So New Zealand then?

I am a hopeless dreamer and constant worrier, but above all I am a passionate traveller.

So far, I have been to 21 countries and lived in 3.

Yet, there I so many places I need to see! In Europe alone I can name at least another 10.

And then, it feels like I still need to see Patagonia, Peru, Australia, Iceland, Wyoming, Idaho... and of course New Zealand.

Anyway, 2015 taught me not to plan. I stopped planning, but I did decide to apply for a couple of things but not be bombed about it if it did not work out. In the end, I ended up applying for Master´s studies in Sweden (still waiting for the results there) and decided to apply for a Working Holiday Visa (WHV). That is a bit random you might think, but the truth is I for once consulted my intuition instead of constant rationalizing. :)

It all started...

I think...a couple months ago. I booked a consultation at the embassy where I asked all the possible questions about working visas. The deal is that once a year a certain number of visa open for a certain country and what I have been told is that you have to be super quick and type in your details really pronto, so that you are quicker than the masses of other people applying at the same time. To be honest - this scared me so much and I did not even get my hopes up at all.

The day that the application opened

Tuesday 1.3.2016, 10pm was the time that the applications for the visa for 1200 Czech people gets open. During the day, I could not stop the thoughts, about me finally having the option to turn my life around, distracting my attention. Twenty minutes before 10 pm I was sitting infront of my computer, a lovely cup of coffee next to my right hand. 10 pm - the applications are open aaand the website goes down. The amounts of people applying for the visa was more than the website could take. After two and half hours when I kept on clicking F5, pulling my hair and biting my nails of I finally managed to load the page and enter my details.

But...I did not know you wanted this!

Many of my friends were surprised about it and said that they never knew, I wanted to apply. For that I have a simple answer. Unlike what I was brought up to do, I am learning to be selfish and think it is a good thing. Once in the past i was talking to a friend about my idea for a bachelor thesis and another girl overheard it and guess what she wrote hers on. The option to get the visa in NZ was so precious for me that I did not want to have it stolen.

So what now?

I found out four days ago. I woke up, checked my phone that was still being charged and jumped out of the bed. Was this really happening?

"I am pleased to advise you that your application for working holiday visa has now been approved. All the best for your time in New Zealand :)" 

I could not believe it! You know what I loved about it the most? The smiley face at the end of the email!

Off to do some planning then

For now I know that there is a lot of things to be figured out. The insurance, the job hunt, the place to stay, the travelling!

But I will get there, one step at a time. Any kind of help or advice would be golden though.

Valentine' s day? YES or NO!?

This year the Czech market had the biggest turnover of the Valentine day´s related goods ever
and 
as much as I would like to think ...
 We are not all of a sudden turning into romantic human being with the ability of communicating our feelings.
We just buy into the agenda of celebrating this day and "having to buy something because it´s the Valentine´s day and my significant other would be pissed if I would not bring home at least a box of chocolate".

To clarify - I am not a hater. 
I adore the reference to this day in Chaucer´s or Shakespeare´s work.

If you know me, you probably know very well that I am not against expressing romantic feelings either.

I just don´t think that we need a special day for that and especially in country where it´s history is just not relevant.

We don´t need this day set by someone and marketed widely in the media, do we? Moreover, if imported artificially to a place with a clear aim to manipulate and sell.

Why do so we happily and blindly agree on turning feelings into material stuff?

Time for confession - When I was a teenager (unable to fight the media around me massaging my mind and creating wants and needs for me), there was a silly little thought in me, badly wanting to be liked and to receive a Valentine' s card, preferably from someone who I liked.

Well, surprise surprise, that never ever happened.

I did receive a note once, with a name 'Tom' and a telephone number, saying 'call me'. 

Well, that screams "don´t do it", right? 
Ehmmm...being a curious teenager (yeah, let´s blame it on that) I called the number and a deep and possibly 70 year-old voice answered with saying "hallo, what is it?"

I hang up instantly, all embarassed.

But that fake valentine´s card and that one embarassing phone-call made me realise how stupid I was.

SO HERE IS A LITTLE LIST OF WHAT IS WRONG WITH CELEBRATING THIS DAY IN OUR SOCIETIES:

In a nutshell, Valentine´s day in a country where it has no historical roots creates:

- a confusion (among all age goups and sexes)
- fake expectations

Besides:

- if you are single, there is one more reminder of your sometimes involuntary single-self or even your loneliness

- if you are dating someone...you are not sure what the expectation of your partner is and for some couples it might be difficult to communicate it
- most of the windows in the shops are swamped with trashy decorations
- everyone is trying to earn on it as much as the can

It often reinforces stereotypes such as: 
- the expectation for a guy to bring the rose (why not try it the other way around for change)
- the expectation for a girl to cook the dinner
- most of the Valentine´s day ads are portraying heterosexual couples, very much excluding any other possibilities

In a way you are forced to be "romantic" as the shops mostly offer:

- junk food
- cheap alcohol  
- cliche presents

Valentine´s day and me?
As you might have guessed, I don´t celebrate it.
Honestly, the best Valentine´s day was 2 years ago in Scotland when me an Aussie girl Hazel and two American girls Rachel and Courtney cooked rizotto and baked apple & rhubard crumble and talked for a long time about gender equality and the impact of pornography on relationships.

This year´s Valentine´s?
I decided to make a dinner for my ex-classmates. We gossiped about people we know, ate dinner, drank champagne and played Cards Against Humanity, which I proudly won (because I probably own the mind with the most inappropriate thinking).

Oh and by the way? 
People please stop following what media sets as "romantic". There are plenty other things more romantic than a dinner with candles. So stop thinking it, just because you saw it in the latest rom-com. 
Discover for yourself.

Off to Sweden

"So you are not spending Christmas nor the New Year´s at home!?!" 

This is a sentence I have been hearing most frequently when people would ask me...mostly out of politeness than from actually wanting to know. I would hear this sentence and a rich amount of disbelief. Possibly the sentence they wanted to ask next, but swallowed instead was: "what are you...crazy?!"

No...actually there is nothing wrong with me...I think.

Only that, I feel ready for an adventure. Last year I got to spend the Christmas Eve in Germany and the New Year´s Eve in Switzerland it was quite something.

And so, when thinking about what to do this year I realised I have outgrown the good old stay home Christmas. When figuring out where to go I was consulting both my dreams and my financial budget. Eventually, I found a match. I am going to Sweden.

Ok, Sweden is a pretty dear country you might argue, but the truth is the flight tickets were rather cheap. :)

Anyhow, Sweden has been my dream country since my childhood. In fact, the very first book I ever read on my own was The Six Bullerby Children by a Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Before Harry Potter (before I was 11) that was my favourite book that I would go back to on regular basis. This book got me all interested in the country where is seems like everyone goes by the name of Sven, Karl, Lasse or Lisa.

And yes, I already know what my presents are. We opened them few days ago. We - as in my family. The presents we awesome, turns out they are finally starting to get to know me. The cup is actually made out of bamboo fiber and corn powder, but is dishwasher proof and 100% degradable. The bottle is both for hot and cold drinks, is dishwasher proof and fully recyclable.
Conclusion? Well done family :) I love them!

So, I am not crazy by not wanting to spend Christmas with my family. 

I am off to Sweden because I want to get to know how other culture understands this event, what traditions surround those dates and how do people celebrate.

With a bit of luck I will make my way up to Lapland and with a little bit more luck I might get to see the Northern lights. Fingers crossed.

And you know what...not sure yet, but I might make it into my life mission.

How thrilling would it be to spend Christmas in different countries each year?

A marriage or...not so much?

As my friends, of the same age as I am, start getting married or even having children I cannot help reflecting on what does the concept of marriage mean for me.

I will try to be completely frank. 

I think for a long time, I have lived in a strange bubble with opinions that have been pre-made for me and that I happily called mine.
But they were not.
I was either adopting them from my parents, who are extremely fortunate to have a true fairy-tale marriage, or from Disney (or simply other kinds of media).

However, I realised, I need to strip myself from them and find out what mine and true opinion is.

 >and I am not saying that it is not going to develop and maybe even change, because it likely will, but this is where I stand now<

Before I do that though I want to get into what the pre-made opinions are, name them and swipe them away for what ever the reason.

Firstly, I think there is a hell lot of cliches and misconceptions floating around the concept of marriage.

To a large extend I have been influenced by my family, society and culture.

In the family, society and culture that I grew up with a marriage was (at least if you were born a girl) something to strive for, as in ultimate goal in your life ensuring stability and happiness.
If you try to question it, here goes a "feminist label" right there. Wait. Let me stick it to your forehead so that the men with small balls run away while they can and later make hater comments.

Think for a minute...Isn´t it the biggest pretense ever?
 I mean...there has always been this ritual of two people getting together and acknowledging their belonging with each other with a celebration. But when did that become the very ultimate goal ensuring universal happiness?

Secondly...let´s think for a bit about what do really fairy-tales and cartoons that we grow up with teach us. The story usually ends with two people getting married and saying then that they lived happily ever after.
Two questions there.
So they had to get married in order to live happily, weren´t they able to be happy before that?
 So...are we suggesting that marriage the ultimate happiness to strive for even in a EU society where half of the marriages ends up in a divorce?
>and don´t get me wrong here, I am not advocating for bringing the issue of a divorce in the fairy-tale<

Nevertheless, I dare say that this creates a false picture about the goals to reach for yourself, relationships, weddings and the marriages itself.

Thirdly, what just really bugs me about the marriage is that people let themselves be manipulated into expecting that it will be the best day of their lives.
The thing is, that it probably won´t.
The expectations are too high, many things (can) go wrong, the adrenalin and nerves are kicking in...and people often describe it as being in sort of a vacuum unable to recall details.
I think it is not the day that shall be standing out, it is the mutual relationship that shall be cherished and just not that one day, but all the days. Not this one day should be the best day of your life, it can be just any day or days.

"He finally asked her to marry him"

The other day, I overheard a conversation of two women in the gym and it went something like this: "so she finally had her way and he proposed".

 This somewhat common belief that women want to get married and men are supposed to be the ones to propose just enhances stereotypes in the society. 

Is it just me or did it really sound more like "so he finally gave up and submitted to the hers and societal expectations"? 

I am not being a radical feminist here, I am saying, there should not be any rules spoken or unspoken as to what each gender should do or expect. 

Finally...

I think that I would like to get married one day.
To me it should not be about the dress, the cake and it will probably not be "the best day of my life" (as people like to say so terribly often). To me it would be a celebration of two people who wish to belong with each other ... until they don´t. 

Don´t make a mistake...I am not saying "belonging to someone", I am saying "belonging with someone".

I am not a religious person, I don´t think that there is a need to be married in a special kind of building (besides, God should be everywhere anyway so...), but if that´s what floats people´s boats, then why not. 

Oh and by the way...

Yes, the wedding day can be the best day of your life. 

But, don´t set this for yourself as if you want it to be the best day of your life.
Maybe your first date was.
Or maybe it was that Sunday in mid-April when you went to the park and the first proper sunshine was warming up your faces.
Or maybe you are living your best day just now.

Don´t set yourself for false expectations for "the big day"...or don´t let marriage be the ultimate goal in your life.

A take home message?
Do not submit into buying what media sets for you to strive for.

If you do, don´t be disappointed if it does not work out...because it was almost designed not to. 

And a bonus!

Here is how a marriage looks like in 

matriarchal societies.

>notice specifically the proposal, inheretance and divorce issues<

Rise and shine little star!

When I was a kid...I might have been a slightly unusual one.

I never really much enjoyed playing with toys (or children of my age), I rather wanted to be involved with and understand the adult world ASAP. 

I might have comprehended few things earlier than it is usual and people in my surrounding also discovered that I have a pretty strong and photographic memory.

I don´t think that I possess a special talent, but I did somehow ended up hearing sentences like "I know that you are going to be someone one day" (seriously, does this even make sence?), "we are expecting big things from you, you know" or "I can´t wait till the time proves what is in you" (yeah, let´s hope that at least one of us lives by then).

Now that after 16 years I decided to be done with studying (at least for some time), people are gathering around me like hungry wolves around their pray. 

They are expecting me to RISE AND SHINE and prove their initial thoughts.

Everyone is so bloody ready for me to be successful and excellent.

You know what? 

I know that you want the best for me, cheers for that, but checking on me every day if I am rising and beginning to shine is exhausting! 

I think I know what I might want for myself in the future - I want to teach media literacy, I want people to use media as a tool and not become slaves to it. 

That´s the idea, but there might be a bit of road to it. 

When it comes to making it come true, there are few things in a way...such as me not having a teaching qualification or almost non-existant master studies (except New Zealand, where the tuition itself is way beyond what we´d be able to pay) that would offer this specialisation.

So dear grandma, parents, friends and supporters...bare with me a little longer. 

I do have few things (except travelling the world of course) to figure out as you can see.

And...It might just take me a wee while to find my place in the galaxy. 

>if in the meatime you bring a temting job offer, I shall consider that<  :)

Your facebook profile picture

Based on a conversation that I had with my friend Lexie the other day, 

I decided to write down what I think your profile picture means. 

Feel free to disagree. :)

Also...so that you would not think that I am a hater, I added some of my old and ridiculous profile pictures so that you can have a laugh.

A selfie means:

Hey, I just learned how to take a selfie, hope I am doing it right.

A picture with an expensive looking car means:

Hell no, that Lamborghini is not mine; I can hardly afford a bike. But my friend Steve told me that chicks will be all over me once they see this. Yeah…he is still single, not sure why.

A black and white picture means:

I am so artsy!

I was sunburnt but liked that pic anyway, so I just put it in black and white (smart or what?).

A picture with weird colours means:

Hey, I am a teenager.

Hey, I just discovered that you can play with the colours.

Hey, I am a teenager and I just discovered that you can play with the colours.

A picture with your partner means:

I am sooo in love and I need the online world to know it. 

Also, that guy/girl is taken, so you and your innocent smile better watch out.

A picture of you and your pet means:

I just broke up, but hey there is still a living and breathing thing that I can cuddle with.

I just got a new pet, you likey?

A picture of you and your new hair means:

A guy / girl just broke up with me.

I really needed a change.

A guy / girl just broke up with me and I needed a change.

A swopped profile picture means:

Haha, I am so funny, I am using my best friend´s picture as my profile picture…best friends foreveeeer!

A picture that does not show your face means:

I don´t believe in showing my face on facebook, get over it!

I don´t believe in showing my face on facebook, NSA and all that Jazz, you know? And my real name is also not John Doe, in case you were wondering.

A picture of you I smart clothes means:

I am getting serious about my career, so this is me looking decent and smart, forget about the drunk pictures, I am all about business and money these days.

A picture of you with alcohol means:

I just turned 18 and can legally drink.

A picture of you outdoors means:

Gosh, I am so outdoorsy you would not believe. When is the next hike?

A picture of you next to a wax figure means:

I will probably never meet this person, but hey...there is an extremely cool picture of me and piece of wax in covered in clothes.

A picture of you and some African/Indian kids means:

Those kids will probably never hear of internet, but let me take a picture with my newest Iphone.

A picture of you with other people means:

Gosh, I have so many friends.

Gosh, I am so popular.

A picture of you in your sunglasses means:

I could not be bothered to put on makeup today.

Check out my funky sunglasses.

I am a celebrity.

A picture of you infront of a well-known place means:

I am in Paris / Stonehenge, so let me take a picture. 

A crazy picture of you means:

I am not pretty enough to have a pretty profile picture so I decided to go with crazy instead.

A picture of a celebrity means:

This is my celebrity lookalike, see?...What do you mean I look nothing like him!? I totally look like Brad Pitt!

A painting means:

I suffer from a lack of recent photos of me. 

I am turning into an expert in art, see, I even know van Gogh!

People you meet in the park

I go running almost every day.

Not so long ago, I have realised that sometimes there are people that make your time outside less enjoyable.

For the record, I am aware of the fact the I am not the queen of the castle (the park is not mine and mine only), but those kinds of people can just make it slightly (or slightly more) difficult to share the place for that hour or two per day for me.

1. The observer

This guy (I am not sexist, I just have not seen a woman doing that so far) sits on a bench in the park, puts the roller skates (never used, I could swear on whatever you´d make me swear on) next to him. 

