My life

Bit of other kind of interest...

2007-06-05T03:30:00.000-07:00

I have some interest in architecture and interior design, so I tried out a software. My first ever attempt to do anything related to this topic.
Here is the result (more or less the flat we live in at the moment):

April is over too...

2007-05-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I will soon start to build a new blog... on my own website :)
Till then I do put some posts here too.

January is over...

2007-01-31T05:54:00.000-08:00

probably this was the most "stressful" month in my past 2-3-4 years :)

Well, this is basically the end of a period in my life... and being so, the beginning of a new. I'm excited about this new. Excited about whatever this year has for me.
Not yet being totally prepared, but full of energy and motivation.
MC selection is on the way... application completed, personality tests completed, speeches, confidence vote and interviews still to come...

I will do update regulary.

Back to quoting...

2007-01-22T02:12:00.000-08:00

"Nobody is granted with a dream without granting him also with the forces to make it real"

Don't know who said it, just read on the AIESEC forum and I like it :)

Pretty busy...

2006-12-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

...I am, at the moment.

1. I'm preparing something for X-mas. I always do some own stuff as a present. I still have to finish it for mum, Pepez and his parents.

2. I have to finish 2 essays till next tuesday and 3-4 more till mid january.

3. I have to collect my endorsements for the UCAS application, have to write my personal statment and such before we leave to Swiss weekend in January... (for my application to the universities of Dundee and Strathclyde)

4. Endorsements and preparation for the MC application. Ddl end of January.

Well, basically that is all. And luckily they are supporting each other in a nice way :) 2. and 3. are pretty much useful for 4.

I'm back...

2006-12-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

This is my first post after Romania...
I have a lot of things to put here. About my stay there, about the things happened since then, about the things that I'm up to and lots more...

Getting back to the habbit of posting quotes:

"If you are serious about your goals, drop the conditions. Go directly to your goal. Be your goal! Conditions often disguise strategies for escaping accountability. Why not just take charge and create the experience you are looking for?"

Eric Allenbaugh

After now...

2006-11-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

last week was full of... emotions... feelings... and letting our spirit fly high :)

RTS was amaizing...

But something happened even before that...

I found THIS.
"If you enjoy being with people, engaging in lively discussions about the issues in society today, are someone who is willing to share ideas and open to the ideas of others with different viewpoints and experiences, you are likely to do well on the community education programme."

Wooow...

Deep inside the AIESEC jungle...

2006-11-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

you can hear the facis rumble...
u uuuu faci, faci...
u uuuu faci, faci...

RTS was supertare! :))))))))))

USA and Greece and UK

2006-10-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

About work

2006-10-27T04:16:00.000-07:00

We (AIESEC Oradea) recently won a grant and going to participate at some event (I didn't quite get what it is about).
But anyways, we had to preapre some stuff for it... such as - indicating the international charachteristic of AIESEC - posters of different countries. Since not too many members have dealt with DTP before, my time had come to prove my designing abilities :))

Here is what I came up with:
You can comment :))

We have 15 countries, and their flags will be made also, and some other things bought. Kind of a little Global Village.

But the thing I wanted to say: I chose the pictures based on how I percieve these countries (I also made UK, China, USA and Greece).
I showed them to Pepez and Pike. My other finnish friends... do you think there is something missing?

I'm waiting for suggestions...

Other sad news from home...

2006-10-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

"Mancs" died on sunday...
He was member of the Spider Special Rescue Team in Miskolc. Gained international recognition when saving a little girl's life after an earthquake in Turkey couple years ago.

Vasárnap elpusztult Mancs, a mentőkutya. A németjuhász számos hazai és külföldi katasztrófánál segített embereket menteni, és nemzetközi hírnevet szerzett, amikor egy törökországi földrengésnél megtalált egy kislányt a romok alatt.
Origo cikk

Here, with the bronze statue of his in downtown Miskolc.

I am ashamed...

2006-10-24T03:39:00.000-07:00

and believe me, many others are, too.

You might have heard or read what happened yesterday in Budapest...
I only read, from news sites. I wish I didn't. I might join Tomi and try to forget that such sites even exist.

But still, yesterday was supposed to be an uplifting day... And not every day we host the king of Norway and Spain and many other...
For many, it was clear since April that the celebrations won't happen in a peaceful way. The others were hoping...

Tribute

2006-10-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

Timeline of Hungarian Revolution

also:
House of Terror - a must to visit for anyone trying to understand why hungarians are as they are.

Note

2006-10-19T05:51:00.000-07:00

If you find a posting ending way too soon and sudden it's only because I got some other stuff to do during but I will get back to those posts and finish them :) So check them every now and then :)))

Hm...

2006-10-19T05:36:00.000-07:00

ENFJ - "Persuader". Outstanding leader of groups. Can be aggressive at helping others to be the best that they can be. 2.5% of total population.

Take Free Jung Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

If I was a well known leader...

2006-10-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Yesterday...

2006-10-19T05:02:00.000-07:00

We had the Info session for AIESEC yesterday afternoon. I was supposed to talk about conferences, meaning, motivate them for going to conferences.
I started by making comparison between education as we have it in its traditional/formal way and how learning happens in AIESEC. Of course, I did not have time to talk about the other 5 ways, and it wasn't the aim, afterall. I mentioned how many different kinds of conferences we have, then shared some moments of my experiences being a delegate. Starting with my first TEACH where Marcus Orlovsky had a 2-3 hour long motivational speech... talking about fuck ups :) and I remember most of us was amazed and was enjoying a lot... I would love to be able to have such an impact on people.
Then ACCESS came to my mind (it was called Introsemma at that point) where we had a session with a futurologist.. :) I don't exactly remember what we did there, but I do remember my feelings. And that I still have the guy's business card :)
And finally about EuroLDS 2004. There I made a personal 10 year goalsetting (it's changed a little bit since then...). But I'm here now because of that plan... I said I wanted to work in 3 different countries with AIESEC. Hungary, Finland, and now Romania :)

I have to say I felt really good being on stage. And I got good feedbacks also... I wish I could chair a newie camp at least for my home LC, MiskoLC.
And also to do facilitation at national or international newie conferences.

I used to be afraid being on stage, or more of making fun of myself on stage. I am not, anymore :)
I believe myself to be credible. I talk about things I have experienced, I love, I enjoy... things that are truly part of me. I am confident talking in English, thinking in English...

Whatever... :) I enjoyed being in front of those people yesterday.

About Romania part 3 (ARp x)

2006-10-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

The things I wanted to write about:
- People (my hosts, the hungarians and in general)
- Places (Oradea and the countryside)
- AIESEC (the conference and in general)

Let's take the people for now.
(In my opinion, way too many people smoke here.)

It's quite strange being abroad but not really being a foreigner... I don't know exact numbers, but it feels almost half of the people here are hungarian... okay, the situation is more difficult than this. A whole lot of Romanians speak hungarian... There was not really a situation where I couldn't survive with hungarian. Some of the locals (romanians) are upset, cos not all hungarians talk (or know at all) romanian. For eg, if you pop in to a shop you might be asked 'Tessek?' (kind of 'What can I help you?' in hun) and people freak out claiming it to be Romania, for God's sake.
In case I couldn't use hun, I managed with english :)

Random thoughts...

2006-10-17T02:30:00.000-07:00

I was reading Tomi's blog just before... gush, that guy has a lot of time to write :) and has a lot to say...

I also read the entry about Pike...
Since I'm in Romania, I was asked quite often about my experiences in Finland, how I got there, why, etc. I definitely talk much more about Finland than Hungary. I have my TUTAoverall here, I'm showing pics and telling stories.
Janne once sent me a link to an MBTI online personality test. I completed it first time to be labeled as ENFP... I completed again couple days ago to become INFJ.
It was so clear that I changed during my stay in Finland. And after returning home...

Tomorrow we have the Info session here in AIESEC. I was planning a speech. But it doesn't fit the concept, so I will have a different one. However, I don't want to let the idea get lost. Here I think it over and over again what AIESEC means for me. This is my 5th year in AIESEC. It feels impossible to highlight only 2 or 3 things... especially in a way that not-yet-aiesecers also understand.
I wanted to talk about personal things. Emotions also. And people... I can't be thankful enough for them. And they don't even know... At least not all of them.

About Romania part 2

2006-10-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

Hm... where to continue?

I wrote about hitch-hiking... let's carry on with what I saw, experienced during that time.

Scenery, countryside.
I have to say the scenery is pretty nice. And changing, all the time... plain, hills, mountains, riverside, seeside...

About Romania

2006-09-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

Last week was packed with happenings...

Just sharing my thoughts, randomly:

Hitch-hiking
Oh, that was more than fun :) The conference was at the other end of the country, so we decided to hitch-hike to save money... it took 16 hours. And we were really lucky!
I never did hitch-hiking before. We left Oradea (Nagyvarad) around 8 am on Thursday. Didn't take too much time to get a car... a CHRYSLER! With black leather seats... He took us till Cluj (Kolozsvar). I was really glad not further... The guy thought himself to be on the race track... I almost felt sick at some points. We were naturally overspeeding... most of the time... in villages, in cities, on hilly roads... serpentines...
In Cluj we got a small truck which took us down till Bucharest. It was quite convenient not to change cars too often. I took quite a lot of pictures on the way. We passed through Segesvar, Brasso, Szinaja (the best ski-resort in Romania)... then Ploiesti and the outskirts of Bucharest. We were lucky enough (again) to be close to the road towards Constanta, so in no time we found ourselves in a truck :) Quite cosy, warm enough, and taking us right to the hotel in Eforie Sud, on the coast of the Black Sea. I had to sleep a lot from Bucharest, cos the way back seemed to be much longer.
Oh, it was 3 of us travelling together; Ana, Copa and me. We could get into our rooms bit after midnight.

The way back was different, but still lucky... we were travelling also during night. We left the hotel around 3 pm. This time Adela, Adina and me. We got a car till Constanta. But it was in such a bad condition I felt it would break apart at any time... This driver was also crazy... accelerating, breaking, accelerating, breaking,... From Constanta we got a truck again. We planned to switch to train in Bucharest, but we had no chance since it was too late when we reached the city. That's the problem with trucks... they are slower than cars. And it was carrying bitumen. It was funny, we stopped at a crossroad close to Bucharest when we saw the other group standing next to the road to Ploiesti :) we used the horn and things... (they managed to catch the train later in Ploiesti). It was 7 pm.
But our problem didn't seem to be long-lasting. The driver arranged another truck for us... to Arad. It stopped right behind at a gas station. So again, in no time, we were in a truck. It was a Volvo, and very modern. The best I have travelled in :) but the driver... as if didn't have mouth. There was hardly any conversation. With the girls, we were switching places so everyone could sleep comfortably for a while. So the route now was: Pitesti - Deva - Arad. We stopped on the way twice so that the driver could have a nap too. The night was quite chilly. We got to Arad around 9 am. He dropped us on a ring or such... and another truck picked us for a short time, to take us to a more frequented road towards Oradea. The driver was a hungarian... but we didn't talk, I just said Koszonjuk when we got off. He smiled and was surprised a bit. I don't know if he thought me to be romanian talking hun... whatever. So we were still more than 140 km from Oradea. When a car picked us... And when I got out, I was only one street from home. I got there around 11 am. Ioana arrived an hour later. She took train from Bucharest.

So this is the story :)

Folyt kov...

2006-09-19T02:18:00.000-07:00

So,

cronologically...
Yesterday I woke up early... I went to police with Anca, she applied for new passport. It seems outside everything is messed up, but inside buildings seem to be okay, at least the police station looked quite neat.
The whole town is like after bombing... reparing roads, changing water cables, gas, everything. (Not too many repaires have been done before, as I heard.) I will upload pictures. I have't had too much time to walk around.

Then went to exchange money... Funny, old LEI is still in use. I have in my purse 5 LEI and 1000000 LEI note...
But the exchange rate was not that bad.

Then I bought a sim card.

Then... we went to office... which is in the fortress... I think quite many from "western" AIESEC would deny working there. I will attach pictures. (Just enough if I say the fortress is in an even worse condition than the roads.)

Then... we went to the campus, cos we had a meeting there. First with the management only, then about the recruitment.
School here starts only in October. We still have time for planning.

It lasted quite long... then we were walking home with Ioana and discussing a lot.

Rest of the day was in the previous mail :)

Absurd day...

2006-09-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

It was such a ... day...
I don't find the words to describe.

I would like to write down everything, but I'm too much under the effects of reading news from home just now.

I only left two days ago... and already loads of things happened! Unfortunately, politics is making it to headlines...

So many things I should read about. Getting to know the business climate in Romania (luckily there are quite many hungarian sites), following the news from home and also some functional things... want to know more about consulting, the INTERREG program of EU, etc, etc, etc... and I have the school assaignments too.
While planning and giving feedback about recruitment, promotion campaign, induction, etc, etc, etc, etc...

I stay at the LCP's place, so we talk a lot... but not just about AIESEC :-)

Since it's quite late, and we continue early in the morning with meeting.. I should get some sleep.
I will write more about this day also...

Back again

2006-09-17T03:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, no posts for long time... I didn't feel like writing, though many things happened.

I'm in Romania now. Helping AIESEC Oradea to .. "grow" :-) What I will do here for around 2 months is mainly business consulting.

It's quite interesting and I can't wait to see how it will work. What I will learn about coaching, Romania, AIESEC, myself... Meanwhile I have to write essays for school on the topics of HR consulting, HR marketing, HR development, HR management, HR controlling.

Very diverse ;-)

Yesterday, on the train, I realized I had pretty negative feelings towards Romanians... I don't know much about them as a nation. I heard about Funar, and many nationalist romanian politicians, but have no picture about "average" romanian.
Pepez helped to raise my suspicion, too... with those articles he read about the country (by finnish tourists).

What's wrong with prejudice?
I think prejudice by itself is ok to have. The problem comes when it doesn't change... Just be felixible...

