Love is noise...

I have been writing a lot about love in this blog lately...
I just don't understand why people take it so literally when u talk about love.
It spreads so much further than being in a relationship. Maybe the word has lost its meaning of so frequent usage...Every moment millions say "I love you" without even meaning it.But what does "Love" mean anyways?I do not know. Or rather...I only know one of its faces.
Here is a song for you:


Will those feet in modern times
Walk on soles that are made in China?
Feel the bright prosaic malls
In the corridors that go on and on and on

Are we blind - can we see?
We are one - incomplete
Are we blind - In the shade
Waiting for lightning - to be saved
Cause love is noise and love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m singing again
Love is noise and love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m singing again, again, again

Will those feet in modern times
Understand this world’s affliction
Recognise the righteous anger
Understand this world’s addiction

I was blind - couldn’t see
What was here in me
I was blind - insecure
I felt like the road was way too long, yeah
Cause love is noise and love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m feeling again
Love is noise and love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m feeling again
Love is noise, love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m singing again
Love is noise, love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m singing again, again, again, again, again, again

Cause love is noise, love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m feeling again
Love is noise, love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m feeling again
Love is noise, love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m feeling again
Love is noise, love is pain
Love is these blues that I’m feeling again
Come on, come on, ah come on, ah come on
Now come on, now come on, now come on
Now come on

Will those feet in modern times
Walk on soles made in China?
Will those feet in modern times
See the bright prosaic malls?
Will those feet in modern times
Forgive me all my sins
Love is noise
Come on

Friday, I'm in love

catch the fleeting moments

The colourful kites in the fading Jodhpur sky.
Freedom re-defined.
Marble as thin and subtle as a whisper.
Simple daal and rice eaten with fingers and thus so delicious.
Blissful mornings with coffee and meaningless conversations with meaningful people.
The colours of Rajastan.
Melancholy of fading splendour.
Being tired from too much beauty.
These people. Their smiles, their gestures,their words.
true moments of fleeting happiness I just managed to catch :)

Happy Independence day!

Happy Independence Day to all Indians by passport and by heart :)

rainy

it has been raining restlessly for the past almost 20 hours
it's like livin in an underwater world
the only thing that i am thinking of the whole day is a nice, cosy place
a cup of thick hot chocolate and long easy-going conversation about life with someone i have just discovered
tomorrow we are all going to this amazing Mocha place - i fell in love even before i have stepped in
the whole melancholic mood of this week that went down the drain like a dream
makes me think of an ella fitzdjerald song that boris had given me.

Everytime we say goodbye, I die a little,
Everytime we say goodbye, I wonder why a little,
Why the Gods above me, who must be in the know.
Think so little of me, they allow you to go.
When you're near, there's such an air of spring about it,
I can hear a lark somewhere, begin to sing about it,
There's no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to
minor,
Everytime we say goodbye.

When you're near, there's such an air of spring about it,
I can hear a lark somewhere, begin to sing about it,
There's no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to
minor,
Everytime we say goodbye

Have a good weekend...

Natural drugs

On a Saturday morning, a list of 45 things that really make u happy...

1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15 The beach
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they LOVE you
19 Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS
25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
28. Makiig new friends or spending time with old ones.
30. Having someone play with your hair.
31. Sweet dreams.
32. Hot chocolate.
33. Road trip with friends.
34. Swinging on swings.
35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
36. Making chocolate chip cookies.
37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
38. Holding hands with someone you care about.
39. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
40. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
41. Watching the sunrise.
42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
43. Knowing that somebody misses you.
44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
45. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

My world

India is a country where you can rarely get privacy.
With so many people around you are always bound to have someone intruding your personal space (even if the person might not be doing it deliberately). In our place u-59 as we live like a big family - there is constantly someone in our room...
That makes me treasure my moments of solitude even more. I am a very social person, but I need this time spent in my own world.
To think, dream or create characters and plots in my mind.
There is something playfully childish to be able to isolate yourself from the outside world and just observe.
Today I got the chance to do it -I was listening to my music and describing my India experience, while observing the two friends of mine chatting.There were two different worlds...
Sometimes I really feel sorry for those, whose inner world is deserted or full of too many elements of reality and dqily prose. Must be very sad and boring sometimes...

