11.15.09
First published Map of World Happiness
World Map of Hapiness
In 2006 the University of Leicester has published the first Map of World Happiness.
In this press release of the University of Leicester you can read the details.
Neighbours of India – Kingdom of Bhutan
These days I realize that on my blog I’m sharing only common things, kind of unimportant and uninteresting; there are some other nice things that I’m keeping them only for myself, like the perfect egoist I am.
India. Big country! It is a pen island and even if it is surrounded by ocean, it has a lot of neighbours. And not every kind of neighbours; India has very interesting neighbours. My last discovery is Bhutan.
I make a research about this country and I found it very interesting:
- It is located on the eastern end of Himalaya Mountains,
- 75% of its territory is covered by forest,
- The main religion is Vajrayana Buddhism (75%), followed by Hinduism (24%),
- It has a guiding philosophy called Gross National Happiness (GNH) that is an attempt to define quality of life in more holistic and psychological terms than gross national product,
- It is considered to be the happiest country in Asia and 8th-happiest country in the world,
- It uses to be one of the most isolated nations in the world; the TV and Internet have been introduced in 1999.
- It doesn’t have any railway,
- India is helping them training their army, trying to build a railway, financial – 60% of Bhutan’s budget expenditure is financed by India’s Ministry of External Affairs,
- It is very inaccessible by many foreigners: if you want to travel in Bhutan you have to sign up with a tour operator and to pay a $200 fee/day; independent travel is not allowed in Bhutan.
If you want to read more about it here it goes:
The official website of the Kingdom of Bhutan.
11.14.09
Azi e ziua mamei mele!!!
Azi e Zi, frumoasă de toamnă. Cel puțin acasă unde e mama mea, e toamnă. E toamnă târzie și aurie. La mine aici e o specie de vară caniculară pe care indienii o denumesc cu multă încredere iarnă.
Azi e ziua mamei! Zi de naștere de astă dată. M-am trezit dimineața devreme, neobișnuit de devreme pentru o zi de sâmbătă, și mi-am sunat mama sa îi urez “La mulți ani!” și toate cele.. Mi-a povestit de planurile ei festive, căci mama mea, de când odrasla ei adică eu, nu mai e acasă, are planuri, se petrece, se plimbă, se duce pe la târguri și iși cumpără tot felul de lucruri faine; surfează pe Internet, știe chiar mai mulți emoticoni decât mine. Singurul lucru pe care nu îl poate face este sa îmi citească blog-ul căci e în engleză; dar uite mama, că am rezolvat și problema asta: în partea dreapta vei găsi un text care scrie: Traducere în Română. Apeși pe link frumos și poti să citești ce scriu eu pe aici. E cam ciudățica traducerea, dar cu siguranța e mai bine decât nimic.
La mulți ani Mama MEA!!!
11.08.09
Happy Name Day for Mihail & Grabril Saints!
Writing the previous blog I realize today is the day of the Mihail and Gavril Saints. Well, for me it was, but at home, where we celebrate it, it is still there.
My mum’s star name is Mihaela, so it is her name day today. First of all, Happy Name Day Mum!!!!
Second of all, the other Mihaela from my life!!!!!! My good friend, that is now in Italy! Happy Name Day Mih!!!!!!!!!!
Third of all, Happy name day to all those who have the name of Mihai, Mihaela, Gabriel, Gabriela and are reading my blog!
Insects, reptiles and me = sharing is not caring
This is the worse combination ever! I hate insects and reptiles. I cannot see them! At home if I was finding a spider I was screaming than all my neighbors knew there is an insect in my house. I cannot sleep with mosquitoes or flies. It’s inhuman! I saw mice only once or twice on the countryside at my grandma’s place. Rats… hmm.. let me think… I think never… Ants! Oh! Those I’ve seen a lot! In my grandma’s garden! Or on the fields! Reptiles… Those too, on the reptiles expositions, in a safe place! That’s the only place in which I can feel safe watching them, when they are under a glass.
All my childhood, every time I was going to my grandma’ and I was interacting with the insects I was asking myself why there are insects in the world?? What are they good for?
The time passed and the kid grew up and… Ops, now she is in India.
