It's Been a Long Year

Believe it or not, check your calendars guys because we met exactly one year ago. I've been thinking about writing on this day for a long time because I disappeared without any trace ..as did the rest of us :) And with this anniversary we all could spend some time remembering the great times we had in Norgaards Hojskole.

Sometimes it seems unbelievable that it was sooo long ago. There hasn't been many days when some (mostly good) memories don't come into my mind. If you asked my favourite one(I don't care if you wouldn't ever asked about it I'm going to tell you anyway:P), I'd say that my birthday was the best and the happiest day that I had there. I could say 'the happiest of my life' but that would be a huge cliché. I remember the whole evening from the moment Gábor accompanied me to the kitchen where the unforgettable murder-game was played through the best Estonian cake

I've ever eaten to the moment I went to sleep.

That's a happy girl :)

The coala with the happy birthday wishes is on my wall and I take a peek every time I come and go in my room. That is definitely the best present I've ever got from anyone. And because I got it from a lot of people, well from a lot of friends, this fact makes it pricless.


I have thousands of great memories. I'd like to mention some just because they are worth mentioning.
The trip to Copenhagen was surprising because I hadn't expected so many beautiful things to see (the whole capital city), delicious food to taste (the vegetarian restaurant) and interesting facts to learn (about the royal family) as I did.
The excursion to Amsterdam was outstandingly good. I've always known that my place is in a big city but Amsterdam made it clear why. I loved every moment of that journey:)
Swinging from the trees was probably the most extreme sport I'd ever done in my life. And without some pushing I would've missed it. So I am still very proud of myself for doing that ;)
Of course the movie-watching nights, some parties, bicycle tours, mind and body, art classes or any other interesting classes are unforgettable, and kitchen duty=the best.

I often think about the things I learnt in Norgaards. And not only in the classes. Being able to use my pure talent in drawing and painting was something I could've never done somewhere else. Having the opportunity to use tools I'd not even heard before is something I'll always appreciate. But beyond these I learnt something much more important. In elemenery and secondary school I was always told that I should take pictures because I can't draw. Well, surely I ain't Picasso, but in Norgaards I was taught that just because I'm not the best in something doesn't mean I can't do and enjoy it. And I don't mean only in the field of Art ;)

There are these small things that make those 6 months so special I'm not sure I could find a proper word in Hungarian for. I will always be very thankful for everything I got from Norgaards. The experiences, the memories and for what I am the most beholden to are the funny, clever and great people I met.
I don't even know where or with whom to start. I'd never thought that I could make such great friends in such a short time as I did. I was the I-need-lots-of-time-to-call-somebody-my-friend type and mostly because of the two of you that's not true anymore. There are some people I speak with every now and than and I am very grateful for them. But although I don't speak to you every day, just knowing that if I have some problems, issues, questions I could ask you and that you have been here/ are here for me though the kilometres dividing us is an unspeakably excellent feeling.

I couldn't find a picture with you and me, Leho.
If you have one, send it to me please


I might not own this picture but still it's one of my favourites ;)

Do not imagine me as a girl sitting in her room all day weeping about why her semester in Denmark had to come to an end. I'm over that:). I believe now that those 6 months were perfect as they were. No more, no less. To sum up my feelings I'd like to quote Dr. Seuss :

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"

I just wanted to tell you this because I couldn't find any reason why not to tell you :)

Hope you are okey. I'd happily read some similar posts from you but no pressure :)

Mira

I'm alive!

Hi-hi! Gabor and Mira are sending emails and finally I took some time to make a valuable addition for this blog. :)

How's your new home, Gabor? All filled up? I hope you don't mix up a hairdryer and a revolver at the morning. :)
What's needed in empty flat? A freezer, a vacuum cleaner, a washing machine and a egg chair.

To be honest I would prefer this black-and-white one even though it's not so well equipped. If u would have it, Gabor, I would fly to Amsterdam tomorrow and would be this trusty guy u mentioned. :)


What's up with the helmet, Mira? I stole a photo from Facebook. Looks like you did something fun. Like sleeping in the nature. :) Petzl is good brand, btw. It should keep your lovely head in one piece if your friends forgets to hold you up and you fall. :) And of course, helmet is very good protection for a city girl who is afraid of falling leafs. :)


Now I should talk something about myself? But I don't know what. No special news. I'm not really busy, rather lazy, and time flies. Have thought a lot and found some answers "what to do" for myself. I'd like to move on but there is this money-issue. My health is fine, a visit the sauna a lot. Oh, wait, I got a nice injury meanwhile:

I chopped woods and the very last piece jumped after my axe landed on it. I had a stich on my brow almost a week. Now I have a nice scar. :)
Let me think, maybe I have something else to say. I went in Finland. I've done some work around our summerhouse. I'm watching movies and TV series (The Event, Nikita, Undercovers). Have written some articles. Last weekend we made a trip in a bog and I got to know one cool Canadian guy. It was so good to speak English although it's already rusty. Otherwise the socializing is in low point - there have been only few gatherings and for a few days now I feel I really want some new friends too. I tried my cooking skills again and I made a pasha. Well, imo it's wasn't so good but others who tried it should be still alive and said it's wasn't so bad.
It's getting pretty cold here. Sometimes snow comes down and reminds me I should be gone already...
Loves,
lew

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

In case you're wondering, this superb quote is said by Professor Dumbledore. He says it in the first book after Harry discovered the Mirror of Erised, the mirror of desire.
I finished rereading the fifth book yesterday. It is my favourite one. I still remember when I got the Hungarian copy as a Christmas present and started reading immediately and felt very bad before going to sleep for 3 or 4 days until I couldn't finish it. It is the second longest Harry Potter book. It's full of surprises and you can never know what you'll find behind the next shelf. Of course the other books are amazing too. The sixth and seventh are really great, it is almost impossible to put them down.
I've seen all the film adaptations but I'm not a big fan of them. They are spectacular, exciting and full of action but the books are just soo much better. There are a lot of arguement among Harry Potter and film fans that it cannot be expected from a film to be as elaborated as a book. And of course it is true for other film adaptation as well. Because then these films would be 5 or more hours long.
I'm perfectly aware of this fact but somehow I couldn't leave the cinema after seeing any of the Harry Potter films totally amazed. I couldn't see how the others who haven't read the books were able to understand the most important parts when there was no real explanation.
But it seems that the people who haven't read the books aren't looking for that detailed explanation. Because they don't know what should they seek. Most of them are satisfied with the happenings and solutions. At least this is what my friends tell me.
I wouldn't dare say that the films are rubbish because they are definitaly worth to watch. I'm keenly looking forward to seeing the last two. I'm hoping that this way, that they made two parts, the Harry Potter adaptation will be much more true to the book itself.


The premier of the first film is on the 19th of November in the USA, in Hungary the 25th of November (shame). But I hope we will go together because in the Netherlands it is the 17th of November. (In Egypt it is the 7th of November. But I can't go there right now...)
It was planned that both of the films will be shown in 3D but this week the studio made the decision that it will be only in 2D because they couldn't finish it properly and they don't want to let down the fans. I think it's nice of them.

Anyway, don't forget to mark you calendars because it is one of the most important days of the year:)

In case you haven't seen the trailer:



You're welcome ;)

If you guys have some time, write something about your current position. Maybe we could talk this week and decide once and for all what to do. I'm just sayin':)

Mira

32 flavors

I've been listening to the same song (you can see the title above from Ani Difranco) for days now. It's beautifully written and just amazing. I guess it's a little girly for you guys, but if you have time, I highly suggest listening to it.

I'd like to tell you a little about the weekdays of my family today.
My mom and dad are trying to find out why my brother's wall is getting soaked so the flat is a noisy mess now. My brother's room is next to the bathroom and according to my dad's brilliant idea our bathtub doesn't contain the water properly so when one of us is taking a bath or a shower, the water is flowing down next to the bathtub and it makes the wall wet. It's difficult to explain in English I don't really get my dad's idea in Hungarian either. But at this moment he's started to use his drill and he's trying to take out our bathtub and find out the cause of the trouble...at any price.
Well, I'd like to add to my strory, that he is not a plumber, he's a truck driver. He has a paper as an electrician which he used for a year, maybe, because then he got his driving license and started to work on other fields. I wouldn't have a problem with this, let him try to fix it, let him try to solve the problem because I've come to accept that men think they can solve everything. But as I've been living with him for 20 years, I've seen him trying. And at the end of the day his ideas caused more trouble than the problem itself.
I'd like to give you only one example which I particularly remember as I was the lucky one to help him. One rainy day we couldn't have got into the flat because we had some problems with the locks (it's another story related him, of course) so my dear father decided that as we live on the ground floor one of us could easily go in through the window. So he broke the window and chose me, the youngest and smallest to climb in with their help. I desperately tried to avoid the pieces of glass, I stood up on the window sill, and somehow as I was jumping to the floor, I got caught by the curtain and I managed to tear out the curtain rail from the wall. After I landed in a way I never thought anyone could survive, covered with the curtain, the curtain rail, pieces from the wall I couldn't speak. Of course by this time most of the habitants of the house were watching, giving advice how they would've come in and saw my wonderful landing. They got scared for a minute but I stood up confidently in my parents room and shout through the window that I was fine. Magically noone got hurt, I let the family in and we've kept on living happily since then.
I could tell you other stories of course. The one when we almost lost our front door or when he had to stood in shorts in front of the house for hours because he tried to get rid of the flees in the cellar after we moved here...life-changing stories :)

And now this issue. I don't know where this is going. I don't know how I will be able to take a shower today. I'm not even sure that we will have water. My dad is in full equipment and ready to rock. My mom is the chosen one to help him. My brother and I are in our rooms behind closed doors. We're waiting for the party. Let us hope that he will not destroy the bathroom.

That's it from me for today. I could write more, but the post took more time than I expected so I have to go now. I'm waiting for the news from you, too. I hope everything's going ok for you.
Hugs,
Mira

Complicated

What should I say? Everything is a mess! Somehow all of the sudden I have so many small tasks at hand that I actually progress nowhere! On a positive side my job search is in full throttle now. On negative side - tomorrow I have to go to surgery to remove one of my tooth.

Ok, enough time wasted - I have to get back to do my things.

Update for comment: don't worry Mira! We like you even if your T-shirts will look like those poor girl's:

Here you go, Mira :)

Hi guys!

So, what should I write. I already mentioned that I will visit Helsinki in Finland in Saturday and in Sunday I should go to running competition. 10 km. I have made no preparations so it's gonna be hard. And next weekend we are probably going to orienteering competition. We have to cover about 30 km at night. But we have not registered yet so we may not go.

Few days ago we had a long walk in nature - between lakes, in forrest, next to swamp and some hill. It was quite varied and we got back late, it was dark already. Luckily we brought lamps.

Regarding future I have few things to say. First of all - Amsterdam is still pretty strong candidate for me. Because of you guys, of course. :) But there have been 2 new twists. Our sports/outdoor teacher Mikkel sent me a message and asked am I still interested about jobs he mentioned in spring. Sure I am and he will try to find out are those still valid. Those positions are in Norway and in Wales. We'll see what he finds out. The another idea what I may have mentioned already that I've started to think about going to Finland. But this is just an idea.

What else is worth mentioning? Nothing I can remember. So, take care! :)

Not All Of Those Who Wanders Are Lost

I know, I know..terrific choice of title. Well, what can I say?

You guys have disappeared lately but I hope everything is going ok for both of you. I'm on skype this evening, hoping if anyone shows up.
I'm not sure if you read my comment or not but I'm telling you again anyway that I've been looking for places to live but I could only find one apartment with 2 bedrooms. All the others from the site which Gábor offered are mostly 1-bedroom studios. But I keep on looking. If you find something, feel free to contact me.

I'm also looking for jobs, and in my opinion it will be easy to find work in Amsterdam. I already sent some e-mailt to families who were looking for live-out au-pairs. I think it would be a great start to have something even if it's only for 2-4 hours a day until I find some proper job. I found a tour guide job, sent them my CV (you know what that means).
There's a site http://www.expatriates.com/classifieds/netherlands/jobs/ . I can only recommend it to you Leho, if you're coming. There are new offered jobs every day. For instance today they were looking for housekeepers, but they need the holland papers which I haven't had yet. But once I have them...
I've been visiting pages (will I ever know what's the difference between site and page??) which show what documents are needed in the Netherlands to work. I've been making draughts so I'll know what to do from Day 1. I'm planing to collect the names of the hotels, bars, restaurants with addresses in Haarlem and Amsterdam to hand them my CV.
So as you may see, I'm not planning to live on Gábor and his nice offer (that might've sounded bootlicking a little bit:) but I'm really taking this seriously for the sake of my cloudy but hopefully amazing future.

Ok that might be a little bit too much, but you get it now :)

Other news about my life...let me think....Oh I got one. I've finished Harry Potter. I know I wrote bout it like a month ago, but I only read the first chapter then and I did the others only last week and finished it yesterday. I'm interested in other books now. I have aprx 6 books waiting for me on my desk. Unfortunatly only one of them is in English, I hope I'll like it as I had to borrow it from the library of my little town. Its title is 80 days around the world, I'm sure you know it.
I'm reading a book called the Diary of Nürnberg (I've just found out that the title according to amazon is Nurenberg Diary. I don't really get the "Nurenberg" thing). So it's about the trial in Nurnberg in 1945-46 and the thoughts of the nazi leaders. It's shocking but very interesting to see what they thought about all the cruel things they did.
I have a new book about Law of Attrection, it helps me a lot to stay optimistic, and become happier every day.
I'm a little sentimental today...

Ok fellows, I think that's it for me.
Hope to hear from you very soon and see you in a little while!

Mira