The flight

I finally managed to find a socket in Vienna airport. I finished the battery on my laptop in Copenhagen airport and I couldn't find a socket there to plug it and charge it. So, because I had nothing to do till 5 am when my check in started I tried to sleep. I returned to the scene of the crime (the exact same place where I slept with the girls in October)…but this time it was different. I couldn't sleep as good as back then…actually I managed to sleep two hours all night…the lack of a sleeping bag…the fact that I had to sleep with my head on my bag and the girls not being there, made things more difficult. Also, this time the airport was very noisy…I can’t recall if there were a lot of people in October, but now it was kinnda full…I guess the holiday thing kicks in everywhere.

Leaving Copenhagen

After check in I headed for the gate…I was happy cause I found out that my bag is going straight to Bucharest and I don’t have to pick it up when I get to Vienna. It was dark outside and I could barely see the planes through the window while waiting for boarding. I also realized it was raining kinnda hard and I got a bit scared. It’s the first timing I am flying in winter and I am a bit afraid…the feelings you always get when you do something new. I didn't realize until we got on the plane how big it was. The darkness hid more than half of its size. It was an Austian Airline’s plane (Austrian Arrows)…mostly with Romanians and Indians on board. I realized I was surrounded by Romanians in the boarding room. At the begging I thought it’s just my imagination…but I looked at their passports…their Romanian appearance was officially id-ed by their passport. I kept wondering if they think the same…if I look Romanian myself just like them…they were looking at me…but I don’t know if it was my staring that bothering them or the curiosity they had to find if they guessed my nationality. When I entered the flight…classical music filled my ears…I guess the captain wanted to keep it traditional Mozart. They were really nice…I would like to fly with them again…they also gave us a tasty breakfast…warm croissant and tea…I sat next to a Danish woman and I could understand most of what she was saying but wasn’t able to answer…I have to work on that too in my poor Danish....it must be pretty important to answer in a conversation in order to make it a conversation.

Now the best part…the actual flight. As I was saying I never flew in winter before…or whatever this weather can be called. It was raining and I was a bit scared as we took off. I thought that’s how it’s going to be all the way…dark and wet. So, I thought I would close my eyes and sleep…but at some point I opened them…and saw the most beautiful thing ever. Nothing can beat this…I am sure. Under the plane there was an ocean of clouds. Land was absolutely nowhere in sight…just clouds…dark clouds…and ahead…at the same line with my sight...the most beautiful sun rise I have ever seen. There cannot be anything more beautiful…above us was all clear and the sunlight of the sun rise was marking a red-yellow-orange line between the ocean of clouds and the light blue nothingness from above. Incredibly beautiful…again I was thinking “why don’t I have a f*****g camera?!” After a while the sun rise ended and there was light everywhere…but a different type of light…it was icy…and just then I realized that the raindrops on the window turned in ice flowers. At some point I fell asleep and woke up hearing the captain’s voice telling us to prepare for landing. The wind was strong and they made some maneuvers with the wings so equilibrate the plane.

Half way home - Vienna airport

I’m actually staying in the boarding area…after security check…so I can’t really see what the airport looks like…but it seams big. My job now, because I’m too tired to read or do something that uses my brain too much, is staring at people. I never actually did that…I think this is the best place if you want to build a cosmopolite image. Some are bothered by my staring and look back…other just pass without turning their head :). I still have about 3 hours of doing nothing. Oh, I forgot! Austria is very green from above…I wonder if Romania is going to be the same. Still, the leafless trees looked so muddy. At the begging I thought there was a flood or something and they were covered in mud…just after my tired brain realized that well…they don’t have leafs in this season…so I just imagined they were chocolate trees, to make it feel nicer.

Vienna – Bucharest

The flight was so full that they were giving away special offers to stay one more night in Vienna with everything paid plus extra money for Christmas gifts…of course nobody was going for that…they were all waiting to go home as soon as possible. Again a huge plane, classical music and very good food…this airline has the best plane food ever…Outside the window the view was different because this time the sun was already up. The glamour now was the rainbow reflected on the clouds. I took a peep on the other side, were the sun was shining directly as saw that everything was golden there. Again the ocean of clouds underneath us seemed to facing a storm as the clouds locked like waves, aggressively knocking in each other. I couldn't sleep, though I could feel that I was extremely exhausted, my heart was beating ten times faster when we went out of the clouds and I could see the land of Romania. Again, because I don’t want to think of it that way I am not going to write about what I saw and what for a fraction of second was in my mind…I only want to remember the pleasant feeling of being home.

Too my surprise, they did not lose my luggage in Vienna.

Leaving Aarhus

Well....my bag is packed...waiting for me at the door. I managed again to get it so full that I could barely close it and had to take out a few stuff. I guess I will never learn how much is too much for a travel bag. I have another bag with this semester's books and compendiums...They are heavier than the clothes bag but I have to take home...otherwise I would throw them away...and as much as I would like to do that and get rid of the bad memories they bring, I admit it would be a waste. I cleaned the apartment...I just have to take out the garbage when I leave...oh and Marketa's bike to the basement. By the looks of it, I only have to get dressed and leave. But I guess the excitement of leaving made move to fast and now I have to wait for at least another six hours till I can leave.

Aarhus is unbelievably sunny today. It hasn't been like this in a few weeks...since my relaxation walk with Mara about a month ago. I guess my excitement and happiness is so strong that it influenced the weather. :)...I'll miss these kind of days here...if Marketa was home we would go jogging for sure.

Bus 16 will be here, aka Emmasvej, at 18:09. I'm not going to go straight to the train station, as I have to hand in my key to the International Secretariat. Thanks to their rules I will have to drag all my luggage to school...put the envelope with the key, the washing card and the new contract in their post box and only than head for the train station. The last train to Copenhagen Airport leaves at 22:40, but I think I'm going to take one that's around 21...it's better to wait in the airport...its safer...and I kinnda know it from my adventure in October. I will also have time to weight my luggage and remake it or throw away stuff if it's too heavy...though I wouldn't like to think to that as a possibility. My flight leaves Copenhagen Airport on Saturday at 07...something in the morning...the bad part is that it's not going straight to Otopeni…but to Vienna. So I will spend some quality hours in Vienna’s airport too. If there’s anything I'm becoming an expert in...it's airports :)...My odyssey will finish Saturday at 16:30...when hopefully without any incidents and with my luggage not lost :D...I will be in Bucharest...

I guess it pays to get home these days...but the effort is worth it...I will be complete again :)

Twilight

When Ana first told me about the movie, I laughed and thought it's a "Buffy - the vampire slayer" type of movie...this is also what everybody around me thinks when I tell them about it :)

Ana sent me the 4 books from the collection before I got to see the movie and I didn't get her excitement...but...I am completely mesmerized now. Not only did I see the movie but I also read the first book...which is breath taking. I hope I'll get to read the second one on my way home...I will have a lot of time on train and in airports I guess...and I am really curios how the story will go on, especially since there's no movie on the other three books.

I don't know if the movie is a must see, but the book(s)is a must read.

I feel good about finding an Aarhus hobby in reading, since I didn't feel like really doing that at home. My next movie after book reading is going to be "The Cider house rules". Yesterday I saw the movie again with the girls and it's so full of emotion and compassion and lust for life...

It's always good-bye to somebody

Good-byes started as the holidays are getting closer. It's weird being an "international student"...Before coming here I was thinking about how my room mates would be, how my class mates would be...how all my new friends will be. I was sure there has to be someone I would not get along with or whose habits would piss me off...but here I am crying my eyes out for people I only know for a few months but feel so related to. The experience is just like the feelings that cannot be explained. Most of the people will be here next semester too, but others will not.

Tonight Mara left. Her imperfect way of being makes me already miss her. I stayed with her in her room as she was packing...concerning about the weight of the bag. I barely kept the tears when she hugged me and said good-bye. She said I should take it as "see ya'"...but I know chances are it's not going to be like that. I will miss everything about her...the talking, the funny walks we had, our stupid jokes...her camera :)...The photo she left for us on the fridge will make me feel like she's still here every morning.

I guess it's not just Mara...its realizing that at some point we will all have to say good-bye and the more time passes the harder it gets. This is different from saying it to people at home because I am more than sure I will see them again.

Long forgotten idols of a wierdo

While talking about piercing and tattoos, that I would like to get at some point in my life, I remembered about my long forgotten idols - the SG (http://suicidegirls.com/). I remember finding them when I was in Kiev, bored and searching the internet for interesting stuff. Back then, I liked them because my teenage self searching mind found them as a nice identity. The idea of Goth Pin-up Girls went pretty well with the music and the feelings I had. The site is a passage to another way of life. The girls are characterized by piercing, tattoos, weird hair cuts and vintage clothes...but also very innocent (Lolita like) glances and poses. It's like an intriguing girlish portal...and I still love the photos – back then you could access most of them because the website was new (now you have to pay).

Some weird things I like (weird because other people make funny faces when I do them or say them):

- eating with the knife, anything and everything (except liquid stuff) - this is something I get from my father and my grandfather :)

- rats - maybe because they are small and able to get into places, and harm unwillingly...just because they are rats + they are so smart (I don't know why people don't like them, I love them...I even had one...I hate it when I have to be there when people talk about killing them)

- polenta with french fries (aka mamaliga cu cartofi prajiti) - eaten together of course

- pills (they are small, round and colorful...how can you not like that?!) - I don't like them when I have to take them, because this means I am sick in some way...I like taking them randomly, whatever I want - whenever I want, they attracted me since I could barely walk :D

- going to the dentist (most people don't) - teeth are important, they define the smile...what would we be if we would be ashamed of showing our teeth

- playing with fire...and candle wax...I like reshaping it while it's hot and I love sticking my fingers deep in it...also in this category I love the smell of burning matches - the pyromaniac inside me spoke

- Ok...I guess the cleaning could go in here too...I love to organize things

My ride

Because I am so good at procrastinating, instead of starting to do the accounting things I MUST LEARN FOR MY EXAM ON MONDAY, I will just write something here. Usually when I try to stall time and not do what I have to do, I do my nails, take a shower, vacuum or randomly clean my room (and if my room is clean I will just clean other rooms - like the kitchen, the kitchen is always dirty), go shopping for something/anything...brush my teeth a hundred times a day if this helps me not do what I am suppose to do...and other similar things. This procrastination thing became so popular...I didn't actually know they had another word in English, a more sophisticated one, that describes being lazy. I have no idea how to translate this word in Romanian.

Anyway...I decided to write something about my ride - my bike. I was thinking that going home will also mean not having to ride it for one month. As much as I am excited about going by bus and other transportation methods that rely on motors, it is going to be weird. I developed a special relation with my bike. I named it and I take care of it. And I even helped it make some friends. Last night, when we left Lina's house, my poor bike was frozen, but it never looked so beautiful. The frozen black paint shined so nice...I felt like in a fairytale while riding it. Also my bike never let me down. It never broke...it has some problems with the hand brakes, but that's because I have to change them (probably in spring). I can always rely on it...I don't have to think about when the last bus is coming, because I can just take my bike at anytime and ride home. It's a lot like a car...but better...you breath some fresh air, you exercise, you can interact with the environment around you and you have a lot of time on your own to think about anything, you also park it and put it in the garage (aka the basement) when it's cold and raining, because you don't want it to rust. I did have two accidents with it but nothing serious. I also like how I can add all sort of accessories to it - seat cover, basket, helmet  lights (white light for the front, red light for the back) and I've seen a lot of people putting artificial flowers around the basket so that it looks nicer. In spring I am going to make a photo album of Aarhus bikes.

I wonder if Bucharest is ever going to have bicycles.

Still I hope I'll get my driver's licence this summer...this is definetly on my resolution's list.

My additions

Today, I, Marketa and Alice pierced our ears. We decided to pierce the upper side of our ear when we went in our October Scandinavian trip, but never thought we would actually do it. Because there are just a few days left till we are all going home for holidays we decided to do it. This is a nice memory from Aarhus...a memory I will always have with me. It was a bit strange because I never had a piecing done with the thing which just puts the earring in the ear...I was a bit scared and excited before the small trigger was pushed.

A review of all my additions:

- 1 pierce in the left side of the lower lip

- 1 pierce in my left ear

- 6 pierces in my right ear

- 2 tattoos

There is place for more and I know I will not hold my self from doing something next year too, especially if I will be leaving somewhere else.

