Manic Monday

We started Monday off with a commute to the Banking Institute, a partner of MBM, to discuss their project that they want the students to complete while at camp. They were very helpful, giving us all the details of the project, what they expect from the students, and what kind of skills they want the students to leave with. It was a good session, I wish the other universities were as organized as the Banking Institute. Ana and Zhou Lin got lost on the way to the university, so they didn't make it to the meeting (I wasn't surprised that they'd get lost and miss the meeting. They were supposed to meet at the subway station near the school at 10 AM, but instead went to the AIESEC office). After the Banking Institute meeting, we went to Jenny's university and met up with the girls to eat.

We spent the rest of the afternoon discussing the the student-leader "Meet and Greet" we have planned on Saturday. Basically, we're going to have the opportunity to meet with about half of the students on Saturday, so we've decided to do a Global Village for them. Global Village is when each student has a table, and on that table they have stuff from their countries for display. For this Global Village we're all going to have some kind of food from our country to feed the students before the Meet & Greet officially starts. After the Global Village we'll have a quick overview of what to expect at the camp, what to bring, etc. and we'll finish the session with a fun activity that helps them get a "sneak peek" of what life will be like at the camp.

After working on that for the afternoon, everyone went home, but I had to meet with Jenny to go over some stuff we were supposed to talk about yesterday. Unfortunately, I found out that there was a lot of stuff that was supposed to be done yesterday that didn't get done. I knew of the tasks, but was unaware of the urgency that they needed to be done. The miscommunication eventually led me to be slightly overwhelmed. It wasn't made clear from the beginning what was expected of me, so I felt kind of slighted when I found out that I had unfinished work (not like I had so much time to work on it anyway).  Besides the fact that Jenny didn't communicate to me what exactly she needed, it was also frustrating that some of my work (like planning the design of the projects) can't be done until I have all the information and expectations from the universities. I guess I should have asked more questions to be clear on what needed to be done, so from now on, when it comes to working, I need to be more serious.

I went to another meeting with Jaro, who has been helping me with agenda, and he gave me a lot of ideas how to get everything done this week. When I returned home it was already 8 PM, and everyone was getting ready for a get together at Jenny's house. Jenny was cooking some Czech food for everyone and the music was already playing. I had to do laundry, so I put it in right away, and brought my stuff upstairs to get ready to work. I worked the whole night, missing the party. The international interns from the other apartment came over, as well as some members of AIESEC Prague (Czech students). From what I could hear while I worked, it sounded like a great party. Someone brought their guitar and I could hear everyone singing songs like Green Day and some classics (I can't remember the song names). It was really depressing, but I got my work done (I'm not sure if it's exactly what is expected of me, but I'll have to wait until later today to find out any feedback). I went to bed around one, and woke up to the remains of the party. The apartment is a disaster zone, almost like my dorm room before we moved out on graduation day, which, trust me, was not-so-clean!

I'm looking forward to today so I can present what I have created for the week and see what people think. I hate sitting with the feeling that my work is incomplete or unsatisfactory, so I obviously will not be less stressed until it's perfect. That just who I am. I'll probably be blogging again tonight. I'm going to start taking more pictures of the Elite 8 (our group leader/facilitator team--AKA Faci Team or Facis for short). Until next time!

The Party's Over, Now It's Business Time

I would like to thank everyone who came to my going away party yesterday. It was a great time! The food was delicious and tons of people showed up. Some of you I didn't even expect at all, and that was a great surprise. Also, I know some you, actually most of you reading this, probably couldn't come...so I've put a link at the bottom of this post to a photo album from yesterday. My sister was taking a bunch of pictures too. Hassle her about those. I'll post again tomorrow before I go to bed. I still haven't packed yet. I know, I know. I don't need to hear about it. I'm going to start right now. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to fit 20lbs of school books, tons of extra deoderant, shampoo, eye solution, snacks, clothes, and shoes into two suitcases. Under 50lbs. It's going to be a long night...that's for sure.

Going Away Party

Party Time!

What: My Going Away Celebration
When: Saturday, August 2, 2008 4:00 PM
Where: My House (you know the address)

Call my parents to find out what to bring. Food, fun and family. What more can you ask for before you head off to another country for 5 months. Hopefully there will be good weather so that we can have a fire at night. NO CHINESE FOOD! haha, but really...