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Time to say goodbye

Posted by admin on Friday, February 22, 2013 · Leave a Comment 

I have déjà-vu because the party with our dear seniors last Thursday . We started adventure with Romania on Woman’s Day Party and we’ve finished it with Mask Party. The energy, positive altitude and happiness from dancing “brasoveanca” was the same, or even bigger than year ago. Looking at our guests I wish to be in such a good dance condition as they are.

Sometimes I reflect who helped whom during the last year? It’s naive question, cuz each meeting is exchanging process more or less intentional. But it’s a good start point to say multumesc all of people whom I met, who gave me positive energy and support. So, multumesc – Anna, Anca, Bogdan, Carmen, Carmen Athe, Claudia, Luci, Iris, Oggy, Mireille, Mahila, Sercan, Kike, Furcan, Madalina, Marilena, Alexandra, Raul, Izabella, Laura, Haita Anna (“Esti frumoasa – Ştiu”), Nelli (that you show me how to be puternica and independent:), Ana Pana (for advice how to be forever young – remember only good things), Viorica (for possibility to discover your active and creative life;).

And now… now it’s time to say goodbye.

But before that ….

Oggy said that he can pack all his things in small rucksack in 10 minutes. I wish I could say the same. But during this year I collect new objects. A lot of useful things… with defects which make them less useful, more surrealistic but still nice 🙂 According to Viorica’s words on crochet meeting last Wednesday – “Imagination is more important than patterns” – maybe you could play with me small game?

Use your imagination ^^ and try to guess this object, which remainds me that nobody is perfect, but thanks that world is more interesting:

So for the beginning let me introduce you Shy Lady in Blue….

It’s not easy to read all stories which she knows from her “face”. She keeps secrets hidden deep in her heart. She isn’t like an open book, although she has read a lot of them. You can only imagine in which wonderful, amazing places she was with Readers. Although her cable doesn’t allow her leave the room, she was in

… other galactic?

 

“Through the Looking-Glass … What She Found There”?

 

Maybe she met there girl with small defect? Green Girl opens her arms wide above ppl heads… She wants to protect them, but this small button on her skirt makes a big noise in shops and put potential owners off her. So she is almost so lonely and sad like rain again which  she wants protect people. Can anybody rescue her?

Could it be this guy who wanted to be a rock star

Or become the first racket in the world, winner of Wimbledon, Australian Open…

But instead of that, he became… housewife, master of pancakes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under blog, olga medrzejewska · Tagged with evs colors brasov

Pink elephant

Posted by admin on Sunday, February 3, 2013 · Leave a Comment 

Looking inside our fridge you could have problem with answer on question: who did really finish project and leave Brasov?

Our flat used to be full of people, music and conversations. Now, after Anna’s and Carmen’s leaving it’s quiet and empty. I find it a little bit strange.

To don’t feel so sad (also weather outside doesn’t make me better – again grey as a king of colors) I was searching for some activity which could make me happy and fill my time. At first I thought about travel, but still days have been too cold and short for hitch hiking. Then movie and books. But how long could you watch and read before you get bored? I needed something different. Something positive, creative, something what could occupy my mind. And then I found it! You can believe or not but it took me only two steps:

First – music!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXnT3LFTc-s

 

Second – amigurumi!

Sounds like abracadabra? 😉

Correctly! Cuz it’s a magic word which changes mood for better and brings back color to your life. It’s Japanese crochet/knitted technique. Amigurumi means small, stuffed, usually animal’s shaped toys from wool. Name of it comes from words AMI – croched/knitted and NUIGURUMI – stuffed dolls. It is typically worked in spiral rounds, using simply braid:

–        chain stitch 

–        single crochet  

–         and magic loop 

Using only this 3 basic steps you can create whatever you want…

In my case: crochet + counting + color = pink elephant 😉

 

If you want to check yourself with amigurumi, join us on nearest Wednesday, at 15.00 !

https://www.facebook.com/events/188385457969951/

Filed under blog, olga medrzejewska · Tagged with

Flowers in the snow

Posted by admin on Sunday, January 20, 2013 · Leave a Comment 

Sapteleisaseleicucopiiiii… Saaaapteleeei saaaaseeelei cucopi… Sapte lei … It sounds like one word which is said on one breath, in the same time, from different directions. It’s not a whisper, nor a scream, nor a song. And in the same time it’s all of this. This specific mantra is repeated by sellers in the gipsy market.

 

 

 

  

We are surrounded by men in cowboys hats. Women in long, colourful skirt are looking like exotic flowers blooming in the snow. A small, dark haired man starts to dance and singing to attract clients attention. Indian is playing on the keyboard and fife “ethnic music from Peru”. In the back, above mountains of clothes and shoes, melting snow and grey puddles looking like smalls, dirties lakes – there is overpass with cars and bus in rush. They are appearing and disappearing so fast, that you don’t even have time to blink.

But here, between Gipsies, Indians, clothes, shoes, ski equipment time is passing slowly on the trading and small talks.

– Polonia? Dzien dobry (Good morning) I was in Bielsko Biala. Do you need something?

Filed under blog, olga medrzejewska · Tagged with evs colors brasov

If on a winter’s night a traveler …

Posted by admin on Friday, January 11, 2013 · Leave a Comment 

…. starts his trip, he can’t be sure anything:

–         if he wouldn’t be late on train,

–         if the book which he reads wouldn’t be broken off after few first pages in the place when the plot started to be more interesting,

–         if going to the bookshop to get a replacement, he wouldn’t meet his “one and only love”.

Traveler who is starting trip on a winter’s night can be sure two things – it will be the strangest travel in his life and he will spent time with very absorbing and eccentric company – fantastic novel of Italo Calvino.

It is a postmodernism story. It plays with literary convention, style of writing, reader’s expectations. In the same time it is and it isn’t a thriller, detective, philosophical or love story. The plot is like a Chinese box  – you have story hidden in the story hidden in the story like small box in the bigger box and this bigger box in the bigger and…

There is two main characters – Readers and Ludmilla – who discover that the newest book of … Italo Calvino “If on a winter’s night a traveler” has not only a printing error (blank pages), but also it’s wrong with novel of Polish author “Outside of settlement Malbork”. In bookstore they decided to buy (instead of Calvino’s book) this Polish novel, which they suppose stared to read. But after few first words they discover that:

–         it’s not the same book which they started to read as an Italo Calvino’s book

–         it isn’t probably book of Polish author but Cimmerian writer – Ukko Ahti

–         it’s again broken off after few first pages

So they decide to check book which they bought on the university in Department of Cimmerian Literature …and they discover that:

–         book which they have, which supposes to be a novel of Ukko Ahti, which supposed to be polish novel, which had supposed to be Italo Calvino newest book …isn’t THIS book at all. Probably it’s a book of Vorts Viljandi , who maybe not or maybe was a Cimbrian author writing under the nick name (as an Ukko Ahti)! Professors of literature has been fighting about his nationality for ages!

Do you find it a little bit complicated?

It’s just a beginning of crazy travel through 10 different novels, authors (or maybe one, mad famous author, who is looking for the best method to write the biggest and the most important book in the history, Book of all the Book’s), continents and countries (real country like Switzerland and fake like Cimmeria). You become a member of this expedition,  going deeper and deeper into writing and reading process. During this trip Reader and Ludmilla meet all persons related with the book’s world – writer with creativity’s crisis, translator, publisher, censors, bookseller, professor of literature, his students, readers (of corse!)… and even – member of two fighting group inside the Reader’s Sect. In the net of author’s names, titles and broken off stories, they try to discover reason of all this chaos. But it isn’t easy. All the time truth is mixing with falsehood, reality with the dream and fiction. Action is running fast like in a good thriller. Vertigo! Book catches you from the first sentence and doesn’t let you abandon reading for any second. You are in the trap of stories.

