My Exchange Journey @ Romania and CEE
2010/06/05
2010/05/20
Crazy days at Dhaka, Bangladesh XD
(Photo taken fr. the roof of my friend's flat)
4 days in Dhaka...
Crazy..... in the sense that .......
1. Traffic jams everywhere
I was lucky that I only stuck in the taxi without air-con. for only 30mins without moving on the day of my arrival......
My friend told me that it could be up to 1-2 hours without moving for a phrase of road that needs only 15 mins for walk........................
I guess it's because I scare away most of the cars ?! @@
2. How they wire the cables.............
OMG!!!!!! No wonder my friend told me that the areas in Dhaka take turns to have electricity cut out.........
3. How the electricity was cut suddenly....................
The lower part in the photo, they are all buildings packed together..........
They were black in the photo because the electricity of the area was cut out..........
the electricity cut out lasts for around 1 hr.
My friend told me it happens everyday, in random time.
They were prepared for it,
with lights run on batteries....... @@
For offices, they have back-up electricity powers............
4. How the Bangladeshi drive their cars............
This (the dark green one with a real BROKEN HEART ... XDD ) is one kind of public transportation called CNG, as they run on Complete Natural Gas.....
It will run in S shape, S shape!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! on the road..... in high speed.
Once I saw it trying to compete with a double-deck bus for speed.........................XD
5. How the people "mount" on the cars........
6. How people carry heavy things in bulk.......
7. How colorful Dhaka is...
(bottom row,leftest: Rickshaw, most common public transport on Bangla streets, pull by human )
Even the KFC is soooo colorfullllllll .........
8. How intelligent 2 Bangladeshi children could be.....
The two children in the picture, son of my colleague, one 7 and one 5 years old,
when I reached their home, they are reading an encyclopedia, ENCYCLOPEDIA!!!!!!!!!!!!
and obviously they are familiar with it, because whenever we talked about something,
they can remember what's in the encyclopedia and flip to the page......................!!!!!!!!!!!
In addition, they talked to me in PERFECT ENGLISH..@@
9. How spicy the food is.....
& the millions of bones their national fish, Hilsha, could have.......T.T
The Hilsha is in the leftest rectangular container!!!!!!!!I had a hard time struggling with the bones......... using my right hand.......
because Bangladeshis use their right hand, only the right hand, to eat..........
My hand is now so skillful in separating the meat fr. the bones, picking out the bones of a fish,
and putting a handful of rice in my mouth.................XD
10. How delicious the Alu Chop in Bangladesh is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I only had this photo because I was too excited when I saw the Alu Chop, and I quickly started eating......... until there is only 1 left,my friend reminded me that I didn't take photo of my favorite Alu Chop.........T.T
( Btw, Alu Chop is a dish that people smashed the potato and make them in a coin-like shape,
with curry and minced meat)
11. How cheap things are....
One of my idol, hard cover, English, at around HKD 50 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!12. And.. how hospitable Bangladeshi are....... I stayed in Bangladesh for 4 days, but 1 day is for arrival in the late afternoon, and another day is for leaving in mid afternoon, so roughly I stay in Dhaka for only 2 or 3 days, but I was invited to 4 homes for meals already. In which, every family welcomed me with a feast....... though sometimes the food maybe a bit too oily or heavy to me, esp. when beef is their common ingredient........................ But............ I miss the warm atmosphere......... and I hope... I will go back to Bangladesh one day. =)
P.S. Where is the Jump Break Button ?!?!?!??! T.T
2010/05/15
Use Jump Break to keep the blog entry short
Hello everybody.
The blog is really reach in content now. However, to keep the blog entry more decent and easy to read (without lots of scrolling), I would recommend all you to use the "Insert Jump Break Function" when you compose your entry.
The blog is really reach in content now. However, to keep the blog entry more decent and easy to read (without lots of scrolling), I would recommend all you to use the "Insert Jump Break Function" when you compose your entry.
2010/05/04
Hungray
23/3-28/3
Budapest, Szetendre, Pecs, Godollo
Jaq was the friend who picked me up at the train station. He was the alumnus of AIESEC and planning to go to Asia soon. I knew him through Yip Lam, an AIESECer who went to exchange in Budapest in the winter break. Jaq was very passionate about Chinese culture and currently learning Mandarin. Once I arrived, he took care of me a lot. If he comes to Hong Kong later, I would like to treat him as well as he treated me. He told me a lot of interesting things/stories when we walked around the city. We also shared economic, political thought with each other. Hungarians had really a long history since the large empire they possessed before. Owing to the Second World War, it lost 2/3 land which later developed into different countries. Jaq was very friendly as he always hanged out with trainees. He had also hosted trainees before, but due to the opposition of his family, he did not do so this time. He had also been to Sri Lanka for MT for one year, so he had no problem in dealing with Asian culture. All in all, I deeply appreciated the hospitality shown by him and treasured all the good time spent with him.
