10+10 = ....

Yesterday I reached one of the goals I have put for myself 260 days ago: in my MC term in AIESEC in Latvia I will attend/facilitate/coordinate/organise minimum 10 conferences. 10 months and 10 conferences. Does it equal to 100 new friends? 100 discoveries? 100 new places? 100 hours of preparaion?

It is much more than 100 new things. It is my life that I enjoy a lot. It is people around who create these opportunities, these environments. These are obstacles on a way that I may like to struggle with or that I get disappointed of if they are unreasonable. These are moments of creativity, long moments of unbelievable happiness, moments of being in comfort zone, adjusting to its stretches and unfortunately not getting out of it; these are lovely AIESEC dances, short and long sugar cubes from AIESECers that warm you up, especially when you miss those people. This is AIESEC.

In 24 days I am leaving Latvia. The story of another great personality is to be lived in AIESEC in Latvia in 2010-11. This person- whoever you are- is going to be lucky because it will be his/her best life experience!

Butterfly Effect

What makes you feel passionate?

What makes your eyes shine?

What makes your heart beat faster, harder and impationately?

What makes you be seductive in your current job occupation?

What is that that makes you feel alive and drives you non stop?

What is YOU?

In this post I wanna play a Snow ball or Butterly effect- I desperately wanna hear YOUR VOICE to know what makes you being UNIQUE in life and gets your eyes shine from inner/outer happiness.

Just to start with:

Personally, I shine when I see people make their first steps in any new activity/job that ultimately brings them closer to success. Success is when you can DO IT! My very lovable reminiscence of people's successes were my kids, my former students whom I taught in the University ( they were 2 years younger than me. By the way, 2 of them now got married- I got to know about this outstanding event yesterday) and whose teacher-facilitator I have been for almost 2 years in Kazakhstan International School.

I woke up today late and as usual was observing Riga people rushing to their work from our medium kitchen window. White soft snowflakes were dancing in the cold air adding more work for the street cleaners, increasing long moments of winter happiness for kids and reminding me that I have not received back any note from my former students yet. Reminding me how I miss seeing their successes in studies, how busy we were last year organising a short Greek sketch on eternal life values- love, courage and friendship; reminding that Jan 2009 was one of my most painful and memorable months in 2009 that brought me eventually to where I am. This morning gave me a great signal I might have forgotten- what passion is there for people? What type of passion exists for my friends?

Surprises and curiosity

It's April 22, 2009 and 1am now in Almaty. In a bit more than 12 hours AIESEC Latvia will make a right decision for an upcoming year. We are going to choose our MCP, and hopefully this week the National team will be comprised of courageous individuals.
I'm confident the team will be courageous- the people that applied are already brave. Three crazy males with their vision for 2009-10, so similar and different simultaneously. It might be hard to make a choice, it might not be. But the thing is that it will be done and it will be the most correct one. I am totally sure in this.

Another thing that made my day today is one of my coachees. We could not meet properly for a long time, and I already thought we would not have a chance to due to different reasons. But whenever you desire something a lot, it will come to you eventually. So, today I got such an interesting mail from her: she started to think seriously about her AIESEC career. She set up plans and goals, she defined what she misses and what she possesses, she understands now what she wants to achieve, how to achieve and how she can help others to achieve their goals. Isn't it exciting???!!! It is really personal but I am so much happy I can see results of our meetings.

And I start missing my teaching experience and my kids, my little wonderers, my 'always-asking-questions' 4 graders a lot. I have never thought I'd be missing them so desperately... But I'm proud and feel amazingly happy I have had such a life experience of working with them and doing incredible things everyday with them in our English, Geography, Science, History classes... I had to be so much creative with them, that in the end I was taking it for granted. I guess they never even had a simple thought of how much they changed me, and how much power and inspiration they had filled me with.

{I remember how my Mom used to say that only that teacher is the best that dares to teach naturally and whose students perform greater than the teacher. I keep tracking how my last and this year students are doing in their new schools in India, Kazakhstan, Spain, China, Peru, Dubai, South Korea, and feel inconceivably elated for them, for myself, for their future. Being one of the units in shaping their character and impacting them positively is a tremendously super duper feeling! I have never regreted yet I am a teacher! Thanks to my mother who taught me basic values and lessons for this life!}

...Experience is the best teacher.