Mihaela Noroc's Blog, page 9

Few countries in the world have so much tradition in dancing like Cuba. In 2017 I had the chance to...

Few countries in the world have so much tradition in dancing like Cuba. In 2017 I had the chance to visit “Instituto Superior de Arte” in Havana. In this photo Daniela is starting a rumba class.

Throughout this country’s isolation, when its people faced shortages and economical crisis, dancing was a constant, not only in schools, but in every home and on every street, helping to bring joy in tough times.

Before each Christmas, in this small village in northern Romania, teenagers like Ema change the...

Before each Christmas, in this small village in northern Romania, teenagers like Ema change the modern clothes to traditional outfits and join the local folkloric music group. They go into the surrounding towns to sing carols. It’s freezing cold, but their voices bring a lot of warmth.

I took this photo in 2014, but this lovely traditions are taking place every year. I feel privileged that I come from a place where there are still people connected with the good things from the past.

Merry Christmas!

It was a misty magical morning in Kolkata, India, last March,...

It was a misty magical morning in Kolkata, India, last March, when I noticed a Hindu ceremony on the steps of a ghat on Hooghly River.

After slowly filling this pot with water, Sandra was stepping out from the river when I asked if I can photograph her. She kindly accepted and although I couldn’t find out the reason she was carrying the pot, because of the language barrier, I could feel waves of pure happiness and harmony coming from her.

Later I found out from a local about this ritual. Sandra made a wish some time before, which has been fulfilled, so in that day she was taking water from the river and then walking to a temple, a few kilometres away, to offer it to Lord Shiva.

I also have a wish today. Incredible India, can’t wait to see you again in the future together with my daughter. We both have so many things to learn from you.

I met Woojoo in June in Seoul, the capital of South Korea....

I met Woojoo in June in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

During most of the weekends, thousands of South-Korean women visit the beautiful gardens of the Gyeongbok Palace wearing colourful traditional dresses called hanboks, like their ancestors used to.

Looking around you could feel in another era, but the last generation smart phones, which are taking selfies all around, will remind you that you’re in one of the most modern places on earth. Still, it’s magical to see this bridge between past and present, in this atemporal garden, proving that progress and modernity can go hand in hand with traditions.

Yesterday in Cluj, Romania, talking about The Atlas of Beauty to...

Yesterday in Cluj, Romania, talking about The Atlas of Beauty to a lovely audience. Baby Natalia didn’t want to stay too much away from her mother so she joined me for the talk.

Today was a special day for me. I went back on the streets, with...

Today was a special day for me. I went back on the streets, with my camera, for the first time after my daughter was born.

I met Maria in one of the markets of my hometown, Bucharest, Romania. Although she’s only 18, she spent most of her life working hard in this market. Her father was also a seller here and Maria started to accompany and help him when she was only 6 years old.

As a teenager she sometimes falls asleep late, but she wakes up every morning at 3:30am for work and she doesn’t complain about that. Unlike her, I used to complain to all my friends, in the last couple of months, about how less I manage to sleep since I became a mother.

I guess it’s all about perspectives. It’s good to be out of my bubble, again, meeting real women in the the real world. As I mentioned so many times, these women are the real stars of our world, real examples of real beauty.

When she was 15 years old, Yuka joined a Maiko school in the...

When she was 15 years old, Yuka joined a Maiko school in the Miyagawacho district of Kyoto. A Maiko is a apprentice Geisha in Western Japan.

As a teenager Yuka was living in a closed environment with strict rules, and that’s when she realised how much she loves freedom. Rarely, when she was going out from the school, she was fascinated to visit different coffee houses and to observe the coffee preparation.

Right before becoming a Geiko, which is how a Geisha is called in Western Japan, Yuka decided to change her path. Today she’s a barista, but her work is much more than just preparing the coffee. Yuka has transformed the coffee preparation into a real preforming art, adding to the process the moves, the grace and the outfits of a Geiko.

I met this amazing woman in Kyiv, Ukraine, in June. Uliana,...

I met this amazing woman in Kyiv, Ukraine, in June.

Uliana, together with her brother, were raised by a single mother. Her brother was born with a disability while Uliana was only 21 years old when she suffered a terrible accident on the road and got paralysed.

Uliana suffered a lot, but she told me that her mother suffered even more. Seeing her mom devastated was what motivated Uliana to be stronger and move on.

She started a new life, she became a Karate Champion, then a television presenter, and she made her mother smile again. Today she offers guidance to other people who recently had similar accidents. Seeing how she can really change their life, from one course to another, offering them hope and perspectives, it’s her greatest satisfaction.

People like Uliana show us humanity at its highest. Well, to me, that’s the purest form of beauty.

Setareh is from Tehran, Iran. I photographed her in her home,...

Setareh is from Tehran, Iran. I photographed her in her home, last year, where we talked about her passion for poetry.

Dear friends, this is an important message. One year ago and two...

Dear friends, this is an important message. One year ago and two years ago, you, some of the followers of this page, contributed to a great cause. Together we, The Atlas of Beauty community, changed the lives of some children that live in desert tent camps around Pushkar, India.

I asked you twice to help Sunita(the girl from the photo) and other children from her community who live in tents, and because of your generous donations to a local NGO, they were able to go to school and receive food and medical care. Your support was critical, and it made a big positive difference in their lives. But now they really need your contributions, again. Be assured that this a a cause where every penny is spent in the most effective way for the benefit of these children.

Below is the whole story that I posted when I visited the camps, two years ago. Please spread it and make a donation. It really makes a difference.

http://www.vikasproject.org/donate

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Sunita is one of the beautiful children that live in desert tent camps around Pushkar, India. Many tourists photograph her, because of her spectacular eyes, but a few are interested to help.

She badly damaged her left hand when she was little. Her father died almost a year ago. The tent camp communities have no power or plumbing, and there are a lot serious health problems.

In the last years Brett, from the US, helped this community, providing medical care and free education, using mostly his own savings. But now his savings are over and he needs support to continue this essential work. I met him in Pushkar and I saw with my own eyes how much he supports these children, and their desperate need of help. Their stories are heart-breaking. Some of the babies are in danger of starvation and they are in desperate need of help.

Brett operates a school for 30 of these children, with well-qualified teachers and a nurse, and free food and medical care. He helped Sunita with hand surgery 18 months ago, and she is attending the school, coming by bus every 50km round-trip. She is excelling in Hindi, English, and Math, and wants to become a nurse or teacher. She just had her first ever birthday party at school, at age 13!

Please click the link and find out more. Make a donation and give a chance for a better life, to these beautiful children.

http://www.vikasproject.org/donate

Believe me, even a small support would mean an enormous step forward for them. Let’s help them together!