A Year that will last a life time...

Today is the last day of this year and looking back I think last year is the one year that I will never forget for as long as I live...

'A year that will last you a lifetime' is the tag line used in the Judge Business School, Cambridge brochure and I see how true it is... Spending a year in Cambridge was unbelievable! Now I can count Sir Isaac Newton and Lord Tennyson as my fellow alumni!!!

The people I met were amazing, from so many different nationalities and backgrounds. I learnt so much last year, both in the class room and outside and I feel that I really matured as a person. My view of the world has changed in a major way, this experience has really broadened my outlook. I learnt to see the world through different eyes, no longer do I assume the stereotypical characteristics just because someone is from a particular country. Working with the Global Fund in Geneva was also a wonderful experience, I had always wanted to work as part of the UN. I thought of sharing a video made by one of my class mates with photos of the whole class, and our special moments last year...
Cambridge MBA Highlights 2006/2007

As if that wasn't enough, Who would have thought I'll get the opportunity to see my all time fav band Bon Jovi perform live (I still have to pinch myself to make sure it was not just a dream), or go Paragliding in Switzerland, or ride dodgem cars in a ball dress or go to Paris and visit the Louvre! I feel so blessed, like the lyrics of the Take That song 'Never Forget' this really could be someone else' dream!

This year I hope to continue living life to the fullest and to do my bit to make this world a better place...

I would just like to end this post by wishing you and your families a wonderful New Year during which all your dreams will come true!

Christmas!!!!

I spent a lovely Chistmas day with my family and cousins and thought of sharing a picture of all the cousins. Bit busy right now with Christmas and work, so will keep this short.

My first lecture

Right now Cambridge seems like a distant dream. I can’t believe that I’ve been here for less than three months. When I think of the house in Cambridge and cycling to Uni and meeting all my friends, and all the historical buildings it feels like it was another lifetime. I thought I’d miss it more, but surprisingly I just adjusted to life here pretty quickly…

I finally decided to start work in the New Year, as I thought it would be nice to relax and enjoy Christmas and then start. While waiting, I’ve been working at my University temporarily evaluating the MBA syllabus and just conducted my first visiting lecture! It was more of a talk than a lecture on my research project which I carried out in collaboration with the Global Fund to fight AIDs, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on the skills I learnt. Imagine that! Little me lecturing a class of senior professionals! I think over all it went well. I’m finding that I enjoy lecturing… Maybe I’ll continue to be a visiting lecturer!

So this is Christmas…

What have you done? Another year’s over… a new one’s just begun…

This song was going on the radio and got me thinking… Last year was an amazing year for me, I learnt so many things and became so much more independent and I think I’ve grown up a lot last year too… but as a person what have I done for others?

Have I become indifferent to the sufferings of others, and become overwhelmed in my own world… Especially while in UK I rarely saw any poverty and even the beggars singing at the tube stations don’t seem to be as poor as the beggars that I see here everyday… But just because I cease to see them, that does not mean that they do not exist…

So what is the meaning of Christmas? Surely it’s not having lavish parties and shopping till you drop… Is it helping those in need and visiting friends and family, but shouldn’t that be done all through the year, and not just once a year? I guess it’s better to atleast think of others once a year rather than not at all…

Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger; the people who came to welcome him to this world were poor shepherds and their sheep, so isn’t it ironic how people celebrate such a holy day by partying, and how the media has commercialised it so much that the way to show that you love your friends and family is by buying the most expensive gift!

Last weekend some of my friends and I visited and organised a party at Freedom House, in Kelaniya which is a home for the mentally disabled people who have received treatment and are better but have no place to go to as their families have disowned them due to the stigma of having a mentally ill person in their homes. It was very sad, as some of them talked about their own families and how they’re hoping that they would visit for Christmas. One person had found out that his parents had migrated to Australia without even telling him… We could see that they really appreciated the company… Made me think how lucky I am…