Washington (or по следам Хрусталевой и Богородицкой)

5.45 am I get up and start to prepare myself for the trip... Lena is standing and repeating continiously that am gonna be late...

7 am I am sitting in the bus with the old coloured guy...and falling asleep next second

11am I am in Washington DC, like in those Holywood movies the line is running under the picture "washington DC"... My trip has started...I don't even know whether I was travelling through this marvelous city, through the pages of my English school-book or through the american movies about love, family, school or whatever...

The weather was really gorgeous, and me in the heart on US, recognising the architecture from pictures in the book or movies, watching hundreds of school trips and children playing in the lane of National Mall...

Really amazing... I was jumping under the sunm feeling myself totally happy...

Washington people are really very polite, everytime I asked them to make a foto, they defined my accent, asking where I am from, how did I come and welcomed me to DC.

People are helpful there, or is it me who is looking so helpless and attracts them? Speaking about politeness, I was amazed that in metro rush-hour, everybody is apologising the touching the neighbour accidentally...

I walked the Washington through by feet, starting from my bus-station to the White House, through the Capitol, Washington Memorial, Museum of National Art, the Castle opposite, WWII monument, and Lincoln memorial... The one I remember from "The Apes" movie where the Lincoln turned out to be the monkey.... Standing near reflecting pool and seeing Washington memorial in it... Really amazing feeling...A black-white picture from school book was jumping in front of my eyes... And me.... Who interfered to this picture....

That is the city not to compare with New York, it's less than Ufa, but really so cozy, developed and welcoming... That is a nice place to live and a must to visit...

Day 6. Fast-food opera

The famous Broadway Opera, the dream of every Big Apple visitor who cares... So as I consider myself to be the vistor who cares, we went to the Phantom of the Opera, since I held the tickets in my hand (expensive ones I should say) there were just the melody and lyrics of the famous "the phantooom of the Opera is here, inside youuuur mind"...really inside my mind... The show was really so great, the shootings which made me jump on my seat, the falling lamp, boat trip, the voice of the phantom behind me... Really like in movie... Like in movie...In movietheatre... Where's the culture of the theatre? The ladies in the furs? Shampaighn in theatre restaraunt? People come here in sport shoes, wearing jeans and not caring about the garderobe, which by the way Shakespeare considered to be the beggining of the theatre... Broadway opera is a fast food, made for tourists who come here daily, 1700 watchers a day and not a single free place, they'll eat everything you give them... As the result, we come, watch and leave.. Really like in MacDonalds, which is by the way just opposite the theatre, and nice place for toilet as 1700 vsitors do not suit into 2 restrooms in 10 min ;) However, today we got that we are the lucky ones, as the people experienced also pop-corn eaten beside...
The phantom of the opera is here, inside my mind...

Me and the City (or что вижу, то пою)

Big Billboards containing almost the same name as the title are looking to me from the houses, skyscrapers, lightwalls. Sex comes to New York on 30th of May...
My plane has landed here 23 days earlier... When the amazing time started...
So as I have written, if am not writing long, it means either I am dead or everything is going very cool... Or I left laptop at home (happens for the 1st time with me)...
Day 1. Meeting Lena...Dinner in italian restaraunt, big red E&Y letters on Times Square, very tired, a walk near the ocean...Laughing till stomach aches (as usually with her)...and night talks, sensire talks, shocking talks, supportive talks... I think sun has started to lighten Manhatten already when we felt asleep...
Day 2. The city of contrasts... After getting asleep at 4 AM, we get up at 8... Lena goes to work and I go to explore New York, first thing that is coming into the eyes on Times Square where she left me...Business man in expensive suits (and white sport sneakers!!!) follow same streets with black poor homeless people... Frankly, streets are dirty, houses are high, you have to stretcy your neck like giraffe to see smth upper... Where is clean Europe with tiny churches and roofs? The rain makes me hide in the big shopping centre, where I spend the rest time till lunch enjoying shopping...Really fancy clothes and windows of the shops with so many poor people in underground.. Enjoying lunch with Lena in EY cafeteria, 22nd floor with the view on Times Square...Amazing...The contrasts start to appear right after lunch, rain changes with the sun, I go from 9th avenue to Broadway, down to 14th Street, Union Square...The closer it is for the centre, the more clean and cool the city becomes...At union Square I make a foto, paying 3$ to know how the clock on the wall function, listen to the guy about the issue of children in Africa who proposes to solve me the problem by paying just 22$ a month, and also buying in super Columbia wine...Asked passport for the 1st time when I buy alcohol since 7 years....
( to be continued tomorrow, tired, see pictures on vkontakte and facebbok)

May holidays in Moscow

Since 5 years I am living in Moscow, but never spent May holidays here, life brought me to different parts of our country and Europe at this time, and now, my last year in Moscow, I decided to answer the question: where do I go for May holidays, "I go to Moscow"...
and I really went there ;)
Wednesday (feeling like Friday) 17.30... Maykovskiy Square... Vika came from St. Pete to Argentina embassy, and for sure we couldn't to not have met...18.00 We are sitting in Mu-Mu, sharing, eating, laughing, drinking Beer, as normal tourists we go to see attractions of Moscow, entering bookshop to tourist guides, I buy one for New York, she's searching for Buenos Ires...
20.00 We go to Che Birthday Party... Really nice person, with really nice friends, a party in really Che-style, with games, people I love around, champaign, wine and cocktails, made in blander, the present of us ;) A lot of fun, lot of smiles, warm words and pleasant feelings...One glass for Che, the other for the end of our term, guests are leaving, we let Dima to bring Vika to railway station, and we three, Inna, Sasha and me, stay and talk in the kitchen with wine and orange tea... This sensire talks in Che kitchen till 3-4am
Thursday Morning. 12.00... We get up, have breakfast lazily, 1st thing we do with Inna at her new age, is applying for internship, she's now in database, ready to search one and go wherever she wants...
Thursday Evening, 21.00... I meet with Olya and Masha from university, discussing taxes, discussing our stupid teachers, our stupid uni-system, discussing men for sure, 2 Long-Islands... And a night walk along with Moscow, 24h Book-shop, happy, drunk, with literature and postcards in my bag, returning home...
Thursday Night, 2am... Quarell with Erkan, in search for understanding and love, with tears and soul-hurts I go to bed...Writing before really stupid compromative e-mail...
Friday Morning, 12.00 A call from Sasha, time to get-up, and continue with our "trip to Moscow"
Lina's friends from Spain and Germany came to Moscow. Working in AIESEC I got so much used to people from other countries, that it became not special for me to meet them, show Moscow and so on, but meeting Martha, Anna and Pedro was really amazing... Feeling again like a tourist, showing city to them, speaking about their experience of internships, really made me so passionate to go Stuttgart, meet so many people from different countries, with different approaches and values... Spanish girls are amazing, they are so funny, sitting in Coffee-bean and listening to Martha, really like to theatre... It's undescribable.. You have to see it... "Australian men are hot, they have big muscles, doing surfing...uuuh... For sure, they are just to compare with dutch people, they are so crazy, I tell you, just go to the Netherlands and make market research, you'll for sure find one... Brazilian Girls... Judera...":))) and this spanish accent and gestures are to fall in love with :))) And Anna's words: " Masha,here's my e-mail, just feel free to stay in my place... You have to visit Hamburg for sure, when you are in Germany" :)
Friday. 20:00... They live to St. Pete and we with Inna and Sasha start "glamorous life" in Moscow... Sushi, Pina Colada, walk, making fotos, going to bars, Sex on the Beach, dancing, laughing, remembering the craziest stories which ever happened with us, laughing till death, making crazy sruff, walking, again crazy pictures...
1 am we are by Inna, laughing non-stop till 3 am and then we are in the Kingdom of Morpheus... I told Sasha that I'll kill you if you set alarm for 10 am...
She did...
Saturday 12.00... We are with Sasha, in the lane, with MacCofee and potato fast-food enjoying the sun and having breakfast...
See pictures from Moscow holidays vkontakte or in the facebook;)

Thank you!!!

My EB-term is over... am not VP X anymore... To say that it was "a big challenge, great development, amazing experience, huge learning" is too boring... But it really was... I learned a lot from my team, from people I met, from myself finally...
Now I am more self-confident, I have ability for networking, I strive for results, I can be constructive, this analytical thinking when everything goes to the shelves in your head, which I got from my team...
I met a lot of wonderfull people during this year, some of them became my friends...
I wanna thank all the people who were together with me during this year, contributed to my development, helped me to reach results, supported when it was needed...
Thank you Sasha A. (K) for your support, for ability to think constructive, and for listening to my doubts at daytime and nights...
Thank you Masha Ba for giving me food, tea, wine at nights, for your tremendous support and help, for your belief in me...
Thank you Yulia for building up such great relations, for sharing your problems with me and listening to mine, for sharing my ideas and supporting my thoughts, for being so funny and blond...
Thank you Vika for never being offended, for chaging, for understanding me, and always finding something to calm down...
Thank you Olya for constructivism and critisism, it can be useful...
Thank you Katya Kh for trusting in me from the very beggining, it was important for me, thank you for your help, for listening to my claimings and for your smart advice...
Thank you Lina for coming in November, making the list of things I should do, thank you for pushing me, thank you for "boevoi tulen' "...
Thank you Vika (Palkan) for sharing the ideas and strategies, for support and advice, for friendly relations... Thank you for our X-track, consisting of me and you ;)
Thank you Araz for a big bunch of motivation and ideas I got from you, right in the time when I thought that nothing can go further...
Thank you Cebula for giving me a challenge at ACT, when I thought that it's the last conference I visit, for giving me the kick to move...
Thank you Tony for the smart talks, for support and for challenge and changes you gave to me...
Thank you Nastya for Nordic circle at NatCo, for being honest...
Thank you Victor for being a role-model in whole MC-team for me, for your contribution and revolution in AIESEC in Russia...
Thank you Lena Pe for your active listening, for giving and sharing my passion...
Thank you Masha Mi for your google-maps and calls at night: we have business-meeting tomorow...
Thank you Inna for giving host for a lot of meetings, for being smart and coaching us...
Thank you Zakhar for your clearness of mind, for sharing my ideas, for your card for tickets...
Thank you all members of AIESEC in Moscow, for your strivings, for your passion, for your great results...
Thank you everybody who made this year so colourful for me...
I wish all the best for you and hope to stay in touch...

Around the globe

We are sitting 6 girls around the table and having our cappuccino. Katya is drinking Mojito, as usual…
Making jokes, sharing the experience of the year passed by, started from 1st of May 2007, when 5 of us sat in cold Saratov, and 1 in Sri-Lanka….
Discussing our destinations…
Marina goes to Argentina, Katya to Pakistan, another Katya to Mauritius (that’s in Africa), Sasha to Mexico, me to Germany, Ira still thinks…
I mean, I started to doubt if I am really a change agent, everybody goes to such far-countries, thinking not just about their development, but also about the development of others, contribution to the organization, breaking stereotypes at the end, taking challenge.
The biggest challenge I could take was moving 3h away from my boyfriend, working in Big Four Firm, and even of that I started to doubt when was proposed cool salary here in Moscow…
What is my contribution and how can I bring something good and positive to this world? I will not shift people’s mindsets somewhere in Argentina, let the people experience Uruguay, recruit people in the islands of Indian ocean, but building up a family, and bringing children to the world is also something…
After yesterday quarrel with Erkan which let me oversleep today and be 1.5 h late for work, I realized, I really wanna go there… He accused me in having no trust and so on, but I still wanna go there…
Destination K-N-O-W-N.

Updates (or Cчастье есть!)

Through tryings and not, passion and striving to the result, grumbling and laugh, days and nights, sun and rain, I have finished my thesis ;)
Frankly, speaking I didn't put too much effort into it, think I was speaking and thinking of it more, than I really did write it. But still, we'll see on the 3rd of June what life will bring to us.
That is the first pleasant thing I wanted to share with you.
The second one, as I already wrote, that I have matched to Stuttgart. However now am in the process of making my documents. I have already subscribed to the embassy for 23rd of May, the german side is making working permission and insurance for me. I took documents from university and brought it to translation office, all these little stuff make me feel nearer to it ;)
The person who matched me really assists a lot. Yesterday, I got a veeeery big e-mail from the girl working where I'll work, she is from Hungary and finishing her internship there.
I wanna share how I will live ;)
There's a big 5-roomed flat + living room + veery big kitchen + bathroom.
Which I will share with the girl from Poland, guy fromRomania and girl from Columbia and may be other people will join us. They have everything there, that she listed in the e-mail, but the most important for me are wi-fi internet and washing machine ;)
The flat(I looked to the map) is situated very near with the old city of Stuttgart which (I looked to wikipedia photoes) looks amazing ;)))
It's situated in the east-south of Stuttgart, the same as I live here and my working place is on the South ;)
The transportation fees are covered by the company ;)
Irka, my best friend from Ufa, comes to Ulm, which is 1h away by train. It's like you go from Moscow to Korolev ;) There are a lot of museums and castles in Stuttgart and in the near. Just read about in wikipedia. It takes1.5h to get to France, 3h to Italy and 2h to Austria ;))))
On 7-10 august it's Beer Festival there. and on 27th Aug - 7th September - Wine Festival.
I read a bit of it every day, and the more I read, the more I wanna go there. It's unbelievable that I gonna spend a year there!!!
3rd nice news is that I got my "injured" passport today. US embassy doesn't make minds to staple one's passport and leave wholes in it ;) However, now I have my visa and going to New York on 7th of may to visit Lena. Crazy she is, or I am, but it was totally a random decision to go, which came to me while sitting at work and chatting in local messenger... In 2 days I already was on the way to Aeroflot office (although that day they declined tickets to me) and she was on the way to post to send an invitation ;) So easy it goes ;))))
Happy and enjoying me...Looking foward my next 2 months:)))