State Con v2

On Tuesday night Jen and I cruised up to visit State Conference, this time as 'alumni' for SA Pride Night.

It was so surreal arriving back on the same site we used last year. We couldn't stop the flood of memories and feelings coming back. "Oh my god! Do you remember when the buses arrived? Do you remember dancing when they left? How funny was...")

A few of the faces were familiar, but most were new. Shiny new AIESECers learning how to take on the world. It felt good to see a continuation. The delegation was slightly smaller this year, and of course it wasn't our baby, so things felt a little different. The skolling was still the same though!

I actually did something I never thought I'd do - I judged boat races! I always thought I couldn't do it - how could I be responsible for such important decisions? But I did - and it was fine! Only thing was I couldn't chant as much (stupid impartiality!)

"If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the eyes of a crow,
I'd fly over all of the LCs,
And shit on the f**kers below!"

By all accounts the RB rocked out this year, so good news all round.

So that's it. A year has passed, so much has changed, and so much has stayed the same.

Sure, we'll be prepared...Prepared for what?

"For the death of the King!"

haha - one of my favourite lines from the Lion King. It's of no relevance to the post, but I have been thinking about how prepared I am to move overseas.

Passport? Check.
Visa? In progess (fingers crossed it gets here in time, and I don't have to fly to Canberra to pick it up)
Packing? In progress - I've never seen my room in such a state (honestly!)
Vaccinations? Ouch! Done. Raspberries to Typhoid, Hep A and the Flu - you can't get me!
Flight? Booked the day after I got the call.
Insurance? Next week.

What else is there? I'm so scared I'm going to miss/forget something.

Ok, so that's logistics. What about cultural/AIESEC preparation?

Well, I've been researching my little bum off regarding Iranian culture and Islam. I know that the pollution is terrible in Tehran, and that I need to wear a headscarf. I think the cultural stuff is under control, except I have no idea where my salary sits regarding cost of living. Hopefully I won't be as poor as the Aussie MC :P

AIESEC? Gosh. The reason I'm going, yet it's the part I really know least about. I know there's 1 LC, they elected their first LCP and EB in March. There's around 50 members... And that's about all I know. Poor Rainbow has been stuck in Egypt, so she has been doing her job virtually, and really hasn't had the time or opportunity to work out transition stuff. Also, I know that I'll have a month of 12 hour days to learn everything. But still - I feel a bit lost.

I don't know how much I should know walking into it. Does that make sense? Argh!

29 days isn't long. Not at all. I'm so scared. It's starting to get more and more real. I have no doubt that it's going to be AMAZING, but I just don't want to get anything wrong (this definitely includes missing a connecting flight! - My first solo trip overseas, and I have 3 airports to navigate)

Gah Gah Gah! I can deal with just about any situation, but at the end of the day, this is so new, I don't know where to begin.

I just resigned

This makes this whole 'I'm moving to Iran' thing a little bit real, you know?

This morning, I had sweaty palms, my heart was racing, and I'm even a little shaky.

I'm waiting now for an acknoweldgement of the email. I'm sending a hardcopy to Head Office today too.

I have just quit my job - my awesome job. But I'm going to take up an even more awesome, inspiring, crazy one - on the other side of the world.

So, three weeks left in Adelaide, then two weeks in Clare, then a year (!) in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Here goes!