Codruta Stefaniga: October 2007

Sad weekend for England, well done us!

I witnessed the sad defeat of England to South Africa yesterday night...lots of people drowned their sorrow in a pint or two.

Today...Lewis Hamilton lost the F1 racing title to Kimi Raikkonen. They are apparently investigating the 4th, 5th and 6th place for fuel irregularities and so there may be a chance for him to win still. I hope he doesn't...just because he is sooo smug.

And on top of it all...JK Rowling anounces she always thought Dumbledore is gay....uuuu..painful!

But...it has been a good week for Romania, as we won the world boxing title few days ago.

A world without Romania

More memories from Turkey

I keep meaning to put up more pictures, but for some reason these are all I have for now. Was missing my camera then and I rely on other people's.

First one is from the blue mosque, probably the most beautiful one in Istanbul. Gives a real live context to all the stories I read about Saudi Arabian women and muslims. Almost evey woman in the steets covers her head. I wonder what the true story is in Turkey now. It seems quite modern...but is it really? Something I didn't really get the chance to find out. As a tourist you may do as you please, but as a local there are quite a few restrictions. See just the fact that girls and boys had to sleep in different dorms during IC. Now that was a lot of fun to experience. :)

This is the spice bazar- the place where salesmen can speak to you in a lot of languages until they get yours right. They even know romanian. You can bargain with them for anything and they'll even end up being your friends at the end. They do gain a lot of general culture though from all the tourists and they are far from dumb, quite cunning in fact.

Another picture from the Bosphorous Strait boat trip. On the side homes of some of the richest people in Europe. Have their own boats just waiting for them at the door step. It's quite a big deal to own a place with river view. Very very beautiful. All of it. An the sunset...brilliant!

The value of money

Something that got me thinking was an ad in the Economist. I still can't get used to how expensive things are in London and this HSBC ad really puts things into perspective:

What kind of property does £175 000 buy on your latitude?

Garage, Chelsea, London

* actually this very garage was sold for $ 1 million

2 bedroom apartment, Cote d'Azur, France

Beachside villa, Thailand

So I ask myself...who in their right minds would buy property in London?
Still...Barhrain and Moscow apparently beat UK in prices, so I am not in the worst place in the world. But...compared to back home I cannot get used to how expensive everything is...

Week 1: Mancester, Glasgow, Leeds

The fun has started...my first 2 fairs and the first development visit. Hard work, but I keep reminding myself that this is how I want to live my life...challenging myself and travelling a lot. This part is called ''Reaping the results of your work'' and managing your mindstates.

A first impression after travelling this week is that there is no place like London. It is unique in so many ways, but mostly the huge range of things to do and see and the way people from all over the globe live together. Someone was saying you can meet at least a person from every country in the world in London.
By contrast, Mancester and Leeds are industrial cities, characterised by few things to visit, inter-racial conflicts and a massive student focus. These northern England cities are now socially built almost entirely around students and student life.

Mancester:
- second biggest city in the UK, 2,6 million people in the city and 7 million in the surroundings
- filled with businesses, retailers and entertainment venues
- following 1996 IRA bomb it had huge investments being made, including £1 billion EU money
- 3 universities, great music tradition, few old buildings, science museum

Glasgow:
- I love Scotland- had the best sottish breakfast thanks to the girls from Strathclyde and actually got to see men in kilts playing bagpipes by an old cathedral...gave me goose bumps...
- 620 000 people, plus suburbs, totalling 1,4 million- largest city in Scotland
- beautiful city, boasts world famous are collections, the best shopping in the UK outside London and a vibrand night life
- world's first museum of religion

Leeds:
- known for a lot of manufacturing, especially clothing
- 700 000 people of 75 nationalities
- Thomas Chippendale began creating furniture here and Michael Marks opened the first Penny Bazaar here in 1884. Waddingtons the makers of the famous board game ''Monopoly'' was founded in Leeds
- home to Hyde Park known as the biggest male rape place in Europe (according to the LCP of AIESEC Leeds :))