When you are the MAJORITY!!!

NLDS came..... NLDS went....

HIV/AIDS YC came..... and also left....

OCSEALDS came..... and when it left.....

Life became so plain like there was nothing left...???

What was so special about the past few months? That my normally empty office was suddenly crowded with 15 other people... and sometimes even 20!!! And most of them were our trainees, international facilitators and so on...

After months of multi tasking on various projects, conferences and events... I suddenly felt so much more relieved and and so much more relaxed... One by one, my HIV/AIDS trainees were leaving for home...i was then, busy settling their deposits, accomodation and so on... After about 2 months working in the same office, having our differences, and having our gossips and sharing jokes, i felt the office so empty... but of course I didnt complain because, i had my OFFICE back.. hehe.. No need to fight for computers... find empty tin cans or bread packets left in the office... but still.. I MISSED them... i really thought of those 10 trainees as my children that i had to jaga every day... so that they wont annoy Huilin and SweeLi... *wink*

But one thing the trainees thought me or reminded me is that... its always hard to adapt or work with people of different cultures and not to mention personality. Even though having been on a traineeship which gave me the experience of working abroad with different cultures... but this was different....working with them back home in Malaysia..... where you always think, "hey,this is my country....and this is how it is supposed to work......." or having to explain why things are like this or that.... when it never really occured to me in the first place that replying emails 5 minutes later or not being sooooo detailed when planning for lunch was something normal for all Malaysians.

Especially towards the conference, where the facilitator team had some re-inforcements and i had my local team mates ( ruth,kumar,eeleen(UKM) stephanie,jamie (UPM) Sandy,WeiHoong(UM)Ayin(USM)) to join the trainees to facilitate and run the conference. You should have seen their faces the first time we had our joint meeting... I'm not sure if its because of the fact that all of us were from AIESEC or maybe its just a malaysian culture... where, we are just the kind of people who are spontaneous.... sometimes we dont really prepare word to word what we are going to say... but just the points (major points).... most of the time we never plan what kind of energizers we are going to do and when.... but we just do it as an when we feel it is nessesary....and that if we are 10 minutes behind agenda.... it's still okay!

I still remember the night before NLDS, where we were suppose to be have our dry run... but of course, that was really the first time everyone was meeting up... i saw Chris sitting at a corner looking all disturbed and frustrated... I went up to him and asked what was wrong... and he said" We dont have a dry-run today... so everything is going to go wrong tomorrow.. the mics are not going to work.... the opening is going to suck...." It was then when I realized how important preparation meant to these guys... whereby we usually have that..."follow-the-flow" kind of attitude...and that dry runs where something we always planned... but in the end... we only manage to do the first part which is getting to know each other and setting expectations...:P
( Anyway... FYI: NLDS opening was a bomb.... even though Chris's thought came through, but thanks to the OCs and quick thoughts of the faci's we manged to fix the mic issue fast before Chris fainted....Hehe..)

Anyway... I'm glad that I had this opportunity to work with these great individuals... everyone of them thought me something...

Kristina- She thought me about being detailed and professional in everything i do... It's all about being perfect!

Zdenka- When youre passionate about something... that you really need to put your heart and soul into that thing.... and if you dont feel orgasms whenever you face challenges.....that means youre not really into it! And if youre already into it.... you will go all the way... and nothing will stop you....

Jop- He thought me how to learn to adapt to different cultures and about being a friend, a team player and a leader as and when it is nessesary.... and that opportunities is what you make of it...

Hedda- Being all smiley and cheerful does not make you someone who can be pushed around...and that it is the greatest gift to be able to be in the good books of everyone!!!

Melanie- Never judge a book by it's color... and being realistic, and cool... all the time is the best medicine to handle stress....She also thought me that age does not matter...the only thing t hat matters and puts you at a better edge is the way you think and react to problems!

Lora- It's okay to be slow... but you need to be steady...and that when things are not going the way its supposed to be... put your earphones on... and let music heal your soul:)

Anne- Work in work... personal must be kept personal....and that it is very important to deliver ones promise not even a second later!!

Jennifer- It doesnt really matter who you are, or what position you hold.... but what really matters is that you achieve the vision envisoned by the team.... and its all about practising the principles of excellence!!!

Masami- This girl, thought me that the greatest gift is to able to watch someone transform into something so beautiful that you will forever cherish this experience.... This girl thought me that, one should and can step out of their comfort zone... its whether you want to or not! And lastly... it's all about being persistant and loving what you do...

Martijn-That the most important thing in life.... is to have a friend that you can always count on!

Guy's.... thank you for the wonderful 2 months.... I really am truly grateful for everything you've done...

Even though i have my space back.... but I miss you guys...

All the best and congratulations for a job well done!:)