Hviezdicka's world

My graduation

2010-07-11T22:45:00.008+02:00

I had such a lovely graduation day. When I was thinking about this day, I did not really picture it in any way, but once it was over, I had wonderful feeling of accomplishment and happiness.

Now, when I look back at the end of my studies, I do not really think about the very last lecture, final exam nor about my thesis defense. The first thought that come accross is my graduation - the day that I spent with my best parents ever, my brother and his wife, my step brother and his family and of course, with my dear boyfriend.

Reunion times :)

2009-12-12T17:06:00.005+01:00

I guess this semester can be called "Reunion semester"

I got to see my great friend Eduardo from Peru after three years; moreover, we had AIESEC Peru reunion in Budapest
my brother got married and he also invited our two step brothers with their families for the wedding; I guess that was the first time for all of us to get together
we had Nebraska reunion in Munich during Octoberfest
Laurie, my friend who I met in Belgium, came to the Czech Republic and I got to see her at least for a while
Hanna, another close friend who I met in Belgium, came to Prague
Lou and Rozelin, the couple at whose place we were staying in D.C. visited Czech Republic
Linkin, my best friend from Nebraska, came to Europe for a few days; we spend one day together
Adinka, my best friend from high school, came back after one year in Brazil and stopped by Prague

More reunions to come :) I am very happy and thankful for all these precious moments.

Dual-career marriages

2009-12-10T00:07:00.002+01:00

We have been talking about this topic a lot. Why? Because we were concerned that one day we will have to choose - either career or family. We thought that there was no possible combination of these two. So many people and statistics seem to prove so.

Few weeks ago, during one lecture, we were discussing this topic again. Our teacher seems as very smart guy, I really admire him for his openness and experience. He told us that it is not matter of choice "either, or". But that there is always possible way to combine these two things and if we try, we can find or create a mechanism to make it work. He said that he is persuaded that in most cases it is possible to find suitable solution for both. We just need to look for the right way.

Moreover, we discussed this issue a bit with one HR lady in ABB. She seemed persuaded that there is no problem having family and career at the same time. Of course, there will be times when the mother of the family will have to be a bit in the back, when children are little. But later, there should be no problem to maintain work-life balance.

That was really unexpected encouragement! Let's see what the future brings.

Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho

2009-10-21T00:16:00.005+02:00

Každý bojovník světla už se někdy bál jít do boje.

Každý bojovník světla už v minulosti zradil a lhal.

Každý bojovník světla už kráčel cestou, jež nebyla jeho.

Každý bojovník světla už trpěl kvuli malichernostem.

Každý bojovník světla už si myslel, že není bojovníkem světla.

Každý bojovník světla už pochybil v duchovních povinnostech.

Každý bojovník světla už řekl ano, když chtěl říci ne.

Každý bojovník světla už zranil někoho, koho miluje.

Proto je bojovník světla; protože tím vším prošel a neztratil naději, že se polepší.

What I have learned so far :)

2009-10-20T23:57:00.004+02:00

... that optimistic and positive thinking people leave much longer than pessimists.

... that extroverts are more prone to the divorce than introverts.

...that children's attitude to money (if they are more generous or more stingy) is formed during the first three years of baby's life.

...that sometimes, instead of making a compromise (none of the parties is happy with the solution), it is much better for both parties to find the third alternative, acceptable for all.

...that stress can be managed by efficient relaxation and that it really works!

...that people that have long term goals are usually more successful than people with no plans.

...that it is important to clear your expectations in a relationship.

Is it for the best to try everything?

2009-10-11T21:39:00.005+02:00

During one of my classes our teacher asked us kind of interesting question: "Do you think that it is for the best to try everything?" As he explained, most of the young people think that they should use their youth to try "all the stuff", whatever that means.

As he explained later, everything we do, will leave a trace on us - it can be deeper or lighter, but it is impossible to predict what trace it will be. If we take such an extreme example as drugs, there is always huge risk that one will become dependent on this shit. Therefore, it is highly important to choose all the stimuli and things that could somehow influence us. If there is the possibility of choice.

He especially referred to all the opportunities for young people. Compared to the period twenty years ago, we can go and do whatever we want, there are no limits. And sometimes we have impression that we have to be everywhere, study abroad, visit Asia, Africa and Latin America, backpack in all the different parts of the world etc. To be honest this explanation really appealed to me, since I recognized myself in this statement.

However, it is important to make choices - to carefully choose what we will do and where we will go. It may seem very easy and obvious, but it definitely was not for me. I felt bad about passing some opportunities and challenges. In order to make good choice it is important to know ourselves very well. If we know, where we are heading and what we want to accomplish, it is much easier to choose the right way and to filter all incoming messages.

Update

2009-10-11T21:20:00.002+02:00

It's been a while, I know, sorry for that. But I guess either I was not in a mood for writing, or there was nothing that interesting to be shared with you, or I just simply took a break from writing.

I have come back to the old continent and now, I am in Prague again. Two semesters ahead of me, first one has started quite successfully. I actually really enjoy my studies this semesters. All my courses are so interesting that I never skip any seminar nor lecture. It does not bother me to be at school from 9:15am till 6pm and I am glad to be back the next day again. I am unbelievably happy with my choice of minor specialization. I have learned so many interesting things, concepts and ideas, I will definitely share some of those with you in next posts.

Wish you wonderful week!!! <3

2009-07-08T21:50:00.000+02:00

I'm a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

...

2009-05-19T06:25:00.002+02:00

What goes around, comes around.

I truly madly deeply understand the meaning of this saying now...well, probably I deserved it.

2009-04-09T02:09:00.001+02:00

One month left. Scary!

Think about it

2009-04-02T00:40:00.003+02:00

Today I was walking down the street. Instead of trying to imagine myself in Canada, in some nice company doing my internship in the field of Human Resources, I focused my energy only on the fact that I really do not want to spend my summer working in housekeeping or catering anymore. And that is really bad approach. Instead of positive thinking, I was very negative and it cost me so much energy.

The thing is that I really want to learn something during the summer. It is not about being picky, but I guess that I feel that I had enough of these "manual" jobs and it is time to move on. I would like to develop my professional skills related to my major and not my knowledge about "serving the food from left and picking the empty plate from right" or "using pink liquid for the toilet and blue for the mirror" ... Don't get me wrong. I am not degrading any kind of job. I just need to feel some kind of satisfaction. And at this point of my life these jobs do not satisfy me anymore.

And then, I saw this little girl with her mum. The girl (she was maybe six) was blind. And her mum was teaching her how to use the white stick for blind people. And I felt very ungrateful and ashamed. I should never loose hope, enthusiasm and energy. I should continue fighting for my dreams and enjoying my life. I should go on doing what I like. And I should pay more attention to all those beauties all around. That is energy!

Deep inside

2009-03-14T05:40:00.002+01:00

I remembered one exact moment from exactly one year ago. My friend asked me: "How come that you always look so satisfied and happy?" I thought about it and I told her: "It is simple, I am satisfied and happy." I really was. And then suddenly, it has gone somewhere with the wind. I am not trying to say that I am completely unhappy and lost, but deep inside, there is something missing. There is something that just do not work as it should. And what makes me even more uncomfortable is that I have no idea what is that. The result of that is that from time to time I just behave in really weird way, I am just surprised by my own reactions.

Sometimes I find myself in a labyrinth and I just cannot find the right way. Finding oneself is always very important. I think it is like getting the ticket for the happiness. You still have to get on the right train, but at least, you know that once there, nobody will tell you that you have to get off.

Hmm this will take probably time. But I will get there one day. Because positive and optimistic thinking is still something that I am very good at.

"Live from my soul"

2009-03-14T01:34:00.002+01:00

Sometimes (or quite often??) I tend to make very simple things quite complicated. It makes me feel uncomfortable as well as the others involved. Grrrrrrrrrr I should have been more rational sometimes. Or just stop analyzing everything so much.

Multi-culti

2009-02-22T04:05:00.002+01:00

What I enjoy here in Nebraska is its multicultural atmosphere. My room-mate is from South Korea. My best friend here is from South Korea as well. My colleagues in catering are from India. My teachers are respectively from Ethiopia, Philippines, USA and Spain. I met one really nice girl from Japan, I talked to many Latinos from South America. There is huge variety of people from all over the world and all of them are very interesting.

Today we got invited by Indian guys to their place. They cooked for us real Indian food. All I knew about it was that it is usually very spicy. It was, but at the same time I considered in delicious. We ate a lot of rice with many different things, chicken and at the end home-made yogurt. Really delicious!!! And what is more, to fully experience the Indian culture, we ate with our hands. I never tried it before, it might be sometimes quite tough hihi

I am grateful for all these experiences. I guess these are unique moments and it made my life here very lively and interesting.

The Little Mermaid

2009-02-09T04:54:00.002+01:00

I kind of believe that some things just find us, because we want them so much and because these things (it can be whatever) are meant to be with us. And if we listen to our intuition, they will come to us. Usually when we less expect it.

Today I went to the second hand bookstore and I was looking for one book. I could not find it, BUT while searching for it, I noticed huge box with Walt Disney books. My heart started beating a little bit faster and I was thinking: "What if..." ... Sleeping Beauty, Lion King... and right between Lion King and Snow White I found it. The Little Mermaid smiled at me and I knew that today I was meant to come to this shop to find this book :-)

Winning the first prize

2009-02-09T04:39:00.002+01:00

Today we went for the Chinese night. It was the evening organized by Chinese people from the UNL. We got some good food and several performances took place. Quite interesting. The part of that was also tombola. Hehe and I won one of the two first prizes. Unbelievable. I told Jirka that I never won first prize before. And he told me that my Robitschek Scholarship here at the UNL is also kind of first prize.

It made me thinking about all these first prizes that we actually "win" but sometimes we even do not realize it. I won in so many aspects that I can hardly count it all. I have the best parents on the whole Earth, great brother, wonderful friends, I got uncountable amount of opportunities to experience the world, I "won" healthy body and clear mind...

In reality, I won the first prize so many times in my life. I just do not always realize it.

Money makes a difference

2008-10-22T02:12:00.001+02:00

In Czech Republic nor in Slovakia students do not pay for their university studies. Basically, the only expenses they do have to cover are books, housing, food and their leisure. In Nebraska, USA students do have to pay for their studies. Apart tuition there are many different fees such as technology fee and whatsoever. The results are following:

students can borrow laptops for free
teachers can make as many copies for students as they need, nothing like "we do not have enough paper bla bla bla"
there are no lines for computers - and there is big computer room even in our dorm which is open during the night as well
computers are fast!!! new!!! and work properly!!!
computers have new software
there are music rooms with pianos in our dorm
it is possible to borrow bikes for $10 per day
any other outdoor equipment can be rented in recreation center for really good price as well as equipment for indoor sports (squash racket for 50cents heh)
university is very well equiped
recreation center is wonderfully equiped
etc

Well, you can really see the difference comparing to my home university.

Connections

2008-10-21T00:29:00.002+02:00

My father went to Monte Negro one month ago. I told him to send me a postcard. He did. But it did not arrive. One month passed and there was still nothing in my mailbox... I was angry and sad, complained about American post services a lot (also because of three other letters that I sent to Slovakia and Czech Republic and which never arrived).

Yesterday I dreamed about the postcard. In my dreams I got it. In the morning we went to the front desk to ask about opening hours of our cafeteria during fall break. Our mailboxes are just next to the front desk. I said to my friends: "Today I dreamed about the postcard from my father." I opened the mailbox ... and it was there ...

:-)

Piano lessons

2008-10-17T19:21:00.005+02:00

In the basement of the Selleck Hall (the place where I live) many interesting things could be found. Apart computer and study rooms, there are also music rooms. Three of them. And in each there is one piano.

I somehow always wanted to be able to play at least one song on piano. And of course, my dream is to play the guitar. Therefore, when I realized that I have free access to piano and moreover, I have person willing to teach me to play very nice song, I started to practice. It makes me really happy :-) I spend every other day maybe 30minutes "relaxing" in the music room. When I need break from studies, or when I just feel like playing, I go there. Usually, in the afternoon none of the rooms is taken.

I am already able to play both hands together, however, I will need much more time to be able to play it the way Linkin (my piano teacher) can play it. But I will manage :-) and then I will play it for my parents during Christmas time :-)

Let's go for a coffee!

2008-10-17T18:58:00.003+02:00

There is one thing that I love about USA. And that is American coffee and American coffee houses. It might seem surprising but it is absolutely true.

In the country where "the culture" is said to be unknown word, I have found the strong coffee culture. And I totally fell in love with this aspect of the American way of life.

At the very beginning of the semester, we were desperately looking for some nice place to chat, to have fun, something with atmosphere and charm. We thought there was none. Heh not true. There are many of them. And the coffee they brew is just delicious. Never ever had a better one. I love take-away option or in case I have time and nice company, just sit in Kopeli's and observe people studying all around, or the one at the Haymarket where they have tons of books and huge muffins.

Uuuuhm :-) Let's have a coffee!

Climbing weekend in Blue Mounds in Minnesota

2008-10-07T06:09:00.002+02:00

With my climbing class we went to Blue Mounds National Park in Minnesota to spend one weekend climbing on the real rocks. It was wonderful weekend, I only regretted that I could not spend more time in the nature.

The first day the weather was wonderful. But unfortunately, during the night there was horrible storm, thunder and flash hehe I never experienced such a heavy rain while sleeping in the tent. These are the moments when one realizes the power of the nature. I simply loved it!!!

Spring has come to Lincoln

2008-09-27T08:14:00.002+02:00

Hehe unbelievable things are happening here at the campus. I have impression that spring has come, not only can it be felt in the air, but also in hearts of many students. Weather is just wonderful and there are more and more couples all around here :-)

Actually, Zdenek gave me wonderful idea. His remarks always make me laugh. He told me that I should start writing it all down to my diary (whose pages are currently quite empty). I think I will do that. It will be fun :-)

Several days ago Linkin told me that he is very happy here. I was very glad to hear that. People who love the place give it the soul. And it is very important. However, it made me thinking about my own feelings. Have I felt this wonderful overwhelming happiness here? After very tough first two weeks I got used to this place. I got into the machine as Keler calls it. I accepted its routine. And I am glad to be here for many different reasons. After the first month I can say that it was worth to come here. And that it was good decision.

...

Omaha

2008-09-09T05:23:00.001+02:00

Student life is tough :-)

2008-09-09T05:02:00.002+02:00

Heh I do not remember when I had so much work to do. I am sitting on my ass from the early morning till the very late evening working on my assignments. Hopefully, after Thursday I will have a little bit more time to relax :-) And this is only the third week of classes.

American football: Nebraska vs San Jose State

2008-09-07T03:21:00.010+02:00

Photos from American football game Nebraska vs San Jose State.

For the first time in my life I went to see American football game. It took me a while to understand the rules, hehe, even at the end of the game I was not always sure what was going on :-) But it was great experience, I loved the atmosphere. Actually, it was for the first time that I went to the stadium for 85 000 people.

Playing time is divided into four quarters. However, we spent there like four hours, as the game was interrupted so many times. Marching band and cheerleaders were constantly supporting red team. And the audience was very much into the game. Snacks, burgers, popcorn, hot dogs and super size drinks are of course part of the atmosphere :-) Well, that is American life style.

IT and me

2008-09-03T23:37:00.003+02:00

Hehe I am not very keen on whatever is connected to IT. However, I am very excited at the moment. I just got my new external hard disk and it is gorgeus!!!! :-) It is very handy (more or less the same size and weight as usual calculater) and concerning its capacity, it has 320GB. Wonderful!!!! Just love it hehehe

Moreover, yesteday I installed Google Chrome and so far, I am quite satisfied with it.

Ok, that was very short post, I just have to share my excitemnet with everybody, back to studieeeeees now :-))

Rain***

2008-09-02T19:43:00.004+02:00

It is raining outside heh this is probably the first real rainy day since we came here. It actually makes me feel really good, probably because it is not so warm anymore and finally, I am wearing appropriate clothes for inside as well as for outside temperature (there is not such a huge gap between these two now).

On the other hand, what makes me wonder again are American students. Even though it is really raining heavily, they are wearing flip flops and they seem not to care at all. Just some of them possess umbrella and those without this very useful instrument do not even bother to run or to cover themselves somehow hehe

And by chance I found this song hehe very nice one :-) It is sung by Jack Johnson, called Banana Pancakes. Enjoy :-)

Short update

2008-08-29T23:17:00.002+02:00

I am really happy, because Peťo passed his Math exam. He has one more to pass on Monday and afterwards, he will be done with his undergraduate degree, ready for Master degree :-) Would love to be in Prague in order to come to his graduation ceremony.

My mum will be back at home on 11th September. Finally, I will have opportunity to talk to her. I really miss it. Would be wonderful to talk to her and keep her updated about what is going on in my life so far, listen to her stories and advice, oh, I feel like a little girlie :-) There are some things though that one can probably say just to his/her mum.

Today, after the whole week, I finally went to catering and registered there. My first workday is on September 4th.

===

2008-08-29T22:44:00.004+02:00

Sometimes having this weird feeling
of not being at the right time
on the right place
hehe

Jason Mraz Lyrics
Lucky Lyrics

Short Korean story

2008-08-27T23:38:00.003+02:00

In South Korea there is a short story about why women put their engagement or wedding ring on the ring finger and not on the index finger. Actually, the answer is very easy. Because the index finger can stand on its own. But it is very hard to raise the ring finger, therefore it needs support.

Advanced HR management

2008-08-27T23:25:00.002+02:00

This is one of the classes that I have decided to take.

First class: At the very beginning the teacher came disguised as James Bond in black suit with black tie, with champaign cup in one hand and with fake revolver in second hand. He even put the music on hehehe very funny :-)

Second class: The teacher came with big box of ice cream, plastic spoons and plates. And he asked everybody if we preferred vanilla or chocolate :-)) Hehehe very nice. And he applied this to some kind of research method hehehe Very nice teaching style.

Classes again

2008-08-27T17:56:00.002+02:00

What is also quite interesting for me is that there are classes that take 50minutes, than there are classes that take 75minutes and finally, there are also classes that take three hours hehe Yesterday I had one from 7pm till 10pm. It is unbelievably late and too long. Will decide if I take it or not.

Moreover, the atmosphere in class is really informal. The most of my professors told us to address them by their first names such as Chris, Ben etc. However, it does not mean that they do not have respect from the students.

Have not done my final schedule yet. Hopefully, I will make final decision till the end of this week.

First day of classes

2008-08-25T23:55:00.003+02:00

My first day of classes is successfully over hehe Quite interesting, have not decided about all courses yet. Even though I am at the very beginning, I feel a bit scared by the amount of work expected to be done for the most of the courses. Seems that it will take enormous part of my free time. Will be quite tough to work, work out and party at the same time hmm

Moreover, I suppose that all homeworks, essays, papers and team works will have to be done on very high level. Not as in Czech Republic, where some professors even do not read all papers.