Good friends we had...good friends we've lost

A lot of friends are leaving these days. Closer friends, or just people that I like. People that have become a part of my life in a way.
Torill...Nata...Isabel...
soon Neeraj...Francois...Henk...Julie...Peter...Burcu...Jenny...
Our "home" in Gurgaon is constantly changing, and I am trying to keep a stiff upper lip, cause if I start to cry about everyone who is leaving, the monsoon will look like a drizzle.
So many people leaving made me think about all my friends I have around the world.
And brings back so many sweet memories, but also raises the question...
Will I be able to spend quality time with these people again? How much have we changed? Will I be able to call them friends?
It will never be the same again...
But why does it have to be the same?
You tought me one important lesson - live for the moment and cherish every single second you have spent with the people you love. Now this lesson is back to remind me I should learn to let go.
Neeraj said something really beautiful:"I want to be happy and to be sad, to enjoy every minute of the happiness and sadness, cause only then I will know I have lived"
We meet people for a reason...maybe this is the answer to a long-posted question.

Falling in love again...

I am falling in love...almost every day...
With peoples' smiles.
I love the smile of the Barista boy in the morning - makes the coffee taste even better:)
I love latin smiles - so big and full of happiness...as if life is...just a game:)
I love children smiles.
I love ordinary people, everyday smiles.
I love smiling eyes.
I love big grins and tiny, shy smiles.
And if you SMILE while reading this post, I will be more than happy :)
Seems happiness is not so hard to get...

A woman should...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
a youth she's content to leave behind....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a feeling of control over her destiny...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without;
ruining the friendship...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table..
or a charming Inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
What she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...and a year...

On doing good

Our last trip was to McLeaod Ganj, the birthplace of Dalai Lama.
We went to a strange charity concert for Tibetian olymics.
The lead singer (he was something between Santa and a rock-dinosaour) told us the following.
Some years ago, he met Dalai Lama for the first time and started compalining that things are not going well, it is hard to try and change things in the american societiy and so on...
Then the Dalai Lama said:
You find it hard to go ahead, as you are doing good deeds.That is why u meet so many obstacles. If you were doing bad deeds, it would have been much easier.

However you should not give up doing good. Cause...what goes around, comes around.

In an ABSOLUT world

The new ABSOLUT campaign reminds me how much I love their ads.

What should I say...in an ABSOLUT world all ads are like ABSOLUT ads :)

Happiness

Today was one of the happiest days of my life.
I received so much pure, unconditional love that I feel extremely elevated, and the world bursts out in amazing bright colours.
What happened?
We had a volunteer initiative in Alcatel-Lucent - we brought 70 children from the slums to an amusement/water park.
I was responsible for those two beauties - Monica and Radha:)
So we were chasing around, going on marry-go-rounds, climbing ropes and throwing balls at each other.
Then there was the pool. Splashing water, jumping in it, playing wildly...
I was the first among the adults to get inside. And when one of the guys said that he got inspired by me to jump and play with the kids...it sounded so nice.
I felt a bit sad that I could not answer when "my children" were excitedly pulling me and shouting something in Hindi.
But one thing i knew without having to use any language.
They were happy.
They loved me.
I loved back.
What more do I need to be happy?

India...4 months later

Well, here I am.
A little more than 4 months since my journey began.
It would be an understatement to say "I learned a lot".
Probably I will be able to understand how much I have learned after some time...
I also cannot say that I am able to understand India.This is a country so colourful and diverse, so full of contardictions and contrasts, that you cannot ever say you have figured it out.
My feelings for India are as contrast as that - there are things I love and things I hate, but for sure I feel strong for that country and for its future. I kind of feel it as a second home already:)
What happened in these 4 months...
I went to some places I have never imagined that I will go.
Udaipur, Jaipur, Rishikesh, Nainital, Agra, Kajiraho, McLeaod Ganj...
Done crazy things (like jumping into Ganges)and rafting.
Laughed a lot. Cried a bit.
Partied hard.
Met some amazing people.Made some friends maybe.
Got enchanted by people. Got dissapointed by people.
Made stupid mistakes. Forgave.
Learned a few Hindi words.
Almost got used to spicy food.
Been disturbed. Achieved peace of mind.
Got a few steps closer to happiness.
I have a tentative plan where I want to go. It might be changed overnight.
That's the beauty of it.
Now it is more important to live.
Cause it is, for sure, a pretty exciting life!

