Here comes....Rene from Germany!!

A little bit about my background, so it is a bit easier to understand my perspective. Almost exactly ten years ago, I was still a quite introverted boy in that went on an exchange to a high school inWisconsin, USA. I was there for only one semester, but I think it is responsible for infecting me with the travelling bug. My experience from back then was basically that going to another place also means a chance to be someone else.

Back at home, it is easy to get caught and remain in the picture that the people around you have. But I realised that a little bit too late.But life is full of once-in-a-lifetime-chances. After graduating from high school and being exempted from military service, I did not want to go to university and continue studying. I needed a break from that and went to work for one year at Disney World in Florida at the German pavillion.

That was basically a lifechanging experience, as all the internationals were living together. I shared my apartment with people from Italy, Japan, Kenya, South Africa, India and Trinidad & Tobago. Living there, I made a lot of friends from south east asia and enjoyed their food and hospitality. Living there was a tremendous experience that helped me a lot to open up and to become more outgoing.Eventually I had to go back and start studying of course.

I believe because I was missing that international feeling there, I joined AIESEC(it took a while until I knew that there was such an organisation). In 2004 I travelled for the first time to Asia and stayed for 2 months with a Chinese family in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. A year later I went on a internship for 9 months in Singapore and in 2007 I returned again for a two month visit. My stays in Asia have been partially challenging and there are still many things, especially culture wise where I have only scratched the surface. Still I want to come back and learn more.

That's Rene at the right end with friends

Ok, enough about the background, let's get to the questions:

1. When I go back to (your country), I'll take ....
a lot memories, great new friendships, tons of photographs and usually the desire to come back. Waiting at home to wait for everyone to visit me is too boring. To those that want to visit me anyways: Hurry up lah ;)

2. What things do you do in Singapore which you never did before at home? Or rarely do...
Probably eating out almost all the time. The food is so cheap in Asia. But that is also due to the fact that I was reluctant to invest a lot into cooking utensils. Here in Germany, I have to cook most of the time or else I would go bankrupt. My advice for everyone that goes on exchange outside Asia: Learn to cook!- it saves money- helps if you are missing the food from home (you will and McDonalds does not count)- is a great way to socialise, invite people and ask them to cook something as well (if cannot cook well, just tell them it is supposed to look and taste that way ;)

3. What things did you do at home that you would never do here?
Here in Germany, it is normal to give good friends a hug when meeting or parting (though guys usually do not do that to each others). It is a sign of feeling comfortable with the other person. And yes, there are different degrees to hugging: from a simple gesture to a heartfelt bear hug. However in Asia, I often have to restrain myself from doing that, mostly because I did not know if the other person was feeling comfortable with that. And asking about that would have been weird.


4. What change of mentality did you experience?It took me a long time to understand how strong the family bonds really are. I feel that I am brought up to be more independent, being able to make my decisions, even if my parents disagree. However, having a bunch of close Asian friends with whom I discussed this a lot, I believe that my own thinking changed about this as well a little. Even though I am very independent from my family, I do feel more responsbile towards them nowadays. Or maybe that is just me growing up.


5. What was your most memorable experience in Singapore thus far?
This one is tough to answer. I do not think that I can single out one experience. It is rather the whole time that I spent in Asia. May it be the food, the people on the MRT, the hot and humid climate or the aunties and uncles at the kopitiams. :)

YUPPIEE....Rene WAS here in Singapore :)

cheers,
rene

Windbreaker Design Competition

Hey AIESEC!=)

Our Winderbreaker Design Competition is open now!!!

You ALL can be the decider of which design you want our entire LC to wear.
If you are interested in designing or you want to express of your idea, pls send me you design by Oct 8th. Can send me your design at ivy1zhang@hotmail.com

Have a great recess week!!=p
Zhang Ning
Branding and communications Manager

Tips Session on Fundraising from Prof

Hey AIESEC in NTU!

Lucia's Prof(Dr. Poon) has very kindly offered to give us tips on fundraising...

It will be held on
Date: 4th Oct Thursday Time: 7-9pm (pls come at 645pm) Venue: SAC

This will be a great chance to learn from a guru of fundraising and hopefully employ these skills when we are searching for funding for our various OCs!

See you there!

Networking Session and CSR Lecture on 14th Sep 2007

All dressed up in our formal suits, we met in Raffles MRT. After getting a few tips from our gurus in Networking (Sharon, Rina and Jean Nic), we felt more confident to walk into Fullerton to practice what we had just learnt.

Once we entered the Networking area, we were greeted by YMCA(Young Men's Christian Association of Singapore) who were eager to partner with youth organisations to promote Volunteerism. This was definitely in line with our PBoX BEADS.

We were also very proud of Shubhangi (LCP of NUS) when we received a copy of the Corporate Social Responsibilty (CSR) manual. She and other NUS students helped to produce it.

Thereafter, we were given half an hour to mingle with the rest of the guests. During which, we tried out the famous Tiramisu by Fullerton's Chef. It was served on porcelain spoons, which made it taste better!

During the CSR lecture, we viewed a presentation by Global Compact; on the importance of CSR and an individual's contribution to the society.

The Guest of Honour Mr Muthuraman, Managing Director of Tata Steel & UN Global Compact Board Member, shared with us his valuable insights on CSR in today's world. After his inspiring speech, the floor was opened to questions from the guests.

One of the questions from the floor was from Jean Nic (AP GN Board member for ER). Jean Nic asked for Mr B Muthuraman's advice on how Youth can contribute towards CSR. Mr B Muthuraman told us that it was us who would decide and we as youths had the power to do what we wanted to make a positive impact on society. On top of that, he praised AIESEC for doing that!

From this Networking event, not only have we gone away with many new inputs for our various AIESEC taskforces, but we have also been empowered to put our dreams for a better society into action!

Join Golden Legend Project!

(A confluence of @ers from SG, HK, TW & M'SIA)

Hey AIESEC!

How is everybody doing?

I have some good news for you! Remember during the first induction, the senior members showed us the photos they took during their trip to Taiwan? Remember the pretty girls from Taiwan? Now you can have the chance to go there too! (Wow~~Taiwan, beautiful place isn’t it?)

This is a project initiated by AIESECers from Taiwan. It consists of three parts. Firstly, there will be an online learning platform through which you can form learning partners form Taiwan, Hongkong and Malaysia. For example, one AIESECer from Singapore will have 3 online learning partners; one from Malaysia, one from Hongkong and one from Taiwan. Cool isn’t it? So what will you be learning through discussion on that platform? Basically, there are different topics for each month. The topics consists of culture, environment, communication skills and so on. When is that? It’s from October 2007 to April 2008.The address is :
http://www.meworks.net/meworksv2a/meworks/page1.aspx?no=88269

The second part is the most exciting part. Yes! Sending you guys to Taiwan to participate in the Golden Legend Conference. What is Golden Legend Conference? Well, it’s quite similar to the Treasure Hunt or Amazing Race. Just like the online learning platform, you will join a team in which teammates are from different places, Hongkong, Malaysia and Taiwan. The theme of this conference is environment. In the conference, you will have to go from one station to another. In order to pass the station, you need to complete the task given by the station master. When is the conference? It will be held in the beginning of July, 2008. How long? It’s 3-day event. So for those interested in going to Taiwan, start to prepare for it!

The last part is to hold Golden Legend Conference in Singapore, also at the beginning of July, 2008. So we need to form an OC, who will be able to stay in Singapore at that time. For those interested in gaining more ability in organizing an international conference, this is a good chance for you!

All right, hope you are not tired reading through all these. :) For those interested, please contact me and Kangran. Of course, if you have any question regarding this project; please also let us know OK?

Cheers!
Yunzhou.

Yunzhou
MSN: shengyunzhou@msn.com email shengyunzhou@msn.com HP 96336406
Kangran
MSN: vill521@hotmail.com email villence@gmail.com HP 92215396

AIESEC Mentorship Night - Explore the Mentorship Experience !

Hi AIESEC !!

We are inviting you to the AIESEC Mentorship Night event.

We have organised the event for the mentors to meet their mentees.

It will be a great opportunity for the mentors and mentees to know each other better and to build a meaningful relationship.

Unsure of what mentorship means?Don't worry. We are arranging for 2 experienced trainers who are experts in facilitating mentorship programs.

We have confirmed the presence of Joshua Goh from PromiseWorks (promiseworks.org), a non profit organisation specialising in mentorship, to share his experience.

This event will be a great platform for interaction among new and senior members, alumni, and trainees of AIESEC as well.

