A Thing About India

Live India with every heartbeat.

Live it and Love it. But only when you are Open for India.

These lessons I learnt throughout my 1 year of living and working in India.

On July 25th 2010 I landed at Mumbai airport at 3am hoping there would be somebody to pick me up.

I still remember that night with every tiny detail: loud crowds of short men,women and children staring at an Asian girl looking confused and frightened with her one luggage suit and a backpack. I remember the smell which Mumbai had welcomed me with : the same smell I sensed in summer 2008 in Delhi on my first arrival to India. I remember how I kept on asking locals to help me make a call to AIESEC Mumbai guys and find out where the taxi driver was. I remember that 6 hours later I met one of my future best friends, Ola, who has been so generous and helpful! I just could not understand why she had been so helpful to a stranger - just another intern in India. She would lend me money (I forgot to exchange US Dollars to Indian Rupees in the Mumbai airport), give all her Mumbai maps, encourage to take her cell phone and make necessary calls (in our first weeks of Mumbai madness). I remember I met with Dina on the same day and she had been a great guide and friend sharing hew viewpoints on India, the internship experience and Mumbai as such. I remember my fears, my tears, old and new friends, discoveries, small achievements I'd been proud of, monsoons (Oh My God! Mumbai!), love and hatred...

My inner body and mind remember every single beat of my Hyderabadi life. Meeting so many close friends at AIESEC International Congress 2010, regular travels, cultural cooking evenings, parties, latino dances, my guitar lessons and Toastmaster classes, my awesome colleagues and a big job dissatisfaction, strong support and encouragement of my Kondapur family - Carlos, Areli, Fadel(ina), Kasia, Veronica, ACE family... Lots of things ...

I remember and appreciate the times I had in working with amazing passionate and creative minds in the Global Support Team in AIESEC. We have walked with the team a beautiful leadership path, we have lived our lives being in so many places at the same time: Moldova, Denmark, Turkey, Serbia, Slovakia, Cambodia, Bulgaria, India. The talks we had carry a lot of vital essence: do we really impact ourselves and our organisation? How do we create impact? What is a change and how to manage it?

Change management has been the key thought and action in India so far. I changed Hyderabad for Chennai, I changed Hyderabadi friends for Chennai folks, I changed charming Nizam city for enchanting beaches of the Bay of Bengal and hills of Tamil Nadu, I changed enlightening Kondapur family for a "silent" Canopy family, I changed my first project- Competency Development- to come to Training and HR Deployment and continue working with Competency Development area.

I changed a lot of things and places within one year but I have not changed one core thing yet: Love and Passion for a Great Living.

Closing my first year in India and opening another chapter I am celebrating my FIRST ( or ONE? ) YEAR in India with new friends and I am happy I can be a part of their lives.

I am also asking myself a simple question after this amazingly !ncredible year -

Creating Happiness

When I read my posts from first 6 months of living and working in India, I notice how many times I mention " I want to be Happy". In fact, right now I realise I was happy all that time as well as quite dissatisfied with the professional experience I was (not ) having. Friends would say, "You can't have both: excelling at work and living a wonderful life". I would frown back and ask, "Why I can't have these both at the same time? It is only me who is responsible for getting what I want in life". "Yeah, but there are some internal or external circumstances which you have to take into account, you know. Especially in India, where nothing is stable and things change faster than a thought appears in one's mind" And I would be still frowning and disagreeing with this viewpoint. Yeah, call me stubborn or idealistic but this is me and I live with this spirit.

So when I look back at my year I lived in Latvia I am firmly reassured what year I had lived in my life. I headed to Latvia to see AIESEC in Latvia growing, having successes and learning from failures, daring to dream big and not being afraid of how big those dreams were, seeing the impact of his or her actions. I had one long term thought in my mind: I want to live a year of SUCCESS and ACHIEVEMENT, and share it with people around me. Living in India I came to a conclusion that I had success and achievement every single day during my term in the National Team of AIESEC in Latvia. Can you believe it - every single day? I say to myself - no, it can't be. How many times did you lose faith or get mad or refuse from an initial plan to accomplish a professional or personal goal? If at least it happened once, how can you declare you were successful every single day? But here is a trick: it is all about how you perceive it. Yes, we all get emotional ( and don't tell me lies that there are folks who are super perfect in managing their emotions ), Yes, we all may lose inner beliefs and give up, but that is the easiest way. For me it is a behaviour of me being weak, it is about wasting time procrastinating or complaining. The complaints do not bring solutions, so it is better to move on, to open your eyes and mind for other great upcoming moments, opportunities, encounters.

