Handel's MESSIAH

"Handel is the greatest composer

who ever lived.

I would bare my head

and kneel at his grave"

-- L.v. Beethoven (1824)

In some Christian theology that I have read... Satan (the Devil) was an Arch-angel in heaven, and not just any old Arch-angel but THE Arch-angel! He was known as Lucifer Morningstar and was in charge of music in heaven. As the angel in charge of praise to the Almighty God, he commanded the Cherubs and Seraphs and all the other hosts of heaven in daily praise and worship to God Almighty.

His rank was above that of Michael, Arch-angel of war; Gabriel, Seraphiel and all the other angels. He was the top dog! Which is probably why according to these texts, he let it all get to his head and was cast out for the sin of Pride.

My point is that music was/is recognized as a powerful...very powerful tool and medium for spiritual experiences. Up to the degree that the choir master in heaven was considered the most powerful being after the Supreme Deity Himself. When I used to attend church regularly in Nigeria, the praise and worship session was always the best part for me.

I was caught up in the magic of music in a really special way when I attended the Auckland Choral performance of Handel's MESSIAH on Monday December 18.

What an experience.

4 lead singers (Soprano; Soprano-Mezzo; Bass and; Tenor)

24-member orchestra playing 2 types of violin, viola, cello, bass, oboe, Basson, Trumpet, and a Timpani

1 Piano organ concernist

130 strong choir (46 Sopranos; 20 Tenors; 48 Altos and; 26 bass)

And of course proceedings were directed by the slightly balding rake-thin conductor!

One thing that struck me is that performing and producing such music as those singers and orchestra did requires intense concentration and they are under a lot of pressure to deliver.

The Auckland town hall where the performance took place looks like a majestic old church with a huge stage that sloped up and was set with seats where the 130-strong choir sat. The orchestra sat in a sort of 'pit' right below the choir seats, still on the stage while the conductor had his piano nearest the edge of the stage. The orchestra were arrayed in a loose semi-circle round him.

All four lead singers sat on chairs on stage and took turns to sing different parts of the composition. And when they were not singing, sat down in their chairs. The Soprano was this beautiful young lady and when she was not singing... had this intense look of concentration on her face, listening to the other lead singers or the choir. Ditto for the other leads as well.

But when they got up and started to sing... a startling change came over their faces as they sang. Most members of the audience had rapturous looks on their faces all through but the look of... ecstasy on the Sopranos face as she sang... My God!

If you havent heard Handel's MESSIAH in its entirety... I suggest you do. It captures the essence of what Christmas (and Christianity) is. The birth of a saviour for the redemption of the world. It doesnt matter what your particular beliefs are. Soak your soul into the music and let it take you on paths hirtherto unknown.

Golden Jubilee of True Love...

Prof and Mrs JF Ade Ajayi



















"...and may you meet the bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh"

So said my Aunt, Mrs Christie Ade Ajayi when I called her up in October to wish her hearty congratulations on staying with the same man for 50 years!

Yep! You read right! Prof. and Mrs Jacob Festus & Christie Ade Ajayi celebrated FIVE DECADES of marriage in October 2006. That is more time on this earth than MOST PEOPLE who have ever visited my blog (or generally visit blogs) have lived.

But who exactly is this couple? And what do they mean to me?

My Dad has nine brothers and one sister (officially). My late Grandfather had two wives (very normal back in those days... and still a common practice in Nigeria even till this day) and between both wives they managed to have more than 15 children. Of which maybe 4 or 5 did not make it to adulthood. (High infant mortality in those days)

Prof JF Ade Ajayi is the first son and 'heir' if you will, to my late Granpappy who was the King's secretary and a very important man in the town back then. Being the first son of such a huge and respected family meant a lot of responsibility and high expectations. Expectations he has met many many times over and responsibility he has shouldered with grace and magnanimous humility.

Big words I know. But the man himself would expect no less from me. A Professor Emeritus of History, former Vice-Chancellor of a University and world renowned academic and leading scholar. But I am guessing... that he would count his more successful roles as a husband and father of five. Married to the formidable "Mummy 1" as we all call her, my aunt who is a leading early childhood psychology and learning expert in her own right; and writer of children's books, this couple is one of the prime reasons (together with my own parents) I belive in true love.

I mean... it cant be easy to stay married to the same person for half a century right? You have to be in love, true unconditional love to do it. Strong enough to weather the inevitable rough patches, worries, highs and lows wedded life must bring. Especially in these present times of increased divorce rates and selfish individuals who dont know the meaning of sacrifice anymore.

My earliest memories of Prof and his wife are going to their nice quarters in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria where my aunt had (and still has) some of the coolest literature for a 6 year old boy who absolutely loved to read. And there always seemed to be an endless supply of cookies and soda. And lunch there was always such a stately affair, with my mum always telling me to stop slouching and sit straight and my aunt more concerned with if I had enough meat on my plate!




With their offspring from Left: Bisi-Interior Designer; Yetunde-Lawyer; Niyi-Pediatric Surgeon; Titi-Architect; Funmi-Investment Banker. 5 of their very many successful collaborations together

My uncle retired (but being an Emeritus still retained his office in the university) and they moved in the late 80's i think, to this stately white house where I was to spend a lot of my formative years as an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan.

Nigeria being a collective society, moving away from home to University doesnt actually qualify as 'flying the coop'. If you have relatives in the same city you are expected to go there every Sunday at the very least and eat lunch . I took it to the extreme at a point and abandoned 'my digs' in the University halls of residence and just went from Prof's house to my lectures. I ate better at any rate and could always borrow my aunt's old car from time to time for the odd date or party in town. And with her permission most of the time too (cheeky grin!)

This was the funny thing. My aunt is generally considered to be a "tough old cookie" who didnt brook nonsense from anybody but I somehow ALWAYS found it eaiser to ask those outreageous favors (like borrowing the car for the whole night) from her than from my uncle. Prof. spent (and still spends I guess) a huge amount of time in his study which consisted of a 2-floor library and some 2-3 staff to run it. The University History department used to ask permission to do research in the library for crying out loud! Walking to the study door and knocking to disturb my uncle was always a second choice thats for sure. Never the most expressive of men, my uncle would peer out at me from over the top of his reading glasses and I could never be sure what he was thinking exactly. He never wasted words either. I definitely prefered 'bothering' my aunt. At least with her, you knew EXACTLY where you stood!

But at the same time, I pride myself on being able to chat quite extensively with my Uncle. I especially remember one conversation about slavery and how hollywood movies seemed to make out that all slave owners had this really harmonious relationship with their slaves back then. This when we watched the Mel Gibson movie, "The Patriot" together.

As you celebrate this huge huge milestone, I would like this to be my own tribute to a couple who have meant many things to very many people but most especially to me, for being the kindly 'grandparents' who tolerated my excesses and remain an inspiration to me and a shining example of how I want to live my life.

Happy 50th wedding anniversary "Daddy and Mummy UI"!

I take on board my aunt's prayer for me that may I find "...bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh" and spend at least a half century with her as well. (I actually might already have!)
Simone on the NZ MC made a post on her blog recently about her parent's 25th wedding anniversary (i think) and I remember thinking at the time, "very impressive Simone, (which it is) let me introduce you to my uncle and aunt one of these days, or even to my parents who also celebrate 40 years next year in 2007."



The "Tribe of Jacob"! (Surrounded by kids, in-laws and grandkids)

My Native Guy... Is Getting Hitched

Oghenejiro Izreal Otiotio just got married!

Everyone calls him Ejiro. And his close friends call him "Tiny". Dont ask me why!

I first met Ejiro in Feb 1999 at an AIESEC conference. I had this really great joke on paper and was passing it round the whole conference. People were doubling up in laughter every single time. I approached Ejiro who was an LCP (and I was a fresh faced newie) gave him the paper with the joke on it, he read it without the slightest expression on his face, handed it back to me and said, "yeah... so?"

I hated him instantly.

I discovered I would have to get in line to kill him as he sort of brought out that kind of emotion in people. He typifies the statement, "Love him or hate him, you cant ignore him". And I do believe a lot of girls 'loved' him quite frequently.

He came to my University shortly afterwards for a President's meeting and I was supposed to be his official chaperone. I confirmed my initial assessment of him as one of the most arrogant people to walk the face the earth but he also showed why his friends were fiercely loyal to him.

He was and still is one of the most brilliant and intelligent persons i know, he was almost always right and was never afraid to push forward his ideas. Even at the risk of alienating the whole country. He showed almost no grace in conceding when he was proved wrong on a point but most choleric individuals never do. That was back then. In the intervening years, it has been amazing to see how Ejiro has become a bit more mellowed and tolerant of other people's views.

I spent a period of 3 months on the road with Ejiro in the summer of 2000 when he was an MC member and I was a support member of the MC. Funny, exasperating, loyal, downright born for leadership and I came to be one of his loyal 'acolytes' in this period. Although he did admit once (not to me) that I was one of the very few people who could stand up to him.

Now Ejiro is getting married.

I have spoken to Obehi his bride, although i havent met her and I have a sneaking suspicion he might just have found his soul mate. They do make a lovely couple on the wedding invitation do they not?

In Nigeria, a term used instead of 'buddy' is 'my guy'. This indicates a closer level of friendship more than ordinary. And I was very honored when Ejiro said I wasnt just his 'guy' but I was his "native guy".

As you take this all important step my native guy, may you have more kids than your dad did, and may the strength of your arm be sufficiently strong enough to be a loving father and perfect husband. AMEN

You can visit Ejiro's wedding website here
Ejiro's happy day of joy has made me nostalgic about when I will be able to have mine. Tope and I have to start making some concrete plans on taking that next step. God Help me... why am I so far away from her?

Patient in the ER

Some really ghastly pictures of me in the hospital. I looked like a patient in ER... well actually I WAS a patient in Auckland City Hospital ER. But I meant "ER" the series. Hehehehe...

Two things I learnt/confirmed while in hospital

- I am an incurable optimist
- On certain issues, I accept my father's views/decisions without question!

Gosh! I look really terrible in these pictures. Why the hell am I posting them for the whole world to see??!!

A Life-Changing Experience

Its amazing how much your life can change in 7 days

And no... I did not attend an AIESEC conference. On Wednesday November 29, at about 1300 NZT, I had what is in medical terms known as a Pulmonary Embolism.

You and I would call it a minor heart attack.

And before you break out in a sweat or start crying, I am stable and even back home, which is where I am obviously blogging about this. I have spent the last 7 days in the Auckland City Hospital being prodded, poked, run through scans and listening to the infernal midnight snoring of the nice gentleman in the same room as I was.

It all started last Monday, when I developed a pain in my leg. My left leg to be exact in the calf region. It felt like I had strained the muscle there and the pain was sufficiently severe enough that I was walking with a very pronounced limp. "This is the damndest thing" I thought to myself and when nobody seemed to have a clue what was wrong, I decided I would go and see the doctor on Tuesday.
However, waking up on Tuesday the pain was very reduced and I rubbed my left calf down with some Chinese balm and postponed my trip to the doctor's. Wednesday, I woke up to clean my apartment and found that I was having to stop every 5 minutes to catch my breath. "What the hell is wrong with me" I thought to myself as I leaned on the dining table gasping for breath and with the vacuum cleaner annoying the hell out of me with its loud noise.

I took a shower and felt slightly better, got dressed and made my way into town to meet with a friend for coffee at 11am. I start work at 1pm NZT and so had 2 hours to kill with my friend. I eventually spent an hour and a half with her and made my way to the library to return some books before walking to the Fonterra building.

Auckland happens to be a very hilly kind of city with a lot of really steep roads and the Fonterra building sits on the top of what must be one of the steepest roads in Auckland. I got to the bottom of this steep road and decided to take the elevator in a public car park on the road which would place me halfway up the steep road and at least on the same level as the basement of Fonterra. (pretty hard to explain if i dont show you some pics. Maybe later)

I was really gasping for breath by the time I got into the elevator and when the elevator started moving, while it wasnt quite all the pain in the world it came very close, it collected in my heart and squeezed! I felt light headed like I had gotten up too fast after sitting down for a long while and although I have never fainted in my life, I knew this was exactly what was about to happen to me. "Not in the elevator, Ladi! Not in the frigging elevator" I thought furiously to myself. "Get out to where somewhere can see you". I managed to stumble out into the carpark and lean against a car. I was sweaty and gasping for air and it felt like my chest was about to explode. My heart was beating that fast! And I couldnt stop thinking about how much I wanted to pee.

After about 10mins, my breathing seemed to come under control and I whipped out my phone to call into work and tell them I was on my way to the hospital. I should have tried to call an ambulance instead! My plan was to walk up the rest of the steep hill - taking it very slowly - and take a taxi from the Hyatt Hotel which was right opposite the Fonterra building.

I never made it.

I started to make my way up and knew immediately it was a mistake. My heart started to beat really fast again and I started gasping for air. These 2 chinese boys passed by me and looked at me as if to say, "...a bit early to be drinking matey". Halfway up the road, I came over all light headed again and the pain squeezed really harder this time in my chest. I looked around me and saw this one gentleman coming up way behind me, smiled, sat myself down on the road, put my head back and passed out!

You know how hollywood movies have people who are unconscious hearing voices as if from a VERY long way away? And how the voices slowly come into focus? Well... hollywood was spot on!!! When the voices came into focus, I was still on the ground and was surrounded by lots of people.

"Is he breathing"
"He's got a swipe card that looks like one of ours"
"What do you mean he just sat down and passed out"
"He's very cold"
"Roll him onto his side so he can breathe"
"Can you hear me buddy?"
"Hey, I know him! His name is Ladi and he works on my team"

This last was from Daniel, a colleague of mine who was also making his way to work. He called out my name and I was able to grunt out... something. By this time the ambulance had come and I was able to get up with some help and get into the back.

To cut this story short, blood clots were discovered in my left leg, some of which had broken off made their way to my lungs and blocked some vital valve and put my poor heart under pressure. So my vital organs are fine. The blood clots just blocked vital passageways and put everything on high alert! And now this the damndest thing...! They know what is wrong with me and they know how to fix it. But no one seems to have the faintest idea WHY I have blood clots in the first place.

According to the doctors (and the internet) the following are the most likely causes for Deep Vein Thrombosis (or clots in the blood)

- Preganant Women in their third trimester (I dont think I am preganant)
- Women on contraceptive pills (female over-35s' who smoke are more suspectible)
- If you have recently had surgery and been holed up in bed for an extended period
- If you take a Long haul flight (older people 65+ are more suspectible)

Or generally if you are immobile and your blood does not circulate properly.

People who have been hospitalized for long periods are suspectible to it Considering that I have been very active in the last 5 months (I joined a gym for Christ's sake!!!) the doctors were very very puzzled. My Long Haul Flight to New Zealand five months ago does not count as the clots generally make their move a day or two or at most a week after the flight.
It could also be genetic but I have been speaking to my parents and no one of my grandparents or uncles or aunties or anyone in the immediate extended (oxymoron?) family have died from a heart attack. My dad is pushing 70 and is healthy and my grandparents died from natural causes at well over 90. Its the damndest thing!

Now I am on blood thinning tablets and will be for 3-6 months. The tablets stop any more clots from forming while my body deals with the ones already there. I had a filter inserted into the major vein leading to my heart and lungs to stop any more clots reaching there. Dont worry, its not as gross as it sounds. It was a 'minor procedure' and I cant feel there is anything there, thank God!

No more alcohol while I am on the tablets, no rough and tumble games or extreme sports as I dont want to start bleeding and not have my blood able to clot and stop the bleeding. No long haul flight in the immediate future and oh yeah... there might be something wrong with my blood but existing clots have to disappear first as any blood test taken now will obviously be negative. If they do find anything wrong, i Might have to be on the tablets for a very extended period! Like the rest of my life!!!!!!

Amazing how much your life can change in the space of a week!

At my age (25) you think you are bullet-proof and particularly for AIESEC members we put our bodies through so much punishment and deprivation at conferences, traveling and living out of a suitcase and so on... and you think you can go on forever!