Each chapter, each twist makes you feel more interested and confused. Construction  If on a winter’s night a traveler issimilar to the One Thousand and one Night. But if Scheherazade starts her story exactly in the same place where she stopped last night, in Calvino’s book each beginnings is opening a new novel. Each of this novels is in the same time parody and obeisance of book genres or style of writing famous authors like Kafka, Borges, Dostoyevsky. Each title of this novels is a part of a long sentence which appears at the end, if you are attentive reader, able to find it. Between all the novels which has been told you, you find chapters with numbers, telling you story about Reader’s and Ludmilla’s investigation. And between sentences of this detective story you can find paragraphs about “art and nature of reading”. And it’s again just a… beginning of surprises and games in which Calvino invites you 😉

So, if:

“You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino’s new novel, If on a winter’s night a traveler. Relax. Let the world around you fade.”

 

 

Filed under blog, olga medrzejewska · Tagged with book, colors

It seems that all playgrounds in Brasov look the same. Small squares with colorful toys for children in the middle and dark wooden bench around it. But if you look closer (especially at dusk) and more careful you can discover theirs secrets, things which you’ve never supposed to exist.

For example this playground close to our flat. Do you know the second bench on the left of entrance? Probably you set on it from time to time. Do you know that it’s not an ordinary bench? It can recognize your dreams almost immediately when you set down on it. It can not only recognize your secrets but also remember them and in the right time show it up! How? Your body, or if you prefer to call it your dreams, expectations or thoughts, leaves on it a shape from the light. This light shadow will still stay on the bench long time after you will have gone away. In this way I can tell you that the old lady from 5^th floor is dreaming about men with the moustache from the 2^nd floor; the small girl with a long red hair wants to have a cat and me …I avoid this bench like a devil avoids holly water 😉

Last Thursday we were with Claudia and Juan in theater on the play tilted: “Când Isadora dansa”. It was a guest appearance of the Odeon Theater from Bucharest. The main character, Isadora Duncan, was a famous American dancer from the beginning of XX century. She revolutionized ballet. As a first dancer in the history she took off ballet shoes and stared to dance in white Grecian tunic and bare feet. This more comfortable style correspond with her dance philosophy. She hated classic rules of dance. Instead of that she wanted to base dance on natural movement and emotion. She used to tell:  “I spent long days and nights in the studio seeking that dance which might be the divine expression of the human spirit through the medium of the body’s movement”. (more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan)

The play based on the last 4 years of Isadora’s life –  fight with poverty, searching for the way of getting out of it. I admit taht at the beginning I was a little bit disappointed cuz I had expected more dance in the play about dancer. But with time I started to enjoy. It was funny to built a plot from the singles words in different languages. Isadora lived in international environment. Her husband was a Russian poet Sergei Yesenin, her housemaid was a French, her best friend was a Greek and she was trying to make interest with “very important Italian guy”. Actors mixed all this languages with Romanian so from the scene it heard like a languages puzzles.

The reality is always different then dreams. Different and ruthless. It meticulously points all my weakness and mistakes out.

I wasn’t aware my suppressions. I thought that I was able to… read favourite book in English unaided of dictionary. Instead of that, I’ve been fighting with words, phrases and constructions. It’s like never ending nightmare when you try, the best you can, to finish something under the pressure, and you can’t do it. In place of 10 read pages, 20 new occur. The time is running fast, faster and faster with every single page which you’ve finished. An impatience colors your face in red. Your cheeks burn you like white-hot kettle. You feel almost physically pressure of time. You start to recognize that this book has only outset, without any ending. Never mind – happy or not. You can’t just wait to finish this book. But probably it will first change itself into huge, paper Frankenstein and… eat you!

Ok, stop right know!

My imagination is bigger then I. Because of that, when I was kid I avoid all this dreadful, scary movie. You know, all of this movies with frenzied had of Jack Nicholson squinting at you from damaged doors.

Every flying white robe, each crazy scientist vivifying dinosaurs or breeding brave new humanoid race, made me tremble with fear. Even know, I can’t take it easy. I’m not able to watch this kind of movie without batting an eyelid. I need a big, soft pillow behind which I can hide myself. Like a small kid I’ve still believed that if I hide my face behind the pillow or close my eyes I will be safe. I will be invisible for the monsters, ghosts, serial killers, aliens and other Predator. Cuz, obviously, if I can’t see them, they can see me neither!

So I was frightened to death when draught suddenly closed… book which I was reading in empty flat. The book was closed with a dull thud. In the same moment not only book was closed, but draught also switched off flickers of hope in my eyes. Hope that this book would be read one day. It left me almost without any consolation. Almost, cuz, this dull thud forced me to thinking, if I’m still dreaming or not? Maybe I’m a prisoner of new, unknown words from my favorite book? Why I can’t stop reading? Are I really reading or maybe I’m writing long, boring story from the words which I checked in dictionary. Unknown words from book which I was reading? I started to hesitate like Chuang Tzu: “I don’t know whether I was a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man?” … And…

Didn’t I told you, that this story has no ending! 😉

* Ladies and gentlemen!

This blog was written by words witch I had found new in “Small gods” of Terry Pratchett, the book I had been reading for our English Book Club. The idea of using new vocabulary to write a short story occurred in my mind thanks:

–          Furkan’s activity “Understanding English”

–         Creative Writing.

On this meetings we… have fun and practice English, writing, imagination. It’s also good way to leave fear of making mistake. Contrary, the first rule of CW is: mistake can make you more creative… writer 😉

   We have good news for you! Since last Saturday Brasov hasn’t been ghost town any more. The fearless vampires killers defeated ghost and company from hell, sending them back to the dark side. On the way to the victory they had to dance with zombie, whisper with ghost, prove that they were stronger then werewolf and more clever then Dracula, even if they hate sudoku! At least, when the all mission were completed. All “magic” objects, which had to protect them, were gathered and new, music skills were learned, they became strong, clever, fast and cunning enough, to beat the beasts.

The last battle took place on the Piata Sfatului. There, close to the fountain, the door to the death world appeared suddenly, almost with the last sunbeam. Our defenders surprised unwelcoming visitors determination visible on their painted faces. Dark colors of scary make-up, bruises and scares covered their faces made them more powerful and formidable.

Completely shocked monsters were unable to make any movement. They just stayed frozen like an ice monuments. So defenders smelled in this their chance on victory. They started to play music using recycling instruments. But it wasn’t nice melody! Players knew that the first thing which monsters hate just after people and love is noise. Although they are wild beast they can appreciate beauty of music and have very sensitive ears. They couldn’t stand noise. It forced them to pass the door and go back to the hell…

Hi…!

I am Umpaniel, angels of god… I can remove do evil spirit and devils. I came to Braşov because
Purgatory’s door had opened by dracula in Braşov.  I need your help for close the door and remove the freaks. I will tell u what you are going to do, just join the Ghost Town…
I said Ghost Town because freaks are here and they will attack Braşov in 27th October…
Noroc…!

Don’t trust my face…

… neither my voice or clothes…

I’m a very, very old… woman.

I was fighting with vampires when your grand grand grand grand grand mother didn’t dream not only about grand grand grand grand grand children but also they couldn’t imagine having babies.

None know better then me how to beat this beast from hell.

I’m here to help you. I have been prepared special stuff for you from two months.

So you can ask,  what I’m doing here, among flying pages from the old books? Shouldn’t I sharpen wooden stakes and polish silver bullets?

Oh, my dear fearless vampire killers! The answer is simply… I’m waiting for you! …in George George Bariţiu Public Library, on Saturday afternoon,  at 16:00 o’clock. 

Do you know this kind of things which are permanently present in your life, so natural and obvious that you even don’t notice them? Neither think about them. Why should you, if it seems that they are with you, for you, as your background or best old friends, forever?

I can ask you, what if this things someday disappear? But probably you wouldn’t be able to answer, cuz it’s so obvious that they never would disappear!

They have been with you from so long as you can remember, and they will with you till the end. So probably you just make strange face and shrug your shoulders in a guest of disbelief. Maybe you also take me for lunatic, but I really want to ask you: what if… Tampa will disappear?

Do you think it is impossible?

Oh, really? 😉

…was an ordinary day if you consider two things. First – changing the old part of Brasov into huge playground. Second – “magic number”, which was six: 6 teams in 6 different places tried to complete 6 missions related with the city.

