Guns n’ Roses: Sweet Child of mine (Appetite for Destruction)

The name “Rega” is made up of the initials “Re” from the German word “Rettungsflugwacht” and “Ga” from its French name “Garde Aérienne”. Rega’s principles are basically the same as those of the Red Cross that is to “come to the aid of people who find themselves in serious difficulties and are in need of assistance – without any discrimination as to their person, financial circumstances, race, religion, class or political opinions. Rega assists wherever the life or health of other people can be preserved or protected by means of its intervention.”

It turnes out that Rega has an impressive fleet of jets and helicopters, dispersed in ten bases throughout Switzerland at each of which either an Agusta A 109 K2 or a Eurocopter EC 145 rescue helicopter is stationed. Rega claims that the helicopter bases are distributed throughout the country in such a way that, with the exception of canton Valais, any location can be reached within just 15 minutes flying time.

While most of us know the Rega from their helicopter rescue missions, their cow missions have only recently made it to the newspapers’ front pages: The “Contadino” section at the headquarters employs one senior staff member, the – as I named him – Master of Cow Disaster – who works all day long on assisting mountain farmers and coordinating transports of injured or dead livestock. A cow weights approximately 800 kilograms, so one cow per helicopter is all that can be carried at once. Rega gave us one important advice on spectator behavior during cow transport missions: Don’t stand underneath the cow, if it’s still alive, it’s scared, and if it’s scared, you never know what will come flying from the sky. So you better get the shit ouf of there!

Jay-Z feat. Pharrell: So Ambitious (The Blueprint 3)

We’ve heard the expression many times: true friends. What are true friends? Can we even use the words in times like these, in a world like ours where the impersonal and anonymous are the order of the day and people more often than not reduce themselves to the surface given that digging beneath it is too big of an effort and showing feelings is considered embarrassing and nonprofessional?

I can assure you, you, too, have true friends, you might not even be aware of it, but you do. Just look back and ask yourself: Who are the people who supported you, who were there for you when you least expected and most needed it, who reached out to you when you pulled back, who forgave you your big and small mistakes, who loved you without expectations, without questions or demands? It might be your parents, your childhood or school friends but it might even be someone unconventional like a neighbor, a total stranger, a brief acquaintance…whoever comforted and consoled you, helped you out of misery, made you smile and forget your worries and just listened unselfishly when you needed to get something off your chest. Just ask yourself when you experienced true, unconditional love and you’ll know your true friends.

So, my dear friends, thank you for being there! You’re in my heart, now and forever!

Your Gergina

Rihanna feat. Jay-Z: Umbrella (Good Girl Gone Bad)

There’s an extraordinary ambiance in this fascinating city: Coming from the West, one is enchanted by Budapest’s exotic touch and Eastern European easiness, comparable to the Mediterranean spirit of outgoing looseness. At the same time, Budapest stands out from other Eastern European cities by its incredibly rich, outstandingly various and enormously noble architecture in neo-classical and secession style, representing the elegance of times long gone. Standing at the northeastern border of Europe, Budapest unites the clashes of the Nordic-practical and the Southern-relaxed manners. This supposably explains the ambivalent nature of Budapest’s inhabitants who are ironic and cool but also melancholic and romantic altogether. The Hungarian language, a one of a kind jaw crusher and unique in Central Europe, has finno-ugrian roots and as such contributes to Budapest’s originality. The Danube flows through the center of the Hungarian capital, dividing it into two parts, connected by many beautiful bridges: Buda with its green hills and paradisiac atmosphere and Pest with its lively business temper, building density, churches, government buildings, theaters and bars. The topography is varied and there’s an infinite well of culture and history to discover on every corner of the town. The 2,5 km long Margaret Island with its recreational and sports areas, gardens and open air baths stands amidst the Danube between Buda and Pest as the green, breathing heart of the city. I fell in love with Budapest, this indescribable, mostly underestimated pearl of Europe where East and West come together to celebrate life’s greatness.

There are lots of original and funny slogans to be found in Zug if you open your eyes and look closely while strolling through the streets. My favorite one: “Happiness without reservation” (“Glück ohne Voranmeldung”) – don’t hold back, show your happiness if you’re happy! Remember that “Good honey is not be greased around one’s mouth” (“Guten Honig streicht man nicht ums Maul”) which is open to interpretation but in my opinion simply means to avoid fakery and pretense and to really mean the things one says to others. It might also mean to consume the good things in life – don’t save them for later because you never know how long they’ll be around and don’t waste them because they’re rare and special.

“P. S. Get off your horses” (“P. S. Steigen Sie von Ihren Pferden”).

Did you know that Chile has the driest desert in the world, glaciers, big forests, numerous rivers, fertile valleys, 50 active volcanoes and 3 different climate zones leading to national hazards, earthquakes like the recent one and tsunamis? Well, we didn’t either, until we started researching for and working on our final paper for the Michael E. Porter MBA class of Robert Kennedy College on Corporate Strategy and Competitiveness where we had decided to write on Chile’s competitiveness and the Chilean wine industry as a project team of four, dispersed in four different countries: Hungary, Portugal, Qatar and Switzerland.

Located in Southern South America, South of Peru and West of Bolivia and Argentina, the Republic of Chile is about 2,880 miles long. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the West and by the Andes mountains in the East. Chile occupies a land mass of 756,102 sq km, ranking 38th in the world in land mass. Chile’s population is estimated at 16,746,491, and has a growth rate of 0.856%.

As it turnes out, Chile is a fascinating country with huge development potential which has already performed remarkably well in many areas and contributed to Chile’s ranking 30th in the Global Competitiveness Index 2009-2010.

Our project paper which we’ve just handed in (today is July 5th, 2010), has been a group work from the start. Never have I experienced a group of four people so far apart working so harmonically and closely together as with you, dear Ildiko, Joana and Bernie, for which I would like to thank you from my deepest heart. It’s been my great pleasure and honour to work with such devoted, patient, enduring and generous people who I haven’t had met before April 21st, 2010. The great experience proves that we don’t need to be coming from the same countries, cultures and backgrounds in order to understand each other perfectly.

See the result of this beautiful work and read our paper here:
Chile and the Chilean Wine Industry

P.S. I wrote the executive summary and the chapters “Identification of Strategic Issues Facing Chile” as well as “Identification of Strategic Issues Facing the Chilean Wine Cluster”.

Salud!

Creed: Sacrifice (Greatest Hits)

The homes of the upper 10’000 can be quite enchanting, especially on a bright, hot summer evening with an indescribable view in an exclusive neighborhood. On our mission to take pictures of dream villas, modern buildings and classic homes, we found ourselves bedazzled by the extravagance and luxury one can buy with money. Interestingly, we’ve all agreed on the fact that we’d rather not switch places with the rich and famous because they didn’t seem too happy at all and because the best things in life don’t cost a thing.

Owl City: On the Wing (Maybe I’m Dreaming)

Owl City: The Technicolor Phase (Maybe I’m Dreaming)