Did Jordan make my hair ORANGE or am I becoming DUTCH?

Jordan- an experience to have!

My Visit to Jordan:


As part of my transition and a surprise gift from Ildi and the rest, i was told that that i would be required to go to Jordan for a meeting. JORDAN!!!! I MEAN JORDAN!!! It was extremely cool. And together with Gee and Martin I set out on my journey not knowing what to expect..

Now what was also interesting, just on my last week in Malaysia, Prakash Etta came to Malaysia for a brief visit. I had not seen Prakash etta in 14 years and it was really great to see him again. So even though it was my last week and things were extremely crazy for me that week, i had to take some time off to hang out with Prakash etta for sure! Because when else would i see him again? 14 years down the road perhaps!

But anyway, when Ildi gave me my tickets and said, " Anisha you have to go to Jordan for meeting with PSUT" something started playing in my head.... Hmm... Jordan, very familiar something recent connecting to Jordan was playing in my head. I was trying to think who i know from Jordan...immediately Oksana ( the current MCP of Jordan) came to my mind and as soon as i remembered Oksana immediately i jumped because i remembered telling Prakash etta before he left that " Yeap i will try to come to Jordan sometime, i even have a friend called Oksana there.... "
Yeap prakash etta was also in Jordan!!!!!! Gosh.... i was not only going to see him again but also his family-Jaysri chechi and the kids....

Prakash Etta and Family: airport and dropped Gee and Martin off at their hostel and brought me to their home which was extremely comfortable and really nice. Prakash etta and chechi went out of their way to make my stay so memorable and comfortable. They made me food everyday, chechi even packed Well, just like how Sami velicha treated us in India, Prakash etta and chechi took care of me and my friends really well that 5 days. They picked us up from the meals for me and my friends so that we wont need to eat outside. They brought me to the university everyday for my meetings and brought me back as well. We had great chats in the evenings and they showed me around Jordan. I even got to visit Archita's graduation... it was really special. I actually felt very much part of their family. Chechi was amazing, she is an extraordinary cook and she is a really nice person to talk to. We actually had good conversations around many topics and i actually felt that i was very similar to her in many ways.

Thank you etta and chechi for making my visit to Jordan such a memorable one. Love you guys so much and good luck for your future :) Let me know where you guys decide to go to after this ya?

AIESEC in Jordan: Thinking back I think the most memorable and meaningful moment i have had so far comes from my visit to Jordan. There was this one night when we were having dinner with the MC's of Jordan- Monica,Oksana, Annika, Saba, Mo, Asier and the rest...i was so inspired and touched by these individuals who have all come from various backgrounds, countries, experiences,cultures and so on- but all here in Jordan for one reason, to see the young people of Jordan grow and develop through the establishment of yet another chapter of AIESEC in that country. Going through the challenges of being in a different country/culture, throwing themselves out of their comfort zone or even leaving behind some of their other priorities in life, these guys put their heart and soul to be able to make a difference for the people and the community that now they call home.
So guys, thank you for sharing with me your special moments and experiences during my visit to Jordan. Thank you so much for showing me one part of AIESEC that i had not seen/experienced for myself as i started and ended my 6 years of AIESEC only in Malaysia.

You guys are my real inspiration :)

Work in Jordan: Oh well, work in Jordan was fine, it was a different kind of working environment after having worked on AI for 2 weeks...where everything was about structure and process :P Well here, it was more of a ....ermm.... less structured and less complicated kind of a environment. Which clearly some of us were not used to.... :)

Visiting Jordan: Dead Sea and Petra
It was amazing!!!! Only 2 things that were quite challenging for me... Petra- i had to climb 900 stairs to reach the peak! Fuyoooooooooooo... i was almost going to die when i reached. Thanks Martin and Gee for making sure i reached the top and not give up on the
498th stair! :) And dead sea.... hehehe.. the challenge was that we were not prepared for the trip la... because as soon as our meeting was over, the university arranged for a car to take us there... and of course no clothes... no nothing.. only formal stuff! Well, it was easy for the guys, cuz they could just pick up any shorts or something from any store... but for me.. ermm.. lets say, the process is more complicated la... So anyways that was challenge 1... but as soon as we reached, Gee dragged me to go at least get a shorts to go with my formal shirt and get into the sea... well...i felt bad and so i let him convince me in buying this really striking blue pants la! :P

Another challenge was that, as you all already know, the dead see is known for its high level of salt that is present in the water. It is said that the water and the mud/sand in that area is extremely good for your skin. And due to the high density of salt, it is said that nothing can sink it the sea and so when you get into the water you will tend to float no matter how you try to get into the water.

Well so anyway, as soon as i got into the water, i felt all my blisters in my feet burn as the salt water touched my skin.... okay its okay... its just helping me heal the wound... lets try to float now... hehehe... and okay.. good i could float really easily.. thats good... and now enough of floating, lets try to stand up!!!!! OH NO!!!!!!!! I cant stand up!!!!!

