uzuburu-buru

My experience in Romania doesn’t starts at the time I landed at Constanta’s airport. My experience in Romania starts an afternoon, while I was posting a forum from my university. I was looking at the topic of “traineeship”. And there, I saw a post that said “If you are looking for a traineeship in another country, just call this number…”. And my AIESEC story began.

It was a matter of time to go abroad. Actually, I was just waiting to finish my June’s exam period and then to go for a traineeship in another country. Till that time, I started to get involved in AIESEC’s actions and activities. I started to realize that one of my worse decisions in my life was that I didn’t join that organization before. So, after taking some experience in the organization, by participating in a couple of conferences and in some learning events, I took the decision to go for a traineeship in another country.

For me, it didn’t matter at all in which country. The only thing that really mattered was the job description. I was searching and searching for a good job description with the guys from AIESEC, I was sending emails with my CV and further information, but nothing was fitting to me one hundred percent. So, I was a little bit disappointed about that but an afternoon, it came up a really good job description out of nowhere.

I accepted it immediately, without even see the destination. I was so happy about the job description, that I didn’t even look the rest information. So, after accepting that proposal, I started to check the rest information. It was an educational traineeship in Romania. It was great. I checked for tickets and I searched for some information about the place that I was going. By that time, I started to chat with my buddies there and I was starting to build my firsts friendships.

The time pasted and an afternoon, I was in Constanta, at the airport, waiting for my luggage. From a small window I saw two girls, with a small Romanian flag and a white piece of paper that was written in Greek “well pissed, Yiannis”. It was great! Till my first morning there, I didn’t have realized that I was in Romania. It was something that I realized in a really great way.

My first morning there, I had my greatest experience in that traineeship. I spend the previous night in an AIESECer’s house. I woke up at 9 o’clock and I went out at the court and I meat her parents. They are great people. They offered me coffee and a chair to sit. They didn’t speak English but they had a great smile on their faces. Actually, I couldn’t even speak English because I was thinking like being still in Greece.

It was the best morning there. We had a great conversation for about two hours. We spoke about history, music, politics, Romania, Greece, food and so many other things. They spoke to me in Romanian, by using some English, French and some other language’s words. They even said to me some words in Greek. I was replaying in English, French, Italian and in every other language I knew a word. We used our body languages to effort our speeches. It was great!

The days were passing so quickly that I didn’t even notice that the last day had come. It was like yesterday the day that I went to the hostel, the day that my roommates came at the room, the day that I went to my first training, at my first conference. Everything is like happened yesterday. I had great time there. And that is because all the people that I have meat there that made those two months so unique in my life’s calendar.

I was staying with three amazing girls from three different countries. Staying with them was like living in heaven and in hell the same time. They are three girls, completely different from me and each of them, with the others. We had our good times and our bad ones but in general, I think that they will agree that most of our time, more than ninety percent, was a great time. We had our crazy moments, our funny moments, our personal moments and our sentimental ones. It was a great school for me to stay with them.

But the same time, it was like hell for me. I had to look after three awesome girls that everyone felt in love with them. Noone could say which one was the most pretty. And that was the reason that everyone wanted to be in my shoes, to stay in our room, to have a piece of the great everyday life that I had there. But noone ever thought that I had also to be there for them, to make their life easy and joyful, as they made it for me with the big difference that, I had to look after three girls and they had to look after only one guy, me.

And if you think that taking care of one girls is difficult, try to imagine how difficult is for three. I am just joking because it was the best thing that I could do as a reward to those things that they do for me (cooking, cleaning, ironing, massage, styling advisors, etc). So, that was the reason why I participated in two conferences there (taking a break from our room life). That was the reason I felt so free and so great during that time. I enjoyed so much both conferences, each one for a different reason.

The first one, that I had the honor to be the chairman, it was for people that they considering to go for a traineeship in another country. So, I had the chance to speak to them, to share with them my experience and to make some new friendships. Some new friends either from Romania or from other countries and we spent there some really great time. All of them are people that it will be difficult to forget.

