My first time out with the other AIESEC Interns

Well, last weekend we had IRW (International Reception Weekend) in parallel with the National Conference of AIESEC in Portugal.

The place:
Alcobaça!

This city is full of history and legend, with that mythic veil all over it... But I am not posting about the city, but about my time with the interns. Post about the city will come later - promise.








I total we were eleven people. Diversity was on the table (Brazil, Slovakia, India, Lithuania, China, Peru and of course Venezuela)

Being there as a delegate of the Reception Weekend and not as part of the conference was great. Interns really tend to care for each other; of course there is a fight for leadership sometimes, but there is also a tacit agreement that lays out a common ground for behavior:

We are all here to learn,
to challenge our limits,
that is why everything can happen!

We took a Brazilian's outgoing interns tradition and added our own spice to it and created a new tradition for incoming interns in Portugal.








Of course it involves alcohol,
of course is funny,
of course is silly,
all of that comes in the same package with these AIESEC traditions, isn't?

Some of us will see each other again for Christmas, I am very much looking to it.
These people are great!

I am happy to be an AIESEC intern, doing the job that I love and having the freedom not to attend morning plenaries.

Life is pleasant!

Dey

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Got 5 min?

Just sit back, relax and enjoy...

Awesome!

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About my own expectations

Signs are all over the place.
I open my eyes and see...
I open my heart and follow...
I open my mind and listen...
I open my will and achieve!

Just in the moment when I was starting to question my expectations about my work and my life, the following quote from Michelangelo showed up randomly in front of me.
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“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim to low and achieving our mark.”

Michelangelo

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See some more awesome quotes of Michelangelo here.

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De-Lovely

Call me ignorant, but I have never heard about Cole Porter before. Neither I remember hearing his songs. Everyday I realize how big the world is even if we continue saying the world is small and it is becoming smaller. It is maybe because of that I got to finally hear about Cole Porter, listen to his music and watch the movie of his life.

I just saw the movie "De-Lovely" and I have been shocked by the quality of it. I am not a big fan of musicals, even if I loved screen versions of "Moulin Rouge" and "Cabaret"; both of them in the list of my favorite movies.

One thing is for sure, I have seen a lot of movies, but still the number one in my list is Amelie.

I haven't found so much magic, innocence and belief at the same time with such rich photography and colors usage.

The story, it really touches me, even if it is very surreal and childish in a way, it is maybe that what captivates me from Amelie.

Amelie captures so many basic humans feelings and hopes in the movie, and describes them in such a tender manner that is hard not to fall in love with the characters (not just the character of Amelie) and with the script.

And what to say about my favorite sound track ever. How dislikes this amazing music? It is just irresistible!

Definitely Amelie has become an icon for many people; I will say that out there there is an Amelie generation. People who still believes in magic, with a different way of taking a look at good and bad. With the strong belief in signs and love.

Thanks Jean-Pierre Jeunet for Amelie!

Enjoy the trailer, and if you haven't seen Amelie yet, it is a good movie to watch with your loved one at your side in this close holidays.



De-Lovely is completely different, but in a weird way I found them similar. Maybe the way in which both of this movies connect with me and my life is what makes them similar to my eyes.














I am not pretending to be a cinema critic or anything like that, I just wanted to share what has been spinning in my head since I saw this movie two days ago.

I loved the music, I wanted to sing the songs, I cried twice, I discover a lot about myself watching the movie.

I want to make clear that is not just about Cole Porter's life, it is the way in which the movie was done and the story was told what made me fall, how powerful the way in which we tell a story can be! It is also about the great people in the movie; performances by Alanis Morisette, Robbie Williams, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Cole, and more. Listen to their performances online here.

I definitely recommend you to watch the movie. It is a MUST!

Check the official website of the movie.

Here you have Alanis Morrisette performance at the movie...



Let me know what you think of the movie after you watch it.

I am glad I am having these opportunities and friends with whom to explore these new movie adventures. I am glad live is giving me chances to discover new ways of having fun...

Dey

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Realistic Drama

"The minority is always right".
Henrik Ibsen, An Enemy of the People, act IV (1832)
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If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter 2

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It is the lone worker who makes the first advance in a subject: the details may be worked out by a team, but the prime idea is due to the enterprise, thought, and perception of an individual.

Sir Alexander Fleming, Address at Edinburgh University (1951)

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Feeling different today.

Dey
Today - Dey... Not funny!

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Secret Santa vs. Secret Enemy

Cultures are diverse, different... and that's soooo cool!

When last week we picked up the papers for Secret Santa at the office I thought of the traditional Secret Santa where you have to gift little things and offer little details to the person you got in your paper until the day of the exchange of gifts, when everybody's identities are revealed.

In The Netherlands you actually have to write a poem. In the day of the exchange of gifts all presents are in a table with the name of the person that will receive that gift in an envelop. Inside the envelop there is a poem, the gift receiver read the poem and has to guess who his/her Secret Santa was. In AIESEC International team's 2005 2006 and 2006 2007 we played it that way to honor the traditions of our host country.

If you are from a non-Christmas culture, you can read more about Secret Santa here.

Here in Portugal they also have the traditional Secret Santa. But there are also some variations like the one we are playing at the office.

The Secret Enemy!

You have to make the life of the person you got in your paper a complete mess... Funny?

I don't really know how funny, but it works and keeps everybody excited to see what's going to happen next. I tend to believe it decreases productivity, but for sure increases spirit and a nice environment to work. Everybody is ok with it and nobody gets pissed, it si all part of a small family that the people of the office become during Christmas time.

As an example, today in the morning when we arrived to the office, all PC mouses where in a box in one of the managers desk inside a box with a big poster that read: Mouse Thief! In each desk there was a post it saying "Claim your mouse from the mouses thief".

Other friend in the office got all his pens and pencils and even his bottle of water completely covered with glue stick, you can imagine the laughs of everybody when he actually got to use the pen and tried to drink some water...

I am a little scared of what will happen to me, I am also a little bit hesitant to do something to my Secret Enemy, I don't want to be rude neither foolish... Any ideas you wanna share with me?

You can read more about Secret Enemy in Portuguese here.
Read the translation to English of the previous article about Secret Enemy here.

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So, in the mist of my first real Christmas on few years, new discoveries and practices emerge. I am feeling so full of life, I surprise myself by how much these little new things intrigue me and trigger my curiosity to ask and enjoy...

I will be a good Secret Enemy!

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'REAL' Christmas has arrived! Finally...

The last four years Christmas has been kind of weird for me.

In Macedonia they have a different way of celebration since Christmas is in January as per the Orthodox Catholic Religion. And it is not a big deal of presents, decorations and celebrations.

During my first year in AI, I spend my Christmas in Morocco doing country visits. They do not really celebrate Christmas, after all is a Muslim country. So I missed it again.

Last year I was in Rotterdam but feeling homie and staying in my room with Martis, but we really didn't have any special big thing. I tried my best by preparing a Christmas dinner for everybody in AI and at least that was awesome. But the overall feeling was still missing.

This year in Portugal things are going to be different.

I can feel Christmas already at the streets, the malls, shopping centers and of course in the office.

For one hour and so, everybody stopped working and dedicated time to build together the Christmas tree, plan the dinner and give away the little papers for the Secret Santa.

It was awesome!

And it was a lot of fun. We even put some of the company customer samples on the three :) I assume that in a way is about hoping for a better new year with more accounts and customers...

I was not aware of how much I link Christmas with home. I thought I had 'overcame' Christmas, ha! not true...

Here I am, happy! Knowing that this year I will definitely have 'real' Christmas...

In the meanwhile I am listening to the most fluffy/cheesy song ever: "All I want for Christmas is YOU!"

Hoping that love will knock at my door before the end of the year, who knows.

Here you can see some of my colleagues from work, all together working on the not really stylish but highly lovely Christmas Tree...



Take a look at last year's lightening of the Lisbon Christmas Tree...

Awesome...

I remember last year's Rotterdam's Christmas Tree lightening in front of the city hall, they had the major of Oslo as guest since the tree came from Oslo, but it was such a poor show, or better to say, no show at all... I remember being there with my team-mates from AI...

Now I cannot wait for the lightening of the Christmas Tree in Lisbon this year, it promises to be better than last year, WOW!



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Some cool links to discover Christmas in Lisbon:

Ultimate Christmas Kitsch in Lisbon at Jon Worth Blog
Lisbon Christmas Street Cams at Delaranja Blog
Christmas in Lisbon | Video #2 at GoLisbon

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Autenticity, a new trend in the tourism industry

Doing my research for the new venture I am working on I am definitely becoming a kind of an expert on new trends in tourism and traveling...

I just happen to find some very interesting articles on what's going on and this one really caught my attention...
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Authenticity is the latest buzzword in tourism. Fed up with mock European resorts; increasingly embarrassed by theatrical performances staged especially for tourists; and curious about different cultures and ways of life tourists want 'real' and authentic experiences – and they are prepared to pay for it.

Excerpts from an article by Justing Francis | responsibletravel.com

Read more here

It is finally happen, ClubMed generations are 'out'... People are looking for 'real' things, real experiences, real life... Maybe we are getting fed up with so much surreal stuff around us and we are starting to turn to one another to find sparkles in our eyes and our way of living life...

Maybe we are just exploring the world in deep and we are just not anymore interested in going global, but into discovering the real essence of life at local level, in our communities, neighborhoods and small towns... Trying to discover new ways of being and doing...

I don't hope anymore, I am participant of this new trend. Life is exciting.

Dey

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Tribute

I just found this video...

This is a tribute to people that I love, miss and admire.

Thanks AI0607 for existing and for keeping up.

Cheers,

Dey

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Signs!

There are two amazing things that happened to me last week...

The first one:

Since I got this job I have been saying that is like a gift! You should know I do believe in signs, how is this for a sign: When I was given with the password to check our hosting services and I found out that they register the domain for the website and the system on the 11th of May (my birthday!)

The second one:

Throwing away old papers from my bag I found a paper I used to write some words when leaving Turkey at the border with Bulgaria in my way to Macedonia... Here is what I wrote:

At the border; reading about myself in pages of the past.

Rediscovering who I was, who I am.

Realizing I've changed - a lot - for a while.

Searching for words to express what my light thoughts are.

Thinking of heavy luggage; thinking of closing circles, of going in the quest for an unfinished one, an important one.

To say thanks, to move on.

Deep inside, I know there is a better me that already exists.

The curves of my life's road have carved new features and have also polished others.

I am a traveler, and in the way I keep on shaping myself.

There is no picture of the final me.

There is the intention of letting the complete power of every moment posses me, dig deep on me, and transform me constantly in a dance of joy with life, with the universe.

I am happy.

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So, I am in the right track! Signs are everywhere, and I believe on them.

Just for you to see my new working space, here you have some pics of my office... This is my new environment, really cool, creative and full of awesome and beautiful individuals :)

Cheers,

Dey

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In the right place at the right time...

Everyday, throughout the researches I am running for my new job, I find that I am in the right place at the right time...
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In the UK alone, a recent YouGov survey found that 67% of British holidaymakers intend to use the internet to conduct most or all of their travel planning next year. There are many other statistics to support the fact that online marketing - search and booking - now comprise a major part of travel sales.

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A post to read you!

This post is not for you to read any of my stories...







This post is for me to read your answers in the comments part of my blog :)

What three things you will do if you are asked to spice up your life?

Thanks a lot in advance for your answers and have a spicy life!

Dey

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My life as Alumni - contribution first steps...

During October I had the chance to attend the info sessions of AIESEC during the recruitment at LC Bellaterra and LC Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona - Spain.

It was an awesome experience to be there talking about what the AIESEC experience has meant to me and my life.

Once again I was bringing images of years of experiences in AIESEC to transform them into words and emotions and to put them there, out, expecting some of those young guys will give him/herself the chance to live such incredible moments as I did.

Now that I have finished my period of reflection and analysis it results quite simple to express how the past, the present and the future are linked together in my life.

It is also simple to identify the role that AIESEC has played on my story.

It is funny to see that Spanish people laughs and enjoy different messages and words that what I expected as Latino.

I thought our differences were simple and few, but definitely I had a wrong perception. They have their own particular way to see the world and I, once again, felt challenged. Awesome!

I want to thank Ali and Cris for inviting me and make me part!

I am now in Switzerland, I will be Chairing DO IT 07.

It will be my first AIESEC conference as alumni.

I do host many uncertainties about what my feelings will be and how I will accommodate them to serve the best the Swiss MC and the delegates.

I do believe my moments at the info sessions already gave me a first perspective of what it feels alumni involvement, however the big test it is about to start in few days.

As I arrived, I have had tons of conversations with Ivo, the MCP. Conversations that went from AIESEC talks (blah, blah, blah...) to deep insights into life and cultures.

I am truly amazed by this beautiful individual and his capacity to melt into the new culture to assimilate it and then be able to understand what is happening around him. I do definitely believe this will be an awesome year for AIESEC in Switzerland with such leader.

I am then looking forward first to the pre-meeting (there are some remarkable individuals in the team of facis that I want to have some chats with) and secondly to the conference...

I love AIESEC conferences!

...

In Switzerland I am also going to see Petroula and Amit, long time not seeing, Ha! and Carlos, one of my friends from Venezuela...

Carlos story is a funny one, I will write it here later on after I meet him and I have some new things to add to the tale of how we meet and how he became an AIESECer...

Well I think that's it. I need to go and rest, tomorrow will start the race with a pretty cool meeting with the Swiss MC.

Chaup!

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Something I said...

This is something I said in the official opening of IPM 2007 in Egypt and that was published in the Daily News Egypt...

A friend just forwarded me the link after reading my previous post, thanks!
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Before the debate, AIESEC International President Edyson Dos Santos related his childhood dreams of Egypt.

“The dust of the days starts to cover your dreams but they are still there. Dreams never get lost.”

Using the analogy of Michelangelo’s sculpting of David, Dos Santos said:

“The world we all want to live in is there. We just need to take away everything that is not that world.”

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Even if the second part is a very well known quote from Michelangelo, it makes me breathe deep the fact that my words seem to be generating future for myself and for others. I learned that from the friends I have had in life.

Cheers to all my friends.

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My new life, my new way to CHANGE THE WORLD!

This is the result of the month I took to put myself together, evaluate my AIESEC Experience and define my next steps in life.
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While finishing my term in AI, I was looking for my new path in life, something meaningful that drives that awesome purpose I believe makes me perform in a way that I cannot understand. That purpose of changing the world to become a better place feeds me with the energy I need to fully experience life.

Two things came into my mind...

The first one was my eternal vision of the Soul Spa...

The ‘Soul Spa’ is a recognized center for re-creating the connection with yourself, the purpose of your life and the world around you.

It is located near the beach and you can go to the sea by walking.

The house is on a hill, covering it like a crown. Five different environments emerge out of the five pointed star layout of the building, creating the perfect corners to re-create the environments that have been impacted my life the most.

There is a whole mentoring system in place since you arrive there for your stay of one week.

In the ‘Soul Spa’ you will need nothing, no mobile, no expensive clothes, neither complication. Rules are simple and you follow them with excitement.

The whole place is a sanctuary of peace and renaissance. The land around the ‘star’ house has plantations of diverse fruits and vegetables. You walk barefoot in the ground, feeling the power and the energy of the earth, collecting the fruits of someone else’s efforts. You walk into the big house, to the kitchen, a big room with a bar in the middle. You seat at the bar and put the tomatoes you collected on the table.

