Gallery 44

I have been really caught up in settling in Brussels over the past months and I made a to do list, including a blog post on my past 3 months, so here it goes!!! I am missing Africa like crazy and I am trying to enjoy my life in Belgium as much as I can but I have a little virus, called wanderlust, that is preventing me a bit from it. My job is going very well and I realised two thing, the first, that I want to work in operations, and the second that I want to work in International Development, so far so good. OCTOBER- I went to Paris for the weekend with a friend and it was amazing, great weather, great views, great food, great overall. I visited the Luvre and Versailles and it was truly breathtaking, but as much as I like visiting Paris, I would not like to live there, too crowded and urban for my liking. NOVEMBER-  I got the chance to go back to England for an all paid residential with the British Council on active citizenship, which was awesome and I got to meet a bu

The past month has been pretty hectic but also wonderful! I am in Bruxelles for almost 2 weeks now and I don't know where the time has gone. It has been amazing to start over again but I also miss places and things, but most of all I miss people. I miss people I have met along the way in the past two years and that have taught me many lessons that life probably reserves for an older you. I have met people that have changed me , even if I didn't realize then I do now and I am grateful to them for making me a better person. I know that somewhere and somewhow I will meet most of them again, I will make sure of it, if only to thank them for making me who I will be at my best. My apartment is just off Av Louise and it has a very airy and bright living, which is what I dreamt of in England. It has a lot of windows and thankfully the weather has been great so far, again the phenomenon with nice weather when I move to a country, I am starting to think God must love me very much to

I know I have kept quiet for a long time but it dawned on me that I only have this little left to enjoy Zambia and my friends, students, work, fun and just live my life here. Also, I had my heart break, tear itself into two, leaving a part in Lusaka. The past couple of weeks have been more than interesting and I can say that I had an amazing time, I visited the Eastern Province, and stayed there between Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia, admiring the confluence of the Zambezi and Lwangwa, from our lodge on top of a mountaneous plateau. It was breathtaking and I hope I will build my retirement home there, I also plan to move back to Zambia, hopefully in two years, but we will have to wait and see. I was lucky enough to have the two men I love in Zambia drive me to the airport and that was the best leaving present I could have ever asked for. I will miss everything about my life in Zambia, both the good and the bad, the friendly and the inhumane, the poverty and the richness, the hon

So it has been 10 days, they have been fun and long and passed too fast! The bad news is I have tonsilitis and the past 2 days I have not really been doing that much besides working on a few projects and trying to get some rest as I can barely swallow water or talk! The children in the schools are now like my own family, our greetings have moved from the Zambian handshake and the formal meetings, to jumping and hugging and starting to giggle. The container from Operation Sunshine has not arrived, therefore, I am still waiting to see the whole process in practice. I am still waiting on a meeting with Rotary PP to settle all the projects I have had as I will be leaving my beloved Zed in exactly 2 weeks. I have mixed feelings, I feel like home here and I would really love to stay more but I am also aware of all the people waiting back for me in Europe and my new job in Belgium in September. I am a bit tired and ill but this will not stop me from having the best 2 weeks so far. The we

It has been a while, no I have not died, nor gotten sick, nor in love, or who knows?? These past 10 days have been quite crazy, they started with a weekend trip to Livingstone where I was blown away, literally and metaphorically, by the Victoria Falls, one of the most stunning and breathtaking views I have ever laid my eyes upon!! Before that, I was supposed to move my things from Kamwala to Woodlands, however, that did not happen, I only went and moved my things on Monday, after returning from Livingstone. On Sunday, we went out for drinks and ended up going back home at 5 in the morning, knowing I have work with the kidson Monday at 10 and also knowing that I need to stamp my passport otherwise, I get deported or issue restrictions. However, my day began in a frenzy because of having everything, from phone to wallet to everything in his car, eventually he picked up and everything is ok, not getting deported yet! YES! On Tuesday we went to the school, LHS, and it is still my fa

Unfortunately, my write ups every 2 days didn't pass the 3 week mark, as I got caught up with various activities. To quickly catch up with a couple of things I have been doing I will just write down some highlights from each day! Day 18- I was at Chilenje B and Libala High School all day and had classes with the children, it was quite tiring but I always love to interact with them so it didn't get me down! Day 19- I met the Rotakids at Libala Basic and made a plan to this week, finally getting to grips with my appointments and making sense of them, after that I had the Interact meeting at Libala HS, where we decided on the tshirt logos that I made and then we had some fun singing, I also met Sean, one of the main connections with the Rotary club back in the UK. Day 20- I was at Chilenje B with the Special Needs Dep all morning and noon, we played some cool games of guessing shapes and spelling and I made pancakes for the students, which they were really happy about! In t

Yesterday was an interesting day as I got to go back to Chikumbuso and we went through all the projects identified at the previous visit, therefore, we moved on into making a clear list with items needed and then to assigning who will get the quotes, the project is progressing and hopefully, soon enough we will be able to move forward and start writing the project plan, in order to have it approved by the RI Foundation. I am back at marking essays and it is wearing me out a little, but today I had a more relaxed day as I couldn't make it to Chilenje and had to postpone it for tomorrow. Did go and do some shopping and have a lovely lunch with Sid. We went for the Southern Sun Ridgeway Hotel as he wanted a burger and they make some pretty darn good ones, as I got a taste of his. I went for a mediterranean lunch with a toasted roasted veg and humous sandwich, that was simply delicious. While we were eating, we sat on the terrace and there was a very nice artificial lake, that had,

