Settling in...
I´ve now been in Bangkok almost 3 weeks (can't believe how quickly that's gone!)
I guess now i should actually start to write about work, since i have had many people asking me what i have actually come all this way to do...
So, in a nutshell, myself and Rina (from Kenya) are here as an international envoy to work together with the Pui, the President of AIESEC in Thailand, to get AIESEC here back on its feet and living up to the potential of this fast-growing country. We have a clear plan from the AIESEC International office on what needs to be done - our job is to work out how to put that into action on the ground. And to give the existing members here the motivation, skills & confidence to move the organisation forward.
Sounds good so far. So, what does that mean for me...
Well those of you who know me from my time in Switzerland can just call me Zuzka - i am responsible for recruiting a new generation of members, giving them an intense induction to the organisation, ensuring that they have a challenging learning environment, and - get this - conferences! Yippeeeeee!!!
Oh yeah, and in my spare time i will also be building the alumni network, and raising corporate partnerships to bring us some money. And should all of that still leave me bored, i am also responsible for branding :o)
As you saw from the last posting, we already designed our 1st conference as a team. This really brought us closer together, and gave us a good feeling of achievement. Now we just need to put it into practice ;o) Later this week i will be giving my team-mates a workshop on how to create kick-ass conference sessions. Any input gratefully received...
Oh, and since Laura & i are determined to spread the blogging habit, we have helped to create not one but two blogs this week - one for Rina & one for our MC team (check out the links on the left...)
I feel quite comfortable here now, knowing where are the good places to get food, how to get around some districts of the city, where the cheapest markets are, etc. I am still NOT used to the noise of the traffic (i have never seen so many vehicles on the road!). I am still finding it quite difficult to cope with people's attitudes to appointments. Now some of you may smile at this, knowing that i am not always the most punctual person. But seriously, one person - who shall remain nameless - arrived 75 mins late for a meeting, said hello, and then preceded immediately to make a phone call! No explanation, no embarassment, no apology, nothing! This is going to take some patience from my side i believe. How appropriate is it to show someone you feel offended by their actions in such a position?
Also i don't know if it is due to the pollution, to the sweating, or to the lack of fresh vegetables in my diet, but my skin is terrible - i haven't had so much acne since i was 16! And those who have seen my school-leaving photo will know that this is NOT a pretty thought...
One thing i do wonder about, how is are the terrible events in Lebanon being portrayed back home? I often think that the British press is not-too-subtly pro-Israel - so i was pleasantly surprised to see the results of a poll showing that most British people think that the current attacks are unjustified. What is being said about all of this?
I guess now i should actually start to write about work, since i have had many people asking me what i have actually come all this way to do...
So, in a nutshell, myself and Rina (from Kenya) are here as an international envoy to work together with the Pui, the President of AIESEC in Thailand, to get AIESEC here back on its feet and living up to the potential of this fast-growing country. We have a clear plan from the AIESEC International office on what needs to be done - our job is to work out how to put that into action on the ground. And to give the existing members here the motivation, skills & confidence to move the organisation forward.
Sounds good so far. So, what does that mean for me...
Well those of you who know me from my time in Switzerland can just call me Zuzka - i am responsible for recruiting a new generation of members, giving them an intense induction to the organisation, ensuring that they have a challenging learning environment, and - get this - conferences! Yippeeeeee!!!
Oh yeah, and in my spare time i will also be building the alumni network, and raising corporate partnerships to bring us some money. And should all of that still leave me bored, i am also responsible for branding :o)
As you saw from the last posting, we already designed our 1st conference as a team. This really brought us closer together, and gave us a good feeling of achievement. Now we just need to put it into practice ;o) Later this week i will be giving my team-mates a workshop on how to create kick-ass conference sessions. Any input gratefully received...
Oh, and since Laura & i are determined to spread the blogging habit, we have helped to create not one but two blogs this week - one for Rina & one for our MC team (check out the links on the left...)
I feel quite comfortable here now, knowing where are the good places to get food, how to get around some districts of the city, where the cheapest markets are, etc. I am still NOT used to the noise of the traffic (i have never seen so many vehicles on the road!). I am still finding it quite difficult to cope with people's attitudes to appointments. Now some of you may smile at this, knowing that i am not always the most punctual person. But seriously, one person - who shall remain nameless - arrived 75 mins late for a meeting, said hello, and then preceded immediately to make a phone call! No explanation, no embarassment, no apology, nothing! This is going to take some patience from my side i believe. How appropriate is it to show someone you feel offended by their actions in such a position?
Also i don't know if it is due to the pollution, to the sweating, or to the lack of fresh vegetables in my diet, but my skin is terrible - i haven't had so much acne since i was 16! And those who have seen my school-leaving photo will know that this is NOT a pretty thought...
One thing i do wonder about, how is are the terrible events in Lebanon being portrayed back home? I often think that the British press is not-too-subtly pro-Israel - so i was pleasantly surprised to see the results of a poll showing that most British people think that the current attacks are unjustified. What is being said about all of this?
posted by Rob at
5:10 PM
3 Comments:
hey lobbie,
just noticed I don't even have your non-aiesec.ch email, so I'm posting this here...
remember a specific conference-concept we had been talking about? seems there's a name for it, "UnConference" and someone who doesn't like it speaks here: http://www.businessblogconsulting.com/2006/07/blogorlando-a-waste-of-time-and-money.html
but don't worry, we've already planned "unstructured" time for connect :-)
btw, that training on exciting conference-sessions, can i get it please? ;-)
big hug and glad to hear you're enjoying yourself in bangkok,
sarita
sorry, the link doesn't show, here it comes again:
http://www.businessblogconsulting.com/
2006/07/blogorlando-a-waste-of-time-
and-money.html
Hey Robbie :)
I read most of the British press here too and in the last few years there has been a definite pro-Israel bias, but I think that this time round there is little or no support...I guess it helps that there is very vocal opposition within the government (Foreign affairs junior minister,can't for the life of me remember his name, but he has been really vocal in his criticisms) also I think reports today of unarmed UN observers being killed by an israeli attack will further damage their image abroad...here there have been almost daily protests at the embassy and they are getting bigger by the day!
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