On the other hand, I knew that it will be kind of difficult. Actually, that is one of the reasons why I have accepted this scholarship - to learn how to study on regular basis hehe Otherwise it would not be a challenge :-)

There is no place like Nebraska!

2008-08-24T16:49:00.003+02:00

Location: Selleck Hall, Lincoln, Nebraska
School: University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Duration: two terms in 2008/2009

Well, what we have gone through so far:

I have done my class schedule, but probably will change it a bit; we still have time to do it during the first week of class; it is difficult to choose and moreover, quite a lot of classes are full already; fortunately, Larry helps us as much as he can and Robitscheks scholars have quite good reputation here
we went for a beer several times to O street - the street full of different bars and restaurants (actually, most of the streets name are very simple - letters from alphabet and these are crossed by number streets)
we had tour around the campus - it is quite big with different buildings, several student halls, huge Memorial Stadium and great recreation center
than we were all the time running from one office to another because of classes and some other stuff
we were invited for dinner at Larry's place where we met Dominika (Robitschek scholar from last year who is still here) and Jiri (Robitschek scholar three years ago who came back in order to obtain PhD degree)
I have bought books for $400 (and these are books just for two courses; I am so happy that all this stuff is covered by our scholarship, otherwise it would be impossible to finance everything by ourselves)
one whole day was dedicated to international affairs orientation day - they provided us with useful information, pick-nick (well, again hamburgers...), marching band concert at the stadium finished by "tunnel" (all freshmen and international students running across the Memorial stadium - they were all excited as it is the only opportunity for everybody to get to the stadium field)
we went for a party to wonderful lake house - wonderful place where I have seen tap in form of little angel for the first time in my life hehe
we had lunch with friends of Czech language - unbelievable that even after so many years these people are motivated to maintain the Czech language and all traditions here in USA

My first impressions:

it is unbelievably cold in all buildings because of air-condition; even if the weather outside is perfect, I always have to carry scarf and jacket with me when going to the university, bar or restaurant
I have to pay even for received call and sms on my cell phone
all drinks are very cold and they put even more ice into it
Americans have totally different way of clothing - quite informal
there are diabetes warning ads all over the city
food in the canteen is more or less the same as we got in Yellowstone; however, there is more variety
Americans have huge cars and care a lot about legal restrictions
it is not possible to drink alcohol in the street - everybody is very strict about it
in Nebraska there are quite a lot of people with Czech origins
if you invite somebody for a dinner at home, it is perfectly ok to prepare hamburgers and bratwursts and serve ice-bars as a desert
services are on very high level - if you have to wait in a bank, they serve you Coke or water; in shops and in restaurants they usually take perfect care of you (of course in order to get good tip ;-)
beer costs only 1$ hehe, but I always feel a bit sick afterwards, even if I drink just one
Americans are quite open and willing to talk to people from abroad
there is enormous number of Asians at our university, mostly from China, India, Malaysia or South Korea
you can study basically whatever you want here
there are quite a lot of fat people around here
fraternities and sororities reminds me of Louvain la Neuve and its "cercles" hehehehe
legal software costs $15, I will definitely get Office 2007

Everything is going on fine so far; however, I miss my parents, Peťo, Janka and other friends a lot. Even though I do not have time to write emails or to spend more time connected to skype or icq, I think a lot about them... Miss you all!!! Probably need more time to get used to the totally new environment and to find my way of being here. I suppose that after classes start, my mind will be more busy than it is now :-)

About friendship

2008-08-21T06:02:00.003+02:00

Lately I was thinking quite a lot about friendship. Some people place it even on the higher level than love. One friend once told me that friendship will last forever.

Actually, I have some doubts. Who are our friends? People that are there when we need them and we are there for them? Those who come to say hello or good bye when we come back or leave for a long time? Those who are honest with us? Who show us that they really care? Who can be trusted and trust us? Those with who we can be in silence and still feel comfortable? ...

And then how come that sometimes people that even do not know us help us with much more willingness than people that we know for ages and that are supposed to be our real friends? Does it mean that they do not care anymore?

As the time goes by, we change our way of being, thinking, acting and reacting. And maybe these two different systems do not fit into each other anymore. It always makes me sad. According to Peťo friend are coming and leaving. Any of them possibly staying forever?

On the street

2008-06-24T17:29:00.003+02:00

I was coming from the shop with small basket of peaches. Suddenly, one lady stopped me and asked me how much I payed for it. When I told her, she realized that I am Slovak. And it turned out that she is Slovak as well, living for 28 years in Prague. We chatted for a while. Then I had to go. She told me that if in September I feel like coming for a piece of cake and coffee, I am very welcome. Oh, I would love to, it would be nice to listen to her story.

I have impression that so many nice events will take place in September. Therefore, I am not motivated to leave and make my life again from the very beginning on the other side of the world. No, I am not complaining heh For sure it will be great experience. However, today I was asking myself if it was good decision. On the other hand, somewhere inside I feel that I would not be satisfied if there was no challenge waiting for me.

flowers :-) just for pleasure :-)

2008-06-21T23:56:00.002+02:00

Crucial issues

2008-06-21T21:21:00.002+02:00

Few weeks ago during one really boring lecture we decided to draw a picture of our ideal men. Moreover, we added a list of all their qualities. We had great fun while thinking about all those adjectives and things that he should be able to do.

Related to this, I was thinking about what is really important in a relationship. Is is important to have the same vision of life? Common hobbies? The same religion? The same age? The similar idea of spending holidays? ... etc. I thought that probably at some point it is important to agree on some crucial issues. But which are these crucial issues?? As if by accident, I overheard the conversation of two ladies in tram.

"We even did not have anything in common and you see, here we are. Happy together."

And then my friend told me about his girlfriend who prefers relaxing holidays at the seaside, no stress, no tough backpacking, no adrenalin. On the other hand, he is kind of guy who went to Santiago de Compostela and hitch-hiked in Turkey and backpacked in Russia. Obviously, their idea of spending holidays is completely different. And still, they are happy and love each other.

And then, there are my parents with 17 years of difference. And my cousin who married guy from different religion. And many other happy couples who do not have exactly the same idea of everything.

Then which are these crucial issues that the couple should agree on?? Is it actually something rational? Or purely irrational? Should we feel it? Or should we prepare some kind of excel table and fill it with "yes" or "no"??

About personal assurance

2008-06-10T21:17:00.003+02:00

My mum just left for three months. She will spend the whole summer in Croatia on the beautiful island Hvar as agent of one travel agency. She has been always dreaming about it and now, finally, it came true :-)) I am sure she will enjoy it a lot, especially because of the wonderful location next to the sea. I am really happy for her.

However, from very egoiste and selfish point of view, I have to admit that it is a bit weird feeling to know that the most of the time during the summer there will be nobody at our place. It is as if my personal assurance has left for a while. My home is where my parents are. I love coming home so much. It is the safest place in the world. I love the moment when I open the door, shout hello to them and my parents come to hug me.

And this time there will be nobody to say hello to and to hug. No practical advice while packing. No help. No home made cake. No good bye at the airport at the end of August ...

It is time to grow up.

Short update

2008-05-31T21:08:00.003+02:00

After the whole day of studying we went for a short ride on a bike with Peťo. He borrowed me his bicycle and we had another one from Feri. It was wonderful, I enjoyed it a lot. It is really great to combine studies with active relax :-)) I feel much better now!!!

Moreover, I got message from Kačka, my business project team mate. And it seems that the date of our presentation is postponed. Hmm I wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible, and now, we will not have it done until 19th June. Well, never mind, at least we will have a bit more time to work on it.

Apart that no news from here, keep studying :-))

2008-05-25T22:20:00.004+02:00

Sometimes I just need to sing for myself:

Don't worry, be happy :-))

It will soon pass whatever it is.

Really love that song.

Stockholm

2008-05-25T19:31:00.003+02:00

No photos so far, but will post some soon :-)

My first impressions from Sweden:

everything is so green and there are so many trees and woods all around (55% of the whole surface is covered with woods)
the sun goes down very late at this period, at 10:30pm it started to get dark
people around were not so blond and so tall as I thought they might be :-)

My impressions from Stockholm:

there is water everywhere - many seagulls and other birds are flying around
men take much more care of themselves than here - all of them were very well dressed and their hair was really well cut, mostly they were dressed in suits or trendy jeans
men with buggies is very common phenomenon in Sweden (men have 60 days for maternity leave, the same for women, and it is not transferable between them; therefore, most of men take maternity leave as well)
the metro is very silent - in Prague there is always so much noise, here it is perfectly silent
as the density of population is very low, the city is not crowded at all (I remember in Dublin there were sooooo many people)
there is always the wind blowing
the prices are incredibly high

I really enjoyed this trip. Stockholm is very agreeable place to be. We were lucky and the weather was just perfect - the blue sky and the sun was shining. Moreover, what I enjoyed a lot were people in the dorm where we were staying. Even though we came just for few days, they were really open, asked us to join them for the BBQ. Comparing to Prague it was totally different feeling. Here hardly ever people say hello to each other while meeting in the corridor. We had really nice time :-)

2008-05-15T14:00:00.002+02:00

Thanks to Terka I have discovered this wonderful music.

Lucky

Life is wonderful

I'm yours

2008-05-09T11:35:00.001+02:00

Past five years in "Prague" and what will be the next?

2008-05-08T20:32:00.005+02:00

Past five years (September 2003 till June 2008):

first two years - Prague (including one month in Poland)
six months - Peru
five months - Prague
four months - USA
six months - Prague
three months - Brussels
one months - Slovakia
six months - Belgium
five months - Prague

******************************************

One year ahead (July 2008 till June 2009):

two months - who knows :-)
ten months - Nebraska, USA

Having a bit weird feeling, some kind of unidentified mixture somewhere inside me. Is that what I wanted? Is that the direction that I have voluntarily chosen? Traveling all around the globe is addictive. Once you start, there is no other option to take. More and more. No other way of being. Is there any point where one is willing to stop? Am I at that point? Or will I get there?

Via ferrata/Klettersteig

2008-05-07T11:53:00.007+02:00

I have never heard about via ferrata before. I had basically no experience in climbing. Therefore, I was a bit afraid and I did not know what to expect. It was a challenge, real one, and I am so proud that I managed to do it. It was wonderful weekend full of unforgettable moments and I just loved it. Moreover, the company was very nice - we all got on very well :-)) And I was so much taken care of ooooh.

We left Prague on Friday evening. There were seven of us - Čenda, Feri, Peťo, Tomík, Jana, Lucka and me. Both nights girls slept in the car (btw, very comfortable one) and boys outside.

...here we are ...

...morning teeth brushing...

...our "home"...

...beautiful mountains...

First day: via ferrata in Au, Austria

...getting ready for via ferrata...

...my backpack ready to go...

...I was so much trembling at the beginning, I just could not prevent it; but after the first stage I felt much better and more confident and I started enjoying it sooooo much :-))

...wonderful view...

...looks a bit dangerous, but in reality, we were safe because of two carbines...

...waterfall...

...here we are (without Peťo who is taking the picture)...

...proud of ourselves, with our trendy Slovak T-shirts :-))

...having lunch yamiiiiii...

As we decided to spend the second night in car as well, we went to the spa and swimming center not far from the place where we were staying. There was pool with salt water, sulfur water, relaxing corner with heating seats, swimming pool with warm water, swimming pool for swimming... Just wonderful place for relaxing :-))

Second day: we divided into two groups - one went for very tough ferrata and the rest went for a trip to waterfalls; both were great options and everybody was happy about it :-))

...waterfall...

...very last picture of our trip... time to go back to Prague.........

It is really hard to describe how I felt during this trip. It was mixture of fear at the beginning, expectations, challenge, happiness, relax. We had wonderful time all together. It was one of those reasons why I feel so good and satisfied.

Spriiiiiiing youpiiiiiiiii

2008-04-13T11:18:00.002+02:00

Oh, I love the smell of fresh cut grass, spring is comiiiiing youpiiiiiii :-))

2008-04-12T22:21:00.007+02:00

So many good things are happening to me at the moment :-)

I spent wonderful weekend with wonderful people in the mountains (Josefuv Dul, Jizerky)

(...here we are...)

(...all in blue...modra je dobra :-))

(...tired after heavy partying...)

(...lazy to wake up in the morning...)

we had great fun in Lucerna Music Bar - finally wonderful opportunity to daaaaaaaance

today's wonderful trip in Krusne hory with bunch of CEMS people
tomorrow I am going to climb for the first time in my life
and next week maybe again
... (this one is very personal :-)
maybe going to Alpes for several days wau (if I am not in a good shape to go to Alpes, then I will go to Machovo jazero - lake in CZ)
going to Stockholm from 21st to 24th May
I am eating from the bowl that I made by myself :-)
and all of these activities are combined with university classes, essays' writing, case competition and business project
oh...and concerning this, I am going...

Yupiiii, great revelation :-)

2008-04-12T21:56:00.002+02:00

During past few months I have been working a lot in different teams. Sometimes it was very nice, sometimes it was very annoying. It always depends on team members and their ability to get on with other people.

I always knew that I am not very creative person. And after so many team works I realized one thing. I am always willing to cooperate, but on the other hand, I am never the one with "wonderful and creative" ideas. I thought I might not be as smart as the others. And it bothered me a lot. I felt very uncomfortable.

During our last HR course we were talking about team roles and we got one test. And finally I realized that it is not that I am not as smart as the others. I have just different team role. I am "TEAM WORKER". What does it mean? Here is short explanation:

The "TEAM WORKER" is the team's harmoniser. His concern is for team unity and good spirit. He is aware of others' needs and worries, knows most about their private lives and family affairs, has the clearest perception of the emotional undercurrents in the team. Normally his/her contribution is not very visible. But when pressures threaten to disrupt the team, his loyalty, sympathy and support is invaluable. He/she tends to be extrovert and calm. He/she is the most sensitive member of the feelings of others. He is the most active internal communicator. Unassertive, a good listener, he/she builds on others' ideas rather than producing his/her own rival ideas. He dislikes confrontation and tries to avoid or defuse it. He/she is loyal to the team as a unit.

Hesitating

2008-04-03T19:48:00.000+02:00

Should I stay or should I go???

Happy in Prague :-)

2008-03-16T09:41:00.000+01:00

Unbelievable... Yesterday, after the whole week of running around I realized that I am happy again, that I enjoy my being back and that actually, there are so many good things happening now. There is a lot of work ahead and April will be probably one of the toughest months of the whole studies so far. But it is really good. I realized that I enjoy my studies MUCH MUCH more than before. I like going to all classes and lectures and I really attend the university regularly. Comparing to my Bachelor studies, this is totally new feeling for me :-))

Moreover, I have met so many nice people since I came back. I really hope that we will get to know each other better and have a good time all together.

And I like my ballet classes and ceramics course :-)

Oh, I like being back here!!!

CEMS Business project in L'OREAL

2008-03-14T15:07:00.003+01:00

Today we have officially started our CEMS Business project in L'OREAL. We had the first meeting at the company with the director of the Professional division. It was definitely interesting. We fixed meetings for the rest of the semester and he provided us with short introduction. It looks like real thing. They are launching new brand in September and we are supposed to do the marketing research. A lot of work ahead. Which is not really surprising as it counts for 15 ECTS credits at our university.

At the end, he asked us about the brand that we use for our hair. I felt a bit uncomfortable about discussing this with him. But the result of this discussion was that we got L'OREAL products for our type of hair (I think I have enough shampoo and different hair care products for the rest of the year heh :-))

Concerning CEMS Business Projects there are seven or eight teams working with different companies in Prague. Some of them are really demanding and time consuming (the team cooperating with McKinsey is supposed to spend 15 hours per week working on the project!!!). In the end, I think our project could be useful for me in order to find out, if marketing is the right thing for me :-))

Disorganization

2008-03-07T19:47:00.003+01:00

No idea, what is happening to me. I am completely disorganized. I should use more my agenda and take notes of everything I would like to do and especially, promised to do.

1st proof: Yesterday my classes were starting at 11am. No idea how it could happen, but I was persuaded that the beginning is at 9:15. I came to my class, looked around, wondering, how come there were no familiar faces. I thought they might come later, and it is normal, there are some new people in the class (in the 5th week of classes, really stupid idea). Fortunately, friend of mine was there, he came to me and told me that I am probably in a bad class. Surprised, I checked the number of the room. It was ok. BUT the time was not... So I took my stuff and left. Heh...in five years at the university, this never happened to me. I think it never in my life happened to me.

2nd proof: I promised to Janka to prepare paté chinois with her on Sunday. Then, another Janka called me and I promised her to go for a trip with her on Sunday. Afterwards, I realized that I have test and pre-case study and some homework due the following week. Just total mess. I should stay home and study.

3rd proof: This is mostly proof of the total mess in my head heh Nice guy (room mate of a friend of mine) invited me for a coffee. Instead of accepting his offer, I told him I have to finish some stuff (which was obvious lie as it was just 4th week of school and there are no urgent homework to do). Unbelievable, I have no idea why I refused in that moment heh

I should work on my time-management and my self-organization. Otherwise, I will be complete mess for the rest of the semester heh Well, will be again in a shape soon :-))

My new hobbies :-)

2008-03-07T16:29:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I went for the first time in my life to ballet class. For those who know me it is probably difficult to imagine me dancing ballet. But this class is really good. It is for total beginners and even if I am the less flexible one from the whole group, I just do not care :-)) I think I will keep attending the classes. We did just the very basic things such as plié and first position and second position etc. But I felt so good afterwards and moreover, it is really good exercise for my body.

Moreover, the next Wednesday the ceramics course begins. I am so much exited about it. I just love everything connected to hand work and have never tried ceramics. So this is really perfect opportunity to do it. Really curious about that.

Missing NATURE

2008-03-05T00:02:00.004+01:00

Few weeks ago Jar* told me that he does not like my way of visiting places. He was having impression that I am visiting just for one reason - to be able to say that I have been there. Honestly, not true. For me the true and real visiting is equal to discovering, enjoying the original and unique spirit of the place and admiring of everything that cannot be seen anywhere else. There is nothing better than finding the secret coin that sometimes even people from the place do not know.

On the other hand, I have to admit that during my last weeks in Belgium I was quite tired. I was lacking energy for being enthusiastic about every detail. The reason was very simple. I kept visiting from beginning of the September - every single weekend with some exceptions was spent on journey. And that is quite a lot, I suppose. Even for such a traveler as I am.

Then one day, after short walk around the neighborhood of the house where I was staying, I realized one thing. How much I am missing the nature, walks in the forest, singing birds, flowers, the smell of mushrooms and wood noises. Mountains. Lakes. Trees. Every single detail. As it was one of those early spring days, the smell was even stronger. Just like the village in the countryside.

Birds were singing, people were working on their new houses, the smell of burning leaves reminded me of my childhood. It made many memories come back to my mind. I remembered all those summers spent at my grand-mother’s place with all my cousins, wonderful walks in the forest, the huge amount of mushrooms, green meadow with all bugs bothering me from time to time :-)

And suddenly, in that moment I realized that probably going back to Prague would not be so bad :-)) Instead of visiting cities I would be enjoying walks in the nature. Two weekends are gone already, have not started yet. But hopefully, soon I will be heading somewhere out of Prague.

Oh, actually, this is my second new year's resolution. Even if it is probably quite late for that. I will try to spend much more time in the nature during this year. In order to have much more "hiking" kilometers in my shoes :-))

Working for NGO

2008-03-04T23:42:00.002+01:00

After my stay in Peru I started to think about working for NGO. I wanted to give sense to my life and have good feeling about the result of my effort. I was very glad to meet Ivana in EP, she talked a lot about her job in Človek v ohrození, which is NGO operating in Slovakia. According to what she was telling me, I thought I really might like it.

When I came back from Belgium, I decided that it's time to start doing something. The result of my effort was that I joined one group in Amnesty International. There are really interesting people there (some of them with dreadlocks :-)) I have impression to be in a different world. These people are really concerned about what is happening, and according to my first impression they are not so much into business as the most of people I know.

On the other hand, it is not exactly the kind of work I was looking for. At the moment we are organizing demonstration for Tibet in front of the Chinese embassy. I would love to work on some concrete project and see some concrete results. For example fund raising money for school in Africa (current CEMS Humanitarian Project) or improving hospitals in developing countries or organize educational trainings where it is needed etc. I think I would love that. But so far no result and it does not really seem there will be any. So I keep looking for.

Coincidences

2008-03-04T23:06:00.001+01:00

Few months ago I read wonderful book written by James Redfield, the title of the book was Celestine Prophecy. I just loved it. It was about coincidences and how everything is connected. Very interesting point of view. Since then, I was thinking about the topic. Do I really believe that everything is based on coincidence? And that somehow we still have the power to influence it by our way of thinking and acting?

Few days ago I put my AIESEC T-shirt on after quite a long time. Thanks to AIESEC logo on it we started discussing with my room mate one guy that both of us know. He used to be member of AIESEC as well. She told me he is leaving soon for a traineeship and later on, he would like to get the scholarship in Hamburg. Since then I could not prevent myself from thinking about the scholarship. Is there any real opportunity to leave and finish my studies abroad?? I was determined to look for it on the Internet, maybe I would be lucky and possibly find it out. It was not really necessary.

The following day I decided to buy the hair dryer. While whenever walking in the center of Prague I hardly meet someone who I know. Coincidence or not, I met this guy. He was actually leaving the same day for Germany, so I was really lucky to meet him. Of course, I asked him about the Hamburg thing and we discussed it a bit. He was no more motivated to pass his Master studies in Prague. None of us is. Then I wished him good luck and we said bye to each other. I had really mess in my head. Big mess. I was asking myself if this was the sign that I should try to get abroad again. I had crazy idea. If I meet him one more time that day, I will do that. I bought my hair dryer. And decided to buy some chocolate. And I ran across him again...

Then I was trying to organize somehow my thoughts. Was that really coincidence? Should I try to find some way of finishing my studies abroad??

Maybe I would not be so worried about spending one and half year back in Prague. So far I am slightly getting used to it, even though I am missing Brussels a lot. What I am afraid of is the lack of motivation after one year and half. I remembered myself when I came back from Strasbourg. It was more or less the same feeling. I was so determined to get back there for my university studies. But only 5 months passed and I had decided not even to apply for that. What if this happen to me again just because I am too lazy???

Relaxed state of mind

2008-03-03T01:02:00.003+01:00

I used to be so much hyperactive, always in a hurry, with no free time left for myself. I realized that I have slightly changed, or at least, I am trying to be more relaxed. I would say that I am in a bit different state of mind at the moment. We will see, for how much time I will be able to keep this approach heh

Actually, last two weekends were so much relaxing. The first one at home, the second one here in Prague. I was being spoiled by my Mum, it was just wonderful to be in Bratislava for a while. This weekend, on the contrary, I stayed alone in a dorm, my dorm mates left on Friday evening. I spent the whole Saturday reading a book and later on, finishing one motivation letter. I was wondering, how it is possible that it still takes me so much time to write one. I have already written dozens of them heh In the evening I met Lucka, she is Slovak and from CEMS as well. Really nice girl, she invited me to spend a weekend with bunch of Slovak people. I am really looking forward to that!!!

On Sunday I met Andrej, the son of the eurodeputee I used to work for. He is studying in Prague as well and we met in EP when he was there for internship. I really like his company, I always learn something from him. Moreover, he is nice and open, just perfect person for interesting and relaxing chat. We went to see exhibition about Albrecht from Valdstejn, quite good one. And then for pizza, yamiiiiiiiiii :-))

The week ahead will be probably a bit busy, but I like being busy. In a relaxed way :-))

I am back in Prague

2008-02-18T12:50:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I get on the plane and when I woke up, I was already in Prague. Everything was the same, and somewhere inside I was asking, if I am the same as well. Probably from outside there is no major change. And from inside? I am richer because of people that I have met on my way and because of things I have lived. That's it.

My new room mate seems to be really nice, hopefully, we will get on well. Moreover, I got my Bc. diploma today, it is nice piece of paper :-)) Looking forward to have the real one with Ing. written on it :-))

I decided to write just very shortly. Otherwise, I would be writing about very weird feelings that I have now, how strange it is to be back again and having the impression of not knowing anybody. But it is not really important. What really matters is that I have to make my life here again and depends on me, on the way I arrange it, how it will be. So I selfishly keep my fingers crossed for me :-))

The first snowdrop in 2008

2008-02-06T00:46:00.000+01:00

As I love flowers, it is really easy to imagine my joy while finding this beautiful snowdrop in the garden of the wonderful mansion in Ichtegem in Flandres Occidentales.

Countryside in Flanders

2008-02-06T00:08:00.000+01:00

Instead of going to Boulex, the Brussels' most famous party taking place the first Saturday of each month, I was discovering Flemish countryside. Jean-Charles, ex-kotmate of Ashika, invited me for a house party in Ichtegem. As I did not have any expectations, the final result was very nice.

I was impressed by the house. It reminds me of real aristocratic mansion.

It has plenty of rooms...

...wonderful garden...

...tennis courts, green house, lake (during each party taking place in the house somebody is thrown to it - this time it was Pierre, boyfriend of the girl in possession of this house) ...

...small house for guard and nice park around the place.

And just 15 minutes far from the sea!!!
Unfortunately, nobody is living there anymore. So the overall result is quite miserable. But still, wonderful place to be.

(Almeric and Jean-Charles having "breakfast" at 2pm :-))

Two weeks before my departure

2008-02-01T23:24:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I met Miška and Majka, two CEMS girls from my university who have semester in LLN ahead. Oh, I envy them so much. Would love to spend one more semester here. My departure is getting closer and closer, two weeks left...

Afterwards I went for a drink with Jerome, my salsa partner. He is really nice. I regret not to have opportunity to get to know him better. Yesterday and even during our salsa classes we had always so much fun together. Looking forward to see him again. He proposed Monday, but I am not really sure, if it will be possible for me. I feel a bit like in a golden cage. I enjoy being in th house with Doris's family a lot, but it is always so complicated to get around. And I do not want to bother them too much...

Quality of life

2008-01-28T21:43:00.000+01:00

I have already been living in different places such as very small room with little light, huge room with a lot of light, shared room, single room, room with wonderful view on El Misti volcano, room with no view, nice and clean house, very dirty house, kot which reminds me a bit of shared flat, shared house hmm that's it probably. But I have never lived in a house with swimming pool heh till now :-))

Doris asked me again if I want to swim. So I put on my swimming suit and went downstairs. The swimming pool itself is quite small, it is maybe 10x4 meters. But there is this special BUTTON, which you push in order to have counter current. So actually, I was swimming on the same place. Seems weird, but it is really great. Oh, I think will go for that tomorrow as well. Really need some sport.

This is probably what makes the difference while talking about quality of life.

Different face of LLN

2008-01-27T21:56:00.001+01:00

In January we spent quite a lot of time with Janka walking around LLN and discovering totally new places. It was part of the whole studying procedure heh sometimes, short breaks are necessary :-)) This actually turned out to be really interesting activity. Especially, once we walked around weird place, looked like a skvot (sorry, have no idea how to write this word). I would never imagine such a place in surroundings of LLN. Maybe some hippie students are living in there. Who knows?

Unfortunately, my photos are not really sharp... I took only my old camera.

Sweet kisses and football match

2008-01-27T20:21:00.000+01:00

Oh, today I got two sweet kisses for good night, one from Jules and another one from Antoine. They are soooo sweet.

On the other hand, I lost in table football with Jules (ehm which is a bit shame as he is only 6 years old), but to compensate my previous defeat I won the second match heh So we are even at the moment. We will see, how the score will go on during the next days :-))

Some photos from trip to Lille:

...Martin and Jules...

...Doris...

...Jules...

...Antoine - he is like the little sun, always smiling...in this photo surprised by my camera...