My stupid phobias

While trying to solve some intellectual property cases last night, my brain decided to take a brake and think about non relevant life things. Ana's post about phobias made me think about my own...but not in such a deep way.

Definition

A phobia is an intense, unrealistic fear, which can interfere with the ability to socialize, work, or go about everyday life, which is brought on by an object, event or situation.

This isn't being "crazy" — people know fully well their fears are unreasonable — but they can not control the fear. These people have phobias.

Phobias belong to a large group of mental problems known as "anxiety disorders" that include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Phobias themselves can be divided into three specific types:

- specific phobias (formerly called "simple phobias")

- social phobia

- agoraphobia

I was thinking about stupid phobias I have and I came up with three of them (in order of stupidity – if taken the other way around it’s the order in which they influence my social life):

Phobia no. 1

This is a really stupid phobia. I have the phobia of having an accident or even dieing and not being shaved or waxed or whatever. This is the most ridiculous thing that could preoccupy me...but it does. In cases like these you might end up in the hospital or at the morgue...either way you would at some point be naked, taken pictures of or other similar stuff. What if I have hair all over my body? I know...nobody would care, but I would...even if I would be dead. I mean I wouldn't mind being a nice corps. This kind of proves how selfish and self centered I am...but seriously it is a phobia.

Phobia no. 2

I am afraid of the shower curtain. This is also one of the reasons I hate the shower...I can't really get fully relaxed in it. I don't know when this phobia started, but I sure have it for a few years now. It is a nightmare for me to pull the shower curtain while I am taking a shower. And if I have to wash may hair and keep my eyes closed, my adrenalin goes higher than ever. You cannot imagine for how many times I got shampoo in my eyes because I had to open them. The idea is that I have the feeling that somebody is watching me. Not necessarily wanting to harm me, but watching me. I even have this person's image. He is a man...but I have no idea who he is...still it's always the same face. I don't know if this is a thing that has its roots somewhere in my childhood, but the fear of being followed and watched still haunts me. I sometimes see this person behind me in the mirror when I am washing my face...but this happens rarely...but I can always feel him hiding behind the shower curtain.

Phobia no. 3

Ok...this is the phobia everybody knows about…my cleaning phobia. It's actually an obsession...the phobia stays in the lack of organization of things. I mean if all glasses are lined up and one is a little bit more to the left than the others, what's wrong in moving it one cm so that it gets lined up with the others!? The problem is that I don't do this only with my stuff, but recelty I realised I do it everywhere I go, even in bars and social places...darn. This is a thing that completely freaks me out. I tried ignoring it when it occurs, but I can't. I have to put things right, I cannot focus on anything else till I do it...and if I don't do it and I am no longer able to do it, I would think about it for a long time. Freaky I know..

The simple things I want to do

- play Sims with Bianca

- take out Lolita

- go to my great grandmother’s grave and light a candle, probably (for sure) cry

- sleep with Ana and Irina in Ana's bed :) - it has to be all three of us (Ana, I will wash the dishes and cook if you agree to adopt me)

- meet with all the people I know (or almost...I don't know if they all want to)

- have a burger or two with my old friend, Cata (or more than that...as long as it includes talking)

- clean my room (even if it's clean, it has to be Laura style cleaning)

- go by tram, trolleybus, bus(anything but bike)...oh and metro

- wax (thank you Ana for making this possible)

- go through everything I left home to make sure I didn’t forget them (clothes, books, cds, magazines, pictures, bags, hats, shoes etc) – I miss all my stuff so much, I love the lifeless, plastic, artificial, materialistic side of me

- no more speaking English

- wear ironed clothes (as much as I hate this and though I thought I would never say it, I'm tired of looking as if I just came out of the washing machine)

- eat fat food, meat and toxic stuff (anything but vegetables, fruits and cereals)

- drink anything but tea and milk

- as a result from the two above - get fat :)

- do Tae Bo with Ana (to burn the fat)

- meet with Alex (I owe it and I'm doing it because I love you not because you will hate me and haunt me in my dreams telling me what a bitch I am)

- see snow (there is no winter without snow and if I don't see it at home I will probably not see it this year - make snow angels and play like a dog that hasn't been out for days)

- slap Dan (because he deserves it :)

- visit my work mates

- go to Ana's place, stay in the kitchen and chit chat till forever

- go in a supermarket right before Christmas when it's really crowded (I miss the crowd)

- get stuck in traffic

- take a long, hot bath (I'm starting to hate the shower...it lacks feelings)

- eat rum chocolate (:D - I'm still thinking about it) and any kind of chocolate I get my hands/mouth on

- go to Mini Prix with Ana and Irina and try on stuff

- get glasses (I'm blind)

- see thousands of movies

- not learn anything, not read anything about history, law and accounting

- not sleep for one month (totally unrealistic but I can try)

- go to the new place Ana's dancing at and dance with her all night long and leave together really early in the morning

- walk through Bucharest (not by night - I can remember the pleasure of always looking back and being paranoid about people following me - I don't really miss that)

The above list is absolutely random and I will add stuff that go through my mind till I'll be home, print it and do them. I never thought I would be so excited about going home - I have butterflies in my stomach and I get the same feeling I get when I am in love or going to have blood taken for analyses - speechless and scared, feeling like fainting but trying not to show it.

Still green but without leafs

- this is a very popular Danish song I always hear when I turn on the radio -

This week my fourth month of Denmark started. I can’t believe it's my forth month...time passed really fast and I'm starting to think that I should really use it smart. Sleeping and doing useless stuff doesn't help me build memories and feelings. On Monday, 1st of December, we had our national day. This was probably the first time when I didn't enjoy the idea of the celebration, because I never actually feast and I think nobody does. In stead of enjoying a long weekend like the people at home, I woke up at 7 and went to school to study history with my study group. We had 7 hours of history and my head was completely knocked at the end of the day. I couldn't sleep during the night, because on the 2nd I had the exam, my first one here and I was so nervous about how it was going to be. I built theories about the subject I'm going to get and tried to create answers.

Tuesday, the exam day, I woke up extremely tired. I realized that I think well when I am tired and I am able to concentrate better, because I stop caring about what I'm saying and doing. The exam was better that I thought...or at least that's what I'm saying now...I will see how well it was after I get my result. It was a hand written exam, and Hagen created a big fuss. Everybody was intrigued that in 21st century we have to take hand written exams and not use our laptops. I don't know if this is snobbish and arrogant but they all shared the same idea. Ohhh....these Western kids :). It was a 4 hour exam and I kinnda finished in the first hour. I had no idea what else to write and I was ashamed/afraid to hand it in so fast, because of being weird. So I reread it 4 times, searched in the dictionary for different words to check my spelling...till a girl got up and handed in her essay. I felt relieved for not being the only one and quickly got up and gave it to Hagen. It was good that I finished so fast, because the next day I had a presentation in law and was suppose to prepare my Power Point part of the presentation...and didn't :D. So I had time to do it through lunch in the State library.

We had to create a product and build a company with plans to expand somewhere in the world, talk about the type of clauses we will include in our contracts, type of clients we are going to have, transportation regulations and intellectual property issues(patent, trade mark stuff...etc). We made a Danish company - Greeny toys - selling organic wooden toys under the name of Greeny. We did it in a hurry and we were sure it was going to be crap comparing to the others. But we had a surprise on Wednesday after the presentation...

Anyway...after my exam on Tuesday and finishing our law presentation I went home. The girls were going out to Student House and of course I joined. I couldn't miss that, especially since it was the last International Student's party this semester. I'm glad I went because it was one of the best. I also met with the Romanian girls and shared some time together. People...donuts...mulled wine…games...painting and of course fussball. I won 4 crappy Christmas presents in a dice throwing game. I got 6 for 5 times but they stole one of my presents. I guess when you get unlucky in certain fields you become lucky in others...I should probably start gambling in this period...I might win something good.

