This year, I’m going to this review process slightly differently. Chris Guillebeau, one of my favourite bloggers, challenged his readers to answer just two simple questions: what went well in 2011 and what did not go well in 2011?

What went well in 2011

Leaving a job I didn’t like for a job that I really enjoy – This was probably one of the best decisions I made all year. Having a fulfilling and enjoyable job goes a long way to happiness. Its not just a cliché! I’m happy that I was able to get myself out of a miserable situation and into a fulfilling job. I’m learning loads with each passing day. Not to mention in another country! Which brings me to my next point…

Living and working abroad – I had always talked of going on an AIESEC internship. I wanted something where I would be living abroad for a long period of time – at least a year. Well, I am currently in month 8 of an 18 month internship in Budapest. I was scared to be away from home for so long, but it has worked out so far and I’m really enjoying my time in this European country.

Hero`s Square in Budapest during my first week.

Keeping my blog up to date – I managed to maintain my exchange blog quite regularly with updates 3 times a week. This was a promise that I made to myself and I’m really happy that I was able to keep it. This is definitely something that I will be keeping up in the new year.

Trying new things – This past year has been one for adventure. I tried many new things including: taking a bartending class, staying up the whole night (believe it or not, I’ve never done it), attended my first Tweetup & Twestival, tasted many many Hungarian delicacies, hosted a trivia night, went to a Yelp elite party, ran around in a thunderstorm, and attended my first concert (another believe it or not moment – I saw Usher!). I’m sure I’ve done many other new and crazy things this past year, but I can’t think of them now.

The Congress Committee team for Global Leaders`Summit

Joined an Congress Committee for an AIESEC conference – After completing my term as Organizing Committee President for a conference for Western Canada, I really wanted to join the Congress Committee for International Congress that was coming up in India. However, I found a job and wasn’t able to make it happen. I was thrilled to hear that AIESEC Hungary was hosting Global Leaders’ Summit (aka International Presidents’ Meeting) in 2012 and was looking for a virtual media manager. Hurray for fulfilling another wish.

Travel – In the 7 months I was in Hungary this year I traveled to 4 new countries: Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Poland. I also visited Vienna twice, one of my favourite cities in Europe, Berlin, which became another favourite European city, and to Prague twice. With these 4 new countries, I’ve now been to 18 countries. Another 7 to go to meet my goal of 25 countries by the time I’m 25.

What did not go well in 2011

Falling through with commitments – At the end of 2010 I had committed myself to volunteer with a non profit in Vancouver. However I got ridiculously busy and wasn’t able to meet the commitment they required. I was originally really excited about the opportunity, but I just wasn’t able to make it happen. On a similar vein, my work with the Suitcase Entrepreneur started slipping, especially when I moved to Hungary.  

Lack of motivation and inspiration – I had periods where I was highly motivated to do this and that. Then I had periods were I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. Goals I had set for myself were not being met and my blogging was falling behind. For 2012, I need to come up with a way to maintain my motivation.

Stopping meatless Mondays and poor eating habits – Up until I moved to Hungary I was very diligent with my meatless Mondays. I had kept it up for more than a year. But once I moved to Budapest I found it really difficult to source vegetarian food (at least the items I was use to) so I stopped. Once I stopped that, my eating habits became terrible. I started cooking less, instead eating a lot of take out. Its difficult to cook for just one! But I love food and I love to cook. This is definitely one area I will be focusing on in 2012.

Bitterness and homesickness – I spent a lot of time in month 3 and 5 being really bitter about being in Europe. But with time it went away. I just need to keep reminding myself that I’m chasing a dream right now and that I wanted to be here. Plus, home is only a phone call away.

How was your 2011? What went well? What did not go well? Share in the comments!

P.S. The new Facebook timeline was fantastic for reviewing my year!

Today, I am thankful for…

- The amazing friends that I have at home who are making every effort to keep me connected to home, arranging Skype chats and keeping me sane.

- The fantastic network of people that I have met here without whom I really would have lost it. Being able to find a strong network of friends where I can be 100% myself has been such a blessing. And I know, if anything were to happen to me, they would have my back in a heart beat.

- The job that I currently hold. The past four months of working at SELTI has been the most fun I’ve ever had at work. Yes, there have been many trying moments, but at the end of the day, I enjoy what I do and I do it well. There still are days when I don’t really want to do anything, but once I get started, I can move past it. I love being able to decide for myself what is important and what needs to be done ASAP. I love the ability to make decisions and to impart changes that affect how things are done. I feel like I’m actually making a difference.

- The technology that enables me to keep in touch with friends and family at home. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have Twitter, Facebook, Skype, and Whatsapp to keep in touch with those at home. At a drop of a hat, I can send a note off home to share my current thoughts and moods. I can schedule impromptu Skype chats with friends to catch up on life. Without these little things, I don’t think I would be as well adjusted as I am here. This online network that I’ve built keeps me grounded and not overwhelmed when dealing with the challenges of living abroad.

- And the most important: my parents without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t be here in Budapest if they didn’t support me. When I told them of my plan to go work abroad, certainly they were concerns, but ultimately they let me go and that has made all the difference. I will be forever indebt to them for raising me in an environment that allows me to explore the world and expose myself to new things.

All in all, I’m really loving where I am today and what I’ve created for myself. It doesn’t mean I’m going to stop pushing my limits and it definitely doesn’t mean that I’m going to settle.

Photo Source

Read the full letter here.

Even though I’ve never met the Bolivian AIESEC President, this news still came to a shock. News of this spread quickly through the AIESEC community online and off. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were filled with condolences and shock at the news. The AIESEC community here in Budapest was all abuzz over this as well. It seems like everyone knew about what happened and everyone all felt the same way.

I was speaking to my roommate who was at last year’s International Congress and she was saying that if this happened last year, it could have been any one of the people that she met. And that is what it boils down to. It could have been any one of us. We’re a network of 60,000 students from around the world, united in one way: providing exchange and leadership opportunities to young people.

The AIESEC community has rallied behind this news. Its actually rather awe inspiring. People that don’t know one another and yet, we all feel as one.

Going to the movies is pretty strange in Budapest. You can book your seats in advance. The theatre has assigned seating. You show up at least 30 minutes in advance and you pay for the seats that you book. Its not general seating like in Canada (apparently there is assigned seating in India and New Zealand as well according to those I went to see HP with).

I’ve been a long time Harry Potter fan and I’ve been eagerly anticipating this movie coming out. I love the books and probably have read all of them at least a couple times. In many ways, I feel like I grew up with Harry. I was 11 when I read the first book. I have many memories of waiting in anticipation for the next book to see what J.K. Rowling had installed for the threesome.

In the past, I haven’t been that impressed with the Harry Potter movies. I really did not like the first 3 movies (especially as these came in the height of the Lord of the Rings movie craze). The 4th was acceptable, but not spectacular. From there, I felt the movies got a lot better in terms of keeping true to the books and cinematography. I was fairly impressed with Part I of Deathly Hallows so I was looking forward to seeing the movie.

For the most part I was really impressed with the movie. It kept fairly true to the book and told the story well. I was careful to not read the book before going to see the movie otherwise I would have spent so much time getting upset when things weren’t completely true to the book. I was surprised at how well I remember the events taking place. I think the last time I read the book was over a year ago. I watched it in 3D, but I felt like it wasn’t really needed. For most of the movie, I forgot that I was wearing 3D glasses.

If you haven’t seen the movie or haven’t read the book, stop here! Spoiler warning!

The movie starts off replaying the last few minutes of the previous movie where Voldemort breaks into Dumbledore’s casket and takes his wand. From there, the scenes depicted are very true to the books. Everything was happening the way I remember them. It wasn’t until we enter Hogwarts that things started to deviate quite a bit between the book and the movie.

Evacuating of students – In the book J.K. Rowling sends all those that are 17 years and younger home, but in the movie they all remained. It added a sense of further chaos, but it was really confusing watching it, trying to see where the characters were going. They kept on having to fight against the crowd. I felt like it was a waste of precious movie time that could have been spent on more significant things:

Snape’s memories – They added a lot more detail in this segment compared to the books. Some of the scenes shown, Snape wasn’t even in them! How could he remember it if he wasn’t there? I understand why, they needed to advance the story and tie up loose ends, but it was just strange.

Harry’s death – In the book when Harry is killed by Voldemort, the last thing that he thinks of is Ginny. She is one of the biggest reasons that he decides to go back (along with the fact that Voldemort and the snake was still alive). They didn’t reflect this at all in the movie.

