Coming up…

I have 2 “big” posts coming up… but I think that I will delay the publishing for after-Easter, I guess. Various reasons. These posts will be related to:

1. The Skin-Affair
2. Abortion

1st day of March/Spring

I wrote previously about how they don’t celebrate anything on the 1st of March.

I wonder if it has to do with the geographical positioning, because in Romania, from the day we’re born we celebrate the 1st day of March as the 1st day of Spring.

Here, they celebrate Spring on the 21st of March, as its astronomical separation happens now. It is today that kids don’t go to school, and go to some movie or museum, etc. And it is in their tradition to make natural-size people from cereal straws and let them flow on the rivers, as it symbolizes winter.

I still hang on to my idea that it is more beautiful in Romania, where you give flowers to young girls and small red-white threads. Much more soul-related, as we are Latin people ;)

POST SCRIPTUM

Iżabela has Polish Windows Vista!!!

Erasmus Office

Photos from the WSHE Erasmus Office!

On the right you have Agata, our coordinator (you can almost read on her forehead “incoming” :p ).

On the left, there’s Angelika… always lost in her LCD screen. She is… well… on the WSHE Erasmus website it is written that she’s the Accomodation Coordinator?!?! Let’s just say that it feels like she’s the man in the shadow that aparently does nothing, but in reality controls everything. Or not?!.. Otherwise, why would she be the only one gazing at the screen, no matter who enters the door? /:)

Post Scriptum

I didn’t take a photo a Justyna (”outgoing” coordinator). It felt really like… I was supposed to ask for permission… It really felt academic-like, somehow… like going to the headmaster of the high school and saying “We want to take a photo for the school’s newspaper”. But… one of these days, Justyna… =)

Piotr - CFM - Summary

“Londongrad” - in short: Russian billionaires buy land-properties in London. London was also called Londonistan because of the Islamic concentration.

Pareto Principle - the 80-20 rule

Places to visit in Łódź

First photos of Piotr =)

First time when I didn’t read the summary that I got last time :D Hopefully, the last as well!

And NEWS FLASH - 10% of the Moscow inhabitants have more than $1 million each! Needless to say that we were like: “what??!…” But now we have searched on the Internet and the Russian newspaper Pravda says:

The richest people of the country account for approximately 1.5% of the population: roughly 700 families of three, which adds up to about 2 million. With all types of property taken into account, they are each worth at least $1 million.

[...]

About two-thirds of the current millionaires live in Moscow and St Petersburg, though most of them come from the provinces.

Quizz

Today we learned a bit about being a red negotiator, or a blue one… or a violet one (in the middle). It all has to do with whether you are pushy (gambler) or you are very calm (you want to be safe that you win something, as little as it might be). Or the violet one, which has the stick in one hand, and the carrot in the other, thus knowing when to push, when to step back.

Here are the questions (true/false):

1. Negotiators should not reveal their real feelings because their opposite could use it to achieve an advantage
2. A transaction which is hard to accept is better than no transaction at all
3. If the other side is allowing us to abuse them, then let it be
4. I will renegotiate a transaction that is good for me, if the other negotiator tells me that he will go into trouble
5. I take care of my own business, let the other side take care of their ones
6. It is generally recommendable to speak up about our problems
7. During the negotiations I’m afraid of being rejected
8. If the other is too blue/soft and doesn’t know how to take care about themselves, it is their problem
9. The truth is more important than the maximum goal
10. When I’m pushing and the other side is stepping back, then I should press more

You get one RED point if you answered TRUE for these guestions: 1, 3, 5, 8, 10.

You get one BLUE point if you answered TRUE for these guestions: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9.

It came out that I’m a perfect VIOLET, whatever that means! =)

Non-Human Resources Management

Funny. Of course, during courses we have been taking an interest to learn about how life goes on in Poland.

Just a couple of minutes ago, I have finished the class and we were still talking about the wages in Poland, and a French guy was so into the matter. “How can you live with these wages? And with the prices as well! I have been to Manufaktura and bought this t-shirt at the same price as in France! It’s totally unacceptable!”

And he started to express his opinion that the government has to do something about, if not it’s a shitty government and all.

On the other hand, I keep to my opinion/”theory” that has 3 components: hierarchy + “conspiracy theory”/manipulation + individualism.

March 8th

“Happy Women’s Day!”

So today it was the International Women’s Day. Just Another day to celebrate women… but “just another day” is for us, Romanians.

Here, in Poland, it is like this: they have only the 8th of March, and even then not all (meaning the majority) the ladies get flowers, but they also have more days dedicated to… us, men!

How’s that? Because they do not have a fixed date for celebrating Men… One is in March, one is in April, one is in… who knows?!

And when you think about Romania it is more like 1st of March, 8th of May, and then you also have Valentine’s Day, which in case you don’t have a very very weird/special girl… she won’t give you any present on that day :D
And we have no Men’s Day!

I just cannot put into words the amazed face that some had when I gave them flowers!

Probably the most “extreme reaction” was from Agata and Justyna - the coordinators of International/Erasmus Relations. When I gave them the flowers and said “Happy Women’s Day!” it felt like they forgot how to speak… or that the sky has just fallen on their head!

Almost like “oh no… the flowers are for us!… but why?!.. but… where do we put them?”

Probably you, my Romanian friends who read this, won’t believe this but they have put them in some water in cups! No glass-vases around… just cups! And it felt as if that was the first time that flowers stepped into the room =)

I can’t even imagine what they would feel like if they went to Romania between the 1st and the 8th of March with all the flowers around… with all the red-white threads… go mad probably!? =)

LATER EDIT

They do not carnations (”garoafe” in Romanian) that often because it is somewhat old-fashion. Very hard to find some, so eventually I gave up looking! On the 8th of March they offer tulips.

Bukovina

Reference: Non-Corporate Finance Management

Today we asked Michał (Conflicts and International Negociations) what was Piotr talking about.

He was talking about Bukovina!

Telekomunikacja Polska

Today I found out from Izabela (my Human Resources Management teacher) about the neat situation in fixed telecommunication in Poland. Some years ago, we had a monopoly on the fixed-line telecommunication in Romania. On the 1st of January 2003 that monopoly dissolved.

The result is needless to be commented. That’s why according to the OTE Group 2006 1st Quarter Results Press Release, Romtelecom has 3,835,647 fixed telephony lines, down from 4,279,038 at the end of 1st quarter 2005.

Romtelecom is owned by OTE (the Greek national telecommunication company).
Telekomunikacja Polska is owned by France Telecom and Kulczyk Holding.

Difference? Well you could as well say that the Polish state has only around 5% shares, while the Romanian state has 45%, but I guess that a drop in 500 thousand users does mean something.

And watch out for this: Telekomunikacja Polska has around 11 millions of users, while Romtelecom has 3.8 millions and dropping.

I can’t help but to wonder - of course the number of users has to be related with the telecommunication development, costs, services’ prices. But why aren’t the Polish users going to other companies? I don’t know if they have better prices, but I think not.

So… maybe in a way it was somewhat nice to have a monopoly. When it dissolved, we were a bit more courageous into diving in new services like cable telecommunications, or even VoIP.

Still… tell me Polish people - why do you like Telekomunikacja Polska? Is it that Tele2 AB (Swedish operator) is so bad?

CAG in Poland

*CAG / JAG

Later Edit

CAG = Cătălin, Andrei, George

Connection to JAG - none, just the similar letters. Is it so weird that I thought about JAG when I wrote CAG? /:)