My 2nd week in Mexico

It’s incredible how a trip to the end of the world can give you so much liberty and so many learnings at the end of the day. In this past week I have enjoyed the most the mix of Latin cultures: Colombian food, Brazilian party and the Mexican day to day life.

Our week started with a Colombian dinner, delicious indeed and ended with a Brazilian party. The guys cooked for us 4 different kind of traditional Colombian food, and chocolate. Definitely I have to learn these recipes.

After that it was Serch’s B’day, one of the Colombians, and we’ve prepared a surprise party for him in our flat. We taste enough alcohol so that in the end it became harder and harder to keep our emotions under control. This has open our appetite for philosophical discussions and we talked until late in the night about our visions for the future, our role in impacting the society, about us as change agents etc… In the same evening before the previous event I was totally surprised by Anita’s questions about the communist period in Romania and the post-communist Romanian society evolution.

Than just imagine a small romanian girl, 2 colombians and a mexican running on the street through a torrential rain to arrive at a brazilian party. I’m sick, taking medicines, all my body hearting, but I couldn’t resist the temptation so that I went in the end. And I enjoyed the night 100%. I tasted capirinha with strawberries, I danced salsa, I’ve meet new people and had some very interesting discussions about political system, climate change and the role of our generation. Beside this I had so much fun. We ended up in a coffee shop, eating all from the same plate delicious nachos con queso(cheese) and tortillia con chueso. And guess what. Today I felt much more better.

At the office it was a hectic week. We had BOA (Board of Advisors) Meeting with 4 managers: the manager from Telefonica-a very big company in Mexico, One State Secretary, one of the founding member of AIESEC in Mexico, and a manager from PWC. Of course we have prepared a detailed performance report, a ppt. presentation with many slides and perfect bullets. Sometimes we don’t realize that those details that are so dam important for us does not bring value for the others. Or worse, those details are just getting them confused. Of course there is so much time and effort invested in every single thing and we want them to know and appreciate this. And we often forget that an accountant will know for sure what efforts are hidden behind that 1 page balance sheet. A human Resource Manager will always know how much work is behind those 3 defined competencies…and so on. The truth is that we don’t have the courage of simplicity and authenticity!

The easiest thing is to get stacked in details and to lose focus and then the big picture. The truth is that being busy is very seductive. But it does not mean you are on the right track. I’m wondering every morning: how my actions of today will support the achievement of our organizational objectives. How can we align our actions in order to generate achievements? Because I think these are two important factors for our success. Full year. Challenging life. And right now I love my life at maximum.

Trip to the pyramids

I have heard so much before about the famous Mexican pyramids. In the past weekend we went to Teotihuacan, one of the world’s most important archeological sites wrapped by grand mystery. The view is amazing. At the entrance at the pyramids there is a long alley bordered by big cactus and other threes. After that you can suddenly see the top of the biggest pyramids. To the Aztecs, Teotihuacan was a holy place, the city of gods, where the sun, moon and universe were created. The story behind the views in full of mysteries correlated with many human sacrifices and religious rituals to the Gods plus astronomical events and ways of life centered on the seasons of snowing and rainfall. For example they used to scarify people and bring them as offering to gods because they believed that only in this way the sun will rise again in the next morning.

The biggest are the the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. We have climbed them both even if it required some effort. Each pyramid has a number of central stairs leading to the top. It‘s believed that in the top there were temples in the past. From the top of the pyramid of the Moon you view directly down the Calles de los Muertos (Street of the Dead) which originally had 4 km.

Down on the platform there are plenty of vendors who sell souvenirs, ceremonial objects, and hats.
In the metro, on the way to Teotihuacan as well. Some weird vendors are selling all kind of things, from sweets to DVDs with music. Germany bought to each of us a Rubik cube because this is the logo or our MC Revolution team.
We ended the day at Mall. They have a lot of cool things that would make happy any woman:) I bought some very nice jewelry.