Neville’s role – I felt the the movie robbed Neville of the role he played in the book. I didn’t like the way the changed the fighting at the end. He really turns into a hero in the book and I was looking forward to seeing him have a lot more screen time. They moved when he chops off the snakes head and it just didn’t sit well with me.

Last fight between Voldemort & Harry – In the book, this takes place inside Hogwarts among the others that are fighting. In the movie, they moved this showdown to the courtyard. There were no verbal spells which I felt were so important! It was a battle of the killing curse against the simplest of spells, the disarming spell which became almost an identity card for Harry.

19 years later – They completely failed here. Harry, Ron and Hermione barely looked a day over 20. Just because they tied their hair up different or grew a beard, doesn’t make them 19 years older! It was just too awkward to watch.

The movie wasn’t overly emotional. Where J.K. Rowling went into great detail of the death of Fred it was just one short scene where you see the Weasley family crying over his body. I was so prepared for a sob fest during this movie (I cry at the slightest emotion, and shed tears when reading the book), but I barely teared up. The only time I felt anything was right before Harry was going to walk into the Forbidden Forest and he was saying goodbye to Hermione and Ron (this doesn’t happen in the book).

Things I loved:

Neville & Luna – amongst the craziness there is a short scene where you see Neville searching for Luna. When asked why he was looking for her, he says that he has to tell her how he feels seeing as they may both be dead at the end of the day. So cute! I don’t remember this being in the book, but I see it as being fairly fitting.

Molly Weasley – Loved her duel with Bellatrix! So awesome. And her most famous line, “Not my daughter you bitch!” was delivered splendidly. 

Professor McGonagall – Her fight against Snape was perfect. The fury with which she fought! Loved it! And then she showed her other side when she said the spells needed to get the stone creatures of Hogwarts to come alive and protect the castle. She tells Molly Weasley that she has “always wanted to use that spell” with the most satisfied of looks. Update: I found the scene on youtube!

Overall, the cinematography was great. Scenes flowed together seamlessly and the fight sequences were done really well. So different from the first few films. I left the theatre feeling happy with the movie. Now to wait for it to come out on DVD, but in the meantime I’ll be watching random documentaries:

Have you seen the last Harry Potter film? What did you think of it? Do you agree / disagree with my thoughts?

While I will maintain this blog for my social media, technology and productivity tips, I will occasionally cross post some of my adventures in Budapest.

In the meantime, check out my blog where I’ll be writing about my time abroad!

A variety of different animal crackers. Every wanted a Chicken in a Bisket? I wonder if these are Chicken flavoured, or just salted. Or what about these pink Circus Animals? The colours just turn me off. I know we have Goldfish here, but what about RAINBOW goldfish? C. made us buy these, but we haven’t opened the package yet.

What about cheese balls?? I remember we came up with a joke for these, but now I can’t remember it.

Colleen loves Vitamin Water and imagine her delight when seeing a massive shelf filled to the brim with Vitamin Water! There were flavours here that I had never heard of before. The best part? They were on sale! 10 for $10! Of course Colleen stocked up. With the exchange rate, it was 98 cents each. Much better than the $2.25 most places charge for these here.

Then there was the return of the Goldfish – but in smaller packaging! Talk about adorable! I loved Goldfish when I was kid and if they had them in these packages when I was young, I would have been all over them. And yes – more of those coloured Goldfish.

I was entirely way too amused walking around Target. I’m sure if I went to an actual grocery store, I would have encountered even more randomness.

The trip involved many doughnuts – in total we went to three doughnut places! First was Top Pot Doughnuts where we tried their chocolate glazed and cinnamon sugar. The chocolate glazed one tasted stale and a bit dry, but the cinnamon sugar was delicious. Light and fluffy with the right amount of sugar.

Later that day, we went to Mighty-O’s doughnuts which makes vegan doughnuts! I was so intrigued to try them. They’re located in a funny section of town – called TangleTown! I had never been in the area. We got their French Toast and Lemon Poppyseed and I was pleasantly surprised at the flavour! They were moist and flavourful. It found it hard to believe that no milk or butter was used at all to make it. I wonder how they do it? Crazy!

They were so good, we went back the next day and brought back 2 dozen to share with friends for their market research. They were interested in doing something similar here in Vancouver which I think is a brilliant idea. They definitely would have a market for it.

Finally, we went to a doughnut shop in a city outside of Seattle called Mill Creek. The reason for the side trip? Maple Bacon Doughnuts at Frost Doughnuts! I was all doughnut out, but my friend went for it whole heartedly.

In the end, the back of the car was so filled with doughnuts it was ridiculous! The three places we went to this trip:

They were oh so delicious, but definitely won’t be eating doughnuts anytime soon!

I wasn’t really sure what to expect. In many ways I thought it would be like TED talks, which I absolutely love. The line up of presenters sounded really interesting and I was looking forward to seeing and hearing what they all had to share.

I was in awe of Joseph Wu‘s presentation. He is an origami artist, and while I know how to make some simple things, they’re nothing compared with the things that he can create with just a simple sheet of paper. He has been commissioned by various advertising agencies and even the Canadian government to make pieces. His presentation was an inside look into all things origami and about how he has managed to take a passion of his, as simple as folding paper, and turn it into a business. Check out his Flickr stream – craziness!

Another powerful presentation was one from Katrina Pacey from Pivot Legal Society who spoke passionately about her experiences in the Downtown East side. She spoke of a very controversial topic: prostitution and their struggle to achieve basic human rights. Her presentation was very thought provoking and raw. You could feel that the whole room was enveloped in the story that she was unraveling with each photo.  Another individual that was passionate about what she was doing and making her voice heard.

source: ned tobin

Finally, my favourite presentation of the night has got to be from Carson Ting, Art Director of Rethink by day, and founder of Chairman Ting Industries by night. He spoke of his processes of producing his design work. Using both video and still images, he was able to share a behind the scenes glimpse into what he does. His name for the process? Creative Transparency! It was especially interesting for me as this is an industry that I would love to get into and being able to see what one person does in a traditionally private industry provided great insight. There are so many ways of doing the same thing, it was nice to see what someone else would do in a particular situation. You can see and read about his presentation on his blog. His last image was one of him preparing his presentation for the evening:

source: @yads

Here are some tweets from the evening that I created using the new Storify:

And finally, the info for the next Pecha Kucha night! Definitely check it out if you can! Its such an amazing experience. I left that evening extremely inspired and excited about embracing my passions!

The campaign, Lucky 13, revolved around the idea of have applicants submit 13 comments on Twitter in 13 days using the hashtag #L13. Initially, 425 people registered. Campbell Mithun then sorted through the thousands of comments to identify 32 finalists who were then interviewed in person or through Skype.

They eventually hired 6 interns.

I found this such an interesting process. From their campaign site, you can access the 13 tweets that made these applicants stand out. One did it through stop motion videos, adding one every day. One read more like a resume and interview. Others by linking and commenting on current events and developments in the industry. You can read about one successful applicant’s experience here.

It was really all across the board, but in their own way they stood out. With social media having such a large influence on life, I like seeing these non-traditional ways of recruiting new talent. Individuals are so much more than just words on a piece of paper.

Are there any recent unconventional campaigns using social media that have caught your eye?

The view from the top

Twestival (aka Twitter Festival) is a gathering of social media users in communities around the world to fundraise for a charity. This year, Twestival went local with each meet up fundraising for a local charity. The Vancouver Twestival fundraised for Beauty Night Social which “builds self esteem and changes lives of women and youth living in poverty through 3 streams of programming: wellness, life skills development and makeovers.”

Twestival was my third Twitter based event that I attended and it was definitely the best one yet. I met some pretty awesome people in person finally, after some random conversations, and made some new connections. Its always awkward when meeting someone for the first time that you’ve been following for awhile.

I was pretty excited to meet @jchui and @maggieverse who I’ve been chatting with a lot lately. We hit up the photobooth provided by Three Sixty Photography. Definitely the most fun aspect of the night:

We ended up raising over $8000 for Beauty Night Social between the silent auction, raffle and tickets. Pretty good for one evening.

Meeting Twitter superstar @mozy19 (Photo courtesy @jeremylim)

Afterwards, I headed to the after party for food and more mingling at Subeez Cafe, which was participating in Dining Out for Life, where restaurants in Whistler and the Lower Mainland donate 25% of their bill to HIV/AIDS research.

I left that night feeling super energized. It was definitely a great night.