Yeap thats right, i tried very hard to stand just could not get my feet to touch the ground... i panicked a little and got salk water in my eyes instead! *ouch* Anyway, i tried to calm myself down, and shout for Gee or Martin to come rescue me... it was extremely hilarious... sometimes i even had unknown people help me to stand up :)
So after a while, i made myself to the shore and played with the magical mud instead! :)
So that is it! I had an awesome time in Jordan, both personally and professionally! I think it was the best way for me to start my term on AIESEC International :) Looking forward to my term, that's for sure :)

AIESEC International 2007/2008

Start of Transition: Well, the first day was kinda hazy for me... as i was still trying to remind myself all the time i was actually in The Netherlands.... in the AIESEC International office and that for the next 12 months, i am going to be part of a team that I never imagined to be part of! :)So on Ist June 2007, i set feet into The Netherlands... the country i will be staying for the next 12 months.

I arrived at 6am on the 31st of May.... and Ildi was there to pick me up :) And she brought me to her place to rest for a while and after sometime, i found my way to office, thanks to the beautiful map that Ryan drew for me ( seriously.... it was a great map!)


One by one... my team mates started to arrive and i was feeling more and more excited every time someone would walk into the office... anyways that very evening, i experienced something that i have heard so much about and was also illustrated in the "I'm so excited" song - TEAM DINNER! Yeap, i was part of cooking team that day! Hahahaha... :)

It's really great! I just cant believe that i am here. Team dinner, AI Office.... never even dreamed of these things....Anyway, two months are going to pass like the wind... and before i know it i will be in IC :) I am very sure this is going to be an amazing part of my journey and so i better stop dreaming or pinching to see if this is real and start living this experience. Every year, about 20 individuals get to live this experience, and i'm glad to be one of them this year!

AIESEC International 2007/2008!
Malaysia BOLEH! :)

Good Bye Malaysia, Hello Rotterdam!

My last day in Malaysia was extremely hectic with packing and throwing out stuff cuz i couldnt afford to pay more for excess baggage! Hehehe...

Anyways, my parents sent me to the airport that night which i was extremely happy because i was worried my dad would not be able to send me as it was an extremely crazy month for him. But i was glad to at least have some moments with my daddy and mummy on my way to the airport. The 2 people who have been such an inspiration to me and in many ways a benchmark to where i would like to be in years to come! I know it hasnt been really easy to put up with me and my ever changing plans in life, but they supported me all the way to where i am today. I love them very very very much ( even though i may have arguments with my mum most of the time...hehe) but they mean the world to me!

Daddy and mummy, thank you sooo much for everything that you have done for me all these years. I owe everything i am today to the both of you.

Now the airport was an extremely special moment for me. I was greeted by all my old MC mates ( Thomas, Eric, Wei Han) current MC mates (Sandy, Geralynn, Cheekek ( who lied to all of us and said he wasnt coming!!!) and Yokey), New MC team( James, Nick, Jasper) Daryl, Charlie, Jasmine, and some other HELP members and of course my Klang buddy, AIESEC Alumnus and personal photographer, Alan :)

It was a definitely a great send off... my parents and everyone there... it was really hard for me to say bye, but i knew i had to lah. It was really special for me, with Nick video taping every moment that happened in the airport, the tears and byes and roll calls in the middle of immigration, the running from one point to the next point to say bye and wave from the glass windows.... right up to i got into the train... where i knew i had to stand in the last coach so that i could see all of them for the last time.... and when i got into the train i knew " that was it" that would be the last time i saw my team mates and my members... all together... and of course i wanted to see my parents hehehe... it was funny to see them run with the rest from one point to another to see me off too hehehe...:)

So we had our last wave in the train.... and i reached the boarding gates after that. As i was lining up to enter the boarding area, i got a call from James and it was of course, the whole team on the phone! hehehe... They asked me if i was crying yet.. and i said "no" and so they played my favourite song of the week " Kenangan Terindah" of which they knew upon hearing this song, i would just break down * evil people* and they played the whole song till they were convinced i was crying.

It was only then i realized that i had not cried during the whole time in the airport- only because i had spent all my tears crying for the past one month that i had no more tears to shed. Also , i knew that if i cried in the airport, that would make the rest of them feel really bad and sad too... so i put a very brave and strong front that day. But when they called me again after i passed immigration, i didnt cry because of the song but i cried because i just felt this rush of extremely LOVE for these people and the thought of not knowing when will be the next time that i will be able to see all of them together again, was just too much for me to handle at that point of time...besides..also because i knew they were crying on the other side and that made me feel really sad. I just felt like running over and giving all of them a hug ...one last time!

Thats the thing about AIESEC, you never know when will be th e last time that you will meet again- all together. Of course i was sad leaving my family members behind, but i knew that we will meet again- for sure! But in AIESEC, it is very different because we come from different places, different backgrounds, different families and all... which makes it almost impossible to have the same kind of experience that you may have at one point of time ....to happen again!

In the airplane, i opened the huge envelope that Geralynn gave me and inside was a huge card with the lyrics of Kenangan Terindah and a picture of a compilation of our MC 2006/2007 and had it in my hand for hours...