There are others at the bar; each one has brought something to the table. And there I am, instructing them how to wash the vegetables, how to cut them.

I tell them a beautiful story about Cote D’Ivoire (or any other of the countries I have had the pleasure to visit and experience) whilst we prepare one of the most traditional roasted chicken of that country. The process of cooking connects you with the basics in life, and the conversation turns into that…

(…)

…The last day you walk out of the house, we are meeting in front of a part of the land that is not planted, we will plant the tomatoes that a future groups will eat, and we feed the circle forward.

Five years alter the first Soul Spa has been opened, already some franchises are already working in other countries around the globe!

Thanks to my long years in AIESEC, today I have a network of people that want to work with me there. Potential customers, more and more contacts and more knowledge of how to turn my dream into bricks and plants, into cash and feelings.

AIESEC gave me the push I needed to get out of the circle of what my life was supposed to be. AIESEC challenged my paradigms and enabled me to set myself free of the expectation of others.

Throughout the day-to-day work in AIESEC I have developed part of my dream, and my dream has become a path, not a destination. Everything started the moment that I discovered that cooking is what I love doing the most. I discovered this at NALDS 1998 in Germany. The rest has been added after I have seen things thanks to the trip where AIESEC has been taking me in the last years.

I am in my highway to my dream.

Thanks to something that started as an opportunity to go on an AIESEC traineeship to Lisbon working in the development of a new enterprise, today I am the Project Manager of a Global Start Up in Social Tourism, I will be finding places around the world that have similar visions to my Soul Spa, I will be connecting them together and connecting them to people. I will be making sure they do contribute back to the local communities, I will be making sure visitors engage in local activities, visit the houses of local people and have the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate local life.

Today I know that my dream is getting closer.

The second thing that came to my mind when trying to change the world and finding purpose for my life was related to being gay...

Being gay has been a crucial part of who I am and who I have became.

The eternal fight to hide my way of loving from the world evolved into a point in which I started to feel proud of myself when I developed the courage to face the world and accept who I am and how I love without being ashamed for it.

The path have not been easy. As PAI I decided to keep my sexual orientation under low profile to respect those cultures present on the network that are definitely not open to the possibility.

Today I am free of that responsibility and I owe my time and efforts to myself and to those who I can serve and help. So, in parallel with my work in tourism I will be developing a new organization called "Gay People, Great People".

As you can see in the parallel column of my blog, gay teenagers lack the role models they need to believe they can become somebody great, somebody who can make a difference.

The purpose of GPGP is to collect those stories, the stories of great gay people and make them available for education. I want to give to young gay people access to the role models they can relate to in order to set their own expectations for life.

I am so excited about this initiative that I cannot believe it!

I have started the whole process of research and I will be meeting awesome people. There are tons of things to do, website, registration of brand, creation of the long term plan, membership into international organizations, funding, global networks of volunteers, global launch awards by the end of 2008 and so on...

As you can see AIESEC definitely gave me the platform to discover and develop my potential to make a positive impact on society.

Life goes on, and I feel more powerful to make a difference...

Everyday!

Dey

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Making BIG differences... I do believe!

It is funny, I just made a posting today and few minutes later I got an e-mail...

The e-mail was from Gabiza, current President of AIESEC International and my successor in that position.

The e-mail brought good news...
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The previous story ended by saying:

We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can, like that young man, become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision the power to shape the future.

And that is your challenge. And that is my challenge. We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, I have no question that the 21st century is going to be a wonderful place.
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In AIESEC we make BIG differences.

We offer young people to live transformational experiences nested in a global learning environment.

The most powerful of those experiences in terms of personal awareness and discovery is an international exchange.

Today AIESEC has reached 4000 exchanges realized worldwide in ten months and still two more months to go this year.


























The goal?
5100 by the end of December 2007.

