Hello again everyone. Today is a day of celebration!
Yesterday, we had a CEEDer arrive from Botswana, making him the very first CEEDer ever for AIESEC in Mozambique. Today he came with me to ISCTEM and attended the first ever ISCTEM LC meeting. He’ll be here for 3 weeks helping me in the TM area. So this is the first celebration!
Next, the Corporate Relations team (Daudo and Lilian) confirmed one more national partnership today meaning that in the month of May they have raised more than $20 000 USD for AIESEC in Mozambique!! This includes 4 new national partnerships.
We all went out to dinner to celebrate!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
An eXcellent Day
For the non-AIESECers reading this, we use a lot of acronyms and short forms. X stands for exchange, which is at the heart of what we do. It’s what connects all of the countries of AIESEC together. Sharing experiences, cultures, ideas, etc.
So when I say that today is an eXcellent day, now you know what I mean.
Today we had our fourth intern arrive here in Maputo. She is also from Brazil and will be working here for one year in a book company helping them to build and execute a strategic plan. This is the first reception that is planned by the LC members rather than us on the national team, so it is a significant event for them. Their first airport pick-up! Though it turned out to be a little less than ideal when one of her bags was lost and she got stuck in the airport waiting for it to arrive on the next flight. As I type she is still there, but they should arrive soon.
While the members were waiting at the airport I was at home online doing some work. I talked for a long while to a fellow Canadian AIESECer who I know from some conferences a couple years ago and who is interested in applying for a position we have open. We talked for a long time about living in Mozambique and about AIESEC here, and now she says she will definitely apply!
Meanwhile I was also tracking down one of our EPs (Mozambicans going abroad on exchange) to tell him about a really great opportunity I heard about by email yesterday afternoon. It’s a two month position and they are looking for someone who speaks Portuguese and has exactly the background of my EP. It took some doing, because he was a little reluctant and nervous at first, but I convinced him to apply and that this could be a really good opportunity for him. Now I am awaiting his resume and cover letter to send to the AIESECers in the other country. Of course there are other candidates and it’s not for sure that he will be selected, but I think he stands a good chance and I am glad that at least he won’t let the opportunity slip away without even trying. Even if he doesn’t get this position, I think he will be more motivated to look for other options.
Tomorrow I have a meeting with another of our EPs so perhaps the eXcellence will continue!
So when I say that today is an eXcellent day, now you know what I mean.
Today we had our fourth intern arrive here in Maputo. She is also from Brazil and will be working here for one year in a book company helping them to build and execute a strategic plan. This is the first reception that is planned by the LC members rather than us on the national team, so it is a significant event for them. Their first airport pick-up! Though it turned out to be a little less than ideal when one of her bags was lost and she got stuck in the airport waiting for it to arrive on the next flight. As I type she is still there, but they should arrive soon.
While the members were waiting at the airport I was at home online doing some work. I talked for a long while to a fellow Canadian AIESECer who I know from some conferences a couple years ago and who is interested in applying for a position we have open. We talked for a long time about living in Mozambique and about AIESEC here, and now she says she will definitely apply!
Meanwhile I was also tracking down one of our EPs (Mozambicans going abroad on exchange) to tell him about a really great opportunity I heard about by email yesterday afternoon. It’s a two month position and they are looking for someone who speaks Portuguese and has exactly the background of my EP. It took some doing, because he was a little reluctant and nervous at first, but I convinced him to apply and that this could be a really good opportunity for him. Now I am awaiting his resume and cover letter to send to the AIESECers in the other country. Of course there are other candidates and it’s not for sure that he will be selected, but I think he stands a good chance and I am glad that at least he won’t let the opportunity slip away without even trying. Even if he doesn’t get this position, I think he will be more motivated to look for other options.
Tomorrow I have a meeting with another of our EPs so perhaps the eXcellence will continue!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
This is the first weekend I have had free in a very long time. Last weekend was the conference. Technically the weekend before that was free, but I was sick with a cold the whole weekend so I didn’t really get to enjoy it. The weekend before that was our Team Days (though we DID get to spend a day on the beach, so I can’t complain too much…)
I slept in late and then made my self a big stack of pancakes to start the day. Daudo is in South Africa for the weekend for an AIESEC meeting and Lilian went to the beach with some others. So it’s just Marco and me at home this weekend. We decided it would be a good day to hit up the Natural History Museum. I wasn’t sure when they are open, so I looked up their number in the phone book, only to find out they weren’t listed! Rather strange. But we called another museum (which is closed for renovations, too bad) and they told us it was open.
We hoped on chapa and head to Polana. The Museum itself is in a really nice colonial style building that is well maintained
It’s a decent size, filled mostly with exhibits on the animals native to the area. There was a whole room of reptiles, another of fish, another of mammals, you get the idea. They even had a whole room of bug (Bonnie would have DIED!)
At the end we finally made it to the ethnography room. I was not expecting, but hoping there would be some early hominid specimens, though I can’t remember ever learning about specimens from Mozambique. Well, there weren’t any but they did have a nice collection of ethnographic materials – pictures, pottery, musical instruments, basketry. It is rather funny actual, as Marco commented, that most of the things that were in the museum could be seen every day in use on the streets.
After the museum Marco had an appointment so I went for a walk around Polana. I wandered over to the waterfront where I found these benches. At least they are promoting awareness!
It reads: "Prove your love, take the HIV test with me"
I walked a bit more and stopped for an icecream cone, which proceeded to melt all over me, so I went to the mall to use the washroom. I stayed in the mall for a while. There was a nice store that had some very African style dresses. I asked how much they were – 1500MT (~$50) !! So I didn’t buy anything. The as I was walking back to the chapa stop, I saw some nice dresses and other clothes on the street. The lady who was selling them was really nice and we talked for quite a while. Of course she quoted me high prices, but in the end I bought a dress and a top for 600MT (~$20) which was probably still a bit overpriced but not a bad deal.
Overall a very nice day. Now I just have to make plans for Sunday!
I slept in late and then made my self a big stack of pancakes to start the day. Daudo is in South Africa for the weekend for an AIESEC meeting and Lilian went to the beach with some others. So it’s just Marco and me at home this weekend. We decided it would be a good day to hit up the Natural History Museum. I wasn’t sure when they are open, so I looked up their number in the phone book, only to find out they weren’t listed! Rather strange. But we called another museum (which is closed for renovations, too bad) and they told us it was open.
We hoped on chapa and head to Polana. The Museum itself is in a really nice colonial style building that is well maintained
It’s a decent size, filled mostly with exhibits on the animals native to the area. There was a whole room of reptiles, another of fish, another of mammals, you get the idea. They even had a whole room of bug (Bonnie would have DIED!)
At the end we finally made it to the ethnography room. I was not expecting, but hoping there would be some early hominid specimens, though I can’t remember ever learning about specimens from Mozambique. Well, there weren’t any but they did have a nice collection of ethnographic materials – pictures, pottery, musical instruments, basketry. It is rather funny actual, as Marco commented, that most of the things that were in the museum could be seen every day in use on the streets.
After the museum Marco had an appointment so I went for a walk around Polana. I wandered over to the waterfront where I found these benches. At least they are promoting awareness!
It reads: "Prove your love, take the HIV test with me"
I walked a bit more and stopped for an icecream cone, which proceeded to melt all over me, so I went to the mall to use the washroom. I stayed in the mall for a while. There was a nice store that had some very African style dresses. I asked how much they were – 1500MT (~$50) !! So I didn’t buy anything. The as I was walking back to the chapa stop, I saw some nice dresses and other clothes on the street. The lady who was selling them was really nice and we talked for quite a while. Of course she quoted me high prices, but in the end I bought a dress and a top for 600MT (~$20) which was probably still a bit overpriced but not a bad deal.
Overall a very nice day. Now I just have to make plans for Sunday!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Foi um fim de semana fantastica!
Foi um fim de semana que eu vou lembrar sempre.
Foi um fim de semana para todos... amigos juntos.
Foi um fim de semana muito especial pra mim.
On Saturday morning I wasn’t sure quite what to expect. Would they show up? Would they like the conference? Would it have as much impact on them as my first conference did for me so many years ago?
Our chair, Jeanne, arrived from South Africa on Wednesday night and we spent all day Thursday and Friday preparing. We had some challenges. The t-shirts were done wrong. The OC was a little bit lost with what they needed to do. We were running all over Maputo getting last minute things.
When we arrived at the hotel on Saturday morning there were already a group of members there waiting for us with big smiles on their faces. By the time we were ready to start, almost everyone had arrived (a big achievement for Mozambicans!) The LCs had prepared their roll calls. They were there, they were excited and they were ready.
The members of the LC had only met each other once or twice and the new members of the two LCs had never met before. During the opening ceremony we had ISCTEM on one side and UEM on the other. By the end of the morning, they were talking and laughing as if they had known each other for years.
They participated a lot in the sessions and asked a lot of good questions. They wanted to understand and to know more. While the new members were getting some training, the EBs went off with Daudo to discuss Gen 2010, a new initiative from AIESEC International. Francisco, the LCP, came back so excited! “We are Gen 2010” he said “we have so much to do!” Then in the afternoon Daudo took them to sit around the pool and just share their experiences as leaders so far and how they were feeling. I asked some of them later how it went and they said that they really enjoyed it and really appreciated the chance to share their thoughts with everyone else.
On Saturday afternoon we had two excellent externals come present. One spoke about the seven habits of effective people. This was completely new for the members and they loved it! Then we had Fernando Mendes, the AIESECer who tried to expand to Mozambique in 1999, come and talk to the members. I actually understood most of his speech and it was really amazing. He talked about what it really meant to be an AIESECer and I think even the facis left feeling inspired.
On Saturday night we had a Global Village where the members showed off the different regions of Mozambique and they dressed up in traditional clothes. It was a lot of fun and the first time for the members to interact in a truly social environment without sessions and content to worry about. Everyone was dancing Marrabenta and chatting and having a really good time.
On Sunday we worked in our functional teams and mapped out the projects and activities we would be starting in the coming months. After Daudo presented the projects, he asked the members what they thought, and they were all really excited and liked the ideas.
We also had Cindy, the Africa Director from AIESEC International, join us on Sunday and share some of her experiences. I think she and Jeanne really helped to make the members feel like they were part of a global organization. All the facis also had a chance to share their experiences and I talked a lot about Brazil and Kenya. The members asked me some really good questions as well, like how I have benefited personally from my experiences and what my biggest challenges have been. I remember participating in sessions like this when I was a new member, so it was really nice to be on the other side.
In the afternoon we did goal setting. In Canada, a lot of members don’t take this session very seriously because we spend our whole lives setting goals at school. Here it is something very new and they were really focused on filling out their forms and mapping out their futures.
During the closing everyone was sad that the conference was coming to and end. They were all frantically writing sugar cubes and dancing as many roll calls as we could queue up. Everyone was talking group pictures and it really struck me that people who had been complete strangers just a day before were now best friends. The members said they really learned a lot and enjoyed the weekend. They left the conference feeling motivated and empowered to achieve.
When Cindy arrived at the conference, she said “wow, this feels so AIESEC!” Considering that just 6 months ago, AIESEC didn’t exist here and now we had 40 people participating in the first National Conference, I think today we can be very happy :)
Foi um fim de semana para todos... amigos juntos.
Foi um fim de semana muito especial pra mim.
On Saturday morning I wasn’t sure quite what to expect. Would they show up? Would they like the conference? Would it have as much impact on them as my first conference did for me so many years ago?
Our chair, Jeanne, arrived from South Africa on Wednesday night and we spent all day Thursday and Friday preparing. We had some challenges. The t-shirts were done wrong. The OC was a little bit lost with what they needed to do. We were running all over Maputo getting last minute things.
When we arrived at the hotel on Saturday morning there were already a group of members there waiting for us with big smiles on their faces. By the time we were ready to start, almost everyone had arrived (a big achievement for Mozambicans!) The LCs had prepared their roll calls. They were there, they were excited and they were ready.
The members of the LC had only met each other once or twice and the new members of the two LCs had never met before. During the opening ceremony we had ISCTEM on one side and UEM on the other. By the end of the morning, they were talking and laughing as if they had known each other for years.
They participated a lot in the sessions and asked a lot of good questions. They wanted to understand and to know more. While the new members were getting some training, the EBs went off with Daudo to discuss Gen 2010, a new initiative from AIESEC International. Francisco, the LCP, came back so excited! “We are Gen 2010” he said “we have so much to do!” Then in the afternoon Daudo took them to sit around the pool and just share their experiences as leaders so far and how they were feeling. I asked some of them later how it went and they said that they really enjoyed it and really appreciated the chance to share their thoughts with everyone else.
On Saturday afternoon we had two excellent externals come present. One spoke about the seven habits of effective people. This was completely new for the members and they loved it! Then we had Fernando Mendes, the AIESECer who tried to expand to Mozambique in 1999, come and talk to the members. I actually understood most of his speech and it was really amazing. He talked about what it really meant to be an AIESECer and I think even the facis left feeling inspired.
On Saturday night we had a Global Village where the members showed off the different regions of Mozambique and they dressed up in traditional clothes. It was a lot of fun and the first time for the members to interact in a truly social environment without sessions and content to worry about. Everyone was dancing Marrabenta and chatting and having a really good time.
On Sunday we worked in our functional teams and mapped out the projects and activities we would be starting in the coming months. After Daudo presented the projects, he asked the members what they thought, and they were all really excited and liked the ideas.
We also had Cindy, the Africa Director from AIESEC International, join us on Sunday and share some of her experiences. I think she and Jeanne really helped to make the members feel like they were part of a global organization. All the facis also had a chance to share their experiences and I talked a lot about Brazil and Kenya. The members asked me some really good questions as well, like how I have benefited personally from my experiences and what my biggest challenges have been. I remember participating in sessions like this when I was a new member, so it was really nice to be on the other side.
In the afternoon we did goal setting. In Canada, a lot of members don’t take this session very seriously because we spend our whole lives setting goals at school. Here it is something very new and they were really focused on filling out their forms and mapping out their futures.
During the closing everyone was sad that the conference was coming to and end. They were all frantically writing sugar cubes and dancing as many roll calls as we could queue up. Everyone was talking group pictures and it really struck me that people who had been complete strangers just a day before were now best friends. The members said they really learned a lot and enjoyed the weekend. They left the conference feeling motivated and empowered to achieve.
When Cindy arrived at the conference, she said “wow, this feels so AIESEC!” Considering that just 6 months ago, AIESEC didn’t exist here and now we had 40 people participating in the first National Conference, I think today we can be very happy :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)