My name is Vanina W, but I've also been known to respond to a variety of nicknames, such as V, Vani, Vaniglina, Ninni, Bonbongirl and many more.
Let's get the basics out of the way: I am in my early 20s (my birthday is August 16th, if you're feeling generous), I have blue eyes and sometimes blonde hair and i laugh - and cry - too much.
I am supposedly italian, since I was blessed with an Italian passport and was brought up in italy. That doesn't say much about me though: I do not really identify with any nationality (patriotism is overrated anyway) and I like to think I am just European. I grew up in Rome, Italy; went through teenagehood in Paris, France; became some kind of a responsible adult in London, UK; experienced working life in Sigli, Aceh, Indonesia; and am now going through the difficulties of Postgrad in Oxford, UK. Out of all these places, London used to be, without a shade of a doubt, my favourite one. Now I'm not so sure, and I've come to call Oxford my home; but I also know that this will change soon enough, and the next place is going to be home just as much as this one, even though it might not seem logical. Identity is a complicated thing, which may sound like a platitude, but I can assure you is an absolute truth.
So, to go back to the biography stuff, after graduating from SOAS with a BA in Development Studies & South East Asian Studies in July 2005, I decided it was time for me to experience the real world of jobs and money (not that it did necessarily teach me anything about 'the real world', apart from the fact that it doesn't exist). So I found myself working for an Italian NGO dealing with post-tsunami reconstruction in Sigli, Pidie District, Aceh, indonesia. Nine months were spent enjoying prawns and tropical climate, and then I found myself in front of the biggest challenge of my life.
I have now been living in Oxford, UK for three years or so. I was attending Oxford University, amongst Rhodes scholars and brilliant minds, reading for an MPhil in Development Studies from Queen Elizabeth House (informally called QEH). As soon as I got here I immediately threw myself into Postgrad life at Wolfson College, and somehow I cannot escape the awesome social life (despite the fact that I now work 9 till 5, Dolly Parton style, every day). Oxford is way too small, Oxford traditions are incredibly silly and nothing justifies the insane workload, but I feel part of this incredible community more than I've ever felt part of anything, and being here is what I'm meant to do.
This is also thanks to the fact that it is at Wolfson that the lovely M. has taken me aback and shown me what it means to fall in love. Life really caught me by surprise with that one, and I'm now happily sharing a flat with my lovely boyfriend, who cooks for me, shares my love of American tv series and in a lot of ways is nothing like me (Thank goodness!). He even takes me to the gym and accepts my OCDness - what can I say, he's pretty much the best thing I could have ever hoped for.
I am happy, I'm slightly crazy,way too loud, and I love this life that I'm leading.
I feel lucky every single day.

Other things you might want to check out:
My other domain, ciclamino.net.
My myspace.com profile and if you're on Facebook (i.e. the greatest procrastination tool ever and an Oxford favourite), look me up.
My flickr account for photos.
Finally, my amazon.co.uk wishlist, especially if you're feeling generous. :)

As I've already said, I love studying. In particular, as you might have understood, i have two big passions: Development Studies & South East Asia.
What's Development Studies about, you may ask - well, it's a big mix of a lot of different subjects, Economics, Anthropology, Politics, Sociology, Cultural Studies and many more, all related to the developing world. I did fieldwork for my thesis which involved spending time and doing interviews with domestic workers (mostly from Asia) who live in London, and as part of this research I also wrote a report for a very big NGO.
Of course, I particularly enjoy Development Studies when it comes to South East Asia; this is because it is my favourite part of the world, and there isn't one bit of it I haven't found amazing so far. The literature, the cinema, the scenery, the food, the religions, the culture, there's nothing about it I don't like. so I know that I will be spending extensive periods of time out there, let it be for holiday or work.
Like everybody else I have lots of other passions too, which include reading (fiction, mostly), watching films (Garden State and Crash might just be my favourite films), listening to Indie Rock&Pop, Electronica, Reggae and a few other things, taking pictures of myself and the world that surrounds me, collecting handbags, shoes, baskets, scarves, lighters and many other things (I am a hoarder). And of course, going out with my friends, drinking cocktails, trying new things, stripey underwear, pretty bottles of bathroom stuff, changing hair colour... The list could go on forever, so I'll leave it at that.

I love travelling, I really do. I guess you could say mine is a family of travellers, and I've definitely taken from them.
So far i have been to three continents and a bit (four and a bit if you count the Americas as two separate ones), and I cannot wait to see at least all of the other ones too (being passionate about travelling is like wanting to read all those books you find interesting: you know you'll never get to do everything you want to do, but you try anyway)...
To make a long story short, I have been to:
South america - I went when i was 10, and would love to see Buenos Aires again (the most European city outside of Europe that I can think of).
North America - I've been to Colorado, Washington DC and New York; maybe one day I'll be brave and visit California. After meeting a few Canadians around the world I'm also thinking Vancouver would be a good pick as one of my next holiday destinations.
Europe - I've been all over, Italy, Spain, France, UK, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Croatia. Eastern Europe I still have to discover, and Croatia and Germany definitely need more exploring.
Asia - India and South East Asia (Sumatra, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia & Laos). I'd like to see more of India, even though it scares me to death. Of course, I already know South East Asia will keep drawing me back, so it will most probably be my favourite destination for a while yet. And my lovely M being half Japanese, I've been to Japan once, and plan on going back a whole lot more!
Africa - I can now add Morocco to my little collection, and the next trip should be Kenya

You can check out my 43places.com profile profile (which is good fun).

There are also maps of my travels, such as:
South East Asia - november 2005
South East Asia - may 2006
South East Asia - july 2006