While in AIESEC we have our starfish, to deliver as many of those transformational experiences as possible. Young people around the world, dancing the dance of change, of believing in a better world. Many of them never go abroad, but make it possible for others. Each contribution of each member counts.

It really counts!

I do believe tons of young people around the world are courageous enough to adventure themselves abroad and discover life.

I do believe AIESEC's starfish makes a difference.

I do believe in a generation of visionaries that set a vision back in 2005 at the AIESEC's International Congress in India.

I do believe in a generation of pioneers that explored the uncertain territory and mapped it out for a next generation to transit and achieve.


I do believe in the current generation of ACHIEVERS, the ones who will hit the target of 5100 life-changing international exchanges as part of the most amazing platform to discover and develop their own potential.

I do believe!

Thanks AIESEC...

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SMALL differences | big DIFFERENCES

This is a story that I had the chance to watch in a video of Joel Barker back in the 90's at my university.

For some reason it came to my mind recently and I decided to look for it again.

Here you have it....
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There's a story I would like to share with you. It was inspired by the writing of Loren Eiseley. Eiseley was a very special person because he combined the best of two cultures. He was a scientist and a poet. And from those two perspectives he wrote insightfully and beautifully about the world and our role in it.

Once upon a time, there was a wise man, much like Eiseley himself, who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he called out,

"Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied

"Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves.

"It made a difference for that one!"

His response surprised the man. He was upset. He didn't know how to reply. So instead, he turned away and walked back to the cottage to begin his writings.

All day long as he wrote, the image of the young man haunted him. He tried to ignore it, but the vision persisted. Finally, late in the afternoon he realized that he the scientist, he the poet, had missed out on the essential nature of the young man's actions. Because he realized that what the young man was doing was choosing not to be an observer in the universe and make a difference. He was embarrassed.

That night he went to bed troubled. When the morning came he awoke knowing that he had to do something. So he got up, put on his clothes, went to the beach and found the young man. And with him he spent the rest of the morning throwing starfish into the ocean. You see, what that young man's actions represent is something that is special in each and everyone of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can, like that young man, become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision the power to shape the future.

And that is your challenge. And that is my challenge. We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, I have no question that the 21st century is going to be a wonderful place.

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Do we dare to look ridiculous and make a difference?

I wonder...

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Reasons for BEING

Today, as every day lately, I have been reading.

I found something that I would love to share with you, it is called "Reasons for Being".

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Beyond obvious goals, such as making a living or taking care of loved ones, each of us has one or more essential reasons for being.

Here are some common reasons: to love, to learn, to serve others, to heal, to create, to enjoy life.
Knowing your reasons for being makes the act of being a more graceful and joyous experience.

The Practice:

Find a quiet moment.

Ask yourself: What are my reasons for being?

When an idea comes up, say it out loud and see if rings true.

Notice what happens in your heart, your gut, and throughout your body in the wake of this statement.

It might take a few tries before you strike gold.

You know you've found a true reason for being when your body says: "Yes!".

Your own personal yes might come as a knowing, a sense of peace, or a surge of uplifting energy.

For the next week, repeat your reason for being each morning before you get out of bed.

Imagine it permeating every cell in your body.

Then, throughout the day, notice whether you live more "on purpose".

I will be practicing it, maybe we can share our experiences.

Love,

Dey

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Closer to Myself

This is something I wrote during my short visit to Venezuela, in an amazing place called Choroni... I rediscovered this today while cleaning up my room and decided to share it...

I do believe in signs, this is a sign.

Choroni is a popular beach located in Puerto Colombia, Venezuela. It is about one hour and a half from the city of Maracay, on the seaside of the Henri Pittier National Park. It is definitely one of my favorite places in Venezuela, many important things in my life have happened there...

Hope you all will be able to visit it one day.

Here is what I wrote:

Another big circle in my life has been closed.

It is time to put myself together again,
the angel and the demon,
all the parts that make me complete,
my lights and my shadows,
all the parts that I have been leaving behind.

