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[02 Jul 2009|09:57pm] |
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trying on wedding dresses incredible fun!!!
I am so excited :))
Tried some ni Amsterdam, Washington, more locations to come :))
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| wedding |
[23 Jun 2009|05:54pm] |
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My dear girlfriends, and eventually boyfriends I need your help and advice with the wedding!!!
I need a photographer, videographer and make up articst in Ko Samui, Thailand, what do you think of the following 2 photographers:
http://bluehorizonsamui.com/
http://www.fantasyatwork.com/index.htm
Do you know anyone who makes wedding make up and hair on Ko Samui??
I need nice suggestions about the text of wedding invitations in Ukrainian
We also need suggestions for the wedding woves in Ukrainian and how to combine both Ukrainian and Engnish script nicely??
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| Holidays |
[22 Jun 2009|09:56pm] |
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After long and tiring search we 99% decided on the destination for the Xmass holidays this year: Sri Lanka. You better comment within 30 min, as I will start booking flights :)
I wanted to go to Myanmar. But it is not clear how ethical is that. On the one hand you see places not many people see, help locals to get richer by spening money, and its very intriguing. On the other hand the best parts of Myanmar are forbidden to access, and lot of spent money actually goes to the government, whom i do not intend to support. And then again, i'd love to see this country stuck in history... anyways, decided againt Myanmar.
Then I wanted Iran, but so strongly! By the way, if anybody wants to join me, I am very much in for Iran trip this November for example. (I have lots of holidays to spend) Fascinating place is attracting me since ages. But iran although attractive in general, was not the top choice of ym fiancee.
Then Turkey, cz nice, exotic, and close to Ukraine, so can combine with visit home.
But at the end of the day choice has fallen on Sri Lanka. Probably a good place for both exploring anr relaxing after a hard worked year, nice place for a coupe of adventurers like us, but also has romantic spots. And also relatively small so we can explore a lot without having to travel large amonuts of time, may e even rent a motorbike again, as we did in Vietnam...
So, any comments? I can still change my mind for the next 30 min :))
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[19 Jun 2009|11:41pm] |
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As a part of my China emmersion experience I visited a chinese doctor. I must say they are trying to be extreemly helpful. They did not speak english, so they tolerated my very very bad mandarin, but then called a hairdresser from next door to translate :)
I was most scared they would give me to eat dry turtle. It is becasue when you visit chinese herbalist, you cna see all sort of roots, herbs, but also animal parts that are used to cure stuff. And the scariest thing i saw there was a dry turtle :)
well, they did give me something that contans snake...
But also they gave me the saddest restriction: no potatoes :((( while potato is my most favourite food in the world, just the other day i was planning to buy and cook some potatoes at home (that, given that we never ever cook at home!!) What am i gonna do without potato ?!!
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[16 Jun 2009|02:52pm] |
My Globe Map Legend: 17%, 45 of 263 Territories  Visited  Candidate for our Xmass  Lived in |
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| Cambodian Tuktuk |
[12 Jun 2009|03:04pm] |
today I used the most exciting way to get to work ever! You know how in Bangkok we use tuk tuk... So today i was in Cambodian capital and office car did not arrive to pick me up. I had to take a cambodian tuk tuk, that looks much more broken then the famous thai one. And i had this most exciting journey through streets of Phnom Penh, among local bikes, cars, other tuktuks, observing and breezing in the local life. We got lost and it took us longer and i was almos late for the video conference i was running for the region, but what an exciting adventure, and that is just to get to work...
Dont i just love my job :))
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[08 Jun 2009|09:47am] |
“There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.”
— Robert Lynd
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[06 Apr 2009|11:04pm] |
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looks like the dilema that was gonig on for several months now is coming to resolution: our wedding will be in Thailand.
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| Places I have never been to |
[23 Mar 2009|08:56am] |
Never been to
Map Legend: 84%, 222 of 263 Territories
 Shortly travelling to Would not find on the map :$  Would find on the map
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| news |
[06 Feb 2009|03:28pm] |
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To say I am overwhelmed is to say nothing.
So lot of people are asking me to tell the story about what job and how did i get it. The story is a special one. I have to write about that for sure.
But now i'd like to write about my 1st days here.
The head is spinning as I am flying to Washington DC tonight and I have never even been to States before. After 1 week in States and 1 day at home I am gonig for a week to Hanoi, Vetnam. And that is only a beginning.
On top of that I was shocked to find that I will be issued a u nited na tions ser vice passport. So in principle holding it I can enter many coutries with no visa if performing a mission (work) in those coutries.
Now I am iternational civil servant. It is even putting some social obligations on me, I better dont write anything stupid in the blog! :)
And my new employer:
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information: ifc dot org
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| New Life |
[23 Jan 2009|09:04am] |
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Today I am saying good bye to my "expat wife" lifestyle. It is the last day I had no job and was in Hong Kong. Tonight we are flying to Malaysia for a holiday and when I return I go to my new work.
So it was the last day I was compeltely free and dedicated to myself only. I wondered around Hong Kong. Love doing that, and there is never enough and you always get lost in new places.
I had a tea-time in Delifrance and treated myself to a big chocolate cake and ate it slow, as !exapt wife" who has nothing to do... And now I have light all the candles in the house, the lantern and the tea lights, put on soft music and am about to do myself a pumpering session with creams, manicure etc...
It is the last day that I have all the time in the world, last day I am 100% relaxed. Las day I can play around.
And to be honest I am quite used to it. And I am a bit afraid of the change.
But ofcourse I am totally happy to become employed again and to start the new life.
Good bye my "expat wife" days :) i enjoyed you, but its time to move on... I am full of hopes and good expectations. And I am sure this new life will be great. And now back to relaxing, for the last time :)
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| Vietnam |
[23 Dec 2008|07:02am] |
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Tomorrow we are flying to Vietnam. A very nice thing about Asian travel is that you can allow yourself to only buy a flight and figure out the rest later. So we will arrive to Saigon tomorrow night and go search for a place to sleep and then we will make the itinerary as we go along. It not that romantic :)?
We are back here in the new year :)
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| Art in Hong Kong |
[19 Dec 2008|03:24am] |
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I think as an art lover I am very lucky to live in Hong Kong. TRADITIONAL CHINESE. Hong Kong is historically Chinese and therefore you can find many forms of traditional Chinese art, such as calligraphy writings, Cantonese opera, Buddhist monasteries, to name just a few. The 10 000 Budda's monastery left a deep impression on me and awakened a big interest in reading on Buddhism and understanding it more. WESTERN. Hong Kong has a 150 history of being a British colony and I think that is why we have a constant flow of visiting European art exhibitions and performances: London Ballet is doing "Alice in the Wonderland" in March and If I was not in New Zealand then, I'd go. We just had a 2 week long French Cienpanorama featuring latest French movies, and currently they are screening series of movies that involve elements of freudism and explore mind (and its twists). We are going to a silent 1929 German movie. MODERN ASIAN. Hong Kong is one of the most advanced, forward thinking Asian cities and this attracts modern Asian artists to Hong Kong. We went to see the selection of best short movies by some Indian art college students, very impressive i must say. The movie ideas were totally different from western short-movie contests but definitely not less impressive.
In February we are seeing a play made by 4 producers: Taiwanese, Thai, Hong Kong and Indonesian, exploring the role of Asian history in modern art.
Last month we saw a verbatium play uncovering the history and reality of Hong Kong building and how it reached its current stage. It was extremely eye opening and we are looking with different eyes on Hong Kong island skyscrapers now. I have never heard of vetbatium theater before, but now i am so fond of it. The only scripts that the actors use, are a live quotes from people interviewed on the topic. I found this to be very impressive and powerful approach to make a play. It feels like Hong Kong is on the cross roads of east and west, past and future, ultra modern and with deep traditional believes. All those unique factors make it a wonderful place to explore and understand world and Asia today through art.
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| The Small World in its most unexpected form |
[17 Dec 2008|03:34am] |
To the subject of small world. I would never expect to find out such encounter in Hong Kong. The other day I attended Asian HR conference with people from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia. It was interesting to notice social styles of those people compared to the Dutch ones.
If you come to the training/ conference/ event in NL, the person who enters the room immediately makes a round to approach everyone, introduces herself with a big smile and loud announcement of her name and assures that she is thrilled to meet the other person. Sometimes she even adds what is she working on.
If you come to the event in Asia, you sit in the corner until you get introduced to everyone by someone else. And the more powerful the person introducing you is, the better. And people do not break into chit chats about the weather and such. So for like 70% of the meeting people were not talking to me as they did not know me. And it is not common for you to go and start talking yourself (culturally). But the last 30% of time the participants felt closer to me and were discussing much more personal topics then weather.
So anyway, this Vietnamese lady approaches me 70% through the event and says: "Ukraine... I've been there this summer, on vacations... in this city tat i cannot pronounce, Kha...Khar... Khar...kov? something like that"
After 3 months here I am used that no one understands what the hell Ukraine is at all. If you say it in English, they hear "UK". IF you say it in Mandarin "Wukelan" they hear "Sukelan" = Scotland... So I was extremely surprised that this lady not only knows Ukraine but has been there on vacations, and why on earth to Kharkiv, from all the beautiful places Ukraine has to offer?
So she tells me that her friend owns a factory there, an instant noodle factory. "MIVINA!!!" - I scream. And she confirms, Yes, MIVINA.
Mivina has been the noodle I’ve eaten all my teenage: in youth camps, on hiking trips, in the student dormitory. And It always saved us in the times of no money. I remember eating Mivina since I was 12 i think. And I always thought that Mivina is a truly Ukrainian product. Well, a 12 year old girl does not know much of world cuisines, so you excuse me for taking noodles to be Ukrainian. These noodles were so dear to me, so precious, so local as well.
So i asked this lady if she is sure that Mivina factory is Vietnamese and not Ukrainian :)? She sayd: "Mi" = "noodles" in Vietnamese, and "Vina" = a short form of "Vietnam", so MIVINA = Vietnamese Noodles"
She told me she loved Ukraine and next summer is going there again. I advised her to go to Kyiv, or another place more beautiful then Kharkiv :)
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| Surprising Hong Kong |
[10 Dec 2008|05:17am] |
Cannot help mentioning Hong Kong's preoccupation with Feng Shui. It is a philosophy about the flows/circulation of energy, but you better google it yourself. Anyway, within this philosophy, (which is very very respected in Hong Kong) you always have to assess whether a flow of energy in a particular building/street/room is favourable, whether the negative spirits are being sent away and whether there is enough space for positive spirits to move around.
I just want to share the extend to which it is taken seriously in Hong Kong. There are a few mega tall buildings in the South side of HK island, that are so tall and wide that they may create a barrier for spirits coming from the sea to move freely. I am not kidding, OK? So the designers made a hole in the middle of those skyscrapers, for ghosts to be able to go through the building rather then stick to its walls.Check this out: |  |
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| Wonderful Hong Kong |
[10 Dec 2008|04:57am] |
I guess i must start posting uder the topic wonderfull Hong Kong, becuase we are so amazed by this place, so in love with it. We have recently discovered thing thing that we called "crazy street". What it is actually, is a restaurant or a few, that put their basic plastic tables right on the street. But no, its nothing like European cafes with tables outside. When you attend this eating place yu really feel like you are in the amrket or some busy chinese neibourhood. The people's windows are right above you and you can see their linnen drying, the cars and minibuses pass by literally 1 meter away from your table. It this particular "crazy street" next to our home they have 2 restaurants and the boarder between their tables is rather wage, but it is very interesting to watch the battle of waitors for customers who are ealkin along the street not realizing that those right tables and those left tables are not from the same venue :) . But anyways the food is just fantastic! Sooo deliciuos. One of the best foods in Hong Kong, and very fresh sea food. The alive sea food is displayed right there so you can pick who will you eat. Although i find it rather difficult to eat that creature that was still crolling a few minutes ago in front of your eyes.
http://picasaweb.google.com/osmoliychuk/HongKong?authkey=akYRJQKL8yM#
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| bla |
[09 Dec 2008|03:21am] |
 
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| A Symphony of Lights |
[18 Nov 2008|08:41am] |
This spectacular multimedia display, already named the "World's Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show" by Guinness World Records, has been further expanded to include 44 buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbour.
The show creates an all-round vision of coloured lights, laser beams and searchlights performing a stunning, unforgettable spectacle synchronised to music and narration that celebrates the energy, spirit and diversity of Hong Kong.
There are five main themes — Awakening, Energy, Heritage, Partnership and the finale, Celebration. On festive days, special pyrotechnic displays launched from the middle of the harbour add extra sparkle to the show. |
For the best view of A Symphony of Lights, take a harbour cruise or head to the waterfront promenades on either side of Victoria Harbour*. The show, organised by the Tourism Commission, is a must-see event on any visit to Hong Kong.
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| trips to China |
[18 Nov 2008|08:33am] |
Some yeears ago I lived wit Chinese roomates and had no idea that would even be connec ted to China.
We went to China this weekend, it was Szhenzhen, the 1st city after Hong Kong/China boarder. 30 years ago there were only rice paddies and now its a booming megapolis...
We are going to China next weekend again :), this time to Guilin to see scenic landscapes of limestone hills.
I hope i can make some more trips in december, may be to some chinese university to improve my chinese... This is such an exciting life. This is exactly what our dream was. To live, to explore, to enjoy, to get surprised. TO ENJOY.
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| wo xue putonghua |
[17 Nov 2008|06:26am] |
Some commentary on Chinese language. Mandarin has some easy things, like no plural form for nouns, no change of verb endings for different subject (I am; you are… etc) Days of the week are simply called 1st day, 2nd day etc; months are called 1st month, 2nd month… But, studying Chinese you can really feel that this culture was isolated from external influence for so long. They do no have 1 single international word. Computer = diannao = electronic brain; telephone = dianhua = electronic talk. Even western names are “transliterated” to Chinese, McDonads = Maidonlao; Paris = Bali… One of the most difficult concepts in mandarin is “measure word”. You cannot refer to number of objects or even use defined objects without it. So you always need to say COPS OF drink, UNITS of apples; ITEMS of books, ITEMS of clothes, PAIRS of pants, etc. they have very many measure words, and each object requires a different one. Fr example there is measure word for flat objects like SHEETS of paper, UNITS of table etc = “zhan”. But book, which is also flat requires a different measure word, “ben” used to identify printed objects. Then goes measure word “tiao” for long and flexible objects, “obviously” it is fish, trousers, corridors. Then goes “ge” for people and “wei” still for people but more polite. “liang” for cars, but a different measure word for private cars… Another measure word for “things with handle” one of which happens to be chair, have no idea where is the handle of a chair. But let me tell you what I hate the most: same word in Chinese usually has very many meanings that you must derive from the context. ! of my books says that the word with most meanings in Chinese has 61 meaning!!!
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