Two trips to remember... Korea and Taiwan

Greetings all from the wonderful city of Kyoto, Japan. As I sit on my train traveling to the next city I am visiting in Japan, I wanted to share with you my experiences in Korea and Taiwan.

My journey in Asia Pacific has begun and I couldn't be more excited. I touched down in Korea on Sept 30, and from then till now I have traveled to more places I imagined I could in 13 days, eaten more foods I thought I would in a lifetime, and talk so much I am amazed my voicebox hasn't given out on me. But seriously, it has been an amazing experience so far, and it has only just begun.

After arriving in Korea I was picked up at the airport and taken directly to an MCP election. An experience to say the least to be jetlagged, yet so pumped with energy at the same time, and listening to an election process entirely in another language (until that is I asked a question of my own) with translation being given to me at the back of the room.

From that moment on I had the most amazing experience. I wish everyone could see the Korea that I saw at every international conference. Many misconceptions exist about AIESEC Koreans and I would like to proudly say that they are all entirely untrue. From interactions with Koreans at international conferences I have often received comments that Koreans are quiet and reserved, but what I saw in Korea was completely different. At times through my country visit I just sat back in awe as I watched members interact in their mother tongue so passionately and actively. But what I appreciated even more was the effort that every member made to talk to me in English, hold meetings in English, and make me feel so at home. It is the interactions that Koreans had with me, that I hope they will bring to every international conference from now on.

The other things I enjoyed as much was the opportunity to interact with people from LCs. Thanks MC team to organising all of those times to meet the real AIESEC Korea, because those interactions taught me a lot. Thanks to Patrick who reminded me how much fun you can have regardless of the situation and get the work done, and thank you to Ryan (isn't it a great name) who showed me that the great ideas I think I have, have already probably been though of by someone already (the very day the MC team and I were talking about how to improve member induction, Ryan was telling me about this that very night before I even mentioned it). And thank you to every other LC member in Korea who helped make my first country visit truly amazing.

Funny moment from Korea: The Ramen Challenge
Four bowls of ramen noodles in one, 20 minutes, eat it all its free, cant finish it and your out of pocket 18 euros. Considering my appetite I fancied myself a good shot to complete the challenge, but my oh my was I wrong. After 20 minutes I only got half way, Eddie was nearly there, and Ceek my hero finished in the 19th minute! Scary moment of the visit: The record holder did it in 9 minutes and is a girl who looks like she would be no higher than my shoulder height!

So that was Korea, an amazing experience, and then there was Taiwan. Taiwan amazed me with their hospitality (to the exent that they put me up in a hotel room for the first two nights of my visit!). I arrived in Taiwan over Moon festival which was a great experience. In my second evening in the country I had the great opportuntiy to have a Moon Festival night barbeque with Sheana's (the MCP) family and interns from the country. We ate things I don't normally eat in a NZ barbeque thats for sure (beef tongue being one of them), watched Sheana's grandmother and her group doing Tai Chi, and then when out with the interns to be shown the Taipei nightlife.

As Korea did, Taiwan made a huge effort to show me the real AIESEC Taiwan :). One of the highlights of my visit was the Taipei 'press conference'. Complete with video recorder and questions from the 'press', it was an awesome way to interact with many of the LC members of Taipei. Taiwan also stunned me with their level of ambition. I look forward to seeing the great stuff coming out of the country over the next few months.

The one thing I can conclude from my visits in Korea and Taiwan is that a) 5 days is really so fast, b) interaction with LC members has been so valuable c) I do have the ability to eat things I nenver thought I would :P. In both Korea and Taiwan I have appreciated the opportunity to visit people who normally dont get a visit during country visit, visiting LCs in Busan and Tainan, and am happy that in this first round of country visit not only every country will get a visit within AP, but also that more LCs than ever before will be visited :).

Signing off from Kyoto, stayed tuned for my Japanese experience!