A touch of tenderness

In India I have met another fairy. She is subtle, tender, almost transperent.
Just as I would imagine a fairy to be.
Today she made me a miraculous massage. Just like that, without asking for anything, saying it is a pleasure for her.
I have never been a physical person (mening that I have always considered myself body-less and more spiritual, but the massage made me think of a communication on a different level.
What if your hands can speak? What if they are your universal language to getting to know someone? Could you understand people just by touching them?
I felt in another dimention.
It had nothing to do with the physical touch,it was the tenderness of a fairy tale.
Merci beaucoup, ma cherie :)

Cute doggie :)

One thing I really hate about Indian TV channels is that commercials are so much and so annoying you can never watch a movie properly without being interrupted.
However, lately I just love that Vodafone commercial.
Cute doggie, ain't it, yar ;)

Life is about...

...simple things.
Long conversations over a huge cup of Mocca with a German girl that I didn't know a month ago (Thanks Kat:))
Hearty laughs over the stories of a Spanish guy I just met.
Driving back home on a bike.
Writing an e-mail to my friends on the balcony, with the wind blowing.
My new set of bangles.
The challenges at work.
Having spent 1500 Rs on books (Lonely planet guide on India and Love in the time of cholera).
The anticipation of reading Khaled Houseini's "A thousand splendid suns".
Not knowing what will happen to me in one year and still being sure I have so many oportunities.
Having seen Jodha Akbar - a naive 3-hour long love story, I didn't understand any conversation in, as it was all in Hindi.
Learning something new every day.
It is so simple and beautiful.
Then...why do we go and make it complicated.

Gurgaon Malls crazy shopping day

You wouldn't expect me to write for such things while in India, would you ;) Well...truth is that I needed to buy some things, as I didn't take too many clothes from home. And you have to somehow fit into the local style, right:)
The "mall street" is rather close to my place, so I took a cycle-rikshaw and was there in 10 minutes.
I was just buying some Hindi-phrasebook in a large bookstore, when I saw two of the AIESEC trainees here - Natalia and Ania from Ukraine.
And...there it began - six (yep, you read it right) six hours of wild shopping. We managed to visit 3 of the malls. It was rather interesting for me, as although malls look the same all over the world, here there was a traditional Indian fabrics and dresses section in each of the garment stores. And it was so colourful and beautiful...And, unlike malls back home, prices were indeed quite reasonable :)
I bought some nice shirts and shalvars :) Scarves...of course...
I am strating to really fall in love with the place!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas :)

Do you remember the times when there was snow for Christmas? I haven't seen a "white Christmas" for two or three years now...And there is something really magical and beautiful in the snowy Christmas.
Anyways, today I realised that if you have a very strong desire for snow - your dreams come true.
Therefore, to bring some magical Christmas spirit, I invite you to sing along with Bing Crosby:)


I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

Meu Fado

I recently watched Carlos Saura's FADO.
Great movie. Great music. I was on the verge of tears.
This music is so emotional and has some deep feeling of sadness in it.
Here is one really great example Mariza - Meu Fado.
Dedicated to all people that are not ashamed to start crying when they hear such a beautiful song.

Matched!

It has already been two days and i still cannot believe it! Everybody was telling me how hard it is to find a proper AIESEC traineeship, that it takes so much effort and long months of sending e-mails.
Well, I got matched to the first position I applied. Maybe it is beginners luck :) Maybe it is destiny!
Ta-da-dam!
Alcatel-Lucent in India, here I come.
One year in Corporate communications in one of the most amazing countries in the world.
Working along with a Brazilian guy and a Lithuainian girl as AIESEC trainees in Bangalore and Chennai. Challenging myself. Learning a lot. Living a different culture.
The journey will start in less than two months.
I have always believed that there are roads that have to be followed.This is such a road. It might be difficult, unexpected, uncomfortable, dirty and long. Yet I have already stepped on it and I will walk till the end. Sure it will be an exciting journey!

Long time no see

Well, I admit I am guilty for not writing here, but well...I got so addicted to my Bulgarian blog that it is hard to switch :)Besides, Being on Facebook, Twitter and everywhere else is quite tiring sometimes.One has to keep addictions in a certain limit :) I don't want to end up blogging all day, instead of doing something more meaningful.
Hm...I have some stories to tell. Lets see where I can start and K.I.S.S. (meaning I will try to keep at short and simple as possible)

Been to the beautiful Budapest in the middle of October.
Wonderful Central European city. Magnificent autumn. I would love to go again, along with my collegue Assya, who lived there for a year. She will be the best guide to some nice unexplored places:)Oh, and it is really unnecessarily expensive!
Some pictures:



Started Yoga classes.
It is fun. I can feel my back again. I realize that I have muscles:) The exercises are simple, but effective. I feel relaxed after. Megan says that there are also some side effects ( Hope she is joking actually;) )


Been two AIESEC conferences

I guess you realize when you are going old when you start going only to the parties of the AIESEC conferences. Well, I went for two - at the Local Introductory seminar of Technical University and at ACT. Actually I was one of the organizers of the alumni party at ACT. Surprisingly so many people came - around 50 alumni! Good try for a first time, I should say ;)

Applied for my first AIESEC internship
It is the position of Communications executive with Alcatel-Lucent in India. Passed the first intervew and I am getting more and more excited :) Is my life going to change so drastically? I want it, but in the same time I am a bit scared. It is surely a challenge!

That's all for now...I hope I will find why blogger wouldn't upload my pictures :(

The power of beauty

Not quite fitting into the "beauty standards" of the age, I have often wondered how it feels to be really beautiful and exercise the power of beauty upon others.
And I really do not mean being sexy and using sexual power, although my suspicion is that is one of the main driving forces of the contemporary world :)
I truly believe that seeing beauty makes people better and more honest.
Yet, as God has not given all of us physical beauty - we should learn how to show our inner one (yep, my strong conviction - even the ugliest has some inner beauty). Of course - that does not mean not to take care of our appearance ;)
One good step from quite an unexpected side are the ads of Dove.
In the world of cosmetics, where everyone is flawless, every product makes you perfect and age and wight are the biggest sins, these guys have created some very nice campaigns to show that "well, not everything what u see is what u get" and "beauty is skin-deep".
Enjoy the videos and keep the belief that beauty can be found even at unexpected places :)

DOVE Evolution video

Dove True Colours video

Dove Pro-Age Video

Chilling out

This weekend I really felt the summer for the first time here in Sofia.
I mean summer in its "chill out" sense.
I listened to nice music - Arabic chillout, Gotan project and Chambao.
I read two e -mails - from Emo (who is in Dubai) and from Mimka (that one reminded me so much of my visit to Krakow). They made me happy :)
I made a small present to a friend.
I met some friends and we went to the wonderful places like
Coffee house where I drank delicious Ice-vanilla.
I drank Mojito in the late afternoon.
I went to Mediterani and sat there, on the leather sofas, in the coolness of the cellar, listening to relaxing music.
I strolled to the park (Borisova garden) and walked barefooted on the grass. I found a bench and sat reading there. I was observing the people. Writing. Listening to music.
I went to drink mint and sprite with some friends at a very nice part of the park - Lodki. It was as if the time had stopped and I was not quite sure we are in Sofia, actually.
Then I took the long way home with Mitko. We walked for about 30 minutes through dusky and almost deserted Sofia boulevards.
Amazing :)

Meet Danny Ocean :)

The sea, the sea ...

I am ashamed to admit that form my long 25-year long life, I have never been in Burgas, actually, only passed through there.
So, when Maya (or Zayo, as most of us know her) asked - is there anyone who wants to come to Burgas with me - I was the first volunteer :)
So, here it was - my first visit to the Black sea coast this summer.There is such a strange rule - whenever you live near the sea - you almost do not notice it, you take it for granted, when you are away - you miss it...
We took the Friday 4 o'clock bus, and because not all of the road is a highway, reached 6 hours later.
Zayo's parents were, of course awaiting us, her mum, a very nice woman had prepared us a dinner.They made me the impression of very hospitable people and huge fans of sun-bathing - went to the beach at 8 in the morning every day.
Saturday was a fully scheduled day - we woke up, had a nice home-made breakfast and went to the beach in Sarafovo, which seemed to be nicer than the one in Burgas. We stayed only two hours or so, and it was not quite sunny, yet at the end of the day I felt I was a bit sunburnt.


After the beach, I managed to convince Zayo to go to the city centre (she didn't want to, cause all the people were dressed up and they would stare at us as we looked like idiots in our beach-wear. Well, anyay, who cares?!).
We walked on the beach and I had a few of these precious moments when I just stared at the magic waves and the sky, breathing the fresh air and feeling in a completely parallel Universe.
Then we had lunch-o-dinner with Zayo's cousin who seemed a cool guy and gave us very useful instructions on where to drink what.

The evening was committed to drinking sexy-named cocktails (Sex on the beach, Falling bikini, Double orgasm were only a few of the names) with Zayo and Kateto (who was so much sunburnt, that you could easily fry an egg at her leg). Marvelous!
We went to the beach to check how people were preparing to meet JULY MORNING. I expected more people, gathered around huge fires, drinking beer and playing the guitar. We saw mostly drunk teenagers and a few enthusiasts that seemed to carry the hippie spirit in themselves. I felt so grown up and out of space. For the first time I wished I was 15 again (when I was 15 I actually was thinking like a 30 -year old, but that's another story).
The moon was a perfect circle.
Strange, tempting.
Bitter yellow.
We sat for a while, listening to the music from the nearby disco.
Then we just went home.
Sunday was devoted to the beach again...then a quick nap. I awoke as if awaking from a nice dream. I had to be back to reality.

One more bit of the real me stayed on the bus...I read Haruki Marukami's "Sputnik, Sweet Hart" - a very nice book on love friendship and loneliness.
We are all metal pieces circling the earth in their own orbits. Sometimes we meet for a while. Then we part, without promising each other anything.
Some of us come back.
If they have the guts to do so.

I love Krakow

Well...here I am, back from that amazing journey in the wonderful Krakow...
I knew nothing about the city when I started my journey, now I am full of stories and beauty:)
Indeed, the pictures are here.
What should I say - Krakow is one of the cities that make you feel at home almost immediately when you get off the bus. It has a wonderful atmosphere - of something ancient, historical and in the meantime - bohemian and cosmopolitan.
Lots of tourists (especially British hooligans, whose sole goal is to get drunk:) ) so the people of Krakow avoid the Ryinek Glovny (the Main Square) and its surroundings.
Anyways, as I had to explore it by myself, I should say - these were wonderful days of discovering beauty at expected and unexpected places.
Things I will surely remember (and some of them deserve a separate post here):
- The city is very compact - if you know the main square - you can get easily to any other place in the centre:)
- Lots of parks, accessibility for bikes and 24-buses
- All the time - life is burning and sizzling everywhere in the streets. Maybe because it was the 750th anniversary of the establishment of the city...Or maybe it is always like that. Especially at the Ryinek Glovny - action is always around in people dancing, performing, singing or playing some instrument.
- Nice little streets with nice tiny cafes where u can just sit with a book and drink a cappucino , forgetting about the time
- Interesting museums ( I only visited three though) but guided tours are preferrable (in some museums, like the Museum of Krakow history almost all writings are in Polish, which, excuse me, is a VERY tough language!)
Well,I really cannot say it all in one post...but if I have to say it in one sentence it might be:
I LOVE KRAKOW :)

Big Girls are Beautiful :)

At least Mika seems to think so...
How sweet:)

I love that part:

You take your girl
And multiply her by four
Now a whole lotta woman
Needs a whole lot more

Enjoy the video :)

Rain

It has been raining for two days now.
It makes me a bit melancholic.
But Sofia is so clean and beautiful after the rain. And I feel so full of hope,beauty and dreams...
I am thinking of my favourite "rain" songs:

Singing in the rain

November rain

Kiss the rain

I'll take the rain

Purple rain

The Rain (a song by the Bulgarian singer Vanya Shtereva)

It's raining (by P.I.F)

Russian cartoons :)

To all the people that remember and love the Russian cartoons I would like to dedicate the following song.
I just grew up with Nu Pogodi.
There was no American or western cartoons at this time. So we loved them :)
And I just chose that song, as it always makes me remember my childhood and feel so sweetly melancholic.
Enjoy (even though birthdays come only once a year) :)

Impossible is nothing

I have always liked the "impossible is nothing" slogan. Here is a very touching video of the new campaign:


There are some more:
Saint Margaret's team
Sachin Tendulkar
Yelena Isinbayeva
Jeremy Wariner
Allyson Felix
Lionel Messi
And even...
David Beckham

Beautiful:)

Petia's Birthday

Yesterday I was invited to the birthday celebration of one of the people I appreciate most in AIESEC - my first "boss" Petia.
When I first met her, I wondered how it was possible for such a tiny fragile girl to be so firm and straightforward!
I have been wondering ever since.
She is such a nice person and I hope she is lucky in life:)
Just a short note how we spend her birthday...
First we went to "Krivoto" ...ah, it was so tough to resist all these delicious things.And...well, finally we didn't resist.
We were only women with just one guy - Johnny. It was Petia, Megan, Sevi, Liana (the sweet Armenian trainee), Maya and Stassy.
Stassy gave Petia a very well packed present:)
Here is Petya trying to unwrap it...
Step 1: "Let's see what is in here"

Step 2: "C'mon, open up!"

Step 3: "Finally:)What a nice surprise!"


After that, we went to "Bar at the end of the world" to dance at some retro music. It was rather nice, especially as John behaved as a real gentleman, and ordered champaigne for everyone. I will be waiting for some pictures...
When we were saying goodbye something Petia said something that warmed my heart.
"Thank you. My friends are my happiness".
What else do I need to be happy than making some other person happy!

Easter

Now, it is high time I said Happy Easter, I guess :)
Apart from all the Eastern -Western traditions that are mixing right now in Bulgaria, I really like Easter.
Maybe I am not so convinced in the existence of the Easter bunny (and I really do not know what is the role of the Easter bunny, frankly)and I didn't take part in the colouring of the Easter eggs this year but...
I LOVE EASTER
Because it is a spring holiday.
It is a feast of resurrection and renewed hope.
It is a time of the year when beauty blossoms all around.
You should not feel sad at this date.
Everything is colourful, everybody -smiling :)
And I am back in my hometown, taking all the incredible atmosphere it has to give me.
From the Christian point of view, Christ's resurrection is even more miraculous than his birth.
It is also a time of spending precious minutes with the family and closest friends. And for self-reflection.
Have I been good enough? Am I doing my best? Is this what I want to do? Am I not envious sometimes? Questions questions questions crossing my mind all the time...
Sometimes I wonder what questions other people ask themselves...Are they the same as mine?Or completely different?

BLDS 2007

I just came back from BLDS 2007. It was really a wonderful experience I will surely remember for a while.
First of all, it was wonderful, because I was invited to speak in a panel with some of the people I admire most in AIESEC - former MCPs that shaped this organisation in Bulgaria and also great personalities. I felt so honoured to be there among them.
Another reason I was happy was that I saw friends - old and new ones being there, smiling and having fun.

I always get so excited when I see so many great people at one place! I just wanted to hug and kiss everybody, to talk to
everybody...Unfortunately time is never enough at AIESEC conferences to do that!
I wish I could keep the spirit longer.
And I should say that...
Thank GOD that I enetered AIESEC and met all these amazing people!
:)

AIESEC and non-AIESEC emotions

In the last few days I was
...excited about AIESEC, as Emo invited me on the official panel of BLDS. It is really an honour to be among Koceto, Krasi, Kalin:)
...happy because of AIESEC, when I saw the people applying for LCP of LC Plovdiv. I remembered the old days back in my home LC Varna.
...sad because of AIESEC,because the way the same elections in Plovdiv were organised and ended
I was also excited for I had to take a major risk at work. I had to decide if I am willing to change my field. I did it and I do not regret.
I would never forgive myself if I had missed the chance.
Better regret for decisions made, then for decisions not made...

A nice nostalgic walk down my hometown's narrow cobbled streets

Yesterday I allowed myself a nice walk around the old part of Veliko Turnovo.
It was simply marvelous.
I won't tell you any more, just see the pictures:)

It's a GIRL!

The new PAI is Gabriela Albescu
also known as
Gabiza!!!!
A girl with one of the most wonderful smiles I have ever seen!

WOW - and - the first woman-president of Aiesec since 1998!
I'm sooooo excited to see what she has got to show us!
Go girl and good luck:)

On this day ...

Sometimes you have a feeling for things before they happen...
Today I felt quite retrospective.
Remembering IPM in the Netherlands.
Thinking how time has flown for me.
365 days have passed since my first post here - I found that while searching the archives.



A lot has changed.
I feel AIESEC quite distant now.
I am working a completely different job from I had imagined - yet quite challenging and interesting.
I was disillusioned.
I am excited.
I will not be at this IPM , but still I am really excited.
Cause some people I can call friends are running for AI.
Cause my successor has chosen the difficult path of building something from scrach.
Cause Egypt will gather 200 great people at one place and the feeling will be amazing.


Like it was at our MCP "crying" session in the Netherlands.
I remember everyones face. More than 50 people and almost everyone with tears in their eyes.
Grateful tears.
I am so happy to have been there.
And I am quite sure these people have stayed as great as I knew them. I sincerely hope they are all OK, no matter where around the world.
Among friends, who could not be OK :)

Just a glimpse of the beauty

I just had to post some pictures from the Ice show...
Ain't it amazing?!

I just wanted to remind you a few things bout life...

Lovely, isn't it?
And so true!
Enjoy the day:)