... Smiling Diana in Cameroon ...

Announcement : I am coming mama Africa

2009-11-19T15:20:00.003+02:00

Hey dear Reader,

I know, I was not writing since I came back from Cameroon. But today I am. Finally I am. I want to inform You that in two months I am going back to Africa. This time Ivory Coast. I am going there for an unlimited period of time to create my own family with my dear Wilfred and our daughter Samantha.

For this reason I started a new blog of mine where I will write all the updates about my preparation to go and Life itself in Abidjan. Now it's you right to choose to read it or not.

Here is the link - dianaivorycoast.blogspot.com

yours smiling Diana

P.S. Andriuk, thanks for encouragement for writing!

Out of Africa

2009-05-27T13:10:00.004+03:00

I have left Cameroon already after spending almost one year here. I remember the morning I landed to Douala airport so well. The very first days in MC house. The very first weeks and months of raining season.

If people are living in any of Africa countries they say and usually summarize everything for the entire continent, BUT Africa is soooooooo diverse and I do not agree with this opinion. There are even people (Americans, Europeans) who think that Africa is one country what is totally crazy thing to think.

It is said that international experience is life changing experience. I was working in MC, working for AIESEC and gaining this quite different experience than interns who are working in companies and having more opportunities for the contact with society. And if someone asked I would say is two totally different experiences – international MC and international Internship.

Coming back to the life changing experience idea I want to say that while living here through hard and joyful days my life has changed as it has never changed through out 23 years of mine. Here I was living diverse team experience with big issues of time management and difficulties in decision making process. Here I was found by amazing person –Wilfred- who fulfilled my life with love and care. Here I started create my family. Our baby is 28 weeks old now and impatiently moving in my belly during the day and night. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you are bringing a new human being in this life. I would not be able to count how many days I spent crying because of missing my home and family. I would not be able to count the times I laughed like crazy with my sweetest sisters Belinda and Alice. I got to understand that everything you feel, anything you think is just because you choose it to feel and think!!! No one else is forcing you for it. So remember state of mind = state of life. I have some examples I would love to illustrate this saying.
1) While watching soup operas Cameroonians are laughing like crazy as at the same situation most of Lithuanians are crying. What shows that people have different perspective and attitude towards the life.
2) One of our neighbor dead just few days ago. He was a great man – Traditional doctor. And suddenly I hear the sentence – let’s go support our neighbors to stay with them for a while, by the way they are playing very nice music! Another perspective.

Yes, you can generally say that Africa continent is the least developed one with lots of poverty. BUT what can I say is that you can find extremely rich people in each country around the continent and around the world as you can find extremely poor people hungry, begging for money in each country, around the continent and around the world. When I look back before coming to Cameroon and while staying here I was never concentrated and focused on the idea and opinion of high poverty. I trued to treat people in the way that they can reach a lot and actually youth is very smart here. I do agree that lots of investments have to be contributed into development of the country/ies and there are so many things to do and work on to make the country/continent grow. But I disagree with the sorrowful attitude which makes people to feel like they would be begging to survive!

And I know! I want to be back to Cameroon. To build my house surrounded by palm trees or next to the stream. To have a big happy family. Work with UNESCO people in education field and make an impact while educating society on human right, literacy, entrepreneurship, health care or simply creating the environment for education.

As Luther King said – I have a dream.

Me too! I have a dream to give people power. I have a dream to give people education!

Just Two months left!

2009-04-02T13:01:00.002+03:00

is it me the same one who will come back to Lithuania? or the one who will be difficult to recognize? :)

Di.

MC Team Days in Limbe

2009-01-02T19:11:00.007+02:00

The next morning (after MC cleaning campaign:)) we left to Limbe to start our holidays and to spend some relaxing time together.

We visited Botanic garden.

And the biggest discovery was in Zoological garden - the biggest discrimination I ever saw. Just look at the prices!!!

Nationals - 300 FCFA
Non-Residents (for me) - 3000FCFA

MC Cleaning Campaign

2009-01-02T18:58:00.004+02:00

Hey hey hey, just before leaving to the period of Christmas MC got an idea to organize MC house Cleaning Campaign. Here are some pictures from the process we were enjoying together :)

Come and visit us. You will be surprised how much we changed everything. It's not only the new color of the house but all the furnitures arrangement is new as well :)

so when can we expect to see you? :)

Diana

Christmas in Nkongsamba

2009-01-02T18:13:00.007+02:00

One the way in a bus I saw soooo many and big plantations of

papaya,
bananas,
pineapples and
other more strange but nice fruits...

The main decoration of houses are big palm leafs.

People here do not celebrate Christmas evening (Kucios). Moreover, Christmas day is celebrated differently as well. In the early morning (7a.m.) we went to the Church for the Christmas Mass. The flow of the Mass was a bit different as group of womens were acting and bringing a Bible as the sign of the birth of the Jesus and at the same time Christians religion.

After the Mass - Baptism ceremony was organized and around 25 children were baptisted. The process was very organized and fast. Each chils boy had a God father and each child girl a God mother differently from the Lithuanian God parents (both mother and father).

Picture with the family I spend Christmas with just after the Mass and Baptism.

Christmas Lunch with chicken, rise, pasta, fry potatoes, n'dole, miondo and Lithuanian food - Balta misraine.

Dziaugsmingu Naujuju Metu

2009-01-02T17:28:00.002+02:00

Sveiki draugai mieli,

dar viena zinute, dar vienas trumpas lietuviskas laiskutis.
Noriu palinketi svajoniu issipildymo ir nauju tikslu sekmingo realizavimo. Mintimis as su jumis, pasiilgusi ir smalsi suzinoti kaip klostosi jusu gyvenimai.

Jusu Diana :)

Dziaugsmingu sventu Kaledu!

2008-12-24T10:39:00.003+02:00

Taigi taigi, stai ir atejo tas visu lauktas sventiniu dienu ir nuotaiku metas.
Ilgai nesijaute man, kad Kaledos arteja, bet vistiktai jos jau cia, o man sirdi taip ilgu ir nostalgiska. Tai pirmosios Kaledos toli nuo seimos, pirmosios Kaledos be seimos.

Bet nepasiduodant liudnom nuotaikom, siunciu savo linkejimus ir karsciausius svekinimus is karstosios Afrikos.

Mylekite ir bukite mylimi.

Jusu pasiilgusi besisypsanti Diana

JumpIn is over

2008-12-22T12:08:00.003+02:00

Oh, it was a great conference with lots of new learning XP for me, OC, Faci team and delegates.

The venue place was next to the river. The big plenary itself took place in an open air on the water. I thought I will get crazy because of it as the place seamed to attract lauds of mosquitoes in the evening and was very bright soooooooo PPTs had to be prepared very well to be visible.

Global Village. Lithuania took part in it as well! :)))

Outdoor games for newies! We had lots of FUN together:)

All most all the delegation here... I'm happy we succeed in organizing this conference.

and an amazing Faci team

missing you guys!

smiling Diana

Do you think everything is so nice???

2008-12-05T23:47:00.003+02:00

Not at all! It's crazy how creative people can be to find hundreds of excuses. Working with the OC is the biggest challenge for me so far. Talking in general if after doing or not doing something people do not have results they cut all the channels of communication: do not replay to e-mails, do not answer the phone calls even switch of they phones.

Things they say are:
- it's not really easy
- I'm working on that
- it's in progress
- it's very difficult
- I will do it (but finally nothing is done)
- I promise
- I think...

and so on. They are stuck with the one idea and do not think or don't want to think about the other options, about the plan B.

More I communicate more I realize how much is different from what people say and what do they do. Furthermore, if they say will do something it doesn't really mean they will do it.
Strange but @ers them selfs are talking about the CSR, they suppose to live @ values which one of them is acting sustainably. But at the end you see plastic backs all around after the lunch, papers from the sweets under the chairs in the plenary of the conference, and other kind of trashes all all around.
And it's sooooooooo difficult to understand! It's so difficult to accept! It's even more difficult to change it. As it all depend on the attitude. It's all about the attitude...

yours Diana

JumpIn'08 - only one week left and...

2008-12-04T20:18:00.003+02:00

conference is going to start. I'm waiting for it in a stressful mood on the other hand in extremely excited mood. I'm just wondering how similar or different it will be from IDC. Well at least we can be sure about the electricity just openly speaking we still do not have a site.

