AIESEC Alumnus

Yesterday I attended Leadership Gala, the conference that gets together local business environment representatives to promote the concept of leadership.

My main reason for being there was the presentation of the new AIESEC Iași Alumni "generation". There were 17 nominations, but 9 people were called in front... I am one of them.

To cut things short, here is a short summary of some of the activities that gave me the right to become Alumnus:

Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination;
on cooperation, not intimidation.

William Arthur Wood

Erasmus

OK, it's been 3 weeks now since I've been an Erasmus student in Metz, France , and in all this time, I saw that the French students are big consumers of the Facebook experience.

So, on a group, I found out that you know you are a real Erasmus when:

• you do things that you would never do in your hometown.
• you don't want to show your latest party pictures to anyone that's not an Erasmus.
• spending the day at uni means a day spent in front of your mail, msn and facebook.
• not even 30 calls from the neighbours and a visit from the police can keep you from having another big party. You just move and change neighbours!
• you came to your Erasmus-country wanting to find new friends among "the locals", but soon realised that the other Erasmuses are more fun.
• the people you just know by your own made up nicknames, such as the hunk, the pop-guy, Hi5, barefootman... etc are people you absolutely want to invite to your birthday party.
• most of your time is spent preparing for or recovering from a night out.
• you to everyone proudly present old silly songs from you home country, claiming that its a classic... without being embarrassed.
• you no longer care whether it's Monday or Friday - it's still partynight!
• you recognize people saying hi to you in the street thanks to the pictures you took last night.
• you refer to everything as before or after a certain Erasmus-event.
• you know that nothing is better than a night out at the Erasmus pubs and clubs - although your friends complain about always going to the same places...
• you kiss anyone and anything without bothering about the consequences (good or bad).
• you blame all your bad behaviour on the fact that you're an Erasmus.
• you do a test to measure your consume of alcohol and get serioulsy worried about your health.
• you know that the time of your life is now!

NTS / ICPS 2008 - Amara - Photos

The Mexican fisherman

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
Not very long, answered the Mexican. But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more? asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family. The American asked, But what do you do with the rest of your time? I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life.

The American interrupted, I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. And after that? asked the Mexican. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.

How long would that take? asked the Mexican. Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years, replied the American.

And after that? Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting, answered the American, laughing. When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions! Millions? Really? And after that? asked the Mexican. After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.

But that's what I'm doing today, replied the Mexican...

[via Dani!]

Photos from LTS

Faci at the International Cultural Preparation Seminar

The other day I was writing about my application for the faci team for ICPS, November 2008. Now it's official: I'm in! :D

But I'm not the only one, so here are the other facilitators:

• Alisa LOGOFATU [Romania]
• Zakhida ADYLOVA [Ucraine]
• Phuc DAO [Vietnam]
• Sami DAOUD [Egypt]
• Andreea VINCZE [Romania]
• Fuat Mert KAYA [Turkey]
• Ibrahim OZDEMIR [Turkey]
• Sanjaya GUNATILAKE [Sri Lanka]
• Daniel Lopez FERNANDEZ [Spain]

I'm already counting down the days until the conference and I also hope that all of us will have a great experience at Amara and the delegates will never forget this conference! ;o)

Faci at the Regional Training Seminar

For 2 years now, the first AIESEC conference for the new members of AIESEC Iași was the Local Training Seminar (LTS). This autumn, we're going to the conference with GICU, so it's my first Regional Training Seminar (RTS)! From the 6^th until the 9^th, you'll find me in Durău, And after that, I plan to have here some photos from the event.

And yes, together with Cătălina C. and Ioana P., I have been accepted facilitator for the delegates from Iași, at RTS!