Beautiful life

Yes, no worries, I'm alive and my blog which I was managing I think quite well while living in Estonia will be living soon again. Due to several reasons I don't do it properly, where I think that "I can't look on the computer after working days" is the main reason for that. Even on weekend don't open it, however checking personal emails, sending twitter updates, facebook mainly with my mobile device and it's enough for me. However, will try to do my best :)

But here are quickly about current status for start-up.

My current sickness

From yesterday night I got terribly sick - got angene I think for the last couple of years not having it and today even visited doctor, so staying at home healing myself and working from home too. But today feeling much better already.

My lovely job

Yes, it still remains to be my lovely job - working at Nokia and I'm really-really happy that decision was taken right. It's sometimes quite tough and complicated in terms of managing many different things at once, but I think I do my best with all of that and still learning. I noticed, there are always different weeks with various activities to do, coordinate, manage and I'm so much happy that it's never becomes a routine!

My apathy

However, recently I started to feel lonely. Yes, stupid feeling you say - so many friends, I'm at home etc. It gets me depressed that in personal life apart of job nothing being changed, all the time the same way of spending time with friends, same talks that get me tired, everything gets standard - time to differentiate... In Estonia that's for sure was more exciting - it's still good to be a foreigner abroad with good international community - people love to explore new things and places! :) Ei-ole-manana, that's for you! :)

"Not nice explorations" on KZ

Since I came back home I got used very fast to the way of living here and everything seemed to be normal and I really enjoy. However, recently I experienced by personal experience again the very well known bureaucracy of Kazakhstan - long story, but the main conclusion after such situations that the country isn't made "for people", but still remains to be the big engine of proceeders, tons of approvals, signatures, decisions stuck in different people, who don't want to move their "nice a**es" to help you. And when you try to fight with this structure, it gets painful and not all manage to dig till the end. However, I did it.

Also, a while ago, our government accepted the changes in law on Mass Media, where they added Internet as the media "to be coordinated". As recently we had some cases when opposition run abroad, chairmen of famous local banks run away due to debts, budget thefts (which they don't accept for sure) etc., then the access to their personal blogs on LifeJournal and Blogger was closed. So I didn't have access to my blog as well... Now somehow it has been opened. That's how our government solves issues, stupid... Ohhh, I think I shouldn't be writing it :)

My Ielts preparation

Yes, for almost 2 months I'm attending Ielts course preparation to finally submit the English proficiency test. I thought that I could manage on my own with preparation, but understood that it's impossible. So hope will submit it in January to finally have the paper in case I plan to do my long planned Master abroad.

So, that's all from my side. See you soon and hope the posts will be more practical next time :)

My NOKIA experience

For most of you, who are reading my blog it isn’t a news that I started to work for NOKIA and it has been already more than a month since I started. The way I entered the company maybe isn’t smth incredible for an active aiesecer whom the alumnus “notice” on the right time and offer the right professional opportunity. Yes, one of AIESEC Almaty alumnus who has been like me an LCP around 10 years ago offered me the position at NOKIA. In Almaty it’s represented as head-quarter for Central Asia, Caucasus and Mongolia countries and I’m doing marketing together with alumni, who is Head of Marketing. Even we are responsible for 9 countries, we have only 11 people working in our office, so you can imagine that my responsibilities are quite on the high-level. Well, for now I’m in the process of integration still, but doing I think quite well…

As you see I’m working in Marketing area and my role is Retail and Customer Marketing management, which is a very new role for me, as I graduated my bachelor in Financial management. New role, despite my some marketing working experience in Saatchi&Saatchi ads company several years ago, 5 years of AIESEC experience which as I see very much correlated meaning the soft mngmt, like project mngmt etc. and my financial risk management experience in PMK.

Like a student I’m learning a lot about marketing in technology company, positioning of its products – mobile phones and new services, relations with ads and media companies, communications with various audiences, merchandising as well, being up to date on hi-tech news and tons of other things which surprise me a lot every day. Like a newie in this business I seem very naïve and sometimes ask silly questions, which make my boss smile :D

And I love this feeling of learning and getting to know absolutely new things. For now I see that the skills which I gained in AIESEC do help me a lot in the matter of:

· understanding quite quickly the main dimensions of business in NOKIA in different markets we operate;

· adopting very well to new working environment and communication with various people;

· not being afraid to start and to be responsible for absolutely new things;

· having the general professional attitude towards things like projects preparation, presentations etc.

And sure, the BIG LOVE towards things you are doing, company and it’s products that I’ve been loyal to myself for many years. I got used to that in AIESEC – work for the things you love and this way every day and week pass very fast.

That’s the best thing happening to me I could imagine after my MC in Estonia year… Really.

Yes and I have travels to our regions too! :) I’ve been in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan already which are the neighbors of KZ, but somehow I’ve never been there. And this week – Georgia and Armenia and again Uzbekistan! :)

But I’m still in the process of understanding what I’d like to do parallel – I have some thoughts on volunteering again (not connected to AIESEC) and as well about my next steps, as my role is until April 2010 – AIESEC internship after that is very preferred and then what – Master abroad? Well, I’m already afraid of creating the plans, as you never know what future’ll bring you… Like for me, who planned to go abroad right away after MC in Estonia and then dropped from the perspective AIESEC internship in Kraft Foods ‘cause of NOKIA offer.

Stay tuned.