Santa Fe

It’s a silent evening at home. We have just came back from Santa Fe, a fancy and loving area at the periphery of Mexico City, where the rich people are living and all the big companies have their headquarters. On the way to Santa Fe there are immense parks and green areas. (Actually everything is huge in Mexico City from food rations… to rooms, streets, parks everything). We’ve been in Santa Fe for a “team dynamics” session with Lotfi, an Alumnus of AIESEC in Spain who works with different MCs and with AIESEC International team. It was more an interactive session, where we tried to find how we can co-create the team in order to achieve sustainable impact. I have found some clues about how to manage myself in a new environment and I got to know better my teammates.

And I realized one thing: my old strengths do not serve me so much in this new environment. Beside this the language barrer blocks other skills as for example public speaking, the capacity of sharing, the level of proactivity, the sense of humor, balance and others. The best part is that I’ve became aware of these things and I’m making conscious effort to overcome them. In the shortest time possible. The hardest part is to let go. Lotfi advised me to let go everything that I used to have home, that I used to be good at; to accept that a skill that used to be my strength at home will not serve me here, in this moment. And I feel fear and anger about my limited abilities. But a positive one, that pushes my limits and reinforces my willingness to build new skills, the one that I need now to perform in my current role and to create effective relationships.

I’m here to develop myself but to contribute to others development as well. These both require a high level of focus and energy, today. Knowing that this experience is limited activates my sense of “living the “NOW” more than ever. It makes me feel like striving for personal improvement now, striving to extend my knowledge now, striving to improve the quality of my contribution now. I still need to learn that being imperfect is ok and to gave me permission to make mistakes from time to time and be ok with my mistakes.
In spite of all I am very happy with the decision I have taken some time ago. I love being in the MC. It meets my need for holistic learning, challenges and contribution. And behind all I think this experience will teach me how to be authentic in every moment and how to give positive colors to my emotions. Because in the end the level of personal and professional fulfillment depends on the capacity to manage the 4 basic human emotions: joy, sadness, fear and anger.

First week in Mexico City

My week started with two big challenges: language and food. I understand a little bit more Spanish with every passing day that but is still not easy. It was my choice in the beginning that in the house we should talk more in Spanish. Otherwise I would have been created reasons for frustrations for myself and for the others. I’m asking tens of times per day “que significa eso?” and I’m ok with this. I am reading magazines and I understand 80-90% but when I listen others talking is harder. People are speaking very fast and my level of understanding is directly proportional with their fluency and with my level of tiredness. Sometimes I can understand 20% other time even 80%. It takes energy and constant concentration/active listening. When I’m tired I easily lose the focus and then I can be perceived as passive, introvert or however you want.

Regarding food I have kind of moderate behavior, I don’t eat very much. Here in Mexico if you refuse to eat something because you don’t like or because is unhealthy you might easily be perceived as negativist and disrespectful. I understand but I cannot agree. I respect their culture, but I respect myself too. Anyway in the last three days the food was delicious. At least I overcome a problem of mine: drink water or liquids. We have free tea, and caffee in the MC office, provided by the same Alumnus. And I discovered a very good hot chocolate and I can buy one for only 10 pesos.

Actually things are quite cheap here. Our salary is not much but if you keep control over your budget you really can buy many things even from Zara, L’Óreal etc, and travel enough, eat at restaurant twice or three times per week and take taxi through the city. Taxi is cheap here. Until now I bought two soft blankets to make my nights warmer There are still sunny mornings and 20 degrees in the evening but very soon the temperature will decrease.

Another cool thing is “El Ocho”. This is a fancy coffee shop located nearby where we spent one evening. There is a table like a touch screen. If you touch one of the two projectors situated above the table you can play different games or activate beautiful images, as for example a sky speckled with clouds and many birds flying beneath or a meadow with crickets moving around in the green grass. And they have very delicious deserts. In another evening I had dinner with Moni and the two Columbians, Serch and German in a restaurant close to our home, where they have all kinds of salads and Mexican food. I enjoy spending evening out and I’m glad I can do this.

Message from Ciudad de Mexico

I feel like I was born again on a new planet. New houses, new people, new way of doing things… I’m in Mexico City where people are talking only Spanish, where people are very sociable, relaxed and passionate. I cannot speak Spanish yet. This and other few other things are challenging me extremely at the beginning of this experience.

