New Year...

1rst of January 2010! It's time to look back on the last 12 months and to think about what I want to achieve in 2010...

I have just read the post I wrote one year ago about what 2008 meant for me and what I expected from 2009.  So here I go for 2009 - 2010...

2009:

I was expected a change in my life: new job, new city, new life! 2009 has been a kind of transition for me. I came back to Paris/France, found a job here and started to "settle down". That doesn't mean I am going to spend my life in Paris, but at least some years.  I am doing a job I like in a very interesting sector and I have been learning a lot this year on the professional side. I have been working as finance controller for more than 2 years now and I have signed in 2009 my first permanent position contract!!

I have been traveling this year but unfortunately not enough I think... new job contract means no holidays the first year :( 

Almost one year ago I spent 4 days in Iceland!! It was a great trip with crazy people :p (I am sure some of them will read this post) ... great time in Iceland with a lot of fun... Northern Lights... Blue Lagoon... good remembers...

In March I came back to France... by car and train.. from Norway!! I can say that was the trip of the transition :-)

I also went back to Oslo in October to visit some friends. It was kind of strange to be back and knowing all the parts of the cities but not living there anymore... I miss a lot of friends there.

Two weeks later I traveled to Morocco with my younger sister. It was a week holidays with a lot of beautiful landscapes, of course a lot of sun and quality time with my sister!!! 

One year ago I also wrote I wanted to continue to do some sport and playing Capoeira. Unfortunately I sprained one wrist (doing some sledging 10 days before leaving Oslo)... and because of that I stopped playing Capoeira for some months... I started again in September in a Capoeira group in Paris. I am still enjoying but I still have to improve a lot! I also went jogging quite often this year and did 2 races: one of 6km and one of 18.5km! I am really proud of the second one! I still can not believe I did it... just running for 2 hours!

So actually 2009 was full of a lot of things!! and of course I have been meeting great people and spending great time with my friends!

2010:

I didn't reflect yet about how I would like 2010 to be... but it might be a continuity of 2009.

Professionally, I don't expect a big change. I just want to get more and more responsibilities, get more experience as finance controller and success in my position.

1 month ago I have been running 18.5 km so I should run a half-marathon in 2010! I have almost 12 months to get ready :p Capoeira will still be one of my weekly activities!

I hope 2010 will be a year fulled of travels!! I have already one planned in March... I have just bought the tickets today with a friend! direction: Budapest!! I would like to visit some countries/cities of Europe and discover more France too! As you can see I didn't go back to Brazil in 2009... So let's hope 2010 will be the year for that!! I am still dreaming to go to Machu Pichu (Peru)!! and I would like to visit some friends in Canada, Singapore, Europe... I should take one year off :p just kidding...

Let see what will happen in 2010!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone we are reading this post and let me if you pass by Paris!

Back to my own blog :p

Hi!!!

Is there still people reading my blog???

It's a shame, I didn't write anything for month... I have been quite busy since I am back to France. So I guess I have a lot to write here... I don't know from where I should really start... I will try to make a short summary and probably will come back on some points later on.

Back from Norway mid march, I started to search for a job in Paris... After several interviews with head hunters, companies during 5 or 6 weeks ; I finally got a great job in Novartis (pharmaceutical company). It has not been easy to get this one and I had to go through 5 interviews. I got the final answer end of April and started working there on the 11th of May ; exactly 2 months after I ended in Electrolux in Norway. Everything went so fast... For sure I cannot complain, especially when we know that there is a crisis and a lot of people searching for job. 

After getting a job I had to search for a flat. It is kind of hard to get a flat in Paris and of course it was just impossible to get a flat without having a job (and not a good idea neither when we know that it is expensive in Paris). So beggining of May I started to visit flats and here also I have been really lucky. In less than 2 weeks I were moving to my own flat :D By the way I am really thankfull to my friends who hosted me in Paris for 2 months ;-) So mid of May I were living in a empty flat... so the next step was to buy everything!! Today I really like my flat: 30m², only for myself (that's inbelievable after all the flat share or student rooms I have been living in). I even get a view on the top of the Eiffel Tower and on the Sacré Coeur (even if it is really small from my windows :p)

So since I am having a kind of "normal life", working a lot that's for sure by spending some evenings at the office. I didn't travel some much since I am back but still, I have been to Dijon - french city (a week end with some friends), Etretat in Normandie with my company, visiting my family in the Alps several times, in Netherlands visiting a Dutch friend, and in La Ciotat - great city at the sea closed to Marseille. 

Because I do not have any holidays this year, I am enjoying the sun in Paris everytime it's possible by doing some sport, having pic nic and meeting friends in the city!

Talking about sport... I cannot wait to play Capoeira again. I think I have found a nice Capoeira group here in Paris, I have been to 2 trainings in August but it was hard, so I am waiting for the normal training to start again in September! 

Tonight I was reading some notes I wrote down end of 2008 when I was reflected about staying in Norway or not (for more info read the post of Nov.08). I could read that I was looking for a change, looking for new challenges, looking to work in a younger environment, looking forwards to spend more time with my family, dreaming about having a flat only for myself, looking to work in a team. I still remember all the doubts I had... today I can affirme that I made the right choice!! I have tried to get something different and I really think I did it. I love my new job: working in the pharmaceutical sector it's complex, hard but really challenging and interesting. I am working in a young environment and I really feel that I am part of team. Of course I still have a lot to achieve... One of my objective this year was to go back to Brazil. I will have to postpone it for next year, but it's still on my list! I am starting to miss Norway so hoppefully I will go there in few weeks to spend a week end, meet some friends again, walk in the street of Oslo, and hear people snakker Norsk :)

Now it is time to go to bed. I will have a hard week at work. But I promise I will try to get better at writing in my blog more often! :D

A bientot!

Hasta luego!

Até mais!

Bye Bye!

Ciao!

Ha det bra!

PARIS!!

Paris, here I am. Back to my own country :)
Already more than 10 days that I am back to France and 2 weeks that I left Norway. I still feel that my life is really strange right now. I am looking for a job and I am having interviews everyday. I still do not have my own place; I am staying at the flat of some friends. But since I am here I am enjoying a lot being back to the French life.

Last week it was quite warm in Paris (at least for me coming from Norway) and a lot of sun!! I even went for a jogging in the Parisian streets lol. Different than running in the Norwegian nature… Unfortunately I am waiting to find a job before subscribing to a Capoeira club again. I really miss playing Capoeira… but hopefully soon I will start again.

I am meeting my French friends most of the time here; so great to live in the same city as them. Some of my friends have already tried the Norwegian waffles (see I am bringing the Norwegian culture until Paris). 
I did my first “after work” this week in Paris. Great concept: young people go to a bar/club after work and we just eat, drink, dance and have fun; and of course we have to be well dressed. We went to one located in the Champs Elysées with my friends from the school in Grenoble. Almost 4 years we were not all together at a same place  :)
Last week we had a party in the flat where I am staying and I felt it so different than the Norwegian parties. Here in France, people bring alcohol/drinks and put everything on one table and we just share with everyone. I was a bit shocked to see that again and I was really feeling uncomfortable to take a glass of wine in a bottle that I even didn’t know who bring it. In Norway, it is not usual to share your own alcohol (probably because there it’s too expensive). So I can say that I lost a bit of my French culture… but I am sure it will come back ;-)

What about my interviews? I already did a lot… I am learning to be really patient… Processes take for ages… but I am still confident. Actually I cannot wait to start working again in a new environment, and to start a new life in Paris!

Paris is really a beautiful city. I am keeping my eyes opened every time I see the Eiffel Tower. I am enjoying so much to walk on the Champs Elysées and see the Arc de Triomphe when I am on my way for some interviews. Every where I go in this city I find something beautiful :) Important to say that I am from the Alps so I am a bit like a tourist here :p