Nokia Windows-based notebook launch

Here you are - finally :)

http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2009/08/24/nokia-launches-windows-based-notebook/

Trip back home to KZ

This posting I prepared for several weeks already, but somehow couldn’t manage to post it… Here is finally :D

***

I haven’t been posting anything for a month here, so here I am writing you about the changes happened in my life for the past 3 weeks since I left Estonia.

My very last days in Tallinn were just great and full of last Bye-bye meetings and parties with many nice words from people whom I’ve been working with for a year and just spending nice time together. Honestly to say, I wasn’t willing much to go home not knowing what’s waiting for me there and what are the next steps will I take coming back home.

It has been a great year which mostly contributed to my personal development and impacting on what I’m interested in, getting to know my inner self more and proving again that I’m the person who is always thirsty for success and whatever it takes – I will reach it. This year AIESEC Estonia has grown up in exchange realizations for 95-100% which is the biggest result for the past 3 years and 2 terms and I believe that with our team we have created a great platform for next year’s development and I’m really proud of it. Many people also told me that I’ve been the most successful international MC member – I don’t know whether it’s true, but I can see by the end of the year how much respect, appreciation and even sincere friendship and love people were showing to me and that’s even valuable in Estonian culture, as people aren’t naturally warm by characters and reserved, that’s why it always takes time to gain the positivity and respect. I can say many appreciation words and praise for the year’s results, but for sure, they aren’t “empty” ones – there is a huuuge work behind, believe of all our team.

And of course, I can’t forget our international Ei-ole-manana group whom I was spending mostly my free time and who in certain moments were the ones, saving me from stresses, loneliness and bad moods. And of course, the best ever parties were there!!!

I will be missing the people there for sure and maybe even the life-style I had over the year… So many people came to my Bye party in the last evening and seeing me off to the train Tallinn-Moscow. Wow… I was shocked.

I’ve spent couple of days in Moscow on the way to Kazakhstan with Nailusha – my best friend whom I am all the time missing and who is the person I’m ready to go to any corner of the world. Vova, also thanks for treating me so well! :D And yes, I owed you the chocolate, I know!

Yes, I’m back home already since 6 July when I reached Astana city where my parents live. Some of you know that I made a surprise for them as I was expected to arrive some days later and by plane, but I took an exciting trip by train from Moscow – 2 full days and 3 nights. I believe these things you can do only when you are still young or already getting old J Something to remember always…

It has been funny how my parents in the first days for sure were taking care of me but then the questions about the next plans – “enough, be at home”, personal life – even marriage, started. OMG! After 3 days I wanted already to leave… And I left.

I thought that I will have some re-integration issues and even the reverse cultural shocks (as always I was preparing our Estonian interns for that after they came back from exchange), but nope… Nothing until now and I don’t know if it’s gonna happen at all. I think it happened because after Astana I attended the Kazakh wedding of my best friend in one eastern city, where all the best and positive cultural sides of our people were shown. I have also got to know “out-of-AIESEC” people, whom I was explaining in “another” language what I was doing in Estonia and what are my plans. I didn’t know what to say, as I didn’t really know what will I do after coming back to my city… Great nature around – a lot of mountains and lakes, warm culture, familiar language, positive emotions…

I’m back in Almaty and until now all the evenings are booked with meeting my friends – some of them live and work in Almaty, some – just came here for holidays and already left. Very nice. Basically doing nothing and just resting.

I’ve also went to mountains trip with AIESEC Almaty members and again I felt in love how my city’s nature is beautiful and charming! We almost reached the 3000 m top!

Yes and in the end – my ESTONIA memories that integrated to my daily life at home…

Last week

Time of saying goodbyes to many dare to me people and capturing my experiences with the learning moments in Estonia is painfully coming day by day... I have the very last week to be here. Nothing really special to say until now, as any kind of person who has the certain time left to live in the country you love and not knowing when you’ll be back, I’m trying to enjoy the most sunny Estonian summer, having fun and adventures with my international and Estonian friends, completing my imaginary “to-do” list, picturing in my memory certain places in the Tallinn Old Town that I love, buying one by one presents to my family and friends, saying already goodbyes and “see you one day” words…

Here are some of the highlights of my past weeks

Trip to Oslo to visit Deniss - 4-8 June. And I fell truly in love with this city!

Trip to Saaremaa island for weekend with my international friends - 20-22 June 2009

What’s next I still don’t know and currently in the process of creating my future paths, but definitely I still don’t want to loose the independent life-style I’m already got used here so much. Also looking forward to see my parents and friends, who are passionately waiting for me at home and I’m already imagining our long-hours talks about how things were changed since I left home and me, telling the stories, of how I fell in love with Estonia and my one-year life here.

I think my next post I will already write from home country Kazakhstan… And I have a long trip to go there...

Living abroad gives you a creative edge

Living abroad gives expats greater creativity in problem solving, according to new research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In an experiment, researchers gave subjects a box of tacks, a candle, and some matches. The subjects were asked to fix the candle to the wall in such a way that, when it was lit, no wax would drip onto the floor. Sixty percent of expats could solve the problem, versus 42 percent of those who’d never lived abroad. Another experiment asked subjects to draw an alien creature. Those who hadn’t lived abroad returned fairly ordinary creatures which closely resembled Earthbound lifeforms. Those who had lived abroad — well, see for yourself. It’s not just that more creative people are predisposed to living overseas; the study’s authors isolated personality traits known to be associated with creativity, and controlled for their presence or absence in their subjects. It’s the process of adapting to a new culture that seems to drive the creativity boost.

Published by FREAKONOMICS

More links on that:

• http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13643981
• http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/psp9651047.pdf

Entrepreneurs can change the world

Love this video :)