Elections and Impressions

This week was a very interesting one for me... First of all, a new Executive Board for AIESEC Bern was elected on Monday (see AIESEC Bern's Blog). A very emotional night in all possible ways. But this is another story...

Apart from that experience (that of course will change my daily life drastically) another election took place in Bern: the "Gesamterneuerungswahl des Bundesrates", the Elections of the Federal Council. Any yes: the ominous Christoph Blocher was not reelected, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf was elected instead. This happened on Wednesday, but as media told, she would only declare her acceptance (or not) on Thursday.
After I've heard, that there would be a rally on the Federal Square next morning, Kathrin and I spontaneously decided to join it. At 7 in the morning. Of course, we arrived there only at 7.40. Still, we were able to witness the magical moment of her acceptance on the Federal Square while listening to the radio. Ten seconds later we had a microphone of the TSR (Francophonic Television) in our face and babbled something in French. We laughed about it at Starbuck's afterwards...;)

On Friday, i joined the MC open day. You can read my official statement here. Anyway, it was really a good experience and did leave an impact on me... (I'll come back to this later...)

After the Open Day, a small group of us took the train to Geneva, for the Pakistani Dinner hosted by the Genevan EB at Bilal's Place. Not that many people came unfortunately, but maybe this was even a good thing. The atmosphere was very relaxed, friendly and it was just so cool and refreshing to have such a night. We ate a wonderful dinner, talked, played games (sounds lame, but actually very cool discussions were intitiated by them...) and just had a great time.
The next morning, Kathrin and I took the train back to Bern, half sleeping half discussing once again very hot topics. Since the train was heading for Lucerne, we spontaneously decided to just stay in the train and visit the Museum of Transport. Arriving in Bern, we decided (just as spontaneously) not to do so and stay in Bern to study....;)

Federal Square in the early morning

Federal Palace

Kathrin & me

;-)

Oli & Kathrin

Delicious Pakistani Food

Jelena & me

The small big gang. Ravaka, Rene, Oli, Bilal, Kathrin, Me, Jelena, Nadja, Sara.

While having these various discussions with all those people, my mindset shifted a little bit. The questions whether to apply for the MC or not became once again very present and although I still have the same preference, I'm not that sure anymore.

Time will tell, now it's time to focus on my exams again and to enjoy the Christmas time. I think I felt some of the real Christmas spirit for the first time today, when shopping in Migros for groceries and passing by the small assortment of Christmas goods. Now I have about 2 weeks to enjoy it...;)

"It's all been done" - Bare Naked Ladies

What the Hell

This week was weird. Not only this week, acutally the last few weeks in general. The one thing I'm constantly thinking about is the big change that is going to come soon. EB elections are coming up in about two weeks... (!!!) At that time I will know, who my successor's going to be. To whom I will pass on what I've done, what I've processed and learnt during this amazing year. Our team experience is going to be finished. We'll be able to pass our LC on to the next generation.

It feels strange that something that had this huge affect on you for one year is soon going to be over. Or is it?

Ten days after my last blog entry, things have cleared up about the near future. I've made some decisions during that time, yes. But the further future is still very blurry. Too many options again. Isn't this weird... (no interrogation mark here!)

People are trying to persuade me, are telling me to do things, to apply for positions. What the hell? What if I don't want to apply for certain positions. What if I don't feel ready for certain positions? What if my head tells me something else than my... heart, stomach, scar on my back...? (whatever part of the body you might want to choose...)

Decisions aren't about what you're supposed to do, what you want to do or what other people want you to do. They are about what feels right. And right now, it feels right to make decisions at a later time. To move certain experiences further ahead. To concentrate on me, myself and my personal development.

In a year from now, looking back on this time, I might regret that I didn't do enough notes taking, diary filling and blogging. But I will remember this time as being very stressful, very reflective... a time of great change. Change that might have been hard to take at certain points. But one, that was well thought through. One that doesn't need to evoke regrets. One that felt and still feels right.