What happened with me till now?

Something interesting even before I left from home: I tried to find an up-to-date pic for Ioana... I dye my hair, so it's blonde. She believed most of hungarian girls to be blonde... :-\ Would it be so? I've never checked... I think it would be quite impossible to make statistics...

Then on the train... For many years now my passport was empty. No stamps or anything in it. We used to go quite often to Slovakia. My first ever passport was full of stamps. Then EU came, and using my ID was enough to travel. So no stamps...
Yesterday I was almost shouting at the border guard where he was taking my passport! Blaa... This is when you get unused to something.

Thanks to Pepez :-), I am aware there are dogs in Romania... Because of this information I was alert for dogs... And I saw one! Right after crossing the border. It was running around at the station in Bihor. But then I though... I haven't seen dogs too often in Hungary. I wonder if I meet any in the city.

In Oradea Ioana, her sister, Ankka, and Ankka's boyfriend, Mihaly was waiting for me. First nice surprise: Mihaly speaks fluent hungarian, though he is 100% romanian. Both Ioana and Ankka knows some... at least understands :-) And their parents also speak some...
Hm..hm.. I relized I didn't even had in mind learning some romanian... I took my finnish books with me :-/

Their house is quite nice, big... I have own room (Ankka's). And I slept really really well.

After breakfast we had chat with Ioana about AIESEC. Speaking only english again, at some points I had difficulties to concentrate. And I had a bit of headache. But I will do my best.

Ok, this is for now. I try to do sth useful... :-)

Ps: this relation between hungarians and all other from surrounding nations started to interest me lately. Since I got in contact with Juraj from Slovakia. I try to read and pay more attention if sth appears in news, translate and send it to him. Then discuss or react.
I would call this a whole new discovery! I never thought I should look at things from their point of view. Which is (as I find) impossible to do objectively. Cannot really travel back in time to check how things went... I don't know anything about the history of Slovakia or Romania... All was considered to be Hungarian history.

This is truly challanging my world-view! Challanging my beliefs... as a person, as a hungarian.

Countries I've been to...

2006-08-21T00:30:00.001-07:00

21 countries, all in Europe...

Longest stay:
Finland - 11 months
UK - 9 months
Romania - 2 months, coming up!

Shortest stay:
Macedonia - 2 hours
Norway - 3 hours
Serbia - 6 hours

Farthest point from home:
Skibotn / Norway
Malaga / Spain
Inverness / Scotland-UK

Academic inflation

2006-08-15T04:04:00.000-07:00

TEDtalks - Sir Ken Robinson

Through different channels... I ended up to watch this video/speech...
In this Mr Robinson mentioned the phrase: academic inflation.

I tried to google around, but all I found was about money and investment in education. Though, what Mr Robinson meant, was more about all academic knowledge and, therefore, that is represented by - degree, diploma - looses its value by the time.
It was funny to hear when he said: young people with degrees just go home and continue playing video games... /Just like my brother.../
The other thing that was interesting was that the whole educational system is built in a way to serve the goal of educating people to become university professors.

The other interesting question is about memory... what is it? where is it?
How, when, where all our memories are stored?

Quote of week 33

2006-08-15T03:55:00.000-07:00

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience."

Eleanor Roosevelt

Quote of the week

2006-08-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

I just noticed I haven't posted quotes for long time :(
Time to catch up... and this one really fits to my mood. I felt the first half until I read it.
But now...
Great to have some sentences like this around :)

"When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile"

Autism

2006-08-01T04:35:00.000-07:00

A bit of knowledge I gained in Finland.

Pepez's nephew, Konsta around 2 year old, is autist. The first time I heard about autism was from the movie Rain Man. And the only thing that got me was that it has something to do with numbers and numeric skills, but lack of social skills.

Since then I met Konsta. Pepez told me some things before our first visit to his brother's. But I didn't really know what to expect.

I wanted to get to know more about this "disease". Unfortunatelly, our communication with the mother, Marianne, is quite limited. Since she doesn't really speak english and I am not too good at finnish either. So, if Pepez is not there to translate we are quite hopeless.

But I can observe and follow Konsta's behaviour... even if for a short time every now and then.

Marianne, who is a nurse by the way, told me they were lucky. They realized it very early and could start treatment instantly. She also told me that autism has many different forms. So every autist needs personalized care.

To be continued...

Back from third visit to Finland

2006-07-31T00:56:00.000-07:00

Ah... It's just damn hot over here...
It was pretty nice and cool in Finland :( Sunny, most of the time... and still it remained at a bearable 17-24 C.

Well... This was something I had never done before. Sitting in the car for sooo many hours. First, driving up to Lapland, then driving in Lapland, then driving up to Norway, then driving back from Lapland. We made around 4000 kms (rough calculation) in 2 weeks. Of course staying at the summer cottage in Finland didn't require moving anywhere :)

It was a nice cottage, and the area around is exciting enough if you are nature type of person. There is hill and forest and river and swamp :)

And we met lots of reindeers. No surprise in Lapland, but for a newborn everything is new.
I heard stories before about crashing cars to reindeers. And I asked why does it happen? Well, there are a whole lot of mosquitoes up there. Humans don't like them. Reindeers either. So they kind of escape to the roads. Because it is windy there...

Roads. Roads are funny things in Lapland. Mostly they are 1,5 lane wide. And like roller coasters... So you can never know if there is a deer on the other side of the bump.

Of course I did some "studying" too. I received couple books finally :) I will comment and share thoughts while going through those books.
They are quite interesting...

One-to-one teaching

2006-07-14T01:15:00.000-07:00

It has been in my mind for while. That I could hold some private lessons. In what subject? Hm, maths maybe, or english...
But it became my "criteria" to deal only with people who want to study. I'm not willing to correct mistakes made by other educators. I would like to start from the beginning.
Then I started to think why I liked to study english... or how I actually learnt.
Definitely movies had a big impact. My aunt lived in New Jersey and each time she visited home brought us some presents. Apart from usual chocolate stuff I got videotapes such as

The parent trap
Shirley Temple movies
Mary Poppins
Miracle in the 34th street (can't remember exact title, translated back from hungarian)

I watched them a hundred times... of course without dubbing and even subtitles. But I almost know them by heart.
It was quite an intensive experience... from Mary Poppins I remember all of the songs, and not just the lyrics. I could remember the melody and play it on the piano without the notes, though I have never learnt to play the piano.

I just loved the characters - who cannot love Shirley Temple?? - it was so easy to imagine myself being part of the movies. And picking up the language easily.

Other thing was the history of all those countries where english is spoken as a mother tongue. I enjoyed learning about the history of England, Scotland, the USA, ...

Yepp, why not to learn WITH somebody?
But then this training of accelerated learning came. Which got me puzzled a little bit. First I should learn about learning... to figure out the best possible way to treat, to learn with somebody.

I do not believe in the superiority of the teacher. Why are they so sure they know things better then the students? Most of the kids spend their free time on the internet. Some of them can be more up to date than his teacher.

...

I am sitting at the airport waiting for the flight to Helsinki... I should learn more finnish :) But finnish movies are boring.. baah ;)
But I love the country...
It's not going to be a "normal" holiday. Pepez's brother is going to get married. In Lapland :)) We might also visit the fjords in Norway, we are going to be close anyways. Fingers crossed!

"Rational" or "not persistent"

2006-07-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

People usually judge other people's decisions... (in a worse case the person himself).

I got some too, both negative and positive.
But the thing that matters is how I feel about it!

There is this uni, where I study at the moment, and I'm just thinking how much it helped me to grow professionally and/or personally...
I met AIESEC here, that is the only thing for which I cannot be thankful enough. However, it's quite an indirect effect of uni. Then there are some people who helped me. By talking to me. Listening and questioning. Discussing and arguing. NOT teachers!

On the other hand, I haven't done everything to get the most from it either... Though, I don't feel sorry for it.

I do value the time I have spent here... I wouldn't be where I am now otherwise!

It's just that I got to a point from where I want to direct my life towards a specific goal... in which this uni doesn't have a role.
I spent already 3 years here... should be graduating now according to my age. I started in the credit system, not really following the "role-curricula", or how to say. Mostly I pick the subjects that I either like or easily pass. Actually, I will finish my minor even before taking the major.
Hm... you can say I am lazy, or "weak".. not persistent. But I think I made a rationale decision leaving it behind, not going for this degree. In the given situation I would still need 3, maybe 4 more years to go. I don't want to waste my time... I have gained everything that was in it for me. That's it.

You can judge, if you want, but better start with yourself...

Quote of the week

2006-07-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

“It's kind of fun to do the impossible.”
Walt Disney

The training...

2006-07-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it was definitely fun.

It's usually done in a very small group. Yesterday it was a very small group indeed. Me and the trainer... :)

The most important thing I got from it was encouragement. That I am on the right track...

What happened there, I will post later.

Quotes

2006-06-29T00:27:00.000-07:00

Today I start a series...
"Quote of the week"
I plan to post one of my favorite quotes each monday... Starting today, although it's not monday :)

But here it goes:

“You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring the water.”
Rabindranath Tagore

Policy-making... bah...

2006-06-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Today the ministry announced the "reforms" around education...

Main points:
1. Elementary school - more focus and time on basic skills: numeracy, literacy. Language skills - english, especially. All-in-all, child focused education...

