Thank You...

The sequel to that

I love my team :)

AIESEC Singapore MC 2007/2008

AIESEC Singapore 2007/2008
"Powering Forward"

(from left to right: Alvin Hong - LCP NTU, Tiang Ker Ying - MC Honorary General Secretary, Shubhangi Faujdar - LCP NUS, Mohamad Imran - MC Vice President External Relations, Sharon Tan - President, Visayon Viravong - MC Vice President Finance, Cheryl Chen - Branding and Communications Coordinator, Pamela Su - LCP SMU, Mayas Singh - MC Director of Programmes Outgoing Exchange, William Yang - Global Exchange Partnerships Coordinator)

Latest "project" - My AIESEC Journey!

I was blog surfing around some of my fellow AIESECers' blogs.. both local and overseas ones.. and then it just came to me... this is my 5th year in AIESEC... and lots have happened... what would it look like to map that out and to tell that story?

so stay tuned! in the meantime, I need to start digging out some of my photos from younger days :)

Road trip after IPM

IPM is over! but it doesn't yet mean that we don't get to see some of the people anymore...

and that is thanks to... the AP Road Trip!

14 of us (Beatrice and Mindy from Hong Kong, Amy from New Zealand, Anisha and Sandy from Malaysia, Sheana and Jessica from Taiwan, Sahan and Suchith from Sri Lanka, Satoshi from Japan, Amzad from Bangladesh, Aidy from Indonesia, Pui from Thailand and me from Singapore) made a self-arranged tour to travel around Egypt and spend some quality time together...

Armed with loads of left over snacks and drinks from IPM and Lonely Planets that speak different languages, we embarked on an amazing journey...

Now that I am sitting back in Singapore, I suddenly find it hard to describe those 3 days (I left earlier than the rest)...

but highlights definitely include

- a driver that speaks and understands limited english, who keeps asking for tips, and whom most of us find scary... oh and who seems to like Amzad, who is otherwise known as Mohammad in Egypt
- spending 2 nights sleeping in the van (we travelled from the resort to Luxor overnight, and then from Luxor to Cairo overnight also)... kind of like sleeping on the plane but with less leg room... not to mention lending my shoulder to become a pillow at some point while using other people's shoulders as pillow at other points...
- "gossiping" and discussing interesting stuff at the back of the van (me, Sheana, Mindy and Amy) were sitting together, and that was quite a good place for some interesting conversations
- getting to Luxor and having the driver refuse to drive us to the Valley of the Kings without us paying extra money... in the end, Amzad took him to the policeman on the streets and after long conversation, he had no choice but to bring us there...
- "borrowing" a hotel's showers so we could take a shower (3 days without showering!)... we paid 15 Egyptian Pounds, which is less than 5 SGD each.. not too bad an extra flexible service the hotel offered...
- feeling so relieved to reach Cairo and check into a decent hotel along the Nile..
- wandering the streets of Cairo and chilling out at a Cafe with Amy while the rest visited the Pyramids
- finally visiting the Tourist Bazaar, bumping into @ers here and there, watching in amusement as Amy haggles her way through her purchases...
- meeting up with some of the rest in a small cosy cafe that serves huge sandwiches
- getting back to the hotel to freshen up before our Nile Cruise
- finding ourselves sitting in the same dining hall as an Egyptian Wedding (we figured we were part of the entertainment, considering how diverse and exotic we look)
- enjoying an Eat All You Can buffet where guests only queue once.. enjoying dance performances, belly dancing performances, and special appearances by Pui and Amzad, and short un-noticed ones by Beatrice and Amy
- taking photos of the Nile scenary on the deck of the cruise boat and having our fingers nearly frozen off
- Surprise celebration for Anisha's birthday, complete with huge cake that was a combination of chocolate on one part and fruit cake on another part
- drinking games with Amy's vodka, 42 Below from New Zealand... watching people turn red and conk out...
- truth or drink punishment turning into truth or truth and then truth AND drink...
- those of us currents who were still awake and sober having sharing session till 4 or 5 am
- me taking a nap before getting breakfast and starting packing... going to rooms to hug and say goodbye to everyone else... feeling such a mix of emotions knowing that some of them I will see again for sure at IC and that some, I know we will meet again but just don't know when...
- taking a cab with Pui, Anisha and Sandy to the airport, saying goodbye to the Malaysians first (different terminal) and then to Pui...
- finding myself in a most busy check in hall... finding that my flight would be delayed by 1 hour plus, meeting the Kate and Ralph from Austra, John from Bahrain (Australian working there) and Nadia from Hong Kong (Ukrainian working there) in the waiting hall to find that we were on the same flight to Bahrain
- finally getting out at Changi Airport in Singapore and thinking to myself what an amazing experience it has been... and knowing that post conference nostalgia will be hitting soon.. but well.. it's worth it...

thanks to all of the AP family for being such great people... I love our trip, I love each of you, and I can't wait to see you all again some day some time...