So after my 3-4 months of Indianness I made it clear for myself: in the year of 2010-11 I want to be HAPPY and see LOVE around. When I do not feel happiness or love - I create it. I go and try new things, I experiment with my body, with my mind, with my feelings. I travel to relax and live the moment. Carpe Diem, you know :)

Accidentally, I watched this video tonight:

Stefan Sagmeister: 7 rules for making more happiness | Video on TED.com

... after all, if you want to be happy, be (c)

A simple truth of life

I don't need all the money in the world to be happy.

I need something more... Deeper... I have understood what it is... And I am creating it when I really want to be happy or when I want to make somebody happy... You do not need to ask for it...

PS Loving my life every day. No matter how far away we are all from each other.

Thank you my dear friend for reminding simple things that matter.

A Farewell Letter

If for an instant God were to forget that I am rag doll and gifted me with a piece of life,

possibly I wouldn't say all that I think,

but rather I would think of all that I say.

I would value things,

not for their worth but for what they mean.

I would sleep little, dream more,

understanding that for each minute we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light.

I would walk when others hold back.

I would wake when others sleep.

I would listen when others talk,

and how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream!

If God were to give me a piece of life,

I would dress simply,

throw myself face first into the sun,

baring not only my body but also my soul.

My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on ice,

and wait for the sun to show.

Over the stars I would paint with a Van Gogh dream a Benedetti poem,

and a Serrat song would be the serenade I'd offer to the moon.

With my tears I would water roses,

to feel the pain of their thorns,

and the red kiss of their petals.

My God, if I had a piece of life...

I wouldn't let a single day pass without telling the people I love that I love them.

I would convince each woman and each man that they are my favorites,

and I would live in love with love.

I would show men how very wrong they are to think that they cease to be in love when they grow old,

not knowing that they grow old when they cease to love!

To a child I shall give wings,

but I shall let him learn to fly on his own.

I would teach the old that death does not come with old age,

but with forgetting.

So much have I learned from you, oh men...

I have learned that everyone wants to live on the peak of the mountain,

without knowing that real happiness is in how it is scaled.

I have learned that when a newborn child squeezes for the first time with his tiny fist his father's finger,

he has him trapped forever.

I have learned that a man has the right to look down on another only when he has to help the other get to his feet.

From you I have learned so many things,

but in truth they won't be of much use,

for when I keep them within this suitcase,

unhappily shall I be dying.

~GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ~

Love

This word totally describes my state of mind in India right now.

Short. Precise. Rich. Infinite.

Explanation is simple: I feel so much relaxed and calm. Like when you are lazily sleeping on a beach, sipping a fresh fruit cocktail and breathing love that is in the air. Indescribable !

India, India... You are so different. You are so magnificent. You are so warm. You are so sweet. You are so full of love.

One of my dearest moments I encounter often is when I commute by a rickshaw somewhere, and he drives crazily. I am at this moment loving the wind that embraces me, that holds my face and that whispers different stories to me...

I feel so much in love at these moments

Incredible India.

Love in Life

These videos are absolutely meaningful ! Thank You Dey and Beautiful Individuals.

Why You Should Never Quit in Life

Feel Life in Different Ways

Winter Song

Beauty of Life

To Conclude:

A More Beautiful You

Enjoy Watching!

Assel

Express Yourself Now

Feel it like it's yours

Hey there!

Today I had a very very good day in January! And you know why? I myself made my day!

This week I got sick: temperature, sneeze, body This week I was balancing between a sleep/food/laughter on time. Here in AIESEC Latvia we are done with the National Conference 2010, Local Committees are on track with their activities, my lovely TMU and cool sub team GEN 2010 gradually gets its people back on board. Good signs. Another good sign was that my MC left for different purposed to Finland and Lithuania: Liza went to Tampere for her MC Finland elections ( btw, Heini, another TM girl is MCPelect!!) and Jake is at Dare conference in Lithuania ( and another TM, Zydrune is MCPelect!!! Yohoooo!) So I am staying this week by myself in our Soviet style apartment and taking different remedies to get back to healthy life style. Good sign :)

My day is going so far so good. I woke up with a thought "This day is mine. Only mine" Sounds a bit selfish, but it is true :) So, what did I do to make this day MINE?

* I cleaned the apartment and fulfilled it with my very warm feelings- when somebody needs some human warmth, this somebody looks for another somebody to have a true hug, to feel some love, to see that (s)he is alive. I thought that we (MC) forgot about the place we live in, and just wanted to make our living place a bit pleasant :)

** I cleaned my soul- I laughed at everything I have done so far in life that was meant as "The smartest thing ever". I am not the God, I am just a human being. So, I keep on laughing in life, and I am happy I am able to do this often: I do not fall in a gloomy mood even if I see a very difficult task ahead.

*** I danced a lot- last time I really went clubbing was in autumn 2009 in Riga with Lina and Juraite, and Erik. Then we had some fun in Rotterdam with TMU guys. Last weekend I "partied" a bit at NatCo. That's it. Boring. So, I changed my attitude, and danced today at home. I felt really really GOOD! Now waiting for Lina and February, and we will dance a lot somewhere in the city centre :) Feel excited!

**** I watched very very good videos about life on Earth, about life in Kazakhstan, and a few TV shows. A few of these videos made me think: I forgot that daily we face global warming. So, what today I could do to help the Earth a bit? I bought food today which does not need to stay a lot in the fridge- so I can turn off the fridge; and food that does not necessarily need to be cooked- so I do not use gas oven. I turn off all plugs that I do not use: my laptop can work on its battery for min 2 hours ( 1 hour is ~ 0.2Wt). It is just minimum I could do today in the evening. What else I can do tomorrow?

Another video made me re-look at my behaviour, or my reactions towards different events in my life. For instance, National Conference in AIESEC Latvia. One of the 'objectives' of this conference was to elect next President for the organisation in Latvia. Deadline for application was Jan 11, and on Jan 10 I decided that I would apply. Oh, do not ask me how this decision came- it's been a "boring+interesting" wave within me that faced me with a question: Why do I want to lead AIESEC in Latvia in 2010-2011? Result: I was not elected :) Yes, I am smiling to this sentence. Why? Because I feel how I have grown up, and I have a secret feeling why I can smile to this decision made by members of Latvia last weekend.
So, coming back at whom I want to see in the mirror when I think I am doing right/wrong thing: it sounds as if this sentence lacks the word WE but I ...

Feeling just happy. Even if I have no one close to me now to share these happy feelings. Happy and in love with life...

First text message in 2010

Hurraaayyyy!

Now we can officially say, We are in 2010!

Another decade after Millenium has passed, and people tend to analyse their lives from 2000s up to today. I thought of it for a while, and definitely there were some tremendous changes in my personality, in my views on life, in my place of living as well as its standards, etc, etc, etc. It is an endless writing I could have submitted here if I would have needed it to.
However, there is an old "tradition" all folks do- New Year resolutions. The fashionable way of a human being to promise himself that he will become better, smarter, healthier, kinder, or the opposite of all these in the upcoming year. Way of life which I could never understood up to now. No, really, for me it makes no sense, whereas for others it might be a path they want to follow every year. And I have no objections towards resolutions people all around the globe make on New Year's Eve. Who knows, maybe my wishes that I write on a piece of paper, burn it and then drink it with first sips of champagne on Jan 1 can be called NY resolutions too.

Surprisingly, last year in Dec (already last year- My God!) I had no idea what I should wish for myself. Really, I was perceiving the world as the playground. The playground that I could enter and exit at any time, and anything I wanted in life I could reach. This world perception had existed for a few years, though of course I had life situations when I just did not get what I wanted. Was I disappointed? Obviously, yes. Especially, when I was a school girl, and due to different misperceptions from some of my teachers I just would not get the most desirable mark, for instance. Of course this childish example is an innocent or a silly one, but it just reminded me how persistent and inner strong I have been, and I would do anything possible and impossible to reach the stars, to get what I deserved and to strenghten my life esteem.

Though I have always considered myself as a quite strong personality, life or God really loves me. Loves me and proves me how wrong I am!!! I am just ordinary weak and simple but ambitious stubborn and mixed. So stubborn that only yesterday I finally pictured of what my 2010 should look like. "Should" meaning that I want it to be so, and I will proceed from one step to another until I say on Dec 31, 2010 "Yes! 2010 has been an awesome, rich and amazingly beautiful year! 2011 will be more exciting, more adventurous and much livelier! And 2012 is just another year that will bring me closer to realising one of my first "grounded" dreams- my own business in an Education field!"

Right now I want to fix the resources that helped me to picture my 2010.

Firstly, my current job- acting as one of the elements of an international student run organisation and leading it together with other thousands of open-minded young smart free from dogmas people is an amasing experience a person can have in his entire life! It enriches you daily, even if you do not notice it, it does ENRICH you tremendously. People! They are my passion! On Dec 30, 2009 a long awaited thought finally clicked my lazy brain- I will join those more than 8, 000 people that went on exchange in 2009, and will have my AIESEC internship in 2010. Yes, this year I will try the product that I sell in AIESEC. And I am damn happy about my decision. Thank you, thank you, thank you whoever/whatsoever helped me felt it rushing through my veins and my warm body on a cold day in Riga!

Secondly, last Dec weeks were a complete laziness in my life. I don't feel ashamed for this as that time fulfilled me; and even if I did not do anything significant, I completed an important task for myself: prolonged my sleeping hours, increased my chatting minutes with my old friends, had festive occasions like Christmas for the first time in my life, etc. Special thanks goes to my Erzhik friend- you really affected me, inspired with your lovable mood, and let me remember how love is important in life.

Thirdly and up-to-date, is the powerful women whom I love for their unique charisma, artistic view on life, and driving music they produce. These are Shakira and Alicia Keys whose I am a big fan of. I was so much overwhelmed with positive emotions yesterday and today, when I again re-discovered these great singers, dancers, song-writers and philanthropists for myself!

So, catching up last inspirations and asking myself "What am I ready to do more in 2010 that will polish me as a responsible leader, as a weak girl with her ordinary dreams, as an ambitious generation Z, as a young and free in soul world citizen, as a any person in the world who loves dreaming and flying, as a caring energetic mother in the future, and finally as a daring person who is not afraid to fail?" And I am ready with the answer:

I officially promise to myself that in 2010 I will work much harder than before, and I will complain on life less than I used to.
...Because I am a Superwoman. And I know it.

P.S. and next Christmas I want to meet at Rockfeller Plaza in NYC

2 .be in Brugge

Who has ever fallen in love at first sight?

Not with a woman or man

but with a city, scenery, food, etc?

Today I opened a new bottle full of bubbling LOVE sparks. Its name is Brugge, a medieval fairy tale city in the western Belgium.

Brugge cannot be described- you must see it! It is cozy, astonishing, lively, touristic, helpful, friendly, middle crowded, diverse and it is my LOVE!

Delicious waffles with chocolate flavour, cherry flavoured Belgian beer on the bank of the river together with Central America guys, chilly wind messing up my hair and my soul is enormously content, happy and relaxed.

One of my best days this year was today in Brugge!
Merci!

Not long time ago I finally started to coach three bright individuals in my home Local Committee AIESEC Almaty. We were supposed to start working earlier but due to my long time sickness (which almost lasted up to three months) we had to wait for a while. Nevertheless, I was eager to see them, and they were counting days and hours to our first meeting. Let me introduce them to you- they are not fresh AIESECers but have joined our leadership organization in autumn 2008: Polina, Elina and Anara.

March 8, 2009 was our first meeting with Polina. This day is recognized in Kazakhstan ( as well as in CIS) as an International Women's Day. Moreover, on this special day I had my elections to AIESEC in Latvia for the year 2009-2010. I had decided to switch myself to something different on that day, and called up for a coaching meeting in ... the mountains! Sounds unusual for such case? Well, winter was almost and I thought I would've felt sad if I hadn't used this oppportunity to have an incredible time in the nature, and get to know my friend better, have great time and end enjoy life. So, right in the morning at 9 o'clocl we got on the bus and trusted the driver. Inspiration had been already grown in both of us, and we were smiling to the whitest trees behind the bus's windows...

I will never forget my first feelings towards my coachee, thoughts I have been going through, stories we have shared with each other, and the feeling of unity, of being as one common cell within one body. I guess it happens very seldom when you can experience something similar and even more. I am sure it doesn' t happen to random people with random feelings. It may not even happen when you know a person for a hundred of years. It doesn't happen until you feel you can trust this person and you know this person trusts you...

Polina has made that day unforgettable! I have even forgotten I was to have an interview and Questions and answers in the evening during my election proces!!! However, I have shared that with Polina later on. I have not discussed this topic with a lot of people, just let's say with key people who could help me in some points. As it may seem clear, feeling of unity and trust is very important for me, and time of friendship sometimes isn't a significant factor to share my soul with the surroundings. So, by the time I was to be home, Polina got to know about my next steps in AIESEC, as we were discussing this question with her a lot that day. She got surprised but also I remember her facial expressions when she heard this news. She started to be inquisitive, and I really like people asking questions. Right questions. Or even not right questions but questions that are either relevant or questions that bring benefits somehow. So, we discussed different points of view, shared some personal moments, our views on life, actions we wanna take in life and in AIESEC... I have talked to Polina the way I didn't talk to my close friends for a long time. The way I didn't talk to friends in general for the past several months. It happens in life when you get disappointed and feel exhausted from stupid actions you thought you would never seen from your friends. And then you don't trust them or anyone else around you. And it may take you days,months or even years to change your opinion. However, all people are different and you have no right to judge the book by its cover. Treat people the way you want to be treated- this is what my mother has always taught me. And I truly believe in this, and try following it. Of course, it is not easy, but I am trying. And this philosophy I had shared with my schol students. I have not taught them, I have shared, given examples, made them think about the world as one heart that evokes in different parts and climate zones...

So, in late afternoon we had come back home, completely tired but happy, energized, full of new ideas and feelings. We had come back home with planned actions for 1st week, till our next meeting. I had come home fresh, driven by snow and love.Love to people, love to nature, love to life.



...I am in love and always will be