~.:Riana's Blog:.~

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2008-11-18T16:52:00.001-08:00

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介紹堂堂...

2007-12-18T19:44:00.000-08:00

My Taiwanese Family.... 在台中

介紹堂堂!~

http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=MBiXnY7CAcc

他真可愛喔!!

Introducing.... a lappie that works!

2007-12-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

OooOOOooOOo I'm so excited! I'll be getting a new lappie soon... so I can actually type properly with my w,s,p,d,e and other letters, lol. I went to the IT Show with Ryan, after both he and Misha told me that it was on. And I ended up choosing the hp pavillion dv2709... so pretty and pretty cool too! It'll last me for uni, work and AIESEC work :)

/HP_Pavilion_Notebook_dv2600_brochure.pdf

Freud Who?

2007-11-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

I got to talking with my colleague today about Freudian theories... and whether anyone we knew was fixated on any one stage. It was fun, discussing these kinds of stuff in an amateurish way. But we all start off ignorant - it's only through discussion, research and contemplation they we learn and develop own own intellects! I think the most famous stage is the 'anal retentive' - although it's correct meaning has almost been lost in slanderous sayings... lol

We also talked about ourselves and whether we had fixated on any stage as a child. For me - it was the oral stage. I sucked my finger until I was quite old!! So where does that leave me in Freud's theories? Dependant? A smoker? Bulimic? haha... ah - the power knowledge can have on you. Well I don't think I'm any of those things... last time I checked anyway :P
We have the power to change ourselves and shape our behaviour into how we choose - if you want to allow something to influence you then it will. Did you fixate on anything as you developed and grew up? Hehe... I have included some interesting information on the stages below.

The oral stage lasts from birth to about 18 months. The focus of pleasure is, of course, the mouth. Sucking and biting are favorite activities.

The anal stage lasts from about 18 months to three or four years old. The focus of pleasure is the anus. Holding it in and letting it go are greatly enjoyed.

The phallic stage lasts from three or four to five, six, or seven years old. The focus of pleasure is the genitalia. Masturbation is common.

The latent stage lasts from five, six, or seven to puberty, that is, somewhere around 12 years old. During this stage, Freud believed that the sexual impulse was suppressed in the service of learning. I must note that, while most children seem to be fairly calm, sexually, during their grammar school years, perhaps up to a quarter of them are quite busy masturbating and playing "doctor." In Freud's repressive era, these children were, at least, quieter than their modern counterparts.

The genital stage begins at puberty, and represents the resurgence of the sex drive in adolescence, and the more specific focusing of pleasure in sexual intercourse. Freud felt that masturbation, oral sex, homosexuality, and many other things we find acceptable in adulthood today, were immature.

This is a true stage theory, meaning that Freudians believe that we all go through these stages, in this order, and pretty close to these ages.

Character

Your experiences as you grow up contribute to your personality, or character, as an adult. Freud felt that traumatic experiences had an especially strong effect. Of course, each specific trauma would have its own unique impact on a person, which can only be explored and understood on an individual basis. But traumas associated with stage development, since we all have to go through them, should have more consistency.

If you have difficulties in any of the tasks associated with the stages -- weaning, potty training, or finding your sexual identity -- you will tend to retain certain infantile or childish habits. This is called fixation. Fixation gives each problem at each stage a long-term effect in terms of our personality or character.

If you, in the first eight months of your life, are often frustrated in your need to suckle, perhaps because mother is uncomfortable or even rough with you, or tries to wean you too early, then you may develop an oral-passive character. An oral-passive personality tends to be rather dependent on others. They often retain an interest in "oral gratifications" such as eating, drinking, and smoking. It is as if they were seeking the pleasures they missed in infancy.

When we are between five and eight months old, we begin teething. One satisfying thing to do when you are teething is to bite on something, like mommy's nipple. If this causes a great deal of upset and precipitates an early weaning, you may develop an oral-aggressive personality. These people retain a life-long desire to bite on things, such as pencils, gum, and other people. They have a tendency to be verbally aggressive, argumentative, sarcastic, and so on.

These various phallic characters demonstrate an important point in Freudian characterology: Extremes lead to extremes. If you are frustrated in some way or overindulged in some way, you have problems. And, although each problem tends to lead to certain characteristics, these characteristics can also easily be reversed. So an anal retentive person may suddenly become exceedingly generous, or may have some part of their life where they are terribly messy. This is frustrating to scientists, but it may reflect the reality of personality!

from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/freud.html

9 Songs ~九歌~

2007-11-26T21:22:00.000-08:00

Last night I saw "nine songs" (九歌) with 米粉 and her classmate... it was simply stunning! The dancers are so skilled, and extremely fit as they float and shake across the stage.
There was a real lily pond in front of the stage to match the main motif in the stage design, and at the end they created a fire river out of candles. It was beautiful to see set against the dark lighting!

Apparently the choreography and music is based from a set of 11 ancient Chinese poems (called 9 songs, as 九 in chinese is often used to signify 'many'). Although the original music and dances were lost, this highly acclaimed performance still bases its choreography on the 4 seasons and the many trials of human life - love, death, loneliness and hope.

Nine Songs

23 November 2007 - 29 December 2007 19:45 - 21:45 Every day

Venue: National Theatre Hall, National Chiang Kai Shek Cultural Center (國立中正文化中心戲劇院) Group: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan (雲門舞集)

Here is the review from the cultural site:

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan (雲門舞集) will open its fall season with Lin Hwai Min’s (林懷民) world renown masterpiece, Nine Songs (九歌), a full-length dance that reinterprets a cycle of ancient ritual songs as modern theater. This acclaimed work, heralded as “one of the most important dance works of our time” by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zietung, Germany, will be seen in an island-wide tour which will travel to Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Chiayi between 23 November to 29 December.

Nine Songs premiered in 1993 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Cloud Gate. The piece was danced at the troupe’s debut at New York’s Next Wave Festival in 1995. During the 2000 Olympic Arts Festival in Sydney, Nine Songs was among the spotlights on a stage full of international performing groups.

Foreign press reviews of Nine Songs:

One of the most important dance works of our time

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zietung, Germany

It has elevated Lin Hwai-min, unchallenged giant in Asia, to the ultimate level of the great choreographers of the 20th century.

South China Morning Post, Hong Kong

A work of epic resonance and contemporary relevance. Lin Hwai-min has choreographed a striking pictorial spectacle, eye-filling and thought-provoking . . .
The New York Times

Shaking apartments!

2007-07-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was talking with Jack when suddenly my apartment started shaking ~ so scary! Jack felt it too, and he's in another city! This was the first time I'd felt an earthquake here, and being on the top floor I don't really like my chances of survival...

Chinese Valentine's Day

2007-07-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

Felicia told me that the Chinese Valentine's day is coming up on the 18th August. Like all Chinese celebrations, it comes with it's own story:

"There was this boy who was very kind and good. He always did great things for other people, and an angel always looked over him. She loved him for what he did and who he was, and decided to come down to earth and be with him. After a few months, they fell in love and decided to marry. Her father could not accept this, for she was an angel and the boy only human. However, he could see how great their love was for each other, and decided that they could be together one day of the year. And so he built a bridge between heaven and earth on this day."

It's such a beautiful story!

Dissecting the aussie brain

2007-07-22T01:10:00.001-07:00

well, I've been having a rather interesting weekend. But the important thing is that I have come out of it knowing a few more things I need to be stricter with myself about.

It's funny how you can be so retrospective about yourself and your own behaviour. There's so many things that I want to achieve, and so many things that I want to do to make my friends and family's life so much richer.

with my friends, sometimes I wish I could be more deep with them. I think that I am the kind of person who easily can be happy, energetic and sincere with my friends. But still I find it hard to connect more deeply with people, especially quickly! So far I don't think I've had that kind of connection with people in Taiwan, except for perhaps Jack. Even in Australia.... there are only a few people who understand my moods and feelings... and reasons behind my actions without any kind of intent analysis or questions. To be truthful with myself, I find it hard to trust someone completely, and although at times I feel like I do... I always ending up realising that I don't.
Felicia and Eugene have both told me that they only ever see one of my "faces" - the happy one. Even in situations where they expect me to cry or have other emotions.. I just hide it so well. I guess this must make them feel a little strange. Eugene says I have no emotions, like some cold-blooded creature. Felicia says she worries because she can't tell what my feelings are and so she can't help me if I'm experiencing anything bad - like homesickness. :) She is such a sweet girl!

I just want to be the best person I can. I wish I knew how to help my sister with her life, and encourage her to reach for the stars. She is too ashamed to take simple leaps of faith, or to believe that she has so much potential in her. I see it whenever I talk with her, although she is almost as good at hiding her distrust in her own abilities as I am at hiding feelings. I don't know how to coax this inner child out of her... the child that is as sweet and endearing as any that have lived. we might be in a world that doesn't just hand you an oyster, but we sure can create our own happiness if you just believe strongly enough in your own self.

I think Tristan and I overcame many obstacles to become mature souls. He amazes me a lot, and although he might act one way among his friends (who doesn't, really?) he can easily solve problems or produce some idea. we both have strong morals and a sense of intuition. Although we can feel frustrated when the situation seems too impossible or that we cannot do something about it, I know that Trist will usually be patient until the solution materializes. I don't think we could have had any other life that would have shaped us better! Our development has made us highly independent, loyal and resistant.

And now I'm so happy and proud of him - he's at Curtin studying engineering and I can sense that his sense of self-esteem is increasing. I can see that things are going right for him now :) I have heard a few principles - that basically in your life, all the different sections like love, work, family etc need to be whole and fulfilled before you can achieve real happiness. If one part is not whole, then you will focus on this and it will become your one dissatisfaction. In life, people will try to use other areas to make them feel "whole", like finding a lover etc. But if you're not whole be yourself, this won't solve the problem. Only two whole people can have a successful relationship.

Felicia told me a story in Chinese about a circle missing a wedge and a triangle. The circle thinks that the triangle can make him whole and asks the triangle to help, so they can roll along together smoothly. So the triangle tries to make the circle whole, but does not that the curved edge to achieve this. They roll, but it's not the same. Eventually, they just roll alongside together and discover that they can roll along at the same speed, fulfilling each others' happiness.

The only person who I have managed to connect with so deeply is John - my best friend and soul mate. Before you ask, we are not lovers and will never be. we just see something in each other that I haven't seen in anyone else, besides Tristan. we have been through so much together that the trust has forged itself so deeply and unexpectedly...

I met John during our first year at high-school. Neither of us knew anybody in our SS classes, and so we ended up sitting at the same table by chance. He was very funny and loud, but I could never understand what he was feeling. I felt confused for a very long time, for I am usually very sensitive about people's moods and feelings - but he was the first person to completely baffle me. Perhaps a year later, by the time we were parting ways to attend other schools I understood him more and more. Although another chapter had closed, John was not merely another friend in my memory - he'd ascended above this and is now another reader of my life. The moments we have shared and the ties between us are so very strong, that to lose such a bright flame in my life would be worse than losing both arms.

I guess our experiences during our lives have taught us lessons that not very many in our society has ever had to learn, and its like we share this secret quality that makes us the same. He is the most considerate, sweet and kind person I have ever met. It's a shame that he hides his inner self away from others, and although to strip him of his carefree facade to be to render him vulnerable, it would be like removing the shades away from a bright light. It's just that his light is too bright for many people to handle.

Mostly, the way people see me is always different.
My family sees me as the responsible and energetic one. I like to organise things and achieve happy results for everything. Sometimes Tristan would say I'm too bossy... haha.

My friends generally say that I'm happy, loyal and that I have this sense of peace that always makes them feel calm with themselves. I'm the secret-keeper, the counselor of all problems, and the person who can lift one's spirits when they feel down.

Some of the qualities that I would love to have is just to be selfless and to be a quick decision maker. I want to be more sure of myself in some situations and to be able to concentrate on something long enough to see the fruit of it.
I also know that all of this is achievable in time with effort on my side... I just need to apply myself and not lose focus of my goals. Then I can come back to Australia, and say "I have achieved".

LIT#4 People I know

2007-07-19T07:03:00.000-07:00

One thing that can be a little scary whenever you travel to another country, can be meeting new people. When I first came to Taiwan , I knew nobody here! Luckily, some people from the student organisation that I’m a member of came and took care of me. These members from AIESEC found me a house to live in, and introduced me to my new workplace. They organized tours of Taipei for me, and showed me what a cool city this is.

I met many people from AIESEC and other places

I stayed with the president of the AIESEC Committee at 銘傳大學 when I first arrived in Taiwan. Her name is Felicia, and she showed me many beautiful and stunning things in Taipei, such as the 國立中正紀念堂 and some interesting art galleries. We both share a passion for creative things, and her room had a lovely painting on the wall that I really liked.

The Lovely Felicia and I at 國立中正紀念堂

Felicia painted this beautiful painting and then displayed it on her wall!

One of the first things I did here was to attend an AIESEC conference. This was a little daunting for me because there were so many new people, and most things in Chinese! I couldn’t remember everybody’s names, and even now I wouldn’t be able to name half of the people there. But they all came and talked with me, welcoming me to Taiwan whole-heartedly with such friendliness.

My AIESEC friends from 銘傳大學, at a conference

But something that I discovered about Taiwanese people is their sense of good-natured fun. They are so friendly, and have this wonderful enthusiasm for life. During the conference, they shared many jokes with me and always tried to talk with me in English. I was really surprised at how good their English was… and a little ashamed at how bad my Chinese is!

I think that Taiwanese people are very considerate, and often I feel that they do something really nice and often unexpected. My work colleagues are perfect examples. Before I even arrived in Taiwan , I was exchanging emails with them and getting to know some information about our company. Now, I enjoy going out for lunch and learning new Chinese words and expressions. (It's harder to write this on the computer than on paper, though!!)

One funny expression that I learnt from my 同事, Andrew:

I do language exchange with a couple of my colleagues, Carine and Veronica, twice a week. It’s a lot of fun, and I learn how patient and kind they are. Veronica and Carine are very funny when they are together – they always tease and joke to each other! Carine always says that Veronica is cute and stupid. They make me laugh a lot! Sometimes Carine brings me different 小吃, such as 包子 because she knows that I really like eating包子! She also helps me do my banking, because she is the accountant at our office. Now, the security officer and the bank tellers all know me, and often try to chat with me when I go to the bank by myself!

Carine and Veronica - My amusing 老師 and 朋友

Two other colleagues at my office, Joy and Judy, have introduced me to the night life in Taiwan. We often have dinner and drinks together on Wednesdays or Thursdays. It's so much fun to chat with them, and they teach me many funny sayings in Chinese and Taiwanese. They have taught me many things about young people in Taiwan, and I feel like I see a whole new Taipei whenever I go out with them!

Hanging out with Joy (Middle) and Judy (Left) is always so much fun!

All in all, I really owe my enjoyable experiences in Taipei to the remarkable people I have met through my work, AIESEC or the friendly strangers on the street!

Dinner with a colleague's old 同學, a Canadian girl and Judy!! Such a mix of different people~!

LIT#3 Visiting Jack in Taichung

2007-07-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

上週末，我到台中拜訪她的好朋友Jack，我和Jack是在澳洲雪梨的室友。就在我來到台灣工作不久後，Jack也完成他在澳洲的學業回到台灣。中國人有一句話叫做『他鄉遇故知』，我要與你分享她和Jack的友情。

現在，在這個地球村，每個人隨時都會遇到來自不同國家的朋友，發生不同的故事。就像在Criterion線上英文寫作班，線上老師來自不同的國家，你可以在他們身上看到許多有趣的故事。因此我們希望幫助你學會使用英語，讓你可以更輕鬆與來自世界各地的人交流，認識更多新朋友

Kangaroo Jack is Back - in Taiwan!!

What did you do for the weekend? I visited my friend in Taichung . His name is Jacques, but I always call him Jack. We know each other because he used to be my housemate in Australia . He was studying his masters at Macquarie University in Sydney, and I was enjoying my summer vacation before I travelled overseas.

My friend Jacques

He also worked part-time at a cake shop, and almost every time he worked he would bring home the most delicious cheesecakes! We would cook together too, and he would sometimes teach me some new words in Chinese. We had a lot of fun together, and when I found out that I was accepted to go to work in my company in Taiwan we were both pretty excited!

I arrived in Taipei a few months before he did, because he graduated after I left Australia . He had lived in Australia for 3 years, so he joked that I would have to introduce him again to Taiwan. He’s a very funny guy!

I was really happy to go down and visit him on the weekend, because I knew that we’d have a great time as usual. I arrived in time to help Jack with his English Tutoring, and I was amazed by both the children and Jack. Jack is a very entertaining and energetic teacher, and the kids loved him. Even when he had to be strict, the children soon got over their scolding and began happily learning again.

His students were adorable!! And very good at English too~

The children’s English was varied: some were really excellent, while others were still learning their ABC. But they were all so cute!

At night I got to meet his parents, and they were so nice to me! We ate dinner together at a steak house, and his Dad was really funny and tried to talk with me in English. His Mom didn’t understand me when I ventured to compliment her on her earrings in Chinese. She expected me to speak to her in English, but she doesn’t speak English!

Jacques, his parents and I at his house

After dinner Jack and I explored his city, going to the night markets to try some famous snacks and then to a funky teahouse. The teahouse was decorated like the 1960’ s, and it had an adorable charm to it. I tried their bubble tea… yum! It wasn’t as good as Jack’s bubble tea though. He used to make us bubble tea at our house in Australia , and that was the most delicious because a dear friend had made it for us! He also took me to his favorite shop where he used to buy bubble tea as a child.

Jack took me to try bubble tea at his favorite shop

I’m so glad that our paths cross again in another country! It’s something special to be able to visit your good friends in another country…

Beautiful contemplations - by my Brother

2007-07-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

A quote from my bro's website - I love it! (who knew there was a brain somewhere in there??)

"I believe that life is more complicated than the first glance suggests it to be. I think religion is a flawed ideal, you should go out into the world with a open mind and observe carefully and form your own opinions. If there is a higher power, then why would you be passed by if you have lived your life with compassion and honor, doing what u believe is just and helping the people around you. That is respecting life, so enjoy the gift."

-Tristan Young

So poetic!
Man, you deserve to be studying engineering at Curtin! you're really clever when you want to be :)

LIT#2 Ladies Nights

2007-07-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

OMG you guys cannot believe how lucky I am to live here in Taipei. Every week, on Wednesdays and Thursdays ladies can drink and have free entry at most clubs, bars and pubs. It's so awesome! I will *so* become an alcoholic here :P

Tonight I went to LUXY with a whole crowd of people. I usually go with go with Joy and Judy (works in exam sales at Chun Shin), but tonight my housemate Laurie, another coworker called Ellen, a clubbing mate called Ariel and some of their friends came. So it was a real party!

we were dressed hot, in high heels and glitzy clothes! The place was really nice and clean too, I even got to take my picture in a chair that looked like a throne! (I'll upload all my pics tomorrow at work). Judy had worn shorts and a shirt over a gold coloured bikini... very sexy! I was also wearing shorts because that was the dress code - short n sweet. I dared Judy to take off the shirt and just wear the bikini on top (I *really* need photos for this blog!). So she dared me to take off my red shirt, which I thought was ok considering that I wore another shirt underneath -haha!

we always have so much fun at our night's out,... just relax and chat, dancing the night away! I enjoy it coz I have the chance to hang out with colleagues and have fun. I learn new Chinese words and can joke around alot too :)

I came home earlier than usual with Laurie. She wanted to buy some yogurt at the supermarket before we went home, so we had a nice chat as we walked around. Some guy was like "niiiice" as we strolled past him in our sexy clothes. But it's nice to have a laugh with her and talk about life in general. A favourite late-night discussion as we ponder our role in the universal play of love, life and metacognition~!

LIT#1 Taiwan National Conference (SNCF)

2007-07-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

OK, let me explain the title first. LIT= Life in Taiwan.

I am going to start doing updates of hows it all going, and tell u what my life has been like here! I'm going to start with the AIESEC conference here first, seeing as you guys just got back from MelCon.

The SNCF (Summer National ConFerence) was held in a city called Kaohsiung, which is about 5 hours away from Taipei by bus. THATS RIGHT - ITS SUMMER HERE NOw!!!I missed pre-con coz I was working (and all the AIESECers are on hols - cheeky things!), but I left on Friday night straight after work.

I think I arrived at about 2.30am, and went straight to the hotel room... said hello to everyone and crawled into bed!

The next morning though, things perked up. People were excited and eager for the conference to open! As they filled into the beautiful SYU's auditorium, people were dancing to AIESEC music, exchanging news and connecting with the newbies. Outside, SYU is situated right on the waterfront - it's such a beautiful campus filled with Greek-like structures, landscaped gardens and that gentle sea breeze! Just perfect for such a hot, sunny city like Kaohsiung!