I would like to acknowledge the love, support and concern I have received in the last one week. I have only been here for five months but I had a steady stream of visitors from AIESEC, work and friends I had made outside work and AIESEC.

My two flatmates have been ABSOLUTELY fantastic! Mialy and Cristiane have been my surrogate family here. Worrying on my behalf and making sure I had an easier time of it. Thanks guys, you are starting to mean a whole lot to me.

Vicki, my darling 'boss' at work. I have to marry her. As I have fallen in love with her. And dont blame me. I was pretty vulnerable and she was and has been very supportive! Haha

Xing Hua, my new friend. This incident has brought us closer together and I am very happy that all my instincts about you were correct.

Ying, you were the one of the first on the 'scene' and those muffins and cupcakes you sneaked in couldnt have tasted better!
Auckland EB; all my colleagues from work and every single text message I have received from around the world (I will probably receive more after this post) Thank you all for the concern and love and support.

And if you have a funny pain in your leg, better check it out!!!

The Life of the Party...

Loads and Loads of fun!

Thats what the Fonterra party turned out to be. It was billed to start at 7:30pm but my flatmates and I, together with 2 other colleagues arrived there at about 9pm. To a fully packed house! And I was sufficiently dressed up enough to get a loud cheering and sustained applause as soon I stepped into the hall! Talk about a grand entrance!

Red Jacket a la "Thriller"; Gangster Hat a la "Smooth Criminal"; Skin tight leather pants a la 'Bad' and; White gloves a la live stage performances and I was looking the part! (Minus the lightened skin of course but hey! This was MJ from the eighties right?!)

Unfourtunately they had played "Thriller" already and the damn DJ didnt play it again despite repeated requests. So the 3 hours i spent watching the Thriller video over and over again learning the moves just went to waste!!!
He did play "Beat it" and i can only say I have a much better appreciation of entertainers now! It is frigging hard work!!! I was positively exhausted after dancing all alone in the middle of the crowd for the duration of the song!

I had half drunk ladies coming to rub their hands over my skin tight leather pants and there was this particular lady who kept telling me (and everyone else) how hot I looked and blowing me kisses all night! I DID NOT catch her name never mind her number. Bugger!

And to crown it all, I got the award for "Best Dance Moves". Award which turned out to be a 50 dollar gift certificate for a fancy restaurant in central Auckland. Since the costume cost me 59 dollars to rent... I guess I still made a loss!

But here are some of the pictures to prove what a wonderful night it was. I am currently uploading a whole bunch of others on Flickr. So check my flickr badge to the right in a couple of hours or something...




So Here is the great Michael Jackson rehearsing his dance moves before going to the Fonterra Xmas Party... notice the subtle twist of the legs? That is the true mark of a dancing genius






















And there he is living it up in the middle of the dance floor. His adoring fans loving every single electric move...






















This fan asked for a personal photograph with our star and he was his ever obliging self...





















But then she tried to steal a kiss! Much to the chagrin of our adorable Star!!!







CLASH OF THE TITANS!!!



Manchester United host MY club in a few hours in what the media has billed the most important game Manure will play this season. Its also a huge game for us in Chelsea as if we win we go level on points with the Red Devils. If we lose, a six point gap opens up between us. But with more than 20 games still to play and the league not yet halfway through it wouldnt be the end of the world if we did lose! We have played Barcelona already in the Champions League this season and came away with a win and a draw from that.

Having said that, I fully expect Chelsea to win this game and shatter United's self belief and conviction. I made sure I took a nap this afternoon as the game is at 4:55am NZT. I just wish Sanni Muhammed was here to watch the game with me. Or even Segun Sangowawa who is a newly converted Manure fan too. He's always been a wanker anyway! These are two of my good friends from Nigeria.

Rob I know is a Manure fan as well. Ah well... he's a great guy in every other respect. Hehe

Going as Michael Jackson...

Can anyone spot the difference in the pictures above?

Okay Okay... Michael Jackson's transformation over the years must be one of the most documented ones in the history of showbiz. Physical transformation that is! In looking for pictures for this post, I found some pretty amazing before and after pictures of the one time King of Pop!

But being a die-hard Jackson fan (the weird one, not the Middle Earth one!) I couldnt publish those horrible pictures on my blog. And they were pretty horrible. Brought to mind that old joke, "Only in America can a poor black boy grow up to become a rich white woman"

But having said all this, whats all the hullabaloo with MJ all of a sudden?

Well... tomorrow is the company Christmas party in Fonterra and the theme is "Miami Vice - '80s version" or something like that. You are supposed to dress up like characters from the original Miami Vice series or just as someone from the 80s. So I am going as MJ as seen in the Thriller video.

The problem is that every SINGLE person I told I was going as MJ said, "you are not white enough; You will need some foundation; You are going as Michael Jackson while he was still with the Jackson 5???" or some other such comment to drive home the fact that a black man cannot honestly go as Michael Jackson to a costume party! Anymore than my white, 5 foot, mid thirtyish something female boss can go as Will Smith!

I am picking up a red jacket and pants a la Thriller from the costume shop and I had better print a sign and paste it on my back that says, "...MJ from the '80s".

Pictures to follow of course


U2 in New Zealand

I shook Bono's hand today.

Okay I didnt. But I could have.
U2 are in New Zealand for concert and they are staying in the Hyatt Hotel which is right opposite the Fonterra Building. And which incidentally is where i go to gym. Going to work this morning, there was a small crowd gathered at the entrance of the hotel waiting to catch a glimpse of the band. I thought about going for an impromptu gym session right there and then, but figured that Bono and co. would more likely be in the bar.. or more realistically have the bar brought up to their suite!!!

Right about now, Bono and the rest of his band are thrilling thousands of kiwis while I am stuck here still nursing the after-effects of my lung infection and flu. Well... they are playing tomorrow night again but tickets sold out months ago and besides I am off to my party!

I wont miss my Saturday morning workout at the Hyatt. You never know!!!

Where's that Tequila Bottle...?

It's going to be a long month...

I am broke.

How in blazes did it happen?

I have been indoors for the last 6 days nursing my flu and swollen/infected air bags and of course I am running out of groceries.

I start back at work tomorrow Wednesday anyway so I go online to check how much of my paycheck I have left over from last payday. Maybe I can go to Foodtown tomorrow morning and do some shopping before I start my shift in the afternoon.

Damn account looks like it took a hit from one of those smart bombs the US Army used to such deadly effect to flush out Al-Qeada operatives from the caves of Afghanistan in 2002!!!

Friends, I get paid on the 15th of the month; not the end! So you can understand my cause for concern! After making sure I wasnt the victim of some internet fraud (i would have sued Norton and the whole Symantec company), i finally realized how many bills I paid this month!

Biggest chunk of course is house rent which usually takes about under a quarter of my whole salary. I say "usually" because this month it took more! We pay weekly rent and i usually just transfer 4 weeks worth to my flatmate who makes the payment. But November has 5 weeks in it so...

Phone, Electricity, Sky TV; these I share with my flatmates but still! We have managed to bring down electricity costs every month which is fantastic and with summer here already... it should only get lower. I Hope. We dont use the clothes dryer anymore which is good right?

New Computer - Yep! I am still paying for my snazzy new computer. I bought it on a hire-rental pay every month basis kinda thing. Have 4 more payments to make i think. Sheesh!!!

Debt - even the USA is in debt, dont laugh. I made yet another payment to my legion of debtors. Been paying one off every month since I got here. And there is one that I might have been taking for granted a bit. If you are reading this, you know yourself. We will have a conversation about this ASAP!

And of course, this illness of mine hasnt exactly been free. It comes cheap at the price but I really must get medical insurance. If I had invested in medical insurance at the beginning. I would have been able to claim this back now. The Irony now is that i will get cover for a year and not sneeze for the entire year!!!

But what I am complaining about????

I worked for one year without pay on the Nigerian MC, honed my money management skills at the feet of Maria "Gotzamani" Johansson in Stockholm, frankly now that I think about it... I just wont be able to afford to go out at the weekends!!! So what?! I will host a party at my nice apartment instead!

