Expectations...

I realized something today... well, no, that's not exactly right. I had thought of this before. "This" being the fact that you can only be disappointed and get annoyed at people when you have expectations from them. Today I experienced it.

I was annoyed at someone because I had expected them to do something, which they did not. Then all of a sudden, it wasn't that I stopped to think about it or anything, it just came to my mind "but why did I expect them to do that anyway? There's no specific need for it, or rule saying they should. So if I don't have a specific reason to expect them to do it, I don't have a valid reason to be annoyed by the fact they didn't do it." That synopsis took only a split second in my brain, and just like that, my annoyance vanished.

I was kind of astonished that all it took was that split-second realization...

Sometimes we can un-complicate our own lives without even trying... just by adjusting our thinking and our attitudes towards something.

It was a good day. :)

p.s.: and I just realized that my last post was titled "annoyed". However, that was a different situation, I was annoyed at stupid people who did things wrong or not at all, when they were paid to do it. It was a work thing, and since I had to fix what they had done wrong, or do what they hadn't done, I was completely right to be annoyed...

Annoyed

I'm very annoyed today. Stupid people are everywhere.

I think that's the biggest problem for evolution to solve. If natural selection were really that good, shouldn't it have eliminated all the stupid people already???

Blah.

The Art of Contentment-- Part II

The building where I work

Maybe it's just the novelty of it all and it will wear off in a few days. Or maybe it's because I have a nice office all to myself, and a coffee-maker at the reach of my hands and a comfy chair with wheels that I can spin around in. (yes, I'm a child).

It may also be because I get to read interesting papers all day, and even edit papers written by old professors (now I'm the one with the red pen! REVENGE!! hehe!).

But I'm actually enjoying myself at work. :)

My office

The view from my window... 

If you look carefully you can see a German flag on the right side of the building... 

The art of contentment...

... being content (for more than 5 seconds) is possibly the hardest thing to achieve.

In a way, it's a very good thing and serves a specific purpose. It pushes us forward and makes us move off our butts and get stuff done.

But on the other hand, it kinda sucks that the moment you achieve what you were trying to do for so long, you enjoy it for the above mentioned 5 seconds, and then move on to something else, never being satisfied with what you have.

Being human sucks sometimes...

Moving again...

Theologische Hochschule Friedensau Alte Schule

So I'm moving again. In a few days I will be arriving at Friedensau University in Germany, where I will be for at least a year, hopefully more.

I was talking to some friends about the fact that here I am, picking up and moving again, leaving behind friends and family again, and having to start all over again, again. "Isn't it tiring?" they asked me. "Yes, in a way. But you get used to it." I answered.

The truth is, I'm not sure you get used to the leaving part... it's always sad to leave your friends behind and not know when you'll see them again. I'm going to miss some of them terribly (and you know who you are...). But at the same time you never get quite used to the leaving part, you get kind of addicted to the arriving part. It's always exciting and fun to see where you're going to live next, and the people you're going to meet, and the things you're going to do and learn...

Today I ran across a quote that kinda sums it up for me:

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.


The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”

~Chris McCandless*



*If you haven't seen the movie "Into the Wild", watch it!!! Or even better, read the book!!! 

Fears are stupid!!

Last year, almost exactly a year ago, I was blogging about confusing embassy/immigration department information, and what ultimately led me to decide NOT to request the visa to go to Germany. (You can read those blogs here)I've had issues with visas before, and now I dread them. So I decided to not even try, and just go back to Buenos Aires.

Now I finally faced my fears and plunged head first into the paperwork... and it worked! I'm leaving in 36hrs!!! If I hadn't succumbed to my fears a year ago, I would've been in Germany already... but at the same time, all the places I visited and all the things I did in the last year, I wouldn't have done, so it's all good. :)

The point is, Fears are Stupid. And now I'm moving to Germany!! YEY!!!

The simple joys in life...

The terrace of Quimbombó

It's a beautiful, sunny day in Buenos Aires. A little bit chilly, but then again, it's winter.

I like sunny winter days. I love walking around a city I know well, and enjoying the cool air, the warm sunshine, the general good mood of a Sunday afternoon.

To enjoy this even more fully, there's nothing better than to have a delicious lunch of some amazing Indian food, while sitting on a terrace and watching the world go by. Oh, and let's not forget the incredible "Tropic Ginger" drink, which is made up of orange juice, maracuya juice, ginger, and mint leaves. I had never tried it before, but will definitely be making some of that at home! It's yummy!!

You may be thinking that I'm getting paid, or at least getting a discount to write about this place (pictured above), but I'm not. I'm just in a good mood, with the sun, and the great food, and the peaceful atmosphere... so I thought I'd share, in case any of you happens to be in (or coming to) Buenos Aires and needs a good meal and a place to relax. :)

But the actual point of this post (yes, there was one!) was to say that moods are so random, we should learn to manage them better. And the easiest way I've found to manage mine, is to evoke those simple joys, like food, coffee, a good book, ice cream, and pretty much anything that makes you smile. :)

Playing with Fire...

Part I- I should really start planting a whole forest now, to make up for the possibility of my ever having a house with a fireplace. I would live in front of the fire and never ever set foot outside the house, unless it was to get more wood. :s  Yes, I'm a bad person.

Part II- "When you play with fire, you end up burning yourself." --> That's only if you don't know the rules of the game... I love to play with fire. :)

A Dangerous Life

I just started reading a book, and on the first page it says:

"To all those who lead monotonous lives in the hope that they may experience at second hand the delights and dangers of adventure."


I am glad that I can honestly say that book was not dedicated to me. :)

Random things going through my head this moment...

- Learning languages was always easy for me. I just need people to speak to me in that language all the time, for 2 or 3 months. Why is it that nobody around here speaks German? Damn it!

- I always wanted to write a book. I really think I could invent an interesting story to captivate people's attention. My only fear is that the end would suck and people would be disappointed... but maybe I should try. Someday.

- Who the hell invented/created hairless cats? It's an abomination. Poor things. I get that cat hair all over the place is kind of annoying, but caressing their fur is awesome! And hairless cats are u.g.l.y.

- If Brazil doesn't win that game tomorrow, I'm gonna vomit on the tv set and make sure it never works again.

- We're all humans!!! Borders should be dissolved, never to rise again. It would solve all the wars, wouldn't it? (yes, I can dream...)

===> and yes, all those things started going through my head as I was writing them. That's the product of randomly firing neurons. Who can guess what they'll come up with next? I certainly can't.

The grass is always greener...?

or is it?

Why do we always say that the grass is greener on the other side? Why do we always want something different than what we have? Why do we keep wanting more, and more and more, never satisfied?

I think part of it is just human nature. We have to aspire to something. We have to want to get somewhere, otherwise we'd end up depressed and useless, with nothing to do, because we wanted nothing.

That's a good thing, as long as it's within the boundaries of sanity and not "I want the moon, and I just have to have it!!" :) hehe

But maybe, just maybe... sometimes it may very well be that the grass really is greener on the other side.

The longest distance...

Sometimes I think the longest distance in the world is the 20cm from your head to your heart. Sometimes they just can't seem to communicate, creating the biggest confusion in the world, and there's nothing you can do because you can't seem to decide which one is right.


---> In a council of two, there can be no majority. <---

Maybe our stomach or foot should start having a say in what we do... at least it would break the tie.

The face of the earth...

...and how to drop off it.

Have you ever felt that way? Ever felt that the world is too complicated and that it would just be easier to drop off the face of the earth and disappear for a while?

I'm feeling that way right now. Maybe it's because I'm drawing near the end of my trip and I really don't want to go back...

Maybe it's because people have expectations of me, and I have expectations of the world around me, and expectations only bring disappointments...

