Working on my timing...

It's been a packed few days!

On Thursday evening, Daniel (intern from the Netherlands) and i went to 'La Rueda' for the 2nd week running, to take advantage of the free salsa class. Last week we decided that the 'beginners class' had been too boring, so this week we took on the intermediate level. After one hour of spinning around, tying my arms in knots and apologising to the poor women that got caught in the eye of the storm, it was clear that i remember only 20% of what i learnt from my salsa lessons in Bern (though strangely enough, Caro and i did manage some of the old routines in January - obviously it was the red wine...)

So i've signed up for some more classes here. This time it will be the 'improver' level, between beginner & intermediate. 2 hours every saturday afternoon over 5 weeks. I need to figure out some good places in Rotterdam where i can keep my skills updated. Any Latin Americans interested in helping me work on my rhythm...? :)

Yesterday we had our 'Leadership Development Seminar', a one-day event for AIESEC members and other interested students. As usual we had a really nice agenda but not enough delegates (target-50;reality-23...) We arrived early at the site, but the rest of my team had not eaten breakfast, so we stopped in the food hall. I didn't sense any danger in this, as registration was scheduled for 9:30 and the 1st session at 10:00. And of course noone ever arrives at the start of registration, do they...?

Of course, Rob had forgotten that externals do if they're European. And one of our panellists was Dutch! Let's say he was not amused...

The conference went really well though. The discussions were very interesting, and the delegates seemed to really enjoy it. I saw again the power (and the limitations) of language - sessions were in English in the morning and Thai in the afternoon, and it was like working with 2 different groups of delegates! Of course i understood very little of what they said, but they were actually contributing, sharing, really taking part.

Today i had offered to give a sales training in one of our University offices, scheduled for 1pm. Unfortunately i allowed myself to be talked into going out last night until midnight - exactly at the time i should have been preparing my material for the training. So despite getting up at 8 this morning, i still managed to be one hour late for the training, once i had prepared and printed everything! Of course i expected the members to not be in the best of moods when i arrived (Cileia, do you remember when Dean & Gudrun missed the train to SG...? :) ) But this is Thailand! So they were happily re-arranging the office in my absence, and seemed genuinely surprised that i felt the need to apologise!

Seems there are several ways I should improve my timing before i move to Rotterdam :)

Images from the City of Angels

National Induction Conference - SPARK 2007


Boat trip on the Choa Phraya River


Alumni Night:


In a random lift:

Sightseeing with Tom (friend from Notts):

Being Peter Pan

I hope it will be a looooooong time before i'm too old to find things like this funny...
Enjoy :)

Spotted in a Supermarket around the corner from my place. There were not so many people interested in this part of the store...

This sign was placed right outside our appartment on Samet Island. Obviously Weaw had called ahead to make sure we would have an enjoyable stay :)

Back to my roots...?

Fondue, raclette, Weissbier, Schwiizerdytsch...

... this is what i had the chance to experience again on Tuesday night, courtesy of 'The German Open Young Professionals' and their 'Cheese Fondue & Chocolate Fountain' evening at Fondooz Restaurant

Ok, so the fondue didn't contain any Kirsch. And you served yourself by putting bread on your plate and then pouring the cheese over the top. But still, these are minor details when you haven't tasted the stuff for over a year! (Caro will not be happy to read this from me...)

And although most of the people attending were German, i of course spent most of my time talking with Swiss people :) 1 from Schaffhausen, 1 from Thurgau, and 1 from Jura. Of course the Francophone in the group didn't speak much German (less than me!) so we spoke mostly in English. But when i did manage a few words in Dytsch, i was complimented on my Bernese accent! Imagine - me, who spent most of his time in Basel & Brig, barely understanding the Berner in his own office!

So now i've had my fix of Swiss-ness i can fully enjoy being Thai again for my remaining 68 days :) Though i was a slut with my business cards, meaning i expect to be invited to quite a few Swiss parties... I'll keep you posted.

Tschuess zammu

p.s. i would like to say a huuuuuuuuge thank you to Dody for fixing my blog so i can continue to share my life with you all :)

Rob's blog gets makeover!