...Antoine - hiding in the buggy, look at those big eyes :-))

Brussels, Tournai, Lille (weekend)

2008-01-27T18:33:00.001+01:00

On Saturday I went to Brussels quite early in the morning. I was supposed to have breakfast at Giuseppe's place, he left me the key from his apartment as he is in Korea during the whole week. I just love the place. It is in the very center of Brussels, which is simply the best :-) Moreover, the place itself is cozy, romantic and comfortable. It is some kind of old but bright apartment with gas fireplace, two spacious rooms, wooden floor, piano, and wonderful decoration (yes, it really seems that Giuseppe has a good taste).

Later on I went to Tournai. Even though it is closer from Enghien, I decided to benefit from the weather. I did not really stay long though.

I arranged with Laurence for the evening. It was nice to see her again. We went to Los Romanticos. I always feel so stupid while dancing salsa, just cannot feel the rhythm (have to work on that once back in Prague). Moreover, it is the place where Bernardo comes quite often and I was tired as I did not sleep a lot. For all these reasons I left quite early.

In the morning I took the train to Enghien. Martin came to pick me up and later in the day, we went to Lille. I really like the city. Center and Vieux Lille is beautiful, reminds me a bit of Bruges. We had nice lunch, walked a bit around and came back. I liked the day :-))

...main square in Lille...

...typical café resto...

...book market... heh I could spend hours there...

...Martin and Jules looking for some nice book...

...ehm not sure what kind of building is that, but is is nice, isn't it? :-)

...street in Vieux Lille...

My temporary home

2008-01-25T21:47:00.000+01:00

Ok, I moved again. This time within Belgium. As I had no accommodation since today, Doris, my manager, proposed me to stay at her place. She told me that she has a big house with a swimming pool, if I want, I can even swim in there. I agreed, who would refuse such an offer.

Later on, I started to be a bit worried. Well, it is not so obvious to live at your manager's place. One never know... I arrived few hours ago. And it seems to be really nice and agreeable so far.

The name of the place is Enghien and it is approximately 30km far from Brussels. Not far at all. The only thing is that the house is around one hour far from the train station, which makes me dependent on Doris and her husband Martin a lot.

Well, but for three weeks it is perfect place to stay. I have not seen surroundings of the place yet as we arrived by night. But it seems to be quiet town. What I like the most about the house are children's toys everywhere. It gives the place such a cozy atmosphere.I have wonderful big room with huge bed and "table football" heh :-)) Moreover, I am sharing bathroom with the two cutest boys I have ever seen hihi one is 2 and the other one is 6 years old :-)) There is swimming pool and many things that I would hardly find in some other house.

Moreover, I have impression that we will all get on well. Doris told me that if I want to do something on my own, it is perfectly ok for them, they will not feel offended. And if I would like to do something with them, it will be their pleasure. For example, on Saturday evening they invited some friends as they thought that it might be good for me. But the thing is I have already arranged with Laurence. So I do not know, what to do grrrrrrr.

Facebook torture

2008-01-25T14:49:00.000+01:00

Since the beginning of January I am doing my internship in Pfizer in LLN at the department of Human Resources. Sometimes very interesting, sometimes less, I try to use my time in the most effective way. Either I work on the projects that I am responsible for, or, while waiting for approval from my manager, I read news, articles about different historical issues, photography or simply blogs of my friends.

During the first week I even signed once into my FB account to reply to some messages. Few days ago I wanted to sign in again, and here is the result: "Pfizer has blocked myspace.com and facebook.com as a result of the proliferation of malicious software being distributed from each of these web sites. The Pfizer Information Security and Privacy Council (ISPC) understand the personal value some colleagues receive from this web site, but the business risk is unacceptable."

Pity, hm?? I have only notifications to my email, when somebody writes me nice message. BUT I cannot answer!!! I feel as if I was shown delicious cake (you know, how much I am keen on sweets), heh, but would tell me that I can have it only if I bake the same at my place, where the oven is not always working heh (well, maybe a bit complicated metaphor :-))) but the point is there :-))

After 20 weeks in LLN

2008-01-25T11:25:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I packed everything. I cleaned the whole room. Well, apart windows, what I had to do today in the morning in order not to have any deduction from the guarantee. And I left my room after 20 weeks. Without any tears, without any special emotions. Nothing. How come?? There must be some reason. It is probably due to the fact that I am not leaving the place for good yet. I will be coming to LLN everyday, I will meet my kotmates and some other people that were part of my life here. And I will meet some friends in Brussels as well. It is not finished yet. Not at all. I still have some time left. Let's enjoy it!!!

Crossroad

2008-01-22T17:34:00.000+01:00

A week and half ago I found myself on the crossroad. I was standing there, looking once to the right another time to the left, thinking which direction would be better choice for me. Which one would represent bigger challenge, would provide me with more satisfaction and inner happiness, more self-esteeme and personal development. Yesterday, I crossed the road. There was red light on one side and the green one on the other one. It was not really me, who has made the choice. But circumstancies that I could not change at this moment.

Standing there, in the middle of something unknown, gave me opportunity or maybe forced me to really think about both directions. To assess my motivation for pursuing one or the another. I managed to make it clear in my head. And the best about it is that now I am able to see even more opportunities ahead.

As once Tomek wrote me, the world is ours, we will get as much as we want :-))

My birthday 2008

2008-01-21T00:49:00.000+01:00

As my birthday is in January, exactly in the middle of exam period in Prague, there is no opportunity for preparing any kind of special evening or party.

This year, being finished with exams before, I enjoyed the day a lot. I got such a nice present - the practical one as I was said. Two cute "worry people", small figures made out of matches. In case of any worries it is necessary to share those worries with these puppets, place them under the pillow, and in the morning worries are gone. And it works!!!! :-) Moreover, we tasted snails with Janka. It was a bit challenge, as snails are not the most cutest animals ever heh. But in the end, it was quite good lol ;-)) Later on, Spanish people sang Cumpleanos feliz for me and we had fun at the party. I was so happy about all messages, emails, phone calls, facebook and ICQ wishes that I got.

THANKS A LOT, YOU ALL MADE MY DAY!!! :-)

(snails ... yamiiiii ;-))

(looks delicious, hm?)

(happy about eating and even more about having finished it lol ;-)

My favorite café and resto in LLN

2008-01-20T23:58:00.000+01:00

Cedric was in Brussels this weekend. As I had the birthday on Friday, we went for a dinner today. Oh, but this was THE DINNER.

Firstly, we had an appetizer at my place. Wonderful champagne from real champagne glasses :-) And afterwards, we chose "Empreintes nomades" as a resto for dinner. It is very agreeable place for having a coffee (they prepare wonderful lait russe and cappuccino, and always add small piece of Toblerone chocolate yamiiiii ;-) and food is delicious (based on today's experience). Moreover, from time to time there is one server who reminds me of Brad Pitt (hehe if Janka read this, she would definitely laugh a lot :-)) 'cause she does not really share my opinion hehehehe).

Well, back to the topic :-)) I took tajine and Cedric had mezzo. Ooooooooh, it was for the first time that I ate tajine, but it was sooooo gooooood. Moreover, I really like chatting with Cedric. He has interesting point of view on different issues.

Such a cultural weekend

2008-01-20T23:45:00.000+01:00

Apart Rubens's exhibition with Janka I joined Giuseppe and his friends for exhibition of Arab world. Interesting, a bit abstract, but definitely original approach to the topic :-)

On Sunday I joined Šaňo and Katka for baroque concert. It took place in small chapel in Brussels and even though it was for free, Šaňo had to book places for us. It was baroque opera, musicians played the special ancient baroque musical instruments. I loved it. After a good movie I always leave cinema with wonderful feeling. I had exactly the same feeling after this concert. Oh, hard to describe it. Such an experience, being really into the music, do not thing about anything else, just live it.

When there are no exams...

2008-01-20T23:43:00.000+01:00

...weekends are full of different activities :-))

On Saturday, we went with Janka to see exhibition of Rubens's paintings in Bozarts museum in Brussels. I enjoyed being in Brussels a lot. It is a city that provides quite a lot of nice surprises while walking in the streets. This time it was nice concert in Ravenstein passage. Afterwards, we wanted to do some shopping, but because of huge mass of people we decided to let it be and instead, enjoyed one glass of "vin aromatisé" in Goupile le Fol.

Later on, I met Giuseppe and some of his friends. It was really agreeable evening in their company. Hope to catch up with them soon again.

There was party at Miguel's place that night in LLN. Hehe there is always quite a lot of fun at Miguel's place :-)) I was a bit tired and sad about saying good bye or maybe adios... Who knows. At some point, Erasmus people started to spill beer all around the kot and all around the people. Some of them were totally wet. I really liked the comment of one Belgian guy: "Heh they have adopted Louvain la Neuve." It could not be said in more precise way :-))

The bottle of wine

2008-01-20T03:36:00.000+01:00

Today, very unexpectedly, I got a present. It was a cork. Very simple one. Red wine. Chateau Verite 2005. There was just the name and phone number (not the Belgian one) written on it.

Oh, gosh, how I hate saying goodbye...

I still have the label of that bottle.

Fňuk

2008-01-15T16:48:00.002+01:00

We arranged with my kot-mates to have bye bye dinner together, once all of us are done with exams. It was supposed to be this Wednesday and we wanted to go to Piano, as I have not been there yet and it is one of those "musts" in LLN. But lately, my two kot-mates argued and the evolution of the situation is not really in the right direction. Of course, the reason is so stupid. Everything began when we told Justine to wash her dishes more often than once per two weeks. Later on, Justine accused Joy of having burnt her microwave. Etc etc etc...

