If anyone was wondering, the group is called On The Rocks and is an all male a cappella from the University of Oregon. If you’re interested, you can buy their album and single on iTunes.

As some of you may have noticed, I do not really talk about politics on this blog. Yes, there is the occasional rant here and there about the Romanian leadership and everything it is not. However, I tend to avoid such talks since they usually drive me up the wall for more reasons than I can count.

In this case though, I have to mention the unexpected death of the Polish header, Lech Kaczynski. I will not give my opinion on the airplane accident, it is definitely not worthy. The death of some of Poland’s most influential people on their way to commemorate the death of other leaders of the country, killed mercilessly at Stalin’s order says it all. No room for further judgment there, I think the facts speak for themselves. It is good that prime minister Putin in leading the investigation. That way we will surely know what happened.

So here I am, offering my condolences to a country that has already been hit so many times throughout history, and yet has managed to rise above it all. Let us hope it manages to do it once again.

Image source: http://students.ou.edu/L/Michal.K.Lewicki-1/flag-poland.jpg

Yep, that’s right, the blog got new clothes. Cleaner, brighter, happier. Hope you like it, ’cause I surely do ❤. Enjoy!

Image source: http://www.mybestdesktops.com/2008/03/29/spring-flowers-3/

I realize this year’s Easter was so much different that last year’s. Other people, a whole new country, first Easter spent without my family…but Spring is coming and that’s all that’s worth talking about. Makes me wanna go out of the house, stop cozying…can’t wait!

Meanwhile, so much work to do

Photo source: http://www.connexion-francaise.com/articles/la-bataille-des-lapins-de-paques

Well, no connection between Career day and Earth Hour, but since the latter comes in 21 minutes, I have to remind you people to turn off the light for one hour, tonight.

Back to Lausanne and International Career Day. Impressed by the city, as always, not so impressed by the event. We went with high hopes and a ton of CVs, left with almost the same amount of CVs and no hopes whatsoever. For an event that was supposed to put together the world’s most important International Organizations, I say thank God for the freebies and the other companies that were present. UN, ILO has tiny little cubicles and usually did not offer any information whatsoever. What is more, were you to dare and ask for information, you would have probably got this precious little hint: check online, apply online. Gee thanks, thank goodness I came all the way here in order to hear that. NOW I know what to do.

Oh well, nice surprise though from the other companies that were there: Johnson&Johnson, Syngenta, Cartier, and many more. They would show you what internships are available, tell you when and where to apply and even take your CV. Nice.

With that being said, the weather in Lausanne was really nice, we had some awesome pizza ‘Chez Mario‘ and of course, a Starbucks cup (2nd one with the flowers) for my collection. Nice!

Now I have to turn this off. See ya!

I have reached the 6 months’ milestone of living in Switzerland. That is, if I don’t count the three weeks I just spent in Romania when I was fed as if I had come from a concentration camp or something. Apparently it’s time to lose weight. Ugh.

Aaaanyway…what I’ve learned so far: university here is much more ‘kick-ass’ than in Romania. You get in rather easily, selection processes are minimal, but it’s getting out that’s difficult. You work your bum off, but in the end, the diplomas are supposed to MEAN something to your employer, and not just be a piece of paper you forget in a drawer.

I’m having issues with the words ‘home’ and ‘here’. You see, I’m even having issues when it comes to talking to someone. Not that I forgot any language mind you, but that I start speaking in Romanian to Swiss people and in French to Romanians. I also now dream in English, French and Romanian. Interesting, huh?

I find out now more and more people want to go away from my country. Why? Probably because of the crisis, the lack of jobs and opportunities, the government, etc. But also, I find about their thoughts more quickly since I am seen as ‘the one who managed to leave’ and now apparently I can give advice for some reason. I can’t say I feel this way. Sometimes, I feel much more lost than I did when I was at home, planning it all.

It is also funny when I receive emails, messages, etc. with the same message: ‘I want to come to Switzerland. I don’t know any local language, I would like to study there and get a job on the side. Could you help me?’ . Well, unfortunately, there isn’t much help I CAN give. Just tell you that you should know at least one of their languages and be prepared to sustain yourself for 6 months before you will be allowed to get a job. Swiss law, mind you. Also, bear in mind it’s not easy. Getting a place to stay is virtually impossible without a permit, and getting a permit usually requires a long term accommodation. Vicious circle if you ask me. However, a certain job offer from here usually opens all the doors, to getting an apartment, a permit and everything else. It’s just that the Swiss are a tiny bit more eager to give their own people the jobs they have, instead of immigrants. However, I do believe it is possible. Hard, but not impossible.

All in all? I miss my friends at home, my family. But this is also home. I like feeling safe on the streets, I like the nice, polite people around me, I like it that now I get to meet people from different countries, backgrounds, cultures. It’s all so different and interesting.

