Mi se imamo radi v Antibesu

Minevajo prelepi dnevi v čudovitem Antibesu na Cote d'Azur. Živim v tako imenovanem "crew housu" in iščem delo na jahti. Kar pa me od vsega najbolj veseli je, da živim z resnično izjemnimi in veselimi ljudmi. Smejemo se, pogovarjamo o potovanjih, skupaj kaj slastnega za-kuhamo ter se spodbujamo pri iskanju službe in pisanju življenjepisev. Šele sedaj se z vsem svojim bitom zavedam, koliko mi to pomeni! Potovanja in srčni ljudje, ki jih imam priložnost objeti na svoji poti. Ko sem bila zaradi okrnjenega zdravja primorana ostati doma sem neizmerno pogrešala svoje življenje na poti. Ker to dela mene, mene! Sedaj sem tu in na poti svojim novim sanjam! Občutki, ki me oblivajo so neverjetni! Tokrat sem ponovno v situaciji (iskanje dela in deljenje CV-jev po barkah), ki me sili, da grem še bolj izven svoje cone sigurnosti in delam stvari ob katerih me najprej zaobjameta nesigurnost in strah, a ko to storim si zopet potrdim dejstvo, da sem premagala samo sebe. Izjemen občutek. Ki zahteva malce poguma in predvsem trezno glavo.

Niti ne morem opisati občutkov, ki bi se nekaterim zdeli nesmiselni in kar malce nerazumljivi. Kako lepo in sproščeno ter izpopolnjeno se počutiš v družbi popolnega tujca, ki v nekaj urah druženja in pogovora postane že kar tvoj prijatelj. V soboto sem prispela v srčiko jahtne industrije, Antibes in ob prihodu v hostel ob 22h zvečer že začela spoznavati izjemno zanimive ljudi. Takoj smo se ujeli in, ko sem se včeraj dopoldne sprehajala po mestu, mi je v misli šinila ideja, da bi poklicala svoje prijatelje, da gremo skupaj na kavo. Zares sem pozabila, da to niso moji "pravi" prijatelji in sploh nimam njihove telefonske številke v imeniku. Avtomatično sem mislila, da jih poznam že od zmeraj in jih lahko "tako kot vedno" pokličem za kavo ali kosilo. Ta občutek povezanosti in popolne odprtosti isti trenutek, ko nekoga spoznaš je neverjeten. Ne da se ga opisati. Tudi težje mi je to napraviti v Sloveniji. In zdi se mi, da ga lahko dobiš le, ko potuješ sam. Ko potuješ sam, si stran od družine in prijateljev in kar naenkrat moraš vso svojo ljubezen in naklonjenost posvetiti nekomu drugemu, ker je nimaš več komu razdajati. In ko spoznaš nekoga, ki prav tako potuje sam, ima on natanko iste občutke, zato se nemudoma ustvari neko lepo prijateljstvo, ki ga ne moreš pojasniti nekomu, ki kaj podobnega še ni doživel. Po praktično 24 urah imam že prijatelje, katerim zaupam svoje zgodbe, načrte in ambicije. Smešno, a po drugi strani osupljivo, kako se lahko odpreš nekomu, ki si ga šele spoznal. 

