Success is not confined to the home…

Yes my flat is now hospitable, but I haven’t only spent my time here sweeping & mopping :)

Yesterday, Pui and I were delighted to sign for 3TNs with an IT company here in Bangkok (for non-AIESECers, this means the company agreed to take 3 AIESEC interns through our international exchange programme. This is a big deal!) Actually it is the 1st time this has happened here since December, so we are obviously delighted. And it means I have earned my first income for AIESEC in Thailand!

Big thanks to Laura for your role in making this possible.

I also have a meeting with the World Bank on Monday, to discuss possible ways that we can partner together. I already met the 2 contact people for the BKK office at a recent event, the ‘Thailand Youth Open Space Discussion’ (below you can see how happy Rina & I are to see the AIESEC logo on such a huge banner :) ) Don’t worry, the avid reader will for sure be updated as soon as there is further progress…

To keep my work-life balance I decided to book a weekend trip, so I will be leaving BKK at 7am on Saturday to go to Kanchanaburi. This is the site of the so-called ‘Death Railway’, built by the Japanese in the ‘40s using Prisoners of War (if you have seen the film ‘Bridge over the River Kwai’ you will know what I am referring to…) But it won’t all be doom and gloom – apparently the scenery there is beautiful, and my itinerary also includes rafting on the river and elephant-trekking! (at last I will see elephants, 13 months after they stood me up in India…)

I need to thank 2 people for inspiring me to take this trip: Laura, for showing me how cool it is to be a traveller in Thailand, and Cileia, for making me realise how silly I would be not to see more of this beautiful country. Thanks to you both!

I probably won’t be able to post again until then, as I am currently sharing a laptop with Rina, and tomorrow is her day for custody…

I wish you all a great weekend!

A dirt-free zone

The great clean-up has begun!

After arriving back to Sathupradit from Rangsit on friday night at 0:30, discovering i had no electricity, and stumbling around in the dark trying to find candles, stepping on who knows what, i decided enough is enough. So yesterday afternoon (coz i didn't get up until 2 and then i had to eat!) i headed to the flat downstairs to seek out my weapons. The broom and the mop were already out, standing symbollically in the hallway, as if they knew their fate and were ready for the task ahead...

After 2 hrs of sweeping - floors, walls and ceiling - i had collected a pile of dirt big enough for a whole colony of ants (did i really eat, sleep and work here for 10days?!) There were cornflakes, dead insects, cobwebs and enough hair to open my own wig shop (no offence, but i hope i never live with girls again - it's amazing you're not all bald, the amount of hair that just falls off your head everyday!) Then out came the mop, and suddenly the room was sweetened with the smell of detergent. The odour of cleanliness. The scent of victory...

I then spent almost 30minutes re-connecting the stereo system that is here, only to discover that the cd-reader is bust. The ultimate waste of time. Still, at least it LOOKS as though i have a myriad of techincal wizardry here, and isn't that the most important thing...? (i refer you to an earlier post... )

Last night Rina & I organised a small welcome team (consisting of just the 2 of us actually...) to greet Laura after her diving course on Ko Tao. The video is absolutely beautiful - if you are meeting Laura in the next few weeks you MUST see this! Unfortunately our Walliserin mit den rote Haar is leaving today :( She is currently enjoying a manicure, and then we will go for one last karaoke experience together, Laura, Pui, Rina, Weaw & lil old me... I can't promise that tears won't be shed. But i can promise we will stay away from any Whitney-type power-ballads. So the tears will not be because of the music...

Laura, you have been an absolute superstar here. As a colleague, as a friend, i will miss you very much. I wish you the best of luck for the 2nd half of your EB term in LC Bern. Yavor, Marie, Iulia, Danu, the Swiss MC and VPERs, you're lucky people :)

Finally i have some pictures from IC!!! (big BIG thanks to Aine). Aren't they pretty...?




Aine & me on our way to the formal dinner.
Doesn't she look grand?

At last an opportunity to wear my new suit without melting!

A moment to treasure :)

I've told some of you already that often when you walk around here as a foreigner, young people will try often say hello to you in English, and they get very excited when you reply. Well tonight while walking back from the local shop it was a group of around 10 girls, around 18 years old, who said hello and asked me how i was. I said 'hello' and 'good', smiled and continued walking, when one of them shouted 'come sit down!' and they all giggled!

Walking away, smiling to myself at the irony of the situation, i heard a familiar tune coming from an outdoor bar. And as i listened carefully i made my wonderful discovery - 'Dragosta din tei' exists in Thai!!! (apologies for my terrible spelling of Romanian...) I know there is also a Brazilian version out there also - have any other languages embraced this pop-classic and icon of AIESEC-culture...?