The last three weeks have been completely crazy. I even couldn’t realize what is happening to me. I was with my friends at my ‘”bye bye party” when, after a lot of uncertainity, I’ve found that I have to head to Mexico City in 10 hours. In the bus to Bucharest at the radio they were announcing that Sergiu Nicolaescu (one of the most important Romanian film makers) will start a new film. I laughed. My voice answered “Me too!” And really, I feel like getting on the stage every morning to perform the best role that life could ever give me. The expectations from me are high. And I have high expectations at my turn, from this experience and from the team I’m working with.

It depends so much on me if this “movie” will be successful or not, if the experience will be rewarding or not. For the beginning I have spent the weekend with my team at a beautiful location with many green areas, somewhere outside of Mexico City. We had “getting to know each other” activities, feedback and expectations setting sessions and we tried to identify how we can achieve performance as a team. I think we have very different personalities. Today is my second day at the office. For the working days we have free lunch at a very cool restaurant provided by the same Alumnus that gives us the office. The thing is that we have to eat everything otherwise Senora Yaeko, the person who cooks for us, will simply go mad and the Alumnus will be very upset because he is offering us food for free and will consider us somehow disrespectful if we don’t eat everything. It’s weird for me. I’m not eating much so most probably Senora Yaeko will go crazy very soon. Every Thursday they will give us Mexican food. Here people are eating not only very spicy but very unhealthy as well. They eat any kind of food with a spicy sausage and with lime. And the soup is more like a cream. I don’t like it at all. Anyway, beside all the unhealthy stuff there are a lot of salads with cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, fish, chicken meet, fruits and juice, cakes… so you have from where to choose.

Every day few VPs or LCPs are coming in the MC office for different reasons. I simply love this. I can’t wait to work with them.

At home we have an immense living room where we stay in the evening, watching TV cartoons like kids:), working or chatting.

I am so lucky because I can choose what I want to do, because people are helping me, because I have cool friends, because I have given to me the permission to discover a new world, for taking freedom by granted, because I belong to this moment and for so many other things.

I am grateful!

thoughts…on the road

And I’ve got the visa for Mexico. But I’ve lost the last bus for Cluj in the last 10 minutes. I had to waite four more hours in the railway station. But I stayed calm, enjoying the sunny afternoon, reading a book, watching at people passing by as you warch TV:). Now I’m on my way back to Cluj. I’m seriously trying to stay awake because I have all the documents with me and besides this we should arrive soon.

I have really enjoyed my trip to Bucharest. Even this crowded and dusty city is wrapped by the charm of autumn. Life is constantly flowing with all those people moving around and lot of things happening. What would it be if all these people would smile? all at once? They don’t, we know. Bucharest is a city where I always felt closer to my dreams. Because there are very many opportunities. It is beautiful because I see it through the eyes of a traveler, of somebody who most probably will remain just a traveler who can enjoy the beauty of it and smile indulgent in the constant traffic gem.
I would get used if I had to live here, I would accommodate fast, it would fulfill my need of being in the middle of things. But more than craiziness I will need harmony as well to regain the balance at the end of the day. The truth is that I want other level of quality for my day to day life, that life in Bucharest does not has today. I want to spend the morning with my lover and not in the traffic gem, to walk back from work along a boulevard turned green, smiling among people who smile.

Maybe my mission is to give blow to a project or an organization in a provincial city, wathever would it be. I should accomplish a misssion that would take me in Bucharest a few times per month and around the world without compromising my need for harmony and the quality of my day to day life. In the end I think if you want to make things happen you can do it wherever you are.

“At a coffee with myself”

(some thoughts from yesterday)I know I was complaining a lot in the last period that I’m tired. This is it, I’m tired as never before. I could’t sleep in the last two weeks before 3 or 4 o’clock even for one night and I’ve lost the echilibrium with my body and I can not be as efficient as I want. The pleasent meeting that I had last weekend with dear friends from my 06/07 EB(executive board) team recharged a bit my batteries. And I will go home soon to joke as usual with mom, dad and grandpa, to pick apples and to read in the green grass. I have no doubt this will completely restore my echilibrium.

I’m in Bucharest, in Pitza Hot enjoying a juice and a berry icecream with whipped cream, and reading. In backgound some nice music sounds slowly. Businessmans and students are having their lunch. I have to wait few hours until the guys from the Embassy are processing my visa for Mexico. One week ago they said the things specified in my incoming permit from Mexico Office are too general and they can not issue a visa based on this. I had to wait one week until they have clarified the details. Now the system in not working and they can not issues my visa today. (I have remebred about our fuck the system rubric in the LC meetings:)) “- Comm’on guys, I’ve travelled all night long only for this.” “hmm’ let’s see what we can do…” After that 5 or 6 people had a kind of a meeting. They were talking in spanish so I couldn’t understand very well. “-Ok, I promise we solve it today”. “–Excellent. I do appreciate.” So I’m waiting. I hope they will.
I like they are willing to help, actually to do their job. I like the mexican guy talking romanian with spanish accent:). I don’t remember to have talked before with a native spanish speaker but his spanish sounds so, somehow so sensual, it’s just flowing. I like it. Before, I had compared it a lot with portuguese and the pronuncian is very different of course, and I liked portuguesse more.

Last night on our way to Bucharest there was a terrible traffic accident just at a few cars distance in front of our bus. Circulation was closed on both directions, for almost 2 hours. We couldn’t see but I think they have tried to save the drivers. I’m afraid it was impossible. The cabins both were completely destroyed…

Before leaving in the evening I was joking with Bernardo, my teammate from AIESEC Mexico, he said life is a big dance floor. I was joking: comm’on we all know life is like a fotball ball. We kick them both a shot…

I think we should appreciate life more. We are not quite wise. We oftenly see those insignificat black spots from the pink background. We should appreciate more what we have, to see the little pink spots thas life give to us too, to smile and simply be happy and content with who we are. Today I appreciate people that are willing to help.

Fear or what?

Today I’ve tried something new: a high ropes activity. This is a kind of outdoor exercise where we had to climb a moving ladder possitioned about 4-5 meters above the ground by getting support from our partner. Our safety was provided by helmets and belts. I quit at the second step out of four. Usually in these kind of games you are encouraged to overcome your possible fears. But I was not scared. I’ve even laughed very well while climbing. And then, why did I quit in the middle of the game?

We had a kind of debriefing with Hash at the end. This exercise has reconfirmed some things I have already knew about myself.

My objective was not to reach the top. From the beginng I set up my mind to try just for pure curiosity, for the fun of it, and not as a measure of re-evaluating the level of my ambition or perseverence, my craziness or my resistence. I know how far I can go when I really want something. I know, from the real situations that life has already given to me, which are my limits in the hard moments.

I quit because I did not want to go on. What I felt was not fear because of the unsafe situation but I knew precisely that is does not attract me to go on. Once I have already tasted or conquered a territory it does no longer represents an attraction for me. I’m getting bored very easily on the way if I don’t have a clear objective in front of me, and if the situation is linear.

I like to try new things and I will rather take risks if you provoke me instead of encouraging. The unknown is always fascinating for me.

Working in partnership/in a team is what suits me the best, sharing thoughts along the way, splitting responsibilities, failures or glory.

I do have my own limitations but tasting the unknown is not one of them for sure. I’m too impulsive and most of the times I act because I can not resist the temptation of being in the middle of things even if this entails risks. There is one single point: it has to resonate with my notion of challenge.

September feelings

…Do you know that stunning, heady sensation, when beneath the glance of the automn sun things seems to lose their outline…and the time seems to lose its rhythmicity?

… When you’re so tired that you feels like floating at 5 centimeters above the stairs… 5 centimeters at every single step…

… When you know exactly what has to be done and want to do that with every fiber of yourself but your body is yelling: “stop, I need some rest!… and you are reading again the lines and then just laugh ironically at yourself because you are too tired to take things seriously…

…When you just feel that you are serving your vision through everything you do. This, this feeling is precisely similar with falling in love.

…When you feel all these and you have friends around to share with

Is this specific point where I am now. I have a feeling of acomplishemnt and confidence. I feel ready to be challenged by people and situations and ready to challenge others at my turn.

Today I’ve spent some time at the library reading some lines aboout the four magnificent seasons that Romania has, and our beautiful traditions, letting myself swinging by the heady scents of autumn. On the street very many people were having bouquets of flowers.

After that I’ve shared a chocolate with a girl from the travel agency whyle spending there about 3 hours to check a convenient flight for Mexico City, from Romania and from Europe, for different data and hours.

Later in the night I aml having a skype chat with a brazilian guy from Canada who’s working on the same job description like mine, to share some ideas.

That would it be for now. I love life before everything else!!

Have to go, my dear friend Hash is coming from Sibiu to visit me so I have to welcome her:)

Weekly moments of inspiration

Ma inspira cuvintele bine randuite, speakeri care stiu despre ce vorbesc, oamenii impacati cu ei insisi si deasemenea oamenii care “ard”cu pasiune, toamna, primavara, briza marii, cateva note bine insiruite pe portativ, imaginile abstracte, dragostea… Cred ca intelectul are nevoie de inspiratie asa cum trupul are nevoie de hrana, zi de zi. Atunci cand descoper ceva care imi place ma incearca aceeasi senzatie ca atunci cand adulmec aroma din paginile unei carti noi, a lacului de unghii, sau a peretilor proaspat vopsiti, ca oricat le-as adulmeca nu ma satur. Senzatia aia care te face sa pui piesa pe repeat si sa o asculti in nestire zile la rand, sau sa vezi un film de 4 ori.

…Saptamana asta m-a inspirat un articol din TABU, cuvintele unei femei de succes, si anume Gabriela Massaci, Directoarea Institutului Cultural Roman din Londra, care renunta la postul ei intr-un moment de reusita profesionala: “Nu pot altfel însă pentru că am un plan personal. Acest plan îmi cere să fiu temerară și să renunț la confortul locului știut și al mersului stabil.” […] “Poate plec ca sa ma pot intoarce sau ca sa nu mai semăn cu eul meu muncitor de până acum. Chiar nu știu cum va fi. Dar știu sigur va avea noimă pentru că, muncind eu o viață neîntrerupt și pe toate feţele, am învățat să prețuiesc succesul și eșecul în măsuri egale. Încercarea e totul.”

“Am avut, de mică, o curiozitate de a întreprinde „lucrări”, care m-a purtat prin fel de fel de lumi – de încantare, istovire, teamă, adicție și succes. […] am muncit pentru jubilația extraordinară de a reuși să pun pe picioare proiecte zise fără șansa…”

“[…]La Londra, am înființat Institutul în 2006, am muncit pe brânci, neștiind multe, neînțelegând o sumedenie de ciudățenii birocratice dar știind bine cum se face treabă într-o logică sănătoasă; muncind acolo, am avut nervi și dubiu de sine, plus îndrăzneală să fac altfel, și pasiunea să văd că poți orice dacă lupți onest și ai idei și oameni buni în preajmă…”

…Apoi m-a inspirat un film pe care l-am vazut deja de 3 ori:): Ressurecting the Champ (Reanvierea campionului) is a touching and inspiring story about love and the devastating nature of lies that can sometimes come from love, about truth and the beauty that can emerge from it. The story, based on a real fact of life-based on a lie, brings together a heandsome sports writter who wants prestige and the admiration of his 6 years old son and a homeless black man, a former heavyweight contendor who become friends. Their meeting gives birth to an article about the rise, fall and resurrection of this former boxer, story that will place the jurnalist on the cover of a successful publication, winning the prestige he has so much looking for. But that will be lost very soon in the light of other new thruths. Everyone accuses him of not having done due diligence in checking out the authenticiy of data written in the article. With this there comes questions about integrity and authenticity, and beautiful lessos are emphasised out of this story.

…Continuing with the series of moment of inspiration there comes a movie with Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Phillarmonic since ’79, and a great speaker on leadership and music,vision, passion. Simply GREAT. He give us a beautiful definition of  success: “success is about shinning eyes” and a definition of vision “a vision is the long line. Like a bird who flies over the field and does not think about the fences underneath.” I totally reccomand this. You can fint it on TED.

… And definetly Leonard Cohen and his song “Hallelujah made my week” : a canadian folk, rock and blues singer. Actually everybody knows L.C. He had a concert in Bucharest few days ago, I was not there but I’m leastening his songs on repeat with an immense pleasure. Here are few lines from the song:

“I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah”