Natco 2005...

When I was first asked if I could chair the Egyptian Natco I was very hesitant, the main reason being that I had had a chairing experience before when I chaired the Maltese NLDS, it was probably one of the most satisfying AIESEC experience I have ever had, and I did not really want to ruin this picture I still had in my head....... the second reason being that I had left AIESEC 7months ago, and did not remember any of those things a chair usually remembers......

Anyway eventually I decided to agree, and after one hour of intense convincing my boss also agreed to give me the day off.....

The experience was great..... yeah, I still didn't remember any of those roll calls and stuff, and yeah I did not really feel the AIESEC feeling and motivation etc etc, but I did feel the spirit of the people..... I did understand sparkle in their eyes when they spoke about realizing more exchanges about goals etc etc and above all I really felt the excitement and nervousness the candidates felt both the ones running for President and the ones for vice-president!!

I have realized that Chairing is pretty much the same as teaching, you have to keep your audiences' attention, you have to motivate them to learn and act and you can also have good laughs and chats with them - I guess that is why I love teaching so much, I love seeing my students looking forward to come to class, I love having a laugh with them, practicing my Arabic with them during the breaks etc !!!!

One great thing about the conference was also that Jen Harwood was there!!! Jen and i had been meeting once every 6 months for the past 4 years, since the first time we met in IC in Switzerland!!!! It was so nice to see her again, see that she is well, and see that she still kept her great spirit and personality!! I wonder where life will take us in the next 6months, and whether we will be able to meet again!!!

Finally this experience was great!!!! Although you had to be mega careful about the culture, and you definitely cannot do the things we did in Malta or Belgium, you could still have a good laugh without people acting out sex positions, or licking chocolate off each other, or getting really drunk during conferences and having kissing competitions etc!!!!!!

I guess this is also one of the things i love most about the Egyptian culture........

And now i am suffering the after conference consequences, though for the 1st time in 8yrs i could not take a day off after the conference, or scive lectures, i had to turn up at work nice and bright the following morning to work!!!! You can just imagine what a sight that was.....