Sunday, November 11, 2012

AIESEC stuff and 1st Sem

My last post 5 months ago was about the start of my first semester. It is now the 2nd week of the second semester, and so many things have happened since then that I don't think I can even fit it in one post.

First things first, what has been going on with my AIESEC life?

Well, last September I signed up to be a facilitator for AIESEC's 2nd Global Youth Summit where I got to listen to speakers talking about their journey through life; their successes, their failures, and what they got from those experiences. It was a great experience, and I felt a lot closer to being the person I want to be, being in the presence of people who have reached their goals in life, or at least have an outlook on life that is similar to mine.

The Global Youth Summit was my first MC-wide project, in other words, my first exposure to AIESEC in the Philippines rather than just my LC, AdMU. I got to meet AIESECers from UP, San Beda, and even an LC-mate that otherwise I would never have met.

A couple of months after that, I was a delegate in the 5-day National Leadership Development Congress (I always thought it was 'conference') in Antipolo. The first day (Day 0, oddly enough) was actually the Leadership Convergence Summit at Blue Leaf. I had to miss the first half of it because I came from my online enlistment... that I did in Pampanga. To be honest, I hung around the house for as long as I could, hoping I would end up eventually not going. I was still very nervous about spending 5 days away from home.

But I seemed to have answered that on my own, because when my mom suggested that I just not go I replied that I had already paid the conference fee. So basically the only thing pushing me to go was the conference fee.

Of course, I am very glad that I did go because it was another great experience. I met even more people from the other LCs, mostly from UST. I also learned how AIESEC works--I mean, I knew before but this time I was made more aware. I think that helped us a lot because now that we know what AIESEC is about, we can work with a more definite goal in mind. I won't try explaining AIESEC in this post because it would probably take me as long as my entire membership to explain AIESEC to you.

Another plus, there were a lot of us Finance guys at NLDC, and the functional meetings were like a reunion with Nicky, my first boss ever. Speaking of the Finance Department, I wanna point out how it is quite difficult to connect finance to what AIESEC does. For one thing, we are a not-for-profit organization and so one wouldn't really think we have a lot to do. And another, with AIESEC's goals of engaging the youth, providing leadership, etc., you don't really see the fruits of your labor, working in Finance.

That is the burden we have to live with. I actually work as a Finance Manager for a PBoX (project based on exchange) so I see the fruits of MY labor a bit. But then again, I'm not a Team Leader so I don't really know what goes on beyond my job. But yeah, though finance is an integral part of any organization, it is often the one that hides in a bubble--as my La Sallian group mate mentioned in one of our activities. And I find it great that Ria (my current boss) is trying to break that bubble and make us more visible in the LC, which has proven successful, I think.

But what do you care about my AIESEC work, right? My 'non-existent readers' are just my future self looking back on my college life. But for the sake of an actual reader, I'll begin talking about academics now.

So I mentioned I slipped out of Robert Yu's French class and snaked my way into Carmina Bautista's. It turned out great, I got an A but I don't think that was as much Ma'am Bautista's fault as it was my high school background in French.

If you're reading this to try to check if she's a good prof or not, don't bother. She's great. Take her. If you don't take her then I'm assuming you found another prof you like better, or you're just weird. But remember the context: I took French in high school. I'm probably not the best judge of teaching-skills for French 1 because half of the stuff she taught I already knew. If you're wondering why I didn't take French 2 instead, the answer is pretty simple and I'm guessing you already knew it: the easy A grade. But beyond that it was also because I was having Math 22 and Accounting 20 in the same semester and I thought a lighter load wouldn't hurt. And I'm glad I did because I got into the Dean's List that semester.

If you're gonna argue with me (as I did to Paolo) that I wasted my education not expanding my knowledge by taking French 1, I'd say you were kinda right. But even though I said that half of the stuff she taught I already knew, the other half was enough to complete what I NEEDED to know. I wasn't planning on taking French to learn the language (as Paolo is planning on doing), I just wanted to learn the basics so I wouldn't get lost when I go to French-Canada. Although, looking back, I learned more helpful things in high school French like asking 'ou se trouve' and directions and stuff like that. But anyway...

My other professors were Dr. Marquez and Lua Pottier for Sci 10. Sci 10 differs with every professor so if yours aren't these two then don't bother reading the rest of the paragraph and the next. Doc Sio (his name is Norman Dennis E. Marquez, and there's an interesting story behind why he's called Doc Sio, which I won't tell) is the head of the Health Sciences Department and yes, that matters because it helps if you see where he's coming from when he discusses.

Doc Sio has been described as very 'idealistic.' Which after taking his class, I understood to mean that he wants a definite answer to every single one of his questions. You can go on and on for minutes just yelling out answers which he reply with "what else?" or "okay, but what else???" because he wants the exact words. Our class was made up of ME, MH, and MIS blocks. I think he chose us because he wanted to reach out to the future leaders of the country (pfft) and show them how we can help the environment and stuff like that. But again, that's not what you're here for, is it. Okay take this down, his tests are multiple choice and matching type and it's that type of test that has pretty vague answers that are close to each other. Also, they are not found in most of his lectures, so don't bother studying. He has bonus points so try to keep up with current events.

Lua Pottier is the... co-instructor? I guess? Well, she only had one lecture in the entire semester and it was simply a review for our first long test. She explained that Doc Sio really liked our class so he asked her not to have a lecture haha. She attends every class, though, and during reports she usually asks pertinent questions. She's one of those 'cool' professors who give lively discussions that are youth-oriented. I found myself wishing she had more sessions.

For Theology 121, I got Sir Justin Badion. I don't wanna go through explaining the entire semester but be satisfied with this: he's awesome. And I say that because I got an A. HAHA. With sir Badion, you kinda just have to study/memorize the handouts. His tests are easy identifications. He also looks for quotes, bible verses towards the end. His lectures are very organized, meaning he won't go ahead if the other classes are not up to your pace. He has an inter-class grade competition. He loves the Blue Eagles so if you get him in 1st sem get ready to have a quiz when we lose. He's an Atenean graduate so he'll really feel for ya and stuff. Just don't ever, ever, ever be noisy or interrupt him because he gets pissed and you don't like it when he's pissed.

WAIT. What am I doing? You can read all of this stuff at projectblue.me! I can't be wasting my blog giving you tips on which professors to pick! I'll end this post now and talk about Adventure Time next.

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