plans for the next few weeks

I'm about to leave Jakarta and head off to explore the rest of Java. Some other wedding guests are also travelling, so it looks as if I will join them for a bit. While being in Indonesia, I also wanna check out Bali and if possible parts of Lombok before taking a flight on the 18th of May to Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia. There I will meet up with Dimitris. As it looks now we will check out Malaysia for a few days before going to spend a few days on the beach in Southern Tailand. After that I will go on North: North Tailand, Laos and Southern China, before heading back to Singapore. Thinking of the weeks ahead I'm very excited, as I feel that my experience here will be quite different from the experience so far, as I don't have my AIESEC network to rely on any more, plus the fact that I don't speak any of the languages of these countries will make things a litttle more complicated I think. I also wonder how I will be dealing with the heat and the humidity. So far it is kinda ok, although I must admit that air con is not such a bad invention after all...:-)

2nd stop: Colombia

Finally back online. Internet access is more difficult to arrange than I first imagined. Today is my 17th day here in Colombia already. Right now sitting here in an auditorium of EAFIT University in Medellin, attending an AIESEC meeting.

In short what has happened up until now:

My time here started with chairing the Leadership Development Seminar 2007 in Cali. What a conference. I always wanted to chair a conference in another continent. I couldn’t have wished for a better country to do so than Colombia. Such energy and such a willingness to learn and discover I have hardly come across before.

After the conference I was travelling with Bee to Popayan and San Augostin. Even though I fell sick for one day, it was a very cool trip as it was including all the ingredients such a trip needs: a lovely colonial city (Popayan), adventurous and long bus trips, spectacular scenery, fascinating archaeological sites (San Agostin), interesting encounters with locals and expats alike, as well as excellent conversations with Bee.

As Bee had to go back to Bogota, I’m now continuing my trip by myself. The last three days I spent in Manizales, visiting people I had met at the conference. During my time in Manizales I was living with different Colombian families, who offered to host me. My days were filled with exploring the city and its surroundings, eating huge lunches, enjoying tasty Colombian coffee, the evenings consisted of long conversations over beer and wine, as well as of dancing salsa, vallenato…etc :-)

I find it difficult to put my experience so far into words. Of course I have been seeing many interesting places and sights, also have I indulged into new food, but what really is making my stay here are the people I have met and the friends I have made. I know it sounds cliché, but I’m really overwhelmed by the people here in Colombia: People with such a lot of energy, such a big heart and so much passion for their work and for their country. Simply inspiring. Simply adorable. Thank you so much for all the moments I was able to experience so far thanks to you all! A special thank you to Marta, Juan Pablo, Laura, Caro and Manuel for your incredible hospitality!