Mai Nguyen
4 August 2012
It was one of the few sunny Sundays during the last freezing winter; I went outdoor camping with my Darebin Peer Leadership Team at Lady Northcote, about more than an hour and a half driving.
We arrived at the camping site at 11am and had our morning tea. After that, we commenced our activities with a program instructor. The aim of our camp that day was to challenge group members with a range of adventure activities focusing on group dynamics, problem solving, trust, leadership, planning and teamwork. These challenging activities achieved within a supportive group environment not only enhance individual’s interpersonal skills but also build teamwork.
I had so much fun and memories from that camp. We joined the high and low roping, giant swings, leap of faith and other activities requiring the use of communication, problem solving and, most importantly, teamwork. For me, I enjoyed the giant swings the most that day. I was afraid when I first saw the height of the swings, which is about the same height as the highest tree there. My first thought was ‘No it’s not for me’. Thanks to the supportive group that I had, I eventually came out of my fear and decided to have a go. I was elevated to the top of the tree and asked to release myself. Oh no, I totally freaked out as I was hung freely in the air; I was about to cry as I could not dare to pull the rope to let the swing go.
Once again, I overcame myself thanks to my group members cheering me on from the ground. I looked up to the sky, it was bright blue; I closed my eyes and gained all my confidence to pull the rope. I screamed out loud and opened my eyes. Everything through my eyes at that moment was strangely amazing and peaceful. It was very hard to define my feelings. It was a mix of freedom, achievement, proudness and possibility. What an exhilarating swing! I wanted to do it again :)
Throughout the camp, regardless of how many times I failed, how many times I told myself I couldn’t do it, how many times I freaked out because of the height, how many times my whole body was shaking because of the hard challenges I was facing, I never stop believing in myself. My greatest glory is not in never failing, but in giving it a try and rising up every time I fail. More than ever, overcoming myself is the biggest and hardest thing that I’ve done so far. May it be counted as one of my all time achievements? :)
Finally, thank you to all of my friends, the group supervisors and instructors for cheering and supporting me. Without you, I would have not got that far.
Never say never, never say no.
You never know how great you are until you try, and any challenges that you have had in your life could be your chance to discover your true potential, your talent. Just don’t be afraid.
17 July 2012
For me, the last three weeks of winter break have been unforgettable and valuable.
I spent my first week of holidays back in my home-country – Vietnam. Indeed, nothing is better than being home. One week of escaping Melbourne’s freezing weather. One week of enjoying time with family and friends. One week of laughs, love and peace. One week of enjoying the beaches, sunshine, visiting Ba Na Hills and Hoi An Old Town, the two most famous places of tourism in Danang, my beloved hometown. Even though one week was too short for me to spend a lot of time with my family and friends, being home was more than enough to refill my energy and motivation to be ready for another journey. For me, family is one of my most solid foundations, no matter wherever I am.
After flying back to Melbourne, I took another flight to Brisbane to attend a national conference from 9 to 14 July. The Council of International Students Association (CISA), the national peak student representative body for international students studying at any level in Australia ran the conference.
The main purpose of this conference was to empower international students and recognise our contribution to the Australian community. It also provided us with information and gave us a chance to discuss a range of different topics with the presence of many speakers who are politicians, celebrities, educational experts, government representatives and also experienced domestic and international students.
Some of the topics that were highlighted at the conference included:
- Safety
- International students travelling on public transport with concession tickets
- How to engage international students with domestic students
- Health care issues
- Community
- Volunteer work
- Plus many more
‘The Future Leaders of Our World’ was the main theme of this conference. It was designed to highlight the importance of properly training and educating young international students who come from around the globe and chose Australia as their education destination.
To some extent, I really like and wish to thoroughly and thoughtfully understand an idea from a speaker about ‘quiet belief.’ Quiet belief is an essential characteristic that contributes to a good leader. In my opinion, it is perfectly suitable for a leader of a charity organisation/project, who has a strong passion and belief that he/she can touch and change someone’s life and embrace a wider community. What meaningful ideas!
The people I have met and talked to during this conference have inspired me in such a way that I would try to keep doing my best to contribute to the community, without asking for anything in return. I have learnt and gained lots of knowledge and experience that is incredibly valuable. At the beginning, I did not expect that this conference would have turned out as such an amazing, wonderful and unforgettable experience.
We also visited Brisbane’s city every night after the conference concluded. We were taken around the city by a couple Brisbanian international students. No words can describe how grateful we are to these friends for what they did for us. We visited Story Bridge; went on a free ferry that took us around Brisbane’s city at nighttime; enjoyed the wheel; saw the temples; and so many other beautiful landmarks in this nice sunshine city. They were such friendly and awesome tourist guides.
Moreover, I am so lucky to make friends with lots of awesome and talented people of different nationalities from different states in Australia. Our friendship has significantly developed through the conference and friendship is one of the most special experiences that I have had. The moments that we shared I shall treasure and never forget.
Last but not least, the last week of winter break I have spent volunteering for the International Welcome Festival and Orientation Week for new La Trobe students. Last Saturday, I helped out at the Amazing Race – one of the most highlighted and interesting activities for international students during the Festival.
The students were divided into ten different teams with ten different animals as mascots, which I found very funny because they had to make sounds of these animals to actually find their team. The idea of the Amazing Race is to give international students a chance to explore many different places in Melbourne with their team members and also engage other international students from different cultures and backgrounds.
The most exciting and memorable thing that I like about this activity was the team work through solving clues, joining the footy game and dancing as a group. Finally, we found out that the team who came first was actually the only team that took the bus to find their way to explore the city. The other nine teams got stuck on the tram, and unfortunately but interestingly, these teams got chance to experience the public transport in Melbourne :D I am sure that they are now very experienced at taking public transport, a bonus experience!
To conclude, three weeks of this winter break have been the most exciting and valuable holiday that I have ever experienced in my life. I know that I have been working very hard, but everything is worthwhile in the end. Live your life to the fulfillment. We are young.
22 May 2012
Hi everyone, my name is Mai, and you can call me MyMai as everyone does :) Having a chance to write a blog for La Trobe Times is such a great opportunity for me to share with you my experiences in Australia.
I have been very busy and active recently, not only because of the end of semester, but also I have just got involved in some interesting activities that I am going to share now.
Two weeks ago, I applied for a position at ASEAN – Australian Youth Summit, its purpose is to bring together all the ASEAN-based student councils in Victoria, and eventually Australia. Luckily I got accepted into this. Last week, we had our first meeting for all the committees. At this meeting, I was amazed by the smartness, friendliness, confidence, well organised, expert, experienced and professionalism of other committees from other ASEAN Countries. I am so excited and nervous, all at the same time, as we have started to work on our very first project, which is to organise a National Conference. The National Conference involves the talented young leaders from ASEAN Countries and also Australia, to come together and discuss a topic given during this conference in July.
Humbly, I won a silver medal in female single table tennis in the RMIT LINK Challenge a few weeks ago. Playing sports is one of my favorite things to do in my leisure time. Moreover, I am also involves in organising ASEAN Games, which will be held in September this year as a co-director of table tennis. I have just finished the proposal plan and submitted it to the project leader an hour ago. It sounds like I am a busy person. Honestly, I really enjoy what I have done so far. I am having a really good time now to do what I like.
Finally, I wish you all the best with your coming up final exams in June. Everything will be paid off in the end, that’s what I always say to myself. Let’s study hard and work smart :)
