Confusion about the names :)

I have a simple name: Attila. Most of the Europeans would guess from the first that is a male person's name. Most of the Europeans would also associate it with "Attila the Hun". Therefore in Europe this is a very macho name :) And in Hungary as well, as it is a Hungarian name, it is a very macho name.

Not in Singapore obviously:) Most of the AIESEC people expected a lady when they heard that Attila is coming to Singapore.

Whenever I write a mail to an unknown person, in 99% of the cases they would reply back as Ms Attila. It is just funny :) But why? Don't worry, I am not gay/acting like gay!!! It is just that my name is ending in "la", which is a very feminine ending for Singaporeans (anyway they put lah at the end of most of the words). So they all think that I am a girl.

But you can argue, that Singaporean are stupid that they never heard about "Attila the Hun"? No! If I meet a person face to face and tell my name, the same percentage as in Europe would reply "Attila as Attila the Hun?". It is just that they are so used to their "lah" and its association with feminine things.

It is funny. But no hard feelings, because I am in the same situation. Most of the time when I hear a name or get an e-mail from somebody who I don't know, I always have to ask whether she/he is a male or female. Of course things get even more complicated in Thailand ...... :)

It is much fun as you can see living in a totally different culture :)

I live in Singapore

I moved to Singapore almost 2 months ago, but so far I had no time to write on my blog about it, though I had a lot of very good experiences. I made no expectations before coming here, just wanted to see how it will be and it turned out to be a very very cool place. I totally enjoy it, and the more I discover it, the more I like it.

Singapore is a great city, very diverse and it is a very cool life here. Kind of paradise I would say :)

I was in most parts of the city, but I did not managed to take so many pictures yet, but will definitely will take a whole weekend to make just cool pictures, cause the city is great :):):):) However you can see some pictures. I will definitely write more about the city later.

On this picture you can see the Explanade, the famuous theatre in Singapore and some fancy office buildings :)

On the picture below you can see the Merlion, the symbol of Singapore and downtown Singapore with some nice office buildings.

And one more picture with downtown Singapore :) It is very nice :)

Most of the people asked me where I live. Well I took some pictures from my house and swimming pool. I live in a condominium very close to the office (10 minutes with bus) and of course to the centre as the office is in the centre. It is a very nice place and therefore quite expensive as well compared to the European standards as well, not to mention Romania. However is a great deal :) I live in not that a fancy place, as I have only swimming pool, but other DHL colleagues live in houses with tennis court, basketball court, gym and other things like this.

My place is very close to the dodgy area of Singapore and to the red light district. Yeah, it is legal here as well, just like in the Netherlands, but don't think that this is the criteria for choosing the countries I am living in :):):) Of course this dodgyness it has its own advantages: you fell closer to earth, as Singapore is like in the movies, and everything is cheaper then in downtown :):):) But will write about this more later :)

My room is very nice, it has a view to the park and I like that I have a big table where I can work and use my computer. I got some cool speakers as well, so I can listen to loud music and watch movies, hope the neighbours don't mind about that :):):) And I am proud of my DHL plane as well, I just discovered a big passion for planes and aviation. I am thinking of entering the airline business if I will leave DHL (not that I would intend to do that soon).

This is my swimming pool where I swim every morning before going to work:) It is fantastic. However this is a lazy Sunday afternoon picture, just chilling in 30 degrees :)

And this is my living room (the two pictures below):

DHL. It is a great company and it is a fantastic place to work in. It is a very good match with AIESEC, I found it very similar in a lot of aspects, so I could integrate very fast. My job is also very cool, I learn a lot and I use all the things I have learned so far in AIESEC and not only. Even my statistics knowledge and finance knowledge is required :):):) I am very happy that I am here in Singapore and working for DHL :):):)

I hope I will be able to share all the experiences and to present Singapore better through my blog.

My grandfather is 92 years old! Happy Birthday!

My grandfather had his birthday today. He is 92 years old and he is doing great. I was so happy to be able to talk with him over the phone and say Happy Birthday:):)

I attended the Thanksgiving day organized by Melissa here in Singapore in the evening and I was thinking that I really have to thank to God that he achieved to celebrate his 92nd birthday and that I could learn so much from him. I also was thinking that I have to thank to my grandmother that she is taking care of him. They are a very nice couple together :):):)

So Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!! And hope to celebrate your next birthday together!!!

The lost village: Bözödújfalu

Near my Grandfather's village , there is a village called Bözödújfalu. My grandfather was a school teacher and a lot of kids from that village were going to Bözöd to the school where my grandfather was teaching, so he knew all the whole village and all the people from there. That's why I am also connected to this village as well.

The communist era was cruel and Ceausescu (the communist dictator) decided to ruin the village. It was quite a policy to destroy hungarian villages at that time and where there was an opportunity, he destroyed hungarian villages. In the case of Bözödújfalu, he decided to build a big barrage.

He built the barrage and the water flooded the village, so all the people were forced to leave and to move to different parts of the country.

You can see some pictures from what left of the village and the memorial house that was built. People ruined all the house before the water flooded the village, they left only the churches, but nowadays only the ruins remained. This Black & White Picture is the one that I think shows the best what I feel when I think of the sad hystory of the willage. I think it shows the faith of this village.

This village has a very sad story and all its hystory got lost. But for sure it is living in the heart of the peope who lived there, or of those who have some connections with the willage. In my heart lives for sure, that's why I visited it before coming to Singapore.

Each year the people gather at the monument (see pictures below) and remember the village and the life of the village. I attended some of these events with my grandparents and I always felt so sad seeing all those people who were forced to live the village.

Meeting of the Bözöd village

In my short holiday I went back to my grandparents' place called Bözöd and I was lucky enough to be there when the meeting of the village was. It is an event organized in every 5 years or so and all the people who have some connection with the village get together for a two days event. It is a very good community building event and lets people to reconnect with their old friends. This event is very important because in the past few years a lot of people went from the village to live in the towns and therefore the connection back just got lost.

For me this event was very special for several reason. For the first after living in Netherlands for one year I kind of forgot how hard life can be in Romania. So it was a very good awakening that even if things changed in Romania, life is still very hard, especially on the village.

This event also reminded me about the simplicity of life and how much we can complicate it. The people from the village have a much simple life and sometimes I miss that simplicity from my life.

I also was at the church at this event and managed to reconnect with my religion and to find again that peace in a church that is missing most of the time in our crazy life. Even if I do not go that often to the church, as it is hardly possible to find Unitarian churches in Netherlands/Singapore, I believe in God and I consider myself quite religious, though I never show this to people. I think most of the people would not consider me a religious person. At the end of the religious ceremony we sung the national anthem (Hungarian) and it was a very powerful moment for me, just strengthening my national identity. Living abroad makes you feel like loosing it and from time to time I need these moments when I feel that I belong to a nation.

There was also a nice ceremony with nice speeches and with some dances (see picture below).
At this ceremony my grandfather got the award of the oldest man of the village and was asked to have a speech. I was just shocked when he went up and had a speech there. I might be subjective maybe because he is my grandfather, but he had the best speech. In 5 minutes he made the people of the village cry, including myself. I was shocked and amazed and was just crying myself as well. He was speaking from his heart and to the people in a very simple and powerful language. And he has 92 years old. I am very proud of him. He is definitely one of the persons I admire the most. And when he finished his speech he gave also some interviews for the regional radio!!! He is soooo cool :):):)

In the evening we went for the traditional theatre play and dance evening with old village type of ball.

It was a long time ago when I went to this kind of balls, so it was very funny to be there again. My parents were as well and my brother with his wife, so we had a family party there :) You can see me dancing with my mom on the picture below :)

And of course a village meeting can't be without a soccer game so we played soccer as well :):):)
All in all it was great fun and a very good opportunity to reconnect with my village. I am really looking forward to participate in the next one as well. Somehow it makes me feel that Bözöd is my home, even if I live in other places.