Wednesday I had to wake up at 7 again...for the law presentation. I was feeling cranky and I was tired. I didn't feel like presenting anything and had a mean attitude. This helped me during the presentation, because I answered all the questions people asked very straight forward without hesitations...and in the end...this brought us the 1st pries. It was a total shock, because we thought we wouldn't get anything...but we won...a box of chocolates :)...sweet victory. This was good for our moral...we all felt good and appreciated. After the victory I went with Mara to the International Secretariat to sign my new contract and ask about the procedure and stuff. We convinced the girl there to reveal the secret information about the girl who will come in my current room, starting January. She is also from Czech Republic, like Marketa and studies Biology...that's all we managed to get…but it's more than enough...I hope she speaks English and I don't have to learn Czech and her and Marketa will not speak Czech all the freaking time :) I had a second presentation on Diaspora’s that day so, after a quick cake and chit chat with Mara in the cantine, I went to my next class. Half sleeping I managed to say what I had to say and head home. Home...but not for long. Uwe, my Diaspora teacher, invited us for dinner and movie at his place. The cold weather was making me stay home, in bed and sleep...but I went. Though he is living here for 3 months just like us you could see the difference between a student's house and a teacher's house...he had all his stuff here and it looked very personnel…like a real house. We ate humus with vegetables, rice in coconut milk with curry, pasta al forno and tiramisu. A bit too much I would say...but it felt good. I think I'm going to cook some of this stuff myself. I am really turning into an international chef. I almost felt asleep during the long Bollywood movie we watched. Not long after midnight we all went home. It didn't matter how tired I was...I couldn't stop enjoying the cold. The road was shining because everything was frozen. I wasn't afraid to go with the bike downhill on ice...I guess I got really use to it and I learned how to control it pretty well. There were no clouds in the sky and the stars were shining bright. I decided to learn some constellations and search for them. I am sure it would be a success...I'm building a new passion. I love to ride my bike by night, looking at the stars and going uphill on the road home through the middle of the street in all directions, listening to music...I'm becoming a selfish sentimental fool.

On Thursday, fate played in my favor. None of my student group people could come for our learning meeting so I got to sleep 1 hour later...till 8..the babies started their normal artistic program after, so I had to wake up. It was Marketa's birthday so we gave her hugs and kisses in the morning and the little gift we got for her - a pair of one fingered green gloves. She planed her party for Friday so today we had the day off. We all wanted to go to Den Gamel By, but Lina had some problems and I only went with Mara and the Latvian girls. Den Gamel By is some sort of old village museum. They have there some houses from the region, tolls, furniture and other stuff they used to use in the old days. This is the place to be if you come in Aarhus. A ticket is pretty expensive (100 kr.) but in the Christmas period it's free for students. Also you can find people dressed like in the old days there, sweets, cigarettes and drinks like they used to be...and also children's games and books. The Danish are really keen on their traditions and the national obsession is everywhere even in the Christmas tree...there is no Christmas tree without at least one Danish flag in it...holidays are not holidays if the tree doesn't have the flag. I don't honestly think it's worth paying 100 kr. for this place - I bet the modern art museum is better at the same price...but anyway it was for free. The most interesting part about this whole Gamel by thing was our way to it. At one of the big crossroads we have to pass on our way to the centre we saw from the distance 2 fireman cars, 1 ambulance, one police car and one G4S car. We thought something really bad happened but when we got there we were surprised to see a car, Skoda, bumped into a traffic light. The front part of the car was damaged but it wasn't that bad. Still, all these cars where there and the traffic was blocked.

Everybody has Christmas decorations around their houses except for us. It would be a bit stupid to buy Christmas stuff when none of us is here for Christmas. I bought some wooden snowflakes from Den Gamel By…and made a candle decoration thing…just for me…I also stole a little Christmas tree branch and put it in the kitchen :)

Friday started pretty well and ended even better. In the morning I had my usual cornflakes with bananas and karnemelk breakfast and than went to my student group meeting. We are trying to figure our next exam on accounting. We are 5 in the group - me, Benjamin, Tone, Luci and Louise. Except for Luci who is from Brazil, the others are Danish. For this exam I am preparing only with Benjamin and Tone. We are meeting every morning till the 15th when we have the exam. We have one week to prepare for two exams...but I'm sure it's going to be ok.

After that we went to Lina's house, where Marketa made her birthday party. It was a total blast. A lot of dancing, jello shots, home made - use it only once Twister, guitar singing and ahm...other stuff. I realised I almost became an expert in rolling cigartes, and when I get a bit dizzy I can actually play the guitar :)). I decided not to tell people where I am from anymore and let the guess. Till now I got 3 France and 2 Spain - not really expecting people to think that I am from France, but anyway. We stayed till really early in the morning and it did not matter that the next day I had to be in school at 9 in the morning.

This night Saint Nicholas came at home and he didn't find me there I guess. I didn't get anything here either so he must have lost me. :( uuufff....

The rest of my weekend was and will be a countinuig accounting exercises pleasure. I love it.

To learn:

- how to make humus

- how to make jello shots and get people really drunk without noticing

- how to make curry

- how to make the super great Danish Christmas rice, milk, almonds and cherry souse thing

...and speaking of food, I bought the most diguisting thing ever - blood salami. That is actually pig blood with fat. I was curios about it and after tasting it I threw it away because it was horrible.

I cannot believe that in less than two weeks I will be home, in Bucharest, with my family and friends. I have mixed feelings about this, but they all include some sort of excitement  I don't know how I should act, what I should say...I am afraid of being strange and saying stupid things that may not be understood the way they are meant to be.

My flat mates

I realized that I never posted anything about the girls I've been living with for the past 3 months of my life. Last week I was thinking about how close we became, and about the fact that I feel more related to them than to my friends at home. This is of course because I never actually lived with my friends for 3 months in the same flat. The relation we built is very special because we have very different characters forced somehow to live together, but still we take care of each other and get worried when one of us comes home later than usual.

Marketa Vosatkova

Marketa is a second year bachelor student in psychology. She is from Czech Republic, city of Brno. She is here on Erasmus for one year and so I will share one year of my life with her by being her flat mate. At the beginning I didn't feel so related to her because she was desperate to build a social life and meet people from all over. I initially thought she doesn't have a boyfriend and she is in desperate search for one. But one month after we got here a guy was singing on her laptop...and it wasn't Youtube, it was her boyfriend :). That's when she first told us about him. I've never seen her crying or being depressed when we got here, but I guess the strong self cooling system psychologists have is very developed for her too. She doesn't smile a lot and she seems a little bit flat in her reactions. I've never had a serious conversation with her till now outside the psychological domain. But I'm not complaining because I love it...and I love the way she talks about gender differences especially when it comes to depression (she had a presentation on this). Still she brought the whole psychological department in my life and turned them into my friends...and for this I thank her because they are all great. She is very bad at organizing things...and when she got lost in Malmo she proved that she's not that good with problem solving and fast reactions either. Still she has a wicked look sometimes and makes me think there's more to her than meets the eye. She likes to clean just like me :D and we share the washing the dishes and laundry part. I hate it when she uses my milk because she's out of...even if she buys a new one the next day. She always takes post cards for me too when she goes in a pub and I do the same with her. We both have postcards on our room walls and we started putting them in the kitchen now too.

Mara Ose

Mara is a last year bachelor student in...I don't really know actually. It's something with culture and cultural relations - the idea is that she's studying Danish (Scandinavian culture). She is from Latvia, Riga. She is also an Erasmus student but just for one semester. So in about two weeks from now she will become another very good friend I have somewhere in the world and hope to see again in this life. I hate it when this happens, because I build very strong relations with people who I'm very likely never to see again in my life, but would like to have close to in special moments. I hope our roads will cross again because I really like her. She is just like me, not so keen on socializing and going out at night. The first thing we shared was peeing on the side of the road in the middle of the night on our way home from the centre  We didn't have bikes back then so we got off the bus in a place we though nobody could see us. She told me then that she's very happy she can trust somebody here and share real life things not just artificial smiles. I liked that and it made me feel good. Through her I got to meet all these Latvian guys and get a sense of their patriotism. I always relate to her when it comes to the history of our countries and the mentality of people. Romania has a lot of social things very similar to the ones Latvians have...still they are somehow viewed better than us. She doesn't like to clean and I hate this so much - she never washed the laundry (me and Marketa wash hers too), she never vacumed in the common areas and we have to tell her when she should buy something for the flat. Still she's very helpful when you ask her for something. She brought us the delicious Latvian candies when she went home during her holiday in October. I met her parents when they came to visit at the beginning of November - and they are nice people. She talks to me a lot about her boyfriend and what she would like to do. She's a lost soul just like me and she would like to discover the world and travel, but not alone. She promised to visit us next semester after she passes her bachelor exam :)...I hope she will...I'm going to miss her and having her in the flat.