And in India my dears… If I would sum all the flies I ever seen in my life, I think there will be only those that I found in a morning in the kitchen when monsoon started and that’s just a small part of those that I use to see on the streets at only one side. Damn! I wanna cry, I wanna scream, I wanna buy a spray to kill them all! They are just too many!!! They are annoying, they don’t respect me!!!
This is about the flies. We don’t talk about mosquitoes, they are not so many yet, or they have very good mosquitoes repellent here in India. They bite me only once in a while.
Insects… another kind of insects; In a evening I was just speaking with Marilina, and… an insect just jumped out on the floor.
And me: An insect!!! AAaaa!!!!
Marilina is saying: Ancaaaa!!! It is just a cricket!
Me: Marilinaaa!!! It is an insect!!! What is it doing here?? This is our room!! Not a playground or a garden when it can loll about!
Another one, in my room too; I don’t know the name.. I never had seen them before. Once I was doing my regular makeup and I just feel something on my right leg. Hmmm… I’m looking and.. AAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! There is a huge green insect on my leg!!!!!!!!!!!! On my skin!!!!
I think it was a grasshopper. Yes! It was, I killed it! What to do, it invaded my privacy and he is not sharing the rent of the room with me.
Ants. Uh! This is a huge topic. As I was telling you, I saw them before on the garden. Gar-den, ok? With the other insects and plants, with their weird and green environment. Outside, outdoor. But.. here.. they are sharing the house with me! We share the kitchen, they are everywhere! They share the bad with me… the bathroom.. Sometimes they exaggerate and then it is when I’m getting the cockroach spray and I’m killing them all! Otherwise, when I wake up in the morning and I’m seeing one near my pillow I’m just killing it and I’m continuing my sleep peacefully.
All this is in my nice, clean, lovely, welcoming Mumbai home.
Outside… Outside the things are different. At the beginning I was seeing it like a zoo. Dear Indian friends, before you feel offended, reread the beginning of the post. It use to be a very nice garden: parrots and other nice birds that we can see them only in zoo or on the pet shops, of course I was staying near the National Park. But, after… I shifted in my lovely slam area and on my way from the bus stop till home I can see: rats, cockroach, mice, dogs, chickens, pigs, cows, sometimes elephants. An entire zoo, for free and daily!
When I saw the first rat I was like: Aaa!! Ooo!!! What is that?? A mouse! A huge mouse! No, that must be the rat! They have different dimensions, I don’t know if they are different species or not, for me they are all rats and they are everywhere on that way.
So, coming back to my story with the first rat. I wanted to shout, to scream, but.. how to do that in Mumbai, where there is all my country’s population in one city, when on its most quite and empty days it looks like on the last day of my city’s fear. Imagine if I shout because I saw a rat they will all be laughing, but they don’t have to know why I was shouting.. and still if they don’t know they will cannot help me, plus 100 people will be surrounding me in the next second and I don’t want this. So the solution is to keep silence, ignore it and to go on.
Yes, this is what happen with the other insects too, I started ignore them, kill them too, I’m not screaming any more, my mum is not here to come to help me. She is there at home…
Ah! I forgot to tell you: imagine myself in Varanasi, the Holiest place of Hindus, a city incredible dirty, and hot, in my A/C room, enjoying alone in my room the cool temperature before the traditional afternoon power cut, and a mouse that is going fast and sure inside the A/C!!! Hey you!!! What are you doing??? Are you mad??? That’s the A/C!! Air Conditioning! That’s not for you!!! How can you go there??? You want to commit suicide?? Go out!! Go out! It never came out. So… Me calling the reception:
I have a mouse in my room!!!! It entered inside the A/C!!! and the A/C stopped working!!!
The guy: A what?
Me: A mouse!! You that that small animal… that has the same name with the computer component.. That is doing chitz-chitz.. I don’t know if in hindi it is the same, but in Romanian it is doing chitz-chitz. Well, that animal went inside my A/C!!! And it is not working anymore!
The guy: Aaa!! The A/C is not working… It is power cut.
