AIESEC Canada National Congress 2006

I knew I was registered for this conference by the end of November.

I found out about being selected MQB Team Leader & was SO excited for the conference.

I read over the MCP candidates application & read over some MQB turnover things.

Oh, I hadn't shaven for about a month & my hair hadn't been cut for about 2 or 3 months, but I shaved & got a hair cut to make a good impression for Abby.

I couldn't sleep the night before. I was on msn and talked to Moiza & Sheryl.

I was packed early, so I calmly left for the airport. My dad dropped me off, but on the way decides it is time for another lecture about how school should be my priority & asking me what this AIESEC thing is.

For the first time while flying I didn't have to check my bags & did online check in. I noticed a flaw in airport security something that confirmed this article I also noticed what was said in another blog on nomadlife, which was people waiting in line to get on the plane even though we are all assigned a seat.

I overheard the flight attendants saying there is nothing to do in Saskatoon, so I was disappointed that I was staying an extra night, but the ticket I got saved AIESEC Canada money so it was all good.

On the plane with me were 2 newer members from York who I talked to for a little bit.

I had to go from the plane to the University of Saskatoon because I was supposed to be there for LCP Summit.

I made it with time to spare, but still had my bags with me. I saw some of the Facis & the MC, they took me to where plenary was & I met the chair, the secretary, the rest of the MC & Abby

Abby & I got to work almost right away (since we had to prepare for LCP Summit) we did take a break to dance AIs new dance but I was still in my professional phase (as opposed to my conference phase)

Next thing I remember is that we are ready & we leave towards the room but run into many of the LCPs so it's pretty exciting since I recognize a lot of them

We then get into the room & the chair gets EVERYONE to do introductions (name, things i'm looking forward to at this conference, & favourite dance move) it took SO long since there were over 50 people in the room, some dance moves were VERY provocative, others were funny, others were AIESEC dances. I said I couldn't do my favourite dance move because Adil wasn't there but I did a random one instead. I said I was looking forward to punishments & the chair shows everyone a name tag (at the time everyone, including me, thought it was my name tag)

Before introductions I was specifically introduced to the room & then had to do attendance (it is a minimum standard) I messed up on HEC (more than once) Isabel (AIESEC Toronto) replied with "Hey Baby" after I said Toronto.

After that we went into conference content, objectives, expectations, etc. Then it was on to Legislation Fair. This was a discussion about minimum standards & the fact that MANY LCs did not pass & will not be allowed to vote this year. This was interesting since the MC does not speak, the MQB speaks only to clarify. It lasted for longer than the time that was allocated, the conference started later then it was supposed to because of this & as a result there is a taskforce discussing LC development. I enjoyed it & was especially happy that it was decided to follow the minimum standard document. I also really connected with some of the LCPs!

The start of the conference was a little different this time around for me (maybe because I was used to it or because of the past 5 hrs) it started to feel like a different conference at this point because doing the cheers before the doors open, doing the dances when we get in, & the people I would sit beside or do those things with was totally different. AIESECs zero-retention is great for innovation (although there are still knowledge management issues) but professional & personal relationships turn into virtual relationships so fast! Tunak tunak was very interesting because Adil wasn't there to free style with & I saw other people doing our freestyle.

Opening plenary was about the same as it usually is, random, funny, sentimental. I really enjoyed joking around with the MC. MQB turnover plan consisted of meeting up after opening plenary & that's what Abby & I did. I still had my luggage, we decided to set an agenda for the rest of turnover & then to go meet with new LCPs/VPFs. The time we were going to do that turned into dinner time & then we were going to go to the hotel. We took a bus to the bar (the one the OC had available for everyone) & then were headed to the hotel after that (I still had my luggage!) But then Abby, Juan, Dennis & I were talking about how HUNGRY we were, so we went to this bar & grill instead (a bunch of AIESEC people were also there, this was right across from the bar) and yes I STILL have my luggage.

This was a nice unplanned dinner, very random jokes, good conversations, it took SO long for the meal to come that they doubled my order of ribs for free!!! We checked out the bar for a bit & then we went to the hotel. I saw Marina in the lobby & she was saying that she was hungry & because I had extra from the dinner I gave it to her. I ask for a room key (having not officially registered with the OC, I was lucky I asked them for my room number) & go to bed!

Abby & I decide to meet during a 3 1 hour sessions at different times during the day. It was very important for us to finish our work since we had to present it to the MC & LCPs by the third night. Abby was leaving the morning right after that so we had to finish all the turnover things by then!!!

I really enjoyed the global direction & state of the association sessions (like always) Another session I really enjoyed was when we (as an LC) did Gap Analysis. I really enjoyed it because we were criticizing for the sake of improving. I love Gap Analysis. I mentioned it in my application for MQB TL, & randomly yelled Gap Analysis during that session.

Abby & I were getting our work done, I was learning a lot, i'm SO glad I read a lot before applying & after getting the position otherwise it would have probably taken a lot longer then it did.

The night was the new years party & we went to this banquet hall place. It was nice spending new years with AIESEC people again (definitely missed some people again) I always feel that what you do during new years is the thing that will impact your life the greatest that year. So many people were drunk, were hard to find, but we still celebrated new years for different time zones & all that.

The next time we did tunak tunak I did the same freestyle I usually do with the incoming LCP from Concordia Kanwal. I connected with him a lot during this conference & am looking forward to what he does this year. It was LC simulation time & also the day of legislation (so deadline for MQB to report about Q3) so Abby & I spent SO much time working (only breaking to eat) I connected with the OC a lot (having been on an OC really makes you sensitive to it) & really enjoyed making sure they were doing okay & giving them a big tip when they did coat checking or buying the book they were selling to hopefully lower the financial loss. I didn't get to connect too much with the chair or the secretary, but after Q&A I decided to give my cape (which I got for going above & beyond in the area of striving for excellence) to the chair Adrian Sia Lu. I got the cape from Rita, who I would randomly joke around with during the conference, she tried to steal my name tag (probably because I mentioned that I have yet to be punished). During one of the lunches I was randomly asked by Angela (facilitator of ER tracks) to talk about my experience with the chamber of commerce during the tracks (it was supposed to be a 15 minute session & I said okay after asking Abby) I also randomly overheard that John Kelly is going to apply to be on the MC here in Canada & was SO excited about that since I heard nothing but great things about him & his work & connected with him a little at the conference. I also tried to be there for all the MCP candidates whenever I saw them.

Most of the meals were spent with York, which is sometimes what I prefer & other times a little excessive, but we were table number 1 a few times (the best was when it was only Calgary & me continuing the table numbers, I would run to an empty table just to do it!)

With the elections, the more they went on the more it seemed like it was going to be a very close one. I did think of some questions & as MQB had speaking rights, but I decided to not ask questions again.

I was VERY excited about legislation, so excited that I could hardly sleep the night before. Abby & I were asked to show the current status of LCs in Canada, Abby wanted me to do it, I was very shy & timid (but also wanted her to do these things for the last time), Araz asked me when I would have the templates for next year done & I replied with, the same time as the revisions are due, other then that it was like we weren't even in the room. We were sitting in the very back (when usually MQB sits beside the MC) we were even called during roll call (the whole MC was, individually) & it was SO frustrating that they started joking around considering it went SO late into the night. Abby & I got some pizza, talked for a bit & then went to sleep. I asked her if I would see her the next day & she said most likely, I had written her a letter about the experience from applying to this position to now & I gave that to her. I had a sign on me that day which had the countdown to next submission deadline (March 15, 2006) & Rita changed that sign so I had to take it off. When Abby left I made a new sign that said "I miss Abby" because I truly did. I felt so lost at the conference.

So I catchup with my LC & there is still LC simulation going on so I help with marketing for that. This turned out to be a highlight of the conference because I got to do a marketing call with Juan (Director of National Accounts) he thought I was joking around when I was going to do a marketing call with him, but then we got to work. He was honest. He said I was rusty but that I did an excellent job (and then got into why) it meant SO much coming from him & is one of the only reasons I would want to continue doing marketing this year.

Then comes another highlight for me at the conference. I go in to lead the discussion during ER track. It was on working with the chamber of commerce & I was told to get into my experience, but it was supposed to be a 15 minute discussion. There were about 30 people in the room. They just listened. I tried to engage them in conversation. Tried to get them to share there experience, but they just wanted to learn more about what i've done, how I did, & why. It was a pretty logical discussion, I wasn't too happy with it since I didn't have notes so it wasn't as structured as I would normally do things, but they were happy. They all took down my email address & I was left with such a smile on my face! Later that track, ICX & OGX people run in to do there cheer, I go lock the door & tell them now they have to stay, Llorene & Dalal (Facis) came up to me & opened the door!

There was this 1 point during the conference, before evening plenary, it was the last night of the conference & we had half an hour of cheering! John Kelly's Video was so inspiring. If I get to do 1 of (or ideally both of) the things I plan on doing this summer in AIESEC, I will definitely make a video! I tried to do as many sugarcubes as possible, 1 thing I really missed during the conference was the random connecting with people & that rarely happened until the last night. I connected with Harit (mostly for jokes) but had a good conversation about AIESEC with him. The last night I had like a 2 hr conversation with Tai, she really wanted to get to know me & my AIESEC experience & it meant SO much. After that I had a random conversation with this girl from Carleton who was in ER track, Kanwal was also there! Then, and it is now like 5:30am, Marina & I talked! It felt like I hadn't seen her the whole conference, we ordered pizza & talked for like 2 hrs about the conference/AIESEC. Adrian was also there for a bit, we gave him some pizza & complimented him a lot!

Election did not take as long as I thought they would. After all LCs were ready. We had a decision. It was odd that everyone did not start cheering after the required number of votes was achieved. I am glad it was a majority because it really unites the country, which is something that would have been a BIG issue because of standards. I really liked all candidates though, I mean I thought it was going to take a while to get 50% + 1, & now I really hope the other candidates apply for other MC positions in Canada. I tried to update through email people who could not attend the conference.

Banquet was nice. I sat with AIESEC Toronto (because there weren't enough seats with York) York won 2 awards, marketing team of the year (usually given to 1 marketer) & co-LC of the year with Calgary. The party after was inside the hotel so it was nice to find a lot of the AIESEC people I was looking for most of the conference.

But my ticket was to stay an extra day (I stayed in a room with Llorene, Veronica & Harit). That day was spent doing the most random of things. A group of us ending up tobogganing during the day & then a bigger group was watching Russell Peters at night (Harit, Marina, Allona & 2 ppl from Calgary, 1 an intern were in both groups, a bunch of people from all over were in the second group, I remember people from Ryerson & Halifax were there).

I travelled back with Llorene & Isabel (although we didn't together) & actually slept on the airplane (I don't usually sleep while travelling) Given my new role, I had to do some work right when I got back! Given the current environment, I will most likely be at the next national conference. I will hopefully be at OQ at the end of the month & depending on what happens this summer could be at another conference then. I have to be at the next NC to do turnover for the next MQB TL (or chairman of the quality board as I like to call it) so I guess already it's obvious that how I spent my new year's will have a big impact on me next year.