And you know people are crazy here. All the population around the world is talking how poor Africa is, people in Africa themselves are complaining that they do not have money, food, recourses... but then it comes a moment for the celebration, and at this particular time when we have to organize a conference everything should be in the highest level - hotel has to be 2-3 stars, site with nice surrounding, people are not raising materials, food, other things needed for the conference. They are raising money. People want something pompastic, they can spend the last money they have to have and enjoy the comfort!!! And it is still what soooo difficult for me to understand.

We have faci team with 10 people, hope to have around 100 delegates. Conferences here in Cameroon are starting with public Global Village which is the biggest opportunity to attract financial partners. I guess I will be able to describe how it works here more after the conference itself.

So be patient for the next 10 day... I'll be back with news and pictures.!!!

It's late now, wish you calm night!
yours Diana

One week and One day of Experience in Nigeria

2008-12-03T16:21:00.013+02:00

Hello dear friends of mine who are worrying about me, who are asking how am I, who are still thinking about me, who are still interested in what is happening with me. Here I am. Back on the track with some news from my side, with some new experience sharing and adventures I recently had.

I got a great opportunity to be facilitator in International Development Conference (IDC) which took place in Nigeria (24th-30th of November), state of Ekiti. Preparation time for the conference was very intensive and just before the conference we with MC team had the 2nd BoA meeting and AI Director for Africa GN - Phil cy visit for four days in Cameroon.

And the journey to Nigeria started with one hour delay of our flight. Guys, I'm talking openly the time management here is something I still not used to :P
We came to Nigeria (Lagos) late in the afternoon. CC took us from the airport in two hours. And it was already late to travel to the conference site. So we stayed in Lagos for the night with no electricity. The reality in Nigeria is that if you don't have generator you live the middle ages life. As electricity in the evening is cut and you get it back just early in the morning. Cha, and I was complaining about the fact that electricity disappears here in Cameroon. Actually these two situations are totally different.
Next day we spent more that six hours in the car and bus to get to the conference site. The traffic jams here are crazy. Totally crazy! You see hundreds of cars around with only one person in. There are even special lines for buses created so they are going on time (at least these buses).
Drivers are crazy two. The speed does not drop to the less than 120-130 km/h. And here you can see the hotel. Conference site.

The places we had sessions to deliver were changing day by day:) as well as places for the parties. The most incredible thing was then you come to the plenary to start with morning plenary and (se tau kad nori) electricity is cut. And then it takes around 30 min to connect everything with a generator to start with the plenary. And it wasn't only once, it was every morning like that! Or you are running your session in the evening with a nice PPT and videos and suddenly electricity is cut again. So everyone is calmly sitting in the dark and waiting for generator to bring light back.

(one of the plenaries)

The third day of the conference was dedicated for Community Development. We had an opportunity lively experience how we can contribute for the development of our environment and to see the real Nigeria while visiting schools and a farm, talking with people around the community. By the way Nigeria is English speaking country.
Me myself, I had an amazing experience and excitement after this day. I felt like I want to stay here in Nigeria for the DT internship. We with my group of delegates visited body school and delivered two hours session about entrepreneurship. Children were soooooooooooo happy.

This is the view of the classroom. Teacher stands up on the platform, what was so strange to me, it seams he becomes very far from the children. Ahhh... People here are very religious. You can see sentences about God on the cars, buildings all around in the streets: "God is the only one", "God saves you", "God is good",.... And at the moment we left Lagos to go to Ekiti (conference place) one women in the bus started to pray. She was praying loudly and increasing her voice all the time for about 20-30 minutes. And at times all the other people in the bus were replaying "Amen".

Well how to describe everything how it happened in the school itself. Soon after we came they had lunch time. I sat down next to one of the tables and then all of the children started to come to the table I was sitting at:) They were observing, watching at me:) one of them touch me in a second and went back. I understood they want to touch me. So I just spread my hands to the both sides so they can touch me :))) they were touching my hair, skin and saying how soft I am:))) This excitement of them made me feel so much positive power and happiness. Even they were eating the same food, each of them wanted me to try her food.

Children are happy here. I was asking so many question about how they are doing in the school, what do they like to learn, who do they want to be after they grow up,... They like to learn, they are happy to have opportunity to learn. In Lithuania there are less children with this strong wish for the education.
So this is about the experience in the school. But not to forget to mention these children even were kissing me (my hands and head), hugging me, keeping my hand while walking, teaching me some hands clapping games, keeping an umbrella over my head that sun wouldn't kill me :)))

Oh, I wish I would have more moments like this.

In two days we had Nigeria party with great Palm Wine, other drinks and Nigerian food.

And here is what we got for the breakfast for the first day. I was happy the following days breakfast were served with eggs, bread, some strange sup, coffee and tea:)

And a picture from Official Dinner and Alumni evening. Which was famous with it's time management as well. We had to start at 8 p.m., we got informed the event will start at 9p.m., later CC came and asked to come at 10p.m., finally just half past 10pm. we somehow started with the Official Dinner.:))) Nice XP as well.

And here I am back in Cameroon (picture from the airport). I was waiting to back home sooooooo much. I was missing the environment, food, people, time management (at least here it's better), electricity:), quietness (Nigeria is very loud and overcrowded)... On the other hand people in Nigeria are veeeeeeery friendly. At any time you meet someone, even for the 10th time a day he will shake your hand again and again, he will say hi, again and again, IT'S amazing:)

yours truly happy and smiling Diana

P.S. getting ready for the next best conference - AIESEC Cameroon National Induction Conference!!!! Yuuupiii yeeee!!!:) it's just in two weeks time!!!! waiting to see my newies, leaders, EPs, oldies, alumnus and all the members of AIESEC Cameroon.

One more Crazy weekend:)

2008-10-13T14:15:00.019+03:00

Do you still remember me? Are you still thinking about me?
Well saying about myself. I'm missing You & You & You... and now just want to share some moments of the last week.

My weekend started with the Welcome party of our new intern from Check Republic - Daniel. Country presentation in the restaurant. Daniel came for 5 months internship for YES project (Young EntrepreneurS)

After cy presentation we had nice dinner - as usual roasted fish and beeeeeeeeear....

And finished with hot dances in the club. Yes, Yes, Yes... this is the way African's dance :) Hot, isn't it?

After hot Saturday. All Sunday was spend in the hospital. Well no worries everything is ok with me. And in general everything is just great! What I was doing in the hospital - was visiting Wilfred's (my MCP) brother and his wife who gave a baby on Saturday day.
And this is the nice picture of them. And for sure me with Kajo (the name of the baby).

Hey seams like I have started the collection of pictures with Cameroon babies. Yes, I have two pictures more. Let me show you :)

Nice aaaa???
new updates with photos soon! :)

yours Di

Lazy Sunday... walking is good :)

2008-09-29T11:43:00.005+03:00

My Olpe team I do not forget... Each Wednesday as it should be... beer and fun together with MC team. Proud to be part of Ople!!! :)))

It's only the coast for industry... If you want to spend time in a beach need to go to Kribi or Limbe, what takes around 1 to 2 hours. These are the touristic and recreation cities.

Enjoying the end of the week! Thinking about Lithuania... smiling...

Di

The story of my life :)

2008-09-23T23:15:00.008+03:00

Some pictures from the National Executives conference

Conference delegation

ME hiding from the camera

VP TMs & OGXes team

Strange!!!! Isn't it???

Sessions...

University building

Happy to be part of it!!!

2008-08-17T16:30:00.000+03:00

Some pictures of the last days.

2008-08-17T15:43:00.013+03:00

short peanuts break

OGX management session in Douala

Team Management session in Buea

Energizer game during the break

Words on University wall in Yaounde

Session in Yaounde

Session in Douala

Yaounde

Session in Yaounde

Buea University view

Some stories and other sharing

2008-08-16T16:31:00.001+03:00

Never make agenda on Sunday from early morning, you will receive only very small part of delegates as it’s day for the God and members go to the Mass.

Roll calls and @ dances drives member crazy. There is never enough of it.

When giving feedback they will always say how great food was! And will ask can we have more next time :)?

It was crazy during the traveling time to Yaoundé. The fact is that if you want to buy something you don’t need to go anywhere. All the things come to you. For example when crossing the region border buss driver slow down with the bus speed till the minimum and people with different kind of food and drinks just appeared next to the bus. They were running next to the bus. And passengers just opened the windows and were buying: coconut, bananas, dry bananas, peanuts, other king of nuts and some kind of food traditional for Cameroon. So you even do not need to leave the bus. You just have to have money and good reaction to buy what you want.
The second example is like this. We went to eat dinner to the usual place of our. When while sitting and waiting for the fish a boy who sells nuts passed and asked if we want some to buy. Wilfred by fact was looking for some to buy as he had to bring some to IC for the Global Village. Bought! In 5 minutes a man was passing buy who sells slippers. Once again Wilfred was just planning to buy one. So after 5 minutes of negotiations be bought them.

You see. You just have to have money with yourself all the time as you never know who will pass through you and what kind of things he/she will have to sell. Sometimes it starts annoy me. You are calmly sitting and eating and suddenly someone comes, stands next to you for the moment and leaves. And like this each 5 minutes.
But what annoys me more are males who are peeing everywhere, everywhere. You are going along the street and see one man is peeing here and the next one just some meters after. Ui… feee…
Moreover people somehow are able to take care about they living area but for sure not about the environment itself. While going across the street or any path or way you see loooooooots of trashes all around: plastic & paper bags, bottles, papers and other things – aaaaaaaaaaaall aaaaaaaaaaaaall around.

This is for now :)
Healthy Di

MC Training Campaign

2008-08-16T16:23:00.003+03:00

During the MC team term planning we agreed on running MC Training Campaign with the objectives to build knowledge, skills and understanding about organization itself, job role each has to perform in LC and to deliver the most important information as well as to build MC-LC connection. For me the preparation time and visits to the LCs was amazing time.

LC Buea has a HUGE university area with lots of buildings, places for sports, plants all around… really amazing place. In the early morning you can see how the mountain Cameroon appears through the clouds and shows its beauty. Reception for MC team was awesome: great sleeping place, different breakfast each morning (we spend there two days), beer time in the evening. Passionate EB with a great leader in between.

The second LC we visited was Douala. Douala is the city I live in. I already knew the EB, some of team leaders and project directors but it was even more nice to meet new people and to see the active participation with million of questions – why? how? when? who? what? – and so on.

The last but not the least LC we visited was in the capital – Yaoundé. While going to Buea I catched myself thinking that it seams I’m watching the National Geography channel, while going to Yaoundé I realized I’m watching National Geography channel 2:) Yaoundé is colder than Douala. Standing next to the university you can see a wonderful view down: all the houses, hills with trees, streets. The city is very hilly. There is lots of dust and sand all around.
What I was happy the most was that we had the biggest delegation here, members were all most on time all the time. It’s just sad we had to finish earlier as the travel takes around 4-5 hours and we need to be by the evening in Douala.

Di

Sport is good!!!!!

2008-08-16T16:21:00.000+03:00

Two weeks ago I started running in the mornings and evenings. Bought sport shoes and just started. I found running and exercises very good for keeping great mood. Unfortunately the shity thing is that it’s raining season here now and when it starts to rain in the night it ends just around 7 or 8. As I go for running at 5.30 a.m. So usually it is not possible – running in the morning. But the evening time is for sure dedicated for sport. 45 minutes of great time.

I’m happy here is the nice place for sport just next to our living place. There no such a things as parks so I’m enjoying a path next to the train station.

I need to re-start my sports, while being sick I lost my rhythm of the day.

Di

Being sick is not good

2008-08-16T16:13:00.000+03:00

Bonjour my friends,

Long long time ago the last message of mine was posted in this blog. So now come the review of the last month. AIESEC & me.

…where to start? Maybe from the last days. The last week. I was sick. On Friday (08.08) afternoon I felt headache, after checking my temperature in the evening I realized I have 38 degrees. During the night my temperature increased till 39. the night was soooooooo long I have never had before. Each single hour I was waiting up to check what time it is. If I already go to hospital or not. Finally morning came up. I got ready for the hospital and left the MC house. The medicine sister and doctor were very nice. Doctor was talking in English with me. He prescribed me lauds of drugs and 4 tests to do. While taking my blood from the vane for the general check-up and to see if it’s not malaria I felt like loosing my consciousness. I asked for ammonia but women didn’t understand me. It’s just good I felt well soon and was able to walk.

After the hospital I was staying in bed, drinking tea and sweating. Next morning I went to the hospital for the second time to collect the part of results of the blood tests. Doctor said it’s not malaria but surely some other tropical disease which name is still mystical for me. How you get sick? It’s because of not clean food and drinks (mainly water). So what can I do now is just to take care about everything I eat. But openly speaking it’s kind of hard as usually we are eating outside. Just time to time someone is cooking in MC house.

I’m going for the last visit to my doctor next Wednesday. To make sure everything is finally ok. I was lucky as my MC team was caring about me so much. I was afraid a lot and they helped me to feel better. Thank you my dears :)

A real Saturday Day!

2008-07-12T20:50:00.001+03:00

Wow the weather is sooo fresh and nice. The sun is not too hot and wind just makes you feel sooo alive. My morning started with enjoying this beauty!

I took some time for washing clothes. For it I use only laundry soap as washing powder influence the allergy on my hands. And the washing procedure itself is done by hands. It was a funny moment when MC members started to ask me if I’m sure how to wash clothes by hands and if I’m able to do this. Che che che… for sure I know, I’m washing clothes with hands from the long time ago :D

At 10 a.m. I got ready to be a STAR. As together with Alice we went to market. It was…. Oh my… how to express everything right and clear. The place is huge and overcrowded. People were staring at me and shouting La Blanche (white women) and Sherry (sweaty). Some of them even were grabbing my hand, or just simply touching me. Some small children were passing by and asking to carry on my bag. For sure later they would ask some money. It’s a business – You see!
Moreover, the place where they sell meet is without any sanitary. No refrigerator!!! The pig is killed next to the place they sell a meat. So there is no desire to by anything in these conditions.

Well. We bought bed sheets and afterwards went to buy some food. I’m planning to cook “Balandeliai” on Monday. So I bought rise, maggi cubes, onion and cabbage. We still have some potatoes in MC kitchen. So, still meat and ketchup left to buy. Hope to do this on Monday morning. But what I found in the market what made me feel amazing was green and fresh basil and mint. The first one will be for the “Balandeliai” and second one for the tea. Mmmm… I love mint!!! Soooo cool I found it.

After coming back to MC house I gave a sweep outside next to the house to look and to be the place cleaner.:) Later finished with tiding the room and out on the new bed sheets. Here is the crazy thing as well I have to mention. In the pack I expected bed sheet, wrap and pillowcase. But… no there was a different combination. Two pillowcases and two bed sheets (turiu galvoje paklodes). No wrap (antklode, kaldros uzvalkalas). It’s cool I took one nice, handmade from home so something more what reminds me home and what makes me feel good. So these two bed sheets are used like this. For one moment you use first one. Later you wash the one and use the second and it’s like never ending circle. (kaldru cia niekas nenaudoja, tik ploni kartuniniai apklotai, arba isvis, kartais niekuo neuzsikloja, kai miega).

Ahhh. I just remembered that I was enjoying the evening yesterday while sitting outside (next to the house) and looking around, observing people who was passing by and watching into the sky, when suddenly I saw some flitter-mouse. But not that small we have in the Zoo (in Kaunas). No!!! Big!!! Huge!!! All around. Ufff… nature… beautiful… and wizards became daily friends which are crawling on the wall of the house and next to the house. I start really like them. Furthermore there is some kind of bird which songs I have never heard before. They are so loud in the morning. Wow. It’s good to live in this kind of environment:)

Ok. It’s already 7p.m. and in an hour I have to be prepared for the official dinner I’m going to with LC VP ER. So I stop now and here. The next post will come soon with impressions from the dinner.

All the best!
Yours Di

New nickname

2008-07-12T17:01:00.002+03:00

Somehow it’s kind of difficult for people here to pronounce my name so instead of Diana they are calling me Daaaaaina. So I became a Song:D, as “daina” in Lithuanian language means “a song”. Alice our mcvp f/a calls me Džaina:) hmmm let me think... any other variations of my name pronunciation? I guess nothing so far.

By the way I was cooking some days ago. What I’m missing here is the real soup we have in Lithuania with lots of fluid and some additional nice and tasty things.
So after making my soup and sharing with all the MC team – I got this kind of feedback – my soup is for the people who take the slim down classes :P ech… what can I say… it’s just a different perspective:P

Di:)

Flow of the day

2008-07-12T16:43:00.005+03:00

So after being here in Cameroon already around three weeks I can share how my day looks like for now. Sooo…

6.30 waking up, having a cold shower, ufff... (atgaiva visai dienai:D)
7.00 starting my work with a cup of hot tea (I still have some from Lithuania:)), next to the computer while checking e-mail and making the list of tasks for the day.
9.00 making a short break to go to buy some food for my breakfast. The point is that no one is doing sandwiches by himself. You just have a small shop next to the living place. You go there choose the bread you want (they have only white bread, or as we call in Lithuania “batonas”, no black bread:P). So you choose the bread and ask to put butter, chocolate or both. And here you have your sandwich. A guy just makes it for you here and now. Or you can buy some “spurgos” :D it have kind of different taste than the once in Lithuania but still its nice Or you can have bread with spicily made beans. A guy cut the French loaf along and put there beans or meat. Or you can buy already boiled eggs. All food is cooked you just buy it and eat it.
12.30 comes time for lunch. So far we are not cooking so much so all the lunch we have is outside. There are three places we usually go. (1) Odile – food – rise or “plantain” (it looks like banana but is harder to eat) and tomato soup (it consists of fish or meat and thick spicy fluid, for Lithuanians it would be for sure not a soup – it would be just sauce:)). (2) Buy Fu-Fu (pictures on facebook) and eating at home. (3) Antredelega – you can eat rise with fish, rise with vegetables (oh here is funny thing, vegetables means some kind of grass with sauce, nothing connected with tomatoes, cucumbers or cabbage) and meat, rise and beans, hmmm and something else what I’m not sure about how to call it:P
13.30 resting time. As the digesting starts and there is so hot outside you are not able to be eeffective while working so it’s better to have a nap for half an hour.
14.00 continuing with the work…

21.00 time for dinner. For it we have two places (1) fish place :D oh my…. I love it!!!!! You come choose a fish you want and they grill it in the next 10-15 min. You get a bowl with water to wash your hands and starting to eat mmmm… fish without any flatware. You take part of the fish directly with your hand and eat everything till the end. Head with eyes included next to the fish you get very hot pepper and “plantains” or “miondo” (very hard to explain); (2) 16ene (sezem) – you can eat pasta, pasta with eggs, pasta with vegetable or sardine (it’s nice), avocado salads with condensed milk. And some bear everywhere inside and outside MC house:)))....

22.00 someone continues his work, someone goes to sleep, someone dances @ dances and soon… so the evening is free to do the things you want to do:D

so more or less it's how my day looks like:)

Are you married?

2008-07-07T18:04:00.002+03:00

This is a question I received for several times already. I think the fact which influences this question is my ring. Small. Golden. It was gifted for me from my parents. And now it attracts lots of people attention. I can use it as security attribute when communicating with people I do not know.
On the other hand this question is asked to check the chances of big potential of Cameroon:). So far I am fine with out this big potential :P

Language of sounds
Ahhh… this city is very noisy. The taxis (cabs) are just going around and signaling all the time for the people who are standing next to the street, for the people in they are picking them with the car, for the once who is in the middle of the traffic. So each single second you will hear pyp… pyp… pyp pyp… motorbikes are signaling as well. They are crazy and fast.
People are spreading kind of sounds as well. At the moment they want to get taxi – pssss… at the moment they want to attract someone’s attention – hmmm I do not know how to write this sound in letters :P. just the point is that all the time you hear something and this mix of sounds make you tired very fast.

Di

Limited Electricity

2008-07-07T17:49:00.002+03:00

Due to long lasting rain during the nights here in Douala from Tuesday till Saturday afternoon electricity was on for a moment and of for the next moment. On Wednesday night it was lightening so much that I was not able to sleep calmly. I had to have a two hours online meeting with TMU and there was no electricity during all Thursday morning. At the moment I was ready to go to the Cyber café electricity appeared and I was really lucky for that moment not to leave the house and to save money. But here it is Saturday morning without electricity once again. I was not able to do anything as other MC members so finally we decided to go for the walk and to see some new places in Douala :)

Yeeeee…. It was really nice. Some pictures are uploaded on facebook.

After the first week in Cameroon

2008-07-02T10:54:00.002+03:00

Hello my dear readers,

The first week in Cameroon goes to the real end. Are you guys waiting for my sharing? :)
My integration is slowly going on… why slowly? We started to have some MC meetings in the middle of the week and from Friday - year planning. So there is not that much time for the exploration of an environment.

But still!!! There were organized Welcome party for me and it was the biggest integration event during the week. I made a short presentation about Lithuania. Shared some “Karaliskas sokolalas” and “Zalios trejos devynerios” and seams guys enjoyed it!

Some facts: :)
• Sleeping with the ventilator next to the bed as it’s hot here and the weather is full of damp
• There were only two nights when it was not raining from the 23rd of June till now
• Every morning you have a possibility to enjoy a cold shower which makes you ready for a hot day
• You can find different kind of alive things around (ants running in corridor, lizard who is watching you in a shower, cats around the kitchen and sometimes some cockroaches,…aaaaah and sure… mosquitoes in the evening are attacking me, happily I’m stronger to stay alive :))
• The main food here is fish & rise. As we are eating all most everything with potatoes, people in Cameroon are eating all most everything with rise. And eat a lot. At the very beginning it was hard but now I’m getting used to that. Hmmmm how big I will be after this term? Who knows? :P
• People. Friendly, but talking in French. So quite usually it’s hard to communicate. And I still feel very dependent from the people I’m working with.
• Church. Here in Cameroon the biggest part of population is Roman Catholics as I am. So last Sunday after the Saturdays Welcome party me & Belinda went to the Mass. It was a bit longer as it’s in Lithuania. The flow was the same. Just the way how they deliver everything was a bit different. By the way the Mass was in English but it was still hard to understand. Before coming to Cameroon I’ve heard & read that they are having Mass for 6-8 hours and it is truth. Just this kind of Mass is from different religions believers. In some churches they even have siesta!!! Yes!:)
• Oh yes. It was one morning when I woke up with the right eye which was “uztinusi”, I guess it was because of mosquitoes. And the next morning it was the same but with the left eye. Finally it’s fine.

We, together with MC team, finished the planning on Monday night. And now trying to come up with our individual once. So soon starting with things to do.

So this is for now my friends!
Shortly saying I’m happy. I’m alive. I’m safe.

Di.

I am in Cameroon – Finally!

2008-06-25T09:30:00.000+03:00

So here I am. Diana in Cameroon. Hot Cameroon. Colorful Cameroon. Strange Cameroon.
So far it’s nice and welcoming. And I’m waiting for my Welcome party a lot. I think this event will be the real first cultural shock. So for now leaving you only with news that I’m safe at the place I have to be, at the places I wanted to be more than five months so far!

I will try to write to you after my Welcome party experience. So stay connected for the fresh news :)

Yours Di

Updates from the last week

2008-06-21T21:10:00.009+03:00

Hello my friends,

Some days past after the last post of mine and during this time I was that much busy I was not able to write to you and myself as well. I’m going home by train now so took my notebook to write some facts about the last week before I leave to Cameroon. And…

The week started with my birthday and the most exciting news that I’m selected for the TMU! It was the best present for my birthday from @ side:). I’ve done some shopping especially getting all the medicines I need.

I left to university on early Tuesday morning foe my bachelor defending. I was the first on this day and easily got in contact with the commission and passionately presented what I’ve done and wrote. After supporting my studies mates I went to my hairdresser who made me to look like a boy:)

Yes, I’m in very short hair now.

And the result of the final thesis amazed me! I got the max. – that means 10 (in Lithuania). I’m happy I dedicate all this time for writing my thesis and doing the research, had possibility to participate in the Coach 2 Coach training course.

I met Sandra on Wednesday to have a nice talk and to say see you in a year.

So later in afternoon I left to have a party with my studies mates. We celebrated the end of four years adult education program at Vytautas Magnus university. I’m happy I do not need to think what’s next because everything is planned already and set for one year period. And I’m sad at the same time as lots of my studies mates do not know what to do next, how to find a job, they do not know what they want to work and study next. I feel they are kind of lost as some of the doors close now and the new once still need to be opened as they are not! I wish You find your life way and it brings you lots of happiness.