On Friday I had a great time being a highschooler again, I had a report writing workshop with some of the grade 10 and 12 students at Libala High School and it was the most amazing thing I have done in a while. I already feel so at home amongst them and love spending time there, it makes me feel young and free again. Not that I am not any of those two anymore but I feel that I leave my worries at the gate when I pass through and enter the grounds of the school. After an afternoon of learning and writing we moved on to more entertaining things as I waited for my ride home, it wasn't until 2 hours later that he came, therefore we proceeded to have some fun in the meantime. We all did some karaoke, starting with me, and I must say that all the friends I made there are gifted in the most wonderful of ways. Then we moved on to dancing and they have some pretty sick moves, as well as tattooing me with the pen on both my arms, over which I had to pull my sleeves when Mrs Patricia came

Happy to announce that I know feel perfectly at ease with my life in Lusaka, I am into my routine and making good friends at the places where I work. My family here is very supportive and I am learning a lot, especially about Indian cuisine, which I love. On the 12th, I spent the day at Libala High School, where we had the Interact meeting and we discussed all the projects, fundraisers and competitions that we are planning to implement. Moreover, I got to catch up on all the admin work and formal writing for all the projects as well as wrote some more for my Bali Conference application, that would be amazing to attend. Today, I also spent my day at Libala High School and loved it!!! We had a workshop on research project writing and then it all degenerated in a talent show, from singing to dancing to tattooing my arms with their pens. These kids are so talented it makes me angry that they do not have the opportunity to take arts, music or drama, because they would be brilliant at i

I am stunned! Completely and utterly baffled at how different youngsters are treated across the globe! I had the opportunity today to conduct, ON MY OWN, a needs assessment that was 7 months overdue, to sponsor new projects of up to $40,000 on the Chikumbuso Women and Orphans Project. I mean WOW! Anywhere else in the Western world this would have never happened, consulted me, maybe, trust me to do it all?? NO WAY, JOSE!!! I am overusing capitals but I am still in disbelief, as I finished writing the initial draft of the report a little while ago, and the feeling is just sinking in... Yesterday was a nice day, I caught up on some work and also tended to some girly stuff, just because my internet decided he hates me and stopped working. Luckily enough, this morning it was all okay! So yes, today has been hectic and so interesting and I am just filling in a form for a Global Forum for youngsters and am trying to sort some application for the Indian summer program and finished a poste

Sunday marked the 1 week flag, as this was my 8th day of living in Zambia!! I feel like I have been here for longer and less at the same time, as I am learning new things and still have many left to learn! On my 8th day here we went to a 7-a-side little league to support the team that Mr Parmar sponsored and that made it to the semifinals!! (WOOHOO) Unfortunately, we were playing the top of the league team and did not proceed to the finals. Alas, it was fun to watch and gave me the opportunity to get some really good action shots, as the weather was amazing as it always is in Zambia! Then, me and Mr Parmar went shopping and had lunch, talking about a variety of topics, some I knew more about some less and some truly impressive. I love talking to him because he is such a well travelled and knowledgeable individual, he knows so much but talks so little, unless you spark his interest, that is when the true fun begins. I am very grateful that I got  to meet and stay with his wonderful f

Yesterday I had abusy day, started with an early session of making pancakes at 6 in the morning, then going to Chiukumbusu, an NGO at the outskirts of Lusaka, where women and orphans, HIV positive, work, study and find consolation. The project was founded in 2005 and has grown into a self sustainable business where they make handbags, jewellery, baskets and other handcrafted good from recycled materials. I am going back there to do a needs assessment and then a project profile for them to receive more funding on Wednesday, and I also ordered a case for my tablet, that I hope to photograph and add to the post. I want to post more pictures but my schedule is a bit crazy at the moment, so will probably just upload more of them once. After I worked on redesigning and adding content on the Rotary club website, which took my attention for most of the afternoon, but I managed to finish all the changes and updates needed, and at 6 I attended another meeting of a Rotaract club, where I got

These past two days have been packed and I have got to meet most of the Lusaka Rotary club and spent some time dipping my toes into the projects that I will be involved in.  Yesterday , I met the headteacher of Libala High School, which I offered some autographed books to for the ne library they are opening, and unfortunately, the tutor I was looking for was away at a funeral. Therefore, we made our way to the Radisson to have the weekly Rotary meeting where I was warmly greeted and made acquiantance with many impressive Zambians. Afterwards, we went to a large advertising and printing company, Magic, where I might be working for a part of the time that I will be here. Afterwards, I came home to chill with my adoptive Zambian family and then, in the evening, I went to a traditional Zambian bbq where I was again made to feel like one of the family. If there is something that Zambians are, that is welcoming pros. Today, was another story, I started my day at Libala High Sch