Maybe it's just because it's raining and I need some coffee and a bit more sleep.

All I know is that I wish I could drop off the face of the earth right now, and be gone for a while.

Discrimination, racism and special treatments...

I just read this article, and it shocked me. Read it and come back here.... :)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1270364/Christian-preacher-hooligan-charge-saying-believes-homosexuality-sin.html#ixzz0mj1a1Wtr

Since I know most of you will be too lazy to actually go read it, this is the article in a nut-shell:

"A Christian street preacher has been arrested and charged with a public-order offence after saying that homosexuality was sinful."

I'm not here to argue the merits of the question, if homosexuality sinful or not. That's not the point of this blog post. The point is this: If he had been saying that LYING is sinful, or MURDER, or STEALING, would he still have been arrested?

Since when do people get arrested for proclaiming their personal beliefs? What happened to freedom of speech?

If he had been preaching about lying, I, as a liar (aren't we all?) could've gotten offended and said "Hey! Why are you calling me sinful? I'm gonna put you in jail!"

Why is that different than saying homosexuality is sinful?

I realize that I'm opening a can of worms here and some of you are going to start throwing stones at me, but really, why is it that gays, and blacks, get "special treatment"? Why is it that if a white person gets in a fight with another white person, it's just a fight, but if it happens to be with a black person, all of a sudden, it's racism?

Let me make this clear: I'm not a racist. In fact, I don't even see what's the big deal with skin color anyway, in my opinion we're all human, and that's as far as it goes. The same goes for sexual orientation.

What really annoys me is that in giving people this "special treatment" we are actually singling them out and that's a form of discrimination! Denying a person their rights, because of skin color or sexual orientation is discrimination and it's wrong. But giving them special rights because of the same thing is also discrimination and it's ALSO wrong!

So as far as I'm concerned, that preacher should not have been arrested or charged (he has been released on bail). I don't agree with what he's doing, but his freedom of speech is much more important than any bruised ego or insulted liar like myself, or adulterous or homosexual person out there. Toughen up! You're human, people will insult you, but only if you allow yourself to be insulted.

Disclaimer: That's my point of view... and I claim my freedom of speech to say it all. If you don't like it, you can comment, email me, or stop reading my blog. Your choice.

Tired...

Ok, so this is not a transcending blog post, nor something very interesting, funny or worthy of your time. Sorry. It's just that I'm tired. Traveling for this long takes a lot out of you, especially when the airline loses your bag, the hotel and other things annoy you, and all you want to do is sleep for a week. I'm at 3 months of traveling today, and I've been to 9 different countries in 2 continents.

I was thinking yesterday that I am in Greece after all, and I could find one of the millions of amazing beaches and just sleep.... that's when I realized I don't even have a bikini... :(

I apologize if this is a pointless blog, but it's a sad day when I need a vacation from my vacation...

Faces and Appearances

We tend to look at people and create an idea of who they are, within a few seconds, most of the time before they even open their mouths. It's that first impression that is so important in so many moments of our lives. As the saying goes: "You never have a second chance to make a good first impression."

I'm thinking of this now, because someone spoke to me in Arabic, then as I looked confused, they asked me in English where I was from, and then looked surprised and said "but you look Arabic!"

In Israel, everyone was speaking to me in Hebrew directly, and even the fact that I had a Lonely Planet guide in my hand didn't make them think I was a tourist. I went to a synagogue, and this girl sitting behind me naturally passed me a prayer book and pointed to the part of the service where they were... I could only smile and nod...

While in France a few years ago when I was taking care of 3 little girls, people would always ask me if I was their older sister... and I've lost count how many times I've been stopped on the street by people asking for directions. Ok, some of them were tourists, but some weren't!

In Italy, same thing, I had a guy actually not believe me that I was not Italian... and I don't even speak Italian!

