Kyiv Post. A Word with Е Veronica Ortiz Simal

[/] Advanced search: Headlines by email: Thu, Feb 15. 10:50 Register now, it's free! Registered? Sign in here Categories Main page News Briefs Top stories Nation Opinion Business The Guide General 7 Days in Kyiv A Word with... Food Best of Kyiv Classifieds KP activity Employment fair Best of Kyiv 2006 Best of Kyiv 2005 Best of Kyiv 2004 Kyiv Post soccer league 2006 Sunday walk PDF download Employment Business Organizer Real Estate E-version Supplement PDF search by Bigmir ) net Subscription Print subscription Web subscription Our services User profile Useful links Registration KyivPost/Afisha Card Contacts Donate RSS News The Guide » A Word with... A Word with Е Veronica Ortiz Simal by Harikrishnan Sankaran, KyivPost Copy Editorial Feb 14 2007, 21:44 © KP Media, photo by Konstantin Klimenko I have been, lately, running into a new breed of Europeans Ц young, multilingual globe-trotters, at ease in Kyiv or Calcutta. Veronica Ortiz Simal, a young Spanish lady from Madrid, is a perfect example. Veronica has already worked and lived in as far apart and diverse places as Glasgow and Manila. She has backpacked Ц with the ubiquitous Lonely Planet Guide of course Ц in Australia and the Far East. Now she is getting ready to plunge into an eleven month stint in Kyiv. УNow that I have found an apartment Ц in Andriyivsky Uzviz, of all places Ц my next immediate challenge is to learn to read the Cyrillic scriptФ stated Veronica while postponing her desire to smoke as a courtesy to the Kyiv Post photographer. УI love challenges and love learning new things Ц am almost hooked to those things like an addict,Ф she blurted out and followed it with one of her lovely smiles. Veronica is a fast talker, which is a bit of a punishment for an interviewer like me who is used to taking it all down in longhand. But, fortunately, it was still only midday and I was sober as a judge and knew that I would be able to recall most of it in a couple of hours at my kitchen table, back in my pad. Apart from being a fast talker, Veronica can also, without warning, go off on a tangent, and as a result of that, I found myself listening to this pretty Spanish girl talk about football. УWhile living in Glasgow, I was a great fan of Celtic. Of course, back in Spain, I am a supporter of Real Madrid.Ф This, to me, was a bit unsettling Ц not her choice of football clubs, but just that I was under the notion that Spanish women spoke about flamenco and things like that. DonТt forget, I told myself, that the lady sitting across you is a product of modern Spain Ц a vibrant product of the post-Franco cultural explosion. Observing, obviously, my slight bewilderment, Veronica explained: УI am the second child of my parents and they wanted a boy. I grew up a bit as a tomboy, I guess. Even as a child, my father always took me to the stadium for football matches.Ф I made a mental note, wanting to prove that I didnТt lack in gallantry, to check out the match fixtures at our own legendary Olympic Stadium so that I could invite her along for a game. Veronica is still enthralled with the time she spent in Manila. УI spent eleven months there. Not just in Manila; I also traveled quite a bit around the Philippines. Of course, you must remember that it is an archipelago Ц comprising of more than 700 islands. Unlike some of the Far Eastern countries Ц Thailand or Vietnam for example Ц the Philippines is not tourist infested. This means that you have large swathes of pristine nature all to yourself. Traveling is also made easier since English, along with Filipino, is the official language.Ф What kind of jobs took her to these far-flung regions, I wanted to know. УWhile at the Madrid University, I made a choice. I wanted a job in finance. So I did a Masters in External Trade. You know, under Franco, Spain was a jaded and stagnant nation. After his death, the country opened up. Joining the European Union was a big leap for us. Initially, just like Ukraine now, we too struggled. But today, Spain is a truly modern European country with a booming economy and with trade interests Ц especially in the construction sector Ц around the globe. We also have been able to build up a solid tourism infrastructure Ц a great source of income.Ф So, what has brought this charming and resourceful young lady to Ukraine? УI knew about the country a little bit since a close friend of mine, a Canadian, has Ukrainian ancestors. When I was offered this opportunity Ц an 11 month internship with the Spanish Embassy in their trade section here Ц I had no hesitation in accepting it. Besides, as a confirmed addict of challenges and learning, how could I possibly turn it down?Ф This, Veronica said with a hearty laugh. Veronica could not spare much time for this A Word WithЕ feature since she had to rush off for a meeting with her brand new landlord. Oh Lord, I thought and almost wanted to make a nasty comment about the Kyiv landlords/landladies Ц a species that every ex-pat bemoans Ц but restrained that urge and instead asked her if all these sojourns in different cultures has taken its toll on her young soul: УTrue, so far I have been able to spend only short periods in various cultures Ц hardly ever more than a year Ц and parting is never easy. You not only pack your suitcases, in a sense you also pack your life. But I constantly remind myself to retain certain integrity. Especially not to forget the bad times my country and my people had to go through under Franco and fascism. When I see Ukraine struggling Ц just like we did 30 years ago Ц on its way to become a modern European nation, I fully understand their problems and support them in their aspirations.Ф Read Also A Word with Е Kanat Issabekov Feb 07, 23:22 A Word with Е Valeria Gemello Jan 31, 23:54 A Word with Е Zahedul Islam Jan 25, 00:52 A Word with Alessandro Terzi Jan 17, 20:45 A Word with Bill Atamanchuk Jan 10, 20:49 A Word with Seo Yu Jung Dec 27, 18:59 A Word with Jeremie Blaise Dec 20, 19:18 A Word with Alex Frishberg Dec 13, 21:30 A Word with Reinier Reints Dec 06, 19:44 A Word with Vianney Robert Nov 29, 22:29 NEWS BRIEFS Saudi foreign minister: kingdom ready for nuclear cooperation with Russia Feb 14, 20:03 Committee to ensure Sochi ecology for Olympics to be formed Feb 14, 19:08 Interim leader who showed reform inclinations becomes new Turkmenistan president Feb 14, 19:04 Russia's Gazprom, nickel giant Norilsk Nickel to bid for Yukos assets, says liquidator Feb 14, 18:10 Russian label for British record giant EMI wins lawsuit against Russian music Web site Feb 14, 16:46 Former Kyrgyz prime minister joins opposition, accuses president of ousting him Feb 14, 16:41 Report: Russia-NATO maneuvers postponed over legal dispute Feb 14, 16:36 Russian antitrust regulators approve merger to create world's largest aluminum producer Feb 14, 16:29 Piracy case puts Russian village schoolteacher on trial, Microsoft in spotlight Feb 13, 19:23 Estonia's economy surges 11.5 percent in 2006 as overheating risk increases Feb 13, 19:08 www.bigmir.net www.korrespondent.net www.ukrbiz.net www.uasport.net www.ukrjob.net www.afisha.ua www.pink.com.ua www.bigbn.com.ua © 2004 - 2007, SputnikMedia.net . 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