All Year New Year's Resolutions. Or Life as an RPG!

Holidays are finally over, it's a good time to confess... Christmas annoys me more than any football event celebrated by your stereotypical, obnoxious neighbours/housemates, that consecutively forget to invite you and celebrate everything solely on week nights.
It's the time of the year somehow manages to highlight all our shortcomings in areas of life we may simply have no control over at the time, like family, our geographical locations, and what's on the TV. Because no matter what channel you switch to you're being bombarded by ads of "What your loved ones really want this Christmas", and you have no choice but to question the value of the gifts you already bought, as if your relationships depend on them. Not even mentioning the religious part origins, yadda yadda.
New Years, however... Is different. For one, the celebration lasts for a year.
Not only can you treat it as your ultimate Monday of your flimsy "next week", but you get to evaluate what you've been concentrating on in the past and what you'd like to amend. You can even get a goddamn calendar this time around. Two years ago (it's recently been updated again) I read this fabulous article one Cracked.com the 6 Harsh Truths that Will Make You a Better Person, and that part about counting the hours a day that you spend doing things and straightening out your priorities, that's the saddest, simplest task you can do to give yourself a kick in the ass.

Seriously. Do it.

We have all tried sticking to resolutions and most of us failed to make it through January. I don't do NY Resolutions as these obsolete laws, so here are some of my are some tactics to avoid flopping through the year entirely.

1. Write it down, for crying out loud!

You came up with them while drunk, wrote them down ("if" even) and forgot them at the NY party. Come on, we've been there. Hell, some don't even write them down! Deciding to lose weight is all fine and dandy, but how do you plan on going about it? Have you set a goal weight? Have you picked out the gym/diet/program? What will you do when you reach your goal weight? When will that happen? Then what? Write it down and be specific, design a strategy and keep reminding yourself about why you initially decided to do this thing you decided to do. You can keep working on it after you hit the new calendar and all the way throughout the year. A friend of mine sets deadlines, with very specific times and dates and milestones. I keep score of small theme driven achievements (creativity, relationships, health, etc.), by the end of the year I count up the totals and either feel accomplished or realise my life has taken some strange turns.

2. Clarify the Big Picture.

So, what do you really want to achieve this year? A year is only 365 days, 24 hours each. It's the same for everybody in the world, yet somehow, some folks do more than others with this given time. Do that exercise mentioned in the article above,(if you were too lazy to read it: Take two pieces of paper and write down 5 most important things to you on the first one. Then fold it, set it aside and on the second one, write down, in detail, what you do on an average day. Do a few days. Compare your biggest time consuming activities with what you had on your first list. You can burn the first list. It's irrelevant.). Sort out where you are losing your time and if and how you would like to change this. If you know that your motivation levels tend to falter and spike, simply make those brave and stupid commitments a month ahead. Book classes and pay ahead so that skipping out on them is a threat to your stinginess! Make bets of arrangements with people you feel uncomfortable disappointing.

3. Funds. We all struggle with the monies.

Take a month or a week to monitor your budget and see where the pennies are running off to. I spend stupid amounts on expensive coffee, takeaway, junk food that isn't on the shopping list, and previously, smoking. These are things I can live without. Really, so now, whenever I stand in line to pay for my vices I ask myself, do I need this treat today?
No need to cut yourself off entirely, just be smarter about it. £30 saved on these things buy me a two day stay in a gorgeous bed and breakfast in Bologna, Italy.
Here's a popular one for money and priorities. Let's say you want to travel more; decide what country and apply for a visa (if you even needed one to begin with). That is the most painful process so get it out of the way, and takes a little bit of paperwork, which is the first step and scares the hell out of people for some reason. Once that's done, all you need to do is quit whining because most of the job is done. This day and age most flight tickets aren't incredibly expensive and booking.com is an easy way to get your accommodation sorted. Unless you have decided to go on a trek across the Sahara you can sort things out as you go along even if you didn't consider some things before your trip to European country, chances are you can sort them out on the spot. A very inspiring podcast on the topic is Budget Minded Traveller! In fact, most of the things mentioned in the podcast can apply to anything else you set out to do. So in most cases you will find, the money required to execute this objective is actually realistic if you compared it to your existing spending patterns.
If your objective is to make more money and you don't know what to do... You know your life better than I do. Maybe it's time to get another source of income?

4. Leeloo Mulitask

"So... much... to do... this year..."

Do multiple small objectives as opposed to one big scary one with no definition, I would even try to connect them. Be specific and realistic in timelines. The budget evaluation and "where to save, where to spend" approach I mentioned above is a good example of how you can cut down on eating crap, lose weight, save money for that, um, pottery class you wanted to try after work.
Mull your objectives over, and think of how to combine paths to them without causeing y
It's like Fallout or Skyrim, really. Do multiple side missions in one town.

5. Obsess.

Congratulate yourself at the smallest accomplishments. (I said congratulate yourself, don't spoil yourself .) Celebrate by catering further to your obsession. Example: -You got off your butt, signed up at the gym, went for a month and some, lost a bit of weight. Go buy yourself a new piece of awesome sportswear you wanted but weren't sure you needed. Be fancy like that. -You have decided to pursue your dream career.
Now, you're doing some crappy job/internship/course that you need to get through to get to the career you were really passionate about, but all work has it's difficulties! It's easy to get caught up and forget why you started this to begin with. No matter what, take a day to remind yourself the reason why you started this and what your reward will be!
See a topical movie, go to the museum, exhibition or an event in honour of that thing. Even if you can't be bothered, want to stay home and unwind, ask a friend or partner to drag you there, tell them why. ^this works well whether you're working in retail to pay for courses or support that dream, or if you're just uninspired in the job already.

6. This one is for the Gamers.

Do all these things with the dedication you would use while playing through your favourite RPG. Unless your game crashes, and you need to restart, you probably usually sit there and don't question much about your tasks, you sit there and do them for hours on end, because you have a single objective you're looking forward to. Skyrim brethren, have we not spent hours hunting down iron ores and fashioning endless, useless gauntlets just to max out our smithing to make Dragon Armour?
Mass Effect commanders, have we not mined planets endlessly to get shit done in the game?
Do you recall the dumb shit we all had to do in any GTA?
We did it and got through it and that was just for shits and giggles, we can do far more for our life. Games don't seem so bloody daunting as life, but to be honest, life gives more rewards.


 So, whether you haven't resolved to anything yet or have started abandoning your resolutions, it's not late yet. Most important thing you can do for yourself is change your perspective, the rest doesn't have to be set in stone.
Then again, if your prefer some ceremony, you still have the Chinese calender on the February 19.

Go. Sort your life out.

Helping Strangers

When getting off the train at Birmingham a very petite woman was standing in front of me. Actually, not just standing, she was struggling with her suitcases (which happened to be half her size), and while people seemed to be understanding of her struggle nobody helped her with them.

 

I’ve been in her situation many times before and helped her off the train and up the escalators, turned out she was from Mauritius, here for a Cake Makers Expo and had no idea how to get the the coach station. It was kinda my general direction so I offered to walk her out of the station and point the direction out… On the way she asked how far was it to walk to the coach station, because her card stopped working and she couldn’t pay for a cab. It wasn’t far at all. Suddenly, I remembered how my suitcase wheels failed in Italy. "Oh, I will walk you there!"

As we walked she was so amazed at how many people were drunk at 8PM in dark and dreary Birmingham, the once industrial centre of UK. We chatted about her life and kids, she couldn’t stop thanking me. When I got her to the coach station and gate, she dived into one of her gigantic suitcases and forced me to take a pack of Mauritius Vanilla Tea as a token of her gratitude.

As we hugged and wished each other safe travels, I felt like I just lived through some RPG side quest. XP points and Special Item Reward.
Helping strangers can be addictive.

Jobs, Sobs, and Keyfobs

Wow. I'm really terrible at this whole updating frequently thing!

Quick update:
I have completed the internship and returned to UK.
The end of the internship was a bit more emotional than I expected.
I pretty much almost cried when I received incredibly thoughtful gifts from people I didn't realise paid so much attention to my dorky interests and heard me talk to myself in the corner of the concept room. I also got a beautiful keyfob that I designed in my first month of the internship, as a sappy reminder that "Bitch, you can turn your dream into reality".

Not much different to sticking a horn on a pretty pony.

Summer in the City: Part 2: Concrete Beach

Let me begin by explaining this horrible two week delay, I am very sorry, but at first I considered this post inapplicable to the current Amsterdam since it started raining heavily a day after the heat. The following weekend I had health issues which got in the way.

So, with the weather having corrected itself once again and all, I will continue my tale of the Summer in Amsterdam.

Having agreed to go to the mysterious Roest, with my first day on a bicycle in the urban jungle, I had no idea of how far the place would be or what would await me there. When someone says “the beach” I assume the sea, so I was little surprised about it being only 20 minutes away by bike. We started cycling through the town across the Amstel. I was behind everyone, feeling quite jumpy at the sight of cars, but fortunately the traffic is gracious on weekends (and practically non-existent on Sundays). We travelled down the route of Tram 10, eventually passing the huge Windmill and the brewery next to it.

Speaking of which, the Brewery there is an absolute treat. I highly recommend it for any beer connoisseur, for prices and selection.

We turned left from the windmill and straight down the long picturesque road, until everybody started turning left again into an enormous, deserted parking lot, behind which you can see and old, rusted, loading dock. In the dusty heat, rust and cawing of a murder of crows I started to wonder on what exactly I was being dragged into.

We reached a crowded bicycle parking area where we all chained our bikes into pairs (safer that way!) and walked straight to the rusted loading dock. I noticed metal clumps on stands and tastelessly welded, illegible sign above a graffiti-masked shack, and two laid back surfer dudes chilling outside, smoking. As it turns out “Roest” literally means “Rust” in Dutch.

It was a Hipster Urban Beach Bar. I saw a girl walk by with a dance hoop, and later found out the place hosts music festivals and artisan events and sales. The old warehouse is also utilised. Together the bar is used as an exhibition space, theatre and a concert hall?! I'm 300% sure it hosts the occasional rave parties to top this off. We walked into the shack to get drinks. The establishment had wide collection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and a menu of mouth-watering lunch offers. On the other side of the shack was an exit to a man-made beach on the dock.

Young, beautiful people were strewn all over the white sand in their swimwear. There were also some children there. We rolled out our towels on the sand and started chatting.

The place isn't too noisy, making it a perfect conversation environment. Further from where we were seated there are hammocks and sunbeds available. Next to them you can find a tarzan swing into the water, there are also less active access points to the water, but the hysterical laughter and splashes seem like a better idea. There are also shower facilities and what I like to call “foot-desandifying places” at hand. I sat watching all these beautiful Dutch creatures in their natural habitat, thinking “My GOD, these people are gorgeous”!

All that being said, the place is clean and comfortable during the day.

If you are like me and don't enjoy urban swimming environments as much as their wilder counterparts, you can still find yourself wanting to join the splashy fun. If you are not convinced, you can still enjoy an ice cold beer in the super laid-back environment on those surprisingly hot days. Since it's pretty damn close to the city centre, it doesn't need feverish planning in order to commute there. I will definitely take all my international guests there to unwind after a series of museum visits.

Their website has an abundance of photos and news of events, so check it out.

 

And no, I don't get paid to promote anything, otherwise I'd post more often... HAH.

Summer in the City: Part 1: Cycling in Amsterdam

Finally! The summer returned to this rainy city, and it returned with a vengeance.
Yesterday morning I woke up in pool of sweat as the sun was precisely aiming to bounce off my windowsill and roast me at 6 in the morning. A nice change to last week, when everybody agreed that Holland migrated to hang out in the Southern hemisphere this year.

The Bicycle Adventure

In the kitchen, my housemate suddenly asked if I wanted to go to Vondelpark with her to laze in the sun with some friends. Vondelpark is an enormous park in the middle of Amsterdam where you can find most of the city on the rare warm weather days, on the rest of the days you will find runners and cyclists. It is definitely a place to visit in Amsterdam, it has a few cafes, bars and even a theatre within it, and is very popular for barbecues and group meetup events. I quickly agreed and then she asked if I'd like to use her second bike to get there.
Here's the deal, since a car accident at the end of last summer, I had already decided that traffic and I will just have to live separate lives. I have been walking and using trains/trams all year. There are plenty of bike/scooter bike/motorbike and bike/car accidents here, one very brutal one occurred outside our office last month, where a colleague had to drag a cyclist from under an unsuspecting truck. The details of that event freaked the remaining sanity out of me for a while. However, all of Amsterdam is still cycling.
Since we arrived, the said housemate learned how to ride a bike and without any hesitation joined the majority of the city's residents in pedalling to work, while I have been cycling since I was a 4 years old and felt like a darn coward. So I agreed. She told me it was a bike her sister was using when she visited, and since we are about the same height it should be perfect for me, but alas, same hight does not mean same leg length, her sister has model proportions.
Outside, the sun beat mercilessly, and we had donned our bikinis and summer dresses for the road. It took me 5 very graceless minutes to unlock two chains and get the bicycle out of the designated parking rack where some bikes stand for years, forgotten or damaged and abandoned, but catching on your brake cables every way they can.
It was after I accidentally flashed my bright blue bikini crotch while getting onto the obscenely tall bike, did a kind, Dutch gentleman point out that although the bike is a "men's" bike (straight, sporty frame as opposed to the "women's" curved frame bike) and slightly too big for me, but he can lower the seat further (news to me and my housemate who believed that the seat was at its complete lowest). He also pointed out the chain was loose and the brakes were too tight, so he quickly fixed it up, while I went back upstairs to put some shorts on to save my remaining dignity.
The reason the bike was in such terrible condition is because most bikes in Amsterdam are stolen and resold numerous times, so by the time my housemate's sister came to buy it for 20 euros it probably had a long list of abusive owners, including a few drug addicts (another reason why they are sold for 10 to 20 euros).
After the neighbour lowered the seat I was amazed by what a huge difference a couple of millimetres did for me! I could actually cycle now! With my housemate ahead of me, a hundred metres from our starting point, a taxi almost hit me (cyclists and taxis natural enemies in the city), but all was well, we peddled away. I stuck to the right side of the cycling path to let the small scooters and faster cyclists past. It was important to stay aware of them and the wandering tourists who do not differentiate cycling paths to pedestrian paths, which is why having a bell is vital. Cycling lanes also have designated traffic lights at crossings with very short time lapses. When turning at these crosses it is vital to cross tram tracks diagonally, as they are perfectly sized for getting your wheel stuck and possibly bending it (not even mentioning the danger of trams).
We successfully got to Vondelpark, where the cyclist traffic is much higher on a Saturday than it is on the streets, once again, the bell comes useful in the dreamy, serene environment where visitors get distracted by art installation and the birds of Amsterdam.
We locked our bikes on a single lock and sprawled out at the side of a pond to relax and enjoy the weather. After an hour of sunbathing, the girls suggested we go to the Roest. I had no clue what that was but agreed because I was excited to test my new found urban cycling ability.

Amsterdam Shabamsterdam. The Move.

As I mentioned previously, I have moved my butt to Holland/The Netherlands/Kingdom of Pancakes.

This move happened as suddenly and as thoughtlessly as all my previous relocations. Got an opportunity and grabbed it. I followed my disbelieving routine and until I saw the Bombardier Q400, that was to fly me to Schipol Airport, with its adorable propellers, I doubt that any of that information sunk in.
For the first two nights I stayed in the historical centre of Amsterdam, overlooking a canal. The weather was warm (it's actually psychotic) and the people were friendly. I find it important to state because, aside from the fact that the vast majority of Dutch residents of Amsterdam speak (perfect) English, there can be a cultural barrier. People come back with very mixed views from Amsterdam, claiming that people are either rude or the perfectly friendly hosts. It's sort of both. I find that when it comes to customer services, don't expect much ass-kissery as a foreigner. Amsterdam is a city with the highest nationality count residing here, and tourists are mainly here for the weed and the Red Light district. So the Amsterdam-Dutch are generally not bothered to deal with you and your demands as a customer with a forced smile and politeness. That being said, the other side of this coin is it is usually very easy to start talking to people and be upfront. I genuinely hate complaining or asking blunt questions in restaurants or shops because I like being polite and have a thing about fearing to hurt someone's feelings. Here there is no problem because folks are completely grounded and there is an air of realism to them. This is obviously nothing more than a personal observation.
Anyway.
The centre was a great place to stay at for the first few days. As usual, I had no problem transitioning to the new location. This is mainly because of the boats outside my window. I love anything and everything to do with boats and still write dreamy poetry when passing various canals on my way to work. Every single day. The following week I had moved (or rather, "have been relocated") into an area known as the Pijp (full of restaurants and small shops, across the street from the biggest market in the city). The scary part was moving in with the other female interns, then diving head first into a workload I only thought existed in movie montages, in films like The Devil Wears Prada. After I'd finish working on whatever jobs were assigned to me during the day, I'd stay late working on my degree project. I would come home from the office so late that my lovely housemates had a theory that I was actually out having affairs with older men.
No, I don't understand it either.
It was stressful and coming home to such elaborate gossip was just alienating. Fortunately, I ended up building a stronger bond with my work team and finished my degree far better than I had expected myself to! I believe that the geometrical facades of the buildings, the abundance of trees and the cinematic composition of the city and its people kept me far too inspired to give up on anything, even when they days were ridiculously taxing. Aside from bachelors and romantically adventurous couples, Amsterdam is the perfect city for European workaholics!

Until quite recently, I hadn't been able to walk about and get lost in the city, but I started jogging again and had guests over, and as we all know, guests and jogging are the best way to force yourself to explore the city you live in... Or at least come face to face with how little you know about the city you live in...


Stay tuned.

Did I mention Amsterdam?

Yeah, I moved again.

Fashion Internship

I am a third year student studying Illustration and Animation at Coventry University. During my final year I have applied and been accepted for a 6 month internship at Calvin Klein Accessories in Amsterdam. I have now been here for three months whilst simultaneously working on and successfully completing my degree. "I work well under pressure" is a common line used in personal statements, without really believing it I found out how to make the “pressure” work for you:

1. Doing things that might not make sense at the time.
A few months ago I left my tutor's office in tears of self-pity. I was completely convinced I was going to fail the year because I didn't know what to do with my skills, and freelancing straight after university seemed like the right road to a hungry death.

A large portion of the students around me had such clear vision of what they wanted and how they would go about getting it. I was stuck in the kind of rut the other portion of students get stuck in; tunnel vision of the final year being a final verdict to your career and future.
Around the same time a friend of mine started bombarding me with ideas of a fashion design internship. I am a complete nerd,  and as far removed from fashion as possible, however, out of sheer frustration with my situation I applied, not really believing my overly friendly email and an online portfolio would get a response.

2. What you lack in skill can be made up for in enthusiasm.
It did. A few days later I was having a Skype interview with a Creative Director of Calvin Klein Accessories. It wasn't until I heard the Skype ringtone that the excitement kicked in. So I answered and spoke to hear with the kind of enthusiasm that a potential employer wants to see. She'd seen my work and believed I had an interesting and applicable variety of skills, but was not entirely convinced it would be useful for fashion, so she had HR take my case to see what to do with me.
The next morning I received a test project brief asking to design two handbags and make technical illustrations for them.

3. Ask everyone help you. Some people might actually do it!

That week I barely slept because I was so unbelievably excited. I ate, drank and breathed fashion research and sketches. Although at first I was shy of asking for help, I confided in a few lectures in particular and was astonished at the support and information they ended up providing me! They helped me stay grounded and provided materials and insights that would have been difficult to find on the internet. I've met and had become closer and more knowledgeable about the people around me and the departments I didn't even know existed in the university! It was a thrill. I finally submitted the Calvin Klein assigned project on the night of the deadline, although I believed it was already too late.

4. Don't be a drama queen.

It's just wasted emotional effort. Trust me.
It was a nerve-wrecking week of waiting (it seemed like a month, honestly). I went back to my routine of self-pity and assuming the worst, because nobody was responding, which must have meant that I didn't get my internship. And here was my dramatic end (yeah, never mind the whole degree that I still had to work on!).

One fine morning, the longest week later, as I was preparing breakfast, I received a phone call asking if I was available for 6 months starting April 1^st. Two weeks after that, I had moved Amsterdam and started working.

5. Get down and dirty.

I am currently assisting the Men's Accessories Designer. Only a few days into my internship we were working late at the office preparing a concept presentation to send off to New York, this was when the reality of the workload I had got myself into really hit home. People are people and depending on their work environment, they might need to work more than expected. If you want to get the most out of your work environment, you have to integrate by working as hard as the hardest worker in the room. Not only do you get the most out of your time, but you get the priceless respect from your colleagues. After all, I'm a new person in the team, and at first it was a little bit like Mean Girls (sitting all alone, eating the saddest sandwich, looking miserable.), that has changed drastically since the realisation that I would not leave anyone in need of help if I could provide it, whether it's last minute product photograph retouches, or compiling 26 page PDF presentations, or even popping down to the supermarket to get chocolates for everyone. Chocolates and Adobe Illustrator skills get you far!

6. Personal work becomes fun!?

Everyone I asked knew what I meant when I started saying that going home, sitting down in front of the computer and keeping on working on your university projects, becomes phenomenally enjoyable relaxation time. In my case, I was illustrating my own little graphic novel. After the increase in speed of work at the office, my university project sped up. My biggest concern had solved itself. On top of that, I was so inspired by my move to Amsterdam, I did an unplanned triptych of travel posters. The graphic novel and the posters are going to be a part of New Designers 2014 exhibition in London, along with the top students of my year, of whom I never dreamed of being listed with.

However, this would not have been possible without friends and lecturers helping organise these things on location. My boyfriend and a few students kept me updated on how the plans for the degree show were developing and all the things I needed to provide to them for its preparation.

The biggest challenge was being self-organised in the little time I had as I continuously switched between fashion-product design work and university projects that were driven by fantasy and personal narrative.

7. It's okay to dare a little more...

When I first heard  that an internal demonstration video was to be made, I kinda got excited and exaggerated my existing knowledge about video production. I didn't lie! I just made my experience seem more profound than it was. I have never had such an up close opportunity to get involved in video production before, so it seemed like a great chance to get myself participating in the project. I ended up doing the storyboard for the first half of the video along with the actual brief for the video team and photographers, and it was greatly appreciated! So much so, that everyone demanded my presence on all of the days filming the bags took place. Now this video has become a much bigger project for me, and definitely a great thing to put on my CV!

Now, I don't know how this internship will play out for me in the end, but I know that it has helped me finish university and break out of the rut I was in.

It made me a lot stronger and capable in my fields of expertise, provided me with an amazing opportunity to live in a new country and meet quite a few like-minded people! Another vital part of this experience is that an intern has the luxury of having the opportunity to participate in an active work environment while still having the freedom to choose whether that specific route is definitely the one you want to continue following. For me, this has meant a safe way to practice my existing skills, ground my work and experience an industry without being fully committed.

 

Genuine Human Reactions.

I frequently find myself thinking about how I behave in public. I like to ponder over my reactions and why is it so damn difficult for me to not make faces and laugh at my own horrible puns.

Sometimes I find myself trying to fit into this grown-up world and attempt contact with human females like myself. I butt into a typical female conversation and then stand there. Smiling. Wondering whether I can make an input. After a while of standing and grinning awkwardly, agreeing and nodding I retreat back to my all-male company and wonder WHY.

Why?

Because, I always wanted to get in touch with that girlie girl that once lived in my head but eventually migrated to my kidneys or something, and I went on building tree houses, reading goosebumps and getting into fights with bullies, then fishing, video games and target practice took over the schedule and I haven't spoken to her since. I'm sure she used to wonder how I'm doing, but it's been so long... It would be silent and awkward.
So, on a rare and exotic occasion I find myself exclusively in a group of girls and they start trying to include me into their conversation.
Next thing I know the alpha female of this pack is talking to me and then she starts sharing her ideas of a dress. Grandma can buy a dress for Christmas. A knitted dress, but like, with a zip on the back? And pockets? Yeah. Tight, knitted dress with pockets.
At which point my mind caves in and I just nod away.
Weeks later, I can sit reading historical war fiction, and sometimes I ponder over what the hell are these female interactions really about... Surely not dresses? It's got to be code.

Back to University.

Being back in Coventry after Italy is strange. It's hard to believe this is the same planet and the same species of human that roam around here.

Look, well-dressed Italians out and about! (image from article on Bologna flea markets https://decoratorsnotebook.wordpress.com/tag/flea-market-bologna/)

And then we have... these.

Yeeaaaah, girl!

Wonder where my inspiration is gone?

Budapest is da beeeest

I feel like whenever we visit new destinations we habitually try to relate them to something we know or have already seen before. Something we can relate to, that way we do not lose our ground and venture forth with more confidence than, let's say, you would on the moon.
Budapest fell into a twisted recognition because it reminded me of my hometown, Kiev. The pre-war French architecture and wide streets and the huge river splitting the city into two parts, the deep green hills and proud monuments. It was what Kiev would have been had it been under Austrian or French influence, instead of Soviet. That being said, Communists had their time in Hungary and it is prominent in some parts of the city. Same as Bologna.

We arrived at the Budapest airport on Saturday and went straight to a touristy information booth where we were very pleasantly surprised by tourist travel cards. Wonderful little things that allow you free travel on any public transport and give you free admission to a number of the popular museums and galleries and thermal baths in town and discounts on practically everything else.
Recommended!

After getting to our hotel and being informed that our room isn't ready for check in, mother and I ventured to find food.
Hungary is famous for a lot of food, most of which is meat-based, giving my delusional pescetarian-inclined nature a hard time... for about 5 minutes. After that I ordered a goulash soup and returned to the predator state which I fight like the good-natured monster I am.
The Goulash is a thick, fatty, soup with chunks of meat (normally beef, sometimes venison) and veg and a good load of paprika. Very hearty medieval meal.
Another popular dish from the Austria-Hungarian ages is the famous Strudel.

Here's my very tired mother enjoying one of the various cherry strudels I ordered everywhere I went.

 Sadly by the time we checked into our hotel room and made a rush for the National Gallery it was already closing time for most cultural sites. So we wondered around the old castle area and admired the elevated view of the Pest side of Budapest.
Quick information fill:

Budapest is split by the Danube river into primarily two districts Buda and Pest, which were originally two separate cities.
Buda is the landscape-y historical district, apparently more expensive and as I heard someone say "where the blue-bloods reside". For us, tourists: this is where the Castle is and the central galleries and museums are.
Pest is the city district, here lies the glorious Parliament building, it is more busy with locals and shops, and somehow on an absolutely flat terrain.
The areas have been united in the late 1800s.

View from the Buda Castle stairs. I'm not always blocking it, mind you.

Mom at the Matthias Fountain.

The main figure in the fountain's composition is King Matthias, an interesting historical figure who brought the Italian renaissance to Hungary. Except he's actually interesting because he also happened to be a lavishly-living, alcoholic playboy who gained popularity for allegedly dressing in "commoner" disguises and mingling with locals to stay aware of current social situations. Something modern politicians should try once in a while, IMHO.

Second day we wandered around town, finally getting to the galleries. Then we got lost in the rain and hunted wild strudels. Yum!

Monday (the last day), museums were closed and our card was expiring after lunch, so we took a morning walking tour of the Castle District led by a fantastic guide named Tom. Mom and I both loved the tour, but my mother wanted to go shopping and I couldn't join because my transport card expired minutes before and although the tours are free the evening tours involve some use of public transport... So I couldn't continue the journey with our lovely group and Tom the Tour Guide.

But hey, I got me some shoes.

Last but not least we ventured forth into a sweet little place called Sir Lancelot Knights' Restaurant, a mediaeval themed place where each portion is a feast and there's a jester and live music going on... First impression is a bit iffy, but when the belly is full and the atmosphere sinks in, you might as well be a Game of Thrones character at a wedding-feast............. y'know? The NON-Red kind of wedding?

Moving forward.

I can't believe I'm no longer in Italy. My mind has been so occupied with the move and getting a new job, quitting the new job, yoga and attempts in gardening, that only while packing a suitcase and sorting iPhone photos was it that I realised that I lived in Italy. People visit it, tourist about and leave, I had a deep and meaningful relationship with Italy.

Today I'm leaving for Budapest, Hungary with my mother. Let's see how that goes! Honestly, I can't wait to see a new location.

Arte Fiera

Living in Bologna makes it seem that Italy is obsessed with fairs, exhibitions and expos. All for good reason, it's the most aesthetic country through and through.
Every February Bologna holds one of the biggest modern art fairs in Europe featuring all types of contemporary works from classical paint-on-canvas to dynamic installations with ferrofluid.

The tickets are expensive but provide a weekend pass for every museum in town.

The exhibition has overwhelming numbers of artists, many of which are internationally renown, and a large number of Italian names. Some of the artists linger amidst the crowd hearing into the comments and feedback.

First installation in the lobby.

One of my favourite pieces.

 At first glance you don't even notice the minature projection, you are attracted by the whispering coming from the installation.

One of the most shocking pieces to catch the corner of your eye.

Creative.

I was invited to lunch by one of my Erasmus friends - Onyee. She did somehow forget to mention that it was a home-made lunch at her Chinese friends' apartment with another seven guests!
At first, I felt a little bit awkward amongst so many strangers, walking to the other side of town, not knowing who to start a conversation with and what about...
The awkwardness lasted until we arrived to this girl's house, then we saw this in the kitchen.

We are very hungry students.

Lucia was still making more and more of these beautiful, meat-stuffed breads (they didn't let me refer to them as dumplings, because "it's different dough"), she also kindly taught all the volunteers how to make them.

An explanation about stuffing types.

 All eight of us helped where we could.

After boisterously eating at least half of the contents on the table, getting a pepsi induced sugar rush and laughing ourselves to tears the group cleared the table and lunch turned into a crafting group.

Uncannily looking like a bunch of terrorists at work with Pepsi.

Melding thin wires to make puppet faces!

It turned out that most of the students there are studying illustration and comics and working on an online magazine. They invited me to participate the making of puppets for their upcoming stop motion animation. Based on a Chinese play called The Injustice to Dou E, or Snow in Midsummer. About a woman framed for murder by an evil man, who was originally seeking to marry her (logic). After the woman is executed there is heavy snowfall in the midst of a hot summer.

Their magazine and examples of some of their breathtaking work can be found here.
I'm proud to say I've contributed a puppet head to their noble cause before going home to work on some sketches of my own!

Milan Milano

I usually travel through Milano when going to Bergamo airport, but I have never explored the city. Mother and I arrived in the morning, and successfully got into a fight again because she thought I was getting us lost. After harassing a couple of stranger, mom once again admitted defeat and we found our bus.
After checking in at Timbucktu Inn (Just kidding! It was "Hotel Majorca" which is a bus ride away from the centre) we decided to check out the biggest Cathedral in Italy and have a cappuccino while doing so.
We took a bus back to the town centre and oh just so happened to stumble into Guess and try on half of their collection... Since we were planning on going Outlet Shopping the next day, we didn't buy anything. Neither me nor my mom had a sufficient meal that day so we started searching for a decent bar (local word for coffee bar) with fresh pasteries and cappuccinos without extraterrestrial prices.
It was harder than we imaged after we wasted another 40-something minutes on it and succumbed to one that turned out pretty decent. We ran into a similar problem when we were looking for breakfast around the main bus station. Hard to beat Bologna with that, really. More about that in the Bar post.

The great Milano Duomo

Eventually this glorious thing appeared. The pointy Gothic architecture is intricately decorated with lacy, marble statues of saints, angels and demons on every corner and protrusion.
Entrance is free (as it is most churches in Italy, but places like Pisa may charge), excluding a swift security scan. When we went in there was a service being preformed, since I'm from the Godless Communist State I know little about religions in general and less so about Catholicism. It wasn't Sunday mass because it was small and after lunch and it was not Sunday.

Smoke from a service that was happening at the time.

The most mesmerising thing about the building is the gigantic stained glass installation and white-marble sarcophagi built into the floor annotating every date and owner. This is common in many places in Italy.
The smell of myrrh and all the pretty glass had me distracted...

One of the many stained glass windows.

Until my mother pointed out this fella...

preserved archbishop 1

At first glance you don't even realise these are actual corpses. Italian Catholic love of the macabre sure send the point home when you see the withered skin on the statues' hands and loose, wisps of white hair on grey-brown skin under the silver death mask. As I was leaning in to take some photos I overheard some American tourist complaining that such things should not be displayed to the public and smiled to myself thinking they're new here.

preserved archbishop 2... See the hands?

Milan is a city well-balanced in it's Italian-ism and International-ism. It's very modern, but very aesthetic in it's Italian ways. Fashion models roam the streets like safari animals and business men argue over espressos during coffee breaks. It's an inspiring environment.

Verona

Oh Verona...
Some will recognise the name from Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet", "Taming of the Shrew" or "Two Gentlemen from VERONA", others might recall it thanks to that terribly sappy film Letters to Juliet, some might not remember where the hell they've heard the name before.

Although the city holds Italy's third largest amphitheatre and is generally an absolutely gorgeous place Verona somehow generally rides on the attention it got from Shakespeare's description and adopts a romantic façade to all its landmarks. In contrast to Bologna's medieval red brick structures she flaunts one of the biggest white marble piazzas in the country and sports beautiful white arches.

My mother and I arrived at our Bed and Breakfast after squabbling at the train station about which bus to take. The Bed and Breakfast was very easy to find (had my topographically handicapped mother initially accepted to follow my lead) sitting right next to Piazza Bra. We headed upstairs to find a lovely lady who didn't speak any English introduce us to our room. We left our bags in the room and I immediately went to enquire about a restaurant the hostess could suggest for us to attend for lunch. I made a strong emphasis on how it shouldn't be too touristy and perhaps know their wine.

Tourist restaurants are the worst. They count on one time visits so they don't try to impress anyone with quality of food. The staff is generally friendly and welcoming, but ingredients are terrible and the dishes are generally over-priced.

She nodded understandingly and went to fetch a map for us. She then pointed out Osteria Casa Vino
which is situated across the road from the Castelvecchio. After a beautiful lunch and great wine we were so impressed we reserved a table for dinner and headed out to the castle!

Gold in Castelvecchio's museum

We then went on to look for Juliet's alleged house. Apparently, it was once an inn that the Italian's have turned into a museum. The balcony of the museum is the famous balcony Romeo climbs to steal a kiss and ladies from all over the world crowd to pay for a photo on it. I don't understand the appeal, since the characters are not only fictional, but reach a very tragic end. Nonetheless... My mom and I went into the courtyard and I had her pose with the Juliet statue. Apparently groping her breast is supposed to bring you all sorts of love and luck.

My mommy looking like a psychopath. <3

We then walked around Verona some more, browsing Piazza delle Erbe, Piazza Signori, but soon it started to rain so I had to stop taking photos and find shelter because mom is still recovering from a virus and sinusitis. Mom insisted we find refuge in the shops and try on all possible clothes. It was then that we realised eating all that pasta didn't do us much good. So when returning back to dinner I got experimental and ordered the seasonal Italian dish of zucchini flowers.

Stuffed with ricotta.

We head to Milan next morning.

My Mother's arrival...

If you are receiving guests - expect bad weather.
After living in Bologna for almost 8 months on an Erasmus exchange program, my mother calls me up and announces she has booked Ryanair tickets to come visit me. For the 7 of the 8 months that I have been here it had rained, snowed, hailed and the the wind had given me rashes and breakouts on dried skin. Until a few weeks ago when the skies turned blue and beautiful and the sun allowed the cold-whipped trees to dress up in green again. I am overwhelmed to receive my guest in the new lovely city who's beauty I'm discovering in a new light, so when it starts pouring buckets from the sky, I get pretty disappointed.

Most of the city's pedestrian paths are large marble walkways built into the buildings, harbouring cafés, bars and shops, therefore you're mostly avoiding rain under these arcs and window-shopping as you do so. But to see the architecture and appreciate the city you have to emerge and look up and all around you which can prove difficult in certain weather for technical reasons. This doesn't apply to every city but I feel this way about Bologna.

Mother arrives at Bologna Centrale at a little past midnight, which means she gets to witness the homeless and the drunk students camping out around the station in all their glory, her first impression is a little hazy because she's tired and confused by hitting up three locations in one day.
We take her to her hotel and check her in. The one star Pansione Marconi for a wooping €50 per person a night, breakfast not included. The man at the night reception desk is reluctant to greet us and doesn't bother speaking English until we check her in, then he warns me in perfect English that I'm only allowed fifteen minutes up in the room. That is how you learn Italian. The room is tiny, minimally clean with two single beds and an ashtray by each, the bathroom is closet-sized with no soap.
Fair enough. It's only for one night.
The next morning I come to check my mother out and I'm greeted by a much more cheerful and polite individual who calls to her room and is generally more excited to help out with the check out. The morning is sunny and we decide to head to the next destination, leave my mother's luggage and find a cosy café for the classic Italian breakfast consisting of a cappuccino and brioche. My mother's next lodgings are located in a much more central part of town next to one of Bologna's best gelaterias "Gelateriagianni".
I have discovered this particular Bed and Breakfast in a serendipitous occasion of arriving to the city months earlier with very heavy bags, subsequently having the wheels break off and not knowing where to stay. I then walked into a random travel agency (literally the first door I saw) to find an English speaking lady with a cousin who owned a B&B. Cristina Rossi is one of the most pleasant hostesses I have ever encountered, with well priced, clean and antique stacked rooms she proved to be very helpful then and now. My mother being a hard-to-impress Russian lady was very pleased with Cristina's hospitality. She charged €40 per night in high season, breakfast included, free wifi, bathroom necessities and central location.
Unfortunately the room is available for only two days and it just doesn't seem fair wasting so much money on Bologna when there is so much to see in North Italy.
Thus my Cross-Italy-Adventuring begins...

Look what I've found!

Tips For Surviving Your Year Abroad (painfully tried and tested)

Three started out on this journey, one escaped because survival is a battle and the heart wasn't in it. Many people I know escaped in the first month of being on the Year Abroad program. There are many reasons behind it. By all means, I've had my fair share of tearfully crying about wanting to go home to mommy and so on. Except, my mommy is Russian and doesn't put up with the whole charade. So I stayed and powered through and now I don't think I want to go home yet! I've thought about all my mistakes and all things that helped me along the way and I will share with you my very summarized wisdom.

Are You Really Ready?

Are you ready to let the rest of your course graduate without you? Will you miss your friends? Can they come visit? Is it the first time away from home? Are you ready to meet new people? To boast about the best adventure of your life?

If all of the answers are yes, you will have a jolly old time! It will be hard at times, but thankfully we have the glorious internet to keep us all attached at the hip. Not many people enjoy their first couple of months/weeks because everything is strange and new. Only through Facebook did it really sink in that most of my coursemates are completing their studies and moving on with their life, while I'm being left behind! Then I turned around and realised they are writing dissertations and I'm drinking cappuccinos and stuffing my face with fresh brioches before laid back lectures/classes/workshops with my new professors. As an art student I get a break from the curriculum and get to try new things guilt free, because IT'S ALL A PART OF MY INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

Don't Expect To Be Babysat

Harsh but true. People arrive to International Programs expecting to be catered and taken care of. You will receive a certain amount of help, but don't expect to be lead by the hand. Some universities offer accommodation, some do not. Most do not. When filling in application forms for Bologna we were asked if we will require accommodation and we assumed it would be handed to us. Paperwork, documents, studies, jobs and so on are your role. You're an adult now... So go pay your adult bills for your adult apartment and get adult drunk with your new adult friends.

First thing you need to know as an adult is how to barge into any building and demand attention and acquire assistance. Then go get wasted, lectures start late anyway.

Making Friends with the Locals

You will befriend most of your Erasmus group in the University, we all realised we were on the same boat and now we have friends all over the world and within just a few months we became best buds. This happens and it's awesome. Sometimes enthusiastic Anglophiles may approach you and befriend you in hopes of practising their English, that can work into a beautiful friendship as well!

However, people come from different cultures and can respond differently. I once heard a tourguide explain to American tourists in Rome “If someone pushes in line in front of you in a shop, it's nothing personal.” and how true that is. In my case study, many of my co-adventurers are bewildered by how rude Italians can be in costumer services and how forward the men can be in flirting. The culture is different here, people generally seem to have a higher level of self-confidence and do not repress emotions. I spent a day sulking because my landlady yelled at us for taking up the internet speed, not because she's mean, she's an amazing lady who brings us cakes when she bakes, but she had just returned from work and the kids were screaming and all she wanted was some quality time with her interwebz. Now we knew.

If the lady at the counter in a supermarket is having a bad day, you'll know that too. If someone on your course can't be bothered to speak English to you... You will know. Which inadvertently leads me to my next point...

Learn the Language

I  experienced a prolonged brain fart and somehow assumed I'd download and install Italian into my brain for free upon arrival to Italy. I had some Intermediate classes and thought I was good to go throughout the Summer prior to arriving in Italy.

Don't be an idiot like me. Do not assume it will be easy, it might or it might not. In the case of “not” you are basically sabotaging your own pace of progress in your new country. It's not impossible to navigate without the language, but it sure as hell doesn't work in your favour when it comes to finding cheaper stays, making friends and general day by day life. Because not only are you a student, you're a foreigner. That means some will want to take advantage of you in your panicky moments of doubt about taking this apartment (because the landlord speaks English) or looking for better priced ones.

There are plenty of free Italian courses online, same as there are of any language. The best attitude is to live and breathe the language, get yourself obsessed. Introduce yourself to basic grammar and start watching films and picking up words and phrases. You'll have a basic understanding in no time.

Research the City

Something I never wanted to do because I didn't want to get my hopes up. I wanted to know as little as possible to be as amazed as possible! I wanted my dreadful expectations to succumb to a beautiful reality that is the city in this glorious country with such an antique history!

Sweep me off my feet, Bologna, I'm yours!

...It's not an antique city, it's very industrial, it has relatively British weather for most of the year and it looks grimy compared to Rome or Venice or Florence... It's not a tourist city aimed to please the eye! It's filled with students from all over the country because the University of Bologna and the Accademia di Belle Arti is situated bang in the centre.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm saying I expected to be in Tourist wonderland and I came to a real place with real Italian students in real Northern Italy. At first I was largely disappointed, now I realise that this is the real deal. This is how the real people live! Had I read anything about it, I wouldn't have gotten upset in the first place and wasted time moping around when I could be getting active!

Get ProActive!

It seems like the most tempting thing to do when moving somewhere new is get scared and shut yourself away for recovery. I don't know why this happened, but many of us ended up being saved by the more active attentive students who were not effected by the process of moving and demanded that we all travel and do things together and didn't take no for an answer when they were inviting large groups of people for drinks. This is how we all became more comfortable and started reaching out.

However, if such folk are nowhere to be found you can take on the role yourself. Be it by approaching those other confused and bewildered looking students in the corridor or growing a pair and taking day trips by train.

Plan those trips! Explore!

I have only recently found that there are some absolutely gorgeous little streets right under my current living area. How do I know? I decided to go to a coffee bar across town and got off route by challenging myself to taking a turn into a creepy empty street called “Bocca di Lupo”. My friend Brooke was so tired of the bad weather that she booked herself a trip to Fuerteventura for a week. Alone. She met a bunch of people there and had a wonderful time. She also frequently travels alone because she's from the States and doesn't know when she'll get another chance of doing it, so she doesn't wait for volunteers. Most American students travel alone and frequently use www.couchsurfing.com for adventure accommodation.

I frequently visit historical sites in south of Italy thanks to my great-aunt and I will be doing a cross-country backpacking trip with a close friend from my home University.

Your study program offers a wide arrangement of organised events that you NEED to attend to get out there and start living!

Basically...

Be a hero of your own legend, reward your every step no matter how small it may seem, it's difficult. No doubt about it. But in the end you'll live no matter what, it's rewarding to say you did what not many others dared try!