Me: Aaa? Power cut? What’s that? I have light. But the A/C is not working because the mouse is inside!! Can you send someone to get it out of my A/C??
The guy: Yes madam, I will send someone to your room.
And of course he never came… I figure out after that it is not something unusual so… in the night I went to sleep praying that neither it neither its friends, the bugs, will not have to courage to get inside my bad. I had a good sleep, a very nice actually. Well, this a new experience, sharing the room with mice and bugs without complaining. Haha Where are you grandma’ to see me??
And! All this post started because I wanted to take my shower, the 3rd one for today and how I was going happy guess what? Out new pet – the lizard, made a playground from my bathroom. Lady!!! I wanna shower!!!
10.31.09
We are BIG!
Long time no writing on my blog. No, I didn’t forget it. I just promise I will write about my trip to the North of India. I started. I swear. It is on draft. But it has to be a big post, coz my trip was big, and with a lot of things in it. But this is another post. I will try to find time to show it to you. Now let’s come back to this post.
Life is weird, very weird. It is so weird that I cannot understand it. But life in India is even weirder. Aa! But Minister of Home Affairs beats all these. I don’t have knowledge about legislation and laws, but for sure it is not normal to change the legislation so often.
After 2 weeks of dealing with uncertainty and reading news, I understood that for sure they must have their very strong and reasonable reasons to change the legislation and to ask all the foreigners to leave their country. Seams that they have too many unqualified labors, too many people are coming to India to look for a job and they want to stop all this immigration and to improve the quality of the workers are coming here.
And.. after 2 weeks in which I was booking my fly tickets to go back home, I was looking for presents for family and friends, I was making plans, I was already dreaming with the cold and nice weather from my dear Romania, dreaming with my warming room, with my warm cloths, being very enthusiastic I will can wear my boots, my gloves, my winter jacket, I may see snow… I will can eat ciorba (soup), cheese; 1 week in which I was asking myself how it will be to go back home, to wait for the green light of the traffic lights, to have a decent seat in the bus, to go by tram, to be on time, to have a silent room, without noise, to enjoy a walk in the green landscape, to don’t cover my mouth and nose with a handkerchief because of the pollution… 3 days before flying I find out the magic answer:
“Who are eligible for a Business Visa?
Foreign students sponsored by AIESEC for internship on project based work in companies/industries.”
For more information: http://www.mha.nic.in/writereaddata/12566695441_work_visa_faq.pdf
This kind of things is just remembering us how big and powerful is AIESEC. It is not easy to influence the legislation of a country, and more a country like India. AIESEC is really making a difference in the world! Congratz AIESEC in India for the achievement!
10.21.09
Indian immigration legislation – 6 months update
“India is a developing country”, everywhere you go they tell you this. It is a totally valid affirmation, but the problem is that they use this reality as a pathetic excuse for absolutely everything.
Now let’s take this scenario: I got a X visa type from Indian Embassy in Romania, a special visa for my kind of internship; from there till I’m flying from Bucharest to Mumbai and I’m waking up in a totally different reality, they changed the legislation and seams my visa type is invalid; after 1.5 months of daily negotiations with Embassy of India in Romania and Foreigner Regional Registration Office in Mumbai I’m changing my visa type into a Business visa. Now, 4 months later, they change the legislation again and seams I have to leave the country till 31st of October aka less than 2 weeks, to go back home to get a new visa – a different type of visa – an Employment visa this time. AIESEC is trying to negotiate with the minister to make an exception for AIESEC trainees, let’s see.
I suppose to have another 6 months of internship. Maybe by the end of my internship they will decide something else. Hmm… I’m asking how many times Indian government can change the immigration legislation so radically. Maybe they decide they don’t want to see any kind of foreigner in their country.
10.13.09
Ladies! This is my bed!
Sometimes this week I was finally leaving office early. So, I can do a lot of pleasant things: cook, relax, read a book. Cool! Everything goes according with the plan: the bus is coming; I’m getting into the correct one this time, unbelievable!
After one hour I can say: Home sweet home!!
Hmm.. but wait we can change some plans: let’s take a nap. Long time no taking a nap (I think I did it maximum once in my 6 months in India). Yeah, sounds like a good plan. I’m running fast to take a shower and.. hmm… An ant on my bed. Pac! I kill her*. Hmm.. another one. Hmm.. Pac! I kill her too. This ants, they are everywhere. I already get used with them being everywhere. But.. hmm.. these are quite different, these are big.. Something is suspect. I’m looking better and… WTF??? I mean *(^$#&*@(&^!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All my bed was FULL of ants!! Big ants! They were making an anthill there!
Hey you!!! How (*^%$&@$*^think you are??? This is my bed!! Did you hear?? My bed! Private property! You need permission to build an anthill on it!
Yeah! My bed, my blanket, my backpack, my pillow, my cloths, everything was full of ants!!! They escalate the exterior wall, enter thought the closed window directly to my bed. Very nice! Congrats you could ruin my evening nap!
What to do now with you ladies*?? You don’t have any kind of permission to immigrate here, you violate my privacy, you get advantage I wasn’t at home, you messy my personal belongs.. Do you have anything to say in your favor??
Poor ants, they neither had time to reply and I was already with the weapon in my hand. In less than 10 minutes they all were departed. Good! But all my bed smelled like cockroach spray now. Yeah, my clean and nice smelling bed sheets where now labeled as priority on the laundry queue. Nice plan, washing and cleaning anthill remnants instead taking a nap…
*I don’t know why, but for me the ants are always feminine. They are all ladies. I do apologize for the gent ants.
10.08.09
Vrei mai mult de la tine !
UNDE ?
Vino in AIESEC si pune-ti in practica ideile.
Vino in AIESEC si adauga experienta teoriei de la facultate.
Vino in AIESEC ca sa inveti si sa te distrezi intr-un mediu international.
DE CE ?
Pentru ca altii s-au regasit aici, iar tu i-ai urmat mai tarziu.
Kofi Annan, Bill Clinton, Jacques Chirac ,Mick Jagger ..
Pentru ca AIESEC este o organizatie internationala prezenta in 107 tari si teritorii.
In Romania, AIESEC se afla in 13 orase, iar AIESEC Iasi este printre cele mai mari.
CAND ?
Aplica pana pe 16 octombrie ora 16:00.
CUM ?
Vino in Corpul B al FEAA, la etajul 3 in sala B606 si ia-ti formularul de aplicare.
Abordeaza-ne la infodeskurile din corpul B si C al Universitatii Alexandru Ioan Cuza
Intra pe www.aieseciasi.ro si completeaza formularul de inscriere.
MAI MULT ?
Hai sa ne cunoastem pe 15 octombrie, la ora 20.00, in amfiteatrul B5 din FEAA corpul B al Universitatii Alexandru Ioan Cuza sa-ti povestim ce putem sa facem NOI impreuna in AIESEC.
09.15.09
My birthday celebration!!!
My birthday, very special event, it happens one in a year and every year is once in a life. Every year I expect to be elder, but I’m younger. It sounds weird I know. Let me clarify it: my birthday is after all my friends’ birthday, so they became older till is my birthday, so till my birthday I’m feeling younger and when is my birthday I already get used with the idea I will be older, so I’m not feeling so old. And till I’m thinking to feel old my friends already become older so… I don’t have too much time to feel old. And the time passes and… Uh! It is complicated, I know.
This year the things are different. I miss almost all my friends’ birthday so, the nice story I was telling you is not applicable any more. I’m becoming old! 23 years. Very old! But they say old people are wiser, so it is not so bad to become old, only if you don’t start having grey hair and wriggles.
Enough with the introduction, let’s talk about serious things: My birthday celebration!!! This year I will be travelling in the north of India on my birthday – 22nd of September, so, after a long and detailed analysis I decided to celebrate it before I’m leaving…. Aka Sunday 13th September!! I made the plan, I invited my friends, and everything was perfect! The place, the day, the time. Everything! The initial plan was to go to a coffee shop, have a branch and after go to a fun club to play!!!! Cool!
So, starting point: Andheri train station: 12:08 PM. I made it on time! At 11:55 I was on the platform. Me proud of myself! Yeah, as I was telling you, I was on the platform, train platform, without a train ticket as usual… don’t throw stones on me please, I have a valid argument: it is just one station – 5 min and the queue is always too long! 40 minutes waiting. I’m sorry, but almost never this query gives a positive answer. Me, on the platform, looking for the main booking office, and… opsi, ah damn! %*^*&!! The ticket inspector! *^%*^&*!! Ok Anca, now it is time to show your nice and wonderful smile and please make sure it is convincing, or you will have to pay almost 300 Rps!!! Aka, all the day of fun!!! Uh, ok, thanks for the support.
The ticket inspector: Madam, your ticket.
Me: Aaa… well… see… I’m not here to check the train. I’m just passing by…
The ticket inspector: Madam, your ticket, you need a ticket to use this platform. Look! – He was showing me a panel over the stairs
Me: Uh! Damn! A!!! Well… I’m not using the bridge This was good! Great! I’m proud of you (my inner voice was telling me). I’m just looking for the main booking office. Do you know where is it? I suppose to meet my friends there and I enter from that part thinking is that one, but no, so I’m just looking for the main booking office.
The ticket inspector: Oh Madam, this is not the way of using the platform.
Me: Oh really? I didn’t know, I just wanted to avoid the crowd that is outside.
The ticket inspector: The booking office is there, but give me the pass. Ok ok, go get it and after show me.
Me: Yeah sure! Where you said? There? Cool! Thank you!
Yey!!! I managed it!!! Good Anca!! You are the best!
I went for my ticket, just in case, and guess what? The harbour line is on reparation on Sundays. Oh well! Great! That day is today?? 13th? No, no, Anca, you don’t believe in such kind of things. What is the option now? Go to Dadar and after to Chembur.
So, we went to Dadar, Dadar to Kurla, Kurla to Chembur, we were waiting a lot for the trains, it was extremely crowd so we went on first class with second class ticket. Thank God nobody check. But all was for a noble cause: to save the cake! And after one and a half hours on train stations, we reach the destination, more or less. Barista was out of service. Damn! It was the only place I didn’t call to confirm. I could swear it will be no problems. Ok…. What to do now? Call a friend? Yeah, it always works. As usual Neville saved me, so we went to the wonderful restaurant Orchid, near Chembur train station to enjoy an amazing lunch.. Ah, I forgot to tell you: we’ve been one hour late. The lunch was just amazing: a real Lasagne Napolitano, no, no, not an Indian version. I cut the cake and of course following the Indian tradition, they paint my face with cake – one of my “favourite” traditions. Thank you for having mercy and don’t put all the cake on my face. I tried to fake them following another Indian tradition: cut a piece of cake and get to everyone to bite from the same piece, but as you can see on the pictures, I didn’t succeed.
On the Acres club we had a lot of fun: bowling, go-carting! The bowling alley wasn’t my fan; it was moving the ball from the middle of the alley exactly at the end. It was an entire conspiracy. The go-carting part was the best! I miss driving. Well, it is not the same as a car, but still. If it wouldn’t be coz I was pressing the break and the acceleration in the same time – I forgot it is not a car!!! I would win the race.
Everything was looking nice, according with the plan; people were having fun and all. Huh! Finally, the day is over and everything is alright. But….No yet, wait! The sole of my sandal got broken. Hmmm… Ah, it’s ok, I am already o the rickshaw, doesn’t matter, soon I will be reaching home. 5 minutes after a police man is stopping the rickshaw driver. Hey you! Why do you stop us? Why should I pay for you to do I don’t know what?? I was very indignant and I asked the police man:
Me: Why did you stop him????
Police man: Because he doesn’t have uniform, badge, and the driving license…
Me: Hmm.. this was a good and valid answer. I’m sorry baaya, we are stopping here, all the best.
And now imagine: me and Will, again on the highway, making the auto stop of rickshaws; me with the sole of my sandal in my hand, with the right sandal without a sole on my foot… Sole that I forgot in the rickshaw after, thank God I notice on time and I could run after the rickshaw and recuperate it.
Uh! What a crazy day! It supposes to be quite, it started good. Why I cannot have a normal life like everyone? Why do am I always in troubles?
