Every now and then, come to see Paris!

I wondered how would it be to live here and I realized that maybe visiting is still better...

You know how a place that looks exciting, becomes something you get used to and start taking for granted after a while? Maybe it can happen with Paris, too. Today with Cristina we decided it would be only appropriate to pay the beautiful city a visit once a year or so. Book a hotel, walk around Champs Elysees, take the metro from one end to the other of the city, walk in Le Marais, have coffees every few hours, get to the hot croissants before 10am, speak a little French, and so on. It's refreshing!

I was doing something refreshing exactly a year ago, too: I was in New York for a McKinsey training, the best two weeks in the firm. I never thought I would do some of the crazy things we ended up doing for the final video. Too bad it got lost because it had everything, including dressed consultants throwing each other in the pool, chair races and other dangerous activities...all in the name of team building.

But the Paris air is getting through and invites me for a walk...I cannot resist. Farewell!

The singing bride

I went to a couple of weddings this year. Different countries, different traditions, different emotional moments...

Today, I served the French wedding. The small ceremony took place in a church on Rue du Saint Honore, among all the designer shops and tourists. It was the usual ceremony with a special gift from the bride at the end. Although nervous during the vows, she sang. And how she sang! Amelie's voice filled the space in the beautiful church with such power and clarity one could not but be touched.

And to end this Parisian October day: Fabien and Amelie, many more happy years together!

The day in the airport…

It’s been more than 5 hours since I got here. Foggy morning, no planes landing, no planes taking off, just a party with a lot of strangers in the waiting area.

It started with the security control. The man with the gigantic moustache wanted to make sure that next time I will know to put my laptop in a separate tray: “You will know from now on, right?” he said checking that I have learned my lesson. I took off my shoes but something still beep-ed so I had a full body check. Last time I had such a throughout check was during my medical exam. The group of Italian men waiting for their delayed planes had a blast…front and back, up and down, everything was touched and checked until it was clear I had nothing but clothes on. At that point, though it did not matter anymore, I felt quite naked and in front of an Italian male audience. I laughed, what else could I have done when the police woman was so determined to do her job properly.

Assuming the plane will take off, assuming that the French bus driver from Beauvais to Paris is a kind soul and not on strike, I will eventually make it today.

Paris, j'arrive!

My first foreign language is French. For ten years every textbook had a lesson about Paris.

In 2007 I took the train from Bremen and headed south to meet the elegant city. After I found out about INSEAD, I was often spontaneously smiling just at the thought that I would finally see Paris. A dear friend gave me Parisian metro tickets earlier in 2007; there was no sadness that could take over with those in my wallet...that's how much I wanted to go to Paris.

During the first weekend that I escaped from Fontainebleau, I took the train to Gare du Nord, and then the metro to La Concorde. Everything sounded and looked familiar, I knew all the names of squares, streets, monuments. When I finally reached the Seine I had pathetic tears of joy looking at the Eiffel Tower. For the months that followed, walking aimlessly in Paris was my way to relax.

Tomorrow I start my small Europe tour...in Paris.

Back home, safely

Many things change after just one hour and a half of flight.

Landing in Timisoara, we immediately realized how much colder it had gotten in Romania. La nonna quickly got a second scarf from her bag and wrapped it around her head. We then drove home where there was warm, freshly made soup waiting for us...and then the storytelling started. Where we have gone? What did we see? How is my brother? How was flying?

I don't know if my grandmother ever imagined flying. I enjoyed watching her experiencing this adventure, the fight that seemed to go on inside of her at times: her mind was telling her that she should be scared, sick even, yet she was curious, intrigued by what was happening around her.

I wonder if she will want to take a plane again...my bet is that yes; in the end, we're family.

Da Rome, con amore

We had an early start today with breakfast at the hostel.

The two Romanians working here spotted immediately my grandma because of her traditional clothing. Then my grandma spotted fast two Romanian young ladies from the way they spoke; my quick check revealed they were Brazilian...and with this the "secret" of how fast Romanians can pick up Latin languages should be less of a secret.