The second one was with the local committee from Constanta. There I had the chance to dream with them, to plan with them and to fly with them. I had the chance to know them better, by spending time with them. I had the chance to be part of their team and to share with them my thoughts about their future. It was a great challenge for me and for them. It was a challenge that I think that we will all remember.

I kept for the end the main purpose of my trip there. The trainings that me and the other two girls we were delivering. These trainings I think were the biggest challenge for us. These trainings that they didn’t had anything to do with our previous life because we are students in the university and not teachers in a school. But I think that we succeed in them too. I think that it was a great experience not only for the participants but also for us. We learned as much things as they learned and even more. Not only that, we made some new friends.

Some new friends that I am really happy that I meat them, I am really happy that they I had the chance to share with them some of my knowledge and to brainstorming with them so many new perspectives of the things that we were talked. I am so glad that I had the chance to improve myself through their comments and their feedback, to see new perspectives that I didn’t saw before and to get some of their eyes sparkle.

Sparkle, that I had so many time to see in someone’s eyes. But they were not the only ones who had a sparkle in their eyes. Actually, everyone had a different sparkle in their eyes. That is the reason why I thank everyone of you for my experience in Romania. But as it happens always in the human relations, there some people really special for me. Some people that I had the chance to spent some more time with them, to know them better and to speak about few more thinks. Some people, that the time I was with them was so amazing and so different. These people, knows who they are. We had already said a lot of things and we know that we will have the chance to see each other again.

I have to close this post because it become really big and nobody will spend time to read it. But before ending it, I have to say to all of you a great thank you. A great thank you about the things that you have done and you changed me. About the time that we spent and now is one of my greatest time periods in my life. About the things that we had discussed and about the conclusions that we made because they will change my point of view in few things.

I wish you, to have fun and to take care of yourselves. I wish you will enjoy every moment of your life and every of your dreams to become true. I hope you had such great time with me as I had with you. Bye and see you another time…

P.S. 1. I am here for few days and I already miss Romania.

2. If you want to comment, you have to click below the word “σχόλιο”, you write your comments in the white box and then you press the orange button that says "ΔΗΜΟΣΙΕΥΣΤΕ ΤΟ ΣΧΟΛΙΟ ΣΑΣ" (for those who don’t know Greek). You can also open these pages with translate.google.com, by just copying the url in the google translator's box.

3. About the photos and the all the things that you want from me, please, be a little patient because I am studying a lot and I don’t have a good internet connection. In the beginning of the October, when I will finish my exams and I will be in Athens, I will sent you whatever you asked me and what I had promised to you. This is the deadline. But I will try to make it sooner.

The end of this story had came. Maja is now back in Slovenia. But before her leaving, she gave an end to that small story. She said :

"Internship in Greece was for me an incredible experience. I was very happy that so many people welcomed me with open arms and were willing to help me and support me in any situation. I'm really thankful to everyone, especially to my buddy who was always there for me and who made my first days in Chios just unforgettable. People in library were also very cool and I will never forget the word my supervisor Aristula said the first day I came to work: »Don't worry, now you have a mom here!«And she was really like my mother all the time – when I had health problems, when I needed any kind of advice or just a good company. And I had so much fun with other interns, Okan and Aleksandra, I always smile when I remember our jokes.

I will never forget our trip by boat to Athens, it was a real adventure. We had some troubles because we had tickets with student's discount and when we entered the boat they asked Aleksandra for student's identity card but she didn't have it. So they told her to wait at the reception to fix the thing. But Okan and I were very inpatient and told her: »You don't need to go there Aleksandra, after 5 minutes everyone here will forget that you doesn't have the right ticket.« So we bought coffee, found a free bench and started a conversation about something. When suddenly someone came to me and asked: »Do you know Miss Petkovic?« I looked Aleksandra and she secretly shaked her head like she would like to say me »Don't tell him that I'm the one!« so I answered him »No, I don't know her…« Then he also asked Aleksandra and of course she said »no« too. When he went away we started to laugh but after a while we started to get a bit worried. What will happen if they will find out about our lie? Will they throw us from the boat and drowned us in the sea? =) Weekend in Athens was great because we met other interns who were on exchange in Athens and Thessaloniki so we could share our internship experiences and spent an amusing time together. A lot of them are very interesting people and it was great to hear their life stories but unfortunately one weekend was just too short to know each other very well. On Saturday we spent a great day in Aegina island and in the evening we had a night out with beers at rock of Acropolis where we could enjoy the beautiful view. Next day we met at Monastiraki and took a walk from there to Acropolis which is the most beautiful historical site that I have seen in my life. Then we had a traditional Greek lunch at Thissio and after that we visited the new Acropolis museum. I just can't describe how stunned I was when I saw all those unique sculptures and surviving treasures of Acropolis. Our time in museum was very limited because we had to catch the boat back to Chios at 7.00. We realized that if we will go to the port by tube we will definitely miss the boat, so we took a taxi. The problem was that the driver didn't know English so it was very hard to explain him where we wanted to go and that we were in a hurry. But somehow we managed to catch it so we were very relieved.

