Bangkok has certainly delivered in my first week of living here!
I have moved into my new apartment which is a part of a gated community. My apartment is very comfortable, as is the community I am now a part of. The closest shopping mall is complete with a 24/7 coffee shop, a ball pit, reading nook and lots more still to be discovered. The view outside of my apartment looks down onto a soccer field, in which the locals are enjoying playing a game of cricket.
The hustle and bustle of Bangkok is not to be taken lightly! Traffic here is very full on with 19km distances taking up to an hour to drive in ubers/taxis. However, there is always something to see whichever way you look, which explains why I have a bit of a sore neck!
I just finished my first three days of training that occurred at the United Nations. It was intense training covering various topics such as leadership, logistics, legalities, my role and responsibilities, goal setting and qualifying for the Global Youth Award at the end of my placement.
Each day we were required to give motivating presentations either about ourselves or our work, I enjoyed presenting about the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 4, Quality Education. Day one of the training we met the Regional Project Manager of the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and he spoke to us about the activities of the UNDP and highlighted some of the challenges they face. He spoke of how the University Scholars Leadership Symposium (run by Humanitarian Affairs Asia) will help combat some of these challenges and get more young people involved in the work that the UNDP does.
Later on, we had a private tour by the Conference Centre Manager and got to see all over the ESCAP building. One of the Conference Rooms was set up for a UN meeting in the coming week and country placards were placed on each desk. Seeing the “behind the scenes” of the UN was something I won’t quickly forget. The United Nation’s library was just as powerful with texts in various languages, topics and authors lining the walls.
The final day of the training went into depth of what my role will specifically be. One aspect of my role is that I will be working on recruiting delegates to come to the University Scholars Leadership Symposium from all around Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the USA. I have my work cut out for me over the next 7 months but I am very excited! There are seven ‘Youth Advocates to the UN’ in total, all women and all extremely capable to succeed in their position.
Tonight, I am going out to China Town to have dinner with the girls and today I have enjoyed unpacking and decorating my new home.
Thank you to all for your messages, prayers and support! I greatly appreciate the encouragement.
Bye for now!
พบกันใหม่ (póp gan mài)
Fun Fact: I get unlimited internet for 588 Thai Baht which is about $24 (AUD) per month.