Conference started with all the pomp and splendor that it should - we has a lovely Chair from Singapore who was a wonderful speaker. we had a few awesome sessions that morning - my favourites included the MCER's presentation on issues. we discussed things like the educational problems in rural Taiwan and the stigma surrounding AIDs babies, or even babies under 18 months who cannot provide a viable test for AIDs. They formed into groups to talk about what how we would choose which projects and partnerships to accept and why. For example, there are two orphanages - one has a lot of money and publicity, while the other is more needy, survives on donations and tries to keep the children's health and childhood shielded from such psychological invasion. which would u choose? It needs to benefit both AIESEC and the company. Choose your PBoX!

One issue they talked about that really interested me was about the rural education in Taiwan. I work in the online products dept. that distributes and promotes English learning aids. So for me, education is top priority. Apparently there are over 400 schools in Taiwan without adequate educational resources because they're too far from the city. I want to design a project that will have CSR all over it - but needs to be beneficial and feasible. Thats my pet project atm :) It was fantastic timing because one of my goals at the beginning of conference was to gain inspiration into developing a project at work that would really impact our society here - I'm on an AIESEC traineeship dammit! I feel like I have this opportunity to do more things than improve my Chinese!!

During these sessions and the day, I was able to catch up with all my MCLC buddies, meet the newbies and other LC's. A really special thing was that I connected more with Leaf, one of the MCLC members. His English isn't the best, but we communicated in half Chinese and half English, and I feel like I know him more now!

He was also the star later that night, when we held to "MISS CONTEST". But before Miss, we had the Global Village. Man, that was really amazing! MCLC presented Australia, and they had made up some really cute cardboard cut outs of koalas, so you could put your head in the hole and have your picture taken, looking like a koala!

You could play games at all the stalls, and get a sticker of that country's flag. Once you had 3 stickers you can eat a really delicious ice-cream... mmm. I played lots of games! The NZ one was to grab a pen really quickly. The NZ guy wrote on my paper fan "Q: what do you call a smart Auzzie? A: A New Zealander". He thought it was hilarious. Hey, I'm not the one with a wet assed toy sheep sitting on my desk :P

The Russian one was cool, you had to do a dance. They told me the story about the Matryoshkas, or the Russian dolls. Apparently, a brother lost his little sister. He missed her dearly, and always wondering what she might look like as she grew older he carved a little wooden doll. As she became bigger and grew into a young woman, he would add another "doll" on top... until you get all those dolls that fit inside each other! what a beautiful story!

After the global village finished, we went back to the university to watch the best part of the evening: MISS! Every LC has to provide one boy dressed as a girl to do a dance for this particular conference event. Leaf was the chosen one for this conference, and he looked beautiful as a nurse. He actually looked like a doctor even with the make-up on... I guess he's just too manly!

This is such a funny event, and everyone gets really involved - cheering, clapping, wolf-whistling and shouting "we want KISS!" If only you were there....

I am waiting for a DVD of this event, and once I get it I will copy and send it to you all to enjoy. Hmm, what dya think of Australia starting this tradition?? Any takers, boys?

AIESEC care package

2007-06-30T03:08:00.000-07:00

I recieved an AIESEC care package on Thursday afternoon, and I was surprised to see it sitting on my desk! I opened it to find some delicious reminders of home: some good ol' Vegemite, Tim Tams and a Pavlova mix. Digging deeper, I discovered a Thirsty Merc CD (yess!) and a comical looking DVD called 'Kenny'. I think I'll watch that tonight :)

Churning through essays - De ja vu~

2007-06-30T02:59:00.000-07:00

I knew that this particular assignment was coming up, but I didn't expect it to be so challenging! Joe, the manager on our floor has told May that our team had to process over 800 essay through our our criterion program. The essays were written by the cream of the crop in Taiwan; the youth who were expected to be the leaders in several areas.
And so I begin on the essays, quickly realising that this is not a feat that I can accomplish alone in a week. On the second day, Ian is enlisted to help... and several others are employed part-time. Some of the essays are quite interesting, and it's quite amazing to think that these are ESL students, writing on a topic they've seen before... and all in the space of 30mins!!!
The topic is about the Electronic Office, and the advantages and disadvantages of technology in assisting employees to keep in touch with colleagues and clients. One that was particularly thoughtful, reasoned that there was no point to all this communication technology if in the end people don't connect purposefully and emotionally. I agree, but what do you think?

My trip to the Philippines

2007-06-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

The Philippines is the dream destination! It has beautiful white beaches, friendly people, plenty of delicious seafood and fruit to eat… All I did for my holiday was go swimming, eating and then to sleep! I travelled with 3 of my friends to Manila and Boracay in the Philippines, places which absolutely amazed me.

Manila is busy and bustling, with plenty of interesting and cheap shops everywhere. People walk around selling snacks, paintings, toys and other tourist temptations. My friends and I shopped and did some sightseeing when we first arrived, travelling to a very old Spanish castle to see the historic views. Apparently some of the walls were the only buildings that survived the bombs of World War II. I really liked this one place that had a stony circle, which we arrived at while the sun was setting. I don't know what it is, or what it was used for but the pattern that it made was really intriguing. The stones had grass and moss starting to grow on it, but it looked like it was something out of a King Arthur tale! Combined with the sun throwing its last rays over this ancient rock manifestation, the circular creation was truly romantic.

The downside of this energetic city was the amount of poverty I could see. There were slums with dirty people dressed in rags and begging for money. It was so pitiful! Some of the animals looked poorly treated, with skinny bodies and open sores. The pollution was another aspect of this growing city which wasn't that great. One of my friends remarked that the amount of air pollution produced by the cars on the road was really bad. Some of the tricycles and buses were spewing out this black smoke which looked disgusting, and she thought it was disgraceful. My own opinion is that I cannot judge these people because I have never been in their situation, and it seems likely that they cannot afford to spend a lot of money. Therefore it would not seem feasible for them to pay lots of money for a clean engine and quality petrol.

Luckily, we didn't stay for long in the city. I wanted to go to the part of the Philippines which resembled paradise! On our second day in the Philippines we flew to the city of Kalibo. From Kalibo we went to Boracay by bus and then a ferry, which was a big adventure! Boracay was just what I was waiting for: it had the beautiful beaches with the clearest water and that warm, tropical atmosphere that is perfect for relaxing! Our hotel was right on the beach, and it was easy to go for a quick swim. I really miss swimming, because in Australia I used to swim everyday in the summer. My friends called me “Little Mermaid” because I was so eager to go in the water all the time!

Boracay also had the most delicious foods, and everyday we could eat sweet mangoes and fresh seafood. We ate huge crabs and prawns for dinner, and felt very full after every meal! Lucky for us that swimming is such good exercise, so we didn’t have to worry about getting fat!

