Liv's latest adventure around the globe

Just an intro to the series of photos of my trip to Keukenhoef. It was definitely worthwhile to even see it on the last weekend as the tulip season is now over. For the rest of my photos at Keukenhoef you can check http://www.flickr.com/photos/liv_flores/

Yet this week has totally been amazing with such warm weather and great sun all day. Having lunch by the park, playing volleyball after lunch... not bad for a very hectic week of transition preparation which shall start next week!!!

Now the sun has just gone down and indeed a sign that I really have to go to Neverland.... (the sun goes down only around 1030PM)

Key Highlights:

• Opera House
• Harbour Bridge
• QVB Mall
• 5$ Steak Meals
• Pub Nights with LC Members- feel young again
• Mother's Day Celebration with Mom's friends

It has been 2 weeks since I left Australia, and for me it just seems like yesterday when I was taking on my 7 hour journey from Malaysia. It was the best flight I had considering that I was arriving at Sydney at 700am and straight away went to the MC office to avoid any jetlag. The country visit was very intense with meetings and discussions all day while the Member Committee were having their transition with the new team. But not to miss the social events at night where we were either having the best deal of 5$ steaks or a great variety of drinks that I didn't know the difference at the start.

The interesting part was that indeed my family was not revolved around AIESEC people but also to "newly discovered families." Not that I have actually relatives there, but with the network of my mom, she managed to find me a home during mother's day with Ninang Nina and Tito Tony where I got to spend a day at Blue Mountains with the rest of a bigger family(nephews, niece, sisters & granddaughter).

I just felt the most productive as well that week despite having to travel at night on May 10 back to Malaysia, and travel back to Netherlands on May 12. Arriving always at 7 am May 11 at Malaysia and May 13 at Netherlands, it didn't seem like I lost a day for travelling, rather I spent those hours sleeping like a baby in the plane... yeah, it seems quite obvious now that planes can easily be comfortable for sleeping(or at least I try to).

It's been 10 days now since I arrived here in Netherlands and definitely it's great to be back "home" where I belong with my AI Family. In about one week, my AI Family would be twice as much with the new AI team coming in. More stories to share in my week here in Netherlands as I definitely had some catching up to do.

So keep posted on the following:

• trip to Keukenhoef- to see the best tulips in Holland
• trip to Groningen- the last AI teamdays with AI 0405.

A land of the young and the old; modern and ancient architecture; night markets and temples; It is indeed a place where various generations of traditions and culture co-exist, enabling economic development yet being able to preserve such rich culture.

I had the chance to visit 3 cities such as Taichung, Taipei, & Hsinchu all of which representing a different part of Taiwan. Experiencing the great cuisine not only on the traditional Chinese food that I usually see back home, but also had the chance to taste this dumpling with soup inside. Indeed, technology allowed such system to be possible whereby Din Tau Fung can accommodate 120 people at one time, being served within 10-15 minutes and while waiting your order are being processed accordingly. Had the chance to go to the top of the world, Taipei 101, of which holds the record of having the tallest building in the world. Being at the 88th floor makes you feel safe, not only of the lucky number 8 but because of the great architecture that is behind in the construction of such building.

Taiwan, as modern as it may be still has some cultures and architectures that are very well preserved. A view of the Longshun temple which is just in the middle of the city, enabling the young and the old to pay homage to their Buddha. Also one of the must see in Taipei is the Chang Kai Shek memorial hall, where not only the mighty warrior's monument is found but also on its left side is the national theater and on the right side its national museum. Taiwan is definitely not just about its beliefs that are well preserved, but also the wonderful nature to give you that peace of mind. Spending time with LCPs during their planning, where they are placed in the middle of nowhere to really have that solitude to come up with what the future of AIESEC in Taiwan would be.

There were interesting external meetings as well where I got to meet the CEO of Advantech Foundation, who is really strongly interested with AIESEC people, lots of possible traineeship opportunities coming soon. Along with some NGOs was also Vision Youth Action that could be a strong partner in building the youth vision of Taiwan. Since Taiwan is really focusing on the development of the youth as the future leadership, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the National Youth Commission are definitely supporting AIESEC initiatives and still expanding with different initiatives coming up. One way that I can definitely see is the expansion of these opportunities to other countries working with their Foreign Affairs as well as government units responsible for the Youth of today. It was also a great chance for me to meet their Alumni Association, not only filled with history of the past but with hopes of the future.

Another week has gone by with this great country yet it has just given me amazing experiences and exposure about the its culture and traditions as well as its people. There's a lot more to see in this wonderful country which just gives a reason for a second, third or fourth visit.

On to the next adventure down under.... AUSTRALIA!!! keep posted!

1st class in Sophia University, Japan: Peace Research
On my first day got to attend one class under the International Business curriculum which was about Peace Research. He started with defining what peace is through two different categories: International Peace and World Peace(sounds like Ms. Congeniality huh?)

International Peace as he defined is easy to achieve, since you have bilateral agreements with a country with whom you would want to maintain some good business and social relations with. While World Peace is a much broader scope thus a greater challenge to achieve since it would mean peace within each and every country around the world.

Then he further discussed around how some countries’ strategies to actually achieve World Peace is by fighting against terrorism rather than promoting peace. It is indeed very interesting to see that most of the time we react to bad things rather than preventing things from happening. The war against terror was a reaction of the 9-11 attack but how many of the people still think that peace is possible and that we can actually still promote it? Then I realized how our work as an organization in AIESEC makes a lot of sense in terms of responding to what the world needs rather than just attacking the surface problem.

EXPO 2005 in Aichi
Got to see the EXPO for half a day til it’s worth it. A lot of pavilions and sites to see with one mega site for the EXPO in Aichi. It seem small in the map and in the photos but once you’re there it just seem like an endless journey.

The Toyota and the Hitachi pavilions took us at least 1-2 hours to line up and get in their exhibitions. Definitely worth the time and money to have gone to EXPO once you’ve seen the Toyota and Hitachi presentations where it was not just showing the breakthroughs in science and technology. It was shown in a very informative and interactive way in which most exhibitions should be focusing on in the future. Knowledge is power, but action is the key to spreading such power.

KYOTO experience
Attended a half day tour around Kyoto with LC members and trainees where they got to learn more about the old capital of Japan, Kyoto. Much more different than Tokyo based on its lifestyle and architecture it has given us a different perspective of the fast paced economy of Japan.

The city has more of its old architectures, with more traditional houses or at least preserved models of Japanese houses compared to a more westernized Tokyo. The temples are so much near with nature where you can reflect and be one with nature as you climb a hill before reaching the top. They also have great delicacy which we got to experience to make it ourselves and have our very own souvenir in the end.


Japan trip: a great experience!!
The trip was definitely a cultural experience for me about Japan, but it was also a great opportunity for me to really get to know LC members very well as well as know trainees’ lifestyle and situation in their brief stay in Japan. Indeed the best conversations I had in this trip was while having those discussions in the bus, or lining up in one of the pavilions or just walking towards the MRT- for these were the discussions where I got lot more information compared to just staying in one of the classrooms and discussing these things.