bit of moments and memories

Welcome to the end of the 2010. I ask myself : 'What do I remember about this year?' By the way it is the Year of the Tiger by Zodiac .I was also born in the year of the tiger, so it's considered to be my year to some extend. Let's have a short walk back in time and history. Basically, everything in my memory is associated with people or places, or with both. Work is a separate big topic that somehow has already been reflected in previous posts.

January:

Celebrating New Year 2010 in Indian style. Interesting party, but quite different than i've been used to. Presence of close friends makes it really cool. My first trip to Mumbai. Searching for adventure till 6 am and have an excellent tour the next morning. Visiting famous forts around Pune.Lots of travelling during the weekend. New and old people in the Cycle Society apartment. Meeting Martin, Wenru and others.

February:

I got the driver's license and rented a scooter. I can even remember the date - 7th of February. I remember how I was driving home in 1a.m. with Davy behind me for the first time. We were constantly thanking God for the fact that there were no other cars on the road. And the next day I embedded in a parking lot, after I successfully passed the challenging Solapur road. The book "0 limits". Kolhapur and museum of wax figures. Delhi - Agra - Delhi. I was spending a lot of time in Martin's and Utkarsh's company. Edu, another intern from Suzlon, left back to Brazil. I became the only one foreign trainee in GLD. Chinese, many-many Chinese people in our apartment. We had very funny and cool time all together.

March:

Everything began with the celebration of Holi in Goa with me, Martin and Utkarsh. I think this was a turning point in the relatioships in our trinity. Many many trips to different locations: Mulshi, then the temple ruins in Hampi. Back in Pune we play basketball and badminton almost every night. Arrival of Milosz and Andre in CS.

April:

More memorable for the process of search for new internships and delivering trainings in Suzlon. What has been successful on both sides. Traveling was mostly within the city and suburbs. Yes, and I started to collect money to repair the camera and for trip to home. All this time we were "Cycle Society family", as Cesar used to called our apartment.  It was interesting due to having 5 guys and me there)

May:

I remember the departure of many good friends. Davi, Martin, in particular. It was very unusual without them. But as time goes by, we should remind ourselves that we are guests in this world, and it makes sense to let it go. Not only about the people and relationships, but also about any other things.

June:

Started at the new workplace, which brings a lot of joy. Preparations for the trip home were going for the entire time. Was spending time in  FRO in order to get Visa, that have left it's impression on me. The arrival of the first Kazakh trainees - Ira and Petya. Wow! The Russian mafia in the trainee apartment. 3rd level and 26 hours in the train to Delhi. 2 days with parents of Utkarsh. The plane back home. All of these memories are followed by 3 weeks of positive emotions and cultural shocks, which you can easily get after 9 months of being far from home.

July:

I fly back to India. Also 'back home'. Because 'home' is where the close people are. Now we live together with Utkarsh, separately from the other trainees. Our 'huge' room, my suitcase in the role of the wardrobe and a single bed. Well, who pays attention to such minor things? The main thing is that we're here and we're together . Arrival of Aika and Zhanna, again many Chinese people. Trip to Lohagard fort and  driving in the rainy season. Favorite job.

August:

We have moved. We have our own flat, though it's a rented one and 'who knows' where, but it's our own one! 4 days in Goa under the rain. I can 100% say that this place is beautiful at any time of year. During the rains it gathers all the energy of nature and pleases your eye with waterfalls and perfect greenery. New gym. Sad that friends are leaving again, during that month about 10 people went back to their countries.

September:

I already know how to cook something from the Indian cuisine. It turns out delicious, and most importantly - without the excess of fat and frying. Courses of  tae-bo, new people in CS apartment.Met 2 interesting people on the internet. Delivering the training at the workplace.1 year as i'm in India, time goes by so fast.

October:

Visit of Utkarsh's family for 2 weeks. Trip to Goa with them. Challenging and interesting. Updating the Indian wardrobe.Making great dumplings with Lyuda and Chris. Arrival of Vasey for a one day visit. Departures to home of other friends.

November:

Great, a lot of trips on bicycles (This hobby takes a big piece of my soul). 2 weeks in Delhi. Informative. Books and constant study of Hindi (funny, since November I have spend very little time on it). Developing friendly relations, and I am very happy about it.

December:

Lived in the friends' place and watched the dogs for about 2 weeks. Realized that I love dogs, but i'm too lazy to take care of them every day. Revival of  'Mafia'. My 24th birthday. Catholic Christmas (the first one for us together). And then there still are a couple more days to enjoy this year.

It is believed that the year of your animal should bring you luck. I completely agree with this, because the number of events that were worth of attention was just endless. Sometimes it was obvious what are they given for, sometimes I've understood the consequences through time. In any case, I am grateful to this year, of Tiger and to all those people who have been in my life during it.

Was browsing in my folders of photos today. Suddenly i found a few interesting moments which haven't been published yet. Let's do it! Please, give a round of applause to pics made in our dear Pune and some comments to them from my side.

Number 1: 'Tribute to the science'. A monument to Newton in Kumar City, Kalyani Nagar. The area is all about 2-floor houses, owned by top management of various companies with Mercedeses in the garages. And as far as you can see, they respect science also. Or, as Dan Brown has already mentioned in his 'The lost Symbol' a lot of mysteries and secrets are connected with Isaac. Who knows, maybe this part of Pune knows one of them:) Or maybe it's just a sign for the guests: 'Beware of falling apples', or even papayas, which seems to be grown in the yards of some of the houses.

 

And we continue the tour and find an exhibit number 2. Codename: "Snow boots under a palm tree." This happened when I had the time and accidentally found warm winter boots at our friends house. Yes, it was around mid-December, the snow was falling in Europe, in Britain all airports were being blocked because of it . In Pune we had 25 degrees above zero during the daytime (you could actually take a sunbath on the roof ,if you do not care what the neighbors would think). So, camera was also there, let's welcome them on the stage.

If we had start to talk about winter and the holidays i have an easy question : what is one of the most important elements of the holiday season? Some people call it 'winter beauty'. Yes, the Snow Maiden(for russian-speaking countries) is a correct answer, but here i ment just a Christmas tree (There were even some poems and songs devoted to it.) For me it was a pleasant surprise to come across in front of a supermarket(Lifestyle). Have a look at number 3: "Winter beauty in the heart of the city".

And another interesting thing that has turned up. Everybody has something he belives in. And each country has its own superstictions and protective symbols, upside-down horseshoe, for example. One of such elements i've observed in Pune also. Exhibit with a number 4: "Eco protection". The main part of a talisman, is a pepper, not simple, the chilly one. And not one piece, but a lot of them. More peppers you have, the stronger is your protection. It ends with a lime, well i have no idea why. These things you cling to your vehicle, starting from the 2wheeelers. Definitely on back of it, the forces of evil should seen your protection. Those, wishing to buy such talismans, are kindly requested to ask little beggers at intersections of the busy roads and traffic lights. For the 'good price' of 10-100 rupees (That's depending on the color of your skin and the ability to bargain) precious defense will start its pure magic on you. If you are interested - write to my mailbox, i will provide mass suplements.

That were the results of the random search around the stock of photos. About the news from my side? we are at home. Today i suffered from 'no skype' desease, because it refused to work. Perhaps the same diagnosis could be said about another 25 million people around the world. Also i've found a couple of interesting sites that are worth going through. For example http://wip.od.ua/best-logos-2010/.

24 here. one day story

Yesterday. Chronicles should start with thanks to all those people who one way or another, morally or physically were present and shared their piece of positive emotions))

That night we were at our friends' place.So the sheets of paper with wishes from the door of our room to the hall on the first floor were the first surprise in the morning .There was also a gift in the beginning of the journey downstairs.I liked it a lot! While reading the wishes one by one, the smile on my face was growing. Something like this ) -> ))))))))))) Dogs were also showing a genuine interest about the presence of strange papers on the floor. 

