The Power of Exchange

You know... being from AIESEC where we "do exchange", sometimes people pose you interesting and relevant questions like "Have you been on Exchange?" or "Have you yourself experienced this thing you are selling to me now?" Well usually the first answer that comes to my mind is NO... which is quite true because I haven't gone on our International Traineeship and Exchange Programme (ITEP)... But some time back I was pondering on this, and realised that Hey, actually I HAVE been on exchange...

Well not the kind where you go for an internship in a company... mine was a simple expedition to Phayao in Northern Thailand to build a section of a wall around this Children's Home... It was a place for children from broken families, or who lived too far away from the school that they would lodge there during the school terms... Actually the centre didn't just cater to children... think the age range of the people there are about 7 - 20 something even... Yup... so the kids who go to school go to school, while the rest stay in the Centre where they also learn skills like sewing, cooking, farming etc...

I almost didn't go for the trip. The expedition was from End May to Early June in 2002... I was in Year 2 in Junior College and that holiday would be the time where most of my batch mates will be busy mugging for the prelim exams (prelude to A levels) happening in July... But I had a friend who went on such a trip the year before... and I had heard her wonderful stories... So i figured "Hey studies are only THAT important... with this I can see a bit more of the world, help a bit in a way I can, make a little difference for some kids in Thailand" And so, I signed up. (In the end there were just 3 other Year 2 students aside from me who went)

I daresay this trip made a huge impact on my life.. It helped me appreciate life in Singapore... It helped me see that Friendship and Love CAN and DOES transcend language and geographical barriers... I think if I were to put all my thoughts and feelings about this trip here, the post will be super duper long... haha... and some of it is a bit hard to put in words... I wonder if people who have gone on AIESEC ITEP feel like that as well...

Well anyway, for those interested in seeing what I did on my trip there, you can check out http://www.geocities.com/llamasai/hcjc_ocip I made this website quite some time back and it really just contains a SMALL bit of the stories I can tell... I mean, I have a photo album with more than 300 photos from this trip (back in those days, no digital cameras yet.. hehe) I also have a VCD (made by a friend who went as well) which is simple, but enough to bring the memories back for us... =) So if you wanna see them and/or hear my stories, hey just feel free to ask... hahaha

I dunno why I am writing this now... Perhaps it has to do with this yellow plastic ring a certain 7-year-old Thai friend of mine gave to me... It's sitting in my drawer, always reminding me of the power exchange has... I definitely believe in it... because I've been there, done that myself... in my own way... =)