Though the event has passed for over a year, I still feel the necessity to write about it because of my utterly dramatic change after joining the project.
But first, some insights into what I am going to talk about:
What is AIESEC and iCreate Wintercamp?
So, AIESEC is the world’s biggest organization for the youth, now existing in 127 countries with 50000 official members, all connected and share the same purpose of solving world’s issues, and promoting leadership and management. AIESEC in Neu is one of the two branches of AIESEC in Hanoi, which is also one of several branches in Viet Nam.
iCreate Wintercamp is an annual international camp hosted by AIESEC in Neu with the view to promoting sustainable lifestyles. The topic of iCreate 2019 was “Divergent”, with the slogan “Spark off the eco-rebellion”, expressing the desire to raise awareness and form the habits of using eco-friendly materials. Indeed, throughout the camp, I did learn a lot about what causes environmental threats and how to address them.
And…. my experience… and what I learnt
I came to iCreate Wintercamp not as a camper, but as an Ambassador. The recruiting process happened in November 2018, when I was a quite reserved girl who had just entered high school, knowing next to nothing about events, projects, no experience beforehand, but still wanted to venture and try something new. Before this time, I had applied for several school clubs and social projects, but got pathetically rejected, leading to my doubting myself and considering my deficiencies for months. Despite a series of rejection emails and the awareness of my inability, I still decided to fill in the ambass form and submitted it. To be honest, maybe I was a girl who desperately needed to discover myself and would be willing to take any chance to do so, let alone such a golden opportunity. Or maybe, at the time, I simply thought “It is likely that I will not be accepted, but if I don’t try this time, I may regret for life”.
So I did try.
And I brought my own self to the interview round
And for some reason, I got in
In retrospect, I believe they didn’t choose me because of my professionalism or similar things. They chose me because I was who I was, and I showed them my individualism that may help diversify their event. ( I guess? because really I knew literally nothing about organizing events and so on). For this factor I truly appreciated AIESEC.
Actually, it’s true. Just be who you are and one day you’ll find somewhere you belong to!
And my journey of doing something new began
To begin with, ambassadors were required to go to a studio for promotion products (mainly photos for fanpage, booklet,..) serving PR purposes.
And, it resulted in the FIRST time I got the guts to upload a photo of ME on Facebook. (I had never done so for the lack of confidence in how I appear)
I remembered that day I cared about every like I received, fearing that I was not cherished by the others.
Well, now, I realize that likes on Facebook don’t indicate anything. People hit the like button subconsciously sometimes.
And Facebook is too big a network. People don’t know each other and still are friends on Facebook. So what’s the point in using Facebook to rate your relationship?
Then it was time to go PR offline. It means going from class to class handing out posters, flyers and informing them about the camper recruitment. The problem was, I was the only ambass from my school; so it was my duty to go PR offline ALONE.
I feared. People pr offline in groups, while I had to do that in person.
It was my FIRST time I dared stand there completely by myself before a crowd to talk (which I did over and over from class to class). But I have to thank that first time, because without it, will I ever find the courage to conduct public speaking without that much fear?
So, it’s not that you are incapable of something, it’s simply you haven’t tried it yet. Give things a try!
The recap down here would be the best summary of what I did in the camp. Since I did help build content, I was heavily involved in the activities and got to know more friends and socialize without so much hesitation. The first camp week provided not only campers but also me various information about plastics, PM 2.5 dust and what causes environmental problems (even the way we discard our clothes does!)
We went to farms on the outskirts of the city, just as the environmental spirits of the camp. There I got to immerse myself in nature (literally). I learnt how to dig a small canal, plant a garden, DIY from natural materials.
We stayed in a farm hosted by a French family overnight. I, along with a group of friends, climbed over the fence near midnight to find the nearest convenient supermarket for drinks and snacks. It was a difficult, tiring yet full of fun journey as we walked like for over half an hour and was still nowhere near the offerings of modern life!
We stayed in a farm, in a stilt house with no separate room, over 40 people using sleeping bags and slept on the floor; but we stayed till 3 in the morning playing UNO and strangely, that was the best overnight I had ever had! After this, I no longer find the attraction of overnight in a luxurious, 5-star hotel. If I ever go on a trip, I would choose to spend time in a farm or some places of nature, where I may not feel like a queen, but I can feel the world.
After this, wildlife, nature and the act of discovering strangely appeals to me.
GLOBAL VILLAGE
*Definition*
Where I performed dance representing VietNam, saw traditional dance of India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the first time I ate Polish chocolate and tried Polish wine, the first time I tried Indonesian snacks and Indian pie. What inspired me to have interests in CULTURE!
AIESEC Culture and the people I met:
The thing I remember most is the AIESEC Dance. The dance is actually nothing but simple movements, but it gives us spirits. Till now, I still remember some of the songs we dance to, and I can’t help feeling nostalgic each time listening to them.
Then there’re EPs from India, Indonesia,.. It was difficult to talk to them initially; there was always a language barrier that I just found no way to overcome. I guess I feared of my imperfect English. But I forgot that English was also their second language, and no one spoke it impeccably. That realization in the end spurred me on to communicate more even in my broken English, and I ended up being good friends with some of them, teaching “mua quat”, setting rules for card playing, accompanying them in a tour around Old Street Quarter or even talking about VietNam, about school and telling stories. I even got into a conversation about Buddhism and Islamism with an Indonesian EP who knew a lot about religions!
But… why now… why I want to retell this?
Well, you see, I have received so much after participating in the program that my life has been divided into 2 main periods: after and before iCreate.
Before iCreate, I was consistently shy, embarrassed and had failed to show the world my potentials and ambitions because of the fear of being judged, being laughed at or worse, being not heard. After iCreate, I am more willing to raise my voice and speak my mind, and braver to express fully who I really am to the others who I used to scare for their being critical.
Before iCreate, I would never dare to appear in front of a crowd and speak loudly. But after iCreate, and after all the unforgettable times I had to overcome the fear to stand in front of the whole class (40 people or more) to conduct offline promotion and attract campers repeatedly for 3 days, I not only succeeded in getting over the barriers that restricted myself, but also learnt to feel comfortable about any activity involving public speaking. I guess that the reason why I am no longer nervous to make representations at class, or go to interviews of the recruitments for clubs and organizations. Also, maybe that’s why I have the guts to try out as many wonders of life as I could, and walk through the crowd with my chin up.
Before iCreate, I was unforgivably passive, never the one to start a conversation, never the one others desire to talk to. I was reserved, reticent, any adjective to describe one coward girl with degraded communication skills. Yet after iCreate, I become more talkative, more confident, and always the one who attempt to make jokes that may not even funny at all but still create a relaxed atmosphere.
Though seem unbelievable, iCreate is the origin of many things. My interests in culture and in field trip, traveling through discovering all stem from this event. My confidence, presentation skills, my activeness and better social engagement. And I just feel the necessity to write a tribute for iCreate.
If I am 17 and I take part in the camp, everything would be totally different: it may not be this significant. iCreate came to me at the right time, I filled the form as the right decision. Right things happen simultaneously and create magical things sometimes.
TÔI CÓ GÌ ĐÂY 