Budapest, Szetendre, Pecs, Godollo
Jaq was the friend who picked me up at the train station. He was the alumnus of AIESEC and planning to go to Asia soon. I knew him through Yip Lam, an AIESECer who went to exchange in Budapest in the winter break. Jaq was very passionate about Chinese culture and currently learning Mandarin. Once I arrived, he took care of me a lot. If he comes to Hong Kong later, I would like to treat him as well as he treated me. He told me a lot of interesting things/stories when we walked around the city. We also shared economic, political thought with each other. Hungarians had really a long history since the large empire they possessed before. Owing to the Second World War, it lost 2/3 land which later developed into different countries. Jaq was very friendly as he always hanged out with trainees. He had also hosted trainees before, but due to the opposition of his family, he did not do so this time. He had also been to Sri Lanka for MT for one year, so he had no problem in dealing with Asian culture. All in all, I deeply appreciated the hospitality shown by him and treasured all the good time spent with him.
TTX 2010
17/3-21/3
TTX 2010 @ Slanic Moldova
Accompanied with OCs and one faci from Iasi, we have finally arrived Slanic by train. Unfortunately, we just missed the bus to the conference site, thus we have waited for an hour to take another bus. Slanic Moldova was a resort in Romania, which was also famous for its mineral water. The scenery was wonderful since it was a valley surrounded by hills. The hotel was not bad, though the room was a little bit small.
TTX 2010 @ Slanic Moldova
Accompanied with OCs and one faci from Iasi, we have finally arrived Slanic by train. Unfortunately, we just missed the bus to the conference site, thus we have waited for an hour to take another bus. Slanic Moldova was a resort in Romania, which was also famous for its mineral water. The scenery was wonderful since it was a valley surrounded by hills. The hotel was not bad, though the room was a little bit small.
2010/04/25
Having been in Kuala Lumpur 1 month & 10 days
Errrr
Sorry that I've been lazy in updating this blog in the past two weeks.... =p
Okieeee
Updates on work
After 1 month & 10 days,
finally I got a breakthrough in my job tasks.
I was asked to do a Balanced scorecard for the plan of setting up a new office in Thailand in 5 days including the weekends.
Well.. I heard BSC a lot during my time in AIESEC, but I never need to do it.
(1st thought came to my mind is...........
gosh..... even outside AIESEC, I couldn't get rid of BSC.........)
Well....... so it comes as a big challenge. @@
Luckily I got a result-oriented supervisor who made sure I'm clear of everything before I started the job task, he led me through briefly how to fill in the BSC.
Though I still have to figure out exactly how to do it,
www.myaiesec.net has therefore become an excellent source for me to have a look on how people do BSC and how they work on the BSC. =))))))))))))
Discussion
Usually, when it comes to fund raising and donation,
will you tend to donate to NGOs showing you materials with sad faces of the suffering people?
If yes, here comes the question,
Supposingly, if the NGO is helping its suffering target group effectively,
there should be more happy faces than sad faces.
I mean, it will be more difficult for them to shoot sad faces to place on fund raising materials.
For example, my NGO is working to help cancer patients,
if it's running effectively,
there should be less sad cancer patients they found.
This is the true situation.
However, to raise more fund,
they have to find sad faces in the beneficiary group which is extremely difficult.
Isn't it a self-contradicting action?
Are donors tend to donate to see the ineffectiveness of the NGOs?
Or this phenomenon is a way to prompt the NGO to work more harder?
Funny thing
As two of my Bangladeshi colleagues are going back to visit their family,
and it will be the time I needa flee away from Malaysia again,
I was planning a trip to Bangladesh with my two collegaues.
So I was trying to get a VISA fr. the Bangladesh high commission in Malaysia.
My colleague insisted that he will go with me.....
at that time I was feeling strange ( why so insist to go with me?! juz VISA application? )
When we arrived at the Bangladesh high commission,
it looks more like a public washroom in Hong Kong
( Sorry! no offence to Banglas, but I couldn't think of other things more similar than this ............................)
& When I arrived there, I understood my colleague's insistence.
The guy at the entrance for enquiry just put on the poker face,
& keep saying,
"No, you're just travelling, why don't you apply fr. Bangladesh consulate in HK..."
Luckily my colleague is with me,
he said in Bangla to the guy and strived a chance to see a higher grade consular officer.....
Luckily the consular officer is a women, and more humane.
But she still doubt why I want to go Bangaldesh.
( Simply travelling. Why bother?! =.=)
She asked my colleague in Bangla something,
then asked me in English why I want to go Bangladesh.
How I knew my colleague .......
( of coz I could only tell her he's my friend and I met him in Malaysia,
As I'm not with a working VISA, and don't want to involve my NGO for sure)
She questioned me why I only knew him for 2 months and follow him back to Bangladesh .
[ Com'on!
I just want to go Bangladesh for travelling,
I'm not really "following him", OK?! ]
Then I heard my colleague, in quick response telling her that
" no no~ She already has a boyfriend, no way, we are really only friends. "
Gosh..............................................
Until then I kind of got the idea what she's worrying.
Finally, after using Bangla to ask my colleague , and using Eng. to ask me,
both of us giving her the same answer.
She agreed that I could apply the VISA with several documents.
( other than normal documents, e.g. Photocopy of passport, photos,
They still need bank statements ......
and invitation letters fr. a local even for tourist!!!!!!!!!!!! =.= )
On our way back to the office,
my colleague is telling me,
because there are lots of cases Chinese girls go to Bangladesh,
marry a guy, and stay there forever.
So the consular officer is worrying we are going to do the same.
No offence,
but 1st thought is,
OMG.
WHY ON EARTH WOULD A HONG KONG GIRL WANT TO MARRY A BANGLADESH GUY WITH THE INTENTION OF STAYING IN BANGLADESH?!????!?!?!?!?!
well, I'm not the ethnocentric type of person,
but com'on, is this too unbelievable?!
& even after 2 days, when I typed this,
I still feel it's unbelievable @@
Anywayz.
I'm great that my nice Bangladesh colleague has gone there with me.
and we gonna go there tomorrow again for submitting the documents..........
Fingers crossed. =p
************************************************************************
Best wishes for CM for your VP election!!!!!!!!
Try your best and with no regret! =)
and all the best for other VP candidates. =)
Sorry that I've been lazy in updating this blog in the past two weeks.... =p
Okieeee
Updates on work
After 1 month & 10 days,
finally I got a breakthrough in my job tasks.
I was asked to do a Balanced scorecard for the plan of setting up a new office in Thailand in 5 days including the weekends.
Well.. I heard BSC a lot during my time in AIESEC, but I never need to do it.
(1st thought came to my mind is...........
gosh..... even outside AIESEC, I couldn't get rid of BSC.........)
Well....... so it comes as a big challenge. @@
Luckily I got a result-oriented supervisor who made sure I'm clear of everything before I started the job task, he led me through briefly how to fill in the BSC.
Though I still have to figure out exactly how to do it,
www.myaiesec.net has therefore become an excellent source for me to have a look on how people do BSC and how they work on the BSC. =))))))))))))
Discussion
Usually, when it comes to fund raising and donation,
will you tend to donate to NGOs showing you materials with sad faces of the suffering people?
If yes, here comes the question,
Supposingly, if the NGO is helping its suffering target group effectively,
there should be more happy faces than sad faces.
I mean, it will be more difficult for them to shoot sad faces to place on fund raising materials.
For example, my NGO is working to help cancer patients,
if it's running effectively,
there should be less sad cancer patients they found.
This is the true situation.
However, to raise more fund,
they have to find sad faces in the beneficiary group which is extremely difficult.
Isn't it a self-contradicting action?
Are donors tend to donate to see the ineffectiveness of the NGOs?
Or this phenomenon is a way to prompt the NGO to work more harder?
Funny thing
As two of my Bangladeshi colleagues are going back to visit their family,
and it will be the time I needa flee away from Malaysia again,
I was planning a trip to Bangladesh with my two collegaues.
So I was trying to get a VISA fr. the Bangladesh high commission in Malaysia.
My colleague insisted that he will go with me.....
at that time I was feeling strange ( why so insist to go with me?! juz VISA application? )
When we arrived at the Bangladesh high commission,
it looks more like a public washroom in Hong Kong
( Sorry! no offence to Banglas, but I couldn't think of other things more similar than this ............................)
& When I arrived there, I understood my colleague's insistence.
The guy at the entrance for enquiry just put on the poker face,
& keep saying,
"No, you're just travelling, why don't you apply fr. Bangladesh consulate in HK..."
Luckily my colleague is with me,
he said in Bangla to the guy and strived a chance to see a higher grade consular officer.....
Luckily the consular officer is a women, and more humane.
But she still doubt why I want to go Bangaldesh.
( Simply travelling. Why bother?! =.=)
She asked my colleague in Bangla something,
then asked me in English why I want to go Bangladesh.
How I knew my colleague .......
( of coz I could only tell her he's my friend and I met him in Malaysia,
As I'm not with a working VISA, and don't want to involve my NGO for sure)
She questioned me why I only knew him for 2 months and follow him back to Bangladesh .
[ Com'on!
I just want to go Bangladesh for travelling,
I'm not really "following him", OK?! ]
Then I heard my colleague, in quick response telling her that
" no no~ She already has a boyfriend, no way, we are really only friends. "
Gosh..............................................
Until then I kind of got the idea what she's worrying.
Finally, after using Bangla to ask my colleague , and using Eng. to ask me,
both of us giving her the same answer.
She agreed that I could apply the VISA with several documents.
( other than normal documents, e.g. Photocopy of passport, photos,
They still need bank statements ......
and invitation letters fr. a local even for tourist!!!!!!!!!!!! =.= )
On our way back to the office,
my colleague is telling me,
because there are lots of cases Chinese girls go to Bangladesh,
marry a guy, and stay there forever.
So the consular officer is worrying we are going to do the same.
No offence,
but 1st thought is,
OMG.
WHY ON EARTH WOULD A HONG KONG GIRL WANT TO MARRY A BANGLADESH GUY WITH THE INTENTION OF STAYING IN BANGLADESH?!????!?!?!?!?!
well, I'm not the ethnocentric type of person,
but com'on, is this too unbelievable?!
& even after 2 days, when I typed this,
I still feel it's unbelievable @@
Anywayz.
I'm great that my nice Bangladesh colleague has gone there with me.
and we gonna go there tomorrow again for submitting the documents..........
Fingers crossed. =p
************************************************************************
Best wishes for CM for your VP election!!!!!!!!
Try your best and with no regret! =)
and all the best for other VP candidates. =)
2010/04/07
fon
In Cameroon, fon is something like a 'king'. He does't have any power but people do repest them as a fon. He can have many wifes (some of them even have more then 1,000 wifes!). Basically other than the identity, there is no difference from a normal person to a prince or a princess.
This week is the cultural week in Kumbo and there are many performances in the palance, where the fon lives. I went there today and accidently went into a princess's house. Actually it looks like a poor family's house instead of a princess house. After sitting there for a few minutes without anything to do, I left the house. When I was about to leave, the fon sent someone to give me a bottle of Fanta and asked me to see him. I was led to enter a gate and was asked to bend down when seeing him.
He asked me where I am from and how long I have been here. He seemed not to be happy after knowing that I have been here for two months without visiting him. He sent me back after that.
Anyway, it is an interesting experience to know more about the fon here.
This week is the cultural week in Kumbo and there are many performances in the palance, where the fon lives. I went there today and accidently went into a princess's house. Actually it looks like a poor family's house instead of a princess house. After sitting there for a few minutes without anything to do, I left the house. When I was about to leave, the fon sent someone to give me a bottle of Fanta and asked me to see him. I was led to enter a gate and was asked to bend down when seeing him.
He asked me where I am from and how long I have been here. He seemed not to be happy after knowing that I have been here for two months without visiting him. He sent me back after that.
Anyway, it is an interesting experience to know more about the fon here.
Iasi
17/3
The night train took me 9 hours to arrive in Iasi, which was quite near the eastern border of Romania. It was also the place where Iashington Conference took place last year, in which Connie, Geoffrey, Eva and Christy visited before. The train was surprisingly that arriving on time. Adee and Tibi, who were the OCs of TTX2010, picked me up at the station. We went to a small cafe to drink a coffee and I just knew that Tibi was the Iashington OC before, which meant that he knew Connie and Eva. The world was just so small. Tibi also told me that there was a new version of roll call after the firewalking of last year! LOL Romanians just had fun even it was not a very good thing to tell.
Tibi drove the car called Dacian, which was made in Romania and quite old. OCs needed to get some sponsor in kind from some shops. I was just staying in the office of AIESEC Iasi for a while. The office of Iasi was comparatively small in size, but it was a large LC indeed. TTX stickers were fully posted in the office.
Another OC, Meme, brought me to walk around the city. She had a really good camera and loved to take photos. Iasi was huge and it was different from other cities I had visited in Romania. It was the capital of Moldovia, so the architecture style was more Moldovian. The university was as large as ours, which was no longer scattered into different parts like in Brasov and Cluj. The library located near the university was just spectular, which was also used as the logo of Iashington. We have visited two churches, which were stunning too. Inside the Orthodox Church, there was a Saint that you can touch and it meant good fortune. Another church with a dome shaped was just breathtaking. I liked the second one more because it may be one of the most beautiful churches I had ever seen. The Palace Museum was large and in Gothic style, yet, it was closed inside due to renovation project.
Meme took me to the place where I will be staying. One AIESECer, who called Jesus, let me to stay in his place for one night. Jesus was his nickname since he had long hair and beard, just look like Jesus. The apartment was decent and he even let me to eat some of his food. How nice he was!
After taking a little nap, I joined Marius, who will be the Iashington OC 2010 for filming the promotional video. The theme of the conference was to find a seat for yourself. We filmed it in a cafe, which was very funny. Stay tuned for the final output and you will see me there. =P
Marius was also an experienced AIESECer, who was really good to PR and publication. He needed to pack something as he was also going to the conference. From him, I knew that people in Romania spoke a bit faster in the Eastern side. For example, people in Oradea will speak a lot slower than Iasi. LOL. He also told me some funny stories after he was drunk and his conference experience in Turkey. He was also planning to go for exchange after Iashington. Cool~ =)
I got back late in Jesus's place, but I still needed to prepare for sessions as there will not be internet access in the conference site. Sadly, I needed to get up at 4 in order to go with OCs together to Slanic Moldova.
First photo after stepping out of the station
Tibi, Adee and Meme with me in the office
Logo of Iashington
Saint inside the church
Circular in shape
Palace Museum
I become a model as Meme took the photo~
Iasi at night
The night train took me 9 hours to arrive in Iasi, which was quite near the eastern border of Romania. It was also the place where Iashington Conference took place last year, in which Connie, Geoffrey, Eva and Christy visited before. The train was surprisingly that arriving on time. Adee and Tibi, who were the OCs of TTX2010, picked me up at the station. We went to a small cafe to drink a coffee and I just knew that Tibi was the Iashington OC before, which meant that he knew Connie and Eva. The world was just so small. Tibi also told me that there was a new version of roll call after the firewalking of last year! LOL Romanians just had fun even it was not a very good thing to tell.
Tibi drove the car called Dacian, which was made in Romania and quite old. OCs needed to get some sponsor in kind from some shops. I was just staying in the office of AIESEC Iasi for a while. The office of Iasi was comparatively small in size, but it was a large LC indeed. TTX stickers were fully posted in the office.
Another OC, Meme, brought me to walk around the city. She had a really good camera and loved to take photos. Iasi was huge and it was different from other cities I had visited in Romania. It was the capital of Moldovia, so the architecture style was more Moldovian. The university was as large as ours, which was no longer scattered into different parts like in Brasov and Cluj. The library located near the university was just spectular, which was also used as the logo of Iashington. We have visited two churches, which were stunning too. Inside the Orthodox Church, there was a Saint that you can touch and it meant good fortune. Another church with a dome shaped was just breathtaking. I liked the second one more because it may be one of the most beautiful churches I had ever seen. The Palace Museum was large and in Gothic style, yet, it was closed inside due to renovation project.
Meme took me to the place where I will be staying. One AIESECer, who called Jesus, let me to stay in his place for one night. Jesus was his nickname since he had long hair and beard, just look like Jesus. The apartment was decent and he even let me to eat some of his food. How nice he was!
After taking a little nap, I joined Marius, who will be the Iashington OC 2010 for filming the promotional video. The theme of the conference was to find a seat for yourself. We filmed it in a cafe, which was very funny. Stay tuned for the final output and you will see me there. =P
Marius was also an experienced AIESECer, who was really good to PR and publication. He needed to pack something as he was also going to the conference. From him, I knew that people in Romania spoke a bit faster in the Eastern side. For example, people in Oradea will speak a lot slower than Iasi. LOL. He also told me some funny stories after he was drunk and his conference experience in Turkey. He was also planning to go for exchange after Iashington. Cool~ =)
I got back late in Jesus's place, but I still needed to prepare for sessions as there will not be internet access in the conference site. Sadly, I needed to get up at 4 in order to go with OCs together to Slanic Moldova.
First photo after stepping out of the station
Tibi, Adee and Meme with me in the office
Logo of Iashington
Saint inside the church
Circular in shape
Palace Museum
I become a model as Meme took the photo~
Iasi at night
2010/04/06
LC meeting in Cluj-Napoca
16/3
I checked out from the hostel at 12pm and went to the AIESEC office again. Besides preparing sessions, I went to the shopping mall with Stefan to buy some necessities. Surprisingly, the shopping mall was really nice which was also similar to Hong Kong one. This one was even better than that in Bucharest.
Nearly 6, I got back to meet Oana and Anca to brainstorm ideas for the outgoing PBoX. Due to numerous constraints, not much concrete output was produced. After that, we went to the LC meeting at the Student Cultural Center. A NGO representative was also presented in the meeting. That organization was about building shelter for poor people. I can probably join the activity later as well.
In the LC meeting, weekly report of each department was also conducted. M&M (middle management) team was also formed. Stefan, Laura and Pusky were all selected. It seemed that the structure of the LC was quite different, I would like to investigate about that when I come back. I also introduced myself and took part in the language test. Fortunately, my performance was not that bad at all.
It was beer night right after the LC meeting, yet, I needed to attend the skype meeting with facis for TTX. The connection was not very good in the Office. Most of time I was typing the message instead of speaking about that. We did have a brief idea about all the sessions in the conference and we will continue in the pre-meeting.
Stefan then picked me up to the train station as I was taking a night train to Iasi. It would take me 8 hours to arrive there.
Shopping mall~
My trainee buddy, Stefan
M&M in the LC meeting
Night train to Iasi, where I sleep too~
I checked out from the hostel at 12pm and went to the AIESEC office again. Besides preparing sessions, I went to the shopping mall with Stefan to buy some necessities. Surprisingly, the shopping mall was really nice which was also similar to Hong Kong one. This one was even better than that in Bucharest.
Nearly 6, I got back to meet Oana and Anca to brainstorm ideas for the outgoing PBoX. Due to numerous constraints, not much concrete output was produced. After that, we went to the LC meeting at the Student Cultural Center. A NGO representative was also presented in the meeting. That organization was about building shelter for poor people. I can probably join the activity later as well.
In the LC meeting, weekly report of each department was also conducted. M&M (middle management) team was also formed. Stefan, Laura and Pusky were all selected. It seemed that the structure of the LC was quite different, I would like to investigate about that when I come back. I also introduced myself and took part in the language test. Fortunately, my performance was not that bad at all.
It was beer night right after the LC meeting, yet, I needed to attend the skype meeting with facis for TTX. The connection was not very good in the Office. Most of time I was typing the message instead of speaking about that. We did have a brief idea about all the sessions in the conference and we will continue in the pre-meeting.
Stefan then picked me up to the train station as I was taking a night train to Iasi. It would take me 8 hours to arrive there.
Shopping mall~
My trainee buddy, Stefan
M&M in the LC meeting
Night train to Iasi, where I sleep too~
Session preparation
15/3
Finally, after exhausting days, I was able to take enough rest. Yet, I needed to rush for the session outlines for TTX 2010 because I needed to draft it before 5pm, the deadline set by the conference manager. I concentrated on my work and was able to finish it before the deadline. My sessionss were about panel disucssion for reintegration, reception and LC2LC partnership, Top 5 stories about exchange.
When I was preparing the session, it was snowing heavily outside. When I went out to the office, it was sunny outside. It was really unpredictable about the weather here. My trainee buddy, Stefan, was having an interview of being a teamleader in Finance Department. I continued to work on my session, especially about searching for useful videos.
Today was another hard-working day for me!