We went on and visited Pope's quarters, made it to the Colosseum, walked on the Corso, saluted Traian and the Dacians, made wishes at Fontana di Trevi, drove in a tiny car, had espressos, panini, gelato and pasta, drank some wine...and well, we did as they told us to: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. What a day, what a beautiful city!

Roma, I will come back for some more!

Mamma Italia

Today is a big day.

Firstly, because my grandmother flies for the first time. She is 76 years old, left Romania for the first time two years ago but never took a plane. When I arrived in September she asked shyly if I really thought she could fly. "Of course", I said. And before she knew it, I booked us both on a flight to Rome. My brother lives there with a cousin and her husband, so off we are for the adventure!

Secondly, today is a big day because I have never been to Italy. I always wanted to but never did it. Three days in Rome won't help me get to know Italy but it will probably create an urgency to go back again soon and spend more time getting to know it. Will let you know how that goes...tomorrow.

Ah, Italia, here we come!

It's a short post because it's about pain

Assuming one can write about anything, I realized today that there are some things I don't know how to write about. Pain, for example...

Be it stomachache, heartache or any other kind of ache, I seem to have a natural tendency to humor it or avoid mentioning it. Just like my body wants to stay still and wait for the pain to go away, sleep it off or kill it with pills, so does my "writing" center want to discard it as a subject. Instead it wants me to write about Matt Damon and his hands, watching "Grown Ups" with live comments in the cinema, or the Sunday blues.

But my Sunday was more about stomachache than about beautiful hands or funny comments. Good thing it's ending and I will soon be knocked out until tomorrow morning.

I can commit the perfect crime

As I finally decided to stop fooling around and take seriously the approaching winter, I bought a red pair of gloves. Criminal thoughts aside, my fingers started turning blue every time I was outside. 

It's been quite a while since I have not lived a full winter. I skipped it in 2007 by going to Singapore, and the last two I spent enjoying the Southern summer. I am not fond of cold weather, the good parts of it are the warm things...tea, hot wine, fire places, cozy sweaters, sleeping in, and so on. The snow might be the only cold thing I enjoy about the cold season.

But I am getting ahead of myself as we are still in the harvesting season. The markets are flooded with cabbage, the last tomatoes, seasonal apples, grapes. People still prepare in their homes pickles and fruit compotes. These are probably the last days before temperatures drop below 0 so it's the last chance to get set for the long winter. The wine is also ready, in some weeks the pigs will start being attacked.

To end the day, a trip to the wine festival in town to see what kind of year has 2010 been...

Friday I'm in love

It was a messy day, I felt it that way.

Beautiful sun, crispy air, clear skies. I spent the afternoon with 6 children who started school a few weeks ago. Nothing beats their energy and the speed at which they ask questions, switch activities and start fights. Two hours with them and I could thick "workout" of my list. How do teachers do it? And parents?

The day ended with a concert. A symphonic reproduction of famous Queen, Beatles, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin songs. How great it must be to create something so unique and beautiful that years pass by, world orchestras and choirs, people of all ages and backgrounds know the beat and smile when they hear the rhythm! My favorites for tonight were Queen's "Love of My Life" and "Stairway to Heaven" from Led Zeppelin.

And so ends Friday.

The other Raluca

If the title created the expectation for a Freudian-like post or something along the lines of Philosophy/ Psychology, here comes the disappointment.

The other Raluca is my niece. She is 7 months old and today we met for the second time. She is the youngest member of the family, the first child from the 6 cousins from my father's side. Like everyone else in the family, she has huge blue eyes. Out of the six cousins, I am the only brown eyed one, the "gypsy" or "adopted" one like they used to tease me sometimes.

I feel like the aunt responsible for teaching her some tricks to play on her parents, some pranks to do at kindergarten; the aunt that gives permission for what others prohibit. Everyone needs such an aunt or uncle. I had one, my mother's brother. I truly benefited from his training, he was the one who brought in me the daring side; probably the stubborn one, too. There are some stories...

I have to wait a few months for Raluca to start walking and talking; then we start the course on "How to drive your parents crazy" or "How to be an independent baby". I must prepare!

The optimism disappeared from Romania

Some survey conducted in various Eastern European countries revealed that from all places, only in Romania did optimism disappear.

It's a strange notion...to disappear! In a way it's not shocking given the first few weeks I spent here. Most people call insane my return and even the closest and more positive among my friends give a potential professional future no chance. Why? Those who manage to work here seem to have no choice but to deal with corruption daily, in every transaction, for every move they need to make. Things that could be simple and straightforward are not.

Now why? Why does it work this way when 21 years passed since things started changing? Could it be, like someone recently explained to me, that the change happened only on the superficial level but not in people's mindsets and attitudes? I am intrigued as I often am when I can't find an explanation for Romania being the only Latin state in this part of the world or for the unity of language and culture despite the regional separation that existed for centuries before 1918. Mysteries, puzzles...

I also wonder if my optimism will disappear while being here or if my head in the clouds will save me?

Ich bin, du bist, er/Sie ist, wir...

Exhaustion has taken over today. I don't know why exactly today, maybe it's the rain, maybe it's the run, maybe...I don't know. Could it be my age ?!?!?!?!?#$@&!*

I realized that October is ending soon. Do you have a way of imagining the year? I have a friend who sees years in colors, better said she "feels" a different color suits different years. In my mind, I see the year as a running track in a stadium. My seat is always somewhere in the left as you go in. That is where fall starts, September. The year ends at the right "vertix" of the oval. Maybe a drawing would help me explain better...either way, I have this picture in my mind when I think of the months passing by. November is in a darker area as if the lights were broken there.

What to do with myself today? Watch something? Read? Sleep? Day dream? Check out the "Deutsche Grammatik im Uberblick"?!?!?@#@$#% Exhaustion excites my fun nerves. Dass finde ich prima!

About sciences...natural and social

My old Physics professor and I had a great talk today. He is 80 something but recently decided to revise chapters from his books that he did not pay too much attention to while studying and working.

He was happy to see me and soon we will start with our classes again. Had someone told me that I would voluntarily want to do Physics classes and crave to solve Geometry problems long after finishing school, I would have laughed! Yet, I am more than excited about it and my book from 10th grade is open in front me...I stared at it for a while and realized I needed to go back to 6th grade to remember all those laws I had forgotten.

On the Social Sciences side of life, I have to share the name of a book I enjoyed reading and a movie I watched recently and liked. For reading, John Steinbeck "Of Mice and Men"; for watching, a Romanian movie:"The Rest Is Silence". Hillarious! Also heard only good things about "Wedding in Bessarabia", a 2010 national production.

I am off to solve the math problem: how to prove that the center of mass of a triangle is one third away from the bases and two thirds away from the vertices?

Am I running towards or from something?

Every time I run, I think that one day I will write about it. The day has come.

I found the perfect 30 minutes track.  From home, I run behind the last houses and take the straight, long road towards the forest. Last week there was a dead dog on one side of the street. I got scared the first time, kept my breath and avoided looking the times after that. Today, he was gone, just some bones left. Only the cars that pass by scare me now; with my music on I cannot hear them approaching but my heart skips a beat when they are right next to me.

My brother has a playlist I always listen to. It has 2Pac, Phil Collins, some REM and towards the end AC/DC and other metal bands. I almost never get to the hard songs, they are 50 minutes into the run and by then, not even hard rock can get me to speed as I am already in my steady, zen zone.

When I run I sometimes think, other times I just drift away. I mostly enjoy it but it also feels like hard work every so often. And I still don't know: am I running towards or from something? 

About rain and sailors

This grayish Saturday makes me think of Bremen.

The first 3 years I could not really get used to the weather. Then I somehow started noticing it more and more; not only that, I ended up liking it. There was something beautiful in that harsh climate, something that I always associated with sailors and their trips on open seas. Meeting any of them was always an enriching experience both because of their stories but mostly because of their characters.