"Camille et Franck" - Ensemble C'est Tout Soundtrack

Options

Options... When we don't have them, we'd like to. When we do, we hate it because decision making is up to us and not to the external world anymore.

I'm just listing a few options here, not in any order of preference or so, ok? Just listing them...

- random Goldie
- LCP
- NST
- eXchange
- CEED
- MCVP
- AI (just kidding...;)

I sorted them in an order of preference for myself, especially during and now after DO-IT I've been thinking about this a lot. But I'm not telling. Not yet. Still, decisions have to be taken soon. Not that I would have time to think. I can't elaborate on it yet. Oh boy...

I'm open for any kind of remarks, though...


"Juicy" - Better than Ezra

Under construction

These days, there's a huge construction site in Berne, that pisses everybody off: the one at the Train Station Square, literally in the heart of the town. When I passed there by today, I was looking at these huge escalators lying around and it got me thinking.

It sounds very silly, I know, but isn't life some sort of construction site, as well? I mean, problems arise constantly, and you try to fix them only to be confronted by new ones. You work a lot, you get challenged everyday and sometimes you need to dig very deep in order to fix things or get things right.

Anyway, my life right now resembles a huge construction site. There's a lot of things to be fixed, changed and built. The thing is, I barely know how to approach those things. I guess time will tell. Luckily, my life doesn't need to be ready for next year's European championship. I guess, I'm lucky enough to be able to start with fixing small things first, instead of tearing everything apart. As I said: Time will tell!

Impressions from the Train Station Square in Berne, taken today:

"Hasheket Shenishar" - Shiri Maimon

Kiff-Ock is over

Yes, Kick-Off'07, the first big national AIESEC conference of the year is over. And it was a blast!

The first day was a bit disillusioning. It was so weird to be in Fiesch again, the same sourrounding as last time, only this time as a Leader. All the surprises you face at a conference as Newie were gone, yet many new things had to be discovered. How to lead a whole bunch of Bernese people, and we were a lot this time. How to be a role model for them and once again, how to enjoy every second of these four days up in the alps (and immediately go on stage once the AIESEC music had started..;).

It turned out to be one of the best AIESEC experiences I've ever had. I'm so f****** proud of my Bernese people, they rocked the place! No wonder, we won the LC Development Award with such an incredible LC behind us! (Even though, before the very moment they announced the winner, I kind of didn't believe we would win the award anymore...) Can't wait for Do-It!!

Right after the conference, we had an LCM on Monday night where we gathered our LC once again. After that, we went to "the Greek" to sit together and eat and drink something. I shared a meal with Laura, our wonderful Goldie. We talked and talked and talked until we were the last AIESECers in the place. It's amazing how you can get to know a person in a whole new way, by just talking with them.

After a very strange good-bye, I spontaneously decided to seize the moment, take action and ask Laura for an arrangement to which she agreed. (and no, I didn't ask her to marry me...)

Thanks Laura for that special evening!

***

Thanks Kathrin for sharing another AIESEC experience with me!

Thanks EBs for putting all your efforts in this LC!

Thanks LC Bern for making this conference such an unforgettable experience!

"Gimme!Gimme!Gimme!" - A*Teens

Romero El Madero

Here's a video of a very cool dance, the Greeks brought to WENA LDS, the conference I attended this month. You can see me as well, tying my shoes while everybody else is dancing...;)



"Romero El Madero" - Ska-P

Busiest Time Ever!

So here we are, yet another blog entry about my stressful life. Quite some time has passed by since my last one, again.... So once again, a short list of what has happened these last weeks:

Skiing: Went to Savognin GR for a few days of skiing and enjoying the fresh air in the mountains. Was cool. Not too much snow, but really good one high above. Went home on Thursday. Over 60 e-mails waiting for me. Great!

WENA LDS: The whole EB elect went to WENA LDS (Western Europe and North America Growth Network Leadership Development Seminar), a AIESEC conference in Goytre, Wales, UK. I had a really good time there. We traveled with the EB elect of Lausanne together. My first international conference. 5 days without cell phone, internet. 5 days on that old farm on the Welsh countryside. 5 days of intensive self-discovery and team working. G-Stars, cru cru cru cru!

"Everybody of you is a role model."

"It has only been my second conference and my second home group, but the fact, that we can share so much, our fears..., even our tears, says a LOT about this group. Topping that in another home group is going to be very, very hard."

"I love you, guys."

First week of university: Besides some (surprisingly) really interesting lectures, I've been to the office at least once a day this week. The recruitment work is taking so much time, and the classroom presentations, info tables and info events haven't even started yet.
We had our first LCM on Monday, highlight: "Ice cream and cake". Had my first "studi-party" on thursday, quite strange. Selling training in Zurich on Friday, as well as 40 Years of AIESEC Fribourg - party in the evening. Today: sleeping in, going to the office, eating, updating my blog and now... taking a bath! Take care!

"I love the rain most when it stops" - Joe Purdy

...just a weird time...

I haven't updated this blog for quite a while now, I've been busy with exams and after that with a little bit of work, studying and several private (and emotional) things. It's difficult to write down one or two main events from these last weeks, I'll just try to do my best.

- Exams: Some went rather well, others went... well, not that well. The results aren't all in yet. The funny thing is, also in University, you write exams and you just can't always trust your feeling on whether it went well or not. The final results can be quite surprising.

- Birthday: I had a quiet birthday this year. Family members were on vacation, so were friends. In the end, I was at home with a friend, watching MusicStar, some DVDs, the Oscars (Ellen DeGeneres is a genius) and after that I went to the Morgestreich in Basel.

- Fasnacht I: For the first time in like 2 or 3 years, I attended die drey scheenschte Dääg in my hometown and for the first time in my life, I went to the Morgestreich, the big opening of the carnival. It was a very strange experience. Even though I'm glad, that I'm not studying in Basel and that I challenged myself by living in another city, it was... just amazingly cool to be home. Living old traditions, hearing my lovely dialect all over the place, seeing all these people having a good time at this celebration. It made me realize that even though, right now, I don't see myself moving back to Basel after my studies and living there for the rest of my life, Basel is always going to be my home. Those are my roots. My mentality, my view on the world, hell...: my dialect! Basel shaped me! And I’m more than ready to let Berne having a similar impact on me.

- Music I: I have been downloading music like crazy, lately. I’ve discovered some great artists over these last weeks. I get very often inspired by TV series like Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, and One Tree Hill which have all an amazing Soundtrack. Whenever I hear a beautiful song playing in the background of a scene, I’ll get it after the episode. Also, I searched through my iPod and found some pretty amazing music I completely forgot about. Happens, when you have 20GB of sound on such a little thing.

- Diary: Unlike my blog, I’ve updated my diary quite often lately. Additionally to my normal diary, I’ve been writing down almost every dream I had in the last 2 months. I can’t even go to bed now, without putting a sheet of paper and a pen next to my bed, so that I'm always ready to take notes. When I look at my dream entries from last December, I can see, hear, even feel what I dreamt that night and how I felt then. Even though this was more than 2 months ago. I can only recommend this to anyone. You will learn more about yourself, when you take a deeper look at your dreams.

- Music II: On Thursday evening, I was in Berne. I had to clean up my room and put everything on one sid of the room, so that the people bringing the piano in had enough space. Yes, that's right: I have my very own piano in Berne now. Finally! When you’ve played an instrument pretty much everyday for several years and then suddenly, you just get to play it when, or if you go home on weekends, it’s incredibly hard. Especially when you’re in a new city, not knowing that many people and spending a lot of time studying at home. Now, I’ll be able to play more often and hopefully improve a little.

