Co mi tu chyba, coho tu mam az moc a co je tu super :)

Co mi tu chyba!

1. ZIMA

• zakutranie sa pod perinu po prichode z vonku
• obliekanie sa do viacerych vrstiev (pri 30 stupnoch toho clovek moc nepotrebuje)
• snurovanie topanok (dufam, ze to nezabudnem do roka :))
• nasazdovanie ciapky a rukavic
• motanie sa do salu tak, aby mi zakryl co najviac hlavy a ochranil tak pred mrazom, ale stale som mohla este dychat, pocut a vidiet :)
• tesenie sa na teply caj a teplu polievku
• smykanie sa na chodniku
• brblanie ostatnych Aka je dnes kosa, ze urcite dnes zamrznem!!!
• Poskakovanie, aby mi bolo teplejsie
• Para, ktora vychadza z ust pri dychani
• a sneh, lyzovanie, mazanie tvare a pier proti mrazu

2. Cisty vzduch

• hlboky nadych a vydych v cistom prostredi
• bicyklovanie vonku, posedavanie na terase alebo balkone
• opekanie si po veceroch vonku

3. Chodenie
– clovek sa tu moc nenachodi – vsade su jeepneys, tricycles, lacne taxiky, autobusy alebo nieco ako nase metro a vytahy. A chodit sa moc neodporuca, jednak vzduch a jednak chodniky tu moc nefrcia :)....a chodenie je tu proste divne a ked mate prejst 100 m, uz sa pytaju, ci nie som unavena.
4. Casopis EVA
– toto pochopi urcite Bea, Mena, Tina, Jarka, Tinky a dalsie babusky :) – proste citanie a listovanie si v SLOVENSKOM casopise – Len tak.
5. Mlieko, jogurt, syry.
Mliecne vyrobky su tu fakt drahe a do jedla ich prilis nepridavaju. Takze kava s mliekom a medom nehrozi :(...tak aspon smotana a hnedy cukor tu su :)
6. Vino
No to by som si nebola pomyslela...ale je to tak. Bud si vyberiete pivo – druhov je tu dostatok – San Miguel, Red Horse, a vsetky ich odnose alebo gin – 1l za 25 Kc je fakt fajn, skoda, ze tonik je uz drahsi...ale vino, tak vino bud nekvalitne a drahe alebo kvalitne a mega drahe, takze chyba.
7. Kecanie v slovencine
– o hocicom! :)...a parby s cechoslovakmi :)
8. Sedem s.r.o., Televizne noviny a obcas serial typu Boston Legal

Ano, internet a DVDs tu sice existuju a este mozno lepsie ako u nas, ale internet je na to trochu pripomaly a dvds – to nie je ono :).

9. Hudba a tanec

Coho tu mam nad mieru (a niekedy az moc)...

1. Pozornosti – Good morning ma’am! Come again ma’am! Beautiful ma’am. How are you ma’am! Beautiful hair ma’am! Wow, you have blue eyes! Super prvy tyzden, ale ked tu ma clovek normalne zit, tak to aby sa stale o seba staral, lebo vacsina ludi tu “na zivo” este blond cloveka v zivote nevidela, no. Proste aj keby som tu bola 100 rokov, tak mi povedia, Hi ma’am (skratene madam ;)), welcome to the Philippines!
2. Whitening creams – tak ako chcu byt u nas byt vsetci opaleni, tak tu je cool byt co najviac biely...takze bieliace kremy, bieliace kapsule, bieliaca masaz...takze aspon som tu in :).
3. Ryza – fakt tu jedia ryzu ku vsetkemu!! A nakupuju po 10 kg baleniach...
4. Red Horse – pivo s vyssimi gradmi – tvari sa to ako pivo, ale po styroch uz radsej piate nepytajte...vtipne, ze neuvadzau % alkoholu...radsej ;)
5. Anglictina – od rana do vecera, furt, vsade, obcas trochu tagalogu zamiesaju,ale inak vedia vsetci, coz je super na jednu stranu,ale na druhu ziadna culture challenge ;).
6. Relax – tu sa proste nikto nikam neponahla, meeting na 4 hodiny je uplne v klude...jemine, taka neefektivita! 8-)...ale je to tu proste sposob zitia, takze sa ucim oddychovat, relaxovat a nebyt az tak moc efektivna :D.
7. A jasne ze horka – horko v izbe, horko vonku, horko v jeepney, proste HORKO!...a este poskakujuce vianocne svetielka na palmach, please...proste vianoce na blate and even worse...
8. ...a klimatizacie!!! – proste nechapem, ze si tu vyturuju klimatizaciu vsade na 16 stupnov!! To aby si clovek nosil cestovnu tasku so zimnym oblecenim na kazdy meeting! Vonku 30, vnutri 16, uf. Takze na office mam pekne deku, papuce, ponozky a 2 svetre, prosim pekne, tak sa mi smeju,ale tak co, hlavne ze je mi fajn:).

Co tu milujem:

1. Moznost plavat kazde rano – bazen hned v prizemi a z tych 1000 obyvatelov, co tam byvaju, fakt nikto cez tyzden nechodi plavat. Cez vikend sa tam iba nasackuju male tlste filipinske decka,takze to si dam pauzu a obcas skocim zahrat badminton.
2. Nakupovanie – obrovsky vyber vsetkeho a vsade a za lacno (pre baby: kozenne Zara BOZI topanky za nasu 1000, pre chlapov: co ja viem, nemam cas este kukat pre chlapov ;D
3. Jedlo – ryby a ovocie, jedlo moje kazdodenne – ananas a tuniak na rozne sposoby na dennom poradku, k tomu mango, bananove chipsy, banany roznych druhov a velkosti...
4. Ladovy caj s medom a skoricou – ktory nam robia v praci, uplne bozi chut
5. Usmievavych ludi – aj pri takych socialnych rozdieloch tu ludia nereptaju, nestazuju sa, nemracia sa..proste su spokojni s tym, co maju a su vdacni za kazdu malickost.
6. Ze si mozem ponadavat v slovencine a nikto mi tu nerozumie...teda, asi vedia, ze nadavam a uz ma aj obcas volaju “sakra vole” a podobne, ale velmi to pomaha.
7. Kazdodenne prekvapenia – ako ziju ludia na ulici, ze Filipinci nepouzivaju nozik, ked jedia, ale vidlicku a lyzicu, ze ludia skor, ako si kupia pracku, si kupia radsej karaoke maschinu a vsetci si tu pospevuju, ze smska typu: Hey, what`s up je uplne normalna a smskuju si tu ako sialeni...,ze tu fakt nemaju blond a kuceravych ludi, ze moje cislo topanky je uz radene do “big sizes” (c.39), ze cele Cesko-Slovensko ma tolko ludi ako samotna Manila...a tak :).

Tak to ma tak teraz ponapadavalo, nabuduce este napisem, ze co som o sebe doteraz tusila, ale az tu sa to uplne prejavilo :).

Inak fotky: hore - ja na nasom pracovnom planning weekende, potom ja s Dorotou v tricykli - Akie - kamos si len tak vystupil, ze dockaj kamos, odfotim ich :), potom dalsi "taxik", co este celkom frci v Cinskom meste, potom ja s Lily - cinskou priatelkou dalsieho Cecha,co tu pracuje na vecierku Ceskej ambasady na 90. vyrocie vzniku Ceskoslovenska (si stale ambasada mysli, ze som Ceska, sak nevadilo mi to :))...a posledna fotka moj tym na planningu.

"Education is a choice" vs. "Education is a possibility"

Last week on Saturday I did teambuilding for HBS - Shared Services - part of our holding company. I prepared some exercises for communication and better understanding as in this department are working people with different education backgrounds, tagalog (filipino language) and English differences and different roles in the group (HR, accountant, admin staff, kitchen staff).

In the morning before we were supposed to start, Noli - our manager came to me and asked: Eva, do you have there some exercises where people have to write and read? I said yes, I have one. Do you want to put more like that so you can see how they write in English, I asked. She said, No, I just wanted to tell you one guy in the group can not read, neither write...

BUM! so shock for me...you know when you are preparing some exercises you think about if people won't be tired or if they have enough pens to write, if they understand directions or so...but this...it went ok afterwards, Noli helped the guy to write and read and we had really fun that morning...I think for the first time in my life I truly understood what is difference between "education is a choice" or "education is a possibility just for somebody"...since then I am really close to people in Shared Services.

Me and Dorota decided to help them even more, as we saw that Saturday they really would like to develop more, so we prepare every week some lesson for them - time management, communication skills, English lessons, basic PC skills or how to take care about guests (one girl served tea spoon instead of normal spoon for soup while we were having client meeting - some things which is so natural for us you just have to forget and do not assume other people will know)...so I am really happy about this sessions happening and excited to start!

