Gala week and the end of our first month on the MC

Time is flyyyyyyyying by. I can't believe that it is already the end of July. This year is going to go by just as fast as when I was in Costa Rica, but I think the reasons are obvious. So, news news news. What have I been doing all week? I was making about 100 phone calls inviting AIESEC alumni to the Stakeholders Gala that we're holding this Thursday, Aug 3. We've only had 2 weeks really to promote it, but I'm happy to say that I did my job and we'll have about 30 alumni there, including at least 2 of the founding members of AIESEC Mexico. I've been going out a lot too to have meetings with LC members and alumni alike. I'm really enjoying the networking. It's very interesting to be meeting so many people of all ages and careers. I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with my life to be able to take advantage of everything I'm learning and gaining now.

This coming week is huge. I don't have much left to do with confirming alumni but I have to make the final draft of the portfolio of opportunities that I've been working on for alumni. It's basically the structure in which we want to work with alumni, everything from networking to giving talks at conferences to being mentors to members, etc. Ahhhhhh, and it looks like I'll be in Poland for 3 weeks! I paid for my plane ticket the other day, a pretty penny indeed, but every cent will be worth it. I'm sure of that.

We went to the huge aztec pyramids that are just one hour outside of Mexico City, Teotihuacán. I saw them last year too when I came to facilitate a conference in Mexico, but this time the whole MC went as a team building activity. Beautiful and impressive. I'll upload pictures soon. Bueno, me despido para ahora. Que disfrutes cada dia y que aproveches cada oportunidad de ser feliz. ¡Adiós!

Awesome day

I know that I can't get too excited about it because things change so quickly, but today has been awesome. And really the whole week. I've really been enjoying my work. I've been contacting alumni and setting up meetings to fundraise for the Gala and also for our trip to Poland for the International Congress of AIESEC. I get to meet so many cool people, which is new for me because I'm not used to talking with business people. And on top of all of this I've been so happy with my teammates/housemates. We have a great time and there is never a dull moment. THIS IS THE LIFE! I never wanna grow up. Oh yeah, and I'm learning to play the guitar with Sebastian :-) Following the family tradition :-)

The craziness begins

AIESEC never leaves a dull moment in your life. You will always have one more thing to finish or another event to prepare for. Even though we, the national team, rushed to prepare a four-day conference in just three days, I really feel like the craziness has just started this week and this is the craziness that will not end until we finish our terms next July.

Currently we are overloaded with work to organize the Stakeholders Gala of AIESEC México that will take place in exactly 2 weeks. We've got so many things packed into our little timeframe, but it keeps us alive :-P But once we finish with the Gala we have to start preparing for the International Congress (IC), which will take up a good two weeks at the end of August. Coming back from IC I've got to plan visits to the local committees that I am coaching. And the calendar continues my friends, until we arrive at next July and we'll say "My oh my, how the time does fly". But I plan on enjoying the ride.

Weekend parties in Cuernavaca and Bety's house!

What a weekend. Sebastián, Ahmet, Dani, Jorge, and I went to Cuernavaca with a bunch of trainees and a group of Mexicans. One of the trainee's friends has a summer home in Cuernavaca and they let about 20 of us stay there. We left the Distrito Federal at 10pm on Friday night and after getting lost with 2 taxis and horrible directions we finally made it to the house at 1am. I stayed up until 5:30ish am hanging out and talking. The music never stopped and I just laid out my blanket on the floor of one of the bedrooms to "sleep" for about 3.5 hours before I woke up at 9am to the same music and chattering.

I was convinced to join the group in the pool, which was freezing at that hour of the day, but it was fun. We lounged around and joked until about 11am. Ahmet was really tired from the whole trip so we decided to leave a little early and go see the city. Instead of going to the center of town, we went with a bunch of the other trainees and members to Tepoztlan, which is about 30min in car from Cuernavaca in the mountains. It was SUCH A GOOD IDEA! A beautiful little mountain town with an amazing street market and cathedral. I'll upload the photos soon.

Anyway, we had a great day in Tepoztlan and took the bus back to DF. We arrived home at around 7pm and had just a few hours of rest before we got ready for the next party! Hahaha. Good times. But gotta get back to work. Ciao!

Circle of Love

Thank you to everyone these past few weeks have been showering me with love. It's lit up my days and I've been going around with a spring in my step :-P.

Thank you to my mom & the gang at the marina for the sweet care package and email.

Thank you to my bestest friend in the whole wide world, Tiffany, for her care package (cribbage board and Japanese playing cards :-p) and also for an endearing email that lifted my spirits.

Thank you to the entire national staff of AIESEC US for supporting me in an incredible random act of kindness in going to Poland for the International Congress.

Among these things that I have received, I'm also just very happy for what I have been able to give these weeks to my friends who need help. I feel like this month is just one perfect example of good karma :-D I love you all and I know you love me!

Lovin' Life

Work is good, we've arranged our apartment for the most part, we have GAS for cooking and hot water, we're starting our office routine and everything is just going well for now. I feel content with everything for now :-P Not say that I'm never going to have a bad day, but at least for right now I'm good.

We just got done with the conference and it was intense. We learned a lot about how we work as a team under stressful situations. The next conference will be all that much better. Take it one day at a time. Life is too short to be taken seriously...

Work officially started

July 1 = First day of work on the national team in AIESEC Mexico. We've got our first conference with the executive boards of the local committees starting tomorrow until Saturday. We've been preparing for the past 5 days nearly straight through. I'm so tired. 13 hour days and the like. It'll be great to get in front of the LCs as part of the new national team that will lead them this year. Yay! And the parties, woo hoo! Unless we have to work during the nights, but I don't expect that.

Preparation hasn't been easy. I've come up against a little bit of culture shock in relation to how we went about organizing our sessions and the agenda for the conference, but I'll get over it. The other hard part to deal with is the living situation. Nobody is settled anywhere and it's really frustrating and we can't fix it until after the conference. Not everyone has keys, we've been out of hot water for about 5 days because we need to buy gas, and the dog is driving everyone absolutely crazy. Ahhhhh, just the little things, right? I'm trying to be as patient as possible, but sometimes the emotions build up.

Life is too short to worry. Let it all go...