Sunday, September 30, 2007
My French
It’s been long time since I last wrote how my French is going. So – it’s not bad but it’s not good as well. I can speak a bit. I understand either the topic of the discussion or sometimes details as well. A few days ago I had a small conversation with a taxi driver. I didn’t understand everything but I got the point of the discussion. And I was able to respond a bit too.
I’ve got the feeling that I could do kind of more since I got here. Shouldn’t I speak better French after 4 months of being here? On the other hand, French is not native language in Morocco. Maybe, 4 months is not a lot at all to learn some language very well. I only had 3 weeks of an intensive course and comparing to my classmates I did quite good progress throughout these 3 weeks. Unfortunately, I am not this type of person who catches foreign language very quickly. I guess I don’t have this ability. I have to spend some time to start speaking, understanding and so on. And time… you know – there is not that much of it here.
But let’s not focus on the past anymore. Let’s look at the future. I did some efforts to be more successful in studying some French everyday (yes, I do it!) and… on Oct 15, I’m starting new course (course will finish by the end of Dec) – next level in the same school that I took my summer intensive course! It looks pretty promising. If I only am very systematic in learning on my own and if I finally start speaking French with my flat mates I may do a considerable progress.
Let’s stop talking (writing) and start acting.
I’ve got the feeling that I could do kind of more since I got here. Shouldn’t I speak better French after 4 months of being here? On the other hand, French is not native language in Morocco. Maybe, 4 months is not a lot at all to learn some language very well. I only had 3 weeks of an intensive course and comparing to my classmates I did quite good progress throughout these 3 weeks. Unfortunately, I am not this type of person who catches foreign language very quickly. I guess I don’t have this ability. I have to spend some time to start speaking, understanding and so on. And time… you know – there is not that much of it here.
But let’s not focus on the past anymore. Let’s look at the future. I did some efforts to be more successful in studying some French everyday (yes, I do it!) and… on Oct 15, I’m starting new course (course will finish by the end of Dec) – next level in the same school that I took my summer intensive course! It looks pretty promising. If I only am very systematic in learning on my own and if I finally start speaking French with my flat mates I may do a considerable progress.
Let’s stop talking (writing) and start acting.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
changing direction
It’s been more than 3 weeks after I came back from International Congress in Turkey and I somehow feel constantly influenced by what I experienced there. Now, I can clearly see how my life changed after this event. Now I can clearly see the difference between pre-IC Kamil and post-IC Kamil.
Before IC, I was definitely enjoying my life. And now, I enjoy it now as well. So where is the difference? The way I enjoy it is totally something else.
Before IC, I was not that involved in my job here. I was doing what I was supposed to do as MCVP Finance but somehow, nothing more happened. I was not very proactive in taking new challenges and I was only realizing my plan with no passion. I was single, I was enjoying a lot of parties, I had a few “short adventures”, I was thinking of finishing AIESEC after Morocco.
Thanks to going to IC, I realized that during first weeks of being here I could have done and achieved more. I missed a few opportunities. Some aspects of my life were heading for some unknown direction. A direction that in fact has nothing to offer.
Now, I have someone (it’s not just someone but someone special:), I extremely enjoy my work, I do my best to achieve a lot, I’m pretty happy for my plans for the future and everything seems going in the right way! Nothing is of course easy and sometimes bad days happen but who says we’re gonna have everything right away.
Even today when I’m so mentally exhausted of different things, my tired face is strong enough to smile :)
Before IC, I was definitely enjoying my life. And now, I enjoy it now as well. So where is the difference? The way I enjoy it is totally something else.
Before IC, I was not that involved in my job here. I was doing what I was supposed to do as MCVP Finance but somehow, nothing more happened. I was not very proactive in taking new challenges and I was only realizing my plan with no passion. I was single, I was enjoying a lot of parties, I had a few “short adventures”, I was thinking of finishing AIESEC after Morocco.
Thanks to going to IC, I realized that during first weeks of being here I could have done and achieved more. I missed a few opportunities. Some aspects of my life were heading for some unknown direction. A direction that in fact has nothing to offer.