The result is that Joy told me today in the morning that it does not really fit her to come for the dinner. But well, she will do her best and try to come. Later on, Justine came and told me that because of some problems she definitely has to go home tomorrow. But if I want, we can go for the dinner during the next semester when I am still here. Blah blah blah...

I feel sad. Because I was really looking forward to it soooo much... I know, it is not the end of the world. But it is really pity that we managed to live together without any serious problems and now, when I am about to leave the place, everything is going wrong.

Puzzle

2008-01-09T22:36:00.000+01:00

Life is a puzzle built from different pieces that can eventually change the whole shape of final jigsaw. Pieces represent choices that we have to make, moments when we have to decide which path we will pursue in the future. Seems like a cliché?

2007

2008-01-01T23:35:00.000+01:00

At the end of the year I always make the evaluation of those past 365 days.

I wanted 2006 to finish so much! And when it was over, on the 1st January 2007 at 00:00 while watching wonderful fireworks over Danube river, I made a deal with myself. I will try to enjoy every single minute of the next year, and leave all negative thoughts in 2006, will try to travel and to get to know new place where I have not been before. Simply said, I will try to do everything that I missed in 2006 and skip everything that bothered me so much.

And now, at the beginning of 2008, I am happy to look back. Really HAPPY and SATISFIED. I did my best and I know that I could do even a bit better. But there is always space for continuous improvement :-)

I visited so many places (Milan, Paris, all around Belgium - Leuven, Atwerpen, Ghent, Knokke, Osteende, Bruges, Blankenberge, Brussels, Namur, Dinant, Hasselt, part of Wallonie - then Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Trier, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Dublin, Berlin, several times MY Strasbourg ... ). I got accepted to CEMS what I dreamed about since my first year at the university. I did my traineeship in European Parliament. I spent wonderful week at Rhodos with my Mum. I finished my Bc. degree. I passed my Erasmus semester in Louvain la Neuve (which is really specific place, probably unique :-) And what is the most important, I met many wonderful people, pieces from their souls are still living in me.

One thing that I regret a lot is that while being so much abroad I lost contact with some friends from Prague. Have not heard from them for a while... Moreover, I could not go to Santiago de Compostela during the summer and apart those four wonderful days in Tatras at the end of August, I did not spent much time in the mountains or generally, in the nature.

This year was full of experience, fun, experiences, personal and professional development, new motivation and ideas. I learned a lot from my own mistakes.

I simply LOVED it!!! And I would like to thank all of you for being part of it and making it as beautiful as it was.

Resumé of my Erasmus semester in LLN

2007-12-22T12:50:00.000+01:00

At some point, my Erasmus experience is already over. Well, even though I am coming back in January, the most of the people I used to hang around with will not be there anymore. Again, time to say good bye. Saying good bye always makes me thinking about the whole adventure, about nice and sad moments, actually, about the enrichment that I have taken out of that.

(from this kind of bricks is built the whole city of LLN)

The value of this experience is really huge, as from the personal and professional point of view as well.

(one of our lecture hall, it was always sooooooo warm inside heh)

Concerning personal development, I got quite a lot of feedback on my personality, I realised how the others percieve me. Not always there are sincere and honest people around. This time, I was lucky, I met people able to say directly what they think. What I learned for the future? I should me MUCH MORE self confident. Never underestimating myself nor the other people. I should not be afraid of being wrong. I should not compare myself to the others. Of course, there are so many people that are so much better in so many issues, but I should be aware of my own qualities and skills. Never leave people treating me badly. And act according to what I feel, not according to what the others say.

(Laurie - Quebec, Hanna - Finland, me, Janka - Czech/Slovak Republic)

Concerning my professional development, I was so happy about having the opportunity to attend all these six courses. I realized that the system is so much different from what I was used to in Prague. No real learning by heart. But UNDERSTANDING is the most important. Critical thinking is the basis of the most of my courses. This makes my grey cells moving in different direction that they were used to. Moreover, the most of these courses had practical aspect. People that worked in the business were giving us lectures, their valuable knowledge and point of view was formed by their own experience. We had to work on many case studies from the praxis, on projects related to the companies, which was never the case in Prague. There we got just the theoretical basis and the practical point of view was missing. No interaction in Prague, nobody is asking questions. Here, most of the western students are curious, thinking about the topic during the lecture and giving their own point of view. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT AS WELL!!! It is possible to learn that. I just hope that my grey cells will not get to lazy again once back in Prague...

(Charlotte - New Zeland, me, Catherine - Norway, Hanna - Finland)

Concerning people here, I met quite a lot of different and interesting personalities. I really regret that we, as CEMS students, were not able to form one better group, that we had to split in two parts, basically not interested in each other at all. And even not willing to say goodbye to each other. Unbelievable...

(Sebastian from Uruguay)

(Karolina - Poland, Catherine - Norway, Ashika - Netherlands)

(Karolina - Poland, me, Ashika - Netherlands)

Magic day in LLN

2007-12-21T18:27:00.000+01:00

If I had to find some adjective for yesterday, it would be definitely MAGIC.

It was a magic day from the very morning till the very late evening hours. There was no sun. But it was the day, when one can enjoy winter and does not really care about the cold or lack of blue sky. From early morning hours special kind of mist that makes you feel good was spreading around. It was not snowing, however, everything was white with frost and I felt as if I were part of magic country.We went for a while to the forest and it was so beautiful there, so mystic.

In the evening, when I was coming back from Leuven, the small pieces of frost were flying in the wind. They were sparkling as if they were little stars falling from heaven. I liked it. I enjoyed the silence in the streets. I admired the white sidewalk and was happy when I did the first step in this beauty. Just wonderful.

Before, I went to Brussels to give my suitcase to Arpad. As I was supposed to meet Matus later in Leuven, I had still two hours left. I stayed in Brussels admiring again and again Grand Place with all those lights and wonderful music. I went to Place St Catherine where I walked around one of the most beautiful Christmas markets ever. I enjoyed the moment. Again and again.

In Leuven we met with Matus. I am always so happy about blog meetings, even if it was just some kind of mini blog meeting. Youpiii and I got some chocolates. They were supposed to accopany me to the plane, but as the plane is delayed, probably I will eat the most of it even before boarding :-)

First resolution for upcoming year 2008

2007-12-16T21:46:00.000+01:00

I have to work on my "strong" will.

St. Nicolas

2007-12-06T21:41:00.000+01:00

Youpiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-))

St. Nicolas came, he found me even if I am in Belgium :-)) I have so much chocolate now. Even though I decided to avoid buying and consuming it after this weekend, I will have to take care of that somehow. Ehm :-))

I bought chocolates for my colocs and I put there a small paper saying that it is "petit cadeau de St. Nicolas". They seemed to be really happy. As I saw that it made them happy, I was happy as well and I went to the shop and bought more chocolate for other friends as well hehe Actually, it is very egoistic approach. Making others happy just in order to make myself happy :-)))))

Oh, but I like this tradition. A lot.

I feel good tatarata :-)

2007-11-27T20:01:00.000+01:00

I have this song in my mind at the moment. Something unbelievable happened to me. I went to my sofrology class, not motivated at all. I was so much into all my projects that I have to finish today and tomorrow, I felt tired and exhausted. I just decided to go there, because I have not been there for past two weeks and I was not sure when is the last class taking place. After one hour I left with smile on my face, walking straight in streets of Louvain la Neuve. Unbelievable :-))

I feel good youpiiiii :-))

Vydych nadych vydych nadych

2007-11-26T18:37:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I am really gratefull for my sofrology course. It really helps. Doing some respirations, when I am mad and angry really helps. Vydych nadych vydych nadych Ten times and I feel much better!!! :-)

Trip to Hasselt

2007-11-25T23:31:00.000+01:00

Of course, I missed my train. Not because I was late, but just because I had forgotten to put the memory card into my camera. Therefore I had just one hour before meeting Matúško. One hour is probably not enough to see everything in Hasselt, but it is enough to walk around the small center, take many pictures and enjoy some nice streets of the city.

As it was raining, colourful lights from this house on the main square were reflecting on the paving.

This is the very famous fountain in Hasselt. Once a year, during the whole day, there is beer instead of water splashing out of that.

These trees were just asking for B/W picture.

As most of people in Hasselt, Matúš is every day riding a bike to get around the city.

We went to some nice pub. And I tried Genever, special alcohol that is produced in Hasselt :-)) It was so nice to talk Slovak. But he seemed to be a bit sad… Hopefully, everything would be fine for him… As I had to catch the train and we were quite far from the train station, I got on the back of the bike and we rode through the whole city. I had to laugh so much, had great time :-))

Blog meeting in Leuven

2007-11-21T02:24:00.000+01:00

Matúško came from Hasselt, Matushiq with Ivka came from Prague and Katarínka came from Louvain la Neuve :-)) And they all met at the Leuven station and went for a beer and had a nice time while chatting about Belgium and its non-existing government, news from Prague, upcoming Schengen etc.We came to the train station just five minutes before last train to LLN was suppose to leave. It would be ok, if I knew where the platform D was. Running around as crazy hehe trying to find out, if the train is really coming and from where it is leaving. Such adrenaline hehe. I got on at the last minute. Yes, I am always proud of my perfect timing ability :-))

Piece of Czech Republic and Slovakia in LLN

2007-11-01T14:40:00.000+01:00

During one night in CESEC I danced with one guy. When we decided to have some beer, we had finally opportunity to talk a bit.