I need to start all over again,
from a superior level,
from a more elevated way of taking a look at things,
from a more elevated way of living life.

Green paths are in front of me,
blue sea waters call me to explore the world more and more.

I surrender to the tenderness of life.

I trust my destiny,
I have decided to listen to the words of my heart,
I have decided to listen to the wisdom of my intuition,
I have decided to feel the touch of happiness on my skin.

I have always made it on my own.
Now I cannot fight the feeling,
now I cannot resist falling in love.

The mystery of the next destinations keeps me awake.
The beauty of the route keeps me alive.

I have discovered that I exist in multiple levels.
I cannot lie to myself that it has been always like this.

I am in love with life,
that is making me closer to myself.

Enjoy some pics of Choroni...









You can find more info in English about Choroni at www.venezuelatuya.com
You can find more info in Spanish about Choroni at www.choroni.org
In Spanish, English and German at www.choroni.net

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About life and death...

Today is a strange day...

During my two years in Macedonia I experienced a new manifestation of life. I rediscover meaning and purpose. I made life-long friends. Those two years are embedded in who I am like a tattoo.

Tose Proeski is one of the most famous and amazing singers of Macedonia. Today he died. I have spent the whole day listening to his songs and reconnecting with my experiences there. In a way he was part of each one of those experiences. His music, his songs - even if I still cannot understand many of the lyrics - marked moments; his music gave completeness to the movie of my time there.

Today he is not here anymore, but his music is.

One of my best friends in Macedonia wrote me a mail, he knew how important Tose was for me... Another friend invited me to a facebook group created to honor Tose's achievements... Thanks all of you.

I feel I need to share with you his work. This is my simple and small tribute to the artist he was and at the same time this is the way to show him my gratitude for putting music into the film of my life while living in that amazing spot of the world.

Here you have one of his performances, simple extraordinary...



Why is this posting about life and death?

Life was the song that he sang when he participated in Eurovision 2004, I still remember we were at an AIESEC Conference and we made the whole set up for the delegates to see the contest. Here you have the lyrics and the video...

I saw my ID it wasn't me
It was someone else's identity
Why do I need to prove my self
And who is the judge of my sanity.

Roaming through my old emotions
I find new feelings of misery
I bet with my soul to get back to truth
Where I would face reality.

Chorus:
Life is a book and you gotta read it
Life is a story and you gotta tell it
Life is a song and you gotta sing it
You've got to know how to live it!

Walking around with some thoughts on my mind
I search for a place where I'll be free
From all that I said and all that that's been done
It will be hard to find it inside of me.

Chorus:
Life is a book and you gotta read it
Life is a story and you gotta tell it
Life is a song and you gotta sing it
You've got to know how to live it

I know that I've gotta try
No one can see me cry
I can't take it anymore
I must find a way to let my self go.

(Life is a, life is, life is...)
Oh, it's true, you know it don't you

Chorus:
Life is a book and you gotta read it
Life is a story and you gotta tell it
Life is a song and you gotta sing it
You've got to know how to live it



It is about death because he is not anymore with us, even if his music will allow him to live in my memories, throughout my life...

It is about life because after my term and President of AIESEC International I have been struggling to put myself together; to collect all the parts of me that are not the AIESECer and discover what is next for me in life...

Then I decided to move to Barcelona, I decided not to accept any job offer that was made to me, I decided to take some time off and evaluate who I am, what I have become. In this order of ideas I arrived to Barcelona with one suitcase and a lot of hope.

Finding the job I wanted was not an easy thing to do. In the meanwhile, my savings were decreasing and my need to find something to do started to grow. The search intensified and I started to get some calls; however, nothing seemed to trigger my sense of purpose. If I had wait so long, why shouldn't I wait a little bit more?

Out of nothing, just by casualty and without looking for it, the perfect option just appeared in front of my eyes. Life is wise and takes you to strange roads when you dip on her and just let yourself go; trusting her, like a living being...

Life is taking me to work in Lisbon, I will start my job there by middle November. Life is taking me to my roots, to the land of my father, where I come from in a way.

The job is on Social Tourism, I will be Project Manager of a global start up that arises as a promising evolution of what tourism can be. I cannot wait any longer to start putting myself into the concept and my get my hands dirty.

For the ones that know me, you should remember my long-term vision and my soul spa. This is definitely the high way that will take me there. It is definitely good to know what you really want and focus on that dream so strongly that nothing else matters. In the meanwhile I will be working as well in my concept of Gay People Great People, but more as a parallel personal project. Two things that come together in one of the most beautiful and undiscovered places on earth, Portugal.

So I will be living in Lisbon, this is life to me in the near future... Lisbon is the place where I will go back to truth and face reality as Tose said.

Lisbon is known as the white city, thanks to its unique luminosity. The light, the atmosphere and the climate offer marvelous walks all over the city. It has a beauty that extends beyond the monuments, that can be experienced in the streets, that is embraced with all the senses.

Tourism Association of Lisbon

Life is playing with me one more time and I am happy about it.
I know life is wise and I trust her.

One more circle has been closed, the circle of uncertainty.

I know what the near future holds for me and here I go, with a tear in my face and a smile in my soul.

For Tose's music and for my new life in Lisbon.

Enjoy some pics of Lisbon...







Find more about Tose at www.toseproeski.info
Find more about Lisbon at www.visitlisboa.com

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Dey Simpson

Well, I can say life in Barcelona is like in Springfield, full of surprises... And this is how I am supposed to look like if I will show up in a Simpson's episode.

I feel like Homer, doing nothing while waiting or the perfect opportunity to show up by itself, sitting in front of the TV eating pop corn... Ha! Not true...

The search for a meaningful job opportunity after AI is hard. I have been evaluating some offers, but nothing really seems to give me a sense of purpose, the one that I need when I engage into a work relationship with an organization.

There are couple of projects in front of me that are starting to take a very interesting shape. Next week I will be traveling to Portugal to have some meetings there for a cool project in tourism and with a global view, promoted and managed by AIESEC alumni. Maybe this is the beginning of the route to my soul spa, life always wise takes me through uncertain paths but always gives me a big reward usually in the shape of the journey that I am about to start... Let´s see what it comes out of these meetings.

In the meanwhile, I have been doing some very serious research on interesting quotes... I found these ones as my ironic favorites, of course, from the most famous family around the planet...

Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably.
The lesson is, never try.
Homer Simpson

It seems Homer is telling me my efforts worth nothing... Anyway I´ll keep on the way. It made me laugh so much because one of my favorite quotes is from Yoda when he says "Do or do not, there is no try".

I'll keep it short and sweet - Family. Religion. Friendship.
These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.
Mr. Burns

Well, here it goes one more that reflects as well a little bit of what I am passing through right now... This is definitely not the kind of guy for whom I wish to work or the kind of values that are host silently in the organization that I will be working for.

So, for the moment I have been discovering myself without the pressure of work and without the pressure of AIESEC.

Life seems to have a lot of time to give me now, but the process is almost complete and I need to move on again to the next challenge.

One thing is for sure, rest is needed, make sure you always take your time to rest, to do nothing, to see yourself and contemplate life around you, and to discover how content you feel with the person you have become.

And finally, these last one was just fun...

Homer: Lisa, would you like a donut?

Lisa: No thanks. Do you have any fruit?

Homer: This has purple in it. Purple is a fruit.

Find more Simpson's quotes at www.thesimpsonsquotes.com

You can create your own Simpson avatar at www.simpsonsmovie.com

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Magic Nights

I didn't find a better way to start my new virtual-life in green that by sharing this video taken in a conference in Russia...

My decision of moving to Barcelona came completely out of my intuition, of my desire to follow my heart and my inner voice.

I know there are lots of Magic Nights coming in...

I wish you lots of Magic Nights as well...

Cheers and enjoy,

Dey

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