Now, I have someone (it’s not just someone but someone special:), I extremely enjoy my work, I do my best to achieve a lot, I’m pretty happy for my plans for the future and everything seems going in the right way! Nothing is of course easy and sometimes bad days happen but who says we’re gonna have everything right away.
Even today when I’m so mentally exhausted of different things, my tired face is strong enough to smile :)
Kamil vs. Morocco
I officially announce that my excitement about this country is over. I don’t say that I’ve stopped liking it. It’s just that for the past 4 months I’ve managed to see quite a lot (I’m sure there is still a lot of places that would totally surprise me). Or maybe it’s not possible to live in a place and enjoy it or being excited about it all the time.
I also wrote you about this duality of Morocco – either you want to explore real Morocco (e.g. crowded Medina) or you want to see the parts of the country influenced by Western culture (especially French) which although are in Arab country they look really European. To be honest, recently I’ve been only enjoying this European part. I’ll give you a few examples. Two weeks ago I went to Marrakesh – after one day of wandering inside the city I was only thinking about going home (I mean my home in Rabat). A few days ago, I was sightseeing Fes with my family. Although I like Moroccan medinas visually, I cannot spend there too much time. It’s just so tiring. Streets are too narrow and crowded. People seeing that you’re not Moroccan want talk to you, sell you things etc. For me it’s just too exhausting. I wanted just to escape this city and I promised myself that I would never go inside Medina of Fes or Marrakesh. That may be hard because there are still some friends of mine who want to visit me. I know that what I’ll say may be rude but I think I’ll just give them my guidebook, some tips and let them go there on their own. Seriously, I may not survive going there once more. It makes my mentally exhausted.
On the other side there are some places that I just love. Sandy beaches or small charming cities like Bouznika where my parents and me went yesterday. Or Casablanca – I just adore this city! Many people say that there is nothing interesting there and it’s just another huge, polluted, crowded and noisy metropolis. To some point they are right. But I just love it’s architecture. It’s so gorgeous! Huge and massive buildings (either for some offices or for apartments), spacious parks. I was observing the buildings and looking for a potential flat for which I could kill just to have it :) My dream is to live in a big city – a capital, somewhere in the downtown, have a flat in an old apartment-house and just enjoying living such urban lifestyle somewhere downtown in the heart of a city. Casablanca as a city fulfills such criteria. Rabat is nice as well but although it’s a big city it’s very slow and calm. I need it to be a bit faster. Casablanca has its soul and spirit. Even if the streets are crowded and noisy at least the avenues are really wide which I love as well.
I’ve also discovered something else about me which is very actually very interesting. People here are very open. I like the fact that when you establish an eye contact you can at least hear “bonjour” or “ca va?”. But sometimes there is more. People start talking to you, asking questions and then inviting you or offering help especially when you travel. Then I realized that it makes me feel weird and I don’t like them being so open. I’m not that open for all this “activities”. It’s not about me being intolerant – I don’t have problems with this! I just feel really uncomfortable in such situations. I don’t trust people even though I know that they don’t want to hurt me, cheat me or something like that. When my Polish friends and me were in Berbers’ house I felt extremely weird. I just felt like leaving that place as soon as possible. I felt weird when e.g. he was showing pictures of his family. I know that there is nothing weird about that but this feeling was just somewhere inside of me. In the train to Fes a few days ago, a nice man started to talk to me. He was really nice but all the time I just wanted him to leave me. I didn’t feel like getting to know him or something. It’s not anything about Moroccans that make me feel like that. I just feel they enter my comfort zone and I’m not safe inside it. I guess that’s my mentality and the way I was brought up so it won’t be that easy to change it. Or maybe there’s no point in doing this. I need to keep some distance from certain people. I think it would be hard for me to live here for good.
Once I heard from my friend who was working in an AIESEC country in 2006/2007 that at first she was extremely enjoying here international experience but after 3 months she started seeing things differently and her excitement kind of disappeared. I couldn’t understand that. I thought that at the beginning you just start liking or disliking things and then nothing changes. I was so wrong. Maybe you just need 3 months to realize some things and starting being aware of them. Maybe it takes 3 months to explore the culture and find some things in it that you actually don’t like at all. Maybe some aspects that you enjoyed or at least knew about are tiring and not thrilling anymore. Maybe, you’re just being bored after a while. We’ll see how things will be. Challenges – as Cebula wrote they contribute to your growth. Still 282 days of possible challenges. So let’s move forward :)
I also wrote you about this duality of Morocco – either you want to explore real Morocco (e.g. crowded Medina) or you want to see the parts of the country influenced by Western culture (especially French) which although are in Arab country they look really European. To be honest, recently I’ve been only enjoying this European part. I’ll give you a few examples. Two weeks ago I went to Marrakesh – after one day of wandering inside the city I was only thinking about going home (I mean my home in Rabat). A few days ago, I was sightseeing Fes with my family. Although I like Moroccan medinas visually, I cannot spend there too much time. It’s just so tiring. Streets are too narrow and crowded. People seeing that you’re not Moroccan want talk to you, sell you things etc. For me it’s just too exhausting. I wanted just to escape this city and I promised myself that I would never go inside Medina of Fes or Marrakesh. That may be hard because there are still some friends of mine who want to visit me. I know that what I’ll say may be rude but I think I’ll just give them my guidebook, some tips and let them go there on their own. Seriously, I may not survive going there once more. It makes my mentally exhausted.
On the other side there are some places that I just love. Sandy beaches or small charming cities like Bouznika where my parents and me went yesterday. Or Casablanca – I just adore this city! Many people say that there is nothing interesting there and it’s just another huge, polluted, crowded and noisy metropolis. To some point they are right. But I just love it’s architecture. It’s so gorgeous! Huge and massive buildings (either for some offices or for apartments), spacious parks. I was observing the buildings and looking for a potential flat for which I could kill just to have it :) My dream is to live in a big city – a capital, somewhere in the downtown, have a flat in an old apartment-house and just enjoying living such urban lifestyle somewhere downtown in the heart of a city. Casablanca as a city fulfills such criteria. Rabat is nice as well but although it’s a big city it’s very slow and calm. I need it to be a bit faster. Casablanca has its soul and spirit. Even if the streets are crowded and noisy at least the avenues are really wide which I love as well.
I’ve also discovered something else about me which is very actually very interesting. People here are very open. I like the fact that when you establish an eye contact you can at least hear “bonjour” or “ca va?”. But sometimes there is more. People start talking to you, asking questions and then inviting you or offering help especially when you travel. Then I realized that it makes me feel weird and I don’t like them being so open. I’m not that open for all this “activities”. It’s not about me being intolerant – I don’t have problems with this! I just feel really uncomfortable in such situations. I don’t trust people even though I know that they don’t want to hurt me, cheat me or something like that. When my Polish friends and me were in Berbers’ house I felt extremely weird. I just felt like leaving that place as soon as possible. I felt weird when e.g. he was showing pictures of his family. I know that there is nothing weird about that but this feeling was just somewhere inside of me. In the train to Fes a few days ago, a nice man started to talk to me. He was really nice but all the time I just wanted him to leave me. I didn’t feel like getting to know him or something. It’s not anything about Moroccans that make me feel like that. I just feel they enter my comfort zone and I’m not safe inside it. I guess that’s my mentality and the way I was brought up so it won’t be that easy to change it. Or maybe there’s no point in doing this. I need to keep some distance from certain people. I think it would be hard for me to live here for good.
Once I heard from my friend who was working in an AIESEC country in 2006/2007 that at first she was extremely enjoying here international experience but after 3 months she started seeing things differently and her excitement kind of disappeared. I couldn’t understand that. I thought that at the beginning you just start liking or disliking things and then nothing changes. I was so wrong. Maybe you just need 3 months to realize some things and starting being aware of them. Maybe it takes 3 months to explore the culture and find some things in it that you actually don’t like at all. Maybe some aspects that you enjoyed or at least knew about are tiring and not thrilling anymore. Maybe, you’re just being bored after a while. We’ll see how things will be. Challenges – as Cebula wrote they contribute to your growth. Still 282 days of possible challenges. So let’s move forward :)
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Hollywood career?