Večinoma na svoji poti živim v hostlih, tukaj izrecno v "crew housih", kar je nekako isti princip. Hostli so ena izmed najboljših stvari, ki se popotniku lahko zgodijo! Toliko izjemnih in istomislečih ljudi, ki skupaj na trenutke delujemo kot majhna družinica. Eno uro se pogovarjaš z avstralskim prijateljem o surfanju, naslednji dve uri padeš z nekom drugim v debato o latinski Ameriki, čez čas vsi skupaj pijemo pivo, vinček ali čajček. Moja cimra Urugvajka mi velikodušno postelje posteljo, moj angleški prijatelj mi iz brisače naredi rožico, naši čedni Južnoafričani nam pripravijo okusne "bolognese". Franco, lastnik me povabi na torto, ker ima rojstni dan in mi zraven zapakira se nekaj nasvetov pri iskanju službe na jahti. Objemi za lahko noč in široki nasmehi navsezgodaj zjutraj. Zajčki in psički na vrtu. Pozitivne vibracije, smeh in navdušenje na vsakem koncu mojega novega doma! Ljudje brez predsodkov, ljudje, ki želijo nekaj narediti iz sebe, ki imajo ambicije in izjemne poglede na svet! Ljudje, ki so, kljub svoji mladosti v svojem življenju že marsikaj doživeli in preživeli. Vedo, da je življenje prelepo in se ne ozirajo za problemi in ovirami, ki jih življenje zna prinesti. Učijo me, da če želiš dobiti željeno delo, je potrebna energija, zgodnje vstajanje, profesionalen pristop. Ne jamrajo, da ni služb ali, da nimajo denarja ali sreče. Preprosto gredo ven in nekaj naredijo za to. Ter na koncu to tudi dobijo! Ne jamrajo, ne širijo negativne energije, se večino dneva smejejo in šalijo. Preprosto gledajo samo na pozitivne stvari v življenu in te poleg tega marsikaj tudi naučijo. Odkrijejo ti nek nov način razmišljanja ali zgolj se en nov pogled na svet. Celotno življenje se učimo in rastemo. In ob spoznavanju novih ljudi je ta proces še hitrejši. Moji dnevi tu so zares fantasticni in ne bi bili, če me ne bi obkrožali oni...večinoma Južnoafričani. Priznam, nora sem na njih ;)

Dosti za danes, imam 101 opravek. Kupiti si moram francoski telefon, se oglasiti na agencijah na intervjujih in nato deliti svoje življenjepise po pomolih, spoznavati ljudi v jahtni industriji in predstaviti sebe v najboljši možni luči! Good luck to me, vam pa pošiljam en gromozanski koš pozitivno nabite energije, zraven pa vam zapakiram še prijetno sredozemsko sonce!!

See you later alligator,

Mayita

Alma gemela

It's Valentine's day. My last night's skyping with a very special person, who's unfortunately on the other side of the world put me in a bit of romantic mood. No matter how everybody is trying to convince everyone that Valentine's day is a bull or that they celebrate it throughout the year, nevertheless it's still a holiday of Love. Commercial or not, no one minds some extra affection and spoiling. But unfortunately not everybody is happily in love. I know how hard it is to be left heart-broken, but time always healed everything and you'll be back on the right track in no time!! If you think you just lost your soul mate, well you might have, but do you know what a true soul mate is? Just one perspective more, that can help with your broken heart, for the rest, chocolate will take care of.

"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.

A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.

A soul mate purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master."

Eat, pray, love - Elizabeth Gilbert

Spend the Holiday of Love with the ones you love! Love people who least deserve it and help them out with loving them unconditionally and without any prejudices. Share love and spread it all around yourselves and put LOVE in each single aspect of your life. 

Best regards from sLOVEnia,

"I tried to paint you, but colours just weren't beautiful enough" Beyonce

Mayita

Have fun while building!

"Happiness is a journey, not a destination!" Ben Sweetland

This photo was taken somewhere between Kampot and Kep in Cambodia. This awesome girl Eimear and myself rented motorbikes and hit the road through the rural countryside, heading down to the coast. We had to stop when we saw these little fellas. Kids. Innocent. Happy. Curious. Without any prejudices, without a single drop of evil inside them. So pure. So inspirational!

All of my jobs lately relate to children. If I'm not working with them, I make sure I'm surrounded by them. There is nothing like child's love and affection. Unconditional love, sincere smile and approving look, which makes everything so easy. They love you for who you are, not for what you have been or what you'll about to become. There's no past and no future for them. Only present moments. And they fill all these moments with excitment and this enourmous need to have fun all the time! So what went wrong, where!? When did we stop enjoying each single day!? And forgot to smile each single minute?

When I was living in New Zealand I was working as an au pair. Au pair is a french expression for live-in nanny with household duties. The prime task is to take care of a child. Me and 4,5 years old Gracie were having a play hour and were about to build a certain shape out of Legos. But she did exactly the opposite. She was putting together the pieces they were not supposed to be put together. I was getting anxious because I wanted to build a legit shape and teach her how to follow the instructions. But then I just stopped for a while. I observed her and I realised she was having fun with building something random, similar to, well, nothing. But she was having so much fun, she didn't care it was random. I smiled. Sometimes the goal itself doesn't matter, if we're not having fun while achieving it. From time to time we have to throw the instructions away and have little bit of fun. It doesn't matter either we achieve our goal or not, because sometimes having fun while doing it, is a goal itself. 