A road trip from Norway to Paris

I am right now in the train to Paris, writing this post. I left Norway 2 days ago after a great farewell party on the Friday 13th. Bernd (a German intern in Norway) and me finished our internship the same day (on the 10thof March) and decided to organize our goodbye party together.
It was a great evening and I really enjoyed my time with my friends. Of course it has been really hard to say “ha det bra” to a lot of them but I know that I will be back to Norway to visit them. So after saying good bye, cleaning the party room and walking back to my flat, it was already 4.30 am. Departure from Oslo planned on the 14th at 9am!! So after 3 and half hours sleep, I packed my last things, gave back my keys of the flat and ready to leave! 4 German friends of Bernd arrived by car in Oslo on the Thursday 12th to pick us up :) So around 9.30am on the Saturday 14th we left Oslo by car… really strange feeling at this time. I think I started to realize that I was leaving Norway… Then we drove for hours… until Sweden… we made a stop and a quick sightseeing in Goteborg… and then drove until Copenhagen. There I met two friends of mine from Brazil. We had some drinks at their student house and then we went for a walk in the city center. Copenhagen was a bit empty for a Saturday evening… it was raining. After 5 hours sleep I woke up to continue the road trip: direction to Germany! After some kilometers, we took a ferry from Denmark to Germany. By the way, Bernd and me throw away a bottle with a message inside:) Something we wrote almost one year ago, once we were sitting at Aker Brygge in Oslo. Let’s see if we get a reply one day :) And then Germany… back to Europe… we drove for hours… dropping some friends of Bernd on the way, and then around 9pm we arrive at the house of Bernd’s father. We had a relaxing evening and a good night sleep. That was yesterday (Sunday 15th of March). This morning I took a train from a small town in Germany in direction of Dortmund. There I had to take another train to Köln. It has been really exhausted: I am traveling with 4 big bags, my laptop, and other small bags… :s but German people have been really nice with me and helpt me a lot to carry all my stuff :) even some people working at the Köln train station took care of all my bags for around 30 minutes, just the time for me to grab some food, print my ticket to Paris and see really quick the Köln cathedral. In 3 hours I should be in Paris… back to my country after months being away. Of course I have been in Paris and France quite often during my stay in Norway but today it is not the same. I am really going back to my own country. Back to the French language, the French culture, the French food :) I am really happy and excited!! Now I need to prepare my interviews. I am having several job interviews during this week in Paris. I hope I will find my dream job really soon :)
I still not completely realize that my experience in Norway is over but that was my own decision to leave Norway and move on. Today I am thinking of all my friends who leave in Norway ; I am already missing…
No more battery on my laptop so I will stop the post here. But soon I will come with more updates about my life in France :)

Updates

Here comes some updates about my life...

Yes, we are today the 9th of February and I will be leaving Norway in 4 and half weeks. Time goes fast!! but a lot of things happenned during the last weeks.

Around 2 months ago, I have applied for a job within Electrolux. But it was not a random job, it was to work as Controller of Electrolux Latin America, and guess what? the position was in Brazil. So of course when I saw it, I didn't think so much and I applied for this job. After some weeks I got the interview, and few weeks later (in January) I got the best news ever when Electrolux Latin America called me in my office to tell me that I have been selected to work with them in Brazil!!! I just couldn't believe that my dream was becoming true. Almost 3 years I have left Brazil... 3 years that I am dreaming to go back there!! 

Unfortunatelly... few days after getting this great news, Electrolux Brazil/Latin America realized that I could not get my work permit (because of some stupid brazilian laws...) I will not go into the details and I will just make it short... It has been hard to accept it and it has been a big desappointment... I am really angry at the people who selected me without checking first the administration process... I will say that it has not been really professional but it's also probably the Brazilian way... I realised that it's sometimes hard to realize our dreams. I thought that the selection process and the interview will be the most difficult part to get this job and actually it was not...

But anyway... that's part of life and this kind of experience makes us even stronger! I cannot do anything about it... and I just have to accept it!

I decided to continue smiling and I am sure I will get other great opportunities.

So today, I sill do not know where I will be in few weeks... but I am almost sure that I will be in Europe and probably in France or in a country closed to France. I decided now to be closer to my country, friends and family. So I am now starting to search for a job! Let's see where I will end up!

ICELAND!

I really want to share with you my trip to Iceland!

It was great and it was actually one of my best trip and Iceland was one of the most beautiful country I have visited to far!! I just love it :)

We were a group of 10 people (all working in Norway and most of us AIESEC interns) to travel to Iceland. Actually a group of 9 guys and me!! Lucky me right?? 4 days in Iceland with 9 boys :p

FRIDAY 30th:

- check-in at the hostel,

- walk on the sea cost in Reykiavik

- going to one of the pool closed to the hostel. The pool was outside but the water was so warm!! there were some small pools with different degrees of water: 38°C, 40, 42 and even 44°C. Trust me, that's amazing to just be outside in a pool during winter in Iceland, where the temperature is for sure under 0°C!!