Update from IPM 2007, Egypt

24 Feb 2007, IPM

Hey guys!

Sorry for the long delay in updating here... I've been having a good time at IPM, getting into the 'culture' of the conference... hehehe

It has been great so far... it's great to be able to meet my fellow current MCPs and also to see the eager and passionate MCP elects from all around the world... some of these people I have met at IC 2006, some of them I have never met them before... but it is the power of the network that we can get along and have great conversations as if we have known each other for so long... I think such opportunities are what show the power of AIESEC, that young people of such diversity can connect nonetheless...

Our conference site is an amazing resort hotel next to a beach along the Red Sea.. It is 2 hours from Cairo so it's really peaceful and away from the hustle and bustle of the city... Perhaps because of that but it seems colder here... I never expected that my first visit to Egypt will see me walking around permanently in a jumper or windbreaker... but that aside, the food and venue is fantastic and really works to building a conducive environment for conversations and reflections and thinking...

In terms of sessions, so far we have had 2 intense days of speeces and Q&A sessions for the 4 PAI candidates and the 19 Director candidates... it's inspiring to see people setting up to the role, and to hear their perspectives on what motivated them, and what they think the organisation needs to continue growing and unleashing our potential... do check out http://live.myaiesec.net for videos of all their speeches... I

have been having a bit of identity crisis since I am both the elect and the current so I have been attending a mix of both tracks... and it's been great in terms of questions and discussions on what is to come, and also in terms of taking time off to be myself and re-find my centre...

In case you haven't heard the news, Gabiza is the newly elected President of AIESEC International 2007/2008. She's the first female PAI since 1998 and we are excited of what the new term will bring.. tonight (it is 7.05pm right now) we will be finding out who has been selected to be AI Directors...

anyhow, I must confess that I am still having mixed feelings about this IPM... I think it's because this is the last IPM I can spend with my current MCPs, especially those from the APGNs. They have been a great support network and have taught me so much over the months, and I know that I will miss them so much... at the same time, there is the excitement of bonding with a new group of MCP elects, from which I will gain support across the next few months just as I did with the currents...

but well... I don't think I will dwell too much on that... they tell us here... "When it starts, it starts. When it's over it's over. Whatever happens is the best that can happen"

So... it's just time for me to enjoy the moment and these precious days...

Ironic Day

Today, I was a good girl and dutifully attended school... Only had 2 lectures today with a 4 hours break in between... so I thought well I can do work in those 4 hours while being a good student who actually attends the lecture..

ironically.. the lecturer for 10.30 am class.. DID NOT TURN UP TODAY!!!! and he didn't post a notice beforehand, nor did he send someone to inform the students... what a waste of our time!! in waiting and forsaking that few more hours of sleep!!

and the lecture at 3.30pm... well we spent that whole hour watching a video of an experiment the lecturer did... and that video is available on school intranet also... man... I could have watched it at home...

how sad... the day I decided to be a good student, the lecturers didn't seem to want to help...

oh well.. at least I used that 4 hours to settle some AIESEC stuff and print some school notes.. I think I spent at least $8.50 on printing today... printing lecture notes, readings, and of course AIESEC documents for IPM... considering that each printed page costs $0.03 (or was it $0.05?), you can imagine how many trees I killed today...

I'm making up for that by making sure I recycle all the paper in my room... yes if paper is printed only on one-side, it ends up in my rough paper stack.. for paper printed double-sided but is not needed, it ends up in to-be-recycled stack... at the end of 2 or 3 days, this stack gets brought downstairs to the Recycle Bin... (when I start clearing my year 1 and 2 notes after graduation, this stack is going to be huge...)

I think I am rambling now... hahaha...

I am going to Egypt in 4 more days!!


and I will grab a few MCPs to see if we can possibly part the Red Sea (where our resort is)

from this...

Into this...

Probably we should get the newly elected AI 07/08 team to try as well... Lead us to freedom! and AIESEC 2010!!!

I am going to Egypt!

Yes I am going to Egypt! In a bit less than 2 weeks time!!

Flight is at 5am on 12th Feb, and I reach Cairo on 12th Feb 11 plus am...

That gives me 12 - 15 Feb and 28 Feb - 1 March to walk around, see loads of things and take loads of pictures... (this is the 1st time I spend Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year outside of Singapore in such an exotic country)

Not to forget that I get to meet up with our dear Mummy, Yasmine! (I'll be staying at her place... she's so nice.. thanks Yasmine!!)