That helped me a lot back then. I was just learning how to surf in my spare time. My only goal was to go from a longboard to a short stick, to ride big waves and be in the line-up like all the other surfers were. I struggled a lot, falling all the time, getting annoyed because I wasn't getting nowhere. But when I looked it from a different perspective, everything changed. What's the point of surfing, if I'm not enjoying while falling off and while trying to stand up on the board. So I stopped. Not surfing! I stopped trying to "build a shape out of my Legos"  and started to have fun "while building it." After few months I was surfing on a reef in Bali, I did manage to come to the line-up. I'm not surfing on a short stick, but my board did lose few inches in the length. But most of all, I'm having a ball each single time I fall off and get smashed in the waves. I don't want to surf on a short stick and on big waves anymore, I prefer to surf fun waves!

So YES, set your goals HIGH, dream BIG, but don't forget to have fun while walking towards them. Otherwise it's not worth it. "Life is what happens to you while you're bussy making other plans" once John Lennon said. And sometimes the goal itselt will lose it's importance, because the road you'll walk while going towards it, will be so much more exciting and satisfying. I have my goals set high, but if one day I don't end up as a National Geographic journalist, I'm most certantly going to have fun while visiting writting courses around the globe and meeting photographers and journalists. I'm going to have fun while writting and I'll put all my heart in each single article, even if it won't be published in a recognized magazine. I'm going to enjoy in each single shot i'm about to take and enjoy each single research, interview and debate I'm going to share with people. Isn't that what's all about? What actually matters!? To be happy and satisfied with what you're doing? 

Set your goals high, go for them, but who gives a damn about not scoring a goal, if you're having a ball while shooting! 

Happy "building" to y'all!!;))

Mayita

Spiritual satisfaction

From time to time I get a bit melancholic...I'm not exactly sure why. I probably consume all the positive energy and before going to bed I'm left with no energy at all. It's not that I'm tired after a long day. I don't think about past or future either. There's nothing wrong in my life, I'm just left unspoken and with hardly any emotions. I'm feeling kind of hollow and empty. But not in the bad way. Ever happend that to you? 

In the evenings like these I look up for some inspirational quotes. Something that gives me a spirirtual satisfaction...or just a simple confirmation I'm doing the right things in life...

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." -Eleanor Roosevelt

"Do not worry if you have build castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."  - Henry David Thoreau

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over again in my life. And that is how I succeed."  - Michael Jordan

Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right!" -  Henry Ford

"You make a living by what you earn. You make a life by what you give." - Winston Churchill

Good night!

Mayita

The Essence of dreams

Moto tour with my idol, travelling legend, Zvone Šeruga (not the one on the pic, tho)

Travelling the god damn world!!

Something about dreams...about fighting for your dreams...following and LIVING your dreams. On the road I am meeting so many people, who inspire me and affect my life in all possible ways. I admire them and I learn from them. But as well, I'm meeting so many people who doesn't believe in their dreams and won't do a single thing to achieve them. Why? Because it's too hard! Because you have to step out of your comfort zone, have loads of courage and actually DO something. Each beginning is hard, remember that! It wont be easy, never! You have to sacrifice a lot, sometimes your free time, sometimes friendships, sometimes money. You sweat, you cry, you fail, you don't get recognition when you deserve it and get rejected numerous times. But imagine, someday you might succeed, not might, you WILL. If you set your mind, put all your energy and all your life into something, believe me you're going to get it. 

All the crazy stuff in life...

OK, so let's start it like this. We all have idols, right? We all have someone to look up to, someone we admire, or even worship, don't we? And our idols are usually very successful, they love what they're doing and they seem to be perfect at doing it. A lot of people feel underestimated because of them. In the way "I'll never be as good as them...". And you know what? You won't, you'll never be as good as them. You'll be DIFFERENT, not better, not worse, simply different. What I'm trying to say is, don't compare yourself to others. If someone is good at something you love doing as well, try to learn from them, rather than feeling down because you're never going to be like them. "You were born an original, don't die a copy" John Mason