Sunny after morning snow~
A nice coffee in the cafe after the session preparation~
Finally, after exhausting days, I was able to take enough rest. Yet, I needed to rush for the session outlines for TTX 2010 because I needed to draft it before 5pm, the deadline set by the conference manager. I concentrated on my work and was able to finish it before the deadline. My sessionss were about panel disucssion for reintegration, reception and LC2LC partnership, Top 5 stories about exchange.
When I was preparing the session, it was snowing heavily outside. When I went out to the office, it was sunny outside. It was really unpredictable about the weather here. My trainee buddy, Stefan, was having an interview of being a teamleader in Finance Department. I continued to work on my session, especially about searching for useful videos.
Today was another hard-working day for me!
Sunny after morning snow~
A nice coffee in the cafe after the session preparation~
Know why, and know how
As mentioned in the previous post that one of my JD is
to check and see how this organization MAKNA can do to compile to an international standard for NGOs - BBB Wise Giving.
On the second day of my arrival,
one of my handsome (XD a mix of Chinese & Indian,Wowwww ) supervisor gave me a stack of implementation guide of a standard fr. the authority called "BBB Wise Giving Alliance".
{ That's an authority based on US, and it establishes an operational standard for NGOs, so if NGOs are enlisted in this authority, the Donors will know that this NGO's quality is secured. }
So...for the past 2 wks, I was following the implementation guide,
the 20 standards ( each with a long list of detail requirements ),
to check what MAKNA has done already,
and what should be improved to reach the standard.
I was expecting, after ensuring all the 20 standards and requirements are met,
MAKNA could be enlisted.
After 2 wks, it turned out that I was too naive.
In a curious trial to apply for accreditation to the BBB Wise giving authority,
{Only trying online to fill in the form with fake info., not really applying formally }
I found out that it only provides accreditation for US based organizations.
MAKNA based on Malaysia. Orz
As MAKNA is planning to set up a new office in HK,
I checked and found there is a similar set of standard in HK provided by Wise Giving.
{This org. showed no affiliation to that BBB thing on its website, nor it is shown on the BBB site.}
So I asked my supervisor who suggested that BBB Wise giving to him.
{ I ask to check if he has any personal network that could ensure MAKNA's accreditation or if there are any misunderstandings. }
He said that a representative fr. HKCSS ( HK Council of Social Services ) whom he met in HK, suggested that to him. While I told him the fact about BBB just accept US based org. and the Wise Giving standard in HK, he said " Ok, Go ahead. " I was so happy that he's so open.
After a while, he came to me and ask more about the 2 standards,
then he asked me to checked on both,
he want to achieve both standards, and better MAKNA could be enlisted in the BBB thing which is more well-known & of higher authority for international donors.
Learning:
When I received the BBB implementation at the very first beginning,
I assumed that I knew it's for gaining donor's confidence.
Yet I did not probe into the point "Why THIS standard but not others".
If I probed into this question,
I would spend the past two weeks in first searching for ways to accredited in this standard,
Or other international standards that MAKNA could be accredited by,
rather than checking here and there for tedious policies and things when at the end they could not ensure an accreditation.
That is the importance of "know why".
Fr. this XP,
I learned that whenever I start doing something later in my life,
"Know why" should precede "know how".
That's what people say,
WORK SMART.
******************************************************************************** When I received the BBB implementation at the very first beginning,
I assumed that I knew it's for gaining donor's confidence.
Yet I did not probe into the point "Why THIS standard but not others".
If I probed into this question,
I would spend the past two weeks in first searching for ways to accredited in this standard,
Or other international standards that MAKNA could be accredited by,
rather than checking here and there for tedious policies and things when at the end they could not ensure an accreditation.
That is the importance of "know why".
Fr. this XP,
I learned that whenever I start doing something later in my life,
"Know why" should precede "know how".
That's what people say,
WORK SMART.
Thanks Justin & Del for guessing....
But this man.... his machine is not vacuum cleaner..
his machine is only a "blower" ...........!@@
I saw him walking along the road...
blowing up the leaves and dust and all that rubbish resting on the road side to grass land besides.
That's all. @@
( &.... I saw him blowing all along the whole road, see how long I've waited for the bus.... T.T )
SIGPE DACIM
14/3
We got up at 8 and arrived at the conference site on time. I listened to another AIESECer, Turdean, who was the OCP of I.T. challenge 3.0. She shared her story in Austria as she was working for Nokia as TT. It was just a cool experience. After that, Olesya presented Ukraine to us and even sang the national anthem. We just could not forget her lovely, amazing voice.
In the afternoon, Raluca, who was the OC OGX responsible, took both of us to have a city tour. Cluj was the forth largest city in Romania, but the main attractions were just located around the historical centre. We went to nearly all of the place on foot. St. Micheal's Church and the Orthodox cathedral were just stunning with paintings, mosaic and golden decoration. We also went up to a small hill, so that we could have a whole view of the city. It resembled to Brasov, but with its own character. (more Hungarian architecture)
We went back to conference site and there was a workshop conducting there. I shared the movie introducing Hong Kong to both Olesya and Raluca. They just loved the firework and the harbour view. And Raluca in return, taught me the LC values "SIGPE DACIM", in which I had remembered them in 15 minutes. They were really meaningful and all members did share the values. This was another good case practice that can be brought back to our LC!