The last week of my internship my brother came to visit me and we spent a great time together just relaxing at the beach, swimming and visiting some sights around the island. And it was very convenient for us that we had the same flights back to Slovenia because it is very boring to wait hours and hours alone on the airport. The internship in Greece was an opportunity of a lifetime that has given me a new perspective on life and work. It was a summer full of invaluable experiences, learning countless life lessons and developing amazing friendships. I came home full of beautiful memories, indescribable feelings and with new inspiration which will definitely guide my future..."

I can only wish her, the end of this story, to be the beginning of a new one. And so on... And all these stories, to be part of the great book of your life. I wish you the best!!! I wish you, every of your dreams to become true and to always have this great smile in your face. And one day, who know, we will meet again, in different place or in the same... :)

Have fun and take care of your self... :D

…The days have pasted and her buddy friend had to leave her. He leaved her to live her own adventure in Chios island, with the other bees, the local and the foreign ones. He also leaved her, to live his own adventure in an other country, to live between different people, with different cultures and different thoughts.

But before that leaving, they spent great time in Chios. They went to the south part of Chios, at Pirgi and Mesta villages, at Olympus cave and to some amazing beaches, such us Agia Dinami and Mayra Volia. In that trip, it was also some bees from other countries, such as Alexandra from Serbia and Okan from Turkey. It was also a Greek bee, called Christina, that now is in Alexandria of Egypt, to live her adventure there and have great time.

As I had already told you at part 1, I don't know the end of the story. But I know what I have lived and what I have felt. You see, it's really amazing to live the people's diversity, to live in the same house with an other person from an other country, to spent your time by doing things with persons from so many different places in the world. It's so excited when you don't have to speak to express your thoughts and your feelings, but just to move your hands and taking different expressions on your face. To finally understand that there is no difference if I am from Greece, or from Spain, or from Slovenia, or from any other country. We are all part of the some world, a small piece of that great puzzle, that when you finally fix it, it makes the most amazing thing, the earth.

As an end, I just want to thank you Maja for that great time I had in Chios with you, I want to thank you for the English practice and for letting me live with you and get a first “touch” with your culture. It was really great amazing how call you were all the time and how you reacted at everything that went bad. I really missed that time with you, but I know that I will have an other experience, here in Romania. An experience, that will be a part of my life and I will always remember...

Have fun and please, try always to laugh... :)

This is my first post, written in English, so, please forgive me... the next will be again in Greek, except the "Maya in Chios (Part 2)"

The reason of writing this post in English is to be readable by everyone who knows English, to be readable by some specific persons, and to make the start, to make this blog, international.

So tonight, I'll tell you the start of the story, so to be anxious about the rest, and of course for its end.

The story begins in a small but beautiful country, called Slovenia. Its shape is like a "chicken" and the people live in peace in their amassing country. The weather there is not like this in Greece. It is not as sunny as here but it has its own beauty.

There, was a small bee, called "Maya". She has amazing eyes as everyone admits. She had traveled in many places all over the world so she decided to travel in Greece. She didn't have enough time to prepared herself for that long trip, so right now, she is trying to overpass her confusion. She passed a lot of countries at her way to Greece, so she decided to make a stop in Athens for few hours, till to go to her last place, Chios Island.

When she landed, some other bees where there to invite her to live a great experience. To make her staying there, unforgettable. Even from her first minutes there, their friend, tried to do their best to make her feel more than comfortable. They tried to make her feel like home.

They organized for her a barbecue and after that, they went her for a night swim. Furthermore, they played for her some great ballads by the star light. Everything looked fine but she didn't enjoy as much as she had to. Some strange feelings couldn't let her live those great moments as she could. She was scared about the unknown and because everything looked strange than the other places before. She was even scared to speak to the other bees and get known each other. As a result, she didn’t express herself that first night.

The first couple of days, she had great time. She started to travel all over that small island, to make new friends and of course, to have fun. She swim at the most beautiful beaches of that small island, she meat so many different people, she tasted many different foods and she started to learn some new ways of dancing flying, some new moves. From that time, her friends called her “Margarita” (daisy).

They give her that name, not only from her name, but also for the moments that they would come. They saw on her face a daisy that passing her time there, will start to grow, will start to flourish, will start to open her flower and finally, to leave. To leave for her country with so many different pictures, with so many different experiences and with the feeling that she will have some friends there. Other bees that will be her friends forever.

They went to many places, and they were having great fun all the time. She even went to work there, in a library, so to help the local people. She was translating some historical things into her language. The days were passing and she was starting to feel more comfortable, safer to express her and more smiling. She started to make fun with the other bees and she was adopting the “Greek way” of having fun…

Here is the end of the first part...

… in few days, you will have the second one, because the end of the story will be written by that small bee, Maya…

Καλησπέρα σε όλα τα μήκη και τα πλάτη...

καλησπέρα εδώ, καλησπέρα εκεί, καλησπέρα και πιο πέρα...

καλησπέρα σε εσάς, καλησπέρα σε εμάς, καλησπέρα στους in και καλησπέρα στους απ' έξω...

δηλώνω παρών σε όλο τον κόσμο και απών από την Ελλάδα.

Λυπάμαι για την απουσία μου, από τα πάτρια εδάφη και το blog, αλλά είχα τόσα πράγματα να κάνω ( και ακόμα έχω ) και τόσα πράγματα να πω ( και έχω να πω πολλά περισσότερα ).

Αρχικά είχα πάει στο


στη Λαμία... ενδεικτικά δείτε πόσο "χάλια" πέρασα...


Τι είναι τώρα το Headco Reloaded '09 : είναι το μεγαλύτερο ελληνικό ετήσιο συνέδριο της AIESEC στο οποίο μαζεύονται άτομα από τα 6 πανεπιστήμια της Ελλάδας όπου υπάρχει η AIESEC με σκοπό να ανταλλάξουν απόψεις, να γνωρίσουν νέα πράγματα, να συμμετέχουν σε δραστηριότητες και γενικότερα να "κοινωνικοποιηθούν" και να γνωρίσουν "τα δρώμενα" στην αγορά εργασίας, μέσω παρουσιάσεων και διαλέξεων από εταιρίες (πχ PWC).

Μετά συμμετείχα σε πρόγραμμα του...


που έλαβε χώρα στις Βρυξέλλες του Βελγίου. Και εκεί πέρασα χάλια...




Τι ήταν το "Shlow Camp" που συμμετείχα: πρόγραμμα του ETSC που σκοπό έχει να αφυπνίσει τους νέους σε θέματα οδικής ασφάλειας, να παρέχει τις απαραίτητες γνώσεις και να υποστηρίξει τους συμμετέχοντες στο έργο (project) που θα πραγματοποιήσουν στην χώρα τους.

Τώρα Χίο, για λίγο, μέχρι το Σάββατο το πρωί. Λίγο πριν φύγω για...


την Σμύρνη της Τουρκίας, όπου και θα συμμετέχω στην ανοιχτή συζήτηση με το πανεπιστήμιο της Σμύρνης πάνω σε τοπικά τους ζητήματα, σε κοινωνικά ζητήματα που απασχολούν τους εκεί φοιτητές και που μας επηρεάζουν μιας και είμαστε γείτονες τους...

Αυτά προς το παρόν...