Some time ago, I wrote about the power of networks (refer to post may these networks last forever). But the thing that I’m going to write you about has exceeded all my expectations. I could NEVER think that going to Morocco may result in such story and adventure!
So… I was offered to play in a movie :) A movie directed by … Ridley Scott. A movie with… Russel Crowe and Leo DiCaprio. I am not joking! I am not making fun of you. That’s totally true! The name of the movie is “Body of lies” and it’s an American production which will be partially made in Morocco.
What did I do to be offered such exciting opportunity? As usually in such networking cases – nothing :) You just have to unconsciously be in the right place, at the right time and among the right people. So I was. A friend of my flat mate happened to know someone from the production crew. And they need European/American looking people. Well, I definitely fulfill this requirement (people keep telling me that I’m blond! I hate it!). Yesterday, a guy responsible for finding extras (PL – statysci) came to our flat, took some picture of us and gave us some details. They will need us for a couple days (max 5 days however luckily not in a row but spread within the period of October and November). We don’t need to say anything – just be in the background. He also said to me that I would be a good person for playing soldier! (but they will need to cut my hair since it's quite long - I haven't cut it since I left Poland) :D They money they offered seems to be quite good as well. For 3 days of being actor I would get equivalent of my salary here. Of course my supreme goal is not making money but taking a picture with Russel or Leo :)
I don’t want to get excited (well, I guess it's too late... I'm already excited) before anything happens since it’s often that someone promises you something and then nothing happens. However, the guy told us that they needed a lot of Europeans/Americans and it was not easy to find them here so probably there would be no selection process. It seems we’re already in!
What more can I say? Post some comments :)
May these networks last forever!!!
So… I was offered to play in a movie :) A movie directed by … Ridley Scott. A movie with… Russel Crowe and Leo DiCaprio. I am not joking! I am not making fun of you. That’s totally true! The name of the movie is “Body of lies” and it’s an American production which will be partially made in Morocco.
What did I do to be offered such exciting opportunity? As usually in such networking cases – nothing :) You just have to unconsciously be in the right place, at the right time and among the right people. So I was. A friend of my flat mate happened to know someone from the production crew. And they need European/American looking people. Well, I definitely fulfill this requirement (people keep telling me that I’m blond! I hate it!). Yesterday, a guy responsible for finding extras (PL – statysci) came to our flat, took some picture of us and gave us some details. They will need us for a couple days (max 5 days however luckily not in a row but spread within the period of October and November). We don’t need to say anything – just be in the background. He also said to me that I would be a good person for playing soldier! (but they will need to cut my hair since it's quite long - I haven't cut it since I left Poland) :D They money they offered seems to be quite good as well. For 3 days of being actor I would get equivalent of my salary here. Of course my supreme goal is not making money but taking a picture with Russel or Leo :)
I don’t want to get excited (well, I guess it's too late... I'm already excited) before anything happens since it’s often that someone promises you something and then nothing happens. However, the guy told us that they needed a lot of Europeans/Americans and it was not easy to find them here so probably there would be no selection process. It seems we’re already in!
What more can I say? Post some comments :)
May these networks last forever!!!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Happy Ramadan!
Today is the first day of Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان). What does it mean?
Ramadan is the month of fasting, the ninth month in the Muslim calendar. Fasting is one of the 5 pillars of Islam and is considered the month of spirituality, charity and praying. The fasting people are not allowed to eat or drink from when the sun raises until it sets. Generally they should resist the temptations of all desires (food, drinking, kissing, sex etc). In the evenings after sunset, people get together, families gather and friends are invited to have the first meal of the day together, the iftar, that breaks the fast. It is usually a big home cooked dinner and everyone enjoys eating and being together. After sunset the streets, cafes, restaurants are just full of people – way more than usually.
Ok, this was the definition from my friend’s blog and from wikipedia. Now, some of my thoughts.
First of all, what I noticed that literally everyone takes it seriously! Since I got here I’ve met some people in Morocco that do not put a big stress about their religion, praying etc. But everyone that I know is going to fast during this month. I can see that it is really important for them.
