Patricia Khalil

[Class of 2009]

A er gradua ng from Bournemouth University this summer with a rst-class degree in Adver sing with Marke ng Communica ons, I moved
back to Bucharest where I now work as the Development and Communica ons Assistant at AISB.

It’s truly wonderful to be back
in this community working alongside beau ful souls who used to be my teachers! I’ll be spending this winter holiday in France with my extended family. It will be my rst Christmas away from home so my heartstrings feel like they’re being pulled

a li le! However, I am most certain that I will have a fantas c me nevertheless.

My aunt and uncle live in Chambery so I’ll be spending Christmas there with my cousins and other aun e and uncle doing a bit of skiing. Then I’m o to Paris with my cousin for New Years – I expect it will be fun! This is the rst me I’ve spent the holidays away from home so I’m looking forward to learning a little bit about what happens for the holidays in a di erent country and to see what my mum’s family has in store for me on this very special celebra on.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday and fantas c New Year’s lled with new achievements, lots of happiness and bucket- full’s of love. All the best! 
 

Teo Ficcarelli

[Class of 2009]

I am currently living in Kampala, Uganda, with my family and I’m doing an internship at the German coopera on and development body. I’m going back to Italy for Christmas where I will spend it with my extended family, as is Italian tradi on. I will then be coming back to Kampala for new years as it is a very fun and vibrant place to spend New Year's in African style! 

 

Maria Roncea

[Class of 2008]

At the moment I live in Paphos, Cyprus and I co-own a restaurant called “Sunset Breeze Restaurant and Lounge”, together with Alex Dobre (Class of 2007). This is the rst me we are organizing the winter holidays at the restaurant and we are happy and proud to say that we have a busy December ahead of us. We are organizing early Christmas par es for many people from the local community, along with Christmas Day and New Year’s celebra ons - we are already fully booked.

We live in a Chris an Orthodox country, like Romania, therefore we are keeping to our customs. However, for Christmas, most of our clients will be Bri sh, so we will have to combine these two di erent religions and cultures in order to create the right spirit for everyone. The food selec on will be the most difficult

since these two cultures have very di erent views of what Christmas is for them on the dining table - Turkey and stu ng will sit along with ‘cozonac’ (a typically Romanian brioche). I hope that our team at Sunset Breeze will succeed in combining the two cultures and religions seamlessly and receive only posi ve feedback.

Tourism and hospitality, the domain in which I work now, is one in which diplomacy and cultural awareness play a vital role. Luckily I studied in an interna onal school and also lived abroad, which helped me achieve a be er understanding of how to approach people from di erent communities. 
 

Raluca Istrate

[Class of 2009]

So, for this Christmas holiday, I will be taking o from dreary Bucharest and spending NYE in sunny Cyprus with my significant other. Sending the warmest holiday wishes to everyone! 
 

Alex Cristescu

[Class of 2009]

After finishing my law degree in London, I returned back home to Romania. Right now I am in Bucharest and enjoyed the 1st of December (Romanian Na onal Day) celebra ons and I’m also planning on how to best spend my favorite me of the year.

For this year I have decided to enjoy my winter holidays in Romania.

There are so many celebra ons this me of year, St. Nicholas, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve to name a few, that it is almost impossible to underline a speci c Chris an or Romanian tradi on that would stand out. I believe the most important part of the winter holidays is to surround myself with the people I care about to share and cherish wonderful moments. St. Nicholas and Christmas will be celebrated with my family and the unmistakable feeling of joy and warmth that the season always o ers. This spirit has to carry on to New Year’s Eve, a date which I await so that I can start a fantas c new year full of great new experiences and accomplishments. 


Read the entire WORLD Magazine Winter 2013 here.