Jurnal de expat

Manhattan ...bastinasii sunt mai politicosi decat ma asteptam. Ciudat... “Excuse me” si “Pardon me” pentru orice chestie, cat de mica cu care li se pare ca te-au deranjat. Ceea ce e foarte probabil sa se intample avand in vedere puhoaiele de oameni care se revarsa pe strazi la orice ora din zi sau din noapte.....le place sa stea la coada in mod organizat. Pentru orice. Daca in tarile comuniste statul la coada era umilitor si degradant, coada e aici garantia calitatii, certificatul de “tried and tested”. asa se hotarasc probabil sa cumpere hot dogs sau bagels de la unul dintre miile de vanzatori ambulanti, plantati la fiecare colt de strada. ...”could you please smoke further away from the door?” asked an angry little lady to a guy smoking outside of a restaurant. „smoke is coming in and is bothering me” said her and hurried back inside beaming with pride for this hit and run. the guy didn’t say anything but moved sheepishly.Thank God I quit, I said to myself from the other side of the

ar fi trebuit sa fiu titlul postului despre calatoria cu yachtul din vara asta. N-am apucat sa-l scriu, cum n-am apucat sa scriu despre o gramada de lucruri, oameni si locuri interesante. I know, I know.....shame on me. Il folosesc acum insa ca sa dau tonul unei noi aventuri, una New York-eza, unde voi petrece urmatorul an din viata. Traiesc mai multe senzatii in acelasi timp: teama de necunoscut, nostalgie fata de ceea ce am lasat in urma, ambele combinate cu un sentiment de mandrie ca I am boldly going where nobody (at least from my family) has gone before. Am ajuns "matusa din America", cea pentru care imi invidiam prietenii, caci le aducea (inainte de '89) guma de mestecat, ciocolata si un miros de libertate. E greu de descris sentimentul care ma incearca atunci cand transform necunoscutul in cunoscut, dar am nevoie de el asa cum junkee isi vor doza de crack. Daca ma nasteam acum 500 de ani, probabil ca as fi fost unul dintre marinarii de pe Santa Maria, corabia cu c

I once promised someone that I will write posts in English. It’s unusual, it’s difficult, some may hate it and think I’m playing smart but some of you who know me well enough, know better. A promise is a promise and a man who cannot keep his promise should be shot. Several times. By the way, how long does it take to know somebody? A month, a year or maybe ten? Can you dictate based on what you’ve seen that you grasped a pattern of their behaviour? How many times an action makes a pattern? Do people change? I guess there is no recipe for knowing. Most people don’t know themselves at all and they have been spending their life in their own company. It just depends on how much effort you want to throw in and how much you’re willing to let go of your prejudice and of habit of judging people based on your own past experience. Nowadays people don’t take the time anymore. We’re living in an era of fast cars, fast food and all done by the press of a button. Everything has to be instant, quick,