An amazing experience..

A belated update on the presentation/conference and my last day in Medan..

How was the presentation? It went pretty well.. had cold sweat..felt like my heart could explode and that I could have a heart attack and pass out.. But I did'nt! I think there were more than 80 people that day... nasib baik it was decided that the presentation could also be done in Bahasa sebab the majority yang datang were Indonesians. When presenting I sort of focused my eyes on those who would nod when I deliver my points -- because then I know that there are people who are actually listening to me.

We're all loking forward to seeing the project materialized. It's still a long journey. But even if it takes longer than what we expect, I truly hope that GIFT will do its best to bring forward our ideas.


I had these as desserts and a big cup of cappucino the night before the presentation to calm myself down..

Pic not so good ler.. I am seated in the middle..

Err..that's me doing my presentation..

With Hans from the Swiss Premium Choc company.. gave us really good input for our materials..used to be a farmer..he now travels the world..and he's just 35!

The B*N gang..

At Jimbaran restaurant in Medan..we had seafood and it was delicious! All the participants including the Mat Sallehs makan pakai tangan...it was funny.. one of the first questions that I got was why right hand, not left? ;)

Fazul, born in Msia but miserable in Bahasa.. :) now in Beijng continuing his studies.. with Xiau Juan from Beijing who is ever so innocent yet fun to be with..

Anna, who was the youngest pasrticipant I think.. pretty impressive this gal.. at 23 she runs her own company and is the founder of this environmentally friendly renewable energy of some sort.. kalau tak silap..

Will most definitely miss Cindy and her antics.. had drinks, just the two of us the night before we parted.. rest of the guys were on a rendevous to find a club/karaoke joint in Medan..I can't sing and I can't dance.. was ever so happy to have company for a cup of coffee..

On the bus going to the airport, I saw these 2 kids asking for money when the cars stopped at the traffic light... They saw me taking their pics and showed me their bum.. ;p

They were more than happy to pose for the camera..

Too happy I guess.. :) Had wondered where the mother was.. then when the bus moved, I saw the mother sitting by the roadside with 2 babies (probably like 10-11 months old) tengah baring kat tepi jalan tu under the hot sun..the babies were sleeping.. tak pakai baju and were just covered with kain batik... :(

My 2 kiddies fetched me at the airport.. in the car Sarah merajuk like mad sampai tengok muka mak dia pun takmo... pegang tangan dia pun kena tepis.. hug pun dia takde perasaan...sampai kat rumah baru okay... tapi nak melekat je lah macam koala bear... Amir is all chirpy and happy.. told me many times that he did not cry at all when I was away... :)

At the end of the program we were all asked to say a few words on what we think about the whole experience, traits of a leader etc. I simply said that I was really glad that I decided to go for the program. I've learnt a lot and that this has been one of my defining moments apart from giving birth!

Will definitely tell the Bank to continue sending people. I heard the next one will be in Kalimantan..

To sum it all up, I've had an amazing experience.. I've learnt to appreciate life and the things I have.. be thankful.. be mindful of what's going on around me.. I guess in life, we can give ourselves all sorts of reasons and forgive ourselves for not being able to contribute to the society regularly.. i.e busy with work..kids..family..but we could do it if we want to every single day of our lives.. don't have to go for a crusade to save the world...but start small.. there are a lot of things that we can do.. i.e instilling good values to our kids, switching off the aircond when we don't need it,recycle, join a society/NGO and many many more... yes, work and family is important but the society that we live in is important too..

p/s: Have you ever wondered where your old handphone, laptops, computers had gone to? Are the relevant organizations doing something to avoid those stuff being thrown away just like that and affect the environment?