And finally the 4th day of the week came and all the @ers in Kaunas came to say see you in a year or see you for the New Years celebration. It was cool party with lots of people and very practical and amazingly beneficial presents :) Thank you my lovely and dear LC Kaunas.

__________________________________________________

I’m going by train again. This time leaving my home and feeling sad. I didn’t imagine I will have this amount of emotions and will be upset so much. But I guess it’s normal. I know I will miss my parents and sisters, the very fresh and warm milk, the songs of the birds in the early morning, the smell of the hay, beautiful roses my mother is taking care about, working time in the fields, driving tractor and supporting my father, milking cows and helping to my mother, fields,…

I want to feel calm for now. I try to be peaceful inside and get really ready to start the new period of my life.

Di

Happy Birthday Diana!!! :)

2008-06-16T14:44:00.002+03:00

I'm happy!

I'm ready!

I'm already 23... and 24 started just 45 minutes ago:)

I somehow feel these year for me will be the most unforgetable, meaningful, they will change me... I'm happy they just started. So let's get it started!!!

Happy Smiling Diana:)

First pill and agenda for the next week

2008-06-15T21:07:00.003+03:00

I feel a headache. I took the first anti malaria pill three hours ago. Seams I concentrated too much on it and that is what happened to me.

The last weekend of mine was totally dedicated for God. I was attending recollections. The period of time when after being scattered all around me, I was trying collect myself back. It was miraculous and calm time given for reflection, reading Bible, less thinking and more feeling, trying to hear to word of God.

And what I have heard was: be patient on your way and at the same time be determined and strong for everything you want to do. I’ll try to keep this word from Him till it realizes one powerful and meaningful day.

God is the Light of my eyes.

And here the first of the last two weeks finishes. The last one starts tomorrow and on Sunday I’m leaving already. I feel calm. I know that lost of hard time are waiting for me. I know I will be happy and excited. I know there will be lots of diversity in experience, culture, feelings and moments of my life. And if you ask am I ready for this? I say no. Oh shit! Can you be prepared for this kind of new being?

Still some preparation must be done so here comes agenda of the next week.

Monday
Some shopping and
Moral preparation for bachelor defending
Meeting Grazina

Tuesday
Bachelor defending
Going for haircut

Wednesday
Starting packing
Some more shopping
Party with studies mates

Thursday
Bye Bye party with @ers and other friends

Friday
Going home to meet family
Birthday celebration

Saturday
Time at home
Going to Kaunas in the afternoon

Sunday
Leaving to Vilnius
Leaving to Paris
Leaving to Casablanca

----

leaving to bed now:)))

Two African'os :)

2008-06-13T11:21:00.004+03:00

Oh yes... after the great meeting in Vilnius I came back to Kaunas. BUt this time to participate in the other Bye Bye party! Tomas Bye Bye party. He is leaving already today. And he leaves to Tanzania for three months internship.

Enjoy your time Tomas:)

waiting for my turn:P

Bye Bye meeting in Vilnius

2008-06-13T10:56:00.016+03:00

Place - Balti Drambliai
Time 06.12 from 5p.m. to 8 p.m.

Amazing time with amazing people!

... still on my way to Vilnius ....

Together with my former classmate Akvile. Amazing girl;) And you can see some strange thing on my hand:P I had the last vacciness into both hands. And it hurts today:(

Dalia Mantas Egle Andriukas

Can you imagine??? Ferney was on his first internship in Cameroon for six months. And now he is having his internship in Lithuania. Amazing uh!?

Giedre Deny
(TM unites us:))

Ech still missing photos with Giedre and Akmis. Thank you guys for meeting me and being with me. See you next year!!!

Di

Up-coming week agenda :)

2008-06-08T22:39:00.002+03:00

06.09 Monday
To print my final thesis and bring it to the studies department
Going home
Visiting my school

06.10 Tuesday
Full happy day at home with my parents and sisters

06.11 Wednesday
Morning at home
Midday already in Kaunas, meeting Vija
Afternoon – online meeting with Thierry (transition stuff)

06.12 Thursday
Meeting my bachelor thesis tutor
Going to Vilnius to visit my doctor
Bye bye meeting with Vilnius @ers and other friends

06.13 Friday
Finalizing bachelor defending presentation
Church/leaving for the recollections weekend

06.14
Recollections

06.15
Sleep-In :) (@ language!)
Church
Alfa course (the last meeting)
Moral preparation for bachelor defending

with love Di...

Early Morning

2008-06-07T07:57:00.007+03:00

Oh my… I had all most no rest during the last night. First, I was not able to get to sleep for two hours. Second, I had bad dreams. Third, I woke up at 6a.m.

So just now I’m already fine, drinking my breakfast tea and… :) if you are an @er you can imagine and know me well… OK. I’m creating an agenda for the last two weeks here in Lithuania. Crazy! Isn’t it? :)

So far I didn’t set any objectives, expectations, goals into it. The mane thing here is not to forget to finalize something before leaving and to be sure I involved everything I have to do before leaving.

AGENDA :) … is coming soon!

Crazy Friday

2008-06-06T23:38:00.000+03:00

Ech… it’s one hour to midnight. I feel strange. I supposed to continue with finalizing my bachelor thesis as I need to give it to my studies department latest on Monday afternoon. But… it’s a crazy time. The crazy time which not allow to concentrate. That wants me to change the priorities. And I let this quite usually. My head is full of ideas about Cameroon.
I found the document called “Preparation Booklet for Incoming Trainees” in my notebook and copied the list of suggested things to take to Cameroon. I added some thing from my side while walking around the rooms and watching out what do I usually use. The list is long. And there are so many things still to buy. The next two weeks are the last once for me being in Lithuania. So not much left as you can see!

After I came up with the list I started searching for the blogs (while listening for Latvians music (thank you Lasma for this big folder of songs)) of people who are or was volunteering in Cameroon. And I can say I found a lot, a lot of nice pictures, a lot of useful information, a lot of interesting information, so I prolonged my “things to take list”

And now I extremely looking for my own discoveries, for my own and unrepeatable experience. I starting to realize that I really leave my come country. I’m leaving it very soon.

Lots of people are still asking me if I’m ready for it. If I’m prepared for it? And I say No, I will never be ready. Because it needs professional, personal, mental, psychological, physical, cultural, communicational, social … preparation.

The points I need to keep in mind said by:
Landry: …do NOT drink water from the tap…
Juanita: do not expect ANYTHING and this will make your life much easier!
Leanne: keep in mind different invitations culture; it’s not because of you it’s because of different culture.
Bernis: U HAVE TO BE PATIENT; CAMEROONIAN ARE SOOOOO.... DIRECT....
Trelokoritso sent 2008.05.25 10:55: ziurek savo interesu ir ypac jausmu. NIEKAS uz tave tavimi nepasirupins

This is just a very small part from what i have heard, read and got to know. I‘m totally sure there is even an uncounted amount more, so... let‘s watch out for them. I guess the next once will be from my side already!

With a strange feeling…

Still smiling…

Di

The last day of the spring of 2008

2008-05-31T08:50:00.003+03:00

… the time started to go faster. For real it’s the same. Just for me a seam like it’s getting faster and faster for some kind of goal. Everything is changing so quickly.
It was the last day at my work. The celebration together with my co-workers and the bosses was really nice and the present I got was just amazing. The beautiful diary book which looks African style. Hmmm at least for me :). And the greeting follows as this: “just write and fulfil it, after you come back we will want to read it”. Structurally speaking it was how the day started.

Before the midday I got a call from travel agency. They asked me to pay for the ticket as I had only the reservation so far. The reason to pay was because from the 1st of June there won’t be paper tickets for flights any more – world becomes more socially responsible!

What happened next? After the midday I got sms from Lina (she is in Brussels now and kindly taking care about my visa issue) saying like this – hey, your visa for 6 months will be on Monday, I paid for it already. Later I’ll write to you an e-mail about my adventures in Cameroon embassy:).
That was one more great thing to know. Yesterday’s day was dedicated for my studies too. I took the 2nd exam in this last semester of mine in the late afternoon.

Was there something more??? For sure it was. We (Cameroon MC current & elect) had an interviews with the candidates for the EAP National Director position. It took 6 hours in total. I went to sleep two hours after the midnight as I was still trying to cope and write the feedback for each of the candidates.

One more action step should be emphasized. One hour before the deadline I send my application for the TMU 2008/2009. The results will be announced latest on 15th of June.

I said you so many things are happening and changing in my life. Sometimes I think I’m gonna finish with everything here in Lithuania and with the freedom feeling will leave for the next period of my life. I’m looking forward to experience and enjoy it!

And now need to leave for shopping and managing some things as a part of the preparation for Cameroon. Today is the birthday of my father. So going to celebrate that.

Smiling…

Di

Creating something when I need to write my final thesis

2008-05-28T14:24:00.002+03:00

The lecture leaded by the president of Lithuania

2008-05-06T19:14:00.000+03:00

Today our president Valdas Adamkus leaded a lecture in the crowded Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas) Big Hall about the “Lithuania in the 21st century”. The points which were stressed during the 30 min. lecture were:

The role of the youth in the changing society
The importance of efficient education and education system reform
The lack of the reflection towards the culture we have and create
The fear of the changes
The attitude towards different areas of science
The being Lithuanian first and European second
The racism and xenophobia
The attention to the human being and humanity … and some other…

To say openly I had to attend this lecture because my professor said we will need to write a reflection about it. While listening to all the questions, statements and opinions the president expressed I came with the idea of the attitude changes. And it’s not so easy. It’s not just one day even a week training on how to be a good person in the society! It takes years to change the attitude of all the society. It takes hell of the effort and a good plan for that. What is needed more I think it’s a passion, strong will and positive attitude about the human being. It’s natural – the behavior of resistance towards the changes. So keeping this in mind the attitude building process plan should be gentle and not painful for the society. All these ideas influence and push me to strive for more! It makes me to think what can I do for my country? What do I have to start with? There to start? Maybe I already started? Which steps of mine illustrates that?

For the moment… what I know for sure and what I’m proud with is my family. I’m very happy I have parents who educated me to show the respect to the people. They are amazing ‘cos they helped me to understand the value of the human being.

And now, when I’m planning to leave Lithuania for one year they are so strong in getting used to this fact. They all most do not show they sadness or stress they feel, they do not blame me. I feel glad they try to support me in my decision and preparation period.

Uhhh… seams I started to talk not to the topic. Any way, the most important thing is – I AM HAPPY TO HAVE SUCH A FAMILY!

Di

Honeymoon room couple :D

2008-05-04T22:15:00.003+03:00

Here we are: me and Joyce. We were living in the biggest room in the hotel with bedroon and living room. From the very beggining we started to make jockes that we are living in the honeymoon room. By the way we enjoyed the room a lot :D

Di

Reflection on the C2C training course

2008-05-04T21:59:00.003+03:00

It happened like this that I’m sitting now in Warszawa Zachodnia international bus station and waiting for my bus. There have been already lots of “hello” and “bye bye” but it’s still so hard to come back to “real life”. I could say I feel sadness now and I’m next to the tears. While suddenly starting to ask myself how to overcome this feeling. Do not know what about you but sometimes I do not want to do anything to feel somehow different. I just want to be sad and to live this feeling, this emotion. I want to feel it. I want to be sad.
On the other hand, I do not know if it’s valuable, to behave like this. Maybe it’s better to change the way of the thinking and to concentrate on something positive, some new tasks I’ll have after I come back, to concentrate on the next steps planning and the implementation of the new knowledge and skills. To reflect on how much this learning event gave me to my personal development and to me as personality. Maybe in this way it would work out not to feel this sadness and to be more enthusiastic. Perhaps this way of thinking wouldn’t create a feeling that you need to come back to “real life” but better let’s come back to the direction I had to “grow” faster!

What did this course give to me?

Hmmm… good question. And I think I’ll still be asking it myself during the next year or even longer. Some of the answers can be…

Self awareness
Understanding of the influence of other people for my behavior and performance in the group.
I started to recognize the way I take responsibility and the way I give responsibility more consciously.
The course strengthened my understanding that I’m the only one who is responsible for my personal learning process and its results.
It’s amazing that I can be and I am creative person
New perspective towards the coaching in youth participation. As I said in the last reflection team meeting something was broken up in the way I think about the coaching but it means that I started to build something beautiful too.

It’s a little bit sad I couldn’t manage my thesis research as the tools I planned to use there not the ones suitable for the goals I wanted to reach. On the other hand I still have the contacts of the people I met and will contact them to finish the things I started.

Altogether I'm very happy I had this opportunity and I took it! This helps to see the world in more beautiful colours:)

Di

Happy busy times

2008-04-20T18:57:00.001+03:00

I‘m leaving to Warsaw in 3 hours.
And in two days Coach 2 Coach training course starts. I decided to set some participation goals of mine in the course. And they are:

To have the research for my final thesis
To experience coaching in the environment of NGOs
To build a new part of the new contacts for my network
To experience something non-aiesec and to step out of “@ box”
To meet Noam!

I am getting more and more excited about the fact I am leaving for something very new and interesting to me. Despite that at the same time I will have to manage the delegate and researcher roles. I will have to work on TtT agenda and other TtT preparation things too. Hope to have some time to continue with my theory part of the final thesis. Ufff… seams like very busy timetable. I am getting prepared to it .

I need to write some more e-mails and after that going to bus station.
Enjoy your week!
May God bless You!

Di

Visa!

2008-04-15T17:48:00.002+03:00

I felt I need to put it here as one of my posts

2008-04-13T11:27:00.001+03:00

The following scene took place on a BA flight between Johannesburg and London .
This is a true story.

A White woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a Black man. Obviously disturbed by this, she called the air Hostess. "Madam, what is the matter," the Hostess asked. "You obviously do not see it then?" she responded. "You placed me next to a Black man. I do not agree to sit next to someone from such a repugnant group. Give me an alternative seat." "Be calm please, the Hostess replied. "Almost all the seats on this flight are taken. I will go to see if another seat is available." The Hostess went away and came back a few minutes later. "Madam, just as I thought, there are no other available seats in Economy class. I spoke to the Captain and he informed me that there are also no seats in the Business class. All the same, we still have one seat in First class." Before the woman could reply, the Hostess continued: "It is unusual for our company to permit someone from Economy class to sit in First class. However, given the circumstances, the Captain feels that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so disgusting." She turned to the Black man and said, "Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage, a seat awaits you in First class." At that moment, the other passengers who were shocked by what they had just witnessed stood up and applauded.

"When you're down to nothing, God is up to something."

Di

How similar are they? :)

2008-04-12T19:06:00.001+03:00

And what is next?

2008-04-03T21:21:00.001+03:00

I’m taking care to get my ticket asap to be able to send the documents for getting visa. Secondly going for the second round of vaccines in the next week.

My studies are pushing me too to be faster and more concentrated. But it’s so hard. Believe me! So hard. What is very good thing I’m excited about – Coach 2 Coach seminar I’m leaving on 20th of April for. Finally I’ll be a delegate in non-AIESEC conference. The C2C training course is organized my Poland National Youth Agency (the part of EU structure). What I’m going to do there is for sure to participate, for sure present our organization, for sure enjoy the time, to get theoretical knowledge and practical skills and one more very important point to do my graduation dissertation research.

As the course will be held in Warsaw I’m going to visit my dear Noam too. Yoooooooohooooo. I’m sure we will have great time as always with no plans and crazy events all around :) !!!

So here is the mainly action steps for the April.

Time to sleep. My angels are waiting for me…

Di

Can it be called as preparation? I guess… Yes.

2008-04-03T20:52:00.001+03:00

Hello my dear friends and all the others who reads these lines from time to time:). It will be (in one week) already three months as I’m elected for AIESEC Cameroon MC. And during all this time happened so much and I think even could happen more.

So first of all I started to get to know the other members from the current MC (Bernis, Cathy, Thierry, Wilfred) and the new one (Alice, Eric, Wilfred :D). I got to know lots of people from the LCs – Buea, Douala and Yaoundé. I got to know Juanita, Stephanie, Landry and Pascal who helps me so much with getting to know the visa process information. The guys from the previous MC team. People are amazing. I feel a lot of support and understanding when communicating with them.