Event Details:
Venue : Harry's Bar, Boat Quay (Walking distance from Raffles Place MRT)
Date : 6th October 2007 (Saturday)
Time : 7 pm to 10.30 pmPrice : You will be informed after you sign up. But fear not, it is affordable

Sign up at: http://snipurl.com/mnight OR http://mnight.wufoo.com/forms/mentorship-night

Please sign up by this Saturday, 29th September 2007

Questions? Please contact Nathan (90477068, n4t31986@yahoo.co.uk) or Kelvin (91773635, kq@kquee.com)

Thank you and see you on 6th October.

Best regards,
Nathan Boenjamin
Event Coordinator
AIESEC Mentorship Night Committee
"Grasping the key of change"

Join AP HEROES Conference in Oct 2007!!!

What is HEROES?

• An initiative of APGN which is centered around the issues of HIV/AIDS and Market Expansion
• This AP project is aimed at helping the region to grapple with these 2 issues through providing internships and learning opp for members and the public
• Why HIV/AIDS? Many Asian countries are now having severe HIV pandemic and yet most global funding for HIV/AIDS only goes to Africa but not AP
• Why market expansion? The whole AP is currently a booming economic region, and many companies are flocking to AP. Hence, there are loads of potential for raising internships
• Nonetheless, most of the big companies and their top management leaders in AP are originated from other non-AP countries. This scenario is not sustainable for the region as a whole, because if all the foreign companies and leaders leave AP one day, our economy will be in jeopardy.

Why HEROES Conference?

• This conference is the highlight of AP HEROES initiatives and platform for everyone to understand how to make HEROES successful in their respective countries.


• It brings together the key drivers of HIV/AIDS and Market Expansion across the entire Growth Network to network, plan, build partnerships and develop skills.


• Most importantly, HEROES will be a regional conference. Imagine the AP network that you that you will gain! Definitely a life-changing experience!

Details:

Venue: Kompleks Rakan Muda, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia
Dates: Oct 18-21, 2007
Who can join? AIESECers who are involved in projects or OCs related to HEROES initiatives, MCs, LCPs and LCEBs.
How much? Around EURO 100 (Inclusive of AIESEC M'sia Gala Dinner)

Interested? Send an email to Alvin at alvin.hong@aiesec.net and cc Rachel (rae.lsm@gmail.com)
For more info, kindly refer to APGN Newsletter (http://www.geocities.com/tuitionmatch84/APGN_Newsletter_Sept07.html)

Opportunity to Earn US$75 through A Market Research

Hello AIESEC!

My name is Elisa Parhad and I am an AIESEC alumnus from the University of Texas at Austin in the United States. I am now working with a market research company in Hollywood, California and could use some help from some fellow AIESECers in Asia.

If you qualify, you would receive US$75 at the end of your participation. To be considered for the project, please send the following information to Kimberly@look-look.com:
-Name
-Age
-Location
-Also, please tell us about your last experience buying or shopping for makeup in a department store.

If you qualify, Kimberly will give you further instructions regarding participation.
Please pass this information along to your AIESEC chapter or anyone else you think might quality and be interested (non-AIESECers are welcome to participate).

Best wishes,
Elisa Parhad, Senior Research Manager
Look-Look Inc.
732 N Highland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
323-856-5555 ext 25 (tel)
323-856-8511 (fax)
http://www.look-look.com/

Gossip Time

After today's departmental meeting, PD and Finance went to Canteen A for lunch. Along the way, these 2 members practically "abandon" the entire entourage and walked ahead of us. Could that spell a potential AIESEC couple to replace Chewi and Kenneth as AIESEC couple of the year 2007?

Miss Japan reporting...
Channel News AIESEC
Tokyo

Gossip Time: Aren't they sweet?

JUMP START! 2007

Hi everyone! My name is Yunzhou, a fresh member from NTU LC. I would like to share with you some of my feeling about the amazing Jump Start I attended.

I did learn a lot during JS. It was really amazing and unforgettable (during which I myself used girls’ make up for the first time in my life as Miss Australia~~J). I have known more international friends; I have known more about AIESEC. What’s more, what impressed me the most is the passion about AIESEC I saw from those senior members.

Our Miss Australia and Miss Hong Kong

During the JS itself, I got the chance to know people like Sharon, Shub, Imran, and Jean. These people are really dedicated to AIESEC. I think everybody can see their love to AIESEC when Sharon was sharing, when Shub was dancing (wow~~ amazing dancer!), when Imran was doing ice-braking games and when Jean was facilitating. Among them, there are several things I would like to share with you guys. First, during the facilitation, I was told that Jean has been refusing to use plastic bags for like 8 years (if I’m not wrong). That’s really respectful. As I learnt from him, I went shopping this week without using plastic bags. I believe that as long as everybody can start from himself/herself, we can do something to save the earth.

AIESEC NTU Rocks The House!

Secondly, from the interview with wanxin, what she shared with me really taught me something. What I learnt from her is that we should never be stopped by our fears; run towards them and embrace them. Thirdly, during the session “me I and myself” conducted by Shub, I formed a clearer vision about my life, about what I’m going to achieve, how I’m going to achieve it. That was really inspiring. Last but not least, I want to thank all the OCs for organizing such a wonderful conference. That was really fun.

The New Generation of AIESEC NTU! Welcome.....

Delegates from AIESEC Malaysia

I’m really glad that I chose AIESEC; that I joined AIESEC, for there are so many good AIESECer examples for me to follow; for there are so many things I can do in the world to make a difference. AIESEC rocks!

Written by,

Yun-zhou

1st year members of AIESEC NTU 0708 (Way to go dude!)

-The World is Our Playground-

NIGHT SAFARI OUTING THIS SATURDAY!!!

Hey AIESEC!

Are you feeling bored of your studies? Tired with your quizzes and project meetings?

Join us and chill out at Night Safari this Saturday (Sep 15) evening!

- Amazing Night Safari Beckons-

Details:

Time: 7pm (Meet at Chua Chu Kang MRT station)

Who can go? Every AIESECer in Singapore. Yes, YOU!
(Our lovely AP GN Board stars- Jean Nic and Rina will be going too!!!)

Any queries? Kindly contact Anubhav (BEADS OC VP 0708) at 9231-5047

Yup, see you there!

AIESEC Korea was in the house

Am sorry for this late update.

***

There were 8 Korean @ers in Singapore a few weeks back for a study tour.

On a Saturday afternoon, we had a meeting with them at NUS. This group of friendly and outgoing people was in town to know more on how @SIPO operates and to get to know the country too.

Initially I thought we would have some problems communicating with them, or they might be too shy. I was proved wrong immediately when we started the meeting.

We started off with an ice-breaking games where each one must introduce him/herself and do one action. The person next to him/her must repeat what has been mentioned and re-do the action, after which he/she has to introduce himself and do another action. When I asked, 'Who wants to start first?', without hesitant one of them volunteered himself.

Then we proceed with more action games and we had a great fun full of laughters. Next, we continued with a Korean traditional games. We were divided into two teams: Kimchi and Durian. It was so exciting how we 'prayed' our group would win *haha*. Durian also came up with jolly cheers. But, Kimchi won the games effortlessly. Daniel from NUS was the star of the games.

Next, we had presentations on Singapore, AIESEC in Singapore, Incoming Exchange, External Relations as well as group sharings. Not to forget, dance dance revolution!

At the end of the session, we went to Holland V for a dinner before we proceed to Kallang for a fruit spree. Guess the Koreans were too afraid of durians ^^'

Ice-breaking games: See the funny-funny actions and poses?

More poses and 'punishment' haha

Daniel made his 'hatrick' in this Korean game. Woowww!!

And a group picture....for sure!

On our way to Kalland for a fruit spree *yeah

From duku, water-apple, jackfruit, mango, papaya, durian to mangosteen
We were FULL!

Farewell Dinner for Our CEEDer

Hey AIESEC!

Have you got any plan on this Sunday evening after Jump Start?

If you haven’t, we would like to invite you to JOIN US for a farewell dinner which is dedicated to our dear CEEDer, Grace Yuan from UIBE, MoC.

Grace Yuan, current CEED of LC NTU & OGX Team Leader of UIBE

Where? Thai Express, Holland V

When? Around 7.30pm,after JS

(We’ll leave JS together for Holland V)

Who can attend? Every AIESECer in Singapore! The more the merrier!

For any queries, contact Grace Chen at +65 9651 8796.

See yah!

Psst..do u think Lan/Diana will wear red underwear?