Cursurile sunt super bine organizate, si rarefiate, de la 8-9 ore pe saptamana, mai multe chiar pentru cei care studiaza stiinte gen medical science, computer science, maths, etc. Se pune accent foarte mult pe lectures concentrate cu foarte multa informatie, iar totul este desbatut in classes. Cam putin nu? Nu e chiar asa. Pt classes trebuie sa te pregatesti foarte bine si sa faci required+secondary readings. Pentru politics de exemplu, in functie de module, pot sa fie de la 2-3 capitole pana la 10-15 din diferite carti pt fiecare class. 2-3 eseuri pe an pentru fiecare module si final examinations in summer term.

Anul 1, foarte lejer, notele nu conteaza pt final grade, si toata lumea se distreaza si incearca sa se adapteze la noul stil de viata. Din pacate foarte multi uita ca din anul 2 trebuie sa fi mult mai organizat si cerintele sunt la standarde foarte mari. Dar din pacate, noul stil de viata tinde sa ii tina ocupati pe romani cu foarte multe activitati de care nu au avut parte in Romania. In primul rand, foarte multe clubs, societies, volunteering projects, care evident sunt foarte utile, insa multi uita ca au venit aici sa se axeze pe academic life si nu pe extracurricular activities. Petrecerile, excursiile, hainele ieftine tind sa ii atraga pe cei mai multi catre distractie in fiecare seara, shopping (cheltuitul banilor parintilor) si asa uita copiii de invatat. La sfarsit termina facultatea cu un 2.1 care sincer ar fi putut foarte usor sa fie un 1st cu doar putin mai mult efort.

Parerea mea e ca oricat de strict ar fi procesul de admission, tot exista foarte multe lucruri care ii distrag pe studenti de la invatat. Si nu imi vine sa cred ca romanii cred ca daca un student vine in Anglia vai cat de destept este si ce viitor stralucit o sa aibe. In zilele noastre aproape oricine poate venii aici, important e ca nu toti o sa invete mai mult decat ar fi invatat in Romania. Aparentele inseala. Tot ce sper este ca majoritatea iau in serios the academic side, si profita de sistemul de educatie englez care ne ofera sanse foarte mari sa excelam.

Some exclusive photos taken in Paris. These extravagant cats quietly make their way on the streets of Paris. I was surprised they didn’t have a pack of Vogues to light up cigarettes every 3 minutes

Dar in Anglia, tarisoara draga, totul este calculat si bine pus la punt in asa fel in care nimeni sa nu banuiasca vreodata ce se intampla.

Domnisoara H, tanara absolventa al unui colegiu, A-levels cam slabe, prea multa munca la facultate, se hotaraste sa obtina un job super bine platit sa isi cumpere masini sport, o casa cu gradina, si vacante scumpe la munte iarna si pe plaje nisipoase vara. Problema e ca ea nu se pricepe la nimic, dar din fericire stie cum sa manipuleze oameni. Merge la cursuri, devine un as superficial in microsoft office, isi ia un job part-time intr-un hotel ca receptionista. Dar sa stea ea la comanda tuturor nu, si cum the boss s-a prins ca ea nu prea stie nimic o concediaza.

Putin mai tarziu, H. gaseste un part-time job ca bibliotecar. Vai, dar ea este o draguta, experienta in domeniu, extraordinar de prietenoasa si zambitoare, ar ajuta pe oricine oricand, are un aer foarte profesional, dar daca vede ca cineva care nu prea isi permite sa plateasca cand a adus cartea tarziu, il iarta. H. incepe incet, incet sa castige admiratia tuturor. De fiecare data cand strica ceva da vina pe colega, fara ca aceasta sa stie sa se poata apara. Cand ceva nu merge si se intampla sa stie, nu impartaseste cu nimeni secretul si incearca cat de mult poate sa scape de colega ei. Bineinteles, ea este atat de buna pt acel job incat s-ar descurca excelent daca ar lucra full-time.

Dar intre timp, H. este avansata, i se ofera un job full-time intr-un alt birou si visul ei i se implineste. Face ea greseli cam des, dar vai lucreaza atat de mult ea, vine la 8 si pleaca la 5 jumate si nici nu e platita sa lucreze atat de mult. Acum H. are un super trendy sporty audi, o casa cu gradina si isi face planul sa mearga in vacanta pe o plaja insorita cu nisipuri aurii. Evident lucrurile merg mai prost la locul muncii, dar nimeni nu ar banui vreodata ca e numal vina ei pentru salarii neplatite la timp, sau ani intregi de date pierdute. In ochii tuturor, ea este o persoana extraordinara fara de care nu s-ar putea descurca.

Poveste adevarata, in sensul propriu al cuvantului.
Ma intreb acum, de ce numai eu pot sa o citesc si englezii cred ca e o sfanta…?!

The tragedy of taking clothes out of the washing machine and realizing some of them were pink, others had violet stripes on them didn’t seem to be a form of joy, but when i realized my clothes actually did look pretty damn good, i started thinking about it as a hidden, unconscious talent i may have. that thought didn’t stay for long with me though.

However, i do believe people don’t always seem to take advantage of their talents and use them in a way they can perhaps lighten up the people around us. It’s more about using our talents to learn how to give. When you think of talent, most people think it is a way of making money, perhaps even making a living out of it. It’s a shame we choose to go down this road.

Surprise, surprise! Adolf Hitler has behaved much better than me, and Santa is really fond of him. Hmm, interesting!

But this is just me. And when realizing this, i just wanted to see what happened to other people, what nice things they’re doing , how they’re having fun, nice music they’re discovering, films they’re watching, but..surprise, surprise. Nothing new, no updates, since middle ages. What happened to you people?

What will happen to Cuba once Fidel dies, or they officially announce his death, will communism survive without his revolutionary charisma, will there be a carnival on all the streets of the United States of America for 3 days? Can we imagine a democratic Cuba, with foreign influence, would I be wearing one of the last Che Guevara t-shirts to be produced ?

What about China? Is there a slow, almost invisible transition to democracy, which the Chinese have planned very carefully, but we do not have the eyes to see?

We are definitely experiencing an embarrassing period when idiots try to rule the world in the name of peace and freedom, with horrific intentions. Go back to school Mr, read some history, and learn your lessons, oh and, some geography as well!!

After the madness called freshers week, finally here comes the start of my second year at uni. Not much fun for me during last week, as I don’t enjoy to witness how these young birds just escaped from their parents’ nests and start drinking heavily. After half an hour you need to watch out not to be in the area where all of them start to be sick. Some might say i’m being judgemental, and i did the same last year, but honestly this is not the case. I still remember the pick and mix we had last year, when everyone was shy, trying to find friends they made on facebook before coming to uni. I don’t recall seeing anyone drunk that night, unlike last Sunday when a young lady was vomiting in the sink next to the one where i was washing my hands.

The organisation for freshers fair went well, although it was a pain. Now i can’t wait to go to my 2-hour seminar of Latin American politics tomorrow, and discuss about peronism and populism Not looking forward to the Political Analysis lecture i’ll have on Friday though. I can’t see many differences between P.A, and mandarin to be honest. They’re both unknown languages for me.

13th of August 2008…exactly a year ago, I watched the meteor shower from another place, more exactly, a beach in the South-East of Romania, at the border with Bulgaria. The sky was clear, no clouds like in rainy England. Back then i had my best friends with me, I had a lot of love, and although it was still cold, it was more pleasant than here.

It’s funny how much things change in just one year, and how fast time passes. Who would have thought today i would be staying on a windowpane, in my house, watching the sky from another place, and remembering what happened that night. The most ironic thing is that i’m still at the seaside somehow, without a beach, without a special someone, without any music. And this silance somehow reflects my feelings. No best friends, no romantic night, no crazy, drunk people around me…no cappy tempo de piersici, no headache. I wonder if next year will be better. Will it be romantic again, or lonely like this year? From which part of the world will i watch the shooting stars? Will it be cloudy?

Povestea cea mai scurta si frumoasa pe care ai citit-o vreodata

A fost odata ca nicodata un baiat care i-a cerut unei fete sa se marite cu el.

Fata a spus “NU”.

Si a trait fericita pana la adanci batraneti……..
Fara sa spele,
Fara sa gateasca,
Fara sa calce pentru nimeni,
Iesind cu prietenele ei,
Facand-o cu cine avea chef,
Cheltuindu-si banii pentru ea insasi,
Fara sa lucreze pentru altcineva.
Sfarsit.

…Problema este ca de mici NU ne spuneau povestile astea…
……….Si ne-au prostit cu tampenia aia cu “Fat-Frumos” …………………

English translation :

The shortest and most beautiful story that you’ve ever read..

There was once a guy who proposed to a girl.
The girl rejected his offer.
And she lived happily ever after,
Without doing laundry for anyone,
Without cooking,
Without ironing for anyone,
Going out with her friends,
Making out with whoever she wanted,
Spending her money on herself,
Without working for anyone else.
The End.

The problem is that when we were little, they didn’t used to tell us such stories,
Instead, they kept telling us that crap with… Prince Charming….

French Translation (by Dana) :

Voici le conte le plus court que tu n’aies jamais lu:

Il etait une fois un garcon, qui demanda la main d’une jeune fille. Le fille répondit non.
Dés lors la jeune fille vécut heureuse,
Sans laver,
Ni cuisiner,
Ni repasser,
Sortant avec ses amis(es),
En baisant avec celui qu’elle voulait,
En travaillant et dépensant son argent comme elle voulait.
Fin

Le problême c’est que depuis que nous sommes toutes petites, on ne nous a jamais raconté ce conte. Et il nous ont bien foutues dans la merde………Avec ce putain de Prince Charmant.

If someone would like to translate the story in another language, you are free to leave a comment And i will add it to my post

And this lady has called me for so many times, that you could say we are best friends. So this week i decided to call her back, and since i was very angry, my reply was something like this:’Hey Louise, this is Adelina. As you might remember, i came to your agency about 1 year ago and told you i needed to move in about 2 months. Of course I found a property, I can’t live on the street, and you should have figured this out since it passed more than two months since i came to you. So, as I don’t need your services anymore, you can now stop calling me ‘

And a friendly piece of advice…If you’re a student looking for accommodation, don’t go to estate agencies, the fees are not worth it.