Caricature

What do you think about this version of Anita? :)

I got this caricature last week from my Dutch course mate who is a professional artist-caricaturist. Every lesson he is drawing some people just for fun (while studying Dutch), so finally I also got my picture.

Michael already gave his opinion - the straw symbolises me drinking capirinhas and the smile symbolises me making fun of Michael. :)

Other opinions?

Fulfilled dreams

In the latest issue of Libertas Magazine you can read my interview with Haris Mexas about the topic "achievements".

"I always envy those people who can speak several languages and change from one to another without any problem. My dear Greek friend Haris Mexas is one of those lucky people. He is a linguist, so one can expect him to be able to speak fluent Greek, English, Spanish, German and French and add some respectable knowledge of Italian, Turkish, Latin and even ancient Greek. That's not all – this September Haris is starting to fulfill his dream to be a master student in the Netherlands and catching up with his Dutch language skills!"

Full article you can read here.

Latvians keep coming

I do not know if it's just my aura or all Latvians are really moving to the Netherlands, but I keep meeting more and more Latvians who have moved or are about to move here! The funny thing - almost all of them I have already met before!

Since 2,5 years ago when I moved here for the first time I have hanged out with:

1) Agnese Nr. 1 - my crazy party associate in my last and her first weeks in Amsterdam. The friendship with crazy memories and long-lasting impact on both of us. True, I didn't know her before - but CouchSurfing united us.

2) Sintija - the history dates back to 2003 when we got to know each other through my dad. One day I noticed on Facebook that now she is living in Amsterdam - what a surprise, me too! For almost a year she was my company to a lot of cultural events!

3) Lelde - the history dates back to God-knows-when. I think, both of us were still in the primary school when we became pen pals. Later on we found out that we used to study in the same university and she used to work with my course mate. Funny enough, for the first time we met more than 10 years after in Amsterdam...

Furthermore, there is a bunch of other Latvians living nearby whom I haven't met so much yet, but who are worth mentioning anyway.

4) Kristīne - so many e-mail exchanges, but still haven't met despite having quite a few common friends. One day...!

5) Mārtiņš - my cousin's cousin, yet not my cousin. One day I heard from my cousin that he has moved to the Netherlands as well... So far the only Latvian guy I am aware of in this country (apart from "I know X who knows Y who is living here")

6) Baiba - well, we were together in the primary school and, the same as Lelde, she was also studying in the same university. Then one day I saw on Facebook (as well) that she is in the Netherlands, although in the opposite side of the country. Will meet again for sure!

7) Agnese Nr. 2 - at first, ages ago I interviewed her grandma for some article. At second, her grandma then told me that her granddaughter Agnese was studying in the same high school where I did. At third, turns out that she used to work for the same company in Amsterdam I am working now!

8) Agnese Nr 3 - my Latvian colleague at work, seeing her every day and practising my Latvian not to forget it :)

9) Egita - well, Facebook says that we have 45 common friends and I am sure that draugiem.lv would add a few more. Knew about her since I joined AEGEE, but never really talked - until one day we met in Brussels in an event. And then again, here...

10) Agnese Nr. 4 - the youngest part of the non-existing-community. One day she wrote me on Facebook saying that we have met and spoken a few years ago in an information market in Sweden, where I was presenting AEGEE and she was doing Erasmus (I think so). Of course, we have common Latvian friends. Last week also this Agnese moved to Amsterdam. Welcome!

11) Tatjana - just remembered, another AEGEEan living in the country, although also not so close to me. Memories about co-organised events back in Latvia...

Did I forget anybody? :) Aija doesn't count, she was living here before I did - too bad.

Maltese wedding

So it has happened. I was a guest at my first international wedding! :)

Yesterday my dear friends Alistair and Anna got married in a Maltese/Polish/international wedding, full of people from different parts of the world. It was interesting to observe and discuss the differences between wedding in various countries.

I guess that it was a quite typical Maltese wedding, which leads me to a conclusion that apart from the church and the white dress there are no similarities between Latvian and Maltese wedding. Amazing to be a part of so different wedding!

I am not sure how correct will I be comparing both of them, but let me give you my observations about the main differences:

Time: ~5 hours (Malta) vs ~24/36 hours (2 days) (Latvia)

Procedure: Church + standing reception (Malta) vs church + seated dinner/breakfast with a lot of traditions (Latvia)

Speeches: 0 (Malta) vs a lot (Latvia)

Flowers as presents: 0 (Malta) vs from every guest (Latvia)

Presents: usually money (Malta) vs anything (Latvia)

Nevertheless, it was an important moment for Alistair and Anna as well as all their friends and relatives. Some of us were present the first time both of them met, so it is a nice memory to keep with us - being proud to be a part of their family history.

Congratulations, my dears!

Balkan mission

I have never been in Balkans myself (although - it depends if Bulgaria and Greece are in Balkans), but I decided to post a link of Facebook group "Project: where does our Yugo end?"

Four crazy Dutch guys went to Bulgaria last week to buy a typical Balkan car there. After buying a zastava for pretty good price, they are now travelling around Balkans and exploring these amazing countries in their "new" car.

Check the pictures and follow their stories online!

Goviral

Not a long time ago a friend of mine said she is now working for goviral network and asked me to join and post some of their videos on my blog. Apparently I can also get some money for that!

I am not sure how is it working, but posting the first video to see how it goes.

Learning Latvian

Now not only me, but also Michael has a blog - he has decided to blog about his attempt to learn Latvian language, so you are welcomed to follow his blog as well! Unfortunately there is no possibility to comment on his blog yet, but you can do it on his Facebook :)

Part of his first article:

"In the beginning I tried to learn some random Latvian words (basically the usual stuff like "thanks", "good morning", etc.). But mixing everything together to some kind of Engerlatutch (ENGlish - GERman - LATvian - dUTCH) does not sound nice if used in the long term. Furthermore, I like learning languages, so I want to challenge myself and learn proper Latvian."

Other blogs

Here is a list of other blogs I tend to read time from time when I have time and the right feeling... As I know those people personally (well, more or less), it gives a special feeling to follow their adventures.

• Wouter's blog about the road trip from Amsterdam to Tokyo
• Agnese's blog about her life
• Anete's blog about volunteering (part of European Voluntary Service) in Italy
• Linda's blog about the same thing in Bulgaria
• Natalia's blog about the new life in North Korea
• Liene's blog about American Latvian's life in France

Can't remember any more at the moment...

Any special blogs you would like to share?

BB 30-1

A few glimpses from Michael's birthday party in blue tones!

After a long discussion about endless amount of topics and themes for the party this was the one we came up in the end as blue is his favourite colour.

Top 5 places in the Netherlands

Some months ago I wrote about my favourite places in Amsterdam, but this time I thought about revealing my favourite places out of the city - but still in this beautiful country.

1. Hoorn - although I have been there only once, this small and cute town left a big impact on me. I still remember strolling around almost empty streets, admiring old buildings from several centuries ago and falling in love with the yachts in the port. Around half an hour away from Amsterdam (by train), Hoorn feels like a different world without tourists and yet with its own beauty.

2. Maastricht - this city and me met several years ago, even before I knew that I will ever have a chance to live in the Netherlands. I went there to visit a friend of mine for the weekend and instantly felt that I like it, although it might be too small to live and work there. Since that I have been back to Maastricht several times, including three carnival editions when the city turns into a wild street party and seems so different from other, more peaceful times.

3. Leiden - I believe that AEGEE people (those who had a chance to participate in Spring Agora Leiden 2010) will object, but I really like this small student city. It has a special beauty and its canals remind me Amsterdam, but luckily there is no huge crowd of tourists. The special feature is the endless amount of poems on the walls and last time I even managed to find a Latvian one!

4. Naarden - thanks to another friend, I had a chance to visit the medieval Naarden. When I was there for the first time, it was a silent and empty afternoon with almost no people on the streets and we were wondering around the fortifications and exploring "almost forgotten town". My second visit was just the opposite - it was full of Dutch people, enjoying their sunny day, shopping and sitting outside. Nevertheless, it was possible to feel the special vibe of the small town.

5. Zaanse Schans - I hope that locals will forgive me for mentioning such a touristic place, but I can't help myself. Several working windmills in a raw and extremely cute and sweet houses from fairytales sell good, and I am one of their victims. Typical Netherlands in a nutshell!

Now you all know how much I love history and cities / towns which look like nothing would have changed in the last few centuries!

Run, Forest (or Michael), run!

Yesterday Michael took part in Zuidas Run - annual run around Amsterdam Zuid, where there are three disciplines, the longest one being 16km and the smallest one just 1km (Kids Run).

Obviously, Michael chose the longest one and set two aims - first, be faster than last year (1:13:33h), second, be faster than his colleagues.

I am proud that both aims were achieved - his time was approximately 1:09h (waiting for exact information) and one of his colleagues arrived approximately 10-20 seconds later, others even more later (as far as we could observe).

Congratulations, darling! :) Next time - marathon with 42km? :)

TALIA birthday

Last Saturday Italian deli place "Talia" celebrated its first birthday, so we used the opportunity to congratulate Nicola & Michele for their hard work.

Michael was there also exactly a year ago for their opening party as he used to study Dutch together with Nicola. Later on, we passed by there several times to get pizza or just say "hi" to the guys. I also had my Dutch classes there and several times I have been suggesting the place to my CouchSurfing guests for leaving their luggage there.

Last Saturday we went there for the beginning of the party at 2.22pm for a glass of champagne, followed by a small photo session and tasting new pizzas (mm, the one with Gorgonzola cheese and nuts was wonderful).

We came back a few hours later to discover that "Talia" was crowded with people listening to a nice Brazilian musician trio and waiting for a big pot of tiramisu. On the "tre, due, uno" everybody jumped around the tiramisu with their spoons, trying to eat as much as possible and dig as deep as possible. There was a hidden piece of lemon, and the lucky finder got a special present from "Talia".

Of course, we did not forget a birthday present - some funny colorful crackers, two Dutch SIM cards (for CSers who pass by) and a special guest book for "Talia" visitors.

As we are going there today again, I am curios to see how many entries does the guest book have by now!

Kad ir jau par daudz

Domāju, vismaz daži no jums vēl atceras manus iepriekšējos ierakstus par "slepeno pielūdzēju"... Līdz šim par to visu tikai pasmaidīju un neņēmu pie sirds, bet šodienas "piedzīvojums" lika pārdomāt esošo situāciju.

Pēcpusdienā devāmies ārā, lai ar riteņiem dotos uz tepat netālu esošās ēstuves "Talia" pirmo dzimšanas dienu (to pirms gada atvēra divi itāļi, mūsu paziņas).

Vēlējāmies braukt ar riteņiem, bet... kāda sakritība - no visiem riteņu stāvvietā esošajiem divriteņiem tieši mūsu abiem (mana un Maikla) bija tukšas riepas.
Piebilde Nr. 1 - riteņu stāvvieta atrodas apakšstāvā, kur iekļūt var tikai mājas iemītnieki ar atslēgu. Tur parasti atrodas aptuveni 10 riteņi.
Piebilde Nr. 2 - riepas nebija pārsprāgušas, tāpēc iespēja, ka piektdien vakarā mēs nejauši varējām uz kaut kā uzdurties, ir izslēgta. Rūpīgāk apskatoties, tika atklāts, ka ir noskrūvēti melnie uzgaļi no riepām (tur, kur riepas tiek uzpumpētas).

Protams, var jau teikt, ka kādi mājas rezgaļi gribēja pajokot vai kādam ļoti vajadzīga tieši mūsu melnos uzgaļus, bet mūsu mājā (aptuveni 10 dzīvokļi) ir tikai pāris jaunieši, lielākā daļa ir cilvēki pusmūžā, un līdz šim nekas līdzīgas netika novērots.

Vēl pirms pāris nedēļām manam divritenim tika nolauzta taure - iepriekš domāju, ka vienkārši kāds piedzēries mājinieks nebūs redzējis, kur iet (jo divritenis bija blakus durvīm), bet nu...

Nē, nekādu pierādījumu par to, kurš ir vainīgais, man nav. Bet pašsajūtai nevajag pierādījumus...

Kas būs nākamais?

My photo in an exhibition

A couple of weeks ago I found an information in Dutch that Het Grachtenhuis (Canal house) has a photo competition for their upcoming exhibition "‘Amsterdam Canals - gateway to the future".

I didn't think twice and simply submitted my picture. I am not a professional photographer, but had nothing to loose. I also thought that it is an interesting competition, so forwarded the information to couple of friends and wrote an article about it in English. I think that we were the only who covered this information in English. :)

Today I got a reply from the organisers that ... my picture has been chosen as one of 25 photos which will be shown in the exhibition from April 1 onwards! And that's not all - it is also one of the 10 pictures which qualifies for the main prize - 2500 euro. Specially selected jury will choose one lucky winner.

To make it even more funnier, also Michael and my colleague Sergios got e-mails saying that their pictures are qualifing for the exhibition. So I am sure that on April 1 all my office (including me) is going to the exhibition together.

Will you join us?

Restaurants for a cheaper price

This week here in the Netherlands we have annual Restaurant Week, when loads of restaurants all over the country offer a special menu for a set price - 27,5o euro for 3-course menu (drinks not included).

I discovered this wonderful idea back in 2009 and went with a few friends to one of the restaurants. This year I decided to repeat the idea and go to other restaurants where usually I would not go.

Unfortunately none of my friends in Amsterdam was able to join this time, so we had nice romantic dinner together with Michael. I was browsing through the huge list of restaurants in Amsterdam and picked two ones. We couldn't choose which one to go, so ... we simply went to both!

On Monday evening our host restaurant was "Casa Peru". It was quite small and empty, but that didn't matter. We were even able to choose which dishes to have (which is normally not the case during the Restaurant Week) and opt for different ones for each of us - so we could taste more of Peruvian cuisine!
The food was delicious and enough even for Michael who is eating a lot. :) I am not sure how authentic it was, but either the chef or the restaurant owner is from Peru, so I hope that it is traditional indeed (no, I do not remember the names of the dishes, sorry).
Unfortuntely the service was not so good as the waitress took me the wrong main dish and in the end of the evening gave out less change than she was supposed to. No tip for her then, sorry.

Yesterday - on Wednesday - we went to "Nomads", which is some kind of Turkish-Arabic restaurant. It was completely full of people and it was a very interesting experience. We were sitting on a large mattress instead of chairs and there were no tables - but a very, very big plate which the waitress put on the mattress (the same one where we were sitting). There was also a bellydancer (with coloured white hair and fake smile) dancing around, a woman with taro cards and a girl offering massage.
The food was served in several small bowls and was not outstanding, but still interesting.
There were quite a lot of waitressses almost "running" from one mattress to another and in total we spent in the restaurant almost thre;e hours as it took a lot of time to get the food.

In the end, I enjoyed "Nomads" more because of the atmosphere and I would definitely recommend "Nomads" as an interesting experience to group of friends or couples who like to be very close to each other (as the mattress is not so huge).

I am not sure if I would go to those restaurant in an ordinary day both because we do not dine out of house so often and because it is not so cheap. But that's why there is Restaurant Week!

Run, run, run

This week is going really fast! I have always been telling to myself and others that I can do a lot of things at the same time and that I need to keep myself busy all the time, but seems that I am either getting older or starting to realise what does it mean "enough" for me.

In the last weeks and months most of the time I was spending at home, so I had enough time to do all the things I mentioned before. Now since I have started to go to the job and spend there all day, suddenly I have time for ... nothing. Apart from the basic daily duties, of course.

This week has been quite busy because of evening activities I have arranged beforehand, including weekly choir and Dutch class. Because of that, I haven't had time to read all the newsletters I am receiving (about great happenings here in Amsterdam), check on Facebook what my friends are doing, answer to all e-mails (including urgent and long ones), read news what's going on in the world, do homework for Dutch class and simply relax. And it feels very bad, because there is always a feeling that something is not done.

As the day has only 24 hours, not more, and as I am getting older and I need more sleep than before to feel good, the only solution is to quit something. Just need to decide - what...

So far I have quit the things mentioned above, but some of them are quite important (like replying to e-mails and doing homework). So I guess it will end in having less visitors (including CouchSurfers) and attending less events.

Or maybe you have some other ideas for me? :)

Maastricht carnival

If the classic Russian movie Ирония судьбы, или С лёгким паром! (The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!) has the legendary phrase "Every year with my friends we go to the sauna," then I have my own legendary phrase for the Netherlands: "Every year with my friends we go to Maastricht carnival."

That's how my first article for IamExpat starts! Click here to read and comment the full version!

I will not post all the articles I have written in my blog as that'd be too much (today alone I had two published), so just follow my profile on IamExpat and see the articles there! Sometimes I will post the most important ones also on my blog, but not all...

And - do not forget to attend Maastricht carnival, it'll be amazing!

Home alone

As from tomorrow onwards I will be sitting in the office again and not hanging around at home, I thought about answering to the magical question "What does Anita do all day long at home alone?".

It has been asked to me several times and I am sure that I will ask it to myself after some time - how could I manage to sit half a year at home without going to work and not feel bored? OK, to be honest - sometimes I did feel bored, but most of the time I had quite a few things to fill my agenda.

Here is the list of the most common things and activities I used to do and I am sure that I will miss some of them...

- Writing my master thesis (will not miss this one for sure)
- Sleeping longer (sometimes too long)
- Spamming my cute boyfriend with e-mails about things to do, go and visit and speaking with him on Skype (wondering how did he manage to find time to work as he needed to read all my e-mails and chat with me)
- Sending job applications and finding new ads to apply (annoying and I will not miss it at all!)
- Learning how to cook and washing dishes (I never enjoyed cooking before, but now I both start to enjoy it and start to get better at it)
- Checking online what is going on in Amsterdam and what can I do and see (very useful skill for my new position)
- Afterwards hanging out with Sintija in different cultural centres, exhibitions and other activities for free (hope to continue it in my free time)
- Updating my family tree (very important and need to find time for that also in the future)
- Daily e-mails and social networks' activities (still will do, but on a smaller scale)
- Participating in several online competitions where you can win something (and being pretty lucky)
- Reading Latvian news portals what's going on in the world (can survive without it)
- Following women problems in family portal Calis.lv just because of being curious (can survive without it)
- Sending and answering to AEGEE-related e-mails (I guess it's just good that I will have less time for it)
- Taking pictures of Amsterdam (check my Facebook and draugiem.lv galleries for that and yes, I hope to continue doing it)
- Writing letters to my grandma (once a week or so, but still - and it will be continued)

Of course, I could add also watching some movies, reading books and other things, but those were not done so often if we compare it with other activities.

My new love

It was a love from the first sight. For a few seconds I looked at him and he looked at me. Then I called him to come to me and he was running (indeed, running) to be in my arms. He couldn't stop kissing me after that...

I didn't want to let him go and therefore I was holding him in my arms for a long time, candidating to be the most happiest person in the world at that point. I was smiling like a drunk (is it only Latvian expression?) and repeating how cute he is. He didn't mind.

But then it was time to leave... I didn't want to leave him and I believe that he didn't want to let me go either. I begged to take him with me and be next to me for the rest of our lives. I told that I will take care of him, make him happy and fulfill all his wishes as good as I can.

It didn't help. My boyfriend didn't agree to share our flat with my new love. He didn't share my enthusiasm.

The last kiss, the last eye glance and the last hug. My new love stayed, but I left.

Good-bye, the sweet, two months old laika puppy! Our love affair was shorter than an hour, but I will never forget you and miss you!

Septiņas lietas par mani

Pateicoties Ilzei, arī es ieguvu uzdevumu aizpildīt ceļojošo anketu, ko tad nu ar godu arī cenšos darīt.

1. Kas ir pirmā lieta, ko tu iedomājies, kad piecelies no rīta?

Ui, jau tik agrs? Vēl varētu pagulēt. Negribu celties!!!
(pēc tam sastādīju kompāniju brokastīs un aizgāju atpakaļ gulēt uz vēl trīs stundiņām)

2. Pirmā lieta, ko tu pamani pretējā dzimumā?

Rokas un smaidu. Rokām jābūt vīrišķīgām un lielām. Smaidam - īstam un bieži.

3. Pirmā lieta, ko ņemtu līdzi uz neapdzīvotu salu?

Savu mīļoto vīrieti ar domu,. Viņš ir noderīgs :)

4. Kas ir pēdējais, ko tu apēdi?

Divas pēdējās Australian šokolādes konfektītes no (sava) slepenā pielūdzēja.

5. Pēdējais cilvēks, ar kuru tu runāji pa telefonu?

Ui... Neatceros. Jāapskatās telefonā. Izskatās, ka pēdējais zvans bijis piektdien no nepazīstama numura. Atcerējos - atbilde uz manu CV un motivācijas vēstuli, lai paziņotu, ka es, iespējams, esmu pārāk kvalificēta. Viņi gan teicās vēlreiz apdomāt un dot man šonedēļ atbildi. Gaidu.

6. Pēdējā filma, ko tu noskatījies?

Gribēju teikt, ka "Inception", bet tā bija viena no pēdējām, ne pati pēdējā. Varbūt "Into The Wild"? Neatceros. Pirms 1-2 nedēļām skatījāmies vairākas filmas, nu jau aizmirsies, kura bija pēdējā.

7. Pēdējā grāmata, ko tu lasīji?

Vakar iesāku, bet vēl nepabeidzu grāmatu "Black and (A)broad" angliski, ko nopirku no pašas autores - Nīderlandē dzīvojušas amerikānietes.
Pēdējā, ko iesāku un arī pabeidzu? Šķiet, ka Dena Brauna "Zudušais simbols" latviski, ko aizņēmos no vecmāmiņas, kad biju Rīgā.

Tradīcija prasa, ka stafete ir tālāk jānodod trīs cilvēkiem. Nodošu nākamajām pasaules lāpītājam un ceļotājām no AEGEE-Ogre - Agnijai, Anetei un Lindai. Veiksmi!

Secinu, ka man slikta atmiņa uz sīkumiem. Bet varbūt uz nebūtiskām lietām?