- Fasnacht II: As you might have heard, a little boy got killed at the end of carnival by one of the Waggiswagä, one of the traditional carnival wagons. A whole city is in shock, but I guess nobody can imagine, how it is to lose a child, especially on an event, that is supposed to be a celebration. I was at the place, where the accident happened today, on Barfüsserplatz in Basel. There were so many candles, flowers, and carnival items, so many people there paying their respect. It was such an intense moment. One man was crying, maybe a relative. Another woman just unwrapped a rose and put it on the ground. A mother tried to explain to her child what happened. Me, I was standing there, not really knowing what to do. I hope the boy’s family and friends have a good supporting environment right now. Nobody’s supposed to be alone in such a time.

So, what now?

Tomorrow, I’ll be going to Savognin GR for a week, hopefully there’s going to be enough snow to go skiing. After that, I’ll be busy with transition, I’ll have to do the flyer of our National Learning Event and on March 14^th, the new EB will go to Wales to the WENA LDS Conference. And on March 19^th, University’ll start again.

I’m still very excited about my election to the EB. In general, I think this year is going to be good for me. Not only because of AIESEC, I feel like 2007 holds some changes for me. I can’t really tell what they are, when and how they will arrive. But they will come. Sooner or later. I’ll keep you updated…

"You Belong to Me" - Jason Wade

Those Three Magical Letters

As some of you may know, the EB elections for LC Bern took place this monday night. I ran for VPPD and VPX.

The election was chaired by our MCVPER Cileia and the whole process was quite an experience. It was a long night for all of us. Every candidate had to deliver a speech and go through a QandA (Questions and Answers) session afterwards (or two of them, in my case). Finally, after about 3 hours of speeches, "witty" and challenging questions (thanks Laura), I was elected as VPX and we were baptized by our lovely predecessors. (I got the picture here!)

Thanks to everybody for their trust and for believing in us. This is going to be a challenging year for me and I thank you for giving me this opportunity.

My sincerest thanks as well to everybody for their feedback. Iulia, Laura, Marie, Dänu and Yavor, the current EB; Kathrin and Paul, my fellow Newie EB members; Oli and Simon, my new team mates; my future double coach Cileia (la Bâloise) and Aïda (diä Wälschi) and everybody I forgot...

I am very excited to work with these guys, I'm sure this is going to be a unique experience.

I have a good feeling for this term. A very good one. Aaand: I'm getting these fancy business cards!



(By the way: I was in Slovakia for the New Year's Eve Party organized by AIESEC in Slovakia... For pictures and a report go to Simon's Blog.)

I think I did-it 2006!

Okay, so I’m home now… already for quite some time, but I still feel the “IMPACT” of the conference jetlag… I barely can sleep, my mind’s still full of all those impressions I got at the conference and my motivation (except for the studying part) is still on a …. well… very high level! I really feel like those 4 days (and I’m really glad I was there the whole time) have provided me with so many things!

Then of course, people now come to me, see my eyes all sparkling and I would go like: “Oh, it was totally great, I learned so much at this conference!” and they would ask me: “Well, okay, but what did you EXACTLY learn, now?”

And this is where I would have to pause…

What DID I learn? Okay, let’s see: I had two issue based workshops, one on CSR, the other one on entrepreneurship, then the learning cycle on the UN, the AIESEC identity morning, I had the PboX-simulation where I got elected as VPPD (LC Roger forever), the practical workshops on Sunday…….

But now I realize that this is not where I have learned the most: I’ve learned the most through interaction with the other delegates and Facis… (and yes, this includes the crazy dancing on the table ;)… I had so many interesting discussions with people I met, I made new friends and I received so very cute sugar cubes!

I just want to thank everybody I met at this conference! Thank you for talking to me, for making my brain drudge and for challenging my worldview! This is not just me quoting one of the AIESEC principles; this is what really happened to me! And I’m so curious and I cannot wait to see what AIESEC is going to do to me in the future! One thing’s for sure: I will not resist!

And Sophie: Yes, I will keep my promise!

(Friday, 08 December 2006: 00:38 in the morning)