And not forgetting my dear MCP buddies that I get to meet again after a 6 months (already?? gosh) absence! Will be travelling around Egypt with Tabbee from the Philippines, who reaches on 12th too! And I think Pui from Thailand is reaching on 13th!! and all the rest of you who arrive later and who I will meet at the Pre Meeting itself! (I miss all of you so much!)

and from there, it will be an intensive 2 weeks of International Presidents Meeting, complete with
- AI 07/08 elections (4 PAI and 20 Director candidates to sit through!)
- GN parties and random parties every night
- Global Village (on 18 Feb which happens to be 1st Day of Chinese New Year)
- more on AIESEC 2010 and lots more of AIESEC stuff
- a cosy number of fellow MCPs to get to know, to catch up with, to have fun with (yes it's definitely a lot easier to network with people at IPM than at IC... seeing how there are SOOO many people at IC)

So the countdown begins...

and till then, it's more of sorting out stuff for my Final Year Project, making sure things are alright with my 06/07 kids (they've grown from babies) and my 07/08 babies... and living out a busy busy schedule...

Looking forward to Egypt and all those old friends...

Some of my favourite group photos of 2006

AIESEC Singapore NLDS 2006
December 2006














International Congress 2006, Poland
August 2006











International Congress 2006, Poland
August 2006










AIESEC Singapore MC Planning Weekend
June 2006
















International Presidents Meeting 2006, The Netherlands
February 2006

Reflection on the past 2 weeks

It's hard to believe that we're already halfway through December and that 2006 is coming to an end... time really flies... especially with so much happening in the past 2 weeks: NLDS 2006!

I have to admit that I am still in a daze from the conference... so much happened... before the conference itself and during the conference itself... and with all that, I find it so hard to put down here my exact thoughts and feelings on everything...

what can I say? It was all in all a most amazing and humbling experience... A 1st for many things...

Good spread of speakers from different backgrounds at Developing Leaders Day... 1st time with this much external involvement

Simple but impactful programme at Gala Dinner where we celebrated our successes... 1st time with an official acknowledgement of AIESEC Singapore's collaboration with an external organisation (PAYM)...

Carefully planned flow of sessions, with a mix of delivering skills and @ knowledge
Good mix of sessions that encourage dialogue and sharing... 1st time with such diversity of delegates from countries, nationalities and backgrounds (50 international delegates!! another 1st!)

Superb hype over @ dances.. reviving the roll call and dancing culture... ubercool Faci Dance... 1st time in a while to see delegates and members ask for more dances...

Engagement and focus on addressing the issues in the world... 1st time with an Issue Based XP day, candid discussions and sharing on problems in the world... great energy and effort to come in as socially responsible and empowered @ers ready to make a difference...

A great hands-on practical session on marketing and bringing together all skills and knowledge from previous days... delegates marketed, networked, made partnerships, raised traineeships, learnt loads and had fun... a delegate from Taiwan who was so shy to speak at the meeting with the faci/company went in front of plenary and made a speech in English...
facilitators were impressed beyond words...

A most touching closing plenary.. with almost everyone shedding tears... hugs and love going around... everyone knowing that somehow they have grown as individuals after 4 days of NLDS... knowing that they have had a glimpse into the amazing diversity and network of @... knowing that we can make a difference in the lives of people around us... knowing that Everyday Starts Today...

An insight into the power of the human spirit... Singaporeans staying around Taiwanese delegates to help in translation if needed... delegates from Taiwan and Mainland China getting along and discussing about their countries... SIPO members from Indonesia helping delegates from Indonesia... facis and delegates speaking slower to make sure everyone can follow... international delegates having group huddles to capture their learnings... SIPO EBs stepping in to facilitate discussions without prior notice... delegates learning phrases in each other's languages... delegates walking around with translation dictionaries, so eager to learn and share and question...

All along in AIESEC, we talk about becoming change agents... sometimes along the way we get confused, demotivated, disillusioned.. where is the change? where is the impact? we question ourselves and we start to doubt...

I do not deny that at some points in my AIESEC life these 4 years, I have had my doubts... but I always come out sure again... and even more charged to go on...

Why?

Because if 100 delegates who have only been in AIESEC for 4 months on average,
who come from across more than 10 countries,
who come from different religions, beliefs and backgrounds,
who did not know each other ever beforehand,

can come together and at the end of 4 days,
become passionate youths who embrace diversity and yet celebrate uniqueness,
who are aware of the state of the world and are ready to bring in ideas and solutions,
who recognise that having fun is as much the process of learning,
who have such a level of self-awareness that they can approach others and say "Thank You for changing my life, thank you for the impact and experience"

Then I know for sure that these people will go far in life, in AIESEC... and that there will come a new generation of leaders who will bring that change and hope that the world needs...