One crazy thing which happened just on the last weekend was that I took a part in Synergy conference parties (no more a normal delegate or faci after 4 years :P) and got to know that in Vilnius we have an intern who was for the internship in Cameroon before the one in Vilnius. So Fernay is the new amazing recourse for me:)

There was a moment then some strikes were organized in Cameroon as very challenging for the country. At that time I started to read the news about Cameroon everyday at www.cameroononline.com :) Moreover, just before this there was an Africa Cup championship. So I even started to watch football and skipped just several matches. Can you believe that in that web page each third or fouth post is about the football. People are crazy about this game there. What do I realize now is that all these changes influence me to look wider to the world which is not only Europe. It challenges my worldview, so I continue to fully live AIESEC XP principles. And even…. I guess so. I started to go to the Church constantly after the 2 years gap. Do you see how the life can change even before you leave? I start to recognize it consciously just now.

What is more from organizational side?
Today I got my health insurance.
Before it I was visiting around thirty web pages for hundred times to find a ticket to Cameroon. And what I know now is – the airlines which flies to Cameroon are:
Royal Morocco, Air France, Sn Brussels, Air Ivoire, Air Tungaru, American Airlines, Bellview Airlines, Cameroon Airlines, Sabena, Swiss, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Nigeria, U8 and I guess it’s still not all of them.
The price goes from 400 Euros one-way (Royal Air Morocco) -> to 4000 Euros one-way :D:D:D (Air France, direct flight). The price of the direction is Paris – Douala. Yes MC house is the economical capital Douala instead of the official capital of Cameroon – Yaoundé.
Visa process. I planned to apply for 6 months tourist visa and later extend it for the other 6 months. The nearest embassies of Cameroon for Lithuanians are in Moscow and Brussels. As Lina (my former LCP) is in Brussels I still hope to get her help for arranging the meeting with embassy that I would not need to go there myself. It's not very hard to get visa. It takes only two-three days for that.
The next issue for me was the vaccines. I got the first ones already: Yellow fever and the first time of Hepatitis A&B, in the next week I’m going to get the second of Hepatitis A&B, and some four others. What do you need more is the security from Malaria. But so far there is no vaccine so you need to drink the pills aaaaaaaaaaaaaall the time. One per week at the set time. And several times before leaving and still one-two months after coming back from the country. So in term of dangerous for the health country is not that safe. And I guess you need to take care about it a lot.
Hmmm… health insurance, ticket, vaccines, visa what is more? Simply communication and understanding building between and for people. :)

it's just the comments of my preparation procees and from the person who is building an understanding about the country and will prove or deny all the current thoughts later, at the moment I'm there.
So whatch out! I'll be posting to say what is different and how:)

kind of reflective today,

Di

Easter celebration

2008-03-22T06:31:00.001+02:00

It's time to think about the meaning of the life. It's time to reflect on the topic of your life story. It's time one more time to say "I love you" for the closest people in your life.

Take time for yourselfs. Be happy.
Be thankfull. And remember - love them if they are in your life!

hugs,

Di

Reflection on elections

2008-03-15T21:05:00.001+02:00

14th of March 2008. EB for 2008/2009 term elections. LC Kaunas. 20 true members. Chair. Guests. Members. People who is caring. People who stands for they development while applying for the biggest responsibility – for people development on LC level. People who are brave. People who wants to leave they footprint in AIESEC Kaunas history.

And it is so powerful that my heart starts to beat. I came here. Entered the auditorium and thought “I love my LC, I feel my LC, I’m proud to be a part of this LC, of LC Kaunas”!

These elections were somehow different for me. And then I now re-think everything what happened and how I realize that for the first time I was sure about my recommendations for Simona and Mantas. For the first time I accepted the responsibility to recommend these two great persons JUST after several challenging talks with them. Challenging for them. I was thinking why these people have to have right to be elected, what they have done in AIESEC during these years, what are they goals and how do they feel about the up-coming term. The term of beauty and potential!

I felt lots of different emotions during this process.

I felt trust. I felt strong trust while saying my recommendations and seeing the new opened hearts striving for they dreams realization. I was looking to they eyes and feeling that trust and happiness about they decisions.

I felt nervous. I was standing in front of the people I worked and party with too. And somehow still this being in front of them brougjht so much stress and fear because it’s so important for you to get the trust from these people! I could say I truly understand that feeling… because I felt it… three times while asking true member status, two times while applying for the coordinator/team leader position, ones I applied for international EB, ones I applied for National Trainers Team and ones I applied for Member Committee member. Wow. How many times? Three, two, one, one, one… oh, in total it was eight times!
For sure there was some times I failed. If it was a faults? I think it was the opportunity to see things from different perspective. It was a great opportunity to get more feedback and to become stronger emotionally. Just it is very strange why some of us become so BRAVE to say all the feedback for candidates and not to express all the worries and beliefs before the elections? Why? Is it because it’s less stressful and easier? When you don’t need to look at the persons eyes? Is it because it’s just a part of the process? And here could come more questions like that, but.... I'm happy that finally I found sooooo much positive things about each of you dear candidates. Thank You for letting me to get to know you! And I still felt nervous because of you being nervous and it just affected me in the way that I remembered all my speeches and the feeling I had at that time. That so special and the most important in your whole life.

I felt calm. I came to elections in calm mood for the first time. I knew I will make my decision after all the speeches and the Q&A sessions, after the saying for and against. And I fulfilled this! I fulfilled what I wanted so much. I made my decision just before voting and I am calm. For the first time I was so much open with myself and calmly fulfilled my true member status responsibility.

I felt surprised. How you dear Simona was able to stay so emotionally stable :) , how you dear Renata being not so strong in functional X side was so brave to say that you will learn and show for your members how great X job is, how you dear Tomas showed your “thinking BIG, really BIG” and having vision and goals for your life, what is important for a great leader, how you dear Mantas asked that challenging question “who came here already with the decision made how to vote”? just at the beginning of your speech and how great you communicated your motivation to us, how you dear Vaidotas presented yourself openly and clearly while building the stable and clear impression about what you want as your future carrerr!
Thank You all for these surprises that made me feel great!

There were more emotions but these ones made me understand I have changed during these years. I started to have more communication with people who asks me to recommend them to make sure I can fully trust them before recommending, I started to listen more carefully and trying to understand as much as possible the way person is going to be and what kind of desires does he have in his life, I recognized so much advantages in each person, moreover, I’m open to accept each one as he or she is.

What is for sure important to mention that before applying to all the positions some time ago I had lack of skills, I had lack of knowledge, my competences were not that well developed,…. but people trusted me and gave me the opportunity to grow personally and to develop other people while leading them and going together with them. And I’m happy because of this, and I want to say Thank you for each of you who said we need Diana in AIESEC, we need Diana for these leadership positions, we need Diana to influence the growth of our organization! Thank You for all the opportunities you let me to take.

And that is why I truly believe that at the end of the day more have done the one who WANTED more than the one who COULD more.

Trust people more. Love them if they are in your life, because without them you would not have opportunity to become a great and beautiful human being.

I love YOU.

Di

Things are changing

2008-03-11T11:25:00.002+02:00

What is happening in my life now? When I look back to the last months, actually the first months of this year I see something has changed in my beautiful lifetime.

I started accountability relations with Gerald from AIESEC Zimbabwe. It gratefully helped me to set the goals for this year and keeps me on the track each week while planning my weekly tasks and on the way to realize my goals.
Secondly, I got to know Bayuseta Asmara Jati from Indonesia who came to AIESEC Cameroon for his internship. Thanks for giving me the other overview about the life there.

What I consciously realized was that there were some weeks in February then I was not able to rest normally during the night because of thinking about Cameroon. I was asking myself lots of questions. How everything will be? What I’m really going to do there? How do I need to prepare? What do I need to prepare for? Am I doing the right things now? Later thinking and imagining situations of communication, meetings, daily life. Moreover, I was trying to find some solutions from the complicated situations which could happen. And all this thinking and analyzing process just involved me so much that at the each moment I was going to sleep I was thinking about Cameroon, during the night I was waking up because of the thoughts about Cameroon and waking up in the morning with the idea about this country in my mind.
So day after the day my head was just more and more full and I was less and less calm and relaxed.

And while having this mental tiredness in my life, I enthusiastically decided to change something about it. What I have done? I started to go to the Church on Sundays after two years break. It gives me time and concentration of my mind about the religion and the treasure I already have. So I can relax from the thoughts about Cameroon secondly, I started to make sports in the morning what gives me physical relaxation and fulfils me with energy for the daily activities. Thirdly, I started to wake up at 5:30 a.m. (in the next weeks I want it at 5 a.m.) and going to sleep at 10 p.m. If it’s hard to understand why I do this? I can say that it brings more discipline in my life and feeling I can manage my life as I want. So one more action I take just before going to sleep is reading a book for half an hour. This helps to stay out of thoughts about Cameroon too and prepare for the restful night sleep.
Describing it in short – I changed my daily life style and schedule. I brought more discipline to my life. I started to take care about my mental, spiritual and physical health!