- we try to see the Northern Lights on Friday evening but unfortunatelly they didn't show up. As you can imagine it was really cold, so we put some music and started dancing in the cold, hoping that the Northern Lights will appear :) but it was not successfull at all :p

- we finish the day with a small party at the hostel woth some drinks and went to bed!

SATURDAY 31th:

- wake up at 8am! time for a nice breakfast and then we started driven on the road called "Golden Circle". I think we drove around 350 Km during the day. We started with the old parliament (Pingvellir), continued with the Geysirs and finish with the huge waterfalls (Gulfoss).

Pingvellir is the place in between the tectonics plates from America and Europe!!

The Geysirs... really amazing. You can see the water boiling...and suddently it just explode!!

Gulfoss: beautiful waterfall!! the sun was shinning so it was even possible to see a rainbow :)

This day was great and the weather was perfect. I have been really surprised by the beauty of the country. Honestly I didn't expect at all to see all what I have seen in only one day!!

End of the day, we drove back to the hostel. The weather was still great and the sky clear, so after a nice dinner in Reykjavik we decided to run after the Northern Lights! :) And we have been really lucky. A bit outside of the city we started observing some strange lights in the sky, but we were wondering if it was a cloud or not. We continued driving and stopped in a small dark road. At this time we realized that it was really the Northern Lights in the sky :D great moment. At the beginning, it was only one light in the sky and nothing else... nothing was really happening. But after some minutes the lights started moving, disappearing, coming back stronger, moving again... We even enjoyed writting our name on some of the pictures with the light of the cellphone.

Back to the hostel we started a pre party and around 3am we ordered 2 taxis and went dancing in Reykjavik!! We left the pub around 6.30am (so different from Oslo where every place close at 3am), and had breakfast at 7am at the hostel. After 3 hours sleep we were ready again to continue our adventure in Iceland :D

SUNDAY 1st of February: 

We left the hostel around 11am and took the direction of the Blue Lagoon!! We enjoyed the warm water from 1pm to 6pm. Long time I didn't spend 5 hours in the raw in the water!! It was just great! the water was around 38°C and around us it was montains and snow everywhere!!

Here the proof:

On the evening we went for a dinner in the city center and then came back to the hostel to relax a bit :) No party on Sunday evening :p

MONDAY 2nd:

Last day in Iceland. We had a nice walk on the cost and then we took the direction of the airport!!

THIS TRIP WAS JUST PERFECT!!

A new year is starting!

Happy New Year to everyone who will be entering in my blog :)

2008:

It looks for me a quiet year. One year ago I was working in Norway, and today I still here. I have been learning a lot professionnaly from my experience in Oslo at Electrolux. But out of my work experience I didn't feel I have been achieving so much. That's why today I am sure about my decision (see my previous post) and I know I want to change something and move on!

But still here what 2008 was for me:

- travels and new countries visited: Dublin (Ireland), Tromso (north of Norway to see the mid night sun), Germany & Portugal (perfect summer holidays), Stockholm (Sweden: twice in 10 days! hehe).

- several trips to France. I realized that I have really great friends in France and in Paris and I don't want to lose them. My time in Paris is always one of the best one!

- I have started Capoeira for 4 months now

- and of course 2008 was a full year in Norway where I got to know the country and the culture better. About the language... not sure! Norsk min er ikke sa bra :p

Transition 2008-2009:

I spent my Christmas holidays in France (in the French Alps). I had a great time there seeing my family and some of my friends. I missed them a lot so it was good to be back to my own country. 

2009: a new year!

I am really looking forward to 2009! I am expecting a lot from this new year, but of course only me can make the change I am looking for. 

How I see 2009:

- new job (in 2 months my current contract will be ending)

- new country? city? I don't know yet where I will be in 2-3 months. But for sure it will be a new experience starting somewhere. I hope staying some years at this "new place/city/country" and stop moving every year.

- continue travelling: hopefully in 2009 I will be back to Brazil and I will visit Peru and the Machu Pichu (it is one of my dream to go there)

- continuing doing sport and Capoeira!

and of course more fun!!!

Let's see what will happen!! :D