You see, it's not all doom & gloom during a coup ;)

Back to normal?

1st things 1st... I'm still ok! (i guess it wasn't too smart y'day to leave that until the very end of the post) Big thanks to everyone who left comments or sent sms, your concern and best wishes are deeply appreciated.

In fact the situation seems much better today. The state of emergency called by the (former?) Primeminister was overruled late last night by the Army, so we are now free to leave our houses as we wish, and the Airport has been re-opened. One of the lighter moments of the day was hearing the deputy-leader of the main opposition party telling a reporter that he had been out for a walk in the centre of Bangkok, and that his children were very excited to have their photo taken next to a tank!

Of course it is still very serious politically - the Constitution has been revoked and Parliament dissolved. Martial Law has been imposed, so roads around government buildings are blocked off, gatherings of more than 5 people for political purposes are banned, and the Northern borders with Burma & Laos have been closed.

But in terms of the security situation things seem pretty fine - when i see what has been happening in Budapest i feel quite lucky! There is no sign at the moment of any public opposition to the coup, either in the city or in the countryside, where Mr Thaksin has very strong support. The concensus here seems to be that things will stay peaceful as long as Mr Thaksin does not try to come back to Thailand, at least in the foreseeable future.

Even so we will move back to Rangsit tomorrow, to our previous house. Pui would understandably like to be with her family right now, and we don't want to be isolated from eachother in case the situation gets any worse. Plus if things do get bad, it is very near to the Airport...

I've also learnt much more about the background to the current situation. It appears there have been allegations of corruption against Mr Thaksin and his government since January. He dissolved Parliament and called snap elections in April, but these were boycotted by the opposition. So in the eyes of many, especially in Bangkok, Mr Thaksin has not been a legitimate Primeminister since then anyway. In that sense the leaders of the Coup have claimed that their action was necessary to resolve the current impasse and install a working government. The Thai people i have seen interviewed on the news have all expressed relief that the situation will now move forward.

Again i think this is very sad though in terms of the messages it sends. What they are effectively saying is that when democratic processes reach stalemate, the only way to reach a solution is to send in the military. I really don't think that is setting a good precedent for the future of Thailand, or for the rest of the region. And as i just heard a BBC journalist ask (more than a little rhetorically...), will a bunch of military generals be able to create in a few months a Consititution better than a large number of civilians created over several years...?

It also raises difficult questions relating to government accountability and responsibility. Regardless of his recent performance, Mr Thaksin is without question the most successful pos-war Thai political leader. But in effect his huge popularity gave him too much power, and the checks & balances that should control the Executive were not effetive enough. This is paticularly interesting to me, given the curent political situation back home, where a government that has enjoyed 3 landslide election victories has now faced many months of allegations of corruption, nepotism and general abuse of power. The Judiciary has overruled the government several times in recent months, but the immediate response of the latter was to promise reform of the judiciary, which it claimed was 'out-of-touch'. In the face of - until very recently - an impotent opposition, and with elections a minimum of 2 years away, who else is able to hold a government accountable?

In fact, is the Thai solution really so surprising...?

Coup d'Etat: Day 1

Wow. That's all i can say really. How should one feel in such a situation? I guess i shouldn't be surprised. There have after all been 17 previous coups in the last 70 years.,

Today i saw a tank on the street. It was the 1st time since being in Thailand, but i didn't think it was strange, since i was quite used to seeing military vehicles on routine moves in Switzerland.

On one hand i should be very worried. The Army has taken over the Government building, closed all main roads, and is referring to the Primeminister as 'ex-Primeminister Thaksin'. He is currently at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, from where he has declared a national state of emergency, we have been told to stay inside, and the Airport is closed. The head of the Army has now retaliated by ordering all soldiers to report to base and not move unless they receive orders from the top, to quell any possible splits in the Army itself (since many individual soldiers are believed to actually support Thaksin). We are now hearing that the Constitution has been suspended and Parliament dissolved.

On the other hand, life is going on pretty normally outside. Taxis are driving past, cars are refuelling, people are crossing the street.

In fact the overriding feeling is one of confusion. This was made worse because the Army took over all Thai tv & radio stations, and they were only showing pictures of the King & Royal Family and apologising for the inconvenience. The King himself is yet to make any kind of official statement, which is adding to the confusion.

In fact when my Mum called i realised that she knew just as much as i did about the situation, from watching the BBC 6 o'clock news!

In a way i also find this constitutional struggle completely fascinating. Especially since everything right now is being decided and played-out in Bangkok, while in most rural areas (the majority of the population) most people are strongly in favour of the Primeminister. This also makes me feel very sad for them. I know that, if the British Army decided to take over Westminster and dissolve the UK Parliament because they no longer approved of Tony Blair - well it just doesn't bare thinking about.

And yet these people seem to pretty powerless to stop events, with their capital city under the complete control of the Army. It's not even as if we were on the verge of a national emergency or civil war - in fact the whole thing seems to me to be about the people with the guns flexing their muscles to get their own way. And the peace-loving Thais will most likely accept it all with quiet resentment.

Not really a good advert for democracy.

But the main thing i want you to know - I AM SAFE! :)

The road to recovery...

I know i haven't posted anything the past few days. In fact i haven't felt much like doing anything the past few days. Well you try living a normal life when you have to run to the toilet ten times in a day, when your stomach refuses to accept food or liquids, and you can't sleep because of the cramp in your stomach and the fever.

Melodramatic? Possibly
Self-pitying? Certainly

My mistake...?
Eating a delicious soup on Wednesday, which - i discovered some days later - had been flavoured with pig's blood. Mmmm. Warning: pig's blood soup, when kept warm for 7hrs, contains bacteria. Nasty bacteria. AVOID IT!!!

Still i have discovered that Thai medical facilities are excellent. I was able to register and be seen within an hour, had my blood pressure and pulse-rate measured, and it didn't cost the Earth (at least not enough to cover the excess of my travel insurance policy...) So now i have anti-biotics, painkillers, anti-diarrhoea pills and packets of electrolyte solution!

Of course it's not all been doom and gloom. There are advantages to lying on your back for 2 whole days (clean ones, my family read this blog...) I have watched some excellent movies on DVD (Mystic River, Chicago) and had water and cake served to me by Rina and Weaw (thanks so much, gals). I also got to listen to lots of music through my new mp3 player (bought as a treat, by me, for me, at Gatwick Airport. I also bought myself the new Man Utd away shirt in the same fit of generosity, but i don't wear that in bed.)

Yesterday (Saturday) i was also able to drop into a World Bank Youth Forum, which was very nice. And got to meet 2 people from the WB office here in BKK who want to cooperate with AIESEC, as well as the hosting University of the event which really wants us to open a Local Committee there! At least a few people here start to think that what we are doing something useful...

So there's a big week to come, with several important meetings arranged. Hopefully the next time i write i'll be eating, drinking and toileting like a normal person again!

Back in BKK

As Sabi knows, that means Bangkok :)

What a wonderful week!
After my last post (during which the internet facilities at IC were literally dismantled around me!) I experienced a very quick and somehow unfinished goodbye from the conference (it's only the 2nd time i ever left a conference b4 the closing plenary).

After enjoying a coffee at the Airport with the girls from Jordan, i flew to Zurich, coincidentally on the same plane as the Global AIESEC-UBS Partnership Coordinator, aka Miss Niharika Pande :) I succeeded in persuading my neighbour to swap seats, so Niha & I were able to spend 90 minutes chatting and enjoying the DELICIOUS Moevenpick ice-cream served by Swiss (my 1st Swiss flight: nothing to complain about, but i don't know why everyone gets so excited about them, i thought Emirates was better...) Talkative though she is, there were a few moments when Miss Pande was unable to speak (as our small plane was 'bouncing' its way over Southern Germany!)

All the time we were in the air it was hitting me that the wait was almost over - i could see my Walliser Buab again after 9 weeks :) It was so nice when we met in the Airport! We hugged lots and cried a little and then we were already on our way (as a good Swiss, he likes to work with strict schedules... :) ) I had been told not to make plans as there was a surprise trip in store for me (this had been exciting but also frustrating me for 2 weeks, especially since my Mum knew where we would be going but would not even give me a hint...) After about 20mins driving he handed me a tourist map of the place where we would be spending the next 3 days...

...MONACO!!!

It was so lovely. We arrived around 2am Monday in our appartment, right in the centre of Monte Carlo, 5mins walk from the casinos (Bond fans, you should remember it from Goldeneye...) After sleeping til well past lunchtime on Monday we drove along the beautiful Cote d'Azur to Nice. The scenery is absolutely stunning, with the last of the Alps coming right down to the Mediterranean. Rob says, definitely worth a trip :) On Wednesday we drove back up to Brig (CH) via Imperio (Italy) for lunch and some other place in Italy for a swim (the plan was to go to a secluded beach that would have required traversing some 20metres down a cliff face clinging to a rope - once at the top i politely declined...)

Then after a lovely dinner and sleep in Brig, we hit the road again (after a minor over-sleep) on our way to Bern. There i had time to pop into Eigerstr. 55 - my former prison, sorry i mean home... - and say hi to the MC and MC alumni (aka Sabi & Zuzi).

5 hours later i was at Basel Airport, waiting to board my flight back to Liverpool. 24hrs after that i was arriving in London, where i had to take a bus and a train to reach Gatwick Airport, together with my 25kilos of luggage... And who should i meet when stepping off the train at the Airport? 2 guys from Notts Uni who were AIESEC members with me! They were on their way to an AIESEC reunion in Portugal. Quite strange that they are having reunions, while i am still going to conferences :) I got a bit of a shock though, once i realised that it's over 3years since we all left Nottingham Uni. Jon, Paddy, Adam, Andrew & Simon, i hope you are having a wonderful week!

Now here i am back in Rangsit. I have just packed up all my stuff, and in a few minutes we will leave this place for the last time and set up home in Sathupradit. For now it's called the 'Swiss Flat'. That will of course change soon... ;)

Inspiration, conversation, realisation and frustration

No i am not thinking of a career move into rapping...

I guess all of the diverse and powerful things i have experienced this past week in Poland can be summarised under these 4 words. Since i am an optimist i will start with 'frustration', since after that things can only get better :)

Frustration:
Conferences are normally hectic, packed, tiring and confusing. This one takes all of those things to a whole new level. I have had fewer country meetings than previous years, less interaction with my team, and have not been involved in any working groups or committees, yet still i am more tired than at any conference that i can remember. The days are just too full, there is no time to digest, reflect or discuss. Hence the silence on the blog.

This situation also means i do not get the time i want to stay in touch with the outside world. Stefan, i am truly sorry for not being online more often. Only 2 days to go and then we can be together. So much looking forward to that, love you very much.

To the other ppl i haven't been able to speak to:

Mum - thanks again for taking care of everything to do with Cromwell Court. Your stamina, humour and multi-tasking are a continued inspiration to me
Andy - It was really great to hear about the new perspectives you are gaining through your training. Keep up the study and keep asking questions. And don't worry if you uncover more questions than answers :)
CK - i have met your flatmate :) Hope life is treating you well. The Yellow Company made a pretty good impression here...

Conversation:
So many interesting and inspiring people! 2 girls from Eastern Europe and 1 from the US who are setting up AIESEC in JORDAN! A guy from Brazil who used to run his own NGO for community development. My room-mate from South Africa who as well as setting up a new Local AIESEC Committee has his own business. A strong and committed Irish girl who despite facing tremendous work pressure in a hugely under-paid job has decided to make the time to fly to Venezuela to spend time with a close friend.

And of course the wonderful conversations i have had with the 'Swiss' delegates. Bee, Zuzka, Cileia, Chris, Stefan, Aida, Marcel, Dani, Joan, Peter, Verena, Giovanni - thank you for inspiring me again and reminding me why i was so privileged to have 2 years in Switzerland with you all as a part of my life.

Inspiration:
As if the conversations alone were not inspiring enough, consider these basic facts.
I am a part of the largest network of students & recent graduates in the world. I am eating my meals everyday with 500 people from 95 countries. Despite differences in discussion style, working culture, aspirations, expectations, study background, life experience - we are able to come together to create a working environment that is challenging, inspiring, and unforgettable. A working environment that is enabling the development of a new generation of leaders.

I have heard scores of representatives from business, NGOs and government repeat why they value the work that they are doing, why it is so relevant, and why we need to continue and to improve.

Realisation:
1. AIESEC is complex but not complicated. The complexity is necessary to fulfil our ambitious role as an organisation. The complication is produced by over-worrying, over-planning, over-structuring and over-discussing. As i have spent the last 3 weeks telling AIESECers in Thailand, in AIESEC we learn by doing. So let's trust the planning the structures and the discussions that have already happened, and let's do.

2. Defining my role in life and my future contribution to the society in which i live is not something to agonise over or to undermine my confidence or optimism. It is simply a matter of connecting an understanding of what i most enjoy
with an acknowledgement of what drives me and in what field i would like to make a positive difference. Sounds simple? It is. Today i realised what that means for me and my future (if you would like to know then please write to me. I think it is too personal & too special to put on a public blog.)

I had better go now as this is possibly my longest ever post, i really need to go the toilet, and i promised Stefan i would try to buy an international phone card.

Sending you my best greetings from the most incredible place on Earth (no, not Poland, but AIESEC's International Congress 2006) And if you want to see why, check out live.ic2006.pl ;)