2. High school: compulsory english for everyone.

3. Higher education: introducing tuition fee.

My opinions:

1. They are still focusing on the surface only... ridiculous. Read: Unfinished revolution and many other I listed earlier, you will get my point, and I will explain it more deeply later.

2. Yeah, right... not bad as an idea. But again... the devil lays in the details, as we say. Language studies are compulsory at most high schools even today... and still the quality, well... and more importantly, the motivation... if someone doesn't want to study, he won't... it's not the question of making something compulsory... Everything IS compulsory in schools, anyways...

3. I support the idea of tuition fee. But with certain conditions only...
What is the situation now?

a) eg., medicine students: over 5 years of education, lot of money invested - they leave to Norway, Sweden, UK... for better salary. (I don't know exact numbers, sorry if exaggerating)
b) scholarships are given based on academic results
c) further scholarships are given based on social status and for community work, like AIESEC (last one doesn't apply everywhere)
d) far more students in higher education then needed <- the words "higher education" and "university degree" still have a magical effect on people's brains
e) there are courses both with and without tuition fees
f) the quality of education is questionable in many cases, ESPECIALLY in teacher training
g) trendy professions... law, business...
h) unis are focusing on theoretical knowledge

The tuition fee that is about to be introduced is based on academic results also. If you study well, literally, GET GOOD GRADES, you pay less... It's called FER, pronounced as "fair".

Why do I think it is NOT FAIR at all?

Academic results... taking it as a base, I think , is a totally wrong concept...
As I said in the previous post: good grade ≠usable knowledge. There is correlation, but far less than people think. A good example is a survey conducted by Hewitt Inside consulting. Managers were asked whether the grade of diplomas matter when hiring new employees. Only 4% said yes...
Doesn't it tell you something?

I'm afraid if students want to pay less for their education (why wouldn't they)... they will either cheat more which doesn't lead anywhere, or study even harder... in this case spending more time over books, loosing contact with reality, not getting any practical knowledge, whatsoever...

I have other ideas... rewarding is good... but make it fair... make it in a way that achievements matter... but not academic. Measure usable knowledge! Give them work! Give them tasks where they can show they are capable of putting knowledge into practice!

Please argue with me! Write comments...

Hm... about graduation

2006-06-27T00:35:00.000-07:00

I have a strange feeling...

The feeling of not belonging anywhere...
I'm pretty out of every ordinary gang, meaning friends. Last week was the graduation day of final years' at the uni. In our AIESEC, most of the oldies graduated now. They are friends.

I saw those black-gold robes they were wearing... and the hat. It looks good, and when hundred others wearing it, you do feel belonging to somewhere. On the other hand, the diploma itself looks really unremarkable.

Graduation is a funny thing...

I believe a paper does not mean anything. I believe motivation means a lot. I believe people can become expert on a field even without ever stepping to uni.

Why do people go to uni? Cos they have no better to do? They don't want to work yet? They believe they will get a more well-paying job?

For me, uni means one thing only: accessibility. Accessibility to networks and to resources.
But graduating does not equal to being able to carry out tasks. I do believe a person who studied by himself can do just as well, or even better than those having been taught.

Here we get back to motivation. Most of the people at uni (undergraduates) have no clue what they want from life, what they are capable of doing, what kind of profession would make them happy. Many of them goes because mum&dad has high qualification too, or on the contrary.
But when choosing profession... its stupendous... we hear it from news, feel it on our own skin, and still choosing so called trendy professions... however packed the market is.

I think there is no real help from any side. Family, school, society...

Back to graduation.
Finishing uni is pretty much a survival training. It teaches you how to become someone you are not and meet others' expectations, just because it's the only way to proceed.
Funny, isn't it?

In a world where innovation is crucial to survival... and being able to adapt quickly.
I won't start to explicate my views on formal education (including uni) now, but in a later post probably.

So, to finish this post I just want to add... I guess it is also uplifting... to stand there and get that paper...
That it is over, it is done... 5 years... it's passed. You got the paper... you had fun, you struggled, you stressed, but it is done...

Why it worths checking websites over and over again

2006-06-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

Ah...

I haven't mentioned, but there are some other things I can do meanwhile :)
Become an accelerated learning trainer, for example :)))

Well, I will take the first steps already next week. Taking part in an accelerated learning training by IN-AND-OUT. Can't wait!!
I will do the first modul on 1st July... then the second in the autumn :))))

Oh, I will definitely write about it afterwards...

Öööö... and what now?

2006-06-19T13:27:00.000-07:00

Funnily, I just got the brochure from Exeter uni (ordered quite long time ago... post seems to be slow from south-west). Prestigeous uni and all that stuff, but quite far from London and the pulse of England...

And since we are moving with Pepez, I have to take into account his future chances of employment.

But when...

This is the question at the moment. Till now I was planning to start in 2007... But does it make sense?
Pepez needs 2 more years (or around) to become senior programmer, which means higher salary as well... So the idea is to get myself a job till then and move together when the time comes...
Of course, I will enroll to Miskolc uni for 06/07 I., but because of the student discounts... :) I have regular discussions with a PhD student and we share opinion about this uni... teachers, leaders, etc... Not seeing bright future (only the faculty of economics! the engineering part seems to be okay).

So, using my time effectively... whatever long, I plan to get a job. Naturally, on some related field. Education, training, HR, etc. Also planning to write an essay (and competition entry) about learning environments, related to human capital and economic successes of a country. On the field experience would be a great asset.

But not forgetting about UK, of course.

If you don't know me, have a look ->

2006-06-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

Goals...

2006-06-10T01:06:00.000-07:00

I didn't really say what I want to do besides studying about education...

Well, my experiences till now have helped me to outline the kind of profession I would like to have. And that is certainly around education. Not really teaching, rather researching or maybe both. Having a good knowledge and understanding on how people (children) learn and develop, and how educational systems can be transformed to serve as a catalyst for using the full potential of a human being, or at least more than that we are making use of now. How to create a shift in people's minds that there is a need for change? What is the role of the family, the society and formal education in developing people? And many other similar questions I would like to deal with.

Books, I've read...

2006-06-02T03:38:00.000-07:00

Now... in no particular order:

1. Use Your Head, Tony Buzan

2. The Mind Map Book, Tony & Barry Buzan

3. Photoreading Whole Mind System, Paul R. Scheele

4. Accelerated Learning, Colin Rose

5. The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge

6. Schools That Learn, Peter Senge

7. The Unfinished Revolution, John Abbott

8. The Einstein Factor, Win Wenger

9. Children's minds, Margaret Donaldson

10. Reaching Out to All Thinkers, Ian Harris

11. Accelerated Learning for the 21st Century, Colin Rose

12. The New Learning Revolution, Gordon Dryden

13. Experience and Education, John Dewey

14. How We Think, John Dewey

15. Theories of Childhood, Carol Garhart Mooney

16. The Brain's Behind It, Alistair Smith

17. The Child Is Father of the Man, John Abbott

18. The Accelerated Learning Handbook, Dave Meier

and several others I would like to have :)

1. Mind Maps at Work, Tony Buzan

2. The Psychology of Education, Martyn Long

3. Accelerated Learning Pocketbook, Brin Best

4. Brain Gym, Paul Dennison

5. The Wonderplay

6. The Power of Diversity, Barbara Prashnig

7. You Are Your Child's First Teacher, Rahima Baldwin

8. Wise Up: Learning to Live the Learning Life, Guy Claxton

9. Transforming Education for Every Child, John West-Burnham, Max Coates

10. Personalizing Learning in the 21st Century, Sara de Freitas

11. The ALPS approach, Alistair Smith, Nicola Call

12. The Alps Approach Resource Book, Alistair Smith, Nicola Call

13. Accelerated Learning – A User’s Guide, Alistair Smith, Mark Lovatt, Derek Wise
...
...
...

Blogging for what?

2006-06-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

Just now I've read Oksana's blog.

Maybe I should have longer posts too... though I have another blog exclusively for AIESEC.

But whatever... this is about my life, and if you want I can share more.

I started this whole blog in medias res.

I was talking about a decision. But didn't say anything about it. Well, you can see some links referring to studies on the right side... Basically, this is it. I'm moving. To UK. To study. To get professional experience.
I'm reading a whole lot of books about school development, learning, brain, child development, education, etc. I will list them at the end of this post.

How, or more importantly, why did I make this decision?
Good question.

Because I want to make a change! There has to be a better way. And I believe I can make a difference.
Just yesterday I read an interview made with Gordon Dryden, author of the book The Learning Revolution. Here is an extract from him:
"In Silicon Valley they have a great model, called "crossing the chasm". That is based on the concept that 2% of adults are innovators and 13% are early adopters of new methods — and then there is a great chasm to cross before those new ideas are grasped by the 70% who make up the majority — leaving the 15% laggards to follow on later."

I believe myself to be an innovator, but, probably belonging to the 13% early adopters. In either way, I can contribute a lot!

And this is what I'm going to do. Change people's lives for a better one.
I'm talking about education, schooling, the formal one, the good-old-prussian that we have... But not only about this. People. It is essential for me, to work FOR the people. This became clear very early.

My passion for education just got stronger over time. I had to expereince things, like my own university, the current one. You don't know if something is good unless you have seen a worse one. I'm not complaining. Because you can learn from everything. It's up to you, as we usually say.

My mum was a high school teacher. For about 40 years. The last couple years were terrible for her. It just became such a different world than the one when she started. It was not anymore a virtue to be good at studying. Of course, there are so many different things in the background. I'm not blaming anyone. Nevertheless, she couldn't adopt to these new circumstances in school.

I'm quite intuitive. It has been never difficult for me to feel if there was need for change. As if I could feel some "forces". And I understand new concepts, ideas pretty fast and I'm good at seeing the interdependencies (if somebody thinks diferently, pls comment). So I started to make this whole process more concious. There has been 3 big milestones till now:

1. My stay in UK. In 2002 I was an au pair at a british family. One afternoon I went down to the living room and spotted a book on the coffe table. The cover looked interesting, so I started to read it. There was a story about a guy who delivered poor results at school. But later he became straight A's. There were some curves, and modells, colourful pictures... and it said anyone could be straight A's. Use Your Head by Tony Buzan.

2. My stay in Finland. In 2004/2005 I worked at the AIESEC office in Lappenranta. On new year's eve we visited other AIESECers in Tampere. There again, I was recommended a book. Actually two. Photoreading by Paul R. Scheele and The Einstein Factor by Win Wenger. Thanks Janne. (Recommended readings for everyone!)

3. Easter 2006. My boyfriend and I went for a walk after heavy lunch at Easter. We talked a lot. About my frustration that I didn't progress with my studies, about his worries that he didn't see what I wanted from life, he was worried that I was worried... where was the way out? At that point we didn't come to any conclusion I think. But after we arrived back home something important happened. Pepez (my boyfriend) was searching on the internet... and then showed me 4 universities in the UK. 4 courses to be precise. Courses with the title "Education studies". You can find the course descriptions on the right side (links). The decision was made.

This is the "past" part of the story.
I promised the book list, but I will put it in a later post.
Thanks for reading it through :)))

Gymgymgymgym

2006-06-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

I went to gym today :))))))))))))
After a long time finally I did sth for myself!

I'm happy...
And I feel good :) ta-da-da-da-da-da-da I knew that I would, now ;))
And it's just 2 streets away: http://www.m1fitness.hu

One book...

2006-05-26T01:05:00.000-07:00

I'm reading this book... by Colin.

And... you can see, my link-store has grown... check them out!
I love it... even though it's a book from 1985. Very good...

Meditation?

2006-05-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Im reading a book by Colin Rose about accelerated learning. The first part is dealing with the brain and later the memory...

Some people use meditation for different reasons. I've been thinking about it for quite a while. Maybe I take that step and start, if i find a good place where i can learn the basics. I thought about Zen, or what other could it be?

I can survive

2006-05-17T02:38:00.000-07:00

Uh, many things in my head now...

Whatever happens, I will study in the UK from 2007 sept. With or without financial support, I will make it.

At the moment I feel I can achieve anything... Though I have an exam tomorrow... again, I'm better setting long-term goals then short ones... my focus is far ahead...

And about Mum, leaving her... it sounds sad... but why? I cannot be with her all my life. I try to look at it from a different aspect. Imaging what I would feel as a mother... and it's not that terrible.

Families are so much more important around this part of the world...

what am i doing?

2006-05-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

It's so easy life now...
I tend to focus on the future instead of the present. Now that I have a more or less clear plan about my future, I don't care about my present...

Of course I live in the present, there are things I need to deal with. But I don't put effort in achiving something in the present.

I will take couple exams, but just to get to the next semester... because of the student competition. And the student card.

It also seems that I will look for a job in Budapest starting in February.

I'm pretty anxious about this whole thing at the same time. But surely can't wait to do what I really like to (at least I think I like). And living again with Pepez is.. hm... :))))

But leaving home... :(((

Have to take that step at some point anyways, right?

At this point it seems to be the best solution. This way is leading to the things I want to learn, experience, achieve.

to go...

2006-05-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

... or not to go

where to go

how to go

with whom to go

going=leaving

from where

till when

without whom

AND WHY?

Decisions

2006-04-27T02:36:00.000-07:00

Oh how easy it seems for the first look.
Then couple days pass and it creates more and more confusion... more and more people get involved. You feel it's not only your decision.
The more you talk about it, the more questions come up, the clearer the idea becomes.

Prospectus

2006-04-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received the propectus from the university of worcester... too bad i don't even know how to pronounce this name.

But anyways, the financial issue doesn't seem to be that dangerous. Yesterday I also wrote to the course responsible, about entry requirements, but no answer yet.
I will just go through the booklet very carefully.

I also decided about the steps needs to be taken till then... concerning my ongoing studies.

In medias res

2006-04-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hello...

Something important happened. I made a very important decision. It´s almost starting a new life. So keep reading to be up to date about the happenings...

:)