Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts

Thursday, August 27, 2009

August RUSH!

August rush.
Indeed.
Every day.
Every moment.
Every second.
It is my 18th day in Riga and it is 3.27 in the morning :) (yes, yes, I am countng days. why? no idea. I just like it.)
I am living an exciting period in Aug 2009- Autumn Member Recruitment into AIESEC Latvia. At one point it seems not so much hectic as I would expect. But if you compare it to the lack of some key resources, you start feeling it kind of challenging at some point. For instance, it is a reality that people leave here for summer holidays; but then complete work stops for summer you may wonder, right? Well, hopefully we have some responsible AIESECers who actually activate leadership and we hand-in-hand build action plan, implement it, and I am patiently waiting for the results to appear.
I sometimes get surprised or just curious of how patient I have become. It is also becoming a discovery for me. Discovery that I quickly need to identify, solve it out and use it wisely. For the purpose that the better I know myself, the better results I can bring for the society, for the work itself and for myself. The rest that is left to define is the time framework: How long discovery will take me to see its logical end? Or there is no end? :) I suppose so.
Leadership.
Acting sustainably.
Back to my work, to Recruitment 2009. I mentioned that we are currently lacking of some key resources that sometimes they may demotivate people and slow down the work pace. You know, I think opposite. Having less resources pushes our brains to work, to brainstorm creative ideas, to give a birth to leadership and to build the first bricks of self confidence. These small fast moments I have witnesses yesterday. I was having a meeting with one of our LCPs (Local Committee Presidents) and listening to her understanding of AIESEC, to our organizational identity in her words and I actually was happy. I would compare that meeting to one of my sweetest working experiences: to teaching. When I see how a kid shining from his first results achieved by him, I am happy. I was happy seeing Karina explaining to me her point of view on Recruitment '09 features. I was simply happy. And this happiness gives me more strength, more courage, more meaning I am at the right place with right people. Finally I am building my long term team experience that I was dreaming of since Aug 2008. It took me a year to put my dream into action. good enough, ugh? ;)
Network.
Close friends.
People development.
Another flash of this day is a long awaiting meeting with my Lithuanian friend Lina B.
Briefly: she has been LCP Kaunas 2006-07 (if I am not mistaken), OCP (Organizing Committee President) of EuroCo '07, and we were together in ENERGY '08 FACI team.
An evening we spent in an open air bar/cafe was splendid!!! A live music by a Latvian band (and favourite songs in English and new songs in Latvian for me :) , a chilly weather, a cup of Latte and sweet memories, sharing stories, easy laughter and again this feeling: I am happy. I am at the right place. I have great friends near me. I found what I was looking for. I am happy for what this environment gives me, and I am happy to share my experience and skills with this environment. Simply: give and take :)
... Friends' B'days: So many friends of mine were born in Aug: I am checking my accounts at different social web-sites to send warm greetings to my GREAT! friends and to be updated about their life streams. I have another friend who is celebrating her Bday tomorrow (well, actually it is today since it is already morning of Aug 27 :) - Liza, my MC mate, my roommate, my colleague and friend again. Liza, I wish you to have a big success in your life and in our MC term =) As you are one of the fantastic elements of our small but courageous team :) we will achieve success. I believe in it!
P.S. so you might ask: 4 in the morning and I am blogging? No, I was preparing a functional meeting agenda on Talent Management for my VP TMs (Vice President Talent Management) =)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

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.