Yes, here we go again :) We had EuroCo hosted in Lithuania, therefore it was absolutely exciting opportunity to see some more people that are precious to me... Here is the part fo Belgian delegation:
...Enriching chats with Andries in - you know where - Briusly, about life and ideas, and the way creativity is applied in business practices. Thanks for the thoughts! And I feel that I have more to say about this, so keep on checking back in my blog. I just have this need to exercice my ideas before writing them publicly.
Later on Thordis from Iceland, not seen for ages, all charged up after EuroCo. Sitting in the cafe and drinking a lot of fancy-flavoured coffee.
Also chilling with Micky, Pieter and Kuhn in a coffee place, finding out how they and the rest of the aiesec people in Belgium are going. Micky trying the Lithuanian chocolate and getting a rough face with the chili flavoured one ;)
Short re-cap of the events in Vilnius in the past few weeks:
- De-Phazz - Gus Gus vs Metal on Metal (rough dance music will save the world) - DJ Mehdi - Phonique
How to manage all of them? Not possible, at all. But De Phazz was absolutely great :) You never know how music like that is going to sound - sometimes it's too loud or too noisy, but this time it was the same as the album I am listening to right now :) Fantastic.
And there is another discovery I would like to share - it's Koop. I have heard their song on our radio Opus3 and I loved it! So now I have the full album. It has a swing rhythm, and I guess that goes very much in line with the lindyhop dancing classes I am attending right now :) This song takes me high, why don't you try how it works for you?;)
I remember the time, when I was a part of executive team of AIESEC in Belgium in 05-06, and we dreamed, that one day we will make it...
And when I heard, that AIESEC in Belgium has won the UBS Excellence award in this year's International Congress in Turkey, I thought "Yes! We have made it!". Bit by bit, generation by generation, from threats to close it down it went to top performance in the region! Belgium is not the best kept secret in Europe anymore.... at least not in the AIESEC network. :)
I`ll try to keep it short otherwise you will get bored reading... IC was nice... maybe not that fancy as in India, but seeing so many people from all over the world is still amazing. ... was nice meet old friends from AIESEC, some fo them I haven`t even expected. Since I had only 4 days,I gave up the idea to have good talks with everyone, but at least seeing their presence, a hug, a smile, was enough. ... I still had some GREAT talks, which I appreciate a lot. I cannot transcribe or record them, but they are all in my heart, thanks guys!
Everyone who has `coordinator` saying on their badge
... Teambuilding with the Global Coordinator Gang was awesome! It`s good to be an corporate guest! Fancy hotel, no lining up for the food, and meeting completely different crowd. Although being out of @ is also tough sometimes. ... Running external agenda, coordinating ING participation, having country meetings - my agenda was packed. And productive. ... AIESEC Parties, yeah, baby!
After ING Chances for Children workshop: Heske (Unicef), Charlotte (ING), Patrice (Curcuma), Joep (ING CfC), myself, Declan (Bridging Divides)
I was about to sit back and do a proper reflection on my past year in Belgium, but a lot of things m already in a different train now.So reflection will come later tonight, now nothing else, but update...
Let`s start with the last mentioned but not explained event - MC transition party. Explanation in human language: this is the moment when the new team of AIESEC National Committee takes over the positions of the outgoing team. For that, there is a huge fiesta being organised, in order to see the outgoing team for the last time, as well as meet the lads from the new team, also a bunch of aiesecers from the country and beyond, have fun together.
The party was nothing but awesome. Soo many people - around 60, all nice people I got to work with or just meet up, interns or former interns(one even with tequila :)), other MCs (guess from three times... French MC again!), some old and new friends... a lot of talking, waterpipe, some people getting wasted, then saying official speeches, takeover presents, partying at the brazilian bar till very late night with teh best caipirinha I`ve ever had, having some team time with the 5 of us last time together, getting back home and finding an intensive sharing and drinking circle happening. being tired, going to bed and sleeping until teh sun came through my window. Saturday after that was showing Francois and Martina from French MC the best of Brussels, having a beer in Delirium, and then almost expecting them to miss rtheir train. Unfortunatelym tehy made it to it, so they were not staying longer... :(
Moving on... week after that was finishing uo some stuff, like Annual Report! It was designed and sent for printing, and i hope it`s gonna turn out good :)
On Wednesday I was in shock. Bad news about Ondra reached us... I still cannot believe it, it feels like he`s still somewhere in Prague, where I`m going to visit him... He was one of the most outgoing and life-loving people I ever knew. He is missed by many, you can see it. So sad that his life was so short..
Thursday - my last intern drink. It was raining, also there was yesterday`s shock in the air, but it was nice to see all those people, especially Jaders, I ahvent seen them for ages, also have some very nice conversations with Charmaine and Boris, then coming back packed in Celine`s car.
I was packing throughout the week,however, my room was a disaster until saturday,my actual leaving day. All morning I was holding my head with a thought `how the F#$% I have got so much stuff in one year??` But actually, I managed well to separate amd throiw out most fo teh unneeded stuff.. funny how things that were memorable in teh beginning dont mean anything to you after a while... That doesn`t mean memories go... You just find other way to have them in your heart! Beofre leaving I met up with Ingrida, another long time not seen friend, who moved to Paris recently! I tell you, paris is just becoming the coolest place to go to :D
Then I took a train to Amsterdam... Regular train ride to The Netherlands, like other previous 5 times in past year.. No Way! My room is not mine anymore, I possess no keys that open any doors in brussels, I will never be the same again... I cried a bit, that`s true, a lot of things ahve happened there. However, every change brings something new, and something good - In Aasterdam I was met by Veds, who also picked up his friend Anna from the station. We dropped our stuff and, of course, went out for a first drink. Great time, amazing people and amazing talks, then joining other interns for a party, I really got introduced to social life fast :)
Sunday mornings are always lovely - we slept until late afternoon. veds provided us with breakfas almost to bed. Then met up with Bieke, another friend of theirs, went for a beer, for dinner and then I moved to my place in Amsterdam - an awesome house with all facilities, even terace! I will upload pics at some point, it`s lovely! And the roommates are very nice - it`s Sigis (another Lithuanian! very sweet guy, helped me with everything here), Alicia (Spanish girl, ex-aiesecer as well) and Fernanda, a Brazillian girl. Also on teh same night there were another 4 Lithuanians staying over in teh house, was a nice evening in native language :)
Monday-Tuesday I had nothing much more than work. So far it has been very great - the team is awesome, we have meetings and I`m getting more and more into my role. The atmosphere is very supporting and positive, it`s so nice! Seems like it will be a great challenge, but also a very exciting 6 months ahead!
I`ve been relaxing for pas evenings, as my head is boomimg with new information, but I will keep you updated :)
In our transition pack last year there was a motto - 'welcome to the best year of your life'. Well, it was there also two years ago for the 3 previous MC teams, but it doesn't matter;). It really was the best year of my life. I am sure the coming MC gang is going to say exactly the same after their year!
MC transition party was massive! Soooo many people, all those wonderful people I got to meet and work with throughout my year in Belgium. When 5 of us gathered for the last drink, I realized, that it's never gonna be the same again. We've lived diversity through the whole term, went through good times and the ones more challenging, and all those people will stay with me in my heart. I'm gonna miss you guys, big time, but I'm sure our roads are going to cross again!
We've come a long long way together Through the hard times and the good, I have to celebrate you baby I have to praise you like I should...
This is an update about what I was up to recently. It has been exciting during past two weeks and more excitement to come.
12.07.2006: My Birthday. Thank you all again for remembering this special day for me. I will try not to forget any of yours, so expect BirthdayAlarm requests coming soon :)
14-16.07.2006: AI transition weekend in Rotterdam. What can I say - was great! It was a big catch-up event with my best friends in MCs all over, meeting new people, having some super great conversations. Also, the roof-party on Friday night, with never-ending keg of Czech beer and trying to race it, BBQ at the lake and football championship, traditional apple pie in Dudok, Saturday night in very artsy place in R'dam, again amazing talks with people, some gossip, a bit of a house party, stories from incredible life if Oxana, Poffertjes in the morning and good sleep after getting back home. Just very very nice.
21-23.07.2006: Weekend in Paris! Cheap offers of Thalys trains kick ass. I was not totally anxious about going to Paris for the third time, but after this weekend my opinion is completely different - I started liking this city!! I think it feels more homy for me now, first, coz I understand way more of French than I did the previous times. Second, we got to hang out with the coolest bunch of people living there - Subash (trainee from India, our lovely host), François from France (MCP France, our guide and entertainer for the weekend!), Karim (My ER colleague in French MC), Pedro (MC teammate), Mitja (Slovenian 'freshly baked' intern in Brussels), Audrey (MC France), Maria (trainee from Russia) and a few more. Third, we went night-sightseeing this time, an I just had to go to Buddha Bar, teh one which is famous for it's compilations as well. Very posh bar, but very impressive as well. We went for one-drink strategy, ordering an expensive cocktail and sipping it all evening. My next time in Paris for sure I'm going to try Hotel Costes. Strongly recommended for everyone into lounge music.
I would also like to include my upcoming activities which might be important for different people reading this blog:
24.07.2006-28.07.2006: Last week of MC transition. that means filling all the holes, packing stuff, hectic times, you know. I will be hibernated for the rest of the world. 28.07.2006: MC transition Party!!!! I heard a rummour that not everyone knows it still, also I heard that there will be aiesec'ers from other countries coming,a nd in general, it's going to be an awesome party! You just have to be there to see MC teams 05-07!
03.08.2006: My last Intern Drink in Mezzo, Brussels. For the ones who will nto make it to the transition aprty, for the ones who want to see me again before I leave and for anyone else who feels like dropping by :)
05.08.2006: I go to Amsterdam! My official start date in ING is 7th of August, I'm planning to go there earlier, though.
All you curious people, here is the answer for you...
Starting August 7th, I am going to spend exciting 6 months in Amsterdam, on internship for ING Group! I will be working in Global Graduate Recruitment department, working with internal communications as well as a global partnership between AIESEC and ING!
I am exteremely excited about the role, the city I will be living in and finally having a clear answer to the question 'What's next?' :)
So today with a traditional Belgian chocolate breakfast we have started a one-month 'conference' called MC transition.
We have almost all new team - Elie, Pedro, Dan (from Romania), Chrisi and Tijs in the office, Makis is on his way from Greece - arriving tomorrow.
I have one person to transition my knowledge and experience of one year and the past years - it's Chrisi, extremely smart and proactive girl. Today we have outlined a great transition plan, and we manged to fit everything in, so it seems like a good project and very realistic :)
For me it's also a nice way to reflect on my year experience and look it from the other angle. So I am looking forward to the upcoming 30 days!
We had our last planning days in the middle of nowhere in teh Netherlands. Check Pedro's blog about teh place we stayed at :) The closest city next to teh camping place we were staying, was called Goes, which had probably us as first tourists in the history of the town. What was funny, that they have a Heart Break Cafe which is a nice copy of the famous Hard Rock Cafe chain :)
It took me a while to write about this, but there is something I really would like to share...
After having a crazy week, awesome OPS I was facilitating at and flight to Vilnius, I finally got to my mother`s place to get some sleep. However, in the morning I felt like crap, with a terrible cough and other dragons. Bye bye ITC global village, my bed is my friend for today!
ITC workshop was delivered by alumni and an external, they both work for the same company. It was a short, but also a tiny workshop for 20 people, which made it one of the best seminars I ever had. And people were very special. At least for me. I would like to share some thoughts about those three days. I`s gonna be a long post, but nobody reads those weblogs anyway ;)
The seminar was called `Art of Hosting Meaningful Conversations`, or just AoH. The agenda was pretty easy comparing to usual @ conference agendas, so we had pretty nice time to chat with each other and I think we became very connected. I wish I could've had more meaningful conversations, but my ilness consumed most of my attention and brain was constantly on antibiotics...
However, the seminar had some meaning. I think the size of the seminar was perfect - 16 people, very close, getting to know each other. Because of a chilled-out agenda (in AIESEC conference terms ending at 6 pm is very chilled out) we got a lot of space to talk and just chill. Was nice to see all people I haven't seen for a while - AoH delegates were some of my closest friends, and also AIESECers from Lithuania were around.
The agenda of the seminar got us puzzled in the beginning, because we were learning methods of hosting conversations, but it took us time to actually make the most out of it. But after all, since the seminar was done by alumni and external, I got quite important new insights on some of my personal and aiesec things. It is different opinion which is sometimes missing and I love to have it back :) I'll try to keep them concise, but i would like to give you some food for thought...
1: Learning in AIESEC - who is responsible? I am my LC EB reject long time ago. I knew I have strong competition, however, by being rejected I lost my opportunity to learn. So in a way because of that my personal development track turned out to be completely different than I wanted to have. Of course, if not this, I might haven't ended up in a Belgian MC which I don't regret at all, but maybe if I had EB experience I would have performed better in my MC position? Same with trainer/facilitator applications - would you prefer to select someone you know rather than someone who has indicated relevant experience in the application? And what is relevant experience? Does it have to be facilitating at AIESEC conferences? I would say facilitating a group of energetic young scouts is more challenging and give a better learning? As well, if you find someone being a good faci, would you choose him/her another time, thus taking a place of someone who has potential and wants to learn? Those were the questions I was asking myself during one Open Space, where one of the external trainers participated. And I will always remember what he said at the end of conversation: 'Be very careful about how you affect someone's learning, as it is a very personal thing and it can change person's life completely.'
2: We all say that AIESEC is a learning organisation. OK, fine. But somehow, when someone in the executive position does not fulfill your expectations, what happens? People don't trus you anymore. Then they limit your learning, they don't give more opportunities, as you seemed not to be good. And again, is that person not good at all, or has potential to develop? Are we good enough to spot the right potential? Are we all capable enough to develop that potential, or does the person has to do that? Being responsible for the learning of ourselves an learning of others - where is the border? Do we put enough effort to develop others, or we just leave it to the person and say 'It's up to you, you are not proactive enough'? What is the standard of our performance? Is it results, numbers, growth in organisation, or is it a learning of an individual? How to make sure that a newie and a 3d year AIESECer in the same EB would achieve the same level of performance, or how to set the expectations that those two profiles are different and that one will need more coaching than another. Who should do that? Is it up to the leader of the team or the people themselves?