Definitely we had a birhtday lunch. We decided have it in "Bounty", where they have sizlers as a speciality of the place. Sizler is usually meat with vegetables and rice, which is served in a special way so that it remains hot until you eat it. Delicious. By the way, in one of the restaurants the first menu page is devoted to the history of this dish and its appearance in India.

A bit of "monopoly" till the full recognition of bankruptcy by India, represented by Utkarsh))That also gave some  satisfaction to our union . Finishing the cake.It was quite a small one, only 3-3,5 kg)) By the way it came very, very tasty)) So i can say that the imagination works well in low-resource situations)) Everything was ready, and we decided to go home, where the party was going to happen.

Think, I've already mentioned that our apartment is far from the city center. Rather, even at one of its suburbs. + We are all still in India, with has IST (Indian Stretchable Time). This means that the first guests begin to appear within an hour after the appointed time, which by local standards is still very early)) as a result we started the holiday with a bottle of champagne for us and Akinori with gin)) And then the Twister appears on the scene )) We had a good laugh from the possible combinations, but have done almost none pictures.

Time fliew immideately and then the bell rung. Another guests, the apartment is filled with people who are still recowering from a long and cold road. Congratulations, flowers. People are evenly distributed around the apartment))

 

It is time for the cake. Friends set fire to candles, fireworks, light is switched off ... I enjoy the moment, until the fireworks are lit and there comes  time to blow out the candles. Thought about the wish and ... Done! Can proceed to cutting it into pieces. Thanks God, there were no Indian traditions with putting cake on my face. Think, people liked the taste of the cake. By the way, this it is very easy to make))

It was the first big party after we've moved in our apartment

After one o'clock the souls of people are still requesting to continue the party, so that the whole crowd is moving to Carlos. Who is Carlos? It's a good question, but this was also the day of his birthday. Funny moment when you have many people, 20 percent of them do not even have any clue, who is the host of the party. This was on my party,on the Carlos one there were about 30% of such ppl)) Consider as the plus the fact that you were able to dance until dawn or until you drop out.

These are the chronicles of the events happened yesterday. Day of my 24-th anniversary has brought several interesting and important life lessons that I believe are the main presents. And the Year of the Tiger was a good one. And still is.

The night comes to the city... lights are turned off , the silence is rarely broken by the sound of a scooter, whose owner flies home thinking about the cup of the hot drink, waiting him there. Only they are awake. These people in the city have another aim - they need to kill a man. There are three of them, representing different continents or the same one, the only way of communication is the eye contact, and their main task is to avoid prosecution from the citizens after the murder. Then they will continue the bloody job the next night to . Why? Because they are Mafia.
Their city consists of only 17 people who await their fate with the eyes closed and having a thought about how to find the bloody killers in the morning. There are 2 more characters on who depends the result of the night: "a person with great intuition," simply - a doctor, and "he ,who has a bit of the information" or you can call him police, cop, KGB, FBI, CIA or, as your heart desires. Is everybody ready? Then: "Let's go!"

I think you've already got the idea, it was a sketch of a widespread game  called "Mafia." This is the simplest option of the story, but very cool at the same time. Yesterday we did it for our friends and acquaintances in Pune. During the summer, we played a lot of similar games and, accordingly, there were enough gags to the topic. Then people went beck to their countries and "mafia" had gone into the underworld. Till i met Aditya after a long time, who was very passionate about the game. In the end, it was cool, as from my point of view it was the biggest game I've ever moderated - 18 people! ))) Just a crazy one, especially in points of discussion: why the mafia is you, not me)))
Was observing at the level of enjoyment that people were getting from the game and  i was thinking. We are all connected through social networks, status messages, mobiles. But there is no substitute for the evening when everyone is doing something that unites, gives the topic of conversation for a long time, and simply serves as an occasion for fun and laughter. What next? There are still many games that we have to play together.

Considering the topic of games. Drinking games are almost the same throughout Europe. Especially ones, which are loved by AIESECers like "Beeches Beeches," "Consume" and different counting games. Even those who have no idea about AISEC, know how to play the booze;)
Today will be a creating a cake without baking. There are a couple of ideas about this topic)))

Yesterday surprised me with a number of pleasant news. Several of them were from Cris after coming back from his trip home, which were really cool to hear.