We went back to the office around 6pm. I talked with Olesya when she didn't have anything to do. She shared the life as an Ukrainian and I started to realize the difference background we had. The upbringing really determined lots of things in one's life. People in Ukraine will get married around 25 or even earlier. She was one of the exceptions with her classmate. Yet, she had great passion in teaching children English, French and Spanish. The education system in Ukraine was poor, but she wanted to change about it. If a person doesn't have so much choices as we do like Hong Kong, life will be just simplier and more focused.
It was so sad that she needed to go back to her city in the evening. Although we just met for a short time, I would not forget her words and smile. Sometimes, I think that you don't need a lot of time to know a person, but do treasure every single moment with a friend who you may not meet again in life. Luckily, we have exchanged the contact and also facebook. =)
I was going to move out of Anca's place because her flatmate had came back. I packed my luggage and went to a hostel called Retro Hostel with my trainee buddy, Stefan. We ate a kebab on the way to the hostel. The condition of the hostel was quite good, which was also cheap. I went to sleep immediately because it was just exhausting to me.
Anca, Olesya and Me
Inside the St.Micheal's Church
Cluj!
Cathedral
Little car crash
We got up at 8 and arrived at the conference site on time. I listened to another AIESECer, Turdean, who was the OCP of I.T. challenge 3.0. She shared her story in Austria as she was working for Nokia as TT. It was just a cool experience. After that, Olesya presented Ukraine to us and even sang the national anthem. We just could not forget her lovely, amazing voice.
In the afternoon, Raluca, who was the OC OGX responsible, took both of us to have a city tour. Cluj was the forth largest city in Romania, but the main attractions were just located around the historical centre. We went to nearly all of the place on foot. St. Micheal's Church and the Orthodox cathedral were just stunning with paintings, mosaic and golden decoration. We also went up to a small hill, so that we could have a whole view of the city. It resembled to Brasov, but with its own character. (more Hungarian architecture)
We went back to conference site and there was a workshop conducting there. I shared the movie introducing Hong Kong to both Olesya and Raluca. They just loved the firework and the harbour view. And Raluca in return, taught me the LC values "SIGPE DACIM", in which I had remembered them in 15 minutes. They were really meaningful and all members did share the values. This was another good case practice that can be brought back to our LC!
We went back to the office around 6pm. I talked with Olesya when she didn't have anything to do. She shared the life as an Ukrainian and I started to realize the difference background we had. The upbringing really determined lots of things in one's life. People in Ukraine will get married around 25 or even earlier. She was one of the exceptions with her classmate. Yet, she had great passion in teaching children English, French and Spanish. The education system in Ukraine was poor, but she wanted to change about it. If a person doesn't have so much choices as we do like Hong Kong, life will be just simplier and more focused.
It was so sad that she needed to go back to her city in the evening. Although we just met for a short time, I would not forget her words and smile. Sometimes, I think that you don't need a lot of time to know a person, but do treasure every single moment with a friend who you may not meet again in life. Luckily, we have exchanged the contact and also facebook. =)
I was going to move out of Anca's place because her flatmate had came back. I packed my luggage and went to a hostel called Retro Hostel with my trainee buddy, Stefan. We ate a kebab on the way to the hostel. The condition of the hostel was quite good, which was also cheap. I went to sleep immediately because it was just exhausting to me.
Anca, Olesya and Me
Inside the St.Micheal's Church
Cluj!
Cathedral
Little car crash
2010/04/05
CR University!
13/3
We just took some food before going to the conference site. My session was almost ready. Another speaker, who was the professor of Anca, delivered a speech about CSR before my session. I did learn something from him because he explained the concept very thoroughly with concrete examples. If I could have him as a speaker in Ripples, it would be just awesome. (think too much, LOL)
Right after the coffee break, my session began. It was the first time for me to deliver workshop in front of all foreign students. Yet, I felt quite ease about it without frightening. They loved the movie clip about CSR practices of KPMG and Standard Charted Bank. I had also shown the case of PCCW so as to let them be more critical about the issue. At last, I told my story with AIESEC to motivate them to go for exchange and learn more about sustainability.
Afterwards, Pusky and Alina brought me to a really traditional Romanian Restaurant. I can finally try mamaliga and sarmale. Mamaliga was made of corn which can be served with different kind of cheese. Sarmale was served with sour cream, which was tasty. We rushed back to the venue because the afternoon sessions were about to start.
An alumnus working in Genpact shared with the students how to form CSR strategy. She also gave me some insights about CSR in European context. I also learned more about the company, which was focused on business process operation.
It ended at 6 and Anca and I went to the AIESEC event, which was called AIESEC 16. It was the anniversary celebration event about LC Cluj. Alumni, partners, old and new EB, OCPs and members were all participated in the event. Different kinds of awards were given out to partners and alumni in contributing the growth of the organization. A short movie clip showed the history of the LC with old photos! Moreover, the newly elected EBs presented and gave a welcoming speech. This kind of networking event can keep all stakeholders involved, at the same time, encouraging more cooperation among stakeholders. Why we could not hold such an event in our LC too? (as we have 42 years of history!)
