13 March 2010

Semaine de l'Enfer: Rafraîchissant [beyond belief]


It isn't that this past week hasn't been interesting, but rather overwhelming. I've certainly enjoyed it, but I am more than happy for the weekend's arrival. When you aren't accustomed to 21 hours of class lasting long past 3 p.m. it gets a little frustrating.

I've started taking my bike instead of the bus, as my pass expired at the end of February. It's nice to have the freedom from the obnoxious schedule, but it means that I have to take into consideration the fact that it takes 20 - 30 minutes to get into town now, depending on my energy reserve, often used up just in school.

The positive side to this week:
- I aced my Phonetics test
- Oral presentation for Langue class is finally over
- I've finally fallen into a routine, making my days slightly less hectic
- As classes progress, my interest mounts by the day
- More presentations in classes means nerves less shaken by standing up in front of an audience
- Reasons for excitement in my return to Kansas keep piling up
- AIESEC involvement once more

I guess it's time you all hear a little bit about AIESEC, as I said I would be mentioning it in my first post, and I've somewhat avoided the topic in order to bypass overwhelming everyone who reads this with the passion that is inevitably going to leak out. In a nutshell, AIESEC is awesome. Besides our goal of international cooperation and worldwide acceptance and understanding, the people are the best in the world. My chapter of the organisation, @Kansas, is my family. They are my best friends, my sisters and brothers, my confidantes, my teachers. It's been no less than stressful living without daily interaction from them, but this past week has brought me back into the group. Not only am I running for an EB [executive board] position for my next semester, but I'm remaining involved in my OGX [outgoing exchange] team, and continuing my search for all who want to do an international internship. In short, it's wonderful, and my days have been refreshed, my motivation replenished.

For those who don't know what AIESEC is, the base of the organisation is international exchange. We send people from our universities to other countries [we're located in 107 around the world] to do internships of all genres. We also find businesses in our area who are willing to accept interns from other countries. Aside from the business side of it, we spend much of our time "bonding." That being said, our bonding time is the highlight of my every week. We throw the best parties, as we enjoy each other's company [maybe a bit too much], take road trips together, go to conferences, and DANCE. That's one of my favorite parts - dancing. Whether it's dancing to one of the many choreographed songs we have or just dancing to dance, the energy is so strong and positive that it's the best place in the world.

I guess it's hard to explain exactly what we do and who we are via text without sounding like an obsessive college student, but I'm proud to say that I love the organisation and everyone in it. It's wonderful to meet people from around the world who share your interest, who are unified for the same cause. We're going to change the world, and the best part is that we're going to have a ball doing it.

In my latest oral presentation for my French class, we were supposed to present something from back home, that was part of our culture or simply our daily life. Of course, I presented AIESEC. At first I was shaky, unsure of how it would go. It took me less than a minute to realize something; I've done this presentation hundreds of times. Not only is it one of my biggest passions, it's my family. After that revelation, the presentation went smoothly and I got the chance to share a large portion of my life with classmates from around the world. It was marvelous. I showed them pictures of our ridiculous traditions, the newest roll call dance from the latest conference, and told them about the organisation. After that, I didn't even have to explain why I was in love with it - the expression on my face and the twinkle in my eye said it all. [and as cheesy as that sounds...it's freggin' true.]

Presentation over, AIESEC refreshed in my mind, I'm ready for the weekend [even though I missed out on today's excursion due to my phone alarm's lazy self for not going off], invigorated by everything that I miss back home and the anxiety to return and share all of my great stories with the people I love the most. [that includes all of my families - biological and AIESEC.] Before that, however, I'm off to make more memories, take part in more stories to share.

On that note, I bid you all a very merry [merry as in joyful and celebratory, but also Merry as in one of my best friends, as he sure knows how to have fun] weekend.

Plouche kids. Gros bisougles.


"Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries."
-Corita Kent


2 comments: