Thanks to the help of our fabulous Alumni (one of which will receive the Global Award for Alumni Involvement, awarded each year to the Alumni that had the most impactful support in the global AIESEC network), tomorrow morning I will be leaving for AIESEC's largest yearly conference, the International Congress, along with Malina-our MCP and Jose-Local Committee President of AIESEC Santo Domingo.
I will be back on the 7th of September, traveling for 1 week through Caracas in Venezuela, Lima in Peru and Sao Paolo in Brazil and 2 weeks in the conference itself. Then back again :)
Everyone told me that the conference itself is one of the best experiences you can have in AIESEC, but I have the feeling that also the trip to IC and back will be a very interesting experience for me.
Do not think I will be able to post anything until I return, so take care of yourselves and best of wishes.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Day 27- Hurricane Season
The hurricane season is just starting, and its going to be serious. At least that's what the National Hurricane Center in USA is saying. 85% chances that this year will be an "above normal" season, with 3 to 6 hurricanes.
The "Season" starts now and it will end in November.
For those of you who want to keep track of what is happening, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Right now we have a small baby storm above us also, but this is just rainy and slightly windy.
Hope we can leave on Sunday.
The "Season" starts now and it will end in November.
For those of you who want to keep track of what is happening, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Right now we have a small baby storm above us also, but this is just rainy and slightly windy.
Hope we can leave on Sunday.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Day 25- What I don't like so far
There is no notion of consumer respect.
Everyone makes you the favor of selling, and you as a purchaser should be thankful for their effort.
You have a constant feeling that they are stealing from you: from how long it takes for a check to clear in the banking system to the credit for your mobile that expires if you do not use it in a period of time (1 month)....
Lots of fire arms.....the most noticeable ones are the big shotguns that most of the security guards have.
And mind you that to some of these guys I would not even trust with my credit-less mobile phone.
I was made to understand that everyone carries one......and best of all.....you do not need a permit!
Gun shops are all around, four your own gunning pleasure.
I was told that when you go into a public institution, you are required to wear a long sleeved shirt, but you are not required to deposit your gun!
There is no Police here. Practically everyone does whatever they like.
They have DRIVE-IN BARS!!!!!!!!!!!! If, after you got your Big Mac and fries from the Drive-in Mac, you feel a little thirsty, just go down the corner into your local Drive-in Bar and get a nice cold bottle of Presidente, the beer we all love.
Small pleasures that make your hot day bearable.
The transport system is unbelievable slow, and no one seems to care. Trips that should take you 30 min take 2hours, simply because they make tens of stops along the way.
They use their cars honk for everything, signaling that they are happy, that they are sad, that they are impatient, that they saw a nice girl, or simply for fun. Constant noise and chaos.
In many cases, traffic lights are for decorative purposes only, maybe because the streets look much nicer with yellow boxes that flicker. Like Christmas trees, only year round.
The local news, which have a way of feeling very manipulative and tend to get me a bit depressed every morning when I read them.
Prices, which are the same as Europe, but their power of purchase here is many times smaller.
Everyone considers themselves smart, and I bet they think they are even smarter than you.
Anything and everything takes a looooooooooooooooong time to get done. From paperwork to accepting proposals, even of meeting, it's all about days spent waiting.
Life moves differently here, and maybe that's why this country deserves itself.
As do all countries for that matter of fact.
Everyone makes you the favor of selling, and you as a purchaser should be thankful for their effort.
You have a constant feeling that they are stealing from you: from how long it takes for a check to clear in the banking system to the credit for your mobile that expires if you do not use it in a period of time (1 month)....
Lots of fire arms.....the most noticeable ones are the big shotguns that most of the security guards have.
And mind you that to some of these guys I would not even trust with my credit-less mobile phone.
I was made to understand that everyone carries one......and best of all.....you do not need a permit!
Gun shops are all around, four your own gunning pleasure.
I was told that when you go into a public institution, you are required to wear a long sleeved shirt, but you are not required to deposit your gun!
There is no Police here. Practically everyone does whatever they like.
They have DRIVE-IN BARS!!!!!!!!!!!! If, after you got your Big Mac and fries from the Drive-in Mac, you feel a little thirsty, just go down the corner into your local Drive-in Bar and get a nice cold bottle of Presidente, the beer we all love.
Small pleasures that make your hot day bearable.
The transport system is unbelievable slow, and no one seems to care. Trips that should take you 30 min take 2hours, simply because they make tens of stops along the way.
They use their cars honk for everything, signaling that they are happy, that they are sad, that they are impatient, that they saw a nice girl, or simply for fun. Constant noise and chaos.
In many cases, traffic lights are for decorative purposes only, maybe because the streets look much nicer with yellow boxes that flicker. Like Christmas trees, only year round.
The local news, which have a way of feeling very manipulative and tend to get me a bit depressed every morning when I read them.
Prices, which are the same as Europe, but their power of purchase here is many times smaller.
Everyone considers themselves smart, and I bet they think they are even smarter than you.
Anything and everything takes a looooooooooooooooong time to get done. From paperwork to accepting proposals, even of meeting, it's all about days spent waiting.
Life moves differently here, and maybe that's why this country deserves itself.
As do all countries for that matter of fact.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Day 24- Swimming
At Centro Olimpico, where they have a semi-olimpic swimming pool which is just great.
8 lanes of pure swimming pleasure :)
Lots of children getting their first swiming lessons, along with a few swimmers that look professional and are training for competitons (ex. synchronized swimming)
Water quality is ok, without too much chlorine it it.
The only thing that is not that good is the "changing facility", which is a toilet with a lot of water on the floor.
Not a very nice place to change your clothes, and quite a good place for getting foot fungus.
But, as they say...you cannot have them all.
Overall I am happy about the fact that I can swim at a place not far from home, in decent conditions.
Speaking of which, when I decided to come here I imaged the sea will be in the back of the street.
Talk about pre-conceptions. :/
8 lanes of pure swimming pleasure :)
Lots of children getting their first swiming lessons, along with a few swimmers that look professional and are training for competitons (ex. synchronized swimming)
Water quality is ok, without too much chlorine it it.
The only thing that is not that good is the "changing facility", which is a toilet with a lot of water on the floor.
Not a very nice place to change your clothes, and quite a good place for getting foot fungus.
But, as they say...you cannot have them all.
Overall I am happy about the fact that I can swim at a place not far from home, in decent conditions.
Speaking of which, when I decided to come here I imaged the sea will be in the back of the street.
Talk about pre-conceptions. :/
Monday, August 11, 2008
Others- Games
Generally games are a waste of time.......but there are some that simply touch you.
Today....while doing things....I remembered about Dreamfall- The Longest Journey, which for me is the best game I ever experienced, mainly because of the excellent philosophical aspects of the storyline.
Not to mention the incredible soundtrack, which I listen to even now.
"Am I dead?
I don't know. It doesn't matter here. This is where everything is.
Here...you simply are.
Alive or dead, you just are.
Understand?"
Today....while doing things....I remembered about Dreamfall- The Longest Journey, which for me is the best game I ever experienced, mainly because of the excellent philosophical aspects of the storyline.
Not to mention the incredible soundtrack, which I listen to even now.
"Am I dead?
I don't know. It doesn't matter here. This is where everything is.
Here...you simply are.
Alive or dead, you just are.
Understand?"
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Day 22- First time at the beach in the Caribbean
Yes, finnally after 22 days I managed to get to the beach.
First impression was.......that it's not as I expected.
Somewhat crowded, the sea is not as blue as I thought, the sand was not as "pristine", overall kinda like our Black Sea beaches.
On the other hand, this beach is relatively close to Santo Domingo (30 min)- one of the reasons why it is so crowded- and also it is not special in any way.
To get to the extremely nice beaches, you have to travel for many hours from the capital :/
I just hope that I will get to visit the most famous one (Bahia de las Aguilas), which is in the south part of the country and it's supposed to be their pride and joy, without any hotels, with superb sea and total silence.
Probably the 6 hours trip to get there has something to do with that :)
Friday, August 8, 2008
Others- It's all been said before.....
Reading Dey's AIESEC blog this evening I realized again.................its all been said before.
.........and I start to wonder........but has all been done?
I hope that sometime soon I will have the courage to................just listen to the river...........
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Day 19- Dancing
Never have I taken much interest in latino dances, as it seemed to me that they had no substance. How wrong I was…….
The fluent moves, seemingly easy to do, but not at all when trying to perform them, the closeness between the dancers……the synergy needed to perform correctly…..the vibrant music…..a total surprise for me.
Daniel will say “off course”, but only now I realize that these dances are much better then European ones, with much more contact between the partners and thus a more visually appealing result.
As in the beginning there were no clear objectives for me when coming here, here is one worth setting: learning to dance latino style.
….and it will be a shame really not to learn, as I live on the island that invented merengue.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Day 18- Language
For someone used to be always in control, shaping situations and people, not being able to speak the language is an extremely intense experience.
How can I put it for you to be able to understand…….it’s like having your hands tied when you are expected to chop down trees….like a bicycle rider that cannot use his feet….that sort of thing.
You get to see how much language and verbal communication means in the relationship between humans…..how important is to be able to talk to others so as to be able to connect and relate.
By intense experience I mean mostly a hopeless frustration, a constant annoyance at having to use an intermediate language to communicate…….and even more annoying for me, a person that has speech as the main mean of expression…..
Many times I feel totally handicapped.
But…….and here is the interesting part of this experience…..you realize that in human relationships there is something many times more powerful than speech, and that is……….. body language.
You get to realize that no matter what language we speak, the truly subtle is still transmitted through the face and body movements, breaking the barriers of vocabulary and pronunciation.
No matter if you are from Asia, Latin America, Europe of South Pole…..the rules of non verbal expression are the same……the feelings are the same…..both the basics and the complex is expressed in the same way…..
….in the end......it is not easy at all to interact with others if you do not speak the language, but oh how important it is to be able to understand from people more than what they are saying, and reading into what they are actually thinking……
…….for that…….you do not need to say or understand anything verbal.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Others- Dreaming of potential
It's one of those feelings that simply happens, suddenly sending you into a state of open-eyed dreaming, flowing through the strands of what is and what could be.....
For me today was the Potential...........the great things that can happen....the transformation for you and for those around you.....the flow of emotions, expectations......the immense joy of feeling you get when you have achieved your goals.
Most people do not really understand the feeling of true success, as most people never had the chance to truly work in a team where everyone was moved by the same things.
And by "true success" I understand not your personal success or glory, but of those around you.
Last year I realized, after watching Gandhi, that for me (as strange as it is if I think about my past) success is not really about "me" as it is about "them".
Zig Ziglar said that "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.
My ideal feeling of absolute success?
At the end of it all, when everyone is celebrating, laughing and crying, jumping and dancing, you are on the side, looking at them with a slight smile on your face..................
....................you know you have made it happen, you know more about each of them than they know about themselves, you know how hard it really was to pass through everything..............................
...................not because you are better than them, but because you channeled the right energies to the right people, guiding everything and everyone to achieve their best.......................................
..................still smiling, you take a sip from your drink, take your coat and head for the exit.
It was fabulous, incredibly hard and in a strange way enjoyable.......it was their best.
..........................looking back one more time, you realize you do not need the glory, the praises, the position, the name or the fame.
At the end of it all, you just need to know that you helped do it.
And you have to do it again tomorrow.
To end my philosophical moment today, I will leave you with a few lines from our greatest poet, Mihai Eminescu, who's poetry only recently began to truly make sense to me:
Vreme trece, vreme vine,
Toate-s vechi şi nouă toate;
Ce e rău şi ce e bine
Tu te-ntreabă şi socoate;
Nu spera şi nu ai teamă,
Ce e val ca valul trece;
De te-ndeamnă, de te cheamă,
Tu rămâi la toate rece.
For me today was the Potential...........the great things that can happen....the transformation for you and for those around you.....the flow of emotions, expectations......the immense joy of feeling you get when you have achieved your goals.
Most people do not really understand the feeling of true success, as most people never had the chance to truly work in a team where everyone was moved by the same things.
And by "true success" I understand not your personal success or glory, but of those around you.
Last year I realized, after watching Gandhi, that for me (as strange as it is if I think about my past) success is not really about "me" as it is about "them".
Zig Ziglar said that "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.
My ideal feeling of absolute success?
At the end of it all, when everyone is celebrating, laughing and crying, jumping and dancing, you are on the side, looking at them with a slight smile on your face..................
....................you know you have made it happen, you know more about each of them than they know about themselves, you know how hard it really was to pass through everything..............................
...................not because you are better than them, but because you channeled the right energies to the right people, guiding everything and everyone to achieve their best.......................................
..................still smiling, you take a sip from your drink, take your coat and head for the exit.
It was fabulous, incredibly hard and in a strange way enjoyable.......it was their best.
..........................looking back one more time, you realize you do not need the glory, the praises, the position, the name or the fame.
At the end of it all, you just need to know that you helped do it.
And you have to do it again tomorrow.
To end my philosophical moment today, I will leave you with a few lines from our greatest poet, Mihai Eminescu, who's poetry only recently began to truly make sense to me:
Vreme trece, vreme vine,
Toate-s vechi şi nouă toate;
Ce e rău şi ce e bine
Tu te-ntreabă şi socoate;
Nu spera şi nu ai teamă,
Ce e val ca valul trece;
De te-ndeamnă, de te cheamă,
Tu rămâi la toate rece.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Day 16- Los Cerezos
We went for the weekend outside of Santo Domingo, to an extremely nice estate called Los Cerezos, which belongs to the uncle of one of our team members.
And when I say estate, I mean "estate": perfectly manicured lawns, plants every where, main house, guest house, servants...you get the point.
Enjoy the photos :)
And when I say estate, I mean "estate": perfectly manicured lawns, plants every where, main house, guest house, servants...you get the point.
Enjoy the photos :)
Day 15- Coincidences....the threads of destiny
Dominican Republic, a country literally on the other side of the earth from Romania.
Guess what we found while rummaging through the AIESEC archive?
A poster used by AIESEC DR to promote exchange (around 2005) that used as a testimonial the experience of a Mexican trainee in Romania in 2000!!!!!
Here are the pictures…
From the same string of coincidences, Malina (our MCP and also Romanian), found in the archives a pricing policy that she has done some years ago.
Look on a world map and you will understand why I have some logical reason to believe that coincidences may indeed be the threads of destiny.