Since I left Bremen I always managed to go and visit at least once a year. This year I have not been there yet, but in a few weeks I will be again on the train from Bremen to Vegesack, excited to arrive. I will see friends, colleagues, professors, my old apartment, the park, the river, the bars, the Turkish pizza place, my university.

I will let you know how that goes when the time comes, for now...I am in Cluj, it's Saturday and the rain stopped.

I have a clown on my shoulder

Yesterday, in the Botanical Garden I had a thought. Actually a few…

I was as happy as a child to be walking on yellow leaves among trees that were playing with the sun while feeling the chilly breeze on my cheeks. There are many paths in the garden…some are paved, and some are just trails. I realized how happy I was to alternate, how much joy I felt turning left or right depending on an intuition that I didn’t allow to decide for more than a few seconds. That’s how I discovered the garden! It’s not just gardens that I discover that way, I seem to take every day as a walk through some unknown garden…alternating paths, turning left and right as it feels right for me.

During my walk I reached the greenhouses where they keep the exotic plants. Inside there were all those wonderful tropical plants that in Sao Paulo were growing freely in parks, in front of my building, everywhere. They were at home there, while here they need an artificial home, some protection to be able to survive. Sometimes while away in a climate completely different to the one I know, I also felt the need of a greenhouse. I did not always realize it, sometimes on a superficial level it looked and felt as if I belonged, but often, when all by myself I felt like I needed some greenhouse too...

Finally, the clown on my shoulder reminded me of a friend who says he loves my “insights”. This is for you, two insights to rock your day…

It’s a Jack Johnson day

I woke up aching. My whole body felt tired. The foggy morning made me decide to stay in, watch some House.

By the time I finished two episodes the sun was coming out, the fog had left, and I decided it was time to get out of the house and go about visiting Cluj. Today my destination is the Botanical Garden. I stopped on the way to eat and grab a cup of coffee; I realized again that for some unknown reason, bistros and cafes are full of men during the first part of the day.  Do women not drink coffee in the morning or am I missing something?

My cousin joined me and we had a laugh at some stories from her cases. I heard about Danut's motivation for stealing two bottles of shampoo and a bottle of whiskey, about the serial house robbers who were caught because of a small traffic infraction, and about the divorce case where the wife's witnesses were her husband's three lovers who did now know about each other. 

When watching House or when hearing my cousin talk, I miss not having a clearly defined job. At least not having one yet...

13th of October 2008

In 2008, I arrived in Sao Paulo a month before my starting date at McKinsey to learn Portuguese. My intensive course was great not only because I enjoyed learning the language but because I quickly made friends with my professors.

On the morning of the 13th of October 2008, I was late. I entered the room in the big office building to realize we were 13 starting on that day: me and 12 men. Lucky me to have had the chance to meet them and spend that first week together with them! We were an international bunch either freshly returned after MBAs or freshly starting as analysts. It was a good week; some fond memories and beautiful friendships go back to those days. 

My 13th of October 2010 makes me smile. Today I felt as if someone has entered my mind, took the fantasy of my perfect working environment, and made it real in a house in downtown Turda, 30 km from Cluj.

So today, I dare asking you: if dreams can come true, why not dream? 

The quickie

I just recalled my third year of university...

During the first exam period I organized my time so well to guarantee that I have enough preparation before each exam. In time, as one semester followed the other, my preparation schedule disappeared together with my planning.  Passing through the phase when pulling an "all night-er" was enough, before the exams in my final year there were often times when studying was resumed to half an hour. My results, strangely enough, sometimes were better with less studying...

Writing posts took up to two hours at the beginning. Today is like my third university year...ten minutes writing not to miss my train to Cluj! And off I go...

I so wanted to pick a fight today!!!

I am thought to be a calm person. Most of the time, I even feel calm. Today it's not one of those days.

I am not sure if it was the speed at which I jumped from one task to another, or the sudden need to travel tomorrow, or simply the sun, but today, I had no rest. I had that energy that gets me impatient, rushed, agitated. It served me well when bringing a broken laptop to have it repaired: "You have a guarantee with us but not with us" story...

Not even the post meal lethargy calmed me down. I went to eat from my bowl of soup three times while writing this post! But I know what will do the trick: running. It will clear my mind, exhaust my body, and make me feel like a dizzy fly afterward. And the song on the radio right now...I don't know the name but it's a pleasant, slow rhythm, and a soothing male voice singing.

Did I tell you that I painted the fence today? And some parts of myself, of course...

Rona and Dudu, ze dogs

I promised myself to write at least one respectable post about the two hairiest members of our family.

Dudu is a young, male, crazy representative of his beautiful breed, Romanian shepherd. We are friends but we have a few problems...he confuses sit with jump! Actually he confuses everything with jump. He must be aiming for a kiss, otherwise I cannot explain his behavior. He's a rebel and does everything he wants, not caring whether in dog kingdom his acts are accepted or not; for example, today...he ate nuts!

Rona is the depressed, beautiful, white female we have from the same breed. She used to be wild, wilder than Dudu is right not. When he came along, together with my dad's attention swinging from her to him, a deep sadness overcame Rona. I try to cheer her up, I feed her from the kitchen window all sorts of goodies but nothing seems to get her out of her reflective mood and apathy.

How would the post in their blog about me sound? Tomorrow I will ask...

Tram of freedom

After almost a month, a short report...

I expected to be less busy and forced to dig for things to do. The reality after this first month doesn't match at all my expectations. I don't know where time flew and what I do with it but I seem to have entered a livelier dimension with things popping up all the time. The trips, the meetings with friends, the small projects around the house...I am busy and enjoying every single day just the way it comes.

The more I think of it, the more I realize that this period is a blessing. I did not plan it, I even feared it at some point while still in Brazil, and now...I can't have enough of it. How often in one's life does it happen to have this healthy breath of fresh air? I expect to be old, partially deaf, and with white hair next time the freedom tram stops in my station, and that is many years from now...

Almost a third away from the 100 posts mark, I check my pulse and it's good, very good.

Letter to drivers, sellers, and business men

I inherited for the weekend my dad's Ferrari. Oh, thy great driver out there, come and take the old Renault for a spin, and then stretch your arm muscles to avoid pain the next day!

Tom! Cruise, I mean...my mission to buy tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers from the market...accomplished! I did not pick the right tomatoes but I did some veritable market research before buying. Oh, thy market seller, you thought I was a clueless babe shopping in the real market for fun when you asked for twice the price! Oh, oh...I pity thy you for I am trained!

And thy mighty business man, please import condensed milk to my country! How can I make pudim otherwise? Tomorrow, we shall see if pudim with my own version of condensed milk pleases the gods. But truth be told, what can go wrong if one mixes milk, eggs and a lot of sugar?

But...my dearest reader, nothing gave me more pride today that getting the router to work. For normal mortals an easy task, for lazy me when it comes to technology...a true achievement!

Pardon me, someone is knocking at the door. Thy magnificent weekend...you arrived!!!

Keep your love letters, throw away your bank statements

It's from the "sun screen" video on youtube. I thought of it today as I was organizing my room. Piles of papers...some relevant, others less so.

I found everything from my grades from primary school, to my university applications, language diplomas, job offers, and of course, bank statements. I threw away many things but kept the ones I still find relevant. Among them, I kept everything that has somehow to do with my first year of university. It was not just my first year of university but the very first year of the university itself. It rocked!

My INSEAD related papers and souvenirs from those months are also precious for the simple reason that I did not want anything as much as I wanted to get into INSEAD. Finally, there were the love letters, the birthday cards, the secret notes exchanged during classes, the letters to myself testifying one or another event from my life.

Needless to say that reading these letters from the past made me smile, and I could not be but grateful not to find a single one to make me frown or feel anything but joy.

My boxes arrived, gypsy life is on hold

I am exhausted. I went running in the morning with my black belt friend; this usually kills my day but today I survived. If running in the morning did not kill me, unpacking my boxes from Brazil did.