It wasn’t difficult to find out first localization, even if it had been given as a puzzle. Everyone in Brasov knows two twins tower behind the city’s wall. But distance between the Colors Office and the Black Tower wasn’t short. Especially, if the Master of The Game – Sercan – forbade players using city transport, bikes or cars. So they need to run! And they did it! After run and climbing (a little bit) they met Oggy and Furkan…

Contrary to the first, the second localization wasn’t so easy to recognize. The team, who had finished mission in Black Tower as a first one, completely lost in the city. They wasted time and forces on running between points in different part of the old town. Because of that they lost their first position and finished the game almost the last. But they weren’t the only one, who had problems with finding correct place:
– We tried to locate this place from the piece of picture. My first impression was: St. Nicholas Church, but there isn’t Brasov’s letters behind it. So I fought, that we had made a mistake and we should be more focus on the letters. They were a clue – told to me Emilia, one of the players.

Finally all teams recognized in the pictures….

the Ecaterina’s  Gate, and had no problems with next mission.

Despite of climbing close to the Tampa, turning pages in searching for underline words to make from them a story, was favourite task for the future winners. This love story, as they discover at the end, led them to the… bench:

– It was the most funny and the easiest task in the same time – said Johny, from the winner’s team – we knew where was this bench. There was only one stone bench on this alley.

Next step was the Black Church. Here players should proved if they were heedful beholders or not:

– We had problem with finding “jumping boy” and taking good, sharp picture of him – admitted Andre, 14 years old, dark haired boy, member of the second placed team – It was the most difficult task.

Not for everyone. Elegant grey lady, Nicoleta, who played in one team with small, lively Tea and blond bloger Emilia, liked this task the most:

– I love finding small things among bigger and pay attention to the details – she said with beautiful smile.

Two last localizations and missions weren’t so problematic. Maybe except for one team which probably never before have been in Casa Muresenilor. But “call to friend” solved this problem 😉

It was interesting to observe how players managed with phone code. Some of them were using only cell, some looked for help in traditional method – pencil and paper, and Raul… Raul didn’t need even cell to broke the code. He knew by heart relation between numbers and letters in his phone and without any blink read from numbers way to the next stop. Now we know who has been sending the biggest number of SMS in Brasov 😉

The game finished on the main square, Piata Sfatului.

Both – players and we – were happy and in good mood. For us it was like a warm-up, test before next round. Cuz… Mission Colors: the ghost town, is coming soon! Be prepared!

Have you seen “Jumanji”? It’s a story about very old magic board-game. When two teenagers start to play it, they realize a man trapped for decades in it. With each throw of dice their home changes into one of the places from the game. Once it’s an ancient city, other time it could be a jungle with running elephants. All adventures and dangers can only be stopped by finishing the game. Sounds it interesting?

So, what could happen if you find this game? Will you join it? Imagine for a moment that Brasov become a huge board and you are a player – it’s easy if you want 😉 Close your eyes and try to visualize that you are traveling cross the time and space, from place to place, from mission to mission – solutions of tasks show you the way. During this travel you have to play different roles, solve some mysteries, prove your smartness and reflex. The city is changing in your eyes, well known tourist points of Brasov uncover their second faces. All the time surprises are waiting on you behind the corner. You discover Brasov again, as a new place, full of adventures… Congratulations! You’ve just participated in the city game!

What is it? It’s a kind of city entertainment – mix of game, RPG (Role-Playing Game), flash mob, performance. The city in the game is treated as a playground, some kind of huge board. And in the same time is also a background for story on which the game is based. Because… each game has its own plot around which players have to solve some task. It can be related with the history of the city, with some books, movies or it can be created especially for the game. There are few kinds of city game. One of them is photo game

which we prepared for you with COLORS.

Yes! Especially for you! 😉

So, if you like photography and adventures, if you are open mind person who isn’t afraid of challenges, if you want to check up your knowledge about Brasov or get more information about it in unconventional way – join the Mission COLORS: OLD TOWN! And let the city  leads you!

The game starts on Saturday, 29th of September, at 15.00.

Meeting point: Association COLORS, Mircea cel Batran Str. Nr 4.

All you need is time, team, camera and good mood!

See you in the game!