Weekends are good. Some weekends are great. Once in a while, you have a weekend that is truly spectacular.
Two weeks ago I went to Kuala Lumpur for the
Asian Women's Empowerment conference, and I'm so glad I did!
The whole thing kicked off with a wander through KL's streets sampling various goodies with
Food Tour Malaysia.
It was a great chance to try some local food while getting to know some
of the other conference speakers and attendees. I'll post some photos
from that soon!
After the food tour, some of us went to a bar called the Helipad, which
is, strangely enough, on an actual disused Helipad! There are no
barriers, so they're pretty strict about making sure you don't go past
that yellow line! It was a bit pricey, but gave us a great sunset and a
view of KL tower and the Petronas twin towers.
After the bar, believe it or not, some of us were a bit hungry so we went for Roti Canai. Yum!
Saturday
began with a brilliant speech by Juno, in which she told us that it's
OK. Ok to to be who we are, do what we want, and live our lives our own
way, despite the objections our families, friends, or society in general
might have. Now, this isn't something I've really had a problem with,
as my family and friends have all been very supportive of the life that I
lead, but even so, these issues still come up from time to time. Even
at work now it seems that everyone is so career-focused, and I feel like
I should be too. I'm the odd one out because, honestly, all I want to
do is travel. (I maybe shouldn't say this on a public blog, but
whatever) I know I SHOULD go do a Master's degree in TESOL, but I can't
quite get motivated to do it. I got into teaching English because of the
travel possibilities, not for the love of teaching or the English
language. So it still means a lot for me to be told that it's really ok
if I want to leave my job and just travel.
Anyway,
Juno went on to point out that to truly be independent, we need to be
dependent. That everyone needs a support network, either at home from
family, or from friends, or from other like-minded people (as in,
everyone else in that room!) My life abroad would definitely be a lot
more difficult if I didn't have family at home supporting me, looking
after the odd bits of bureaucracy that just seem to come up randomly,
and just generally being available for me to call up for help or to talk
over any thoughts or issues I've been thinking about.
The Keynote speaker on Saturday was Sangduen 'Lek' Chailert, the founder of
Save Elephant Foundation.
She first fell in love with elephants as a child and has dedicated her
entire life to freeing elephants from working in the tourism and logging
industries. She had us all in tears as she spoke about the brutality
elephants endure in the name of tradition. For her efforts she has faced
criticism from her family, her hometown, her society, and even her
government. To stand up and speak out for what she believes in in the
face of all of that takes an astounding amount of courage, which she
just seems to have in spades.
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| Me with Lek Chailert - what an inspiring woman! |
On
Saturday afternoon there were simultaneous sessions on freelancing,
travelling as a solo female, writing, travel fashion, social media, and
initiating social change. Unfortunately, because they ran at the same
time I could only attend half of them but I'm looking forward to the
video of the others being available.
Saturday finished
off with the conference dinner, complete with giveaways! Of course I
didn't win anything, but some of my new friends won some great prizes,
such as a stay at Tune Hotel in Melbourne and a package trip to Phuket!
After
dinner a few of us decided to go to KLCC to see the big towers and have
a wander around. We even found a Krispy Kreme donut shop so Pamela and
Aggy got to try them!
Sunday
morning began with a few of the conference participants telling their
stories. Makiko, Won, See, and Deborah shared their experiences and
inspired us to be more and do more!
Next,
it was my turn! Well, me and five others. We sat on the 'Travel Talk'
panel and answered any questions the participants had on various parts
of the world, solo travel, security, visas, and global work
opportunities.
I
think it went well, and was quite pