Let's get ready to RUMMMBBLLLE!!

Firstly, IM BACK!!

Secondly, IM EARNING MONEY!!

Fourthly, I CAN'T COUNT!!!

 

You may have seen the movie the Italian job, the old one being a classic, and the new one being a very passable remake, though not at the same level. The old one involves a bunch of crooks who steal a shitload of gold and end up hanging on the edge of a cliff, with the gold on one side of the bus they are on, and their lives on the other side of the bus.

My Indian adventure has wrought something of a cliff's edge period in my life as well. I haven't really talked with anyone about it, mainly because I came back and was thrown into the corporate world head first and at great speed. The balance is as follows:

- I experienced India, I wondered at its breathtaking natural beauty, its diverse history, its heartaching reach at becoming something great. I also breathed in the dark, heavy air, i coughed; i drank the suspect mineral water, i wandered the dirty streets, traveled to the remotest villages and looked at the ugliest face it had to offer. Most of all, I connected with its people; they are a different lot over there, more open about matters of the heart and more closed about matters of the mind. They look forward and think backward at the same time. They are cheesy, and sophisticated, they are westernized and so very traditional. And I sit, unable to to remove the idea of India from my mind. I traveled in the southern regions and I seriously, for the first time, considered that I could live in this country, regardless of the problems it has or maybe because of them, and be happy.

- I arrived back in Australia, and it was like waking up from a vivid dream....I had returned home, to safety and to the things that I know well. To my friends (one in particular) to my parents, my house, my city, a new job, money, and all with a new outlook on life. This is where I will be safe, this is where I can rest.

So the balance is, where is my future going to lie? Will I play it safe and stick with what I know, where my support system is, or am I going to plunge into the timewarp that is India, and make my fortune (i mean that in a broad sense) there?

I don't know, I just don't know and so I'm gonna do my best to enjoy my time here with what I know, and the people who care for me, and continue to ponder this conundrum.

 

The question for me therefore, is: "where am I going?"

 

Ashwin

I thought that I would post here about my self-organised traineeship in Udaipur Rajasthan. Firstly, sorry to Lammo and Been for not adding to Monash statistics :), but this opportunity was something I wanted. But from my point of view, its all about making a positive impact, and it doesnt matter whether you do it through AIESEC, though in my case, I wouldnt be doing this if I hadn't been part of AIESEC.

 

From the start. Like I said, I'm working in Udaipur, my family's home town and the city where I was born and have a deep attachment to. Its a "small" city of about 400,000 people in the South of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is a desert state on the border of India and Pakistan, with a population of about 50million people, with a large percentage living in rural areas. It is one of the boom states of India, with growth due to tourism, mining and just recently IT starting to push up incomes, but its history is a poor one, with many backward practices, marginalisation of women, illiteracy and other problems having plagued it, and still plague it.

 

I'm working for an organisation called Seva Mandir (translates literally: Service Temple, but service in a good karma kind of way, it you get that). They work with rural populations around Udaipur and service about 500 villages within 100-150 kilometres of the city. In brief, they have three strategies:

1. Livelihoods: providing sustainable methods of farming and other natural resource management strategies to help villagers improve their standard of life.

2. Capabilities: This word actually refers to their Women and Children Development area, where they run various programs to encourage education of children, empowerment for women and general health initiatives for all the people in the village.

3. Institutions: this program deals with then trying to "outsource" their programs to the villagers themselves, ie providing them enough training, guidance, monitoring and money to run Village "funds" where they can basically provide loans to members for small projects that will make their lives better.

 

I'm working for a project that cuts across all three areas. The Capabilities program helps women set up small businesses (by providing, research, expertise and credit facilities). They currently have 60 such businesses set up, employing somewhere around 500 women. The problem they are having is with record keeping, tracking of these businesses, and then having a reliable database to be able to learn from their programs and make adjustments where needed.

So my project is looking at firstly making better record keeping systems that semi-literate women should be able to keep up-to-date. Then looking at the ways that Seva Mandir's field workers can best translate that information and send it to Seva Mandir. Finally I'll be assisting in the creation of a database that will store this information and I'll need to help create queries that the people at Seva Mandir can use. One of hte functions will be providing better credit information to their partner banks that lend at a micro level, to ensure that they can secure additional funds for more micro-enterprises.

 

So that's my story for the next few months, and I'll be attending a shitload of weddings during this time (the benefit of staying with rellies). I had thought I would stay in a hostel that they have set up for other foreign volunteers (from places like America, Canada, France), but they put me down as a local, and my cousins said "WHY??" so I'm staying with rellies and hopefully doing some good in the daytime.

 

Namaskar,

 

Ashwin

I'm leaving tonight for India, away for 3 months, during which time I'll be attending an awesome wedding, catching up with my cousins after a long time, and hopefully working on a DT or something similar (might be non-AIESEC organised, if I organise it myself) for 2 of those months...........

To everyone who has made this year the best ever for me, thank you so much. I hope that I when I come back from India, I'll have some amazing experiences to talk about and I will be able to encourage other people to do the same thing.

 

Au revoir for now, and I hope that all of you have an amazing summer!!!

 

Ash

I should be sitting down and studying, as I have the toughest two exams of my degree coming up, and if i fail either one, im screwed. BUT i have hay fever, and can't think straight, so perfect time to do some exam procrastination. I was looking through the archive of funny pictures that people have sent me over the years through emails, etc and found six pictures from a look alike competition. Doggone it, but I must say, these people are really scary!

 

 

sick again, as per usual, im used to it by now, just something that i guess that I will have to put up with for my life, i have a shit immune system.

 

BUT, in some good news, my mum was cleaning the back room and found something which I thought I had lost forever..........when we were in England in 1998, i had a portrait drawn by a Chinese Artist in Trafalgar square. It cost 10 pounds, but it was worth it. I feel it brings out a level of innocence and an almost feminine quality of a 13 year old boy. I used to be very insecure about my appearance (what's changed and who isnt?) but this portrait was awesome because although it didnt make me look "good" per se, it did bring out a certain quality in my face which I was really proud of. I thought I had lost this, that we had left it in India somewhere, but it was here all along!!! so happy and so many memories of my trip to Europe all those years ago....

 

 

major nausea (is that how you spell it?) just hit me. on the 3rd of november, the day of my last exam, i will have (assuming i pass my subjects) finished my 4 year degree!

oh my god (haha, funny i say that, just read makka's blog), i thought I would be happier than this. But i don't think I wan't to leave uni. I think the reason for that is that this year has been absolutely the greatest ever. I haven't worked part-time, i've grown so much, and learned so much, I've slacked off studies, I've achieved the goals that I wanted to achieve (including a fairly personal, through no action of my own :) ), I've developed close relationships with people and really felt like I have become a better person.

What next year? working 50hrs a week, in a job that will probably not be my future, and living for weekends, so that I can go and get wasted to drown out the boredom of full-time work?

maybe i shouldnt go into the job with an attitude like that, but at the moment, I feel like i wanna call them up and say, screw you, im doing honours, or starting a new degree!!! i wish.........

 

Ash

People say Human Resources at companies is an easy job. and maybe they are right, but when it comes to selecting or not selecting people who you have a connection with and are immensely proud of, let me tell you its not easy, at all.

Friday night was a difficult night for a few people, people who I care for. To those who made it to the EB, congratulations, I'm sure that you will have a fantastic year and hopefully develop.

 

Its tough when you want something and you don't get it. Something that I've learned is that when one door closes, another opens. Leadership is not just a position its a series of actions and decisions, and as Will has said, second year team members can really drive the LC, because they are knowledgable, experienced and passionate, but are not burdened with the responsibilities of a team leader. Make the most of what you have learned from the experience and im sure you will also have an incredible year as well.

 

From my point of view, being on the EB this year has been one of the most amazing experiences in my life. It has been more rewarding then anything I have ever done and for that I must thank all the people who made it possible, the past leaders of AIESEC Monash who put in so much hard work to ensure that the organization survived at Monash and allowed me to gain access to this opportunity and the current crop of leaders who have helped, inspired and motivated me this year. Thank you EB.

 

The whole EB was inspiration for me, but just a quick special thank you to Nicolai. Nick has been a shining example of dedication, hard work, craziness, passion and leadership this year for me. His inspiration after he came back from AP was something that really moved me to put in the hard work that was required.

 

Inspired by the kind of help that Huy and Vivi gave us and are giving us, I would like to be the kind of alumni who properly takes part in the AIESEC experience, and if there were only one reason for it, it would be so that others can have the experiences that I have and become the kind of people who will make a difference to this crazy world of ours.

 

I would have liked to leave a more enduring and solid legacy, but the one thing that I think I have done, is follow through with the hard work that Darren had done the year before, and at least reminded AIESEC Monash, what it means to have trainees. If that can help inspire the LC to perform and grow, I will be happy.

 

So, to the EB and all the members of next year, I wish you the best of luck, and look forward to hearing about the amazing things that you are doing, as well as seeing you develop and discover your potential and follow the AIESEC experience.

 

Ash