Oh well, I’ll keep you posted

But that is not my point .As you may have heard, I’ve moved on, 2000 kms to the west. Is it good, is it bad? Let’s say it’s interesting. Switzerland is the land where you can find I guess 200 types of cheese, just as many of chocolate and where people who check for your traveling pass in the bus are polite and nice. It is also the country where they value Swiss citizenship immensely, although at the same time they have an enormous amount of foreigners. I’d say it’s a love-hat relationship. But so far I like it.

I like the small city I live in, the small shops that are nothing like the hypermarkets back home, the fact that if I miss the ‘big city feel’ I can hop in the car and be in Geneva or Zurich in less than 2 hours…I do not like it though that most of their movies are translated, even in cinemas. I am not impressed.

Plans for 2010? I’ve taken up a bit of knitting, I want to improve my French and (reluctantly) start learning German. I want to move more (and, with my new Wii Fit, I think I just might) and laugh more. I want to care less about others’ opinions and go crazy more often. Let go. I want to travel as much as possible (I have miles to gather now, too!) and blog more. It’s sunny outside. I think this will be a good year.

So, I am sorry all for this long pause, but I’m determined to make it up to you. Right now I am on vacation and I’ll feel more creative I hope.

I hope Santa was nice to all of you and that 2010 treats us all better.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Note: I specifically mentioned ‘the movie’, since I am planning to read the book very soon and I am sure I will want to post about that too.

There are fewer than 4000 Jews left alive in Poland today. There are more than 6000 descendants of the Schindler Jews.

Schindler’s List is one of the movies you have to see in a lifetime. Maybe more than once. It is an incredible film. It’s not very original, though. It’s about the Holocaust. The Jews. Auschwitz. Death of millions of people. But the way this movie is made…no other can compare to it. The fact that it is all black and white, with just a hint of colour now and then (to emphasize a particular red coat) gives it more depth. And the fact that great actors are in it, including the ever surprising Ralph Fiennes and the incomparable Liam Neeson just adds so much more to the movie as a whole.

The story? It’s the true story of Oskar Schindler (beautifully portrayed by Liam Neeson), a Czech born Nazi who sees the war as an opportunity for fast profit. He therefore hires Jews as cheap labour force for his factory in occupied Poland and aims to get as rich as possible. Time is passing by and the Jews are first evacuated from the ghetto in Krakow and sent to labour camps. A while later, Auschwitz concentration camp was established and thousands of Jews were gassed and incinerated afterwards, in an attempt of ‘race purification’.

But Oskar Schindler was different. He was a womanizer, a party man, he liked people to work for him and he liked making profit. However, he also had a heart. And when he saw the horrors that were happening around him, he thought his money could be put to better use. It is how he decided to ‘buy’ more than 1100 Jews from the Nazis as workers for his factory. He even promised to make ammunition instead of pots, but no decent missile ever came out of his factory. Together with his loyal accountant, a Jew himself (Ben Kingsley acts superbly in this role), they made a list of people who were to come to work for him instead of going to Auschwitz. The list, itself, was life.

The plot itself however is not the essence of this movie. Else way, there wouldn’t have been necessary 3 hours and 9 minutes of film. It’s all about the Holocaust: the terror, the pain, the merciless nazis. And this is where Ralph Fiennes comes into the movie. He portrays Amon Goeth, a commandant of the Nazi army, thirsty for blood and death, killing for his own pleasure, hating everything in relation to the Jews. He likes Schindler, develops a friendship with him, but never once does it occur to him that Oskar is trying to save the Jews instead of killing them. And here, Ralph Fiennes portrays one of the most loath-able characters ever. Cold, purely evil, Amon kills for pleasure. He adores the fact that he can kill anyone for no reason. He feels powerful through other people’s tragedies. He was, unfortunately, real.

There is more about this movie than the story of Oskar Schindler. There are the horrors of the Holocaust: the killing, the humiliation, the cruelty, the torture, the horrible feeling you get when you’re watching that all of this is true and once happened. That the extras that are being killed every few minutes actually portray real people that din nothing wrong except being in the wrong place, at the worst of times.

To see this movie, you need to prepare. You need to understand what you are about to witness, that one of history’s darkest periods will be revealed to you in its ugliest form. There is not much actual violence in the film. But there is no need. You can feel the horror and pain and desperation without seeing blood all over. You know it is there, there’s no need for them to show it.

To be honest, I think I would like to see this movie once more. Because somewhere in the back of my mind I am still hoping to understand why. It probably is pointless, I know. But one can only hope. And I also think we should all see this movie. It is there to remind us, to make us understand what huge mistakes were made and to teach us not to ever do them again.

I cannot end this review without mentioning Spielberg. Usually, I am not a fan of his work. But this is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. The music (John Williams) and cinematography (Janusz Kaminski) are also works of art. Everything comes together wonderfully.

You can buy this movie on Amazon.co.uk.