One day we decided to rent some motorcycles and explore the island. Some people think that Boracay Island looks like a butterfly, but we were the ones flying! We travelled from one end of the island to the other in half an hour. We already planned out some of the places that we wanted to visit, such as the romantic lookout on Mt. Luho and the caves nearby. The bat cave was the best because it was so thrilling. We had to go down into the cave slowly and very carefully, because we shared only one torch among the 7 of us. The rocks felt slippery and wet, so I took off my shoes so I wouldn't slip. The guides pointed the torch up to the cave ceiling so we could see the bats, as up until that point we could only hear them squeaking. There were so many bats crawling up there, and the torch shining in their eyes turned their eyes red! It was a little bit creepy in the cave, but the scariest part happened when we were about to climb back out of the cave. Suddenly, one of the tour guides showed us a hissing snake with the torch. The snake was pale yellow and black striped, and although the guide said it wasn’t dangerous, none of us wanted to go closer to it! We resumed our climb out of the cave when one guide unexpectedly screamed… he’d run into another snake, which was hissing a warning to him: “Not too closssssse now, pal”.

Once we were out of the cave and back in the city, we bargained the cost of the guided tour with the boys. Once we’d finished, we got back on the motorcycles and headed towards Mt. Luho to see the spectacular view of the entire island. We reached the top and feeling thirsty from our adventures, we bought some soft drinks from a vendor. Near the vendor there were some really cute monkeys, so naturally we all wanted to touch and take pictures of the monkey. We left the can of Sprite on the wall while we positioned the camera. Like all animals, the monkeys didn't stay still while we tried to take a picture. However, we weren't expecting one of the monkeys to run over to our Sprite and steal it! It grabbed the can and ran away, where it sat down and tried to drink it. The can was already open so the Sprite just poured out, to the monkey’s delight. The boys attempted to get the can back, but the monkey defended the can of Sprite!

On the last day we flew back to Manila early in the morning. We went to the department stores to buy lots of souvenirs and presents for our friends and family from our trip to the Philippines. I bought my Mum some really beautiful scarves which I think they'll look pretty on her! (Also, they don't weigh very much to post to Australia!)

If I have the chance to go to the Philippines again, I wouldn't even hesitate! It's really such an adventuresome and beautiful place… and with over 7,000 islands – there really is so much to explore!

Weekend at Keelung 070526

2007-05-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

Last Friday ETS in Taiwan held a conference where we invited teachers from all across the country to come and discuss our Criterion product. I wrote about it in the work blog --> Go there and have a look. On Saturday is when the adventures started! Eugene, Yuriy and I had decided to go to Keelung (a coastal town north of Taipei) to go swimming and to eat fresh seafood. Mama Julia decided last minute to come as well, which annoyed Eugene because he didn't want to wait too long for her!

Our feast at Keelung

We managed to leave uneventfully, but halfway there Yuriy's scooter broke down :( Eugene managed to drive with me and Mama on his scooter to a Keelung coffee shop, where we waited with our drinks for the bike to be ready. His bike was insured? so they towed it back to the shop in Taipei and gave him Eugene's old bike - the limo. The limo will never die!!!

Because it took so long, we only had time to eat. But the food in Keelung is awesome! You can choose whatever fish you want from the long tanks filled with them, still alive. We played with the lobsters and crabs before discovering a special shellfish:

You tell me what you think it looks like... and better yet - it sprays a stream of water when touched :P

The next day I woke up late to get to my test administration site. Lucky I only live 10mins away so I wasn't too late. Working on a Sunday sucks, but I don't have to if I don't want to - and besides the pay is really good for only a few hours work! It was for the TOEIC open, and I was in training to be a proctor (and being late made me feel really irresponsible - I missed most of the lecture, which was of course in Chinese and so I didnt even understand the end!). But it was pretty good, I had a few foreigners from Korea and Japan being tested so we took a little bit longer to finish all the instructions! The only sad part was when this older man's watch started beeping... I had to show him a card saying that his test wouldn't be marked because he'd breached the test rules :( I felt so sorry for him -he looked about 50 and probably needed to pass so he could advance his career or smthing. Lucky for him he can try again next month!

My work week has been fairly uneventful, just winding down after the mad conference scramble. I had my HR meeting with one of my managers, he's really nice and was checking that I was settling into the life here ok with no loneliness or financial/emotional/social troubles! Lol.. but he said that I need to take control a bit more and present my ideas all the time, whether they're bad or not. He was comparing me to Ian, who always is enthusiastic about a new project idea, so I don't feel too bad. However I know that this is my chance to work on a few things that really interest me, like CSR or environmental issues. I want to see if I can do something through the newest virtual class I'm doing - maybe it can address the educational issues in Taiwan with the Buxibans (cram schools) or smthing like that. I still need to research!

Ian got sick today as well which isn't very good. He's had yesterday and today off because he's been having bad stomach cramps and feeling unwell. Poor guy! He was worried he might be getting a stomach ulcer but after being checked out thoroughly today they discovered that he's having a functionality problem with digesting foods. Much less dangerous, and easier to cure!

Today when I was walking to work I saw a little boy on a bike with his Mum. He first saw me and looked around like, "Wow, whats this foreigner doing on my turf?!" but after staring for a few seconds he smiled and waved. *So cute!*

And thats my week... I'm going to Yingge on the weekend with the AIESECers as part of a study tour! Fun, I can't wait!

New Blog at work! Fun!

2007-05-16T03:20:00.000-07:00

At work we have just started a blog to make learning English interesting for our current and past students in the Virtual Classes. It's also a good way to promote our classes to any prospective English learners out there!

It's been so much fun to make... sifting through pictures, writing and re-writing pieces, limiting the titles to under 25 chrs (including spaces, lol)...
On Friday is the fun blogs, where Ian (a Canadian guy) and I fight it out for the best way to say things - Australian English vs. Canadian. Mines better anyway.
The topic is Rubbish vs. Garbage this week, and we'll be putting up some pretty pics of us fighting over the bin in the office!

Today Eugene left a message on the blog, that made me piss myself. He'd written:
"Hello Riana,
I speak no good english. I no come from Siberia but i Russia. I come taiwan, work and i come this web site to look language exchange in "classical sense". I look language exchange and if u language exchange, we can exchange. I hope get urs reply soon.
Eugenio Aleksandros Filimonos"

He speaks perfect English. Usually. WTF?!!

Check it out, leave us a msg: http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/etscriterion-virtualclass/

About my company, Chun Shin

2007-05-05T01:51:00.000-07:00

My company is really very awesome, and I'm glad that it was my choice for the internship because I have great working conditions, colleagues and challenges. It really fulfills all of my hopes for my first AIESEC internship and real working experience: I am able to develop my intuition and skills within different business environments, and I am also starting to gain an insight and appreciation into not only my academic endeavours but also relationships with people.

I work for Chun Shin Ltd., the ETS representative in Taiwan (ETS: Educational Testing Services). We conduct the TOEIC, TOEFL etc in learning institutions across Taiwan, as well as providing proficiency level testing in our own testing centres. I am one of six members of the online testing department, which is made up of:
May Chen, our project manager
Jessie Wang, who is Tony’s cousin! What a shock when we first went into the office… she studied and graduated in the states, so her English is bu tsuo. She loves Sylvester the Cat, and has an awesome screensaver of him swimming and chasing fish.
Mia, she is so creative and intelligent. I think she is the kind of person who is always underestimated on first glance because she looks quiet, but once you start working with her you are constantly amazed by her ideas and confidence. She has a collection of cute stuffed animals on her desk!
Ian McIlwaine, a cool Canadian who is also quite new – concentrates on Criterion sales
Stephanie Morris, a Swiss-British ex-AIESEC intern who will be going to the states in July… she’s awesome and provides tremendous support to Ian and I. Man, I only wish that my internship could be half as successful as hers. She has made a big impression on Chun Shin with her abilities, commitment and creativity. Not to mention that her Chinese is fluent, and yet when she first arrived she couldn't even say "Ni Hao"!!

Our main product that my department handles is an online writing system called Criterion (www.ets.org/criterion). It was developed in the US to help students develop strong essay writing skills, and its most useful feature is the instant score-back that it gives in several areas of writing, such as grammar, word usage, organization and style… its used from grade four through to university and EMBA level. I have submitted a few essays through this and the details it provides definitely helped me to realise where my weaknesses lay! I wish I had access to this when I was in high school... it would have saved a lot of frustrated times and heartache.

My current role is in several projects, as I learn about my company and the international business environment. I am also being transitioned into Stephanie’s role, taking over some of her work and learning about our other products. Our major one is the Virtual classes (www.scaffolding.com.tw) that use Criterion for students to practise writing, but also provide additional support and benefits of a teacher's guidance and lessons. So recently I have been learning the administrative details of the classes, and have even been responding to students' essays posted on the internal forums!

Some more cool products for students who are learning the English Language is the AmEnglish range that includes Pronunciation in English, Idioms in English and Writing in English. I really like the Pronunciation in English because it goeral area he instant score-back that it gives in several area ronments, and I am starting to gain an insiges through so many aspects like intonation, stress on words and sentences, etc. You can see the lady speaking (and therefore the way she shapes words with her mouth), and can even record and playback your own voice so that you can measure your own progress. Its fun to navigate through and find out things about your own language that you didn’t even realize! I have to be able to demo these programs and try to develop ideas in many different marketing avenues… and this is proving to be a very enjoyable challenge!

My company is very cool – most of the employees are under 30 years old, and they like to hang out after work. Some girls from my office enjoy going out to the bars for ladie's night (which translates as free drinks and cheap or free entry), or else I explore some of Taiwan's natural attractions with coworkers. During lunch they teach me fun new Chinese words and sayings, such as "Hui jia, chu zuji" - it means that you fired, but literally translates as go home and eat yourself! Hahha!

Also when I first arrived we had a dinner to celebrate the spring, and I was pleasantly surprised to observe what I initially thought as shy, conservative people drinking lots of good (Australian) wine and gambling while eating, singing karaoke and generally merry-making! It was so cool, and I even won about $80!! Some other weird interesting things at my company include massages twice a month by friendly blind masseurs, and a certain song that is played a few times a day that signals a moment for everyone to stop working and do some exercises! Even the guy who leads the blind masseurs around has started joining in lately!

So now you can see why I enjoy working at Chun Shin so much. It is challenging my view on everything – from people to business, as well as teaching me some valuable lessons is a more than enjoyable environment!

Been AWOL for a loooong time

2007-04-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry that this blog has been gathering cobwebs for some time now...

But please stay tuned because I will be updating it within the next week or so (^o^)

Exploring Taipei...

2007-02-13T10:26:00.000-08:00

I have just had an amazing last week, exploring this city more and more intimately. During the first week I was here I attended an AIESEC winter conference: there I met many people my age, and learnt some cultural and social skills. Haha, a slang word that they use for cool here means sh*t in Japanese. Also I met another Australian intern here; something she told me that I have found to be very true is that the Taiwanese people here find it hard to understand the Australian accent, but can comprehend what you're saying more easily if you speak with an American accent. It's so true! So I'm starting to develop a stronger American accent! During one of the last events of the conference (Global Village), I met many of the other interns. One was the Australian I just mentioned, another was a guy from Sri Lanka who is best friends with my friend back in Perth = such a small world. One intern who I have been hanging out a lot with is a Russian guy called Evgeny - he's hilarious. It's good to have a mate like him showing me around the place! He's taken me to the mountains and to a pretty town near the sea, to museums, markets, temples - many interesting and fascinating places within and around Taipei city. I hope he can stay here for another year, because I feel that it'll be really great to have a friend like him around. Today some of the AIESECers took me on a tour around the city, and they showed me another side of Taipei - the culinary side ;) I ate traditional Taiwan foods, snacks, drinks and desserts. We ate "chinese pizza", a sort of pan fried bread that soft and chewy ike Indian Roti, and this meat and rice pudding that looked pretty unpalatable but was actually pretty tasty. Of course bubble tea was a must (I'm in the homeland of Pearl Milk Tea people!!!) and we also ate a afternoon snack of shaved flavoured ice that had pearls and fruits on top. We went to the National Taiwan Museum and took the tour, learning about the art history of Taiwan and China and absorbing some cool facts. There's some very delicate jade pieces and sculptures, and the particular exhibition that was on display was so delicate that it could only be exhibited for a month, and the last time it was shown was about 1935!!! Some famous pieces were a jadeite cabbage and the jade carved like a piece of boiled pork. They were carved with the jade's natural colours to make them more realistic, and the pork really looked like meat! One piece that I thought was just extraordinary was a sculpture of 17 independently-spinning spheres carved within each other?out of jade. It took the artist ~15 years to complete, working day and night on it every day! It's amazing, he took a lump of an extremely hard substance and carved away to make such a beautiful object. Each sphere has patterns on it, and is so thinly carved with dainty holes cut into each layer so that you can see the next sphere, and the next. It's not like he carved each one and then put it within each other -No, he carved from the outside in to create these 17 spheres, and then from the inside out to carve the patterns on them?sorry if I'm blabbing but I find that so mind-blowing!
We were so tired after walking around all day that we collapsed back at Simon's house after walking there ("Just 5 mins!" he promised....). We watched "Just my Luck" and ate home-made dumplings with his Father. Woah, those were the best dumplings I have ever eaten! I have not felt so full in Taiwan, and Simon even ventured to offer some Japanese sweets from his trip to Osaka just a week ago! He's a cool guy, I think he really enjoys himself there...
And within a few days I'll be leaving with Felicia to go to Taizhong to celebrate the Chinese New Year with her family. I asked Simon and Mifen (the AIESECers that took me on the Taipei tour today) what would be appropriate to bring as a gift for her family, and they suggested fruits or biscuits. I'm so exited to experience my second Chinese New Year for 2007! Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, but here the girls give the chocolates and flowers! Felicia gave me some chocolates that she'd made, they're very exquisite! She told me that in one month there will be "White Day": a day when the boys show their appreciation for the gifts the girls gave for Valentine's Day. Very interesting! it's obviously a remnant from their Japanese colonial history, or vice versa.

2007-02-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

24-26 Jan 07
Flying to Taipei was a very interesting experience, and Calvin and I almost were prevented by the Thai airlines staff from flying to Taipei as I only had a one-way ticket. Luckily after a long talk with Calvin they were complacent and printed my boarding pass (yes!). Arriving at the airport was pretty ok, I went and had my visa printed at the visa service desk and continued through customs and out to the Taipei International Airport. I saw two guys with a beautiful drawing of the aiesec logo waiting for me… One was Tony, the VPICX of Ming Chuan LC, the guy who I have had the pleasure of many many emails with. He’s a very funny guy, almost joking and being friendly! I learnt more about him within the next week, and about his outgoing and bubbly personality. He drove me to MCLC’s LCP’s house in Shilin, where I met Felicia (the wonderful LCP who is letting me stay with her). Her room is really cool – she has a beautiful wall hanging that she painted herself taking up an entire wall! She told me that although she is studying international business, she would prefer to study design. The next day she took me to all these really cool places around Taipei, such as the Father of Taiwan memorial and an art gallery. They were really fun to visit, seeing all these interesting new places and things. And the best part is that she took me everywhere on her scooter! The number of scooters in Taipei is
crazy – there’s more of them than cars, and they’re like a swarm out on the roads! But it’s so much fun to ride on them, they’re actually pretty cool… and have had me thinking about getting my license! Another intern told me that you don’t need a license to drive one if you are Caucasian, because most policemen can’t speak English and can’t be bothered filling in all the lengthy forms… but of course it’s at your own risk!

A day after I arrived in Taipei, I had the pleasure of being invited to attend AIESEC in Taiwan’s winter national conference/NLDS 2007 at Fu Ren University. It was fun being able to meet all the other delegates – I think there were about 300 attending!! The chair of the conference is actually Malaysia’s MCP, and she came to Taipei just for this experience! Her name is Anisha, and she was a pretty funky chair! Although some delegates thought she spoke too fast, she bought a whole lot of energy and creativity to the conference, and I also learnt some new things about AIESEC from her. One thing that sticks in my mind that I learnt from her is the main role of the LCs in AIESEC. At first thought (0.2 seconds) I thought it was to be driving the grass-level activities… but she told us delegates that it is to ensure that AIESEC remains relevant in our communities; I was surprised that my thought was so different, and yet I totally see the logic in her answer. I mean, sure – LCs do drive a lot of the activity within AIESEC, but that would be the same as any other organisation. We want to make sure that AIESEC is fulfilling its brand promise, which differentiates itself from other orgs, so that it is having an impact on the societies that we live in.
I didn’t see any other trainees or foreigners for some time during the conference, which was a bit interesting. On the first morning I was really blown awake by the pace and excitement of the opening ceremony. One thing these aiesecers know how to really do is how to make some explosive ppt presentations with some really awesome music!!
The keynote speech was on entrepreneurship, and was given by the managing director of L’Oreal Taiwan. It was great that the conference was mainly in English – it meant that Anisha and I could understand things a lot more easily! It was a pretty good speech too, talking about how it’s not about going out there and making your own business. No, it’s about creating something innovative, no matter how small, that contributes to society. Something daring, risky and unique… I think that I really changed my mind on what I thought of entrepreneurship. There was however, some very blatant advertising for L’Oreal during a movie clip. It was cool though – talking about how they have many scientists working on heaps of random things. The customer doesn’t know that they want something until they have it in front of them… it’s important to think about what the customer doesn’t say. The clip was cool – it showed mascara that you put on and it ‘builds’ ~5cm eyelashes that you cut to the desired size with a pair of scissors, or lipstick that changes colour with the woman’s mood (“watch out for when it changes to blue – it means she’s angry”). Pretty unreal! I think L’Oreal supported this conference a lot, because our delegate’s bags were from L’Oreal, and contained some beauty and hair products too (for boys n gals!).
We had an introduction to the 2 candidates running for MCP next, and then split-flow sessions for newbies and older members.
After dinner was the best part of the day; a concept called “Miss” that Australia should really have a look at!!! Boys from every LC had been practicing for this event weeks in advance, where they’d dress up in lovely frocks and make-up, and do some kind of routine on stage (mostly dances!)

Flying in HK

2007-01-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

Ok - sorry about not posting up for such a long time... it's been pretty difficult to find a decent internet connection for a longer time than just emailing!
I hope you guys all had a wonderful Xmas and New Years, I definitely enjoyed myself!!! Check out my photos at http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o46/sakurapixie/ or look on the sidebar for the link. It's got photos from Russia, HK and soon I'll put some up from Taiwan.
Anyways, I'll start with when I was leaving Omsk. It was very difficult, Serge and his family and very sweet and I feel that I grew very close to them. We had afternoon tea together with their Babushka, and I felt a bit bittersweet while laughing and chatting with them. His Babushka said she would have made me something if she had known that I was leaving... And while I was packing Ira came in and gave me a beautiful lucky charm that she'd made - it had a four leaved clover on it! I can't wait til I have my own place, I want to hang it up on the wall together with a present she'd given Serge and I for New Years, a card with the love kanji and Russian description on it.
And when Serge and I reached the airport, a announcement said that the flight was delayed for 6 hours while the crew rested. Crap! So we went back home (Irena was very surprised... lol). I just relaxed with Serge and enjoyed the extra time with him - it was very nice to have it!! Then I went to the airport and....
BRIBED THE AIRPORT POLICEMAN!!! I wasn't registered in Omsk and so he and Sergey had a friendly "chat". I'm glad Sergey was there to talk with him because he didnt speak English, and wanted $5000 Rubles, which is about AU$250!! Serge got him down to only 1000R/$50, but it was still a little bit expensive and I only had 600R on me... and Serge gave me his money. I felt bad because he was using this money to pay for some university things, and then he didn't pay for them anymore and did things the more difficult way. He's a gallant man!
I arrived in Moscow and stayed the night at the MC house again, and Roma took fantastic care of me. He picked me up and dropped me off at the appropriate airports, and looked after me in the shops and all. We talked a lot in English because he wanted to improve his conversational skills in time for some interviews (He's preparing to be a SN). He is trying to get a traineeship in europe so that he can return to Russia for his exams easily... and he's picking some really great companies to try for, such as ABM Amro... Good Luck Roma!!!

Then I arrived in HK and was greeted with Calvin's laptop displaying the AIESEC logo and my name... so cool! He is such a cool guy, he works in sales for selling insurance. He took time off work to show me around HK, taking me out for meals and sightseeing. I met up with his friends for dinner and we walked around the harbour - seeing famous handprints and Bruce Lee's sculpture. We had some famous pudding desserts too... yummm. Calvin was so friendly and a very funny guy - he even put up with me shopping and taking so long to decide everything, lol. On the final day we went to the 'Hong Kong Brew House', where there were an upside-down map of the world, postcard - beer coasters and a habit of throwing all your peanut shells on the floor.

