How are you Robin!? Are you sure you can go for camp tomorrow? Well why are they worried? Because I didnt finish my lunch today, and basically everyone is not feeling that well in the Office currently. BUT! I’m feeling super fine, so I want to share some Updates with you, what has been going on?
Why do I have every reason to be happy?
Last weekend was Volunteer Congress (fotos.rfrick.de/?gallery=Volunteer%20Congress log in information on request!) an amazing weekend! We had some nice sessions (@AFS Germany: Blindenführung (extended Version), Das Ei-Spiel, und ein paar kleinere Sessions), and Saturday night finished with the Farewell Dinner for SH10, a very nice night. Although I (I know I shouldn’t but still do) must say compared to what AFS GER is offering its students here it is more focusing on a happy time with AFS, pompous Function, nice Hotel, etc. Whereas I think AFS GER spends its money more for teaching (on the one hand for students and hosftfamilies, but also for volunteers) and personal development.
Farewell SH10, Gold & Silver theme! Me, Azhan and Justin.
Another example for this was last weeks Midstay for NH10, a nice camp but not very structured. There is a great room for improvement and that is taken seriously and is being worked on, so one can’t blame AFS Malaysia, besides the sessions we did were all conducted quite well and I think the goals where all quite well achieved when I say that the group was working nicely together, there was an atmosphere of mutual trust, the participants were offered as much help as we could, and that is unfortunately all we can do, we can’t make someone accept our help, not here, not anywhere else in the world. But then comparing (I know, again) we had a nice Hotel with good food, pool and twin-rooms in appartments which actually would have had a kitchen… On a touristy island with nice beaches, but the majority of the people had to travel there a long way. Then we went sightseeing and for one afternoon to the beach. That is all very nice, but for me as an AFSer from Germany it takes some time to accept that there is soo much money going to that, and then there was only one session on intercultural learning (which I poorly conducted, shame on me, I didn’t take the time to prepare well).
It was two amazing camps with two completely different but super-nice groups, where I learned a lot and which I both enjoyed a lot!
My life here is great, I enjoy every minute! Problems!? That is something for past and future (24th of December :-( ), but I live now! I don’t know whether I have changed that much since leaving Germany, for some reason people here think I am an “allways happy person”. I don’t think I changed myself that much, but of course being confronted with a completely different culture and more specific a completely different set of people, I suppose I change my behaviour. In Germany I never was a super-serious person (even if someone tried to force me to be that, I could never be that way), but linving here, taking my freedomns as the “not knowing european tourist” whenever I like it just gives me some more room to be a little childish maybe from time to time, and (please people if not) at the same time be someone who is always there for a serious talk and is also taking responsility for what I do. I like =D.
The "perfect fusion" of Asian and German culture. Sushi & Karaoke combined with Beer
A look into the future: this weekend is a “volunteer & returnee camp” from AFS Malaysia, maybe comparable to a mixture of zweite Nachbereitung, Bildungsherbst/-Frühling in small scale (less than 50 participants). Wednesday: Orchestra visit at KLCC. A lot of fun stuff =).
Please note, that this Post has been written over 1 week, so if there is any “today”/”yesterday”/”tomorrow” mentioned it doesnt necessarily mean that.
And now, because I found so many beautiful things on the Internet, here is a small selection I want to share with the ones willing to see it.
Tachi is saying Thank You once again via Video for the Volunteer Day 2010
Beautiful Photography by Andrew B. Myers via Booooooom! (go to the post or visit Andrews website to see more of the beautiful Photos):
A beautiful idea to advertise for seconhand fashion, via I Beleive in Advertising
And last a nice (already “old”) article from the TAZ, very interesting “Feindbeobachtung im Wahlkampf: Im Visier des Gegners” very interesting is especially, why political parties in Germany want to keep it as unknown as possible to the public.