Where is that tequila bottle and the salt shaker?!

When Life Throws You Lemons...

"When Life throws you lemons... get some salt and tequila and call me over.."

What happened to the ol "...make some lemonade" part? hehehehehehehehehe. I got the above twist to the Life n Lemon saying from Rina Macharia who I spent an absolutely wonderful 3 hours chatting with yesterday. Up until 2am NZ time.

It was actually quite an interesting chat. Both in content and manner.
Content - We spoke about love, life, sex and future dreams. Pretty intense conversation wouldnt you say?
And Manner - it was normal MSN typing at first, then she called me up on Skype. But since I didnt have a microphone, she did all the talking while i typed my responses on MSN!!! Very very funny. Thank you very much Rina for cheering me up and being with me at quite the low period!

And where have I been all this while? Been in training for the last 4 weeks at work. Induction training I should have attended when I started my traineeship but which I (and the remaining 3 interns) missed in July.

And oh! I also managed to fall sick with the flu and get a lung infection.

Been such a long while since I was this sick and in this much pain. It all started last week Monday when I woke up and felt like I had been mugged in my sleep. My ribs hurt, My left hamstring tweaked with pain when I stretched it and my right wrist felt like I had slept on it and sprained it. "After-effects from the intense session at the gym on Sunday", I thought to myself. Nothing to worry about.

But then a slight fever and a scratchy throat on Tuesday night let me know I had caught the flu. I left work slighty earlier than usual on Wednesday as we had a field trip to one of the Fonterra factories and pack-plants on Thursday and I had been really looking forward to the trip.

I am glad I made it for the trip on Thursday but maybe if I hadnt, it wouldnt have been this bad. High fever on Thursday night and in the middle of the night, breathing while lying down suddenly became intensely painful!!! I called in sick in the morning and spent the whole day trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. Friday night was absolutely horrible. Every breath caused me pain and it was with an effort that I stopped from crying out in pain (ok... maybe I did a few times...) A trip to the General Hospital on Saturday and I was advised to go to a WhiteCross Hospital Clinic where I would get the same consultation for cheaper. (It really sucks not to be accessible to free treatment with my work visa even though I am here for 18 months! Myabe this will spur me to get some damn health insurance at least)

I was diagnosed with plurithic inflammation of the lungs due to a bacterial infection and given some pills to reduce the inflammation and pain. Thank God for the miracles of modern science! I was supposed to go back and take an X-ray if the pain hadnt reduced by today but thank goodness it did.

Do you know you need a good deep breath to cough, laugh and sneeze. These 3 simple actions were denied to me while my lungs were inflamed and hurting like hell!!! Now I am taking a whole bunch of pills and hoping the infection is not a viral one and that i have been able to stave off pneumonia.

Some highlights of the past 3 weeks...

Hosted a party in our apartment for cute little Ana from Ecuador. She made all the food and brought all her friends and it turned into quite the event. We ended up dancing AIESEC songs and singing really badly at the top of our voices. And a group of us headed out to the town where burned up a couple of dance floors. Well... at least I DID!

Induction training. has been a real slog for me. I have been spoiled by all the bright lights and awesome presentations and speakers in AIESEC. While some of the courses I am attending have been really lively with discussions, questions and debates, some have been downright boring and I ashamed to admit that I was able to follow a Chelsea game online on the training computers we have in front of us which were connected to the internet.
It didnt help that a lot of what was being said, i had managed to pick up while working on the floor already.

My team (Middle East & Africa) had a Friday night out and consensus was that we should definitely try and do it more often. I had the most interesting conversation with my manager about... well... a whole variety of topics. Nothing like a couple (or 4) vodka martinis to break the ice between you and your boss! I ended up with 2 other colleagues at a very classy wine restaurant where I met this most passionate Chinese woman. She loves classical music and we spoke about living and growing up in communist China. Having lived in NZ for 10 years, it was quite amazing to hear some of her views on capitalism and all.

Induction Training Field Trip. Since this was my second trip to a Fonterra factory and pack plant. The main Highlight for me on this trip I have to admit was the bus ride back from the factory site.
We drove about an hour and a half to Hamilton to the Fonterra Te Rapa Powder Factory and my colleagues had tried to get me to entertain them on the trip there. I largely ignored them as I was still trying to get enough energy to get through the day.
On the trip back however, I was sufficiently psyched up enough to sing, tell jokes and entertain to everyone's delight on the bus. There were 12 of us on the bus and it was quite a varied bunch. Uruguay, India, South Africa, Argentina, Colombia, Kiwi, Malaysia, Japan... might as well have been an AIESEC after conference study tour!

I taught them how to play "Bitches Bitches" and there were various other games as well. Some of them quite flowery and boy-scoutly (I went to the shop and bought...) and others that had "pussy" as the main theme! Women outnumbered the boys on the bus ladies and gentlemen! We all agreed that we had to get together again as a group and re-play some of the games. But this time with lots and lots of alchohol!!!

So I am stuck at home for the next couple of days. Resting, taking pills and getting lots of fluids. Doctor's orders! I am already complety bored. And I should probably call work and speak to my supervisor at work who is covering for me while I am away. Just in case there are any issues.

I hope everyone is healthy and taking some tequila shots with the occassional lemons thrown at you by Life.

PS
I might take a trip to Thailand after the New Year

The "Yavert" and I

Emma Gavert.

Her last name is actually spelt with the Swedish "a" which has two dots on the top. And it is pronounced "Yah Vert" ... I don't have a Swedish keyboard (anymore) and this is very important that you know how to pronounce her last name properly!

Because you see, most of you reading this will not have had the pleasure and privilege of knowing Emma like I do. So the least I can do for you all is to teach you how to pronounce her name properly!

This post has been a long while in coming. There has been a lot of opportunity for me to reflect on my time in Sweden and the people who have become integral parts of my life from that experience.

Friend. Sister. Boss. Colleague. Major pain in the ass. Leader of the team in more ways than one. Constant source of inspiration and irritation. (in equal parts)

Emma was the National President of AIESEC in Sverige in the "...Year of balance and pure excellence". The year of the Diamonds. Together with Maria Klockar Johansson and Amit Desai, we four constituted the National Executive Board of AIESEC in Sweden 2005/2006.



What a kick-ass picture! Of a KICKASS TEAM!!!


She might not know this or maybe not REALLY comprehend the significance, but Emma changed my life when she selected me to be her teammate in Sweden. I was coming off the back of not being selected for a second term in AIESEC Nigeria, had applications to a couple of other AIESEC countries turned down when Emma called me in early 2005 and told me I would be joining her in Stockholm.

One of the most opioniated persons I know, Emma is an individual that wears her heart on her sleeve. Typically Swedish and yet seeming to break all stereotypes, this blonde beauty does not hesitate to write off anyone who does not meet up to her extremely high standards but is ALWAYS willing to give people a second and even a third chance! (You would probably be dead already by her hand if you are asking for a fourth chance!)

A hard taskmaster... Emma would never expect something from someone that she wouldnt be able to do herself. If Emma asked for a goddamn breakdown of meetings attended by the Sales people in the local committees over a 6 month period, week by freaking week... You know she would be willing to prepare such detailed data herself without batting an eyelid.

Her grasp of complex issues and a well thought out plan to constantly inspire and make her teammates innovate was one of her key leadership skills. She had an opinion on everything and yet... if she hadnt made up her mind about an issue, she would be quiet and gather more information before making a statement. And if she didnt know. She told you straight out!

And yet there was a playful side to Emma as well.

Getting drunk in Handelshogskolan (forgive the lack of Swedish letters guys!) and getting wheeled down Odengatan in a shopping cart by Maria...

Pulling funny faces at team meetings in the middle of AIESEC Experience discussions...






Always ready to ensure delegates at the conferences we ran, went away with amazing memories from the parties... and being the life of the party...






Getting us all to do the craziest things on board the cruise to Helsinki... (i just had to share this picture Emma... the more scandalous ones are locked away! I promise!!!)