In the US I had a roommate in college who was full blooded Navarro Indian... and people thought we were sisters everywhere we went. And some people have called me "Pocahontas" before and are certain I have Indian blood in me (which I don't btw).

Obviously in Brazil nobody thinks I'm out of place... and the same is true with Argentina and Uruguay.

So all of that got me thinking... I guess I have a pretty general face/features that can fit into a lot of different countries. I'm sure in Sweden I wouldn't look like a native, nor in Africa, but most places in-between seem to think I don't look much different than them.

The question I ask all of you is this: What's in a face? What makes a face interesting, or friendly, or "common". What constitutes a good "first impression"?

I was just wondering...

FIGHT THE POWERS THAT BE!!!

This is actually a travelpost, but it also fits into this blog, so I'm posting it here too... to make sure people see it! :) 

Yesterday evening I arrived at the airport in Berlin with my nice little backpack, the same one I had been carrying around for 2 months in 7 (count them, SEVEN) low-cost flights, always as a carry-on, and with absolutely NO PROBLEMS. The bag is pretty small and even fits properly in the box they have at the airport that says "If it fits, take it on board!"

Well, the lady at the counter decided that I couldn't take it on board, and would have to pay, even though the bag WAS in the box! She argued that I couldn't easily put it in the box (which by her description meant in one move, like a nice little suitcase). This is a backpack, so it takes more than one continuous movement to put it into the box, but it fits. She said "I'm not going to argue with you. Will you pay to take your backpack, or will you stay?" I picked up my passport from the counter and left, furious, because NO, I was NOT going to pay.

So I called E. and we started talking about what to do, he went on the Easyjet website to look for their terms and conditions of carriage, and it states clearly that if it fits into the box, you can take it on board. It says nothing about how you manage to put it into the box. Now please, look at the pictures below and tell me if the woman had ANY reason to complain!!!

From one angle...

From another angle... 

The backpack is completely in the box, and you can't even see it!

So I took pictures of the backpack in the box, went back to the woman, put my phone in her face and stated that I was recording this conversation, and started to tell her about the terms and conditions of carriage stated on the Easyjet website. She wouldn't even look at me, she told me to go talk to her supervisor. I did, and again, stated that I was recording the conversation and that I had taken pictures of the back inside the box and that if she didn't let me in the plane I would contact Easyjet, customer service, passenger rights and every "proper authority" I could think of to make my rights heard. I guess she decided she couldn't really argue with me, and that if I really was going to make such a big deal, I could take it on board... so the only words she said to me were "ok, you can take it then" and signaled to the check in lady to give me a boarding pass. The lady, having lost her battle, of course, didn't even look at me, just handed me the boarding pass, and I smiled triumphantly at her and said "thank you." 

Moral of the story: don't try to cheat me of my rights. I already have so few, that I am damn right going to make them be respected! Low-cost airlines make it cheap to take flights everywhere, it's true, but they've got no right to cheat me and make me pay things I don't owe them. 

For all of you friends and travelers out there: don't let them cheat you!!! :) 

Happiness...

I think happiness takes a lot less than we'd normally think...

Of course, that's a sentence full of pre-requisites. It's hard to explain. I guess what I mean is that we don't need a lot to be happy... we just need the right things.

I'm sure those of you who have lived through this know exactly what I'm talking about...

:)

Communication-- Friend or Foe?

If you believe in Evolution, you will believe that species developed communication to help them in cooperation and survival. If you believe in Creation, you’ll know the story about the Tower of Babel, when God implemented different languages all at once so that mankind could no longer cooperate and build the tower.

But no matter what you believe, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of examples coming to your head of misunderstandings and communication problems that have caused difficult situations.

So I’m wondering why is it that sometimes it’s SO hard to say the right words to convey what we mean? Even when it’s something you believe with all your heart, sometimes we’re just clumsy, and end up causing more harm than good. Let me give you an example: a couple of days ago I was at the Zurich train station, and this guy was going around saying “Jesus Christ is Lord.” I was a bit surprised, and didn’t know what to think. On the one hand, I was happy and even encouraged that he believed it so much, that it permeated every fiber of his being and he didn’t care if he looked like a fool-- he just had to proclaim what he believed. On the other hand, he was more likely scaring people away and reinforcing the belief that all Christians are freaks.

Thinking about all of that also makes me think about communication between men and women. How can it be so hard sometimes? Why is it that the most important things are usually the hardest to say?

At least I can say I’m happy that sometimes, every once in a while, time is your friend, and what would’ve turned out a disaster if it had been said 7 years ago, turned into something wonderful when said now. ;)

Expecting and being expected…

One of the things I hate the most is having to wait for someone to pick me up… be it at an airport, train station, whatever. I have some serious expectations about that. I know it’s probably stupid, but it annoys the crap out of me, and makes me feel completely unwanted. Most of the time I don’t need anyone to go pick me up, I can make my way to wherever I’m going on my own, and that’s perfectly fine. But if you volunteer to come pick me up, please don’t make me wait!! My own family makes me wait, and I’ve already yelled at them and told them to just not come at all, I’ll take a bus, taxi, whatever, and go home on my own, cuz I just hate waiting!! Especially since I know they live like 10 minutes from the airport….(This rule has a few exceptions, like if you had to drive 2hrs to get to the airport to pick me up, you’re totally off the hook if you’re late… cuz I’ll already be so freaking impressed that you were willing to drive that far to pick me up that I won’t mind waiting…)


The other day I was at the airport waiting for a friend and I realized something: I’m usually the one traveling, and being picked up at the airport/train station, but I haven’t actually waited for anyone in a while. I started looking around and was reminded of that scene at the beginning (and end) of “Love, Actually“. It’s true. If you want to see special moments, and people being genuinely happy to see someone else, all you have to do is go to the airport. And it’s a pretty incredible feeling to go through the arrivals gate and see someone there smiling and grinning, ready to give you a huge hug, and just happy to see you. Makes me feel loved and cared for…

It’s just one of those moments that are so simple, and so powerful… at least for me.

Memories...

Sometimes all you need is to see someone you haven't seen for a while... a very dear close wonderful friend, to remember those moments spent together many, many years ago, and how true friendships really do stand the test of time, and no matter what happens, you love them and they love you just as much as if you had never been apart.

Friends are truly the best thing in the world. Not ice cream. Not even love. (Since love without friendship would probably not last long anyway).

Today I am thankful for my dear friends, old and new, scattered across countries and continents, but who are incredibly dear to me and who I miss and love very much.

Thank you for your friendship. :)

Saudade...

Saudade is a word that only exists in Portuguese. It cannot be correctly translated because no other word (at least to my knowledge, and yes, I have researched it) can convey all the feeling this word carries with it. It means you miss something or someone. But it carries with it a bit of nostalgia... a bit of sadness... a bit of love... a bit of sweet memories...

It's a beautiful word.

The worst thing you can do when you feel that about someone, is think about them, about the happy moments you've spent in their company, or even worse (if that's possible): read what people say about them. Then you'll see through other people's eyes how wonderful that person is, and confirm what you already knew: you miss them terribly!!!

:(

New Beginnings...

It's a New Year! Like every year, we think about the things that happened in the past year and make a balance of it all, remembering certain things with fondness, others maybe with sadness, but I think looking at the lessons we've learned and the wonderful things that happened is a good way to start a New Year full of positive energy and a desire to make this year even better than last year!

I had a wonderful 2009. It was full of challenges, of beauty, of friends, of happy moments, of not so happy moments, of adventures, of difficult decisions... It had all the ingredients a year must have, so that I can look back on it and say it was a year well lived.

Now 2010 is upon us, and it's almost crazy to think how fast time goes... I hope it turns out even better than 2009, and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make it that way! :)

Love you all! Happy New Year! :)