My mexican telenovela

You won't try yourself as a photographer, because photography became so popular these days, and everybody is doing it. But if you love to photograph and you believe you have a feeling for it, DO IT! Don't let something you love doing get away, just because you think everyone will do it better than you. It's so stupid, you could miss out an oportunity of becoming a proffesional photographer! If you love cooking and you're thinking of becoming a professional cook, well you better start trying out new recipes, apply for different jobs, cook for your mom, cook for your neighbours, let them tell you their opinion! Work on that decorations! Learn about different cousines, french, thai, chinese. There is so much to learn - and guess what, the more you know, the more you value! So don't wait a minute to start learning about your dreams and go for a hunt!! Don't limit yourself with the idea tha Michelin star is something you will never get! Or that National Geographic or Olympic games are impossible to achieve! Dream BIG! If you want to be a dancer, DANCE, even if your mom expects you to be a lawyer. If you want to be a journalist, then BE a journalist, even if you lack a degree in it. Do not come up with excuses such as "I cannot do this" or "there's no future in this", or "there are plenty of people doing it already!" "If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse" Jim Rohn

Camp counselor in North Carolina

When I was working in camp in the States, one day a really nice mid-age woman droped by to our camp. She was a storyteller and she was leading a small workshop for our girl scouts. In her speach she said something like this: "I always loved writting and telling stories. I was writting  stories all the time, I was telling stories all around the country. One day, I started to make money out of my storytelling. And you should do the same! Make your money out of something you love doing!" Isn't that great, doing something you love doing for the rest of your life and be payed for it at the same time? I still remember American writter Dan, I've met in Mexico. He said to me "If you don't know what would you like to do in your life, ask yourself what you would love to do for free!"

Work in yachting industry really breaks down your limits.

So if I understand correctly, hobby - your career! It might sound stupid or even impossible, but that's not true. If you say it's impossible, you are already setting limits to your dreams. But remember - there are no limits in achieving your dreams! If you limited yourself, remember, YOU did, no one else did! And now you'll say, that sometimes there are legal limits, there are evil people involved, boo-hoo-hoo. Yes, there are legal things and different people involved, I never said it will be easy! If it would be so easy to achieve your dreams, well then I guess the whole world would be living in a harmony, right? As I said, every beginning is hard. There are so many barriers to go through. And there are so many falls. You try and you faill, you try again and fail even deeper. So many disappointments, so many broken hopes. So be ready for that! Be ready for years of sweating, doing things with minimum or no result. But believe, if you have put in sooo much, eventually you will start to gain. You will become wiser and more experianced. You will suceed, you will live in all the glory of your hard work and hopeless moments. 

Don't stop believing, just because everybody else is saying you can't do it. "Don't let small minds convience you that your dreams are too big!" Be happy with your life. One way to achieve that is with doing what you love. And when you love doing something, you're probably be very good at it. So why not try it? Just try it at first. Or would you prefer to ask yourself for the rest of your life "What would happend, if...?" Yes, you will be feeling uncomfortable and you will be afraid of unknown. But don't be afraid to try. Don't be afraid to fail. Don't be afraid to be afraid. 

See you later, alligator,

Mayita

Your mountain is waiting on you!

Solo travelling has its downsides as well, it's not that perfect after all. To start with, you need a lot of courage to go on the road by yourself. You constantly have to motivate yourself in order not to give up. You do get scared quite often, you do feel unsecure with your decisions, but if you are strong individual, you soon can overcome all those nasty feelings. Sometimes you might get yourself in a really bad situation or get to the point it's so hard, all you want to do is book a first flight back home. It happend to me so many times before, haha. Either the homesickness kicked in really badly or the work was starting to get my mental health. Mostly happend while working 2 summers in US camp, I reckon I said like 3 or 4 times "I cannot do it anymore, I'm booking a flight tomorrow morning and going home, I'm done!." Or for example, when you get really sick, you become extremly emotional and miss your family more than usual. You want to call it a day, finish your adventure and return back home to regain your normal life back. Sometimes while on the road you ask yourself if it's worth it. Is it worth to have all your loved ones on the other side of the world, while you're stuck in some 3rd world country, dwelling in a cheap room, sorrounded by strangers? 