He places his decent beer belly comfortably on his legs (if you are "lucky", he´ll also be shirt-less), wears a creepy smile and x-rays every moving body passing by.

2. Mr. and Mrs. Hello, I am training for the Olympics

This person thinks s/he is the centre of the universe. That means that if s/he is just a split second faster than you that the line or track is his or hers and you better automatically jump out of the way as soon as possible!

3. The dogwalker

So an incident that happened to me just the other day during my morning run. 

This tiny annoying dog keps running after me and trying really hard to separate a piece of flesh from my leg.

And yet I always thought that this is a no-brainer ... if my dog ignores my command, I have him/her on a leash. 

Well, apparently that is not how the majority of Czech people thinks. 

I am sorry to say this, I don´t care how cute you think your dog is, I´d like to keep my Achiles tendons attached for a little while longer, thank you very much.

4. The dating people

You have probably seen them before...in fact you can tell the by the first look.

They are the couples on their first, second and/or third dates.

The ones that are being all shy and awkward about each other with all that chemistry in the air, braving the new world of holding hands, stroking each others faces and running fingers through each others hair.

Well, as romantic as the idea of it sounds (and believe me, I don´t mean to sound bitter) they make you feel like a party crasher, the third wheel. 

So...you as are passing by, you are thinking "how shall I act"? 

Shall I try to put on an encouraging smile with a hidden message "you keep doing what you´re doing, I´ll just roll away quietly while staring on the ground" kind of thing? 

From my experience...don´t put on the smile (there is a danger that you might end up looking like a creep)...just pretend like you are not there and they aren´t either. 

Just don´t try to run too fast, you might find yourself out of breath behind the nearest corner, having to stop to catch it. All you are likely to catch is just another couple that you´ll have to pass by while gasping for some air to fill your lungs (yep, had that happening to me too).  

5. The peeing person

This is not a jealous me talking (in a sense that women do not have it that easy), but am I the only one thinking that it is just not ok if a guy has to go, all he has to do is to take out his equipment and pee on the nearest tree?! 

Hello! I don´t want to see any of this! 

There actually is a restaurant in the middle of the park and I am pretty sure it includes a toilet, a very clever human invention that has been used for centuries now to keep things like this private.

6. Mr. and Mrs. I Work Out

There are actually two kinds of those people - those people most likely posess some slightly unusual skating skills or or those working out and posessing a trained body that they are dying for others to see. 

A message to the show off people? 

Please don´t try to impress everyone too much - you are most likely making everyone feeling awkward for you and also you are likely going to hurt yourself. Yes, I have had that happening to me and I was not trained for the first aid at that time and I do tend to feel dizzy if not faint when I see blood...so no...don´t do this to other people, they might not be qualified enough to rescue you.

A message to the "perfect" body people? 

I am sure you like to spend hours and hours of sweating to seemingly make yourself look better, but have you by any chance considered that those muscles ( yes, I probably checked them out, since you are not wearing a t-shirt wanting others to check you out) might not be much of a help in the freezing weather that you still decided to be shirtless (no matter the weather, whatsoever). Ok, forget the abs, just put some clothes on please, I feel cold for you and I don´t want to. 

7. The weirdo

If you are like me and might not always enjoy meeting other people (especially those above mentiones) and just feel like having some time alone, you might choose to walk/run on the less popular paths of the park. By the less popular, I mean...you might need to walk/ run through some darker and sheltered places. 

Beware though, in those places you are very likely to meet people you would not like to meet anywhere. Yes, they might be harmless and that striking smell of alcohol and and outfit that was dirty and full of wholes last year might just mean a set of unfortunate circumstances, but still you might have these voices of the people that care for you ringing in your head "don´t go in the dark places, dear, you never know what kind of a weirdo you are going to meet and what can happen to you". (Thanks, mum, for your upbringing and turning me into an extra-paranoid individual :) )

8. Mr. and Mrs. I just bought this perfume, you likey?

Don´t get me wrong, I do appreciate the fact that it finally seems like Czech people discovered deodorants this summer (was about the bloody time!), but they also started flirting with perfumes.

Not always successfully one might add. 

Passing those people makes you feel like you are walking through the airport duty free shop for another 10 metres...and I was hoping to breath some fresh air outside.