - a year ago I was going to Stockholm, carrying the same bag!

I'll definitely won't have tine to write something else until I go, so we'll "read" each other from Tuesday on!
Kisses!