Over and out

Well our National Leadership Team Meeting is over (the national planning conference) and i must admit that it went over quite well. I have never been a big fan of planning, prefering to just get in there and begin activity, learn by doing etc but this whole planning process has really taught me to appreciate the value of planning, and i can honestly say that i am looking foward to the next few days as my team and i nut our the finals release of the national plan.

More than anything else though, i can feel that this whole process has really brought my MC team together. We are begining to understand eachother, appreciate eachothers strenghts, compensate for eachothers weaknesses and become 'attached' to eachother in a weird sort of way. I am feeling more and more of a bond with them all as time goes on. I know that most teams start out this way, but something tells me that this feeling will in fact last for the whole year. We are starting strong, and i look foward to what the year holds.

Oh and i am a big fan of my MCP. I couldnt have hoped for much more.

Ralph

To feel the force or to feel tired- that is the question

9:53 PM and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith premiers on only 2 and a bit hours. Do I want to go?

You see, the question is a little deeper than simply 'do I wish to see this film', since being a closet-case ultra-nerd means that my desire to see the climactic conclusion the the prequel trilogy is a given. The question reaches more into the issues of timing. You see, I have entered the 9-5 grind (though being paid the equivalent of of 9-9:30 grind) and as such, I feel the weight of responsibility bearing down upon me. If I go to this movie tonight, I know that I will enjoy it immensely, however I also know that I will be very tired, run down and lacking in contribution later that day.

It's at these moments, I think, that the realities of adulthood kick in. The Star Wars prequels have carried me through many of my adolescent years: with Phantom Menace I was but a school boy with flexible, easy to escape school commitments the next day; with Attack of the Clones I was an eager uni student, with commitments that were even more flexible, though grounded by the 'self-driven aspect' of tertiary study. Now, with Revenge of the Sith I am in my working life, 9-5, five days a week. I have a boss, a team who relies on me, commitments that cant be put on hold and deadlines that need to be met. The boarders into this world are permeable, and while have not yet attempted to leave I imagine that the borders out of this world are decidely less permeable.

I am here now. and the strict, regimented, invasive time commitments of this world do not suit me yet. I suppose I better keep fighting it while I have the conviction to do so.

See you at the movie....

Ralph

What country are YOU from?

8:30 in the morning. 2GB talkback radio with my grandma's pin-up boy, the ultra conservative Alan Jones, a pillar of ignorance and intolerance to the lonely and marginalized elderly population. The topic: religious attire in schools such as Islamic head-cloths (I am sorry but I don’t know the name of them) or Jewish skullcaps (I know the name for these, but I don’t know how to spell it so will use the general term for convenience sake).

You see at the moment, there is a bit of an uproar raging throughout my home state of NSW over schools who have began to complain that religious apparel, particularly Muslim apparel is not compatible with school dress regulations, with certain students being threatened with suspension or expulsion if they fail to comply.

Alan Jones, in his infinite wisdom, summed up the collective opinion of the elderly and unenlightened when he said "We'll someone needs to tell 'these people' that this is Australia, and I am happy to keep telling them that this is Australia. If they don't like it, they can go home"

Where does one begin?

Intrigued by this sentiment, I began to do a little research only to find that this sentiment is a lot more common than I had first anticipated. You see, to many Australians, the idea that people who have different religious beliefs should be permitted to wear their religious apparel is a direct attack on Australian culture, and that 'these people' will slowly take over our society until there is no such thing as 'Australian'- Australia will become a horrible, steaming melting pot of mixed culture, with no identity.

2 things, since I don’t have too much time to spare.
1) I know many, many, many Jews and Muslims who were born in Australia, or whose parents were even born in Australia. Religion does not equate to nationality. This point seems to have eluded many conservative fuckwits who argue that people who wear headscarves should 'go back to their own country'. Wake up dickheads- this is their country.
2) Allowing people to practise their religious beliefs is not going to degrade the integrity of your culture. Rather, it will strengthen it, since you will be living in a society that is so comfortable with itself, so able to accept others, and so willing to celebrate diversity rather than stifle it, that people will be proud of their culture. When I travel abroad, I am proud to call myself Australian because I like to think that a central part of Australian culture is it's multiculturalism, it's ability to accept rather than reject, and it's success in uniting so many people of so many nations and cultural backgrounds. I know I am an idealist, but these are things that go through my head when people ask me what Australia is like. That is why this whole affair makes me so mad I suppose- it challenges the ideal that I hold dear. I know that we still have a way to come, but I think we have it in us to do it...

Ralph

*pant*

Transition... *pant* *pant* *pant*
NLTM this weekend... *pant* *pant* *pant*

Having fun though... :)

Ralph.

P.S Oh and i finished Metal Gear Solid 3: Snakeater last night- god damn it was good. God damn...

Back home...

Well here I am, safe and sound in good old Australia. I arrived back last Monday, and even with a state conference i have spent the better part of those two weeks in a weird sort of daze. Your reality has an orbit, you see, and the gravity of change, no matter how profound it might be, doesnt kick in until you re-entering that orbit. It's generic to say it of course, but I have changed a tremendous amount in the three months that i was away, while things back home have not. My brothers are a little bigger than me now, my dog is a little bigger, some AIESECers have left and some new ones have joined, and admidst all of these continuity is little old me, self-reflcting, self-indulgent and utterly disorientated in a world that i still remember as though i never left it. Reverse culture shock? Sure, if that's what it's called then why not, but beleive me when i tell you that knowing the terminology doesn't make it any easier to deal.

Anyway my days are empty at the moment with no job, no uni and no life really, so i have been 'chillaxing' a lot (as Flic would put it). Much of that has involved new resolve to visit the gym with an unparralleled level of regularity. My body hurts, but only in that good way where you know you have done it some good.

My transition starts on Wednesday. My MC life starts then. Why aren't i a little more excited?

Ralph

Yes...I'm still alive

Most sincerest of apologies ladies and gentlemen for my conspicuous absence this past few weeks. The paralyzing combination of busyness and laziness has stopped me from contributing to this blog in any real way since I first set it up. Despite that though, I'll try and make this posting at least somewhat digestible within a 2-min time period.

I threw up on the Great Wall of China...twice!
2 weekends back saw us trekking out the Great Wall of China, 'us' being Chris, Delfy and Lucy Dodd, who had come to stay in China for a week long holiday. Wanting to avoid the usual tourist claptrap, we decided to take a 4 hour train ride to a small village outside of Beijing. There, we were to be hosted by an elderly couple who have set up a lucrative operation that gives foreigners the opportunity to stay with them, eat with them and then visit the old, unrestored parts of the Great Wall. The train ( I have tremendous difficulty typing the word train BTW as I am constantly putting 'ee' after it) ride was pleasant enough, as was the 15 minute walk down a rather steep hill to get to the village. In fact, the village itself was lovely as well, as it gave me new insight into how many of China's 1.3 billion people live (only 30% of Chinese are urbanized). The problems began with the serving of lunch, specifically a cold pork dish that I immediately regret that I ate.
Putting lunch behind me, we headed out for the 'unrestored' parts of the Great Wall. It was then that I learnt that the term 'unrestored' may have a somewhat different meaning in China, as the place that we visited was very much a tourist trap, filled with restaraunts, merchandise, annoyingly persistent merchandise sellers and even a cable car to take you up to the top if you wanted.
Somewhat disappointed by this, we resolved to make the most of it all and walk to the top of the wall. Needless to say, the Great Wall of China was an impressive sight to behold, but sadly I little chance to enjoy it. Just as we reached the top of the wall I began to feel a touch squeamish, and within 30 secs I was leaning over the side of the Great Wall of China, throwing up half of my lunch- the other half came half an hour later.

