Our second trainee of the year, Natasha Katsiouli, arrived in October to AIESEC Viña del Mar to work in corporate social responsibility with an NGO in Valparaíso, Chile. It was quite embarassing when she arrived because she was speaking Spanish better than I do and I had been in Chile for 9 months. The LC in Viña gave here a warm welcome at the Local Comittee Conference in Quilpué, Chile. This video was taken just hours after she landed in Chile. It was a surprise because we had told her that we were going to a friend's house, but the truth was we were taking here to the venue of the conference.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Pocket Recruitment to Brazil
Our Pocket Recruitment focused on administration students that wanted to go to Brazil during the summer months of December to February. Using our program Activating Leadership Brazil (link), we were able to get 52 applicants for the program with a final number selected of 23. At this rate, it will most likely end in December with 14 matches and 11 realizations with the rest realizing in quarter 1. Dealing with 17 EPs has been quite the challenge, but with the strong OGX team that we have, there is no doubt of success. We already have matches with LCs in Florianópolis, Santa Maria, and Uberlandia. Segmentation of programs is the key to success.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Spring Time in Chile
PHOTO ALBUM 1: Camilo's Birthday Party (link)
PHOTO ALBUM 2: Experimenta AIESEC Viña (link)
I returned to Chile to start classes back up and to meet our second trainee that arrived to Viña from Brazil. He was doing a DT in a local NGO working on the professionalization of the NGO, Cotra (link). I ended up taking the classes of Development Psychology, Political and Social Themes of Contemporary Chile, Cultural Anthropology, Latin American Short Stories, and Mountain Sports at the Pontificie Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (link). They worked out pretty well. This was also a time of many strikes from elementary and middle school teachers who were not happy with the salary that they were receiving. This is really bad for the children because they cannot go to school because there are no teachers. Elections of the student federation for 2010 were being held around this time where there were all out campaigns to be elected. They would go into each and every class and do a presentation to the class about why they should be the leaders of the federation. The culture of the classroom is very different than what I am accustomed to in the United States. There is much more of a relaxed atmosphere, the classes are canceled much more often without notice, the classes are more democratic about when we are going to take the tests, and every time someone enters the class late, the whole class erupts in an Ooooooooo starting at a low tone and going up. My Development Psychology professor uses anecdotal stories for each and everything that he teaches. The girl in my class gave that birth in September serves as the reference for things we are learning in class about the behavior of newborns. Sex education hardly does not exist in a country that is guided by the Catholic ideology. If you want to avoid STDs or pregnancy, abstinence is the only way to go. As seen in the United States as well as Chile, this teaching ideology serves not to reduce pregnancy rates but rather only to increase them it seems. The cafeterias within the university are run by contracted external business but do not have a brand name at all. Real coffee does not exist. Everything is powdered coffee with hot water added. Lunch foods at the university are mainly hotdogs.
I ride a Mercedes Benz to school everyday. Not what you normally think of but it's a Mercedes Benz nonetheless (link). It’s the type of buses that are used by the city’s public transportation. The public transportation is privatized to companies that have the best bid for the government. My host dad works for a company that bids to run the parking meters of the city each year. They are always coming up with bids to take on the running of different government operations. Privatization: Crazy.
PHOTO ALBUM 2: Experimenta AIESEC Viña (link)
I returned to Chile to start classes back up and to meet our second trainee that arrived to Viña from Brazil. He was doing a DT in a local NGO working on the professionalization of the NGO, Cotra (link). I ended up taking the classes of Development Psychology, Political and Social Themes of Contemporary Chile, Cultural Anthropology, Latin American Short Stories, and Mountain Sports at the Pontificie Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (link). They worked out pretty well. This was also a time of many strikes from elementary and middle school teachers who were not happy with the salary that they were receiving. This is really bad for the children because they cannot go to school because there are no teachers. Elections of the student federation for 2010 were being held around this time where there were all out campaigns to be elected. They would go into each and every class and do a presentation to the class about why they should be the leaders of the federation. The culture of the classroom is very different than what I am accustomed to in the United States. There is much more of a relaxed atmosphere, the classes are canceled much more often without notice, the classes are more democratic about when we are going to take the tests, and every time someone enters the class late, the whole class erupts in an Ooooooooo starting at a low tone and going up. My Development Psychology professor uses anecdotal stories for each and everything that he teaches. The girl in my class gave that birth in September serves as the reference for things we are learning in class about the behavior of newborns. Sex education hardly does not exist in a country that is guided by the Catholic ideology. If you want to avoid STDs or pregnancy, abstinence is the only way to go. As seen in the United States as well as Chile, this teaching ideology serves not to reduce pregnancy rates but rather only to increase them it seems. The cafeterias within the university are run by contracted external business but do not have a brand name at all. Real coffee does not exist. Everything is powdered coffee with hot water added. Lunch foods at the university are mainly hotdogs.