The boxes with books and CDs are easy to deal with as they are stacks of regularly shaped objects to place on shelves. Unpacking cups is the best: a big box with a few objects that find easily a place on some shelf in the kitchen. Now, boxes with clothes are a pain...take, arrange, plan where to place,... I wonder how do those with many, but many more clothes do it? Yes, I have a few people in mind...

Do you hide in your own luggage small things to surprise yourself later? I do. I had two nice surprises: a pan I bought in Sao Paulo to make "pudim" after Marcia's recipe, and some "Sonho de Valsa", the white ones, delicious chocolate candies from Brazil. It almost felt like Christmas!

In my house, we free ride

It's been getting colder and colder. -4 degrees at night now but +25 degrees expected next week...*$#^@!


With the cold weather, the mint tea at night before sleeping is becoming a tradition. And so is the fact that my mum free rides this ritual. Her cost of not having tea is 0 while mine is higher; as a result, she always has a cup but never prepares it.

Tomorrow morning is my revenge: I get to free ride for a cup of coffee. My mum needs coffee in the morning, I can do without. Given that she makes it anyway, I get my cup with milk, and some extra minutes of sleep. Uahahahahahaha!


I had my tea, I can sleep. Sweet, sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet sleep!

Mafia and the wisdom pill

Have you ever played mafia?

Three criminals wake up in the peaceful city while everyone else is asleep; they kill someone. Then, they sleep too, and the two policemen wake up to investigate potential murderers. When they go to sleep again, the doctor wakes up and tries to save a soul. Finally, in the morning, the dead victim is announced, and the city starts debating potential criminals.

Tonight, the three loudest men were thought to be criminals; they were innocent. Then the silent unknown guest, me, was suspected...I was innocent too. Funny how our minds incriminate and build stories about the others! Funny how we analyze a glance, a smile, a comment, a certain behavior, and form opinions!

In games and not only, we seem to project and assume more than we try to understand. Maybe it's easier...

How the adventure ended...

In continuation to yesterday's post, I have to add a short report on how the night went on. There were two significant moments: the dance on folk music, and the car accident we had on the way back.

Romanian folk music can be a sport. Also, in my region, a couple has to dance three songs together making the whole experience a 15 minutes workout. Last night, the master of ceremony whom we call "dracul" (the devil), took me to dance. We performed actually; I never danced as much on folk music, nor did I really get it right but I turned, turned, turned, and followed "the devil".


We finally took off from the feast around 3 am and while driving back, we hit something. We figured it must have been a badger but whatever it was, it destroyed the car radiator. So there we were, in the middle of a small village in the mountains, searching for shooting stars, and teaching Astrid some Romanian words while waiting for someone to pull us all the way back to Arad.

The adventure ended at 6:30 am, beating the record from the previous night. Then Sunday came and left quickly. For the new week: bonne semaine!

The wedding crasher

I never crashed a wedding. Today I will. My companion is Astrid, Tom Sawyer if I am Hucklebery Finn.

It was not a plan, until two hours ago it was an abandoned idea but then...how to resist the temptation of attending a real traditional Romanian wedding, with gypsies singing and all? So we got dressed and ready for the celebration, off we'll go in a short while.

To the newly weds whose celebration we will attend...many happy years together and "casa de piatra"!

28 and a white rose for the year to come

The other day I thought of the past 9 birthdays. 6 were in Germany, 1 in France and 2 in Brazil; this one is in Romania.

Out of the same 9, 2 were complete and amazing surprises with smartly dressed male friends handing me roses while I was being led blindfolded from one to the other.  One was incredibly sad and lonely, and another one I spent crying in an airport because I could not board. The rest were pleasant days I generally spent with friends. This one...I spent it so far with my grandma and with my parents.

I finished the work I had to do around the house, had a special Bucuresti cake with an improvised candle on top, made a wish and blew the candle, now I can run, jump in my bed, listen to loud music, get ready, and finally go out!