Ending visits
LC Visits have come to an end again, and once again I am withdrawing. I enjoyed my stay in the other LCs!
Ohrid was great as always. The approach was very different as opposed to Prilep. Here, I taught some skills sessions, more meetings on planning and implementation, and motivation. They are now on their way to getting 100% Insight certification in the LC, election process in a week or so, 4 TNs raised and about to be entered into the system, more matchers, … so much!! Good job LCOH!! This is surely the strong foundation that @OH has been waiting for. Show @ what you’ve got!
Fun things I experienced while in LCOH:
- going out to see live bands and dancing like fools but having loads of fun!
- Staying out late bar hopping, only to find out that it’s an hour later than we thought – silly day light savings time! Went to bed at 6am.
- Getting members excited about getting certified.
- Walking by the lake and just enjoying the peaceful area
- Canadian night! Cooked pancakes, the thick kind, not the crepe one. Maple syrup costs 900 denars here!! (roughly 18 euros for 1.5 L I think) So the pancakes were eaten with honey. Still good stuff.
- Having Keti and Jana cook for me … thanks guys! Very yummy Macedonian food.
- Playing “Sociables” ;) ahhh, good time. Little man rule!!
- Meetings with Puro, bye!!
Well visits were fun all around. Now am back to good ol' Skopje. The craziness that is Skopje. Please stay committed to what you all said! I will follow up with you all on that!
When I arrived back home, an hour later, I got a new roommate! Welcome to MACE Ravin! Now the MC flat is truly international, filled with a Canadian, a Croatian and an Indian. Can you imagine the fun that is about to be had? To good times!
Living AIESEC
This last week has been such a challenging, exciting and rewarding week for me! I am on LC Visits again! :D This time, I am staying at the LC’s for 5 or 6 days to fully interact with the members, learn first hand the culture of the LC, and help in all ways that they need support so that they may strategically move towards growth.
I am loving this!!!
First, being an international makes me truly appreciate the interaction with these AIESECers. I am able to travel the country doing what I love … AIESEC work! I see how people from different parts of the country approach things, how people live daily lives, hear and experience first hand their obstacles and simply truly live in Macedonia in different forms. I have learned so much about the people and the country and the language (sidenote: I am missing 4 Macedonian language classes due to visits, oh well! I am practicing comprehension and auditory skills right? Hehe). The AIESEC LCs have really taken me in, explaining everything to me in their cities and are so excited to show me their culture and their way of life. They want to hear about how I view the country and my experiences. This is why I love travelling. This is why I love my job.
So what has actually happened in LC visits? I have just finished with LC Prilep, so let’s talk only of them.
During my first LC visit to Prilep in October, there were about 5 members who gathered to see the MC and see how they can develop the LC. These 5 were the only members, and they were excited and filled with the desire to do something. Now, 10 …. Yes 10! … members met me at the bus station when I arrived! While having coffee with them, they explained how they have almost 20 members who want to participate, 15 being really active. During the visit, they explained more thoroughly their plan, together we devised a strategic and timely approach to its realization, met a Dean and professor assistants to gain support, and just plain had fun learning from each other. Now they are getting ready to have their first official elections in a very long time (if ever – and more than one person is applying for some of the positions!), they have support from an assistant who is willing to mentor and guide them through project proposals, they have individual responsibilities which they need to follow up on and have a more focused direction on how they will develop the LC. Woohoo to you guys! So proud! We met last only last month for the 3rd LC Visit and so much has already changed. Feeling very optimistic for you, so do MACE proud! Can’t wait to see the results that will come in the following months!
Fun things that I experienced while in LCPP:
- trying tulumba (a desert pastry) and boza (malted drink) for the first time
- watching children and teenagers practice Macedonian folk dancing for their performances while Hristijan (LCPP member and LCP candidate) played the accordion
- having my coffee cup read to tell my future (done by my host roommate .. thanks Gurgya!)
- going to “Makedonska Kukya” (Macedonian House) to eat some traditional MACE food (and many of it has cheese! :( couldn’t have it coz of fasting)
- learning words like “skele” (thing where tobacco is hung to dry before being used to make cigarettes), “filjun” (teacup), “semafora” (traffic lights) and so many more words that I can’t remember
- attending a meeting with the ProDean of the faculty, all done in Macedonian, and understanding almost everything that was said!! When it came time to them asking me questions, I elaborated on what they were talking about previously in Macedonian. You can’t understand how much concentration it took me to follow that conversation though.
- Having Thai food and eating with chopsticks … mmm … asian food. Miss that!
So now I have moved on to LC Ohrid, the city of swans. So much warmer here and no rain! But I miss you guys from Prilep! I will be back soon enough and we shall go back to Bankok Oriental. Pad thai all the way!
Stay tuned for stuff from Ohrid.
Internal CEED Program (ICP) and Elections
Well it happened! The first ICP was a success! yippee!! 2 ppl from Ohrid (Keti and Maja), and 4 from Prilep (Darko, Dobre, Hristian and Mirce) came to Skopje to see how LC Skopje functions, to receive some training from the MC and to just have some @ fun. :) Really great weekend. I know we are finally getting things moving in these LCs and in this coming year we will see great things from these two LCs.
I was a dork and didn't take photos of this great weekend. I was too busy being happy about it that it slipped, sorry, no pretty pics.
LC Skopje elected their new EB! Congralutions to you all! You all deserve it. You worked hard, you proved you have the knowledge and experience, and as a team, I know you will continue to rock the house!
Kick Ass Day!
Ahh!! It feels great to be alive!
why (aiesec)?
- ING! Woot woot! :D
- IPM 2008! :D
- Mentorship program is on its way to success! A member of the Macedonian Ministry of Finance has signed on today to mentor members of AIESEC MACE EB. hehehe.
- internal ceed program starts tomorrow! yay to greatness of developing LCs
why (personal)?
- macedonian classes were great! many new words under my belt, so now i have to remembers them!
- friend thought lost has been found ... miracle! love you ahmed!
- package from my family in canada finally arrived after 1.5 months! yay presents!
Kick ass day!