Haircut, wardrobe, office, bedroom, eyebrows - and now BLOG!!!

Enjoy, fellow travellers :)

Temperature rising

Not only is the name of the latest album by Tata Young - my favourite half-Thai half-American superstar - but it also describes Bangkok at the moment. At lunchtime i went out of the office and as the door opened i was hit by a wall of heat. I ate lunch and then went home to shower (the restaurant is conveniently right nextdoor to my flat). I then walked the 5 minutes back to the office, and by the time i arrived i really needed another shower! At that time it was 35 degress with 40% humidity. By Friday the temperature is forecast to reach 40 degrees. I'm already starting to fall asleep in the early afternoon (my Swiss MC team will think there's nothing new there...) but it's quite annoying because in Thailand people don't officially take a siesta (Weaw says that because people are half-asleep the whole day anyway!)

So i wonder, as the temperature continues to rise, is it possible that by Friday i'll need to sleep the whole day...?

Rationale

I guess this proves that it's right for me to go back to WENA, instead of staying in AP...

(p.s. - guess which 'friend' is me...)

Carving a face to the future...

This was the theme for AIESEC's International Presidents' Meeting 2007 in Cairo. True in so many ways, for so many people.

An emotional roller-coaster, with some of the most beautiful and most anxious moments of my life. Sharing every step of the adventure with some very special people (you know who you are).

Without doubt the most chilled out conference i ever experienced (in terms of the overall atmostphere, if not my personal mood...). So many beautiful scenes captured in my thoughts - hourly trips to the coffee shop, the sound of shishas bubbling, the smell of the sea, the feeling of sand under my feet, the delicious food.

After such an intense experience it's hard now to adjust back to daily life, and get 'back to business' here in Bangkok. But one thing is for sure - in those 12 days i certainly carved a face to my future. And it looks extremely exciting!

p.s. thanks to Flickr and to Laura i am now able to share photos with you again!!!
p.p.s. Photos of the pyramids are in my phone, which doesn't have Bluetooth :( Any ideas...?

Fun, foam, food & friends

This sums up my first 32hrs back in Bangkok :)
I arrived lunchtime Saturday, half-expecting Weaw to meet me with her car (as she had in January). But we never confirmed it so i didn't want to depend on it, especially since i was supposed to take a bus to Pattaya (more on that place later...) at 3.30pm. So of course i did what any proactive @er would do and jumped in a taxi. And of course Weaw did what any great friend would do and gave up her Saturday lunchtime to come and meet me. And of course Lucy did what Lucy always does which is to show up 20mins late in a mad panic. And of course the outcome - we miss eachother completely! The 1st i know of the girls' trip to the airport is when i arrive at Weaw's place and her dad starts to laugh!

So after a quick shower, vague attempt to unpack, and summary of all the events of the last 2 weeks, we head off to Pattaya 2 hrs later than originally planned. Pattaya. Blackpool with sunshine. If you don't know Blackpool, think Las Vegas by the sea. It's like all the worst bits of Bangkok - bars full of prostitutes & the bald foreigners who keep them in business, McDonalds & Pizza Hut on every corner - combined with a small crowded beach a la Ibiza.

Due to a mess up on the part of the hotel where we we had 'booked' rooms, we ended up staying at the ultimate nouveau-rich venue, the Hard Rock Hotel. No time now to write about the quirky decor, perhaps in another post (if reader demand suggests there is interest...) The highlight of the evening was the 'Foam Party', a weekly fest of alcohol, bikinis and speedos that takes place in & around the huge pool of the Hard Rock. 4hrs of dancing, slipping, paddling and trying to stop my eyes stinging. Seriously good fun! Would have been even nicer if someone had been there with me...

All in all it's great to be back among such dear friends. Especially at a time when there are so many interesting developments to share with them. And while i was away we were joined by a Kenyan girl and another Dutch guy. Which takes our community of interns here to 7 :)

Here's to many more crazy nights & chilled out Sundays in the weeks to come!