Olka came to Ahmedabad for her AIESEC internship. She's interesting fellow from Ukraine, who took this life challenging experience. It would be challenging  in any case, and I think it's pretty cool to go to work and live in another country when you're only 20-24 years old. None of the reality shows is able to compare with such kind of an experience and the qualities you are going to develop will help you during the entire life.

We  had a chess tournament in the evening. It is interesting to play with someone with whom you are about the same level or your thought pattern is alike. Then it brings more fun and enjoyment, both from the winning and from losing. By the way, our score was 2:2, then India representative came with his point of view on the game. Subsequent losses were charged to the general tendency of Indians to acquire the skill of the game from an early age and the fact that chess were found exactly in this country. Evening has left lots of positive feelings inside of my soul, and there are more of other board games and ideas.

Also we've watched the Scottish comedy series called "Chewing Fat". (In the sense -  When your brain works, you burn fat, oh!). Scottish English required an effort from me to understand what were they talking about. Generally, these series are a collection of comic moments from the life of the average middle-aged man in the country. It is interesting to get toknow that the Scots do not care about fitness and style, and they don't not care what other people are going to think about them. They have their 'tipochki in tracksuits and teachers, for who the word "sex" is something from forbidden areas. It was fun to see that the middle class people are quite jelauos about the rich scots and see them as quite gay ones. By the way, i've observed the set of "global  long bearded" jokes, which were the easiest things to understand:)))

Several interesting observations.


First ones are going to be from the field of advertising. They really make me smile,so i'd like to share.
Imagine a billboard of a pure purple color which has just 2 lines:

"Le Kebabiere.


Authentic Indian Quizine."

As far as I understand the meaning of the word "Authentic" (and even "Google translate" had supported me in that) as "original." Question, if the restaurant provides the original Indian cuisine, why the title is with a clearly French bias? )
Let's go ahead. Billboard Number 2.

"Girls love six packs" (The girls like six packs, pumped up the press, in the sense) - fro myour point of view, what is advertised there? True, it's really about 6 packs, but about 6 different packs of condoms "Contex". The location of advertising also attracts attention - the entire wall of one of the biggest cinemas of the city)

TV also adds its part to common fun.
The fact is that the Indians are traditionally fond of gold and various items of it. So there are some funny advertisment stories. One of them is:

He and she.

She: "I love him because he gives me gifts." Immediately it's shown that guy gives her something fom platinum and diamonds (girl's best friends are the same all around the world).

He: "You are the most valuable thing I have." This is how: his most valuable thing is she and her are his diamonds))

One more ad which is really fun to watch.

Family.
Such an average Indian daddy (in the sense, tummy and everything else with it), Mom and two children. It's Daddy's birthday and he have already closed his eyes waiting for a gift. "Ready" - "Ready." Eyes are opened and he sees a muscular chest of the Indian guy with an excellent figure. "Well, ji, let's start with squats and push-ups." I personally love 2 moments in this ad: daddy's face at that moment and the fact that the product which is advertised is the Tetra pak for the juices!

I've also made one more discovery.I saw, how papaya grows. Yes, I thought that it grows in the supermarket shelves or in trays on the market, but it turned out that it grows on the tree. Very unusual to see 3-4 kg fruits at  tree, which seems to be very thin. Photo is attached.

Good morning!
here am i and some kind of thoughts which are ready to be put on the paper.

Gratitude. This morning i woke up, fullfilled with it. For any small thing, which happens in my life. For the place, where we live, for people, who're my friends. It's very true, that real and honest friends are very hard to find. And i'm happy with those ones who're in my life. Funny fact is, that you never actually know in which way you'll meet them and when. Once i've read, that each person is a gift in your life. Usually you get the gifts when you don't expect them, but the universe thinks that you're worth enough to get it. That's true. Some people tell, that i believe in fairy tales in life. Not exactly. I think, that you're given challenges in order to grow and you should be happy to get them. Because you get any challenge in order to grow, you just need to go till the end. And my fairy tale is that i believe in happy endings.