Gallery 44

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...

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...

This morning started at 6 AM with and early shower and then hindi class. All was well and breakfast was really entertaining as I got to have some giggles with some of my newly made friends, I will miss these little group encounters when I will leave but that's life, it never stops, we have to keep on going and just enjoy everything while it lasts. After breakfast we all got into coaches and went to the British Council again for a session regarding their mission in India and a meeting with Sam Miller. From the latter I collected a couple of quotes that I will share with you "I write why I try to understand why I think what I think" and "I am for better or for worse, distinctive"( about his life in India). The seminar was followed by a lovely al fresco lunch which gave us a good boost for the next leg of the race, the trip to the India Gate, which is an impressive construction meant to represent it's independence. The next part of the journey was a...

And other day has passed in new and exciting India. Today was eventful and gave us more of a taste of how India actually lives and breathes. When we arrived at the YMCA we were greeted by some very friendly receptionists and somehow managed to finish our check in just before 5 AM, although the bus journey took a little under 2 hours, and then settled in our rooms.  I did not want to sleep as I thought that if I keep going until the evening my sleep pattern will adjust itself but how wrong was I.  During breakfast we planned to go out exploring and that is exactly what we did, in the heat of the morning we set out to see New Delhi for the first time and we were greeted by a noisy, fast-paced and wonderful city. We all were on the same flight and made friends really fast and that is what I love about having a diverse group, you get to meet people that will inspire you and support you just because you are thrown in life's challenges together. One of our friends, man...

I first became in love with India when I was back home,through the novels of a great religion historian, Mircea Eliade. He was also a writer and in his novels he portrayed this magical land he had adored and all the its beauties, it was India. Further on, I understood through history lectures that during the 20th century it had been given a name worth of its treasures, the Pearl of the British Empire. My journey to, through and from India does not begin in a port,like it did for the beforementioned author, but in an airport. As soon as I left the bus,faith made it so happen that a talented young gentleman from Seattle would tag along in the search for terminal 4 and, as we lost each other during check-in, faith reunited us again when we realized we were queing besides each other at the coffee shop. We spent an enjoyable 3 hours together,keeping us entertained and discussing politics, music, media and journalism among others, and knowing that one day we will meet again either in...

Another month has passed and I finally convinced myself to write another post after reading the blog of a very cute and intersting guy I met during my trip to Croatia. Yes, the time I spent there was amazing and I am getting a taste for travelling alone, but this is not the most important thing that happened to me in the last 30 days. First things first, I went to Split and found Croatia to be an amazing country, where I had the luck to find amazing people. Although I was a little worried about how my holiday will go since I was on my own, I do not regret one moment. Split was big enough not to get bored, but small enough to keep the village feel. It had an amazing reservation park, that I went hiking in and ended up on the other side of the peninsula, where I stayed for an entire day, reading and enjoying the sun on the rocky beach. When I came back, I went to Thorpe park with friends from work and it was the best experience ever! I think I am going to go to America just to g...

I know it has been a long time since I last posted, aproximately 9 and a half months to be more precise. After I moved to the UK and started university it seems that I got so caught up in the web of my new life that my writing has been trapped in it as well. So many interesting and exciting things have happened, so many lovely people have come into my life and, still, I have not written about them. This post is also due to a new but very good friend of mine with which I was talking last night. It is funny how people can make you remember things you have forgot about even if you enjoyed them so much. I think I will fast forward through the past months and try to highlight some of the most interesting and important things that have happened in my life. It begins with: OCTOBER- Soon after I stopped writing I found myself with a work permit, on my dad's birthday, 10th October, and 4 days after I was happily employed at the Bear, a very nice inn just outside Oxford, where I have ...

I keep hearing in the back of my mind "You are not a bad person for leaving", but my heart feels a bit different. The past weeks I have been saying my goodbyes and seeing people I will miss when I leave, I realized that the good and the bad times make equally good memories and that is the memories that I am taking with me. I can't say I am not nervous because I am, but I don't think it is because of what I will be doing in England, it is more about what I am leaving behind in Romania. I do know that time will pass and I won't miss everything as much because I will make new memories in my home with new people but also with the old friends I have there. I think I will be writing more when I get there since there will be more to tell than mushy stories about how hard it is to say goodbye for good. All the other times I left for the UK I knew I was coming back, but now, the one way plane ticket is slowly making reality sink in, I will only come back during short ...

Summer  is a lovely time of year,  you have the long days and with a little luck longer, warmer days and sunshine. Why wouldn't one love summer then!? I was contemplating how much I enjoy this season and how busy the days seem to be, of course the British summer isn't as sunny but there are days when it's warm enough and it doesn't rain. Therefore, here are my 10 reasons for loving summer: 1. The feeling of freedom it gives. I know will fade with time because school will end and when you work you don't have 3 months of summer vacation but for now it feels so good to know you have such a lengthy amount of time off every year. 2. The repeating cycle of big changes preceeded by it, every 4 years I start a new chapter in my book, passing from one school to another, from one city to a new one, so I anxiously wait for these rare and random summers. 3. The wonderful hot weather perfect for all those trips and relaxing walks, though it isn't true for all the ...

Today I had a very long and tiring day, it was one of those summer days when you have so many things to do you stop at the end of the day and marvel at how much you achieved. These are the days I treasure the most and the ones that stop me for a moment or two and make me think. When I start my list at the beginning of the day and write all the tasks I want to complete, I try to make a schedule and stick to it so I manage my time efficiently. Although I don't count breaks or unexpected last minute changes, I mainly stick to the time frames and even try to do more than one things at a time. Even after all the hussle and bustle of the day, the world kept reminding me of how beautiful it is and even made me stop in my tracks to admire it. I managed to catch some shots I found interesting and also some of my lovely baby boy, Max, that just turned 10 months. He is my german shepherd that I will sadly leave at home and which I love greatly. I walk him everyday and taught him some tricks...