The 2% board was also brought there for promoting the scheme in supporting AIESEC financially. The event ran smoothly and we just danced after the externals left. So cool! An ukraine girl coming from AIESEC Targu Mures, who was called Olesya, arrived in Cluj too. She will present her country in the 2nd day of the conference. She went with us to the apartment where four EBs lived there. The EBs were having a party there. We drank a bit of home made wines chatted together with other EBs. Olesya received a bad reception in Bucharest and shared the story about her. I also shared the Chinese culture since they were all interested in. Such a long and tiring day!
Introducing myself with HKU
mamaliga and sarmale
AIESEC 16
2% with me~
me and OCP of the event!
We just took some food before going to the conference site. My session was almost ready. Another speaker, who was the professor of Anca, delivered a speech about CSR before my session. I did learn something from him because he explained the concept very thoroughly with concrete examples. If I could have him as a speaker in Ripples, it would be just awesome. (think too much, LOL)
Right after the coffee break, my session began. It was the first time for me to deliver workshop in front of all foreign students. Yet, I felt quite ease about it without frightening. They loved the movie clip about CSR practices of KPMG and Standard Charted Bank. I had also shown the case of PCCW so as to let them be more critical about the issue. At last, I told my story with AIESEC to motivate them to go for exchange and learn more about sustainability.
Afterwards, Pusky and Alina brought me to a really traditional Romanian Restaurant. I can finally try mamaliga and sarmale. Mamaliga was made of corn which can be served with different kind of cheese. Sarmale was served with sour cream, which was tasty. We rushed back to the venue because the afternoon sessions were about to start.
An alumnus working in Genpact shared with the students how to form CSR strategy. She also gave me some insights about CSR in European context. I also learned more about the company, which was focused on business process operation.
It ended at 6 and Anca and I went to the AIESEC event, which was called AIESEC 16. It was the anniversary celebration event about LC Cluj. Alumni, partners, old and new EB, OCPs and members were all participated in the event. Different kinds of awards were given out to partners and alumni in contributing the growth of the organization. A short movie clip showed the history of the LC with old photos! Moreover, the newly elected EBs presented and gave a welcoming speech. This kind of networking event can keep all stakeholders involved, at the same time, encouraging more cooperation among stakeholders. Why we could not hold such an event in our LC too? (as we have 42 years of history!)
The 2% board was also brought there for promoting the scheme in supporting AIESEC financially. The event ran smoothly and we just danced after the externals left. So cool! An ukraine girl coming from AIESEC Targu Mures, who was called Olesya, arrived in Cluj too. She will present her country in the 2nd day of the conference. She went with us to the apartment where four EBs lived there. The EBs were having a party there. We drank a bit of home made wines chatted together with other EBs. Olesya received a bad reception in Bucharest and shared the story about her. I also shared the Chinese culture since they were all interested in. Such a long and tiring day!
Introducing myself with HKU
mamaliga and sarmale
AIESEC 16
2% with me~
me and OCP of the event!
Preparation for CR University
12/3
We went to the venue where the two-days conference will take place. Anca and I both needed to work for the conference. I needed to work on the session because I didn't have a concrete idea about CSR in China. I had done some researches and in the afternoon, I went to a cafe with Laura nearby. She was so nice that providing all the information I needed for the upcoming trip. Afterwards, I continued with my session preparation.
At night, we had a little party in a cafe with Ella, Andreea and Laura and so on. Laura and Ella helped me to recharge the cellphone and picked the best option among the offers. Andrees, who had the nicename of 'Sunshine', was a very funny person. She taught me that 'Life is pink', which symbols an attitide of life that you could always think something in a beautiful way. It sounded quite strange to me at the first time, but I thought it was quite meaningful. So,life is pink.
I went back to the office to pick the session I would like to deliver in TTX 2010. I picked a motivational session instead of the hard skill session, which could be more interesting. Anca and I worked till the midnight. We walked back home on foot. On the way back to home, there were two dogs following us. I was quite afraid about them at first, yet Anca told me that they just loved us and showed the way to us. Right after arriving home, I just took a shower and then went to sleep quickly because we needed to wake up quite early tomorrow.
Salad and Coffee~
Recycle bag painted by the OCs~ so nice!!!
We went to the venue where the two-days conference will take place. Anca and I both needed to work for the conference. I needed to work on the session because I didn't have a concrete idea about CSR in China. I had done some researches and in the afternoon, I went to a cafe with Laura nearby. She was so nice that providing all the information I needed for the upcoming trip. Afterwards, I continued with my session preparation.
At night, we had a little party in a cafe with Ella, Andreea and Laura and so on. Laura and Ella helped me to recharge the cellphone and picked the best option among the offers. Andrees, who had the nicename of 'Sunshine', was a very funny person. She taught me that 'Life is pink', which symbols an attitide of life that you could always think something in a beautiful way. It sounded quite strange to me at the first time, but I thought it was quite meaningful. So,life is pink.
I went back to the office to pick the session I would like to deliver in TTX 2010. I picked a motivational session instead of the hard skill session, which could be more interesting. Anca and I worked till the midnight. We walked back home on foot. On the way back to home, there were two dogs following us. I was quite afraid about them at first, yet Anca told me that they just loved us and showed the way to us. Right after arriving home, I just took a shower and then went to sleep quickly because we needed to wake up quite early tomorrow.
Salad and Coffee~
Recycle bag painted by the OCs~ so nice!!!
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