The Real World Summit

I've had a most engaging week. I am feeling  blessed and energized by recognition from my peers. It just so happens that I am surrounded by amazing, positive, working women from all over the world. From the information tech professionals at GlobalNiche  who guided me towards my own online niche to writers and creatives I met through online workshops, Twitter and Facebook - I have received tremendous support from all of them. It makes me so happy!

Anastasia & Tara of GlobalNiche

 I realized, I don't have to be perfect or have it all together 100% to speak my truth. I can gather my Collection and my culture driven passions and 'polish' while I'm working.

BulaMamaNi

  With my collegues I expanded my vision to allow the GlobalNiche strategy to work.

Last week I was nominated by two wonderfully prolific and creative writers Sezin Kohler and Sandra Gea Guevara for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

Alessandra Granata

Today I interviewed with Alessandra Granata who writes both Viaggi dei Rospi and Lali Viaggi , which are incredibly informative Italian travel blogs focusing on travel with children. I am feeling quite like a muse, it's true!

 I wish this kind of  pay it forward attitude were prevalent in business or even better - in any interactions people have with each other. I know it sounds like I'm talking about something so important - the World Summit or something. Nope. It's just that whole thing about  generosity, taking a moment to listen, to see.

I don't think that the 'news' cares to report about this stuff. I imagine it's too simple, too nice, too real. Help one another.  It's not new, but also not popular either.

Yet.

And at the World Summits, whatever else those men talk about they might want to include some lessons from us at GlobalNiche. Because it certainly would  give a lot more power to the people if World Summit types used their platform to tell the people that indeed,  there is enough to go around.  Knowing they are supported gives people motivation to turn around and give support when it's their turn. 
 That's how I see it. 
 When you are not afraid of being left behind you have nothing to loose but to open up.  

Beautiful Bridge

Writers, creatives, dreamers, mom's, goddesses, women, keepers of the hearth, cuddlers of the truth, dancers with reality, subconscious mind mermaids, cultural spelunkers, wild eyed travelers, opinionated and talented people with something to say,with plenty of experience living and navigating the world - these are the people who's words of wisdom I prefer to follow. They are authentic and want me to be my best self. 

When we are connected we can share our wealth and  also promote the light of others.
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I believe that those who engage in this kind of outreach  are the real leaders of  the World Summit.

Madame Sezin

Thank you sisters in arms. 

Queen for a Day

I am at this very moment feeling very desired and... well quite frankly, a little nervous because I have had most amazing and flattering news! Two exceptionally talented and lovely people have nominated me for the 'Very Inspiring Blogger Award' and I am thrilled and also a bit alarmed! Here I thought I might be running incognito dot com all these years when in reality...

I am inspiring someone out there!

 I believe 'inspiration' is a word every passionate person wants to hear in relation to themselves. So, my intent, besides following the prompts inherent to promoting the Award, is to continue to inspire - doubly inspire as of now.

The next step is doing what I love to do in life anyway - discover creative jewels-  other wildly inspirational humans beings that care about important stuff and write damn good blog posts to prove it and share these writers, artists, painters, cooks, lovers, leaders with the rest of my world.

My dear Soul, Sandrea Gea Guevara, author of the blog BulaMamaNi.com where the self proclaimed multiculturist and heartist lets us read her incredibly luscious poetic words has nominated me, with love and generosity, as an inspiration. For her! 

Sandrita is as exotic as she is poetic and is a fierce visionary in her literary and business aspirations as much as anyone I know. Getting a nomination of inspiration from her means much to me and I am on the moon about it! 

Sandra herself was nominated by another gorgeously talented woman named Sezin Koehler who is not only a published and well regarded author but somehow finds the time to write a mountain of story lines in various blogs many related to Monsters & Gaga -  all of which she keeps up with seeming effortlessness. I adore her and fortunately she adores me too because she nominated me for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award too! To think that I inspire Zuzu, who speaks her mind every moment of the day...no filters...this makes me strong! 

Watch for her, she's going to be big. Hulk big. 

Thank you goddesses for shining your light on me!

As an honoree, here's what you need to do in order to join the "Very Inspiring Blogger Award"  once you've garnered a nomination...

Thank and link the blogger that has nominated you

Post the award logo to your own blog 

Write a post on the nomination and nominate (15 or so) other very inspiring bloggers

Notify them and then tell seven things about yourself

For inspiration I go to

Sedef's Corner - Ueber gorgeous, history, art, painting, I get lost every time
Fork and Pen - Where a really really smart woman talks about really really good food
loveisspeed - I have no words for how visually luscious this blog is, stories about 'them'
Goddesschess - Entranced. By all of it
Dumneazu - Ethnomusicological Eating East of Everywhere - like I need to say more
I Viaggi dei Rospi - Alessandra, Italian mommy blogger who along with
Silvia Ceriegi at Trippando.com are two of the most connected and informed women on the planet what relates to Travel & Kids. And, did I mention Italian?!
Ken Albala - A prolific food historian with no fear, doubly intriguing for his non recipe-ness
Mark Sink and his wife
Kristen Hatgi Sink - make you want to study photography and get undressed, not necessarily in that order
The Rambling Epicure - Ms Galloway writes daily about food, art and life. Lovely.
Bazar Bayar - Sharing tales and scrumptious handmade crafts from Turkey
The Sassy Radish - Food, glorious food... tantalizing

Favorite subjects besides food, photography & travel? Bosnia & politics, which for me means one man..Marko @ Greater Surbiton.
There are a many more blogs that inspire me located on my blog roll.. take a look it will make you happy.

~~Now. Seven things about me I've been keeping a secret...~~~

~I love to drive really fast and once made it from the Mittlerer Ring to the Starnberg exit in 6 minutes at 260kph. Having said that I lived the first 25 years of my life thinking that I would be chauffered around by various family members, boyfriends or taxi drivers and didn't learn how to drive till much later than most

~My whole life I have pretended that I love to fly, but the reality is that I am  terrified of it and have to force myself to do it for the thing I ironically love doing most - traveling. I might or might not be a pretty good actress

~I have never sung in the shower, let alone in public or even in a closet for fear that someone might hear me... but sometimes driving down the highway late at night...I will let out a peep

~I am crazy about Bill Nye the Science Guy

~My middle name is Paola. I am named after my Bosnian grandmother

~I may or may not have once been Miss March. I know, huh?

~I never ever watch TV though I adore films and could watch 20 documentaries a day

Have fun checking out the nominees!!

Women living the Global Life

I just spent a good piece of the late morning on a very cool website that I go to often. I start reading the expat + HAREM website totally intrigued and by the time I know it I am browsing amazing blogs written by the women that are featured there.

Anastasia Ashman, who is the creator, writes that her site is 'a neocultural hub for global citizens'. I will read a few of posts on the site, armchair travel through some personal blogs and pronto! I am swept away to different worlds.

The posts are populated with women from all walks of life, with 'hybrid identities' and as they relay their stories, communicating their love and at times, frustration with assimilation, expression and setbacks of living life in a country other than their own, I get a glimpse of something very personal and real.

Having traveled and lived abroad (meaning non USA) much of my life, I never really felt I belonged to any country with whole heart and soul. It is possible that is why I find the stories at expat intriguing, familiar and admittedly, I often succumb to a questionable form of travel envy!

I love that expat +HAREM is inventing new spaces to tap into for those of us that crave to be or who live in cultures that are different than our own.  The editors create interest by exploring the voices of the women who are building businesses, raising children and adapting to work conditions abroad. Everything on the site is easily accessible and engaging.  Anastasia writes about women finding a personal 'global niche', appropriate to the fast changing, social media infused lives we live now.

Next time you are in the mood to see what it is like to live and work in an 'exotic' country where 'challenging situations' are sometimes a matter of everyday life, check out the lives of 'global hybrids' and 'culturati' here.

Culatello

The joys of Italy! Just browsing around reading my twitter feed and happened on this fellows' blog (via @TheUnknownChef) and this beautiful picture of cured meats in a shop window greeted me. Prosciutti, culatelli, speck, salame....I dream of visiting my bel' Italia again soon so that I can nonchalantly stand in front of this window and know that I can get an etto or two at any time I want. Thank you Adrian for reminding me why I should not stop dreaming away or saving soldi to go back home. And now I'm going to go downstairs and speak Italian to the Queen and make her laugh by telling her some joke with the gorgeous word 'culatello' in it.

SilvanaMondoLandia

In late August my SilvanaMondo blog was suspended, kidnapped, cancelled ...again. Third time. I have an eye for detail, tis true, but not for tech detail, like updates, calendars, directions on the back of boxes or spy ware. Anyone's guess on what exactly happened is as good as the next, I'm not taking it personally. There is a lesson there, somewhere.  The elusive 'perfect blog' is... elusive.
In the meantime... SMondo, (until I get my SilvanaMondo name back) is where I will bring back my translations of what is interesting to me, in the worlds that make up culture, politics, food and travel.
I document everything with my Blackberry exclusively.  Lots of pics of me, of course & the dear ones. Here we go.