One of these postcards will be on it's way to Curtin LC very soon!!! (At a postbox not near you... lol)

Russian Blog

2006-12-28T09:24:00.001-08:00

MC house Moscow 24th-25th Dec ‘06

I arrived in Moscow on Christmas Eve afternoon, arriving in the airport about 2 hours before Sergey expected me because I’d caught an earlier flight. As soon as I passed through customs several taxi drivers immediately sprung upon me to offer their cab, despite the fact that I was saying NO. I didn’t have to wait very long for Serge, maybe only about 5 minutes! He was so surprised to see me at the airport so early, but it was really awesome to be there. It was actually snowing as the plane set down… :D The view as I flew over Russia in the plane was so cool too – through big billowing clouds with snow like a big white blanket over everything, the houses, the forests of pine trees! We then caught a minibus to the Moscow MC house together, and met Roma (FN) and Irina (PD) at their flat.
Irina (PD), Roma (FN), Katya (MCP), Katya (BDM), Lena

After a nap, I woke up and went to the shops with Serge to buy some food for us. There was going to be an MC party celebrating Christmas/ New Year’s and the break that would ensue for all of them. It was awesome, Irina made some yummy cheesy meaty dish and there were pickles, fish and salads. We all were drinking wines and beer, and there were quite a few cheers – I really appreciate the fact that they all spoke in English for my benefit. And then we ate some ice-cream (both vanilla and a condensed-milk flavour) with some syrupy strawberries, a recipe that Katya made from her mother’s recipe. Yum! We made a video for their NST wishing them happy new years, amongst jokes about all the “messages” they could include… subliminal urges to be raising more TN’s etc, lol. And then we were given presents. It was funny, the reasons behind all the gifts: From Katya (MCP) Roma received a piggy bank with some rubles in it, as a start for the financial prosperity for the year. Irina received a shower cap in the shape of a splayed froggy… hehe it looked so cool. …? got a nice scrunchy that matched her hair really well – she put her hair up straight away and it looked funky perched on the top of her head coz she has curly red hair! Then Katya (BDM) gave all the girls a flavoured body wash, and the boys a cute soft-toy reindeer keychain. She’s such a happy friendly person – Serge was telling me that when she was the LCP of her Moscow LC she was driving such efficient results that at one time they had about 20 interns! She certainly knows how to get things done without stressing herself out. Very cool gal… It certainly was awesome being able to stay with them all… even if it wasn’t a crazy fun party it sure was a nice close AIESEC family dinner.

Going to the Airport… flying off for adventures in Omsk! 25th Dec

Serge and I caught the train to the airport… which was more squished than anything I ever experienced in Japan! We even had to let a few trains pass because there was no way that we’d be able to fit into the train with our suitcase and backpacker’s bag. And once we were in there it was so hot with our full coats on and everything…omg. An experience I’d prefer not to repeat, thank you very much! It was better once we got to the airport, and we even managed to get through to our plane without them charging us for the extra kilo’s we were carrying. The plane wasn’t dodgy like I thought. I mean we paid about AU$60 per ticket to fly halfway across Russia – and that’s damn cheap too. We even got fed! We pretty much just slept for our journey.. and our plane was bright GREEN! I forgot to mention that…
When we arrived and walked off the plane into the snow falling all around us at 5am we walked over to the exiting gates. Serge’s family was waiting for us somewhere in the crowd, and I was suddenly grabbed and thrown into a big hug, a gorgeous rose thrust into my hand and Irina (Serge’s sister) holding onto my other hand. They rushed us over to the car, and while Serge and his step-father Eddie went to get our bags I stayed in the warm car with Elena (his Mum) and Irina. They were so excited – and so they should be, they haven’t seen Serge for one and a half years! It was such a cosy scene – his sister and Mum were hugging him and talking heaps, lots of laughter and comments on how he’d changed… his Uncle Eddie is a pretty cool guy too… the family is very close!

Family dinner, 26th Dec

The first night we had a family dinner with Eddie’s Mum coming over too to eat with us. Serge and I gave out presents of Australian souvenirs before we started eating… and I’m sure that they all enjoyed it. We gave Elena a T-shirt and the next day she was wearing it. We drank an Aussie Merlot with the dinner too (Yellow Tail Merlot), and the food was so delicious! There were various salads and fish, pickled veggies and these balls made of mince, rice and veggies, which we ate while drinking the wine and home-made cherry juice. Everything on the table had been hand-made! Aa, so yum. And for tea afterwards Serge showed off his beloved Tim Tam’s… lol. Talk about obsessed! Marina actually gave him a gift set that included Tim Tam mugs! That was a very thoughtful and well-chosen present 
Serge’s real Grandmother called up while we were eating, and she was very interested in me because of the fact that I am staying with Serge’s family… in her generation it’s an indication of the seriousness of the relationship… haha – in her days it meant that the couple wanted to get engaged etc. Lol… I think not. But she called up during dinner on the first night, wanting to know all the information like where was I sleeping, what I look like etc… what a laugh! Elena (Serge’s Mum) actually didn’t want to tell this grandma that I was coming because she knew what her reaction would be like. But a few days before we came, they were talking on the phone and Elena accidentally let it slip that I would be staying here. Lol

Omsk Snow Festival, 27th Dec

After a good sleep-in, Irina, Serge and I went to Serge’s university so he could sort out his classes. Irina and I walked around and talked while we waited for Serge to talk with his tutors and lecturers. It was cool because we went near the river and talked about lots of random things… then when we met up with Serge again we ate some real Belyashi and hot lemon tea.. so good when it’s so cold!
We caught the bus and squeezed on so that we could travel to a town festival, where there were snow sculptures, slides, shows and lots of different sights! So cool, we all went down a ice slide together and then walked around a favourite place of Irina’s near the river. The snow was so soft and awesome, Serge made a demented snow angel and almost had me under a tree so he could shake the branches and dump a heap of snow on me. Almost.

NY Presents? 28th Dec

OK so now I am thinking of what presents to make or give to everybody… I’m thinking that because Ira really likes cute fluffy things, and also as she really wants a cat, that I’ll make her a cute little notebook. I can cover it in material and glue on/sew a little fluffy kitty with a fish or something like that. Heehee, in the car there is a little stuffed fishy that Serge’s Mum gave to her husband Eddie. Maybe I can have the cat chewing on a replica of that!!! Haha, you know how cats are really naughty and always eat the other pets! I was thinking for her to make some hair accessories or something but we’ve already given her some jewellery from Australia, so she might get accessoried out!
Hmm… I think that Serge’s parents might be a little more difficult to get something for them. Serge suggested that I draw some sketches of mask designs for Eddie because he likes to carve wooden pieces, especially masks. But it is difficult to draw a present for someone you don’t know… you don’t know their tastes or preferences!
His Mum likes anything to do with marine life or the ocean, and both parents like rock music and horror movies – do they sound cool or what?! I actually had my pair of black skull and cross-bones socks from a conference theme lying on the floor in my dirty clothes pile and his Mum thought they were excellent!

Tonight we’ll set up and decorate the pine tree in the lounge-room. And I’m going horse-riding tomorrow with Elena and Irena.. I’m looking forward to riding in the snow!

2006-12-28T09:24:00.000-08:00