Emma, thank you for an amazing year of my life... You are definitely one of those who has contributed to where I am today.

Mentally - for the amazing experience of driving positive leadership in AIESEC Sverige
Physically - for trying all year to get me to exercise some more... (I do now)
Geographically - For the glowing recommendation you gave me in the 1 hour phone-call with Fonterra
Emotionally - for teaching me how to better appreciate those you love through your loving devotion to Karol, your parents and brothers and sister

I love you very much Emma. Not all MC teams can say it but I have been very lucky in making friends that can call on me anytime, anywhere in the world. And I will answer.








XXX

I coulda been scoring goals in Chelsea

I just thought I should share this action photo of the football play we had in the park after action paintball the other weekend.

If you know your football, you will see the natural grace and athleticsm in the tackle I am about to inflict on one of the AIESEC Auckland members...

I swear if my dear mother hadnt insisted on a University degree, I could have been right alongside Didier Drogba scoring over 20 goals a season.
There would have been no need for Sheva to come to Stamford Bridge and I would probably have 2 world cups, a champions league and 2 Premiership titles under my belt already!!!

hehehehehehehe. Who am I Kidding?!!

You can check out AIESEC Auckland's blog for their take on our fun-filled weekend

Finally... A Computer of My own

They came in boxes...























The Work station had to be put together first... (No IKEA but a lot of DIY stuff still available)...






I have to say, it doesnt come naturally to put stuff together but I look good holding a hammer and the instructions... I think






And Voila! My new workstation complete with the work and station is ready!




BOY AM I GLAD OR WHAT?! So this is where regular updates will be typed and sent out to the blogosphere. More on why I chose a desktop later.

A party, a pub-crawl and paintball...

Its one thing to to be with your mates/friends/people generally in your age range and have the lot of you acting like you were 10 years younger. Actually I would go so far as to say there is nothing more rewarding and satisfying to relive tension and have a good time.

But when you are in your mid to late twenties (still not that old I know...) and you are in a group where the average age is 17-18, you will still find it hard going quite a bit.

Which is the position I found myself on Friday last week at my AIESEC buddy's party. Oh, dont get me wrong, i mixed it up like mad and had a good conversation with one girl in particular. (it helped that she was drop-dead gorgeous... even if she wont return my calls now...:) But when they started doing body shots with whipped cream and tequila shots... i felt so out of place. I was invited to 'body-shot' off a nice looking 19 year old but gracefully declined with a smile on my face. Ah Well... Twas a good coming-of-age party and Yifan the birthday girl in question had a smashing time... (key word here is 'Smashing(ed)

Mialy and I were together and we met up with James Rowland one of the AIESECers who was on a pub crawl with a bunch of his non-AIESEC friends. They were half-way through when we met up with them so we crawled through 5 or 6 pubs before heading home. It helped that James and his friends were Beer Conneissours (is that how it is spelled?) and so were able to give us the history, reputation and pedigree of the beer on sale. Pretty frigging amazing! Who would have guesses that the ordinary looking vintage ale I had had inspired a great work of art!!!

Ended up dancing at the viaduct, a really snazzy complex on the waterfront with quite a few bars and clubs there. Got dancing with this seemingly young Asian woman but when i went out for air and got a blast of cold icy wind to clear my head, she looked all her 40 years (at least!) heheheheheheheheh

But the highlight of the whole weekend was the Action Paint ball.




It is going to be a long hard road to get rid of war and violence in this world of ours. As if it is not enough that there are such divisive factors as religion, ethnicity and pure power plays, some will also instigate it for profit but a whole lot of people will just want to go to war for the sheer adrenaline rush!!!

We were dressed in long overalls and had protective helmets to protect our eyes from the water-based paint balls which travel about 250 feet a second! According to the staff there, one of those balls hits your eyes and your eye-balls will definitely be on the losing side. Say bye-bye eye-ball!

There were 18 people in total in our group and we split up into 2 groups along the lines of ICX and OGX. We got suited up in the overalls and protective helmets, got the safety run through by our designated 'referee' who was going to take us through each of the 'games'.

A few minutes on the target range and we were ready!The guns are specially constructed with gas cylinders attached which turns the paint-balls (which are about half the size of a ping-pong ball) into such deadly projectiles.

We played five different 'games' which all had to do with variations of either capturing a main flag and planting it in the opposing team's base or planting your own flag on a hill and defending for a certain time period.

Pic below is me striding confidently to the OGX team base to wipe the flag in their faces after we had eliminated all of them...















In one or two of the games, we had recurring lives which meant when you got tagged (have a paintball explode on some part of your body leaving a large splotch), you had to scream "TAG" and rush to your base get cleaned up and rush back into the fray. In the particular game above, we had only one life each so when you got tagged, you went to your base and stayed there!

Needless to say, my team (ICX) won four out of the five games.

Did I mention how painful it was to have those paintballs explode on ANY part of your body? Some really nasty bruises were sustained and we could all see how one could lose an eye in the game! Quite a number of the girls vowed never to play again! (and I am sure some of the guys as well, albeit quietly!)

In the picture below, i am under heavy fire and have the popping of the air guns flying over my head! You have to experience the adrenaline rush to understand what I am on about!

A sucker for "BlogThings..."

I am such a sucker for these "BlogThings". Especially when they are this flattering

(I am living and have been living my dreams for quite a while now so I dont mind paragraph two quite as much)

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are a warm hearted and open minded person. It's easy for you to forgive and forget. You are not a very grounded person. You prefer dreams to reality. For you, it's all about possibilities. You believe that people see you as larger than life and important. While this is true, they also think you're a bit full of yourself. Your near future is likely to be filled with great successes and accomplishments. You just need to figure out how to get there. For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

And check out this one... At least now I am convinced they cheat on these things. They probably just looked at where I was using the internet from and pronto...

You Belong in New Zealand

Good on ya, mate You're the best looking one of the bunch Though you're often forgotten... You're quite proud of who you are

What English Speaking Country Are You?

And to wrap it all up... I am red, cute, furry and good to hug...

You Are Elmo

Sweet and innocent, you expect everyone to adore you. And they usually do! You are usually feeling: Talkative. You've got tons of stories to tell. And when you aren't talking, you're laughing. You are famous for: Being popular, though no one knows why. Middle aged women especially like you. How you life your life: With an open heart. "Elmo loves you!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

So go on then... if you haven't ever visited it before go to Blogthings and waste the entire morning! (I am wasting the tail end of working Friday!)

A weekend to look forward to...

Interesting weekend lined up

First tomorrow evening my AIESEC buddy Yifan is celebrating her 21st birthday. She's from Malaysia and has a Korean boyfriend so lots of pretty Asian girls certain to be there. Hoohah!

Then same Friday evening, there is a "Pub Crawl" on the books. What back home in Lagos, we used to call, "Club Hopping"! Organized by James Rowland one of the AIESEC people, I am looking forward to it. Last time I was out with James, I kinda 'got lucky'. Lets see this time....

Saturday, AIESEC Auckland have a paintball session lined up. This is where we all dress up in protective clothing and helmets, get a paintball gun, load it up with paint-balls and we attempt to splat as many opponents as we can! Heard a lot about this, cant wait to try it out. There is also some soccer and fish n chips planned. Havent been as involved in the LC as I would have liked, so glad for this opportunity to mix up with the LC members.

And then on Sunday, we have been invited to a picnic at the foot of a volcano (same one I slid down into the crater see post here) by a former MCP of AIESEC in NZ, Jessica.

And oh yeah... tomorrow is payday! I get my own computer over this weekend or early next weekend at the very least! Yeehah!

TGIF! (Well it is tomorrow)

Dripping, Soaking, Sogging Wet...

I got caught in the rain today!

What a glorious, wonderful, fantastic feeling! I had almost forgotten what it felt like to have the rain beating down on you, heavy enough that it obscures your vision (and if you wear glasses, they get steamed up); have every single item of clothing on you soaked through right down to your underwear and your socks and shoes. The clothes stick to your skin and your shoes squelch.
You feel like every care and sorrow is being washed away and in its place is a sense of renewal, well-being and content. I have always loved the scene in the movie Shawshank Redemption (pic above) where Tim Robbins makes it out of the prison and raises his arm to the heavens.

Little children who are said to be nearer to all things elemental, instinctively recognize this fact and absolutely delight in running around in the rain laughing, screaming and trying to make the biggest splashes in the rapidly forming puddles. At least until the grown-ups break up the party! Anyone do that in their childhood? I find a lot of parents these days are too scared of common little things like colds!

So if you ever feel down and a bit in the dumps, try looking for a good tropical torrential downpour (okay... a temprate one will do as well) and go out into it fully clothed. Walk around, take your time and get deliciously soaked!

PS
And when you are done, get out of the clothes, rub yourself down briskly with a nice big fluffy towel and get into dry clothes. Or you might catch your death of cold!

A body like Usher's

No I do not have a crush on Usher.

I HAVE always wished though that I had the kind of body he has! Not the fat one I have now... well... at least not fat but i could do without the beer gut I have now :)

Anyway I joined a gym the other day and its a really fancy place (as well it should be as Fonterra is picking up half the bill) and i got a complimentary session with a personal trainer who took my blood pressure, measured the fat content of my entire body and set long and short term goals.

Short term goals were pretty straight forward. Get off your ass and increase your metabolism. And when he asked me what my long term goals were... well I told him i wanted a body like Usher Raymond!

He seemed to find this very funny and he started introducing me to everyone as Usher! I didnt know if i should be offended or...

Anyway I am going to show him up and work at it until I get a six-pack!!! And "work" is the right term too! Boy, is it a lot of work to look like Usher or what? It encompasses everything! Lifestyle, nutrition, diet hanging around positive people... the works!

Now after 2 hardcore sessions, I cant lift my arms! And i keep staggering in the middle of the road as my thighs are so sore! Jose (the personal trainer) assures me its normal and its only my muscles tearing. Thats how you build muscle by the way... you tear them and they heal and become bigger. Jose smugly tells me if i get through the next 6 weeks without running away (or dying) maybe he will put me on Usher's kind of training regime in 6 months!

What a git!

So I am looking for a poster of Usher Raymond to put on my bedroom wall to motivate me (and I have asked Jose if i could have HIS picture so i can throw darts at it every morning before i do my crunches!)

So lets see if I will be able to put a half naked picture of myself on my blog in...(Boo Hoo!) 6-9 months!

//eL

Who Are Those Responsible for Where You Are?

I got an email from Amit the other day and he was telling about the pre-meeting they had with the Chair of International Congress 2006.

He asked them a very intriguing question, "Who are the people responsible for your being here today?" 'Here' being current position and stage in life. It got me thinking...

...and then on Erica Cleofe's blog, she had posts about certain individuals and had all these quirky ancedotes and stories to tell each person's tale.

A lot of blogs these days seem to rant on about the individual in question. But combine the question i got from Amit... and Erica's posts, i think i am on to something here. I have started going through my picture gallery, sitting down in reflection and trying to decide who are those individuals who have made me who I am today? And not neccesarily those who have made me grow as a person but those who have touched my life with their particular brand of magic in the last... 3-5 years?

So I will copy Erica's idea... reflect on Amit's question and try to profile some individuals who have had an impact on my life... and maybe not so much impact but touched me in some other ways!

This is pretty exciting!

By the way... the picture above is the tray of Tequila shots we ordered on Mialy's birthday! 26 in total for 11 people. Supposedly. 4 of us ended up doing the honors. And the scary thing was that after 7 shots of Tequila, i didnt feel a thing!
Dont ask me what this has to do with the subject matter. I am just glad I could upload one damn picture!!! Achtung! I need a computer of my own!!!

An AIESECer in Fonterra

Its Friday and i am feeling all right!

I dont feel like going out tonight. Think I will just curl up in bed and read a good book tonite. But just thought I should share some major highlights of the past couple of weeks!

MIALY BIRTHDAY!
For those of you who dont know, Mialy is my flatmate from Madagascar and she turned 25 on August 26.
Woke her up with breakfast and had a surprise party/dinner for her in a restaurant and then the major highlight of the evening... went to a Korean Kareoke club and sang and danced our hearts out! What a trip!

AIESECer in Fonterra
I started running with some colleagues during our lunchbreak at work and had just got back from one of such runs. A bit sweaty and feeling sticky, I had a T-shirt on that had "AIESEC" emblazoned on the front. I got into the elevator to go down to the showers below the building when this petite looking woman in the lift with me exclaimed, 'Oh AIESEC! I used to be in AIESEC'
I made the right noises and politely excused myself when it got to my stop and thought no more of it. I was scheduled to attend a presentation by the Fonterra Global Account Manager for Nestle (Nestle is the biggest customer Fonterra has) later in the day however and yep... you guessed it! The petite looking woman turned out to be giving the presentation.
As it turned out, she was on the MC in New Zealand some 10 years, is based in Amsterdam, gave AIESEC the original contact that has led to Fonterra taking 8 trainees and boy was she excited to hear that! She insisted she wanted to meet up with all the trainees on her next visit to Auckland.

SKY TELEVISION ON
Yes my flatmates and I finally suscribed to cable TV and now I can watch Premiersip games LIVE! Although... they come up early on Sunday mornings. But hey who cares?!!!

Picture is of Auckland at night. I have a much nicer one but damn computer wont let me upload it.

Nico, hope you are kicking ass in Inbev! How do you say 'I think you are beautiful' in Romanian.

And oh by the way. I miss you too Yatwan.

Shoes Because I Want them...

I really need to buy a computer of my own!

I have been trying again for the last half hour to upload pics but Mialy's computer has some serious issues. A lot of major spyware on it... Case in point: get some heavy duty anti-virus when i buy my computer. Once I can afford it...


But meanwhile I bought me 4 new pairs of shoes!

Yeah Yeah... before you start on me, the shoe shop is having a sale, "buy two get one free!" SO I DID! And I threw in one for good measure! So I am the proud owner of ankle length black formal shoes, basket ball trainers, a pair of running shoes and a pair of brown skechers. YeeHaa!

Ehrm...(cough cough) forgive my enthusisasm but I realized when i got home that i hadnt bought a new pair of shoes JUST BECAUSE I WANTED TO! I did buy a pair of Clarks in London but those.. I needed! And the beautiful thing is that Fonterra pays me just enough that i can afford to. hehe

AIESEC International Congress is on right now in Poland and it is quite cool to watch the virtual insanity campaign going on to bring the congress to people around on the world through the web. And also to read the blogs of my friends who are attending in their capacity as MCPs, MCVPs, AI members, YouCan Facis... A lot of memories being made right now!

But the funny thing is... I have absolutely no desire to be there. I am EXACTLY where I want to be, when I want to be! Mialy was reminiscing that she would have LOVED to be there. but after 4 ICs and more than 6 years of AIESEC... I am not missing IC. My first IC was in 2001, (also my best one) I missed 2002 and it WAS gut wrenching not to be there. But I more than made up for it with editions in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

So you guys and dudettes in Poland, make the best of your time in IC while I hold the fort down here in Auckland Aoetearoa. Exactly where I want to be!

At work and at Play

So there I was...

I was burning up the dance floor at the Backpackers Club in downtown Auckland. Twas just the kind of music i could dance to. Dance, hip-hop and R&B. When suddenly, Black Eyed Peas song "Lets get it Started" came on and i totally lost my ryhthm! I FULLY expected the whole club to stop, get in rows and start the line dance that Rajiv's AIESEC International team made so popular at IC in Germany!!

When that didnt happen, i just couldnt get my flowing moves back! Sheesh! I ended up collapsing on a couch laughing so hard at how long and hard it will take for me to get through a party without leading an AIESEC dance at least once.

Its been a month since i started my traineeship and the month has moved so fast! Lots to learn, lots to do, lots of new people to meet and I think its fair to say i have settled in quite nicely to this bubbling and active city. Lets see now...what have been the highlights of the last month...


OFFICE PARTY:
I work on Level one of the Group headquarters of Fonterra on the Middle East and Africa team. The Fonterra Customer Service has the USA, Oceania, Asia, Europe and Latin America teams who are all providing service for the 140 country network operations of the company.

There is also a brands, Nestle, Inventory and Order resolution teams who all play a part in the serious business of dairy production and sales for Fonterra. All in all, 150 people with as varied nationalities as an AIESEC International conference!

So we had a party where it was nice to see all the colleagues and bosses let their hair down and surprise surprise... I turn out to be one of the "talking points" for the ladies in the office. Dont know if that is a good or bad thing...

DEVONPORT TRIP:
Auckland is similar to Stockholm in the sense that there are a lot of outlying islands you could travel to for the day just like the Archipalego. So we (AIESEC interns) took a weekend trip to nice tiny island called Devonport. Filled with nice families, well paved streets and large parks, it seemed built for growing families.
We had lunch at a nice Peruvian restaurant and boy did I feel at home in that place! I have now concluded that I am a person of passion. Which is why the music, culture and passion of Latin America and Africa call out so strongly to me!

WORK
I am learning a lot in my time in Fonterra, my role demands an attention to detail and my experience in Sweden has gone such a LONG way to prepareing me for this role. And what do I do?

I happen to be an interface for a simple yet extensive process in getting dairy products from Cow to Customer! I move tonnes of milk products worth an average of US$300,000 across the world everyday. I am constantly in touch with product planners, Logistics, Account managers, Warehouses, packing plants etc...

In a nutshell!

Of course, there is a whole lot more to it but there you have the main gist!

Its a Friday night here now and i am meeting up with some of the other interns for a drink downtown. Dont know if i am up to it. Plan to spend my time in the Library tomorrow. The Auckland main Library has quite a collection I am told. (I wonder how i never got labled a 'dork' in high school!)

(I have been trying to upload some pics for the last half hour. I do think there might be spyware on Mialy's computer. Brand new computer too! I'll upload some good pics later!)

4G/160 Symonds Street Auckland. Pls come visit!!!

Comfortable bedroom. Master bedroom too!



Fully functioning kitchen with all kitchen ware


My front door. The number is 4G

How far? Its been quite a day!

A big bunch of people were at the Auckland International Airport to pick up the latest Fonterra intern and my newest flatmate Mialy. Mialy is from Madagascar and has moved here from Switzerland. I was there as well with Cris, Ina and about 9 other people. Mialy must have felt very welcome indeed.

So welcome Mialy to New Zealand, to Auckland, to 160 Symonds Street! Mialy is sleeping right now as there is an impromptu party scheduled for later this evening in our apartment. Trying to make a playlist for the party now actually...

I have been raving about the apartment so i thought it was time i show what it actally looks like. So some pics of the place all through this post.
Just a quick synopsis again. It came fully furnished and when i say fully furnished, I mean FULLY!!!
Its a 3 bedroom apartment and i will be sharing with Cris and Mialy from Brazil and Madagascar respectively. Beds, sofa, kitchenware, persian rug in the living room, dishwasher, TV and DVD player with surround system. Fully carperted all through and a Persian rug in the living room.


Watching TV in my snazzy new living room

There is airconditioning in the living room and in the Master bedroom (which i have :D). Washing machine, dryer, sheets on the beds, with duvets and blankets bedside lamps in each of the rooms and an extra heater in one of the smaller rooms. The only thing we had to buy was Crockery and pots and pans for the kichen.


Unpacking the shopping. From Left is Cris, Jan and Me

Jan, one of the nicest and prettiest girls i have had the pleasure of meeting and who is in AIESEC was very kind as to drive us to one of the big stores in a neighbouring surburb to do the shopping. She even went so far as to lend us money when we ran out! Thank you Jan!


Loading the shopping into Jan's car

Now I am off to prepare for the party which the AIESEC members have deemed will be hosted by us. Not much preparation though. Buy a few beers. Finish the playlist...

Went on an interesting Store visit to the South Island. Saw milk factory, port operations...but more on this later...














Posing with Cris and Jan

JAFAs, Dairy, Volcanoes and What Have You...

Ever Been in a Volcano

Ever Been in a Volcano before?

It has been exactly 10 days since I set foot in AOTEAROA. "Land of the Long
White Cloud" according to the Maori people here. Maori's are the largest minority
group in this predominately European descent populated island. (Actually its 2
islands but if you want a history and Geography lesson, go to Google)

In the ten days since I have been here, I have learnt much more about the
dairy industry, rolled all the way down into a volcano and found the coolest
apartment this far south of the hemisphere!

The Volcano Story...

AIESEC in Auckland has a tradition used to welcome trainees to the country.
Usually, trainees are driven straight from the airport to this 'activity' but
luckily for me, it was raining when I arrived in New Zealand and they were a
bunch of other trainees arriving on either side of me. So they decided to wait
for the weekend. Good thing they did too! After flying 27 hours and they took me
to this 'activity'...I reserve my comment!

So, the Saturday dawned bright, crisp and cold. I met up with Cristiane and
Carina, both from Brazil and the Philippines respectively and both new interns to Fonterra as well. We went to look at what has become our new apartment (more on this later) and all three of us joined up with AIESEC in AUckland members at the University.

I had been trying to fathom what sort of shape or form the reception activity could possibly take and I was imagining whipped cream in interesting places, or marsh mellows stuffed into the mouth... but my pitiful imagination could not have prepared me for what it actually was.
We were driven to the top of Mount Eden, a young volcano which only erupted some 500 years ago (I think). And although there was a clear sign at the rim of the volcano saying no one was allowed to go into the crater, there were already a bunch of AIESECers waiting for us in the volcano and a another bunch at the rim.

And yes...you guessed it... we were supposed to roll down into the 80ish degree, over 100 meters slope of the volcano.

With the JAFAs (Just Another Fucking Aucklander) urging us on, we dithered, complained, made excuses but eventually yours truly took the lead, dropped my scarf and hat and commenced to make my way down the slope. (Fine thing it would be if I commenced to break my neck in my first week in Auckland!) but not before we got told off by some conservationist lady who called us little kids for destroying a national monument for the sake of tradition (apparently the volcano crater is fragile hence the warning on the
rim). Below is a picture of me defying NZ laws and my natural predilection for self preservation. ( I am in the lead)

We did the NZ roll call in the crater of the volcano (This is the way we shear our sheep... shear our sheep... shear our sheep) and then we had to skedaddle out of the crater as someone screamed out that the cops were on the way! This turned out to be a false alarm. We had a Weetabix eating competition in which I came second and had the damn stuff stuck
in my teeth for the rest of the day! Never eat it dry ladies and gentlemen, (but it is fantastic with warm milk and fruit for breakfast as I have come to find out!)

The view from the top of Mount Eden is absolutely fantastic and you can see the whole of Auckland for miles and miles. Wouldn't be a bad place to propose undying love and devotion to your soul mate. (I wonder if they have one of those in New Zealand, especially for young bucks like me!) Below is a picture of me proclaiming new found love to the drink of the land. L&P it is called and you have to taste it to understand...And you can also see the wonderful landscape I was talking about, behind me.

Twas a pretty chilled out day the rest of the day. We went to the beach afterwards, the beach (or some sort of water) is never that far away in Auckland. Just Like in Stockholm! But in Auckland, you can have a fun filled day in the sun on the beach IN WINTER! Which
was exactly what we did. Fish and Chips and Movenpick ice cream provided fare for the afternoon!

Work has been absolutely....overwhelming! I have learned more about the Dairy Industry in the last one week than I have in the last five years. I work with a really great bunch of people and one of my colleagues is I swear a re-incarnation (or twin sister) of Lucy Morgan! "Oh My God Its Amazing" and the personality and the happy atmosphere....sheesh! The floor I work on has 150 odd people and since it is a customer service for the largest company in New Zealand dealing with all regions of the world, its a pretty diverse atmosphere. Just
like...hmmm...reminds me of a similar organization I was involved with recently at leadership level...hmmmm (heheheheh)

Middle East Team which I work on has kiwis, Mexicans, an Iranian, a Swede, 2 Indians and an Englishman on it. Then there is the USA team, Latin America team, Asia team, Oceania team, Brands team, Inventory team....Gosh! I am still working my way through them of course trying to meet people. And there are of course 7 AIESEC interns (that's the name of that organization!!!) on the floor, Eunnie from Korea on Asia team; Christina
from Germany and Tanya from Russia on Europe team; Cristiane from Brazil and Anna from Ecuador on Latin America team; Carina from Philippines on USA team and of course me!

And there will be Mialy from Madagascar joining us in August. She
will be on the middle East team with me and also be sharing the apartment with Cristiane and I. Does anyone out there know any Madagascans? Below is a picture of all the AIESEC interns in Auckland. (I should always remember to face the sun) The guy next to me is Jerone from the Netherlands but he works in Ernst &Young.

(From Left:
exchange student from Germany; Ina-Philippines; Jerone-Netherlands;
Ladi; Anna-Ecuador; Christina-Germany; Eunnie-Korea and Cris-Brazil. Tanya from
Russia is missing)

Shoot!

Now I have to run. A couple of colleagues of mine are coming to help us move our stuff from the LCP's house to our new apartment. YAY! Us, being Cris and I. Tell you all about the apartment in the next post! Have to run now!

Kiwiland. At Last!

No 9, Almorah Place Epsom, Auckland.

I am sitting in the study of this charming, elegant and stately house. It is home to David Benjamin's family (LCP of AIESEC in Auckland and a really nice chap to boot!)

And I never want to see another aeroplane again ever!

23 hours flying time, 27 in total for the trip from London to Auckland and I am finally here in Auckland. The longest trip by plane I have had the pleasure of taking and if I dont get on another plane for a year, that would be just fine. Downside...only those who TRULY love me will be convinced to come and visit me in the coming couple of years!

But first how did my trip go? Emirates is a good airline but I defintely think the hype surrounding them is a bit over the hedge! I went to pick up my ticket on Thursday July 15 at the Emirates office in London and it went without a hitch. I had been a bit anxious because my flight was the next day Friday and I had been informed that I could pick up my ticket at the airport if I wanted. So it was a sense of relief that I got the paper ticket in my hand.

But come Friday night, I got to the airport with all my lugagge and my big sister in tow and was informed by the check in officer I couldnt board the flight!!! Why? Apparently, the flight was transiting through Australia and I needed a transit visa to land there. I took a look at my ticket again and pointed out that this itinierary was not reflected on the ticket... and why didnt the dude who took my money at the Emirates office inform me of this. He took a good long look at my passport when he issued the damn ticket!

The nice Emirates officer in charge was very nice I have to say, but powerless to help me. The best she could do was re-book me for Monday night July 17 (when i was supposed to start work) and advise me to go to the Australian High Commission on Monday morning and try and get the transit visa!!!

Bollocks, Buggger, Goddamnit...were some of the milder words that came to my mind!

Anyway, I made my back with my sister on the Gatwick Express and spent a very LONG weekend in London. (Except for the one pleasure of meeting up for a family dinner on Sunday where I met up with a whole bunch of cousins including one I hadnt seen in 5 years and who got married earlier this year. See you in the US soon Eni and Ryan!)

On Monday morning, I was at the Australian High Commission at 9am and it went without a hitch again! The consular did ask me why the Melbourne transit was not reflected on my ticket (Good Question!) and she had to call the Emirates office to confirm this. For a supposedly World Class airline, isnt their reputation built in such mundane details? Especially when some of their customers hold a Nigerian passport and need such details?

The folks in New Zealand were understandbly upset when they got my message on Friday to say i had been denied boarding. We (I and the other interns) were supposed to start on July 10. Amy, MCP New Zealand was very emphatic in urging me to action and not to feel sorry for myself... hehehehehehe... You meet a lot of hedges on the way when you are moving across the world and have only a month to arrange it all I guess! (Forgive the constant reference to 'hedge'. Just saw the movie)

Anyway... I got to the airport nice and early on Monday evening and good thing I did too! In trying to check me in...the system again refused to print my boarding pass and lugagge transfer tag. I spent another half hour waiting while the Emirates ground staff called Australia and got the immigration office in Canberra to override the automatic block on the system. Apparently, because the transit visa had been issued earlier in the day, it hadnt been registered properly in their systems. But eventually it was cleared and i got my boarding pass!

And so began the trip.

LONDON TO DUBAI - 6 hours 50mins (You were right Toyin, it IS NOT 10 hours)
TRANSIT IN DUBAI - 3 hours (I have to go back for a holiday in Dubai! What an airport!)
DUBAI TO MELBOURNE - 12 hours 55 mins (Sat beside a nice teenage girl who's an ardent Spurs fan! And didnt manage to get through the 500 channels on my personal TV screen!)
TRANSIT IN MELBOURNE - 1 hour 30 mins (NO ONE even looked at the DAMN Transit Visa)
MELBOURNE TO AUCKLAND - 3 hours (Not a lot of weekend trips abroad i guess)

I arrived in Auckland International Airport bum weary and slack eyed! Immigration went pretty fast but then i got to customs and was asked some seemingly routine questions,
'Did you pack your bags yourself?' - YES
'Are you bringing in any food?' - NO
'Are you bringing in any plants...' - NO

And so on...but then the blonde pretty girl directed me to Aisle 4 and to walk along the Blue Line. The Blue Line took me to a customs area where i got a further shock! There were passengers with their lugagge on these metal tables and with customs officials going through their stuff. When i say 'going through their stuff', i mean taking each item of clothing and shaking it out one by one!!!

I watched with mounting disbelief as the same questions as above were asked to the passengers and then some. I started racking my brains to see if any my sisters might have packed some foodstuff or organic material into my bags. I felt secure as I specifically remembered saying No to my eldest sister when she tried to press some preservatives and stuff on me! But i still couldnt believe the detailed searches that were going on in front of me.

Eventually after staying about an hour on the queue, it got to my turn and i put my stuff on the table and subsequently wasnt allowed to touch them anymore. I had to sign a declaration form stating that i wasnt carrying any contraband and i guess this would have served as a basis for prosecuting me if they did find anything!

The customs officer then proceeded to ask me a lot of immigration sounding questions all over again. Where had i lived for the last one year? What was I coming to New Zealand for? Did i have any documentation proving this... Eventually, he only poked his hands into my laptop bag and retrieved my documents from Fonterra, made some copies and then asked me to put my lugagge back on the trolley and come with him.

I was spared the indignity of having my underwear strewn all over the airport but still had to put my bags through an X-ray machine where I got another fright. The X-ray machine showed up three ball like items and they asked me again if i had any food on me and what were those three balls. I told them i didnt have a clue and we would have to open up my suitcase. I did and suddenly realized what the three balls were a split second before we got to them. Herbal Soap. I wondered if this fell under the list of contraband items and had a 10 second period of adrenaline rush. Eventually, the 3 customs officials just said, 'Ah, its just soap..', asked me to zip up my bag and wished me a pleasant stay in New Zealand! PHEW!

I came out to the arrivals hall and had 2 AIESECers there waiting for me with a gift pack from AIESEC Auckland and some Newspapers.(Not really sure myself heheh) The grand reception they had planned for me on Sunday fell through as this was Wednesday and most people had classes. I stepped into the wet, rainy day, into the car and chatted with Franklin and Riduan all the way to David's place. David was at school himself but his nice mum showed me to my room where i had a shower and i checked my email in David's room afterwards. Apparently, Cristiane arrived on Monday and Ina is arriving tomorrow (today) as well. We all start on Friday so i have the whole of Thursday to try and beat this Jet Lag.

So now it is 4:20am NZT, but obviously still after 5pm in London. I have slept for some 8 hours already and will try and get through Thursday without sleeping again. It has been a roller coaster of a trip and I have to send out emails now to people that I have arrived safely. Already there is some sort of party on Saturday for us all and i am looking forward to meeting all the AIESEC and Fonterra people!

Kene left me with some advice on Thursday last week, 'Approach all new ideas and experiences with an inquiring mind...' I intend to do just this in my new country of residence!

Hello Kiwiland!