Conference goodbyes
Last weekend was AIESEC MoC's National Conference, which was held roughly one hour outside Beijing. Now anyone who has ever been to a national conference will know the pains of the 'farewell speeches'. It's almost a ritual you see, where people who have toiled and loved and suffered and smiled, say goodbye to the people that made all of those things possible- AIESEC people. Being a rather emotional man myself, I have always had a soft spot for this ceremony, and I have always dreaded the day when I would stand up in front of AIESEC Australia and wish them fair be well. To be honest, I had not expected my farewell to AIESEC in Mainland of China to be quite as emotional as it was, given that I was only here for 3 months. Despite this, tears welled in my eyes as I took the stage to say goodbye to 3 of the most amazing months of my life, and to the wonderful people who had contributed to that time.
It's at these times that realize how finite our AIESEC lives are- a few short years, and then its over. With 3 and a bit years experience now under my belt, I am at best at the half-way marker of my AIESEC experience, though it has only felt like a few weeks. All good things must come to an end they say, and I can think of few things better than AIESEC. The clock is ticking I realized...

Drawing to a close...
As my time here in Mainland China draws to it's eventual close, I can think of few better ways to spend it than sick in bed, with tonsillitis and a fever- thank you fate. Still, I hope to be better by tomorrow so that I can take in the last landmark that Beijing has to offer me, the famous Temple of Heaven. I'll keep everyone updated, and I promise to blog again before I return home on Sunday.

Ralph

About me..

After the initial start-up issues that one is sure to face whenever confronting blogs, I now have a nomadlife blog. Dody says that I should do an 'about me' post so here it is in a nutshell.

My name is Ralph Panebianco, born 11:45pm on Monday the 19th of March 1984. While I was born in Sydney, Australia, I have lived in various places throughout Australia during my life including Lithgow (a small town in NSW famous for...absolutely nothing), Bundaberg (an even smaller town famous for sugar cane and rum), Brisbane and since I was 11 years old, Sydney.

I have 4 little brothers- Joshua (19), Conrad (17), Sam (13) and Alec (11). All of them are annoying, bigger then me (well not the 11 y/o...yet) and very unique. I am proud to call them brothers. I have a mother named Jenny, who is a single mother of tremendous strength and courage since my father is not a particularly nice man. I have a grandmother named Peggy who is in her 70s but still getting around like she is 40.

I study an arts degree- sorta. My study kind of gets slotted in between my AIESEC/real work. I hope to graduate one day ;)

I work 2 jobs, and both of them are a dream come true for a man of such simple pleasures like myself. You see, my main vice is video games; a hobby that I have pursued for the better part of 17 years since my father first bought me a Nintendo Entertainment System when I was 4 (one of the few good things he actually did). Since that time I have played many, many hours of games, and by some luck I manage to make a part time career of it to get me through my studies. I work in a video games store called Electronics Boutique in the Sydney CBD, a job that ensures a flow of free software and hardware. I also write for Official Australian Xbox Magazine- don't ask me how I got into that since I have absolutely NO training as a writer.

I am an AIESECer, and a pretty serious one at that. In my 4th year as an AIESECer now, I am Australian MCe, where I will be a Business Development manager for 12 months. I am currently on a CEED over here in Mainland China. Based in Beijing, my work has been centred around building a sustainable, long-term bilateral exchange partnership between Australia and China. I can say with confidence that I have accomplished this, and I will provide more detail in the future.

So yeah...that's me. It's weird seeing my life compacted into 5 paragraphs like that. So if you know me and plan to read this blog with any degree of regularity, you can expect to see three things:

1) Heaps of talk about AIESEC- I'm going to be on the MC. What else would I talk about in here?
2) Some pseudo-indulgent discourse about me, my place in the world, the direction of my life and the impact that I can/cannot make
3) Deep, layered, super-nerdy comment on video games and the industry (this is more for me to practice my writing than anything else). I'll try and put a warning at the top of these posts ;)

So if anything listed above sound remotely interesting then stick around people. Take care.

Ralph

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