Home

I'm at home...Ready to say these words thousands times to myself and to everybody around. Home, home, home! Almaty is sunny and bright with lots of snow, new law about not-smoking in public places, traffic jams and in New Year mood. My friends are wonderful, kind, warm and happy to see me. Most of them (even AIESECers) became "normal" people with work, husbands or wifes, children, so I experience how life looks like outside of AIESEC :) Family is just family...Mam as always saying that I lost lots of weight in Moscow and look skinny, so she tries to put in me as much food as possible:) Dad is on vacation, watching TV, laughing with his kind voice and making jokes I love so much. My sister has all these party stories from Cyprus, funny and cute, simple and grown up.

My friend dropped today and took me around the city on car to my favourite places: parks, squares, streets... Places which still keep all the memories about me being there and I felt it, but realized that it will not be the same next time. Next time there will be no memories of me there, as I'm trying to catch the past and have nostalgy about times we were young and crazy:) I don't feel myself being here in future: on these streets, in these parks....But still it's extraordinary to be back, I have these bittersweet feelings and wanna get dissolved in the city in my family and friends.

And also piano....my piano and sheetmusic: Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky....I missed U guys:) Playing everyday and need lots of practice to get back to the level I've been to.

Wanna be selfish and romantic, not think about work, but about things which are right here and now.

According to this statement, I'm' pretty:)

Christmas mood

World is going crazy with celebrating Christmas, and I'm just going crazy because have too much positive emotions today: grattitude, admiration, inspiration, expectation of wonder, reflection, memories...My friend told me today that Christmas is time for saying "Thank you", so let's try to thank people who inspired me today - Dec.24

First of all, thank you Anya, my lovely girl who we were recruiting when I was LCVPTM in Almaty. People seldom say words of grattitude and thanking for changing smth in them. Today I received this precious gift from her, thank you:) And it took me back to time when I was LCVPTM and everyday had this idea in my head that wanna bring change and contribution, time which defined where I am now.

Thank you Kevin for being born today:) As I became "Kevin's notes fan" when writting birthday wishes on facebook and accidentally saw notes written, which are so sincere, thoughtful and awakening smth in me. What beatiful is that you can express smth each of us has inside with words, it's art. I wanna steal now all these notes and put it on my blog:)

Thank you Dima, Dasha, Dinar and Sten for applying for TM. One of you will be my successor, but anyway I admire each of you. And when received all these applications, was jumping around and felt super hyper excitiment!

Thank you Assel for being far and being so close, for letting me share with you things which nobody knows about and being so strong.

Thank you Vojta...too many things to write here what for:)

So Merry Christmas to you and me! And hope each day will be full of these kind of small, but precious gifts from our loved ones, whether it's Xmas card, song, note or line in chat...

I'm just happy:)

Today is Tuesday, 5 days and I'm at home. And I have this warm feeling inside me, which runs through all my body, thoughts and feelings.

Happy...

Was it crazy month? Definitely it was. And it was let's say "building the future" month, as we had National Congress where elected MCP and part of MC team, as well I participated in TMU meeting where we were developing strategies for AIESEC and shaping how org-n will look like in future in TM area. I also decided for myself what I wanna do: run for AI 2010-11. So, good luck to me:)

All this time every day I was excited about something, had ideas, feeling, emotions, was laughing and crying, enjoying, being nervous, running, not sleeping...Intense time with different places, people, events. I still feel like being in a rush, that need to run somewhere, solve smth quickly. For now I have few things on my mind:

- People who became so close to me

- My future successor. Who will it be?

- TMU. Wrap up everything and deliver the results!

- Home. I'm going there in 10 days....First thing will do is to play the piano.

- 2010. What will this year bring to me?

- Doubts...

- Wanna be in love

Elections! Manana - MCP 2010-11 and her new team!

In AIESEC U meet hundreds of people, some become important part of your life, some U see for 3 days on the conference and never get in touch again.

And if to count how many people I've met in AIESEC, out of AIESEC: who are wonderful and so special, the number will be several thousands probably?....

Also it's magical, how sometimes one 10 min conversation can change a lot on U, and then U never meet this person again. So, if to say about impact each person brought to me, it's better to say: I am who I am because of everyone. And I appreciate and love this "everyone" today. Only need to say it more often:) And advice U to do the same. Cuz we can loose this "special" people, if don't tell them about how we really feel.

Kazakhstan

I haven't been home for 7 months already.

Besides the fact that I miss my friends, parents, home, I miss the country itself and always checking what's happening over there. From distance I'm being too critical to certain things happening in my country sometimes. But talking to my friend today, understood that don't wanna loose this link to my homecountry and loose my roots.

Not long ago read an article about Christopher Robbins, who wrote the book: "Apples are from Kazakhstan: The Land the Dissappeared". I was positively surprised how this author is describing my homecountry and giving external view on it. Felt proud and happy.

So thought about things which others can learn from us:

- Tolerance. More than 120 ethnic groups, different religious groups living in Kazakhstan side by side. Looking at the world which has conflicts based on religion, ethnicity, ideology, we're an example of patience, opennes and acceptance of differences.

- Hospitality. I guess tolerance is the reason of people's hospitality and friendliness. For my family it has never been a problem to host people, even they didn't know them. Not just hosting, but making everything so person feels himself/herself comfortable at our place. I just remember a moment when intern from Poland stayed at our place for a few days. And my mom kept asking him what he likes to eat, to be able to cook especially for him:) And there are plenty of these small moments which make you feel like at home, being in Kazakhstan.

-Patriotism. In Russia I don't hear very often that people love their country, probably they just don't show it. But we show it, like to talk about our country: how wonderful it is and always inviting to visit us.

-Innovative approach. We're not afraid to try new things or implement smth which works in another countries. There's this a program "Bolashak" which allow young people to go study abroad, it just prooves that we're ready to try new things and start it up. Even the university where I was studying (KIMEP) is an example of it: all the edu is on english, we have professors from different countries, the system of edu is completely different: credit system, online registration etc.

So, welcome to Kazakhstan!

PS [I'll be there for New Year, so feel free to come:) ]