Menirea mea: să îmi salvez țara

Menirea mea: să îmi salvez țara

Nu cred că mai este necesar să explic ce se întâmplă în România. Televiziunile, oamenii de pe stradă, familia, prietenii, site-urile de socializare, în orice colț te-ai duce, se vorbește despre același și același subiect – vestita ordonanță de urgență.

Deși am numai 17 ani, afirm cu tărie că ultimele zile ne-au oferit poate cele mai mari nedreptăți din ultimele două decenii. Acest lucru s-a văzut prin multitudinea de oameni frumoși, raționali și corecți care au avut curajul să își exprime punctul de vedere, să înfrunte „coloșii” Guvernului și să iasă în stradă. Sute de mii de indivizi pașnici adunați laolaltă, care au venit alături de copii, animale de companie și pancarte, și-au răpit din timpul personal pentru a-și face auzite glasurile, fie prin mesaje adresate politicienilor, fie prin imnul național care parcă nu a mai sunat de mult atât de dulce și de pur.

Politicienii… Ce ați ajuns, dragi politicieni? Ați reușit să treziți, din nou, un popor întreg prin greșelile voastre. Se spune că înveți din greșeli, dar ce ați învățat voi din toate nenorocirile prin care a trecut țara asta? Ce ați învățat din regimul care a distrus ani buni din viețile unor oameni nevinovați? Ce ați învățat din revoluțiile care au pus pe picioare dreptatea pe tărâmurile noastre, în care s-a murit pentru a readuce noțiunea de libertate în vocabularul nostru? Ce ați învățat din toate conducerile dezechilibrate ale României de până acum? Ce ați învățat din Colectiv?

Atâtea semne de interogare și un unic răspuns. Mai nimic. Altă întrebare?

Binele, când discutăm la nivel de țară, necesită mult timp pentru a fi obținut pe deplin. Și totuși, din tot binele pe care îl puteați face nouă tuturor, ați decis că prioritare sunt interesele personale, că siguranța câtorva sute, chiar mii de infractori este mai prețioasă și mai urgentă decât dezvoltarea țării și decât principiile pentru care s-a luptat cu înțelepciune, determinare și patriotism. Grav este că această chestiune ne aduce o durere covârșitoare pe termen lung. Afectați reputația unui teritoriu care se îndrepta tiptil spre succes, spulberați visurile a milioane de români care încă speră, furați nu numai ce nu vi se cuvine, ci și viitorul cetățenilor, fericirea și mândria lor.

Sute de mii de persoane în stradă, încă și mai multe pe internet, mesaje directe de la 6 ambasade importante, încă și mai multe țări cu siguranță indignate de deciziile voastre, un Parlament European în mod evident îngrijorat de direcția pe care ne purtați… Toate acestea, iar voi aveți tupeul și mârșăvia de a fi ignoranți și de a vă apăra pielea, indiferent de situația josnică în care vă aflați. Principalele fețe ale statului… rușine, rușine, rușine.

Prea bine, credeți în continuare că ne puteți juca pe degete. Credeți în continuare că ați câștigat. Sunteți extrem de hotărâți, de ce să cedați, nu-i așa? Dar dacă îndrăzniți să credeți că vă puteți bate joc de un popor întreg, că suntem atât de inferiori și de lipsiți de importanță pe cât ne credeți, vă înșelați amarnic. Precum spune și mulțimea, „nu veți scăpa.”

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Mă gândesc la toată lumea specială din Piața Victoriei și din toate orașele României, la bunătatea și solidaritatea de care au dat dovadă în aceste ultime zile. Fie că au făcut-o printr-un mesaj scris pe un carton, printr-o filmare postată pe Facebook, printr-un ceai cald oferit celor din jur, prin versuri cântate cu patos sau printr-o floare înmânată unui jandarm, românii au arătat că sunt puternici și plini de curaj.

Mă gândesc la cei de peste hotare sau la cei care plănuiesc să plece, să se rupă de un mediu și de o conducere deficitară care le pune în pericol viitorul. Ce vor spune ei despre România? Cum vor răspunde la întrebarea „De ce ai plecat din țara ta?” ? Se vor mândri cu trecutul lor? Sau vor folosi eterna sintagmă „Țara mea e atât de frumoasă… Păcat că e populată.”…

Mă gândesc la dragii mei părinți, pentru care poate e prea târziu să mai plece și să se mai salveze de corupția și superficialitatea în masă care au ajuns să le domine pământurile. Merită ei așa ceva? Mă îndeamnă să plec imediat cum am ocazia, să îmi construiesc viitorul, cariera, familia undeva prielnic.Dar cum aș putea să îi părăsesc, după tot ce au făcut pentru mine?

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Mă gândesc la copilași, la tinerime, la prietenii mei, la mine. Vreau să urmez facultatea de medicină și să îmi împlinesc visul de o viață. Nu, nu aleg străinătatea, ci prestigiul studiilor de la noi. Acest vis necesită însă și sacrificii, anume să îmi ofer ani buni din viață învățând și perfecționându-mă spre a deveni ce râvnesc eu să devin. Asta ar însemna încă vreo zece ani de stat în această ambianță. Pare o perioadă îndelungată, dar odată ce intervin pasiunea și determinarea, nimic nu mai contează.

De ce protestez? Vreau să trăiesc acești ani în dreptate, în prosperitate, să nu regret mediul în care am fost crescută. Vreau ca răul adevărat să fie pedepsit, nu mascat. Vreau să mi se respecte dreptul la informare asupra situației țării în care mă aflu, nu să fiu dusă de nas cu falsități. Vreau să am un Guvern cu oameni sinceri, ale căror principale țeluri sunt să înțeleagă și să țină cont de popor, implicit să ducă țara pe traiectoria succesului și frumosului. Vreau să pot spune că sunt mândră în întregime de România.

Ne-am săturat de hoție, de manipulare în masă, de corupție, de indiferență. De aceea protestăm.

Noi suntem rezistența. Noi suntem speranța care încă mai licărește în întunericul nedreptății. Noi putem salva țara.

*pancartă inspirată de câteva versuri potrivite ale celor din Subcarpați*

A Winter Day Inside

A Winter Day Inside

Bucharest is rarely visited by heavy snow… Well today, the weather took us all by surprise! I still don’t know if I consider it a pleasant or a bad one though, I’m not a huge fan of snow. Anyway, one thing I am sure about is that I could not hold in my happiness when I peeked through my curtains and all the surroundings were sprinkled in pure, fluffy snowflakes! I missed this view…

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At least for the first part of the day, I decided to completely relax and take advantage of the calm atmosphere. Curled up with my blanket and my hot coffee, I selected some things that make me loosen up. I could not pass handing myself a Christmas mug and some carols (1. because I wasn’t lucky enough to have a snowy Christmas Day; 2. because I just can’t get over the fact that the holidays are almost over!).

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These are a few of my lazy day essentials:

  • a hot drink in a festive mug;
  • some good music (I can never go wrong with Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die: The Paradise Edition);
  • some colouring material (this time I chose a lovely gift I received from a dear friend: colouring kitty bookmarks!);
  • some good reads: I’ve just finished Cișmigiu et Comp., by Grigore Băjenaru, a wonderful lecture in which the author pictures the challenging, yet charming daily high school life through his eyes (what is even nicer is that everything takes places in my actual high school!); I’ve also begun reading some poems by another favourite, Nichita Stănescu;

Ever since the year started, I’ve been setting up some plans for the time that is to come, one of which I want to share with you now, because I find it more important than many others. That is spending more quality time with my family and friends. I am disappointed to say that 2016 came like a storm of strange feelings and unexpected stress to me. I was not able to allow as much time to my dear ones as I really meant to.

But I want to believe that this year, everything regarding to this will change. I will try my hardest to overcome the problems that are inevitable to appear and see the bright side of life on as many occasions as I can. Because, to me, nothing is more important than cherishing the special people in my life and the moments we have together.

Well, that’s a wrap-up for today! Later, I will go out with my mom, walk around the city, maybe visit a coffee shop and talk, talk, talk… just like girls do!

I hope you had an amazing day!

Until next time! 🙂

Alexandra

 

 

 

A Book Haul #2

A Book Haul #2

New year, new reading opportunities!

I am starting my 2017 posts with another book haul, full of reads I am definitely looking forward to diving into. In the last months of 2016, Black Friday and a book festival have me the chance to purchase some bits that I was longing to have or that simply caught my eye.

I shall start with the translated books I bought. Library of Souls, by Ransom Riggs, may or may not be the one I am the most excited about. It is the third and final novel in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series, one of my favourite trilogies of all time. I cannot wait to experience (yet again) the unique world, the superbly-built characters and the haunting, but beautiful pictures scattered throughout the pages. I was lucky enough to be given some gorgeous, vintage cards with the main characters in the series. Special thanks to the kind man at the Art Publishing stand! 🙂

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Moving on, I finally put my hands on In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote. I have to say, I’ve been so tempted to read this after I saw the biographical film Capote, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. I found it so brilliant and touching that I couldn’t skip reading one of Capote’s notable works. Everything, Everything, by Nicola Yoon, has also been on my wish list for a long time as I saw how loved it is in the BookTube community that I very dearly follow. What attracted me is how well-rated it is for a debut novel, introducing a special idea which I’ve never met in any of my reads – a girl with an allergy to the world. Lastly, I got The Lost Bible, by Igor Bergler, the most widely sold Romanian novel of the last 20 years! Big deal, huh? The paperback version was launched at Gaudeamus, the book festival I got all these reads from, and I was so excited to find out that all of the copies have autographs!

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On Black Friday, I found some great deals on English-written books which I couldn’t pass! My current read is After You, by Jojo Moyes, the sequel to the well-known Me Before You, one of my best summer lectures. It seems to be a great, yet melancholic fill-in to the tragic end of the bestseller mentioned above, following the everyday life and difficulties of the main character. Cannot wait to see how it all ends! Girl Online Going Solo is the third book in the Girl Online series by my favourite YouTuber, Zoe Sugg. All of them are easy to read, but provide such delightful stories written in a sweet, friendly tone. Another popular novel in the BookTube network is Holding Up the Universe, by Jennifer Niven. I don’t know many facts about this book, but I absolutely loved All The Bright Places, written by the same author, so I have high hopes that this one will be just as good. And who knows? Maybe even better. As much as I need me some good YA novels, I had to get The Diary of a Young Girl, the memoir of Anne Frank. A true classic, it pictures not only the horrible faces of life during war, but also her pure soul, so mature for her age.

One of my main goals this year is to allow more of my time to reading. I hope you’ve enjoyed this book haul as much as I did. Expect more reviews coming in 2017!

Until next time! 🙂

Alexandra

 

Lovable places ~ Miau Café

Lovable places ~ Miau Café

After an unforgettable season, I wanted my last day of summer to be special. I was craving for a new place to fall in love with, something local, but at the same time out of this world. Well, I was lucky to find a little café that combines amazing vegan drinks, a cosy setting and… lots of kitties. Not too far away from Bucharest’s city centre, Miau seems like the one and only place to visit and have the ultimate relaxation session.

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Me and my friends were greeted not only by a colourful garden and an instant good vibe, but also by two cats (already!). I was pleased to see how gorgeous was the decor, welcoming us into a comfortably hippie atmosphere. Anyway, we chose to run away from the summer heat and shelter inside for the best kitty experience. And oh boy, how much cuteness we came across!

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The main room was a cat playground, we couldn’t be more excited! We met so many adorable kitties (with as many different personalities haha) and believe me, you just can’t stop “aww”-ing and petting these wonderful creatures. Besides entertaining them with all the toys there, the best thing about this place is… they are adoptable! It’s impossible not to fall in love with at least one of them, maybe fall so much that you want to take it home!

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The various menu of delicious vegan drinks (from coffee and tea to smoothies), the board games and the friendly staff topped it all off, turning a simple café visit into the most enjoyable way to spend a last lazy summer afternoon. Totally recommending it!

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Until next time! 🙂

Alexandra

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A Journey to Thassos, Greece

A Journey to Thassos, Greece

As I have Greek origins, I decided to set a life goal for myself. That is visiting as much as I can in Greece and learning about everything it is built of, from language and traditions to food, music and dances. There’s barely anything more beautiful than sharing the passion you have deep inside your heart and I have to say, this country really makes me feel in a some kind of special way I’ve never felt before.

This year, our choice was Thassos, situated in the north-east of Greece, one of the closest spots to visit to my country. After a long trip crossing the south of Romania, Bulgaria and a bit more Greek land, we arrived in Keramoti, where we boarded the ferry to the gorgeous island. I was instantly amazed by the azure sea, the salty fresh air and the immediate friendliness of the local people. With a frappé by my side, I really enjoyed the short ride, admiring the views and being followed by a trail of hungry seagulls (they were eating biscuits and other treats right from people’s hands!).

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We finally got on Thassos and man were we tired! Sincerely, the trip is pretty exhausting, but it’s so worth it. We drove a bit more until Skala Potamia, the place we had our booking in. We spent 10 nights at Villa Billena having the time of our lives in such great conditions and amazing hosts. I still miss those cosy evenings with random chats and laughs, surrounded by kitties.

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Oh my, the beaches… We went to four of them as we visited some more last year as well. They are breathtakingly gorgeous with their fine sands, warm, crystal clear water and relaxing atmosphere. They turned into some of my favourite places to just think, dream and read… Take me back already!

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Golden Beach in Skala Panagia, where we spent most of out time because it was so close! Definitely one of the best.

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The famous Marble Beach, one of the special attractions of the island as it is surrounded by marble quarries and covered in marble pebbles.

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La Scala Beach, a bit more luxurious than the others, but worth visiting. You will be welcomed by the best waters to bath in, the friendliest of waiters and an excellent beach bar!

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San Antonio Beach, another amazing choice, very peaceful and relaxing, coming with a restaurant that will let you drool over its variety of food!

Speaking of this restaurant in San Antonio, I had my first proper Greek night here! Words cannot describe how good I felt, I want to do it all over again every single day! We ate delicious dishes, listened to traditional music and danced with some of the best entertainers I’ve seen. Such well-spent time, I’ll never forget it!

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On another day we found ourselves in the beautiful Limenas, the capital city of Thassos. We walked in the harbour, roamed all the souvenir shops and ate the best cheese pies. We were lucky enough to catch the sunset too, it’s definitely the best time of the day to visit this place. You can also book a lot of cruise trips here like we did last year (unfortunately we couldn’t do it now), there are many offers such as the island tour on boat or the tour of Thassos’s bays, it’s a must!

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A great place to eat would be the Iatrou Tavern in Theologos, welcoming you with a superb mountain view, perfectly prepared food and funny waiters!

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And can we just talk about all the cats in this place… It’s heaven for kitty lovers (like me)!!

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Spot the kitty!

By far my favourite activity was the walk on the Skala Potamia promenade in the evening… That is what I call my dream place! So many taverns and food stalls to choose from, numerous shops with the most various of goodies, a beautiful harbour and, last but not least, the unique atmosphere filled with kindness, tradition and fun.

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I really wish I lived here… But oh well, I guess I’ll stick to some of these visits for now! There’s something really special about this place, I’d come here all the time, I feel like I belong here. It’s like I left a piece of my soul in those waters, on those alleys, in those taverns… Kind of like a Horcrux, isn’t it? *nerdy mode on*

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I’m so glad I could share this experience with you! I couldn’t recommend this place more.

Until next time! 🙂

Alexandra

Summer Well, A Festival Like A Holiday

Summer Well, A Festival Like A Holiday

Festivals are my kind of ideal escape from my repetitive and sometimes boring daily life. This year, I chose to go to Summer Well Festival for the second time in a row as I absolutely loved the 2014 edition. It was the best decision ever.

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As always, it was held in Buftea (not far from Bucharest) at Domeniul Stirbey, a place that suits the festival vibe perfectly. Everything is surrounded by nature, making this location a great opportunity to relax and detach from the busy town routine.

Oh, the features it came with! An outdoor cinema screening biographies of Kurt Cobain and David Bowie, an abstractly lit maze that seemed out of this world, tons of merch boutiques, food courts selling delicious burgers and a variety of other dishes, neverending drink stocks… Basically everything you need in two unforgettable days!

Obviously, the festival wouldn’t be complete without good music. The bands this year were beyond amazing! I just fell in love with them more after hearing them live, it makes such a difference!

Day 1 ~ proving my patience, I stayed very close to the stage during the first four performances. Moreover, I had the chance to be in the very front row for the fifth and last band (my favourite one), Foals!

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Kwabs

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The Maccabees

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La Roux

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Foals 

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Day 2 ~ in comparison with the first day, I backed off a little bit and explored the sights. Nevertheless, I still have  some pictures of the artists (even though the quality is not the best)!

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Foxes

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Jungle

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The Wombats

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Kasabian

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There’s something about Summer Well, it makes me miss it for a whole year until its next edition. The atmosphere is so unique, reuniting so many types of people, from children and teenagers to adults, from normal citizens to celebrities, all of them being one big family. Definitely looking forward to 2016’s line-up! See you soon, Summer Well!