Office announcement - imagine this in Europe :)

From Albert, our Office administrator:

Please be informed that the admin office have scheduled general pest control service, through Sentinel Pest Control Services, on Saturday, October 18, 2008, from 5pm to 7pm, with scope of works
as follows:

1. for cockroaches and ants: treatment by spraying in their harborages and breeding places
like the kitchen, toilet areas and drainage. cracks and crevices and hidden surface such as
as inside drawer units, cupboards and cabinets shall be treated with insecticide solutions
with flushing/knockdown effects. in which case, all contents thereof must be removed prior
to the scheduled date of service. where spraying is inadvisable or forbidden, dusting will be
done instead.
- gel based poisonous baits are also use to manage cockroach infestations. this has proven
irresistible to all types of cockroaches, and they are eliminated upon infestation of the
poisoned gel.

2. Houseflies & Mosquitoes
- Misting and Gassing: Hot mist/gas has been proven to be effective against flying insects
such as houseflies and mosquitoes. it continues to act for several hours but does not have
residual effect. indoor application shall be carried out where necessary.

3. Rodents
- Poisonous baits: sufficient baits shall be laid out in the appropriate areas:
1. identified/possible runways of rats and mice,

2. breeding areas, and

3. rodent harborages. these baits are effective not only indoors but also in outside areas where they may be expose to the elements.
- Glue boards: highly adhesive glue board traps shall also be installed in order to augment
the rodent baiting system already in place. these are more effective against mice and are
consequently placed in food preparation areas, storage rooms, and offices.

for your information.

My first month in the Philippines

1 month already. Country with 90 mil people and 7000 + islands became my home for 1 year. As a intern in company called Headway I started 1st of September 2008.

How it is to be thousands miles away from home.
I did not want to go...September, the best month to hang out with friends, wine period, still sunny...why am I leaving actually? What am I missing here, why do I not stay, just find some nice job in Slovakia/Czech Republic, be with people I already know and understand.
...I know I would miss this experience in 10 years from now. Being 1 year = 12 months = 52 weeks away in totally different culture, destination, having first real job after graduation before I decide to settle down and decide what to do with my life. THIS 1 YEAR I would miss later.
So with these reasons I do not miss home so much now (will see in some months:)). I just know I will come back.

WHY Asia, Philippines, Headway, 1 year.
> Asia - who are those people living there? I just wanted to get to know way of life of Asian guys.
>Philippines - randomly - now I see it was the best decision. Religion means a lot for living standards, habits, way of life. (Only Christian country in Asia I think.)
>Headway - company with perspective with good references from interns there, interesting job description and selection process.
>1 year - when internship then long enough to experience yourself, company, country, people.

My first month
Company
Headway Business Services, consultancy company. My position: Consultant. After 1st week of induction planning weekend happened. First responsibilities for me came as well. My first role was to create feasibility study and business plan for opening a new restaurant. DDL in 2 weeks.
Well, my first thoughts: What does it mean to open a restaurant? Which type of restaurant? What Philippines` people eat? How to price the menu? What are legal needs to be fulfilled? How many people should I hire? How to write a business plan?!?...well, my boss just told me: "In 2 weeks I would like to hear from you YES or NO for the restaurant according to cash-flow, ROI, BEP...Hm. It seems I managed and restaurant will probably open soon. (I hope till that time I will be back home so nobody could blame me if I screwed it:))....now next even more challenging tasks are coming. I LOVE IT, so far MY COMPANY rocks!! Young but smart people, everyday development, nice atmosphere, space for your personality and big responsibility you were given.

Living.
Manila, Makati City, Kingswood towers, 17th floor, own room and almost own bathroom. 2 other interns in the flat. Swimming pool at the ground floor, McDonald`s, KFC and Chowking around. 10 minutes by jeepney ride to work. (Jeepney - "minibus").

My usual day.

6:40 wake up. Swim for 40 minutes. Take a jeepney to work. Breakfast at work. Work, ad hoc meeting, lunch, work, merienda (snack), work, dinner, work. Back home at 8 pm. Having beer/watching movie/playing chess/speaking with friends back home.

Exploring country and culture.

• Visiting great waterfalls.
• Flying to Negros- place with black send and Apo Island - adventurous trip in small boat trough the sea with heavy rain.
• Watching sunset at Manila Bay.
• Having beer every Friday after work.
• Singing karaoke.
• Attending birthday party of rocky Filipino twins.
• Buying peanuts from small poor children, having fresh mango juice on the street.
• Eating Balut - kind of egg - almost duck.
• Standing in line for train. Doing Filipino usual Sunday activity "to mall".
• Being seen as a white girl which will be greeted "Welcome to the Philippines" even after 15 years of staying here.
• Buying so cheap clothes and shoes.
• Having "small German" inside and not understand of the "filipino manana culture" - coming 20 min late for the meeting and do not apologize (and I was said I was lucky just with 20 min)

This is my experience so far. Let`s see what 2nd month of my "being on your own for 1 year in foreign country" will bring...