Secondly, what does Ramadan mean for me? You can say I’m not Muslim so I shouldn’t care about that at all. Theoretically, it is true. However, I decided to try to fast – not the whole month but at least one full day or couple of them if I manage. And for sure, I will not eat in front of Muslims when they’re next to me or when I’m out. E.g. today – our cleaning lady comes at 10 AM, then I go for meeting with my MCP, then for French classes and I’m back at home after 5 PM. It means I won’t eat or drink anything between 10 AM and 5 PM. And since we have Tunisian person in the flat, maybe I will stop eating because he’s in the flat. Or at least I will do it so that he doesn’t see me. It's not about being fearful but about showing respect and not eating in front of person who is extremely hungry.
The fact that everyone speaks about Ramadan (either they are Muslims or not), the fact that everyone asks you whether you’re going to fast or not, the fact that you will feel a huge difference on the streets before and after sunset makes you feel the special atmosphere of this period. It’s not exactly the same but I can compare it to Christmas or Easter. It’s not about the customs since Catholic festivities are totally different that ones here. But both have this magical, special atmosphere that I just love. You can feel the spirit.
Today, is actually the first morning so I haven’t gone through a Ramadan day yet. I promise to share with you all my thoughts related to it as soon as they appear!
Happy Ramadan!
Ramadan is the month of fasting, the ninth month in the Muslim calendar. Fasting is one of the 5 pillars of Islam and is considered the month of spirituality, charity and praying. The fasting people are not allowed to eat or drink from when the sun raises until it sets. Generally they should resist the temptations of all desires (food, drinking, kissing, sex etc). In the evenings after sunset, people get together, families gather and friends are invited to have the first meal of the day together, the iftar, that breaks the fast. It is usually a big home cooked dinner and everyone enjoys eating and being together. After sunset the streets, cafes, restaurants are just full of people – way more than usually.
Ok, this was the definition from my friend’s blog and from wikipedia. Now, some of my thoughts.
First of all, what I noticed that literally everyone takes it seriously! Since I got here I’ve met some people in Morocco that do not put a big stress about their religion, praying etc. But everyone that I know is going to fast during this month. I can see that it is really important for them.
Secondly, what does Ramadan mean for me? You can say I’m not Muslim so I shouldn’t care about that at all. Theoretically, it is true. However, I decided to try to fast – not the whole month but at least one full day or couple of them if I manage. And for sure, I will not eat in front of Muslims when they’re next to me or when I’m out. E.g. today – our cleaning lady comes at 10 AM, then I go for meeting with my MCP, then for French classes and I’m back at home after 5 PM. It means I won’t eat or drink anything between 10 AM and 5 PM. And since we have Tunisian person in the flat, maybe I will stop eating because he’s in the flat. Or at least I will do it so that he doesn’t see me. It's not about being fearful but about showing respect and not eating in front of person who is extremely hungry.
The fact that everyone speaks about Ramadan (either they are Muslims or not), the fact that everyone asks you whether you’re going to fast or not, the fact that you will feel a huge difference on the streets before and after sunset makes you feel the special atmosphere of this period. It’s not exactly the same but I can compare it to Christmas or Easter. It’s not about the customs since Catholic festivities are totally different that ones here. But both have this magical, special atmosphere that I just love. You can feel the spirit.
Today, is actually the first morning so I haven’t gone through a Ramadan day yet. I promise to share with you all my thoughts related to it as soon as they appear!
Happy Ramadan!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
time goes by so quickly
Kojo (US)
Ida (US)
Tracy (US)
Daisy (US)
Alex (US)
Sadia (the Netherlands)
Christina (US)
Allen (US)
Cynthia (US)
Verena (Germany)
Suzanne (the Netherlands)
Sara (the Netherlands)
Katusha (the Netherlands)
Tess (Canada)
Naoufel (Morocco)
Who do you think are these people? They are my ex flat mates. Quite a lot, don't you think so? Why am I writing about it right now? It's because yesterday I became the person living here for the longest period of time. Right now, there is NO ONE who was here when I arrived. It's a bit challenging I must admit. You get to know people, get along with them, build relations, sometimes almost genuine friendships! I don't know if you imagine how fast you build this connection between you and others when you live together and spend so much time with each other... But then they leave... And new people come and leave, come and leave... ehhh
And as my wonderful counter shows it’s been more than 100 days since I got here. And still almost 300 to come. This is so unbelievable. Like my life recently!
I’m finishing – lack of words.
Ida (US)
Tracy (US)
Daisy (US)
Alex (US)
Sadia (the Netherlands)
Christina (US)
Allen (US)
Cynthia (US)
Verena (Germany)
Suzanne (the Netherlands)
Sara (the Netherlands)
Katusha (the Netherlands)
Tess (Canada)
Naoufel (Morocco)
Who do you think are these people? They are my ex flat mates. Quite a lot, don't you think so? Why am I writing about it right now? It's because yesterday I became the person living here for the longest period of time. Right now, there is NO ONE who was here when I arrived. It's a bit challenging I must admit. You get to know people, get along with them, build relations, sometimes almost genuine friendships! I don't know if you imagine how fast you build this connection between you and others when you live together and spend so much time with each other... But then they leave... And new people come and leave, come and leave... ehhh
And as my wonderful counter shows it’s been more than 100 days since I got here. And still almost 300 to come. This is so unbelievable. Like my life recently!
I’m finishing – lack of words.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
happy when working with people
Today, at work, I had two really cool meetings! I'm so satisfied and happy!
First one was with LCP (Local Committee President) from AIESEC in Casablanca. Before I tell you details, I will write about one thing. During IC in Turkey someone mentioned that people prefer to open new AIESEC countries because it's so cool to work in extensions whereas no one takes care of already existing countries that face huge challenges and problems. I had the same issue on Moroccan ground. I actually was expecting to become expansion manager in new city where there's no AIESEC at all right now. But instead I became LC coach of this low performing LC in Casa. I must admit that I was disappointed at the beginning a bit (I guess because of the reasons I pointed above). But later I thought that it's actually the same experience - either you open a new office in a new place or you do your best to maintain and develop an existing one. Both are challenging experiences. And both can give you a lot! As I said, today I had a meeting with LCP from LC in Casablanca. I just loved it! I’m so excited and positive about how things are gonna go! I had some ideas and solutions for challenges and I do believe we can implement it and make things go forward!
Second meeting was with my VPs Finance (my subordinates on local level). The purpose was to explain them new accounting system that I prepared. I was really happy to see them asking a lot of questions to understand it as much as possible. And they really praised my efforts to make things change for better in Morocco in terms of financial management. It was so great. I felt flattered! I’m also positive when it comes to this aspect.
Recently, I’ve felt really happy. I do the job that I enjoy, I spend time or I’m in touch with valuable people and I’m happy with someone special. And the future seems bright! :)
First one was with LCP (Local Committee President) from AIESEC in Casablanca. Before I tell you details, I will write about one thing. During IC in Turkey someone mentioned that people prefer to open new AIESEC countries because it's so cool to work in extensions whereas no one takes care of already existing countries that face huge challenges and problems. I had the same issue on Moroccan ground. I actually was expecting to become expansion manager in new city where there's no AIESEC at all right now. But instead I became LC coach of this low performing LC in Casa. I must admit that I was disappointed at the beginning a bit (I guess because of the reasons I pointed above). But later I thought that it's actually the same experience - either you open a new office in a new place or you do your best to maintain and develop an existing one. Both are challenging experiences. And both can give you a lot! As I said, today I had a meeting with LCP from LC in Casablanca. I just loved it! I’m so excited and positive about how things are gonna go! I had some ideas and solutions for challenges and I do believe we can implement it and make things go forward!
Second meeting was with my VPs Finance (my subordinates on local level). The purpose was to explain them new accounting system that I prepared. I was really happy to see them asking a lot of questions to understand it as much as possible. And they really praised my efforts to make things change for better in Morocco in terms of financial management. It was so great. I felt flattered! I’m also positive when it comes to this aspect.
Recently, I’ve felt really happy. I do the job that I enjoy, I spend time or I’m in touch with valuable people and I’m happy with someone special. And the future seems bright! :)
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