luni, 2 iunie 2008

I will come back


A friend of mine bagged me to translate a song witch he starts to be fond of it. He wants to know the meaning of the words. I respect his decision and I began to translate with my own words the song. The artist is Compact- Ma voi intoarce.

If you want to listen the song, here is the site where you can enjoy the lyrics and music:

I will come back (Ma voi intoarce)

I hardly wait to find out
What it happened with us and
How much I have been crying

Since you left me
I’m not sure who said the last word
And we broke up just for one stupid word more
I’ve never thought that even what it was between us
We will pay off all the mistakes without nonsense
Maybe you don’t know
How much time I was waiting you
To remember what we have already forgot
How muck I have run on earth
And we will lie each other, sobbing in our mind
After many years I will come back
After many years it's sure that I will come back to you

After many years we will be together again

This is the first thing that it will find us crying

Refrain again


P.S: I hope you like it. See you.

duminică, 1 iunie 2008

Footprints from my Erasmus Adventure


I don’t want to chew the same lines about my Erasmus experience. I think you already know in advance how much I grow after this. I want to apologize for the entire break that I made of not writing down a single word about me. Don’t get in panic I’m doing well and I didn’t lose my way in Belgium. Not yet.

The reason behind of this article is that I was thinking a lot about how much I changed myself after this experience. And I start thinking how is going to be my life after Erasmus. For me this experience means a lot, I feel that finally I can care on my on, that I can express my ideas, that I can make myself clear, that I can create a line communication with someone, that I can be prepared for many challenges and of course I learnt that every time you have to be open.

Now after the whole period of living abroad I've realized that at the beginning I was a little bit scared about what it will happen with me next. I thought that I’m not prepared myself enough, that one day I will be one hundred percent ready to try. But in fact it was another reason from many reasons to hide myself. I didn’t believe that I would be ever student abroad.

I have to give many thanks to my brother that every time he pushes me to do something. Some time I fell that I think too much. But doing these you don’t need anymore. Just do it. Jump with the head forward! And then you will realize that you were wrong, that you are not such stupid and unprepared that you thought. The other students don’t have two brains and ten legs. They are like you and you are like them. Don’t underrate yourself. So, Costin, my brother I am deeply indebt for this.

I think studying abroad is such a wonderful thing that can happen to someone. I met a lot of people in Turkey, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, I shared my background, but I've also received many knowledge and friendships from them, as well.

Also, being student abroad is quite expensive. But what else is not expensive, nowadays? I am not in the best position to say this. But I dare say that it's worth this effort. Money is going to be a problem, but you should know that after this, money will come back to you. Nothing can compare with what you sow and learnt. Take it as investment for yourself. I want to thank from the bottom of my heart for the entire support to my parents. Really, they were every time closed to me and help me and Costin. It is not boiled down this support only to money (can be, also). It’s more than that.


Erasmus family (Belgium)

As a conclusion, I want to keep this idea: even that at the beginning you think that it will be complicated, nothing is hard before you try. Challenges are everywhere. Jump and you will find out what it will happen next. Erasmus is such a nice thing.

P.S. If I am wrong I am waiting a feedback from you.

vineri, 9 mai 2008

My turkish experience comes to an end


From the beginning I said that I will write an article as a conclusion to the whole Erasmus experience in Turkey. But everytime I believed that this moment won’t be. Unfortunately, that day is today. I decide to write few lines about everyday things here. Also good aspects, but I won’t miss the bad parts as well.

I can only say that Turkey is a beautiful country with many historical places where people will become friends from the fist moment of discussion; they are friendly and open. But overall Turkey is an expensive country, in special in the biggest cities of Turkey. Tourism plays an important role here. There are so many things to say you; I won’t stop to tell about places here until tomorrow. (when I will came back in Romania I have to prepare myself to become a real storyteller).It’s quite hard for me to explain the things exactly how they were. So I invite all to enjoy this country. You won’t have any regrets. It’s a different place, with different habits, with strange mentalities, all of these create such a beautiful country. Come to visit the history to one of the most powerful empire in the world: Ottoman Empire and also Roman or Christian Empire.

Lets get inside of my story and stop sending you only foggiest ideas about my experience.

Ataturk

I would like to begin with Ataturk character. I said from the first day of my incoming here that Turkey today wasn’t like this without him. He believed so much that Turkey won’t develop anymore if citizens still continue to think and behave in the same stupid way. That’s why he though that Turkey needs a strongly change and a fast reform. But not many people think the necessity of changing and prefer to remain closed. Ataturk understood this. But I have noticed that every time people look back and they are unuseful to lead this country without Ataturk. If “Ataturk said…..”but he died for about one century ago, but he is still alive in the people’s memory. Ataturk is everywhere. In every building, in every school, in every grammar school, on every coin. It’s too much. There is a saying here: when someone says: “Ataturk!”, the others should reply “Ataturk is among us”. That’s why they make me to believe that they don’t want to pass the Ataturk period.

Even that the intention is good to conserve the Ataturk’s reform, they only go in circle and show to the others that they don’t want to change themselves. The things are changing every time. You can live in the past making every time connections with Ataturk.


Democracy

For me Turkey is not a real democratic country. And it won’t be. It’s hard to lead a country as Turkey witch isn’t ready for this. They didn’t have yet a history or a culture of democracy. I think it’s a little bit hard for them to understand this word. Why I said that?

Every time when a thing threatens one of the Ataturk’s principles, they suspend everything. They didn’t ask anyone if they are doing right. Youtube, Wordpress, porn sites, and many sites of music are closed. They are just few of them. Some teenagers realized the big illegally generated by this. But they are just several students who think like me. I count them on one hand. And they can not do something in this aspect.

Where is the freedom of thinking? because every time I heard “you don’t have to do that” “here there are some rules” so every time there are borders. Don’t misunderstand me that here is fundamentalism or terrorism. But is not the democracy witch I am looking for. Not yet. For example if you say something wrong about Ataturk you can enjoy some days in prison. Ataturk is only one and no one can take his role. So, as an advice, don’t joke on the Ataturk’s back.
Democracy means to be intelligent enough to divide what is good and what is bad for yourself, to have the freedom to say, to react when you think that your own interests were affected by someone.

English Language

I should start first with this. English language doesn’t exist just in few universities and that is all. It’s a bless to meet someone who speaks English. And if you met him, it’s obviously that he comes from Istanbul. There you can find many English speakers. During my experience here it was very hard to create the same line communication with someone. They don’t care about English. I had the opportunity to meet some person who don’t know what does it mean “ok’. Seams unbelievable, but it’s real. But I don’t judge them because this problem is everywhere in Turkey. So, they don’t have any idea about what English is.
Funny moment: I was one day to school with some photocopies in English and one of my class-mates came to me and took a look on my sheets of paper and told me: “Romange, zor” (“It’s so hard this Romanian language”). That’s why my English improvement was very slowly here. Some times you have to speak bad and wrong to make yourself clear. For a foreigner, these are the rules here. In my case I get used to, but it’s sad.
To put an end to this matter, Turkey is far away from Europe.

Educational System

I was Erasmus student here. From the first day to this was a holiday. Ok, to be frank, teachers were really nice. They didn’t create me any problems. They were very closed to me, like friends. And I told you everything with this. During my scholarship accommodation I didn’t do anything. They focus only to mechanical engineer department and the other departments they don’t care. They learn only about their history and Ataturk. Every students dream to become architect and engineer. I was in a discussion with someone and he told me that great Ataturk made also many mistakes witch are in the constitution. But he is Ataturk, and it’s impossible to err.
Try Erasmus, but start to learn Turkish first.

Istanbul

Istanbul is the best city in Turkey. Impossible to get bored. There are so many things to see there: Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazar, Spice Bazar, New Mosque, Taksim, Galata Tower, Golden Horn and of course Bosporus. After you visited Istanbul and you get a global view about it you will notice that Istanbul has no connection with the Asian Turkey. If I compare Ankara with Istanbul, Ankara is very poor, only Ataturk Mausoleum and that’s it. Even that Ankara is the capital (only with name), but everybody knows that Istanbul is the real capital. And it deserves to be.


For me Turkey is like a second home land. I have many reasons to come often. But unfortunately, my accommodation here comes to an end. Gule, gule Turkey!!

vineri, 28 martie 2008

Finally...


I hardly waited this moment to see my projects in this way. I think you also wanted to see them. Sow now is the moment that we are waiting for. I hope that I don’t disappointed and you like it. Until now I received a good feedback from few students, but I’m waiting the moment to show the projects to my courses. There will be the real criticism of my works: will be teachers and also students with a strong art background.

See you around.

marți, 25 martie 2008

Big Bang Project

God created the Earth, a Paradise for human being, but someone has broken this equilibrium. And not an ordinary human. Is she, the woman who is blamed for the every day sins in the Mother Earth. If she didn’t come near the man, now we would live by the holy rules, but is not like that. The world is not pure, is not perfect and the poor woman suffers by man’s mentalities. Let call the woman’s reject from the earth ‘Big Bang’, that boom, the consequences of the stupid mentalities and bad behaviors.

I had tried to design this topic because even that I am a man, and you may say that I like in this comfortable situation, my position is clear: I don’t agree with it. We had to stop thinking like that. The woman deserves more that she got now. Our society will become more pure not blaming woman and expelting her from everything. Why we find her so guilty in everything? That’s why I make the first step in this way. We have to stop. Our society will be changed in good when we change ourselves, our mentalities and the relationship with woman.

I like to believe that my project can be also a stimulus for woman to get the courage to gain the freedom but not in a challenge with man, because I don’t think that this way will settle the problems. They know better than me, what should do next, I just want that man will understand them from now on.

Even that Big Bang was the lets say Alfa, in short period it may be Omega as well. I think it took enough time for mankind to pass this situation and look more deeply what are the other problems that we have to fix. And quickly!


marți, 26 februarie 2008

Don Quixote has inspired me


After a long period of time of non design anything, yesterday I had decided to begin a new project, more exactly to design a well-know theme „the struggle in vain with the windmills” from the Cervantes’s book “Don Quixote de la Mancha”.

I hardly waited this moment to start something, because I was used to design or to learn something everyday, and now is quite strange for me and also I was afraid that I forgot some tutorials or missed some technical usage. But after I had finished my work, it seems that I am on the same level that I was before, so now I came down.

I don’t have in my mind to tell you about the main character and the whole stories about him. It’s not my purpose for today. Maybe if I had time and opportunity to stress more about this topic, I will do it with open arms.

According with my project, firstly I wanted to design the craziness from the Quixote’s mind, the dream of becoming one day a valiant knight. Of course, you might know that our character was a highly read person and also a day dreamer. His days had been passed many years ago and our Quixote lived in a remote past. But he strongly believed in his dreams, only then in the death bad he noticed that he was a foolish man and the Dulcinea of every day dreams was in fact an ordinary farm woman and she knew nothing about this.

This chapter that I designed is one of the most beautiful parts of the Quixote’s insane: when he fights with dragons, but in the reality there were just simple windmills. Looking from outdoor we will easily judge him, but everyone fight in vain ones in a life time with the mills, like me as well.

I did my best, I put all my knowledge in use to design the atmosphere like a tempest in the Quixote’s insane. I chose warm colors for the down part to create a contrast with the craziness in the top. The pictures has two parts: one part is with the sunflowers and the second one is with the tempest. But I like to believe that they are connecting each other.

He is Don Quixote, who has inspired me, and i hope you will enjoy it.

I’m wainting a feedback from you.

marți, 19 februarie 2008

Take a look from the other side.

Bazar- Istanbul

This article won’t be about the Turkey or Turkish people. It’s not my aim for today. I would like to say some lines about English, more precisely my English in use. Many friends of mine ask me how is my English there? Can I handle in any kind of situations with my English background? It’s enough your level to have a debate or to pass the exams?

For the other persons who want to ask me I demand you do not make this, because I won’t tell them again. It disgusts me.

First of all, I would like to make my position clear. If I didn’t know any words or let’s say just a foggiest idea about English I won’t be here to study. I signed a contract with my college and it’s not a simple joke, I feel a big responsibility on my arms because I have to pass all the exams, if I don’t do that, I have to pay on the nail all the incoming from my scholarship. So think about this.

But before I start to reply to all the questions that you had in minds, I want to say that I feel a little offended by your curiosities. So, next time to know that I won’t answer it.

Ok, to make you feel you better, I’m not consider myself a highly English speaker, but I do my best. I try every time to improve my language, to learn new words and phrases, only in this way I will speak a plain English. It’s a great feeling when you see that you can build a line communication with a foreign. When you begin to tell jokes means that you pass a stage, and you are not anymore a beginner. I have a principle: to be always opened and share all you got. There are moments when I can’t find my words, but it’s normal. It’s happens. Next time I will learn and it won’t happen again. This is the way of your progress. And your language skills will grow up.

I would like to emphasize an interesting mark. It is a long distance between writing and speaking. Maybe you know some words, maybe others know better, but it is a deep gap when you start to tell something. “What does it happen? I learn a lot of words, but my English in use doesn’t work like I hope?” Maybe this is the first question that makes you a lot to think. It’s not a comfortable mood, but to be frank it happened to me as well. According to the question the problem is like this. To be a good speaker is a matter of time, and you have to be in the middle of the foreign peoples. The process is pretty slowly because every time you have to translate the words from the mother country in the new language. But if you practice more, you will start to think in that language and you will express your ideas better.

One more think. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Everybody make mistakes. I also make mistakes. I know that, but if I stay out of this, I won’t learn anymore.

I would like after you read this, do not take me as a teacher here. There are from my experience here in Turkey, so if you want take care about what i sad, I feel usefully.