final exam......ever!

who would have thought, when i started my bachelor of asian and international studies at griffith university in brisbane, australia, that it would be now, in amsterdam, 9.5 years later, that i would be completing my final exam, under the supervision of the british council, to complete my degree?

well it finally happened - last thursday i completed my final exam to graduate from my degree...and what a great journey it has been to get here...3 years studying full time in brisbane...4 years working full time for aiesec...1 year as a trainee...7 months as an fte at abn amro working in diversity....travelling to more than 30 countries...living and working in 3 of them...studying three subjects externally through university of southern queensland (highly professional and flexible - they even let me do an exam in brasil!)....one subject at a two week summer school in conflict resolution at university of amsterdam and two subjects credit for my two years as the asia pacific director on aiesec international...a much longer, but much richer ride than i originally expected in order to get "that piece of paper"....

many thanks to griffith university for their flexibility, likewise usq, to my old manager who helped to sponsor several of my subjects, my colleague lara who helped to convince her to sponsor them, to maria for cooking for me during study days....and of course to my parents :)

milan is married!!

just got back from a great few days in slovakia, for Milan's wedding to Marcelka (sorry for wrong spelling!!) brenda and i travelled together, and we joined the rest of the international aiesec crew there in levoca, beautiful small home town of the bride...even though we were late for the wedding we managed to enjoy the festivities...

which included the groom carrying the bride over the threshold, smashing a glass and then cleaning it up, despite the best efforts of the parents! the couple also ate a piece of salty bread to show their commitment to the good times and the bad, and after a welcome speech by the restaurant owner, the party began. after copious amounts of wine, beer, spirit shots and several servings of food, the bride was "kidnapped" by the groom's friends and taken to a nearby bar...where they waited for the groom to find them, meanwhile racking up a bill for the groom to pay.

after the bride was "rescued" she sat in the centre of a circle, surrounded by females, singing with candles...then the best man of the groom entered carrying a big knife - he said to the bride, "remove your wedding veil and put a scarf on your head to show you're a wife, or i'll chop off your head"....the bride defied him and said, "no". so he then brought out a bigger knife, more like a sword, and again repeated his threat....again the bride defied him....so he brought out a HUGE AXE!!! this time the bride agreed after he made the same threat...her veil was removed and replaced with a nice scarf on her head. luckily we were prepared for this ritual and didn't freak out!

the bride and groom were hoisted into the air on their chairs, where they performed a couple of feats, then the guests made a donation and took a vodka shot in order to dance with the bride and groom...

all in all it was a great night and we were very happy to be a part of milan and marcelka's special day :)

finally - paris!!!

finally after four years based in europe i finally made it to paris! i had a lovely weekend in this big, beautiful (and expensive - EUR6 for a can of coke!!) city. thanks to my great host, liv, i saw lots of "the sites", including the eiffel tower at night, and this nice park near Chatteley...and spent wonderful sunday also with emily (kenyan friend who used to live in amsterdam), when we checked out the louvre and most of the restaurants in paris (french food and i do not get along!)...paris was less cosier, but just as grand and fashionable as i imagined...definitely a city you can keep going back to and have a different experience each time

MCPharaohs - Egyptian MCP reunion part II

restaurant with desert views

the slightly nauseous snorkelling gang


the calm snorkelling terrain


towels achieving their fullest potential

MCPharaohs - Egyptian MCP reunion part I

our host, Hisham from Egypt

watching the sunset in the desert

view from our hotel over naama bay

my loyal camel, El Tommy


part of the journey i made on El Tommy

thanks amy

even though she is the world's slackest blogger, she is a really great friend...thanks amy for the nice chats we had in london...and especially for your card and gift that really touched me, and reminded me to celebrate more :)