HE: What is your name?

ME: Katarina. And yours? (Remarque: oh yeah, this is typical beginning of conversation, it could be more original. Well, this makes me thinking about one guy, who approached me with nice question: Maybe very personal question, but can I ask you what kind of parfume are you using? Smells great. Hihihi this is nice and innovative :-))

HE: You can call me Jerry. Where do you come from?

ME: I am Slovak.

HE: Slovak or Slovenian?

ME: Slovak.

HE: Oh, I thought you said Slovenian. I am from Prague.

ME: Yes? (at this point I was thinking that he was teasing me hehe and I did not believe him that he is from Prague, probably because of his perfect French)

HE: Yes. Let’s go outside for a while.

ME: Ok, let’s go.

HE: Hm, so we can speak Czech, cannot we?

ME: Yes, of course (me answering still in French, because I still did not believe him that he is from Prague hihi)

HE: No tak to je supr, že jsi ze Slovenska.

ME: ??? ehm??? Ty si fakt z Prahy?

Oh, and of course, I cannot skip mentioning that there is one car from Bratislava and the other one from Piestany on the parking next to my place. I should finally find out, whose it is. It is nice from time to time to express myself in my mother tongue. I like to play with the language and in none of other languages I do not have this ability.

Trip to Maastricht

2007-10-29T14:18:00.000+01:00

Participants: Laurie (Quebec) and Katarinka (Slovakia)

Maastricht seems to be really agreeable city. Maybe one of the oldest one in Holland? Laurie told me that they are arguing about this status with Utrecht.

...river reminding me on Danube in Bratislava...

...museums and ramparts from the past...

...small center...

...cat observing the dog...

...green parcs full of swans and ducks...

...and romantic sunset over the panorama of the city... :-)

Trip to Rotterdam

2007-10-22T13:44:00.000+02:00

Participants: Jana (Slovakia), Laurie (Quebec), Jar*(Slovakia), Katarinka (Slovakia)

From my point of view, this seems to be really modern city with many new buildings and modern bridges.

We did not have opportunity to see many coffee shops, but this was just probably due to the fact that we stayed mainly in the center.

We visited immigrants quarter just for a while, but it was amazing to observe differences between those parts of the city. Here mostly black, Chinese orIndian people where walking around. Even the assortment in shops was different – more exotic vegetables and fruits and food in general. Interesting ;-)

Jana: "Waw, interesting statue... it has everything that a man should have ..." :-))))

...

2007-10-19T15:39:00.001+02:00

Yes, I agree, it is much better not to have EVERYTHING we desire...

Different point of view :-)

2007-10-19T15:36:00.001+02:00

PS: Hanna has bought this postcard in Berlin, I love this original point of view :-)

Trip to Berlin

2007-10-19T15:07:00.000+02:00

One day I got email from Cedric asking if anybody wanted to join him for a Berlin trip. I decided immediatly, wrote him back that I was in :-)) It seemed to be a bit crazy trip. Leaving at 3am on Saturday morning from Luxembourg and coming back at 3am on Monday. But it was worth it :-))

Firstly, the weather was perfect. No rain, just sun and blue sky.

Secondly, the company was perfect. Cedric, his friend from univesity – Laurence, Hanna and me. I felt so comfortable with all of them, it was really unbelievable. It happens sometimes that you even do not realise why and you feel this special peace inside.

Thirdly, the city is very interesting. I had such a weird feeling while looking at and touching the rests of Berlin Wall. Finally, I learned more about its history. Even in the city there is some kind of special atmosphere, you can feel it everywhere.

But what was really surprising that there were not so many people. If I remember well, the most of big European cities are so much crowded. Actually, this is not the case of Berlin.

To sum it up, just PERFECT weekend :-))

Berlin Wall

2007-10-19T15:00:00.000+02:00

Lo imposible solo tarda un poco mas...

...written on Berlin wall...

Ktoze to tu? :-)

2007-10-10T19:27:00.000+02:00

Wonderful automn

2007-10-09T15:43:00.000+02:00

During this weekend the weather was just wonderful in LLN and probably in whole Belgium. Even if I went to bed quite late on Friday, I was totally sure that Saturday is a trip day. The rest went to Bruges. As I have already been there, I decided to join Jar*.

It was such a perfect trip!!! We went to Namur and later to Dinant. I have already visited both cities, but just for one hour. It is so much true that with sun all places are so beautiful. In addition, we decided to visit two castles that are next to Dinant. They were pretty nice. Both closed, but never mind, we enjoyed the view. We took so many funny pictures. I have attached some of them, cause they are really worth to see :-) Here are some pictures from Dinant :-)

In the evening I went to Becketts. Guys were watching rugby hehe for me it was for the first time that I watched rugby match. Quite interesting hehe everybody touching everybody, such a contact game :-)) I decided not to drink at all, and I was so proud of me that I accomplish that. Everybody got quite drunk, but well, still nice evening.

On Sunday I was enjoying the sun again. We met with Renaud for a while and then I went for my aerobic class. It is so good to work out at least a bit. In the evening we went to Brussels for dinner with some friends. They were a bit complaining about the restaurant, but I felt really happy :-) Finally, I had opportunity to try this special plate of “moules”.

Playing with shadows :-)

2007-10-08T15:15:00.000+02:00

Autumn is such a beautiful season.

One of the reasons why I love it is that it always surprises me in many ways and give me possibility to play and to have so much fun :-)) I enjoy those days a lot :-))

Sometimes it reminds me on spring, but instead green, it provides the nature with many different and beautiful colours. It smells like early powerless winter, without white cover yet.

I love to walk in fallen leaves, make small figures out of fallen chestnuts, enjoy the sun and all those shadows :-))

How do I study in LLN

2007-10-04T16:28:00.000+02:00

As I have already written, I do this semester here as part of my CEMS studies. What means 30 ECTS credits chosen among some „special“ CEMS courses. These ones divided into core and elective.

Being CEMS student means here to have very limited choice. Actually, I was a bit disappointed. We were obliged to choose 3 of 5 core courses, what is not really big choice comparing to the other Erasmus students who can choose from dozens of courses.

I have not decided yet about all classes. The final deadline is this Friday. So I have one more day to be sure about my choice. As I am the prototype of indecisive person, and as I never know what I want, this will be very hard :-))

So far I can see a lot of differences between this and my home university. At my university we have basically just one exam to pass and that is it. Here we have to work quite a lot during semester (mainly preparing different case studies and presentations). In addition, there is emphasize on team work. Everything we do is in teams. What can be sometimes a bit annoying see the number of courses and though, number of different groups and people we have to deal with.

On the other hand, what I really like is connection to practice. At my university we are basically learning the theory without getting in touch with real cases (except few courses). Here we are resolving all the time different case studies from real life. It means we have to learn how to deal with the real problem that occurs in the company. Interesting, isn’it? :-)

L’automne arrive

2007-09-30T20:43:00.000+02:00

J’adore toutes ces couleurs d’automne. Il y en a tellement ici à Louvain la Neuve, vraiment j’adooooore :-))

Il y a un arbre juste devant ma fenêtre et j’adore observer comment il change de couleur du jour au jour. Avant, c’était tout vert, maintenent cela deviant de plus en plus rouge. Mais quelle rouge!!! C’est exatement la couleur que j’adooore. Cela me fait plaisir, même s'il fait mauais temps.

LLN live #2

2007-09-27T17:06:00.002+02:00

I just realized that last two posts were maybe not so positive. And as I always try to be really positive thinking and optimistic, I should balance that a bit :-))

People are really nice here. My two kotmates are friendly and we get on well perfectly. Next week there is some kind of kot rally organized in our building. It means that we will go from one kot to another, everywhere we have a drink and finally we end up to know each other :-))

In addition, there are a lot of trips and events organized by ESN (Erasmus Student Network team). There is always something going on. It means that one is never alone if he/she does not really want to rest for a while and stay at home.

I am getting used to the weather. I do not really mind if it is raining, the attitude is the most important. And in addition, I am already looking forward to some courses, it seems to be so much interesting.

Well, actually, I do really have a nice time here :-))

Baptism in LLN

2007-09-27T16:51:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we went to the theater, some kind of comedy written by Shakespeare. It is said that if you understand joke in foreigner language, then you can say that you really speak the language. Well, I hardly understood anything. I should work on my French though.

What I wanted to write about is more about LLN and atmosphere that is here at the moment. It is week of baptism. It means that the newcomers are being accepted to different cercles. Every time there are groups of young people doing what the older and more experienced ones tell them to do.

There is one cercle next to my kot. Newcomers called blues here are wearing green T-shirts and panties on their pants. I wonder if they are obliged to put diapers in that as well. But the point is, that I see this group most of the time on their knees or sitting on the wet and cold ground or even lie on that according to what the others say. They are doing "funny" things. Even Nancy, our coordinator, warned us. We should not take that for serious, it is just for fun.

And if I pass around a bit later, there are always some people puking all around the wall. Too much alcohol I suppose. This is probably student life here. But I suppose that I am maybe too old or to stranger to have fun doing that kind of stuff.

On the other hand, it is tradition here, way to get to know a lot of people. As it was said so many times, to open to each other and to become friends there has to be something that connects us. And I suppose that if they all go through this procedure, there is really SOMETHING that connects them.

Well, I am not judging as it could seem. I am not saying if it is good or bad. I am just trying to understand (ehm ... while avoiding pukes on my way home).