Backtracking!
So, I haven't gotten back in the swing of blogging since I almost pulled out all my hair attempting to get it working when I arrived in Kenya. So in turn, I'm just posting whatever notes I had written since then and pasting them below for those who may want to chronicle my life in the future. (just kidding if you didn't get that...)
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Oct 25th - India
Namaste!
Another update on my world wandering. Sorry to those of you in Kenya who haven't been recieving my mails. I've just realized an error on my part in sending to my Kenya list.
Anyways, here's the update.
My life in India so far:
For the first two weeks, I lived at the trainee flats with people from all different countries. There were 3 apartments and the one I stayed in was all girls from Africa (Nigeria and Cameroon) which reminded me of my time in Kenya. However, the only open room for me didn't have a proper wall, where the light switch was outside by the door and I could hear everything in the entire flat. Luckily enough I had decided before arriving to India that I would like to live on my own in India. For many reasons really but mainly because I wanted to truly integrate into the culture, learn to take care of myself, and test my ability to balance work, play, and a home.
The first weekend the trainees were invited to be extras in a Bollywood movie. It was interesting being on the set of a movie, getting paid, and hanging out with other foreigners. I met 3 boys from Iran who have now become very good friends of mine. It was touching to hear them say I was the first American they've met that "wasn't cold to them." Viva la AIESEC! ;) They helped me in acquiring my flat and getting my furniture etc. and I am now the proud tenant of a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, living room, etc flat in the posh area of Hyderabad. The housewarming "meet and great" is this Saturday! My partner in crime is a trainee from England, Zulfiye and it's amazing to see how different our cultures are when we both thought they were so similar.
Soren arrived Sunday afternoon, interviewed with DE Shaw today and from the sounds of it, he'll be starting work with them in a much better position than offered to other AIESEC trainees. Upon arriving, Soren decided to be his usual clumsy self by first breaking our dining room table and shattering a piece of glassware, the only set of glass items I bought in fear of this. The next day, he ran out side to go talk to the internet man while I was in the shower, leaving the door wide open and the gas stove, which he accidentally put on the highest level, so I come out of the shower to a kitchen filled with smoke. But even still, he's wonderful and we celebrated his birthday yesterday with a nice dinner and a big chocolate cake.
Other than that, I'm adjusting to spicy food. I've been a vegetarian for almost a month now and my hindi is slowly improving despite the fact that many people here speak English and if they can't they usually can only speak Telegu.
My job with Deloitte:
We started working with the arrival of the last trainee, Katia from Russia making us four total. (Tobi from Nigeria, Zulfiye and myself). We're working in the Learning and Development team which is under Human Resources. We've just become aware of what we'll be working on for the next 3 months. We are all working on seperate projects but doing the same tasks. Essentially evaluating the effectiveness of Deloitte training programs. I'll be evaluating "Advanced Business Consulting for Technologists." Probably because I go to Tech or something. =)
It's interesting to me because I'll learn how to value different sessions where the desired outcomes or skills learned are intangible, soft skills such as communication skills, leadership, and so on and if possible, turning it into money and doing a cost-benefit analysis of the program. Quite an interesting thing to learn coming from an organization such as AIESEC where leadership and training and development are the building blocks of our work.
Deloitte seems like a very open organization although the differences in working culture is slowly revealing itself to me but it's nothing too drastic. But it's nice to be a part of a large organization and in an area I have an interest in compared to large company/unfulfilling work in the States (Southern Company) and the "you're on your own but it's eye-opening" venture in Kenya. We'll see how things go from here. =)
Ok, that's it for me now.
Take care,
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Sept. 20th. - Germany
Guten Morgen!
So this is another one of those updates. Yep, in a different country again. Germany this time. But not for long. I leave for India in 7 days. Read which ever pieces interest you or none at all. I'll never know. =) Miss you all! Ah and pictures are attached.
Wrap up for International Congress, Turkey:
All in all, it was a great experience. Although it was more work and stress than I had anticipated, it was worth every sleepless night. I didn't get to meet as many new people or get to catch up much with old friends but I did become close with the other 50 members on my team. As for meeting up in Amsterdam with some of them, it won't be happening due to timing and money issues for many of us. *sigh* Before I left, I got to catch up with a good friend of mine, Devrim, an alum from AIESEC US who's Turkish and was able to show me more Turkish culture. Then it was off to Germany.
About Germany:
I arrived at the Frankfurt airport to find Soren waiting for me. It was so good to see him again after 3.5 months of just emails and some phone calls. After we made our way to Berlin where we stayed for 2 nights and took care of our visas for India. Because I had an American passport, they had to call the US to ask for permission which meant I had to come back to Berlin again the next week to apply for the visa. I was shocked at the cold weather and had to buy some warm shoes and gloves since I didn't have any from Kenya. We walked around a lot and I convinced Soren to impose on a street performer and let him play his cello in front of the Berlin Dom (Catherdral).
From Berlin, we made our way to Gottingen where Soren's grandparents live. They are some of the nicest people you'd ever meet. We had traditional German meals, with lunch being hot and the dinner being cold. We walked or biked to the town where they had cute little shops and bakeries and where his uncle owns a wine shop. We played cards, went for a boat ride, had dinner in a castle, played with train sets, and ate cake. We watched humorous family videos from years back and I was pressured to play some guitar for them which I saved for the last night.
After that we went back to Berlin to apply for my visa and got it back the same day. This time we stayed with his cousin Claudius who plays the horn in the Berlin Philharmonic. He spoke English well so I was able to join in more conversations. Then it was off to Lindau to a small cabin near the Austrian border where we lived in solitude away from internet and traffic. We read books and relaxed. We went with the neighbors to a mountain in Austria to see the man made lake at the top.
As of now, we're in Munich with his mother's cousin, Wiebka. Here I finally have internet and was able to call my mom for the first time in a while. In one hour we're leaving to go meet Georg, the German non-AIESEC intern who lived with me last fall in Atlanta. We'll hang around here for a few days to see the first day of Oktoberfest then to Nurmberg to see his cousins and then back to his grandparents and finally to Frankfurt to catch our flights while Soren goes to Turkey and Kazakhstan and I go to India.
About India:
Yes, India! I was matched to an traineeship there with Deloitte, an international consulting firm, in the city of Hyderabad. I'm told I'll be working with 3 others, a boy from Nigeria and two girls from the UK. I arrive there in 10 days! So exciting because I loved India last time and now I know some Hindi as well. (Even though they speak English and many people use regional languages, but anyways...) I'm really excited to meet more people and experience another culture and business style and living arrangement, etc. Let's hope for the best!
Anyways, that's my ramble. Sorry for the delay. Hope everything is well at home. Keep in touch!
-Tiffany
Guten Morgen!
So this is another one of those updates. Yep, in a different country again. Germany this time. But not for long. I leave for India in 7 days. Read which ever pieces interest you or none at all. I'll never know. =) Miss you all! Ah and pictures are attached.
Wrap up for International Congress, Turkey:
All in all, it was a great experience. Although it was more work and stress than I had anticipated, it was worth every sleepless night. I didn't get to meet as many new people or get to catch up much with old friends but I did become close with the other 50 members on my team. As for meeting up in Amsterdam with some of them, it won't be happening due to timing and money issues for many of us. *sigh* Before I left, I got to catch up with a good friend of mine, Devrim, an alum from AIESEC US who's Turkish and was able to show me more Turkish culture. Then it was off to Germany.
About Germany:
I arrived at the Frankfurt airport to find Soren waiting for me. It was so good to see him again after 3.5 months of just emails and some phone calls. After we made our way to Berlin where we stayed for 2 nights and took care of our visas for India. Because I had an American passport, they had to call the US to ask for permission which meant I had to come back to Berlin again the next week to apply for the visa. I was shocked at the cold weather and had to buy some warm shoes and gloves since I didn't have any from Kenya. We walked around a lot and I convinced Soren to impose on a street performer and let him play his cello in front of the Berlin Dom (Catherdral).
From Berlin, we made our way to Gottingen where Soren's grandparents live. They are some of the nicest people you'd ever meet. We had traditional German meals, with lunch being hot and the dinner being cold. We walked or biked to the town where they had cute little shops and bakeries and where his uncle owns a wine shop. We played cards, went for a boat ride, had dinner in a castle, played with train sets, and ate cake. We watched humorous family videos from years back and I was pressured to play some guitar for them which I saved for the last night.
After that we went back to Berlin to apply for my visa and got it back the same day. This time we stayed with his cousin Claudius who plays the horn in the Berlin Philharmonic. He spoke English well so I was able to join in more conversations. Then it was off to Lindau to a small cabin near the Austrian border where we lived in solitude away from internet and traffic. We read books and relaxed. We went with the neighbors to a mountain in Austria to see the man made lake at the top.
As of now, we're in Munich with his mother's cousin, Wiebka. Here I finally have internet and was able to call my mom for the first time in a while. In one hour we're leaving to go meet Georg, the German non-AIESEC intern who lived with me last fall in Atlanta. We'll hang around here for a few days to see the first day of Oktoberfest then to Nurmberg to see his cousins and then back to his grandparents and finally to Frankfurt to catch our flights while Soren goes to Turkey and Kazakhstan and I go to India.
About India:
Yes, India! I was matched to an traineeship there with Deloitte, an international consulting firm, in the city of Hyderabad. I'm told I'll be working with 3 others, a boy from Nigeria and two girls from the UK. I arrive there in 10 days! So exciting because I loved India last time and now I know some Hindi as well. (Even though they speak English and many people use regional languages, but anyways...) I'm really excited to meet more people and experience another culture and business style and living arrangement, etc. Let's hope for the best!
Anyways, that's my ramble. Sorry for the delay. Hope everything is well at home. Keep in touch!
-Tiffany
Austrian Mt.
Castle View
Lindau
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Written Aug 16th
Turkey
Hi all,
I realize it's been a while since I've sent an email but I'm finally doing it. So much has happened in so short a time.
Kenya:
So right before leaving Kenya, I was a facilitator at one of their conferences. It was a great experience and I enjoyed every moment. Noteworthy moments:
- The last day of the conference, the power was out all day so all our sessions and powerpoints were inaccessible. My session was the "take it home" session which I had planned on playing the motivational speech from "Any Given Sunday." Since there was no power and thus no ability to play the clip, I had to pump out a motivating blur for my session, which I'm so glad was only 30 mins long.
- A group of boys named themselves "The Bullies" and took it upon themselves to throw innocent delegates into the pool (with green water that you couldn't quite see through). In a failed attempt to get me into the pool, they ended up breaking my shoe. My one of 2 pairs of shoes. To this day, I'm still wearing these worn out dirty sandals, having to explain why I have dirty shoes and why I never match.
We arrived home Sunday night, I packed, and left for Turkey Monday morning. For some reason, the Kenyan security was more paranoid about me using my nail clippers as a weapon than any of the other 9 countries I've been to.
Turkey:
The airport pick-up was one cultural misunderstanding. I'm not used to using military time so when putting down my arrival time, I put 7:10 (Could have sworn there was an AM/PM option). So when I arrived that night, I found no one. I called and was told they had been looking for me all morning, even calling the police. The university is 1.5 hrs from the airport so I didn't get to my room until about 2am.
About the venue:
We are staying at Yeditepe University, a private school in the Asian side of Turkey. (I'm technically in Asia right now.) The dorms are segregated by males and females with security guards at every door. There is no drinking allowed and there is a curfew, 1am on weekdays, 2am on weekends. This is unlike any conference I've ever been to. There will be more lenience during the conference at certain locations like the party area aka tennis court. The owner of the Uni. loves dogs so there are about 40-50 large dogs that roam the campus. Other than those things, the place is so nice and fancy and it overlooks Istanbul. It's beautiful.
About my job:
I'm a teamster on the Special Events team. However, I have a lot more responsibilities than I expected. Our core VP (part of the year long team) was let go in July for undisclosed reasons. Another girl was assigned to assist my team leader with all the major tasks but this past Sunday, she quit. She took another job that started immediately. I was asked to take her role in addition. So now, ladies and gentlemen, I am the main responsible for Opening Ceremony and Official Dinner as well as nightly parties. I have two members assigned to me although one tries to avoid work so it's more management than teamwork sometimes. I also was told to make the Congress Committee dance because I supposedly know alot about AIESEC dances. I presented the dance this afternoon and was pleased to get a positive response. Maybe my dance will linger in AIESEC history along with Bebot. ;)
It's a very different style of working for me since most is about coordinating with other teams, especially marketing and communications. But also, most of my work consists of planning, organizing, and delegating all leading up to these large events so I don't see results of my work until the day of. It makes me feel like I've been unproductive until then.
The most amazing part of it all is working on such a large international team. There are about 50 of us, across 7 teams. AIESEC International and facilitators just arrived yesterday so now there are about 80 of us. It's really amazing to think that out of 23, 000 members world wide, only 650 get to attend IC. Out of 23, 000 members, only 50 get the opportunity to be on this team. Makes me feel special (and proud that AIESEC GT has 2 of those 50! [Preston is here working on the marketing team]). Pre-meeting starts tomorrow with about 200 members checking in.
My future plans:
I was told I have an interview with Deloitte India tomorrow but haven't arranged how so maybe not but in short, I'm trying to get a job for fall in India. I've just about forgotten most of the Hindi I taught myself in Kenya because of working here and little free time. I've been able to register at GT for fall, keeping me enrolled, assuming I get a job (which I will).
After IC, I will be flying to Germany and touring around for about a month with Soren. I'm really excited! I wish I knew German though. I'm excited to see Germany, especially with Soren, and am curious what Oktoberfest is like since I've only seen mock versions at DisneyWorld as a child.
After that it's on to India but just before I will stop by Pakistan, meet all my friends who weren't able to come to Turkey and see what it's like there. I just spoke to my friend today who can arrange a place for me and take me around.
I think this email is long enough to make up for the weeks of silence. I hope all is going well at home, wherever that is for you. I've attached some pictures of Turkey and of IC.
Keep in touch!
Preston and I for Global Village, Representing the ATL/USA
Blue Mosque
My pants, one of 3 pairs I brought... Kenya really took it's toll on them. I don't think they'll last to see Germany... =*(
Hello from Kenya!
I can see it's been a while since I've updated people on my where abouts. I'm still in Kenya but I leave for Turkey in 20 days for International Congress. I'm really excited to see all my friends again and to see Turkey.
So what I've been up to:
AIESEC Kenya Annual Dinner : The annual dinner and turn over of the national staff. I've attached a picture. I bought myself a nice dress for my birthday. ;)
Birthday: I spent my birthday at the top of a mountain. If I can't be home with my family I might as well be somewhere really memorable. It was exciting, but tiring. Now I can actually say to people "Come to the States, I'll buy you a drink." I celebrated by waking up at 2am climbing up, climbing down, and passing out at 8:30pm while everyone else stayed up and partied.
Mount Kenya: This was the most physically demanding challenge of my life. 5000km. Day 1: 4 hr drive 4 hr hike to Camp 1, Day 2: 7 hr hike to Camp 2it rained, then hailed, then snowed (I made it to camp before the snow but others didn't). Day 3: 2am wake up, 5 hr hike to the top, 3 hr hike down falling all the way, lunch, 7 hr hike to camp 1. Got lost with 4 others and had to use survival tactics and things because we were in the dark and there were wild animals. Day 4: 3 hr hike down then 4 hour drive back home. I was totally unprepared, with just 2 light jackets and sneakers. Needless to say I was freezing. I also had the second scariest moment of my life when I slipped off the side of the mountain in the snow. I was second to last and the snow gave out and I started sliding down the side, stuck at one point, and held on until the guy behind me hoisted me back onto the path. But it was beautiful. I'll send pics when I get them on my flashdrive.
My plans for rest of summer are taking shape now. I've been selected to be a facilitator at int'l conference here in Kenya at the end of July and then I leave for Turkey. After that, I hope to visit Germany with Soren. Really exciting!
Also, in case any news reaches where you are, I'm safe and am cautious about getting around. There have been some murders going on all around the country and in Nairobi because it's election year and radical groups and all that.
Anyways, I hope everything is good at home, where ever that may be for you all!
Tiffany
PS I'm learning how to cook! The ingredients are different here so I improvise. I can make a mean sour milk pasta! =P
1 Comments:
Yay updates!
... I'll read it later.
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