leaving on a jet plane

Leaving in literally 3 mins. Next post will either be stateside or across the pond. Chao!

By the skin of my teeth

I had quite a scare last night when it was brought to my attention that I had failed to notify the organizing committee of my upcoming departure. The message had been passed through the grape vine, as it so often is, and reached important people who were shocked at this news. In all the madness of the past few weeks, when I finally had approval, I failed to notify the most important people. I relaxed right before the finish line. This is a failure on my part in attention to detail, which is incredibly important when working indirectly with one's boss. I also learned the importance of clear and open communication, which is something that I didn't place a lot of weight on during the first part of my traineeship.

The result of this blunder was many hurt feelings and a lot of misunderstandings, all which easily could have been avoided. Luckily, today through several meetings, all was explained and I think a new level of understanding was reached. I only hope that no irreparable damage was done to any reputations and the sustainability of this amazing project.

I signed on to this project, knowing there would be many logistical challenges, because I believed in its potential and its intention. I know feel a great deal more personal responsibility for its success and continuity.

Thanks to Andrés and Leandro for taking the time to talk today, as well as everyone else affected by this matter. I’m sorry for any unneeded strife I might have cause.

On another note, I am feeling an absence of discipline in my life. I am wondering what people do to maintain discipline and if anyone has any ideas about how to increase this.

Randomly, today I bought glasses for less than $30USD. I think that will be some sort of record for me. I have Jen Harwood syndrone when it comes to glasses.

through the wire

I hate self-promotion, mostly because I really don't understand what it is. I don't have a middle ground between bragging and selling myself short. I think this is why I put off working on my resume all weekend. I have about two and a half months to figure out what I will do next. I am very interested in an internship in consulting, but I'm not sure if this is possible considering my level of Spanish. Also, I read on a blog this weekend that it is not always wise for people to go into consulting without any real business experience.

Right now I would classify myself as searching. I am debating whether or not to be one of those life time members of AIESEC who climbs the ladder to MC or AI positions or if I should move on. I have decided that I need some time away from AIESEC after my traineeship. I am very comfortable in this network and I need to do something else to really challenge my world view.

My dream is to find an aspiring entrepreneur in Montevideo or Buenos Aires (any city in Argentina for that matter) and participate in the business creation process. I want to see the life of an entrepreneur and I want to help an aspiring socially responsible business. This is what draws me to consulting because I feel like that could be the job of a consultant.

Anyway, I’m excited for this week. Thursday I'm off to NYC and Amsterdam. I think these next few weeks will be filled with insightful conversations.

Thanks to the Dream team for movie night.

it was all worth it

These past few weeks have been trying bit of an emotional rollercoaster if you will. Culture shock kept rearing it's head, the exchange meeting was up in the air, and we were having serious communication issues with the national office of Acción Social.

I am pleased to say that none of these are problems at the current time. My culture shock is much more under control, although it presents itself at inopportune times, for example today in the Avianca office. I had arranged to buy my ticket in the office over the phone and I was informed that this process would give me an E-ticket. ¡Mentiras!!! I hate paper tickets because if you loose it/anything happens to it, you're up the creek. Let's just say I gave the clerk a piece of my mind about the mixed up expectations. I was especially frustrated because I couldn't tell her exactly how I felt, but this will come in time.

My tickets to the Netherlands are all booked and I will get to spend a total of about 24 hours in NYC in transit!! At first I didn't want to do this, but it turned out to be the cheapest option so I went for it. I think this might mess with my culture shock a bit, but I won't see North America again until about July, so I'm not too worried and I crave Chinese and Vietnamese food like crazy! Also I get to see some special people for a bit, which I'm excited about.

I'm going to Holland!!!!!! I can't think of anything cooler to do in the middle of a traineeship. Also, the team is so diverse. There are people from India, China, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Mexico, Cameroon, Egypt, Germany, and Brazil. I think this will be one of the toughest and most memorable experiences I will have in AIESEC. Sorry to all those who have to listen to me talk about this, but I am really excited.



As for work. Yesterday things were looking pretty bad. We were told that we had to form new action plans around generation of income programs, which would have thrown out all that I had done for the first two months of the project. Gopi was pissed to because the project that was already cancelled by the national office was in this area, resulting it was an extremely concerning mixed message they were sending. So at the advice of the director of our department, I scheduled a meeting with the national director of the office of displacement in Colombia. Jean-Maxime, Gopi, Andrés (the national participant who works with the national director), and I were all set to meet to discuss the situation. Knowing how blunt I can be when I'm a bit heated, I called the MC to ensure that they knew about the meeting and was very glad to hear that they wanted to attend the meeting.

The meeting started about an hour late and lasted for two hours. The objectives were to clarify our projects, clarify the objectives of Alcance Social, and to give feedback. All objectives were met and exceeded.

I am continuing with my project in the Unidad de atención integral a los desplazados (UAID)and Gopi will continue working with la Banca de las Oportunidades, a micro credit program. We understood how these projects fit into the overall project objectives and were pleased to see that the director was very enthusiastic about them. We also understood the miscommunication that took place and although there are many aspects that are unacceptable, we are all moving forward in the project.

One concern that I initially had was the tedious format of the reports we were supposed to turn in. I tried to fix this situation early in the project, but when that failed, I decided not to do the reports. It was not that I had a problem with the idea of reporting my learning and action, but rather the frequency and format. I found them to be useless and homework-like. Perhaps the result that pleases me most is that we can redesign the reports to be more open ended and innovative.

I was very impressed by the director because of her direct, to the point style. She understood the situation and we were able to discuss the issues and come to consensus. I liked her results orientated approach, which has been lacking in my experience in Colombia. People seem to be very focused on process with chronograms and action plans taking priority over results. This has frustrated me to no end and I now feel that this project can move forward and achieve some results rather than just being a fancy process.

This is a lesson for all projects in AIESEC. The results are more important than the process so don't waste too much time in forming the process and try to involve all stakeholders when doing so.

On an even more positive note, we explored the possibility of site visits to other cities for Gopi and I. I would love to spend some time in the Acción Social in Medellin or Cartagena for a week or so. That would be grand.

I am upbeat and ready for anything and I am thankful for this change of events and all of those who helped me and others get to this point.

All systems are go!!

So last night the decision was made. I AM GOING TO HOLLAND!!!! I'll be at the Strategic Exchange Meeting between December 3rd-6th. This European Sojourn is just what I need right now and I think it will give me great perspective on lots of frustrations that I have here. Right now, I am trying to work out the flights to minimize cost and spend as little time in the US as possible. Unfortunately my cheapest option forces me to spend about a 12 hour layover in the city I call home, but I suppose there are worse things than that.

Thanks to all who kept me sane during this decision making process.
Parents, LC members, US MC, and Colombian MC!!!

It's wierd, the more frustrated I get with AIESEC, the more opportunities that become available to me. I have this weird relationship with success in AIESEC and in life.

settled

Well, I had a realization today while walking to the office from the UAID (attention center). I think I am basically settled finally in Colombia. I have been quite aware of my culture shock and I am comfortably at the bottom of the curve, or so I think. From my perspective, Colombian people are amazing if they know you. If they do not know you, they often act like you do not exist from my perspective. Cutting lines is prevalent and don't even get me started on people's self centered behavior on the Trasmilenio. The inefficiency is everywhere and I am often frustrated by it.

Many of these occurrences are fact, but the way I react to them is in my control. I am less and less stressed and preoccupied by these issues. I'm still not used to the cold shower, but I am confident that once Bogotá warms up in December, this won't be as big a deal.

I expect more stressful moments, but I am started to get used to the environment and the language.

Maybe Holland in 2 weeks. My deadline is Wednesday to decide yes or no. Only waiting for the necessary expectations to be set and the ticket will be booked.

Saludos.

Glorious Plans

As of Now




create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands



As of next October, I hope!!




create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

This will include a trip to Israel with Birthright, a trip to Jordan, and maybe a pitt-stop in Turkey.

Teach for America

So I am up in the middle of the night and I stumble across this video from Wendy Kopp, CEO of Teach for America. This video is incredibly insightful about the importance of leadership, specifically in regards to education and education policy.

I see so many applications with AIESEC and educational inequality is one of my passions. Perhaps Teach for America needs international participants of the highest quality. I don't know if Teach for America is for me, but they are such an amazing success story of social entrepreneurship and success in leadership.

1) demonstrated track record of achievement
2) perseverance in the face of challenge rather than blaming others.
3) ability to influence and motivate others
4) problem solving ability
5) desire to work relentlessly towards mission
6) respect and humility

these are competencies that Teach for America looks for. Seems rather level 5 to me. Interesting.

Medellin from above

arthur's pics 012
Originally uploaded by artiman133.

Ana, Hector, Victor (Chile), me, and Nicolas (the rest were all Colombians, except for me of course)

Pueblito Paisa and the start of Ana's adventure

arthur's pics 002
Originally uploaded by artiman133.

It may seem like melodrama...

In the wake of my confusing and uncertain situation with the strategic exchange meeting, I decided to take a sojourn to lovely Medellin Colombia this weekend. I boarded a bus from cold (clarification for those approaching winter right now, Bogotá isn't cold, but it's the between warm and chilly which equals uncomfortable) and rainy Bogotá to the lovely city of Medellin.

Let me just say that I think I fell in love with the city and its people. The place is everything Bogotá isn't. It's warm, sunny, organized, relatively clean, and unpolluted. The people there are just intense with whatever they do, whether it's business or pleasure, there really is no half way in Medellin. I was blown away by the energy of my tour guides Hector and Anna from AIESEC EAFIT. They never stopped and we had a great time.

Pictures to come and my trip is looking better, but it's up to the AIESEC gods now.

Lastly, I am sooo happy that Lindsey and Melinda got to experience AIESEC for what it really is. I can't wait to see what you guys do. It makes me so proud to know that you two represented Cornell and the US so well. Props!

grrrr

Why are good things always so complicated and bittersweet?

I suppose life would be boring and easy without bumps in the road.

Good luck to everyone this weekend at LTM.

Listen to Gopi at your own risk

I'm waiting in the ofice in the center of the city. He claims we will be jeans models. 30 thousand pesos and a free pair of jeans. I'm wary, this might be the only time I listen to him.
Another week at work.

Medellin this weekend I hope.

Serenity Now!!!

This weekend was just what I needed. It was calm and quite. I finished “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, which I recommend to all, I slept sooooo much, I got over my cold, and I applied for the strategic exchange meeting in Rotterdam. If I'm accepted, this will be quite an experience for me and I think I can add a lot to the meeting.

Yes many people are scratching their head after reading certain blog entries about objections that I have had in AIESEC recently. It has always been my style to address concerns head on rather than just sit and bitch about them, so I hope this will help me and AIESEC resolve some of our issues and build a better future at least. If not, at least I can say that I tried.

This week, work really starts. I'm going to really move on the literacy project and start doing basic analysis of the attention center of interest.

I'm well and starting to look into what I want to do after my traineeship. A trip down to the southern cone is in order. How I'll get there, what I'll do once there, and who and what I'll see along the way are still in question. I'm open to ideas!!

last quick note, there is the cutest little puppy sleeping on my wrist right now as I type so for once, I'mnot responsible for typos.

Cheers!!

Just Say Coca

Approximately three weeks ago, I sat with my Alcance Social team mates at the tools development meeting in Manizales and held a session about our project on the internal displacement in Colombian. It was then that a new member, Juliana from Medellin to be exact, stood up and thanked us all for coming to Colombia to work for "our problem." I shook my head at her because it has been evident to me since I got here that this is a global issue. This is because narco-trafficing to the western world fuels the political conflict and the political conflict causes displacement. Remove the demand and the supply here has no industry. This is of course is a difficult process. The only other option is to legalize this illicit trade, which clearly has moral implications and certainly isn't politically viable. I think there might be a third option in terms of giving farmer alternative products. I always thought this policy would just be a poly for narcotrafficers, but maybe it has some viability.

See Article: Just Say Coca

A thought

What happens when an organization that is supposed to prepare you to lead the world becomes your world? I'm starting to bust out of the cacoon and it's slightly terrifying, but I think back to when I was at SSC 2005 and how terrified I was then. It feels now like they can't compare, but I think they do quite cleanly. There is no such thing as a clean exit or break, it can only be painful. But I think it is a good pain, one that one has to experience at one time or another, I'm just glad I'm doing it now so I know it's possible.

Thinking about what's next for me...