You have been too long in Korea when... (alcohol)

... when you start turning your head away from the table when drinking alcohol with elders.
... when you hold up your glass with two hands when someone older wants to pour you more alcohol.

No kidding. That's the 'polite' behavior in Korea.
When drinking with elders and somebody wants to pour you alcohol (and you cannot pour alcohol for yourself. never.) you first hold up your glass with two hands (never one. that is disrespectful.) and the elder pours you a drink. Then you wait for the cheers (at least during the first round).
While drinking you hold your glass with two hands, turn your head away from the elders, and drink. When an elder sits at your right, you turn left. When you have two elders at both your sides you turn completely, or you 'hide' the drinking with your hands.
With friends you can use one hand, unless they are older, then at least in the beginning use two hands. But never pour alcohol for yourself on your own. Never.

On my first evening back home after Korea, I actually did it during dinner with my parents. I was so tired after the long flight that I wasn't thinking much and we were drinking wine... That was a little embarrassing, but caused lot's of laughter.

To see what I mean, watch the video from 2:46. You got it all shown there ^^~

On Regret

My big sister... wait, well... I don't really have one, but I have a friend, who is just like a big sister to me, so I think of her that way.
Anyways, my big sister send me a beautiful e-mail recently (all her e-mails are pretty awesome tbh), in which she writes about decision making (yeah, it's connected to this post).
Without much further ado, a quote on 'regret':


"And as for regret, I think it's a matter of our mindset. I don't think we should regret anything that's happened in our life, anything that we have choosen. It's best to focus on being grateful for all the good and so called bad."

To sum up...

To sum up my previous post :
(English translation bellow the picture)
haha, found the English original!

The choices of a nomad

If you live everywhere, home is nowhere.
I miss having one cupboard with all my clothes in it, I miss having all my books in one place, I miss not having to jet each Christmas and Easter back to where my parents live. But things are just things, worst is missing the people.
In my life skype is more important than the mobile phone. But it's hard to keep up on everything through skype. It makes me feel like I am always the audience, never part of anything, as if the real life was passing me by. People fall in and out of love, graduate, get engaged, pregnant, celebrate b-days, get sick and healthy again, and I am never part of it.
So what keeps me going? Ambitions and restlessness. But I think I'm getting old (lol), I find it harder and harder to let go of the ties. The life of a nomad is no easy life. People may think that there is a lot to envy, but truth to be told, being a nomad feels like standing outside on a rainy day, watching the cozy lights behind the glass windows.
I think I got to the point where I am no longer willing to sacrifice my personal life (because that's how it ultimately feels like) in order to satisfy crazy ambitions. Likewise, I am not yet ready to trade a childhood dream for the pursuit of a home. The latter possibility feels like trading a bird in the hand for the two in the bush. It's like relying on dubious luck and I was never big on taking chances.
Right now I want everything. EVERYTHING!! I am not willing on giving up anything, neither my friends, my family, the handsome guy who is waiting somewhere, a cupboard with all my clothes and all my books, nor the travels, the thrill of living in new places, my ambitions, a degree at the most awesome university.
What to do? What to do? Think, think, think...

The cities I love: Warsaw, Time Lapse 2

Warsaw once again, this time in winter.
Notice how the dog barks when the policemen show up. In Poland one of the names for police is 'psy', meaning dogs. It's not a very nice name to call them, but I thought it funny nevertheless.

So which Time Lapse of Warsaw do you like better?

I prefer the soundtrack in this one, it matches my picture of Warsaw, but the other shows the city more like I see it and I think the execution is better in the first one too.

Enjoy:

The cities I love: Warsaw, Time Lapse

I like Warsaw. We are past the infatuation, there are no more sparks, but there are fireworks each year on New Years. I wasn't always fond of Warsaw, but the city grew on me.
I was born few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall and I still remember the dull gray post-socialistic feel of the city. I probably wouldn't have known a different world existed, but in my young years we moved to the south of Germany, so I was aware of what life could be and what it wasn't in Warsaw.
But now, a whole different city unfolds before my windows. It is a young, vibrant city, still looking for it's own identity, but already with a distinct feel to it. There is so much energy here, it's the young kind of energy spread by people, who want to make this place livable for themselves. New cafes, clubs, events pop up like mushrooms after the rain. There is still a lot to be done, but living in Warsaw is like playing Lego: nothing is decided, you can create your own reality.
I love Warsaw, how it changed, how it is now. I think we could grow old together.

So for all of you, who know none of Warsaw, here is my city:
(watch in big!!)



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