"Promises, promises!"

Do some of you remember the simulation game "Promises, promises!" at December National Conference of AIESEC? I think it was the best part of the conference! Well, today we had a similar simulation game in my class :) The game was developed by the Massachusetts institute of technology. It was connected with supply chain management and was really fun and useful :) We had to separate into teams and during a somewhat complex process taking 50 weeks to minimize our costs. It was really interesting because you can see how things change during these 50 weeks and you have to adapt and think in advance of the incoming situation. It was also funny because we really enjoyed participating and laughed so much while playing it :) At the end of course we examined the results and I hope everybody found something useful in it.
I love such games!!! I hope I can play another one soon :)

The Vikings

I know a lovely land

With spreading, shady beeches

Near Baltic's salty strand;

Its hills and valleys gently fall,

Its ancient name is Denmark,

And it is Freya's hall

<Danish anthem>

We've all heard stories about the mighty vikings. They were fearsome warriors, skilled traders and bold explorers. They were the Norse men! They were the ancestors of the same people I see on the streets, in the shops, all around me. They are the heritage of Denmark.

I've been reading some info about the vikings lately and I see why the Danes are so proud of their past. Come to think of it they look a little closer to me now - two great civilizations in the past, reduced to two small but beautiful and proud countries, each with their problems and strengths. Well, maybe Denmark has a little more strengts :P

Anyway, I forgot what I wanted to say here, but it had something to do with the better understanding of the culture and the country I'm in :) I hope soon I'll have the chance to explore more about the country and all the intresting places and new experiences it has to offer me :)

A winter fairy-tale

"Tiho se sipe parvia sniag

Galeno shtipe buzkite pak
De e na dvora staria pun

Snejko zatrupa vsichko navun"

I suddenly reminded myself this nice child song. I think it really fits the weather outside - for some days we have a good thick snow. It is really charming and we can use our imagination and play the winter games we have played as kids.

I know that now in Bulgaria there is no snow so I decided to give you some - at least on a picture :)

Lots of warm hugs and snowy smiles :)

Having fun the "Danish way"

Today I took part in one traditional danish game, organized by my school. At first I didn't know how to play it but actually it turned out to be a very amusing and interesting game. So here are the rules - there are 1 or 2 teams (can be more) and each of them has a flail (bat/"buhalka") and a barrel full of oranges which is hanging on a rope from the ceiling. The rules are very simple - each player gets the flail, goes to the barrel and hit it with the flail as hard as he can. Then he passes the flail to the next player. This is repeated until the barrel is completely smashed and the oranges fall on the ground. The person who did that is named a Queen. After that the game continues and the barrel should be completely destroyed and ripped to pieces. Whoever does that is named a King. Simple, effective and very violent! I really liked it :) It's a good way to unleash all your aggression and beat the crap out of something. Can you imagine me holding a bat and smashing something with an angry exprecion on my face :P Yeah, it's good to be a bad guy sometimes :) Although it sounds like a man's game we had a lot of girls playing it and some of them were really good.
After the game we all had hot chocolate and sweets :) I had a really nice time and enjoyed the participation in something new and interesting. Can't wait for the next student event :)

Recently I've been having some ups and downs in my life. Some good events and nice moments shadowed by disappointments and broken illusions. Why is that so? Am I too idealistic to believe in me and my bright future. But you know what - it's my decision to dare for the impossible, and push myself even further my limits and fight uneven battles. At the end you might be defeated and ashamed, you might even question the very reason for doing this, but nobody can take away from you the courage of the initiation, the pleasure of the process and the one happy optimistic moment when you believe everything is possible and you have all the power and knowledge to accomplish your dream!
Yes, the failure hurts, but the defeat is only temporary. I believe that this life is all about chances - when one door slams before you, you just go through another door which may be even better and lead you to a glorious future.
So very soon the bad things are forgothen and whenever you turn back to the past, you see only the good things which inspire you to face the future with a smile :)

Danish countryside

Today we decided to do smth interesting and with a few of my friends drove to the sea. This was the first time I saw the Baltic Sea. Well actually the sea wasn't very pleased to see me - it was freezingly cold and the wind was blowing right through my bones. The message was clear - we don't want you now, come back in the summer. Not that we were willing to take a bath in the sea, anyway. We were just curious. Our curiosity was rewarded - we saw the oldes tree in the whole island (and it is a big island, as well as the tree :) ) The inteesting thing is that there is a hole in the tree where you can actually go inside and hide from the wind. There was no trouble for the 5 of us to go in :)
After that we just went in the car and drove along the coast with no direction. It was really relaxing. The Danish countryside is so beautiful. And it is still winter, I can imagine how beautiful it is in the spring. It was so nice seeing all those clasical old-style buildings just few meters from the beach, surrounded by the majestic forest. Suddenly Lyngby reminded me of some of the beatiful Bulgarian coastal town - Pomorie, Nesebar, Sozopol and many more. When I go back to Bulgaria in the summer I'll definitely visit some of them. If anybody is interested we can go together :)

The choice is made

Ladies and gentlemen, the deadline is over! Now we know who are the people brave enough to face the competition and the whole LC in the elections for the new Executive Body of AIESEC in LC Sofia. 9 people are willing to take their chances and run for the President and 4 Vice President positions. And one of them is me! After much considerations and a lot of uncertainty I have decided to take that step and aplly for Vice President Finance. As it appear it's a quite a desirable position :) I have two more competitors. It's gonna be a tough one. Anyway, I like challenges, so I'll try to have fun during the elections and stay cool. The bigger the competition, the sweeter the victory :) Always staying positive and hoping for the best :) Wish me luck!

"Trimata ot zapasa" (thoughts about the frindship)

Today I finally got to watch the wonderful Bulgarian movie "Trimata ot zapasa". It must have been staying unnoticed, unseen for months somewhere on my notebook. The movie impressed me very much. The story is deeply touching and really makes you think about some things. It is about a real, strong friendships between 3 soldiers during WW2, who are willing to sacrifice everything for each other - their believes, their lives! After I watched it I thought that such friendship is only possible during heroic times, at war, but the friendships in our daily life are not much different. You may have quarels with your friends and not be able to devote them enough time but the important is that you love them and wish the best for them!

New full-right AIESEC members in LC Sofia

Hello @ people,
As I heard, yesterday was a very important day for LC Sofia, because of the elections of the new full-right members. Our big family has grown with 19 more bright individuals who will keep up the good work and contibute for the development of AIESEC in Bulgaria. Congratulations! Congtatulations to the new members, how can now fully benefit from the opportunities that @ gives and congratulations to the "oldies" who, I believe, made the right choise! I wish I were there to support you but I was keeping my fingers crossed for each of you and now I'm happy because of the results :)
Good luck from now and I wish you many more happy moments in AIESEC!

The Beginning

After much consideration and the request of some of my friends I finally decided to make my own blog. This will be the place where I'll share my thoughts with you and inform you of some important events in my life. Now that I'm in Denmark and it's impossible to see most of you, this is a good way to keep in touch. I decided to write in english so that some of my foreign friends can also read this blog.
I hope you like it and visit it often to see what I've posted. You know me - I have always something to say, so I'm pretty sure I'll post a lot here :)
Enjoy!
Ivo