What is next? I want to learn to concentrate on the things I do. And to do them with the highest responsibility. So concentration and responsibility. I’m thinking now how I can improve myself in these areas. Hope to come up with something simple and beneficial soon

This is for now…

Di

It's just like this!

2008-03-11T09:17:00.000+02:00

What to be proud about?

2008-02-16T22:57:00.001+02:00

Have you even noticed how much we are proud about the things we have done in our life!? And how much we are proud to share about our achievements and realized goals with others? How much we are happy to say “YES” I did it, I realized one more step towards my life vision? How?...

And just after the last several chats with some people I started to ask myself can we be proud about the things we have never How much? About what?...

I guess you can find an example from your life experience. So what are you proud about you’ve never done?...

Di

And ones again

2008-02-15T23:04:00.000+02:00

Change happens when somebody does or looks at something differently…

2008-02-15T22:56:00.000+02:00

This was the slogan of the Train the Trainer’07 seminar I was manager at in my home LC Kaunas :) You were amazing my dear OC, delegates and my unique co-faci Noam.

This sentence (the title of the message) brings me to some reflections about my life for the moment. I had a mentor a year ago for a period I doubting a lot and not very confident about myself. I made lots of thinking about the way I am at that time, about the people I am with, about the actions I take in AIESEC, university and personal life. Actually now I’m reading a mind map of one of my reflections and seams the situation didn’t changed but the emotion towards it changed. I feel more confident to express what do I think, I do not care so much about others opinion towards me and other things. And this lets me feel better. I’m sure it’s because of the different way of thinking and different perspective towards the others.
Hey finally I’m proud about what I’m doing and what I’ve done. Finally I understood that I’m in more challenging competition with myself! And as I said I’m proud about it!

So…

Lets love ourselves and try to influence the change in the way of different view and actions :)

Di

So far the happiest moment in this year...

2008-02-11T20:01:00.001+02:00

And the picture of it :)
After elections for Cameroon MC, just still in Lithuania. Thanks Vasara for the free place to celebrate it together and the water on my head, hmmm, actualy my body :)
Di

People

2008-02-11T19:59:00.000+02:00

During our lifetime we meet people everyday, everywhere and it’s the way we can grow, develop ourselves or get disappointed and left to struggle alone. At the last mentioned point I start to think who are really the ones you can trust without any doubts? How many these kind of people each of us could count in our lives?
Who are the real friends of our?
I’m sure my family is a friend for me for the moment. And I can be calm about them as I know they will help for me in any case. And here comes one more question how strong friend I’m for my family? How much they can be sure about my support for them? As I’m spending less and less time with them. And quite often forget to say: “I understand you”, “I love you dear mom and dad.”

I always present the mane three values of mine as:
Health.
Family.
Personal growth.

And ones I got a question what have I done today, yesterday and what I’m going to do tomorrow that I could really say I live my life based on these values?! And it made me really to stop and to think. To think I need to take care about my health more. To realize that I’m saying hello to my parents only two or three times a week. To understand I’m trying to much to do everything at ones and I’m to concentrated on personal development, I’m busy with so many activities and I’m looking for the new ones all the time.

This year I’m challenging myself more than ever before. And at the same time I try to understand what I can do more to live the life based on the following values: Health, Family, Personal growth.

Di

What can I do for you today?

2008-02-01T11:17:00.000+02:00

What?

Just say to me!

The second month of the year started today. What are your plans for it? How are you better today than you was last month? How you will be better after this month? What will you learn? How you contribute to the better world around you? When you finally will show your proactivity and initiative behaviuor?

When you finally start the things you are thinking about all the time?

These are questions I'm asking myself today.

Because it's one more opportunity to manage my life in the better and more powerfull direction.

What about you? How often do you question yourself?

yours smiling Diana:)

Resently I got a message like this...

2008-01-31T21:15:00.000+02:00

PERSPECTIVE

What does this say:
Godisnowhere

Did you read
"God is no where"?

Or did you read
"God is now here"?

We don't always see the same thing as other people. It all depends on
perspective. One of the first tools to get along with other people is
to very aware that they might not be thinking of the same thing as you.
Perhaps due to generational, cultural or even just habitual
differences.

The amazing poem created by @er!

2008-01-31T20:43:00.000+02:00

I SAID A PRAYER FOR YOU

Christmas is remembered for the joy it brings,
The blessings and beauty of a king among kings
And the soothing and harmonious bells that it rings.

At the beginning of another promising year,
Your will to live and confront deters without fear
Will always triumph as your success draws near.

In each day ahead I wish for you a rainbow whose colours
Are bright with hope, a 2008 whose daily tours
Are made of joy, and a dream whose promise is yours.

The rains will graciously fall soft upon your grounds,
God will hold you in the palm of His hands in your downs
And you will always rise when you fall in your rounds.

May the road rise up to meet you as you race,
May the sunshine warm upon your beautiful face,
And the wind be at your back as the Lord says.

Awa Innocent Ndah,
Vice President External Relations,
AIESEC in Buea - Cameroon.
---
... may it goes around the world ...

New Year's resolution?

2008-01-21T22:52:00.000+02:00

Hey,
today I got an e-mail from one new friend of mine. And you know what he remined me such a thing as New Year's resolution. Dam! Somehow it came to the point that I didn't manage to write all the new goals of mine for this year.
The one thing I'm sure I will manage for sure is... to make my life more colourfull and diverse :)

The next ones will follow in the next days!

Happy Diana:)

2008-01-15T21:52:00.000+02:00

Just sit down for a second. Let's go on!!!
Smiling Diana:)

Such a big PARADOX!

2008-01-15T19:55:00.000+02:00

For the first time in my life!

Hello dear readers,

Today I’m writing about the paradox which just happened in my life. I would say I’m the most successful in the last month than never before. What happened?
1) I finished the last semester of my studies in the best average I’ve ever had;
2) I met New Years in the way I’ve never done;
3) I was elected for MC in AIESEC Cameroon;
4) I was provided with the opportunity to join the coachers team of the company I’m working in to learn more about the Solution-focused coaching and it delivery for a team.

And you know what? This made me to feel very controversial emotions. It’s very hard. But at the same time you spring with all the happiness you are full with! I started not to be able to choose; on the other hand I’m still striving for more. I was smiling and crying at the same time and seams both emotions was at the same time expressed. May it’s hard to understand for you what I’m saying. And you it’s hard to understand to me too.

I start to realize how much my life is changing.
And I’m happy for it but still trying to put it in the structured way.

The day of Happiness!

2008-01-13T15:05:00.000+02:00

"Open a big wide window on the world and let as much light in.When we allow light to shine into our world, we see that there is more to it than just what is in our own little corner of the world. Unlike in the movies, we are not always right...at least, not exclusively.Other people have other cultures. Other people have other values. Other people have other priorities. They are not all wrong, and neither are we.Embrace the entire world, all God's creatures and everything we can see, touch and taste. But first, we must open up a really big window...in our heart."

I'm happy because I'm opening the window in my heart now for something very extremely new for me. Everything started on the 19th of December in 2007 when I send the first e-mail to Wilfred MCP of Cameroon. And now on the 12th of January in 2008 I'm elected as MC VP TM&OGX for 2008/2009 term in AIESEC Cameroon. I'm happy! I'm happy! I'm more than happy! Finally I found my
direction for the next year.
I said I will fly and that was the truth!

Thank you that YOU believe in me too!

Yours Smiling Diana :)

Desicion is made

2007-12-31T11:48:00.000+02:00

Hmm strange, but finally finally finally I made my desicion and now I need just to wait for the results :) I'm happy I found what I want to discover next and how I want to challenge myself. So hope to see you soon dear AIESEC in Cameroon.

Di

2007-12-11T22:21:00.000+02:00

"Life is much too short to sit and wonder who's gonna make the next move..."

Ben Harper "Lifeline"

Today's To-Do list

2007-07-24T14:04:00.000+03:00

Smile

Lough

Love

Care

Think

Share

Imagine

Wonder

Relax

Live...