Bad start...

What a start into my trip...
Yesterday evening we went out to Manantial (a bar) to have my good-bye drink. Once again amazing how many people showed up. It was really great to have them all there and see them for one more time before I left the country...

(can't upload the pictures since I don't have the cable with me right now)

The best though was to get all this nice words from my friends showing all what I mean to them and how I've impacted them.
Made me happy, proud and sad at the same time... yeah right, once again this mix of feelings...!

this morning at the airport hit me really hard.
I hate good-byes, especially if I have to do so to people I really love.
You guys mean so much to me and have especially shown me what real friendship is!!! (could tell you another story which recently happened about the understanding of friendship the culture where I come from has and you guys would just be shocked!!! what a deep learning point, it's just great to be LATIN!!!)
I will never ever forget you!
One last tear for that...!!!!

When I finally entered the boarding I heart the announcement: "This is the LAST CALL for Mr. Giovanni Odoni." (well, don't think that they spelled my name right... hehehe)
Right, I thought, don't rush me I'm about leaving a great thing behind and wanted to enjoy it till the very last second.
Everybody was in the plane when I got in, took my seat and just kept crying whilst reading lovely cards, looking at the pictures I got and not just reading but really feeling the boundry of friendship...

Then there was a tecnical problem with the plane and we all had to disembarque and got a delay of 3 hours....
Finally leaving from Guayaquil of course I missed my connection flight in Panama, where I'm stuck right now, having to wait for the next flight to Bogota for only 6 hours...
too bad

but hey, I put through to get a free lunch and access to the VIP lounge where I have free internet and everything, which is kind of cool, jejeje
always making the best out of the situation! I felt so much latin, really...
see, this kind of things just happen here, NO PASA NADA (and it doesn't really matter)
take it easy - getting upset is just a useless waist of energy

I just feel sorry the time I loose with Loschti...
but soon I will see you mate

New adventure

A new adventure starts
Still can’t believe that I’m really leaving – tomorrow I’m off…
It feels really really strange, it’s so weird. I’ve left Ecuador many times before but it was always for a short period and I knew when I was coming back… This time is different!
I don’t know when I’m coming back, I sure want to but it’s not planned yet exactly. It’s for sure thought that it will be different in any case. Which means that it will never be the same again. Oh man I could just cry…

Which is actually a good sign as I’m taking it as it means that a big part of my heart belongs to Ecuador, I won so many good friendships and experiences that will last for the rest of my life and I’m so grateful for that.

On the other hand is leaving always easier since I will put myself into a new adventure that I’m really excited about.

First I’m flying to Bogota, Colombia where I will catch up with Phil, better known as Loschti. That’s so amazing seeing him here in Latin America. Can’t wait for it and I’m really looking forward to that.

Then on Monday I will head to Panama and within two weeks I gotta be in Costa Rica where I’m going to meet my beloved sister Barbara. Together we are going to travel all Central America through Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala from where she is taking a flight back home.

Since I don’t have a return ticket I stay a week longer in Guatemala and from there head to Puerto Rico. Well, it’s kind of a stop over on my way back home to Switzerland.

On the 22nd of August at 8.40 a.m. my plane is landing in my beloved and missed home country!

There I will stay for a while till my next adventure starts…

I’m sad, excited, thrilled, emotional… it’s a huge junk of feelings at the moment – all at the same time!

Fiesta LOCA - la despedida de L&G

It’s over the good bye party of Luigi and me in Ecuador!
I’ve written before that here I had some parties of my lifetime – and last Saturday there was just another one of them!
People just dance and go crazy in an incredible way and that is so much fun! The party theme we had “Sexo inverso” = opposite sex, helped definitely to make it a full success together with the fact that there were about 50 people and the ones that weren’t dressed up got a punishment just like we do in AIESEC!
Just check the pictures out to understand better what I’m talking about!

or even BETTER THIS VIDEO!














Gio and Lukas as women
and Tania as Gio

:-))



Thank you so much everybody here in Ecuador!
You guys have been incredible friends, you have welcomed me with open arms and open hearts, took me not just as a good friend but as a member of your family, made me being your dad or brother.
When I say that this has been an unforgettable year and the experience of my lifetime then it’s thanks to you!
YOU MADE IT ALL IT WAS AND I APPRETIATE FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!
I WILL NEVER EVER FORGET YOU AND THE GREAT, FUNNY AND CRAZY MOMENTS WE HAD TOGETHER!



ES CIERTO, SOY ECUATORIANO DE CORAZON PARA SIEMPRE

GRACIAS AMIGOS DE TODO MI CORAZON

The End of a Term - THANX TO EVERYBODY

To me it is just incredible and unbelievable that the weekend from the 31st of May to the 3rd of June 2007 we managed our last conference of our term as MC 06/07 in AIESEC Ecuador.

The time just flew by, there was so much going on all the time that I hardly noticed how fast dates are changing. But I guess that is rather a good sign…
Anyways last weekend was really special to all of us (the MC 06/07) since it was the official election of the incoming team and therefore our official good bye. Yeah right, you might remember that I don’t like good byes and say that it’s always a catch you later… but in this case it’s different. I might catch up with the people again for sure but not with my year as MC in Ecuador – that is over…

At the final speech of my term I explained that I’m standing there with a crying and a smiling eye.
Crying because my term as MC is over, because I will leave Ecuador and won’t see all my friends here all the days or at least once in a while at a national conference or coaching their LC’s.
Smiling because I can look back to the biggest learning experience of my life, because I won so many good friendships and because I developed as a person thanks to that year that now is over.

I want to say thanks to the most important people of that year.
Some of them didn’t form part of the MC the whole year but still made the experience as special as it was:
Carlos: thank you for showing so much interest in my country and culture, I would have loved to have you with us for the whole term
Mabel: You are such a sweetheart, with your humor and sunny manner you just made me happy whenever I was around you. You are great. Thank you for the time we spent together.
Luigi: Thank you for always understanding me and the translation you did for me at the beginning. What can I say Luigi, You are my brother. Thank you for that!

To the MC that lived the dream and their passion till the end goes a very special thank you:
Franchesca: As MCP you have taught me so much about leadership and group management. Thank you for all the learning points I got from you. Especially thank you for taking me as the brother you never had. I LOVE YOU
Chiripa: Thank you for always listening to me, understanding and supporting me. Thank you for being such a great friend and great leader. I LOVE YOU
Dalal: Most importantly is just saying thanks for having been here Dalal, you know it would have been so much different for both of us without each other. I needed you the way you needed me. I LOVE YOU

Yeah for sure, I love “my” girls – I LOVE MY MC – I love the year that just ends.
Because it was an unforgettable year, a term with such a huge impact and learning – it has been the best year of my life with all its moments, all its ups and downs and I’m so grateful for having experienced that and you guys were the most important part of my professional experience.

A special thanks goes to LC Guayaquil for having opened up you doors to the MC and made me feel part of the LC family! You are so great guys I appreciate that a lot, you will always be part of my heart and I will never ever forget you!
Eli, Gaby y Vane: mis hijitas, les quiero mucho – para siempre estaré para ustedes no importa el tiempo ni la distancia!

The biggest, fattest and hugest thank you of all goes to all AIESEC Ecuador and especially my friends out of AIESEC such as Tania, Roxana, Tatiana, Mauricio, Carlitos and everybody.
You guys have welcomed me with open arms, with all your cariño (love) have given me your friendships and hearts in a way that was unknown to me. Thanks to you I had the biggest learning in my life, thanks to you I could develop so much on a personal as well as on a professional side.
Thanks to you I had awesome trips and journeys all over the country and THE PARTIES OF MY LIFETIME! You made me feel home, you made me ecuatorian by heart!
You shared all the good and bad moments with me, were there for me as friends no matter what and I appreciate that so much my friends, really I love you from the bottom of my heart!

Thinking about all what you’ve done and been for me makes me sad and happy once more. So we kind of close the circle I started writing with…

Alright, no more words but finally the promised MC 2006/07 video of AIESEC Ecuador!
Enjoy

With a huge lovely hug I say once more THANK YOU
I WILL NEVER EVER FORGET YOU
Su ecuatoriano de corazón
giovanni