MIS 2009

AIESEC in Egypt and the people that I have met through it constantly reminds me of the power of AIESEC. This conference has made me think a great deal about who I am in AIESEC, what I am able to do through this organization, and how to continue developing within the organization. AIESEC is not perfect, and neither am I - but we fit together in a way that has inherently changed who I am. I want to thank AIESEC in Egypt for making this past year what it was for me, and the people in this organization for being members of my Egyptian family.
بحبكم قوي

reminders of @Love.

On Sunday, I hosted a dinner of a bunch of AIESECers who happen to be in Cairo - some Madisonians, @CU-ers, and interns - a tradition that I have adopted from our old LC dinners and am trying to implement here. I cooked an obscene amount of food, which of course was not even close to enough, and brought out the little Arab mother in me, making sure people were eating enough, had everything they needed, and were doing nothing but enjoying themselves while I ran around getting food, tea, and whatnot together for them. It was a great evening, getting to see people I hadn't for awhile, and introduce new ones into the crowd that has become a mini-@Egypt family. And the lovely Denise, an @er from GT working here in Cairo, brought me one of the best gifts I have gotten in a very long time. Some love from home - in the form of a t-shirt and a card, which just about put me to tears.

I can't even recall how many times I have gone on and on about AIESEC GT Love. But they are my family, my friends, my coworkers, and my inspiration. They remind me of how to live the Dream, and that while they make me proud, I constantly want to make them proud, too. I can't explain how much I miss all of them or how truly special and unique what we have at @GT is. I'm a gushing mess of love for those kids.

Thankings.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and while there is no Macy's day parade or pumpkin pie or family of mine on this side of the world, I am still thankful.
Thankful that a year ago, I was closer than I thought to dying. That this year, I'm not. I'm thankful that I have a family that loves, supports, encourages, and pushes me to be a better person, even if they don't always understand the ways that I do it. Thankful for Cairo, for Chandigarh, for Atlanta, for around the world. For the people that are in all of those places. For the places in all of those people. I'm thankful that I know how lucky I am to be where I am, who I am, and the people that I am with.

This year has been so many things. Mostly difficult, frustrating, and challenging. But with that, I know who I am more than ever, and what I want to do.

So, thanks.

and 60 years later, we are still fighting.

Today marks the sixtieth anniversary of Gandhi's assassination. His ashes, with Hindu custom, have been mixed with the ocean and sent to sea.

I remember spending months researching his life, his mission, and his death - one of those all-consuming semester projects that usurped the Spring of fourth grade. Back then, Gandhi was my hero, my guiding light. I read his letters, read accounts of his friends and family, craved reaching the same unattainable goals in my life; peace, fulfillment of humankind's potential, discussion over conflict. I quoted the man in my speech at graduation (as I am sure most people do in one speech or another).

It wasn't until I left for India that I really understood his work, or him for that matter. Americans exclaim that he brought together his country and his people - but India remains as divided as ever, as does the world. India loves it's Mahatma, but there is still a person behind the symbol that Gandhi has been forged into. Simply, a person - flawed, raw, and full of emotion. Ultimately, his humanity is what fascinates me the most. That the unattainable he was searching for was became a capability, and perhaps that my unattainable goals are not invincible either. I have felt the impact that I have created, experienced first hand what belief, what determination, and what the dedication of one person could achieve.

We are so much to so many, and there needs no national holiday, no day of remembrance to understand that. I wish the people who have changed my life could see what they have done. I wish my life could be laid out and show the changes in its course. I am beyond thankful - at this point I don't even know how to start.

maybe I should just start with you. Thank you.

tradition is big this time of year.

So we have this tradition the day of Thanksgiving, after the dinner, after the walk, after the naps - we have a late dinner snack type meal and listen to the Charlie Brown Christmas album. It's nothing big, outstanding like some families I know that start the Christmas decorations while the tryptophan is still coursing through their veins. It's just one CD of Christmas music, and it starts the feeling of the whole season perfectly. Other seasonal traditions include watching A Christmas Story (because it so perfectly defines my family), wishing it was snowing (because I miss the snow and Wisconsin and my youth), and watching It's A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve. We also eat a ridiculous amount of hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, and a concoction my father likes to call "Turkey Dip" - it's just cold turkey and ketchup, and it is delicious.
A note on the season, the tradition, the whole she-bang. I'm not religious. I don't celebrate Christmas the way my parents do. I celebrate the season, yes, but not the meaning of the holiday. Christmas for me is making other people happy, spending time with my family, and just embracing the feeling that people are trying harder to be nice for a change. And this CD, the whole "It's Christmas, Charlie Brown!", I don't know, just kind of gives that feeling. We've done it as long as I can remember, and it is how I define the beginning of Christmas, and really, of winter.
Not sure why I felt like sharing that, but I did. Welcome to the tradition of my family.

giving, thanking

things I am thankful for.

- being out of the hospital, with my family.
- friends who will brave hospital staff and yellow infectious disease gowns to visit you.
- peanut butter milkshakes.
- nice nurses.
- victorious packers.
- AIESEC.
- that things could be a lot worse (but they could be a lot better too.)
- computers. for various reasons.
- delicious leftovers that will last me the rest of the weekend.
- a day that is a reminder to give thanks for everyday.