This is my third day in Zambia and I am settling down in a nice routine, I am now feeling very much at home and in the past two days I have started to learn a bit more about this wonderful place. I have realised that most families, as in India, have maids and that it is common practice. I must admit that I still feel uncomfortable but am trying to adapt as well as I can as I know that this is how they earn their living. I do try to clean up after our meals and do things myself but find it that I feel embarassed and awkward in telling them that I don't mind. A similar situation happened today, when we were in the market, and the boy we hired to help us carry the groceries wasn't able to get all the bags and I just picked a basket and a couple of bags to carry them myself. Regardless of the fact that I was one of the couple of foreigners there and the constant questions from little boys offering to carry my bags, the look of disbelief and amazament that they had, looking at

The only bad thing about moving to Zambia for 2 months is the neverending flight that you have to take to get here! Now enough with the moaning, and on with the story. I left Romania and came back to London to catch my flight, after seeing my friends and some lucky encounters I managed to make it in time for my flight to Amsterdam. That was the easy bit, as the flight from Amsterdam to Lusaka take aprox 12.30 hrs and first stops in Harare, in Zimbabwe. The flight was quite tiring but the view and the entertainment made up for it, vast stretches of the Mediterranean sea at first, then the joining of water and land as we passed above the countries bordering the African territories, then neverending Saharian dessert and dunes, with temperatures so high that they made the air turn into clouds of heat and then, as the sun set on the horizon, the glimmering lights of Zambia's captal, the sea of lights, that drew me in as we touched the tarmac. When I first set my feet on Zambian gro

So, I finished my second year of university and for the next 16 months I will only be passing briefly through England to catch flights. It feels nice to be home, seeing my family and playing with my dogs reminded me of how much I missed Romania. However, I never knew how long it takes to pack and arrange your life for the next year.  I have one more week before going to Zambia and am getting really excited. I am also doing the Forgiveness challenge and trying to plan my dissertation. My next update will probably be from the airport, until then, I will keep challenging life!

So this is it, the last 2 weeks of university and life in Oxford, for now! I have been trying to do so many things lately that I have not even felt time swiftly passing by! Since I came back from Dublin I have been so immersed in work and university that I have lost it a bit... we all do sometimes, let's just admit it! I have been packing, writing and organizing my life that I reached the point of giving up, nonetheless, one of my good friend's family crest says Press through, a slogan I will always remember because that is what I do! So, I have been saying my goodbyes to friends, work colleagues and lecturers, I have been going out for breakfast, cooking breakfast (pancakes- YUM!) and going out for cocktails, drinks and birthdays, but the best thing I have recently done was- see John Butler Trio live, in concert, in Nottingham!!! They were amazing, the guitar skills of John Butler left me breathless and for almost two hours I was charmed, feeling that my life in England

Another month gone, another country crossed off the list! I promised myself that by the time I move to Belgium in September I will visit the UK, a little bit of every part of it. However, I still have to do Wales and being so strapped for time I think I might squeeeze it in for August. I am in Dublin, lovely city, waiting on my flight back to my English home, Oxford, this becomes a habit, to write from airports, watching the sunset turn into darkness and the  filling the city skyline with lights that remind me of the life that flows through all these beautiful capitals, of the people I met and the kindness I encountered! Dublin has taken my breath away and after Edinburgh, it is a city in which I want to live in, don't know when, don't know how, but I definitely want to give it a go. I was talking to my Irish friend, that convinced me to visit, that we would love to retire here, live in a coastal house, next to the beach, have two dogs and a cat, and all sorts of silly dre

I know it has been a while but life got all hectic again and twisted and turned my life around that now I am happier and busier than ever! I am now sitting on a bench in the middle of Katowice, after a lovely day shopping, learning Polish and exploring the museum and city. The Silesian Museum was amazing, also connected to my plans for a project in a very unexpected and freakish way, but more about that another time. I will be 21 tomorrow and that is the end of illegal drinking in any part of this beautiful world. I decided to do something different and I did, for this different birthday, I gave up partying, drinking, dinners or any fancy stuff, for an end of the week getaway in Poland, why Poland, you might ask, I would simply reply: why not? Although English was a bit of a struggle, when you find people that do speak English you bond immediately and you even get free Polish lessons, like me, or you simply get to know another culture, which is what I want! Poland is amazing, pe

I am writing this from Edinburgh airport, where the weather is rainy but fortunately, the rain did not start until long before I got on the bus to get to the airport. In my last post, months ago, I did not even know that I will be visiting Scotland so this is a bit of a surprise! I don't remember if in the last post I had already been reunited with my lovely friends from India in London, where we had a weekend full of exciting events from having a seminar in the Royal Science Institution and having a Diwali boat party on the Thames. More than that, this year I had a lovely Christmas, thanks to my wonderful friend Hannah and waas lucky enough to get 10 days off in January that began with a week back home in Romania, where I had a great time and I managed to see all my friends that I have not seen in 8 months, my dogs and most importantly, my family. Also, the hunt for a placement in industry has ended, and I am proudly presenting my job for the next year: Assistant for the Ge