Liv's latest adventure around the globe

"Raise your arms, feel the breeze... and say, YOU CAN'T GET ME COLD!!!" That was what my friend Amit, made me and Lele do in the middle of an open square at around 8pm.

Cold weather matched with strong winds in Netherlands, it can't stop me from conquering the cold weather and getting used to it. The following day made me not just say that I've conquered cold, but also conquering fear, loneliness and being away from home. I may have been spending a cold Christmas, or in Tagalog you would say "malamig ang aking pasko".... yes, literally. But the warmth of people around me make me withstand not only the cold weather, but most importantly spend great holidays. We got invitation to join a Christmas Eve dinner with a Belgian family... now the four homeless individuals(2 Indians, 1 Brazilian, and 1 Pinoy) has found their way home an hour away from Rotterdam which truly made our Christmas celebration the best.

Now I am gettting used to the cold weather, with 10 degrees not really that cold. At the same time, really feeling great to be back in Rotterdam... a place that I called home a few months back, and indeed felt so much like I've come back to my home once again.

My magic mic has truly been travelling around Asia... this time with the Singaporean trainees... Dong Wei, Nacho, Vega, Michael, & Eric. After dinner, we decided to just go home for karaoke instead of paying 12SGD each for a KTV room. Desperate to do some singing, we waited 30 minutes just trying to hail a cab in Singapore, and still made the most out of the 45 minutes we can sing...yeah, even just for 45 minutes since I was catching my bus back to Malaysia, we were still able to sing several songs for the night...  

even uncle sang with the karaoke, getting the the highest score... the malaysian version of Frank Sinatra singing My Way... 

Dinner with Hui Lin's family. 

singing with the trainees... Peter, Dasha, Mai, Anson & my Malaysian sister Anisha 

Dinner & Karaoke with the Malaysian MC 

I may have schizophrenia, or just have a mix personality…. Not that I am having mix identity but with my area of work I am simply trying to change the world, ain’t that easy… nope, I am not superman nor spiderman but yes, trying to change people’s lives, including mine. During the day I try to be professional as possible, talking to CEOs, regional managers, or entrepreneurs trying to find business solutions that AIESEC can provide with them. Yes, we’re talking long term here so it’s a tough decision to manage. Yet, at night time trying as much as possible to appreciate every country I go to, feeling like a teenager again with most of the members either touring me to the latest bars in the city or just appreciating their best architectures and parks in town.

This has been my life for the past 2 months, having gone to HK, China, Korea, Bangladesh, & Malaysia… every week, a different adventure, a new discovery not only of new partnerships with AIESEC but also of new relationships with different cultures. I have been able to adopt easily to each and every local culture, be it language, songs, dances, food, food, and food… and did I forget to say food??? So that caps off my adventures in Asia and with Christmas season coming I don’t think I’ll ever stop talking about food.

As you are to discover about my recent journey to a land I'd never thought I would be, it's not much about the sceneries that I enjoyed the most. I may not have the time to see the best places outside Dhaka, which was few hours away. Yet, my 6 days visit to Bangladesh has placed an immense mark in my whole experience of travelling around the world. If it's not the country itself then it must be something more... it was the people who made it really memorable for me. Everyday would be series of meetings with companies, officers and members... be it about my work or my personal learning experience over the years, they've made me realize again what I stand for this organization. A country that has not much years of experience in AIESEC, yet so many burning questions and ideas that I myself try to think while answering... I realize that Bangladesh indeed has smart and amazing people.

I shall be coming back more for the scenic appreciation of Bangladesh. For now, I remain to cherish my daily conversations with Bangladeshi people and my daily adventure rides with a riksha or a CNG(tricycle).

Why visit Bangladesh??? If you're looking for something to see beyond what you would normally be expected to visit in Asia... if you're looking for a place where everyday is an adventure and very sincere people... if you're just ready to see a place that's called Bangladesh but your friends have never heard... then just go for it and get your own judgement of what is indeed there to see in Bangladesh.

My host family in Bangladesh: Ishita has indeed been like my api(sister) for my whole stay, sharing each other stories and cultures and personal lives. My amu(mother) and Apu(father) made me feel so at home as well be it as simple as a great rice breakfast meal(which they don't usually have), or a great conversation about morning news regarding the recent typhoon that struck the Philippines.  

my "aya" or nanny for the past 6 days in Bangladesh... always ensuring I have breakfast, a good warm chocolate drink or just warm enough beddings...  

I thought I was the only one shopping for souvenirs for my friends back home... but they were also doing the same thing, except that I was the friend they were shopping for. These very lovely group of people made my last day in Bangladesh memorable with simple souvenirs I will never forget. (Left to Right: Dan, Tamid, Farah, Sarika, Me, Ishita, Fhamid, Shourav)
 

Riding in the riksha... feel like a princess when riding this around the main roads of Dhaka  

with Jasmine, Dutch trainee who's just recently finished her traineeship but still has to see more of Asia for a few weeks before coming back to Netherlands. 

with Anna, Norwegian trainee for Grameen Phone Bangladesh...  

The Organizing Committee of Asia Pacific Exchange Leadership Development Seminar(APXLDS) 2005! Makes me really look forward to coming back to Bangladesh on March 2005!!! 

with the International Development Congress 2005 delegates from Bangladesh... total of 25 people went there and indeed a lots of things expected from these individuals who should be rocking some action in Bangladesh 

"Meet the Leader" session.... they say it was a venue for members to meet the AIESEC International director for Asia Pacific, thus the title of the session. However, I would say that it was the other way around, for I met the great future leaders of AIESEC Bangladesh who's really promising. Through the forum we had, I felt like going through my interview again with very qualified questions they had. These are indeed the great leaders who shall be challenging themselves and others of the opportunities that you have to discover about Bangladesh.... see for yourself and do visit this wonderful country 

LC meeting with BRAC University... great discussions comes with great food 

my shopping buddies... bought my 1st set of kamise  

enjoying the beautiful city of Penang