You miss out a lot. Your friends' and family members' birthdays and gatherings, holidays, your best friend's graduation, brother's first job and you're not there when they are going through rough times. The saddest part is that time passes. After a long time being away, people start to realise you actually ARE gone and not a part of their everyday life anymore. Some of them forget about you, they forget about your birthday or they don't write you for months. You have to realise that life does go on and you can't prevent it. It's true what they say "out of sight, out of mind". Some are just not capable to mantain any kind of long distance relationship. The good thing is, you realise who your true friends are. Who will wake up in the middle of the night to skype with you? Who will remember your birthday? Who will respond to your emails or write one out of nowhere just to see how you are doing? Who will be there for you while having rough times? It was bitter and extremly hard at that point, when I realise who doesn't care about me in the same way I care about them. There were "friends" who didn't do anything to obtain your friendship. For some it is really easy to let go and move on. An it's true what they say: "Some people are meant to stay in our hearts, but not in our life." On the other hand, I gained so much more, than I've lost. True friends stayed in my life and our friendship became even stronger. Now I know, I can always rely on them and that I have enormous back up back home. It's absolutely amazing feeling and I will be grateful forever for this!

Well, let's just stop with all the negativities about solo travelling. I hate to write negative posts. I just wanted to let you all know, not everything is perfect, even if it seems that way at first. Sometimes you have to work hard, overcome different barriers and sacrifice a lot in order to achieve and live your dreams. Each single begining is hard, there are times it gets tough and unbearable, but if you have a strong and optimistic mind, a bit of courage and support from loved ones, you can achieve almost anything in this world. You can do even more, you think you're able to do. Everything is possible. We can move mountains if we want, we just have to set our mind and heart to it. So don't wait, just do it, your mountain is waiting on ya,

till next post, see ya later alligator,

Mayita

Solo travelling, complete freedom and lifelong friends...

I wasn't travelling solo all the time. My overall first travel was to Morroco in 2006. I was young, unexperianced, wanting to satisfy my curiousity and looking for something new. I never had friends who'd be fond of travelling, at least not backpacking. So I looked up some travel forums, and got myself a travel mate. I visited beautiful and unspoiled Morroco with someone i barely knew. It was a great experiance so I repeated that kind of travelling and it was always a great advenure. I also traveled with my ex boyfriend and a couple of my friends, which was OK, but...that's all that was - just OK. But then, finaly that day came...the day I encouraged myself to go on the road on my own...

...and the whole perspective about travelling changed in that instant moment, travelling got a completely new meaning to me. For me, travelling represents freedom. When you're facing google map and you have the whole world to choose your next destination from. When you step out of the plane and have the whole country in front of you. You just have to pick your next step, no plans, no worries, just going with the flow. You can go where ever you want, anytime you want, without compromises and hard feelings. There's nothing and NOONE holding you back. You don't need to wait on someone because they need to use bathroom. You don't need to go from somewhere you love being, because your mate wants to leave. You don't need to deal with your mate having a bad day or argue on your next step. You can do what the hell you want to do - and that's what I call, a complete freedom! You can be YOURSELF, your real you - no yesterdays on the road. No past, no memories, just you, your backpack and infinite posibilities.

Don't get me started how people, you meet on the road care about you. They adopt you, they watch your step, help you out with any kind of problem your facing. They understand solo traveling can be hard and you need a good talk from time to time, they encourage you, they're trying to make you feel like home. They cook a delicious meal for you, take you into their house, laugh with you, show you pictures of their family and cry their heart out while telling you sad stories from civil war they survived. They take you to doctor's when you need assistance, they arrange great trips for you or get you better prices. When you're alone and away from your home for a long time, you need to share all that spare love and you need someone to whom you can confess. Not realising at first, you get yourself real friends, because those people mean so much to you while being so far from your friends and family back home. And that's how you get lifelong friends who you share some most amazing memories with. You love them so much, because they were there when you needed someone. And that's why it's so hard to say goodbye. But then again, that's why you work your way around to see them again in the future. 

People think travelling alone makes you lonely and solitary. Exact the opposite! You're in the wide open and available to everyone. You attract people and they're drawn to you in some inexplicable way. Imagine travelling in pair, you always have mental support, someone to talk to and you don't seek for that while traveling. Travelling solo, you do need those things. And due to that fact you gain so many new friends and crazy adventures. 

They enrich your travels. They help you to see life in different perspective. They become a part of your life. They change and transform you, and all in all they make you a better person. 

Thanks to my lovely friends and families around the globe who helped me out and were there for me. As I said many times before - when you enter my life, there's no way out of it! "Goodbyes are not forever, goodbyes are not the end, they simply mean, I'll miss you till we meet again"

Till next time, 

Mayita