I ride a Mercedes Benz to school everyday. Not what you normally think of but it's a Mercedes Benz nonetheless (link). It’s the type of buses that are used by the city’s public transportation. The public transportation is privatized to companies that have the best bid for the government. My host dad works for a company that bids to run the parking meters of the city each year. They are always coming up with bids to take on the running of different government operations. Privatization: Crazy.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Fiestas Patrias- Independence Day
PHOTO ALBUM 1: Chilean Independence Day (link)
PHOTO ALBUM 2: Pichilemu Festivities (link)
The time of September 18th is the biggest holiday of the year for Chile. It’s the Chilean independence holidays. Beginning about two weeks before, the whole country is absolutely covered in flags. I was told that it’s the law to put up a flag on top of every building and house. The activities for the 18th are empanadas and chicha (really young wine) (link). September 18th is the day of the year where absolutely all of Chile is tipsy from young to old and from rich to poor. There are places called “fondas” throughout the whole country which are places with tents to go and get food and dance the “cueca” (link). I spent the Fiestas Patrias of Chile in Pichilemu, Chile where tons of people go for the 18th to rent houses and spend the weekend with family/friends (link). I went with about 15 people from AIESEC Santiago as well as trainees from Brasil, Slovakia, United States, and Argentina. It was a fun weekend of the beach, dancing in the fonda, enjoying a little chicha. Pichilemu is known for being a city of surfing and vacationing.
PHOTO ALBUM 2: Pichilemu Festivities (link)
The time of September 18th is the biggest holiday of the year for Chile. It’s the Chilean independence holidays. Beginning about two weeks before, the whole country is absolutely covered in flags. I was told that it’s the law to put up a flag on top of every building and house. The activities for the 18th are empanadas and chicha (really young wine) (link). September 18th is the day of the year where absolutely all of Chile is tipsy from young to old and from rich to poor. There are places called “fondas” throughout the whole country which are places with tents to go and get food and dance the “cueca” (link). I spent the Fiestas Patrias of Chile in Pichilemu, Chile where tons of people go for the 18th to rent houses and spend the weekend with family/friends (link). I went with about 15 people from AIESEC Santiago as well as trainees from Brasil, Slovakia, United States, and Argentina. It was a fun weekend of the beach, dancing in the fonda, enjoying a little chicha. Pichilemu is known for being a city of surfing and vacationing.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Porteño Lifestyle
PHOTO ALBUM 1: The Secret World of Mate (link)
I stayed in Buenos Aires with an AIESECer friend and got to see the “porteño” way of life. It’s a very bustling city that is very sprawled out. In Santiago, at least I feel like I can get around, but in Buenos Aires, the city is so spread out that your travel times are very high. It was a good couple days in Buenos Aires. One of the nights there was an @ TM meeting which I went to. Interesting to see how TM is run in many different countries. One day, I was walking around a part of the city, and out of the blue appears some @ers from Concepción, Chile that were in Buenos Aires waiting for the conference. This was quite the surprise to run into people I knew randomly and a huge city like Buenos Aires. We met up with the MC in Buenos Aires and went together down to Tandil, Argentina where the conference was to be held. It was a 6 hour drive and we were greeted at our arrival by the @ers there. They gave us places to stay and everything which was really nice. Tandil is a quaint town that is centered around the university. The next couple days were planning and getting ready for the conference of 3 days with a conference team of people from Argentina, Colombia, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, and United States.
The conference was the first time that I had taken on the role of facilitating which meant leading the sessions, and passing on message for the personal and professional development for the delegates. Met lots of people from 10 different countries that are in and out of Latin America and enjoyed it thoroughly. It made the Argentinean news which you can googletranslate if Spanish is in issue for you (link).
After the conference, we headed back to Buenos Aires where I bought my bus ticket to go back to Chile and head back to world of school. I travelled with my friends from Concepción, Chile who were also in the conference. A 24 hour ride across Argentina from seeing the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the Andes, and back into Viña del Mar, Chile.
I stayed in Buenos Aires with an AIESECer friend and got to see the “porteño” way of life. It’s a very bustling city that is very sprawled out. In Santiago, at least I feel like I can get around, but in Buenos Aires, the city is so spread out that your travel times are very high. It was a good couple days in Buenos Aires. One of the nights there was an @ TM meeting which I went to. Interesting to see how TM is run in many different countries. One day, I was walking around a part of the city, and out of the blue appears some @ers from Concepción, Chile that were in Buenos Aires waiting for the conference. This was quite the surprise to run into people I knew randomly and a huge city like Buenos Aires. We met up with the MC in Buenos Aires and went together down to Tandil, Argentina where the conference was to be held. It was a 6 hour drive and we were greeted at our arrival by the @ers there. They gave us places to stay and everything which was really nice. Tandil is a quaint town that is centered around the university. The next couple days were planning and getting ready for the conference of 3 days with a conference team of people from Argentina, Colombia, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, and United States.
The conference was the first time that I had taken on the role of facilitating which meant leading the sessions, and passing on message for the personal and professional development for the delegates. Met lots of people from 10 different countries that are in and out of Latin America and enjoyed it thoroughly. It made the Argentinean news which you can googletranslate if Spanish is in issue for you (link).
After the conference, we headed back to Buenos Aires where I bought my bus ticket to go back to Chile and head back to world of school. I travelled with my friends from Concepción, Chile who were also in the conference. A 24 hour ride across Argentina from seeing the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the Andes, and back into Viña del Mar, Chile.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
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