HELLO!

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Hello and welcome to the first edition of the AIESEC UCL-SOAS newsletter! Your determination and potential allowed you to brilliantly make it through the assessment centre and interview. Getting ready for your experience abroad is absolutely fundamental, but this doesn’t mean that the fun is over! It is with pleasure and excitement that we would like to introduce you to the wider AIESEC community through upcoming events and activities. These will include workshops, talks but also social and parties! We will aim to report news of recent and future events, details of forthcoming projects, and requests for assistance from the community and general information about the Group. We highly welcome contributions from members and others to make this newsletter lively, informative and successful.

Dear Exchange Participants,

EP interview with Chin, an Ex-

EP who went to Brazil! Find out

more about his experience

whilst you start to plan yours! J

Table of Contents

Find out more about our

upcoming events and some

fun facts!!

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EP Interview - Brazil (Chin)

Chin (a team member of our local committee) hails from Malaysia and currently reads Economics at UCL. Last summer, Chin was involved in a project targeting youths in the favelas of Rio with the aim of spreading awareness on issues such as diversity and human rights.

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What stereotypical vision do you

have about Brazil? Open-minded

people or primitive people? A lazy,

slothful, sluggish, slacked people or

hard working, enthusiastic and

dedicated people? When we talk

about international perception of

Brazil we easily associate the

country with the Amazon, beaches,

samba and favelas. When we talk

about Brazilians the first thing that

comes to mind is Ronaldinho &

Pelé.

Let’s see what it felt like living the

“Land of Carnival!”

Growing up on the other side of

the world, I have always pictured

Brazil as an exotic country. The

people, I imagined, are festive,

friendly and adventurous. Besides

that, I avoid stereotyping Brazilians

as being a frequent traveller has

taught me that people around the

world are not that different. In fact,

I learnt more about the Brazilian

stereotypes from the natives

themselves than I could elsewhere!

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Summer in the Northern

Hemisphere means winter in the

south. So, unfortunately, I missed

out on the carnivals but I would say

the atmosphere in Brazil is

constantly as joyous, if not more

joyous, than any other country I

have visited. For instance, standing

in the middle of a crowd of

thousands during the

Confederation Cup was an

unforgettable experience. It was

humid, extravagant and exciting

as we watched the match

surrounded by riot police. Each

time Brazil scored a goal, hundreds

of plastic cups were flung in the air,

making it rain beer.

Why did you choose Brazil?

Brazil was an easy choice as I felt

like it could be my only chance to

explore the continent where many

of my compatriots are not able to.

AIESEC UCL- SOAS 2014

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What were your expectations before departure?

I got on the plane without much information and only knew that I was

expected to work with youth groups. I chose not to worry too much on

the details and it turned out to be a great decision. Spontaneity played a

big part of my entire trip. Instead of a continuous and dull formal setting,

my team and I were helping out the underprivileged communities in so

many different ways while learning from them at the same time. Painting

the railings with the kids overlooking the hills of Rio, playing interactive

games and even babysitting were some of the tasks my team and I

happily volunteered to do - on top of the workshops we conducted.

Did you experience any significant culture shock in the first few weeks?

I never felt like an outsider and was quickly welcomed right after I

landed.

Sometimes, the local volunteer in the non-governmental organisation

would call me Jackie Chan while chuckling due to my Asian features.

Does that count?

Did you face any problems in Brazil? How did you solve it?

I was a major trouble for the local committee. When I landed, I learned

that the airline had lost my luggage. From that day onwards, it was a

downward spiral and I quickly became the main dilemma for the locals.

EP Interview- Brazil (Chin)

[Continued]

AIESEC UCL-SOAS 2014

(continued)

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“The most meaningful and amazing trip that have

experienced”

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I was lost at least thrice, missed a

boat back to Rio and my passport

was stolen on a night out. Those

were the few problems that my

host was endlessly trying to help

me solve. It was scary at the time

but a month later, it’s my go-to

joke.

How did your UK local committee

help you throughout your

experience?

The team in-charge was well-

organised and responsible. I

followed the procedures as told

and the entire process went pass

so quickly.

What is the most precious memory

you have of Brazil?

Definitely the trips around Brazil. For

example, we took a boat to the

island Ilha Grande for a weekend

getaway, explored every part of

Rio and even hopped on a last

minute bus to Sao Paulo.

What do you think about Brazil

now?

I genuinely enjoyed Brazil and

would recommend it in an

instance. Rio is a blessed city. With

the beach, hills and city minutes

apart from each other, it’s

paradise. The locals call it the

‘Marvelous City’. Brazilians, friends

or strangers, were friendly and at

all times trying to help me out. I felt

so comfortable and contented. It

felt like home.

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Has this experience had an impact

on your life?

The children and the city taught

me how simple things in life could

be so therapeutic. Besides, the

friendships I made while in Brazil are

the few things I truly value. While

my team and I are spread across

the globe today, we still keep in

contact and try as hard as we can

to meet up every now and then.

On top of that, the experience

taught me so much more than I

expected and allowed me to

develop as a person. It bridges the

gap between youths and gave me

the opportunities that I could not

have had today.

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Are you ready for a full

AIESEC experience? Then

you don’t want to miss our

next amazing upcoming

events:

- Join our Facebook Group! This will

be the easiest way to receive

updates and not miss out

important events and deadlines!

We will be there to answer your

questions, deal with any issue or

just have a good chat!

Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/group

s/621332291266206/

- Q & A Session: This event

will be held on 13 February and will

provide important information

about our exchange programs! It

will be a great opportunity to

communicate with ex EPs and

learn more from their experiences.

Get ready for some funny

anecdotes and feel free to bring

your friends along!

- 1st EP Social: Look out for

a social event towards the end of

February at UCL! It will be a great

chance to meet others that are

going on exchange and those who

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have already been in a more light

hearted setting. Learn some

drinking games and hear the

stories we are not allowed to tell

you in the info sessions!

- BOAT PARTY!: AIESEC

UCL-SOAS and LSE have joined

forces to bring you the ultimate

boat party. What better way to

enjoy a fun night out than

experiencing it from a boat on the

mighty Thames!

To find out more, click on the link

below:

https://www.facebook.com/event

s/218431841676850/?ref_newsfeed

_story_type=regular

- London

Dreamcatcher’s Day,

09.03.14:

Do you have a dream, an aim for

the future?

Or no clue what to do later in life?

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Well either way, the London

Dreamcatcher’s Day will offer a

great program for all of you! Be

inspired by exciting speakers, cool

workshops or by meeting other

people in a similar situation to

yours!

Our Day will give you the chance

to prepare better for future, gain

skills, but especially get enthusiastic

for it! We promise you to offer you

great hours of different activities -

and that for free plus…the chance

to get mentored by JCI, THE global

network for young professionals

and entrepreneurs!

When? 09.03.14 - More information

also on our Facebook page

(coming soon)!

An event not to be missed...for the

ones already dreaming and the

others looking to dream!

Upcoming Events

Got any interesting facts you would like to publish and share in

the next issue? Email them to christine.tsai@aiesec.net.

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Have you forgot about our other National Partners!? Did you know that… - 20% of liquid natural gas in the world is produced in Indonesia and [Indonesia] is the largest supplier worldwide. - Indonesia is a major producer of cloves and nutmeg and ranked first in the world in terms of production. - Indonesia is the largest exporter of plywood, which makes up 80% of the supply to the world.

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- There are five million Facebook users in Egypt, more than any other Middle Eastern country. As of 2009, Egypt has 20.136 million Internet users, ranking 21st in the world. -In 2013, an Egyptian father named his newborn daughter “Facebook” to commemorate the role Facebook played in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Her full name is Facebook Jamal Ibrahim. - The Majority of people in Kenya are Protestants

- Colombia’s capital city has a lower murder rate than USA’s capital city.

- When McDonald’s opened in 1986 in Rome, food purists outside restaurants gave away free spaghetti to remind people of their culinary heritage.

AIESEC UCL-SOAS

By Outgoing Exchange EP-Care TEAM Christine Tsai Raffaele Ippolito Tristan Al-Shehab Doris Zhao Lynna Lang Tinchi Ngan