Andra Miron's blog

This is Scott Shellady. 45 years old. He works at the Chicago stock exchange, for ICAP. Everyone inside there has a code. A color code. And they yell. And make simple signs. Five fingers on the chin mean five million contract. Five fingers on the front head - 50 million. They communicate like this from a corner to another and they can't be wrong. The transactions have to be accurate. But is all about being fast and visible. And the main weapons are voice and hands. This is the place where in 1,5 seconds you can loose 60.000$.

Rich! Being this. Wanting to be this. Envying this. But what if Rich is a who, not a what?

Well, I met him!

He could have been a farmer and spent his life in the field or among cattle. But he makes millions of dollars on the top of a 40 stories building in Chicago. And he was generous enough to host 6 journalists he knew nothing about in his house in Miami.

You all know the legend - Sisyphus is rolling up the boulder towards the top of a mountain and by the time it reaches the end of his struggle the rock falls back down so he restarts his journey. Over and over again. Maybe you can see here an overwhelming frustration. But you can also see the struggle of getting your job done as well as possible. In these terms would you imagine fireworks for Sisyphus just before the boulder rolls down again?

Well, in modern days this is possible. Here's how:

New York Times is based in one of the most iconic buildings in the world.

52 story tall, listed for 11,9 billion dollars by national real estate company, this 1,5 million square foot building rises 1.046 feet from street level.

Democrats have a candidate. Republicans are still looking for one.  But most analysts say Romney will be that one. Americans go carried away by che charisma.... or by the party. But the key question now is not whom I'm going to vote for. But what I'm going to vote. And THE MESSAGE is what both camps are looking for.

So how do the politicians shape up a coherent message in a country where immigration rate is growing, where in the last years the number of states that have immigrants has doubled, and the most exposed state to that, Florida, is the turning point in the elections?

Bum, bum, bum! Ladies and Gentleman, the president of the United States!

And he entered. And all members of the Congress were applauding, and he was encouraged by men and women, and he shook hands, and kissed congresswomen and was encouraged.

But this evening, Obama spoke for the Republicans. It was their vote he needed and he went for it!

So do you know that there are children who don't know what a chicken looks like and have only seen wings in KFC? They don't know that apples actually come from the trees because they were only nicely put in rows at the supermarket? What's a hot dog made of... as it only comes on a stick? So how much big shock is actually seeing vivid animals come to life in front of their eyes?

Land equals property. So everybody wants it, but only some have it. Land means power, income, ownership, place in society,....home, power, conquest. Land can become a definition to any of these. Iowa is the ranks first in the US in the production of corn and soybeans. It has 11.000 different types of soil and 92.600 farms. [http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/quickFacts.asp]

When you ask a foreigner who was in Romania about this country he'd say people are very hospitable. When you ask a foreigner about Americans / he'd say they are pragmatic. Well, they are. But my experience, both in St. Paul/Minneapolis and Ely showed me that they are very hospitable.The trip to Ely opened me to a new world about Americans and their way of sharing.

The first thing you are asked when you enter a house in Romania - have you eaten? Do you want a glass of ţuică?

In the US - beer, wine, icetea?

This is an outstanding experience for me. In just a week I learned to do things and I was put up to do things I wouldn't at home. First / do a blog. I wanted to make one but I did't really have the skills to do it. Well, it turned out that I have. Thank you Lee! And then, download pictures and process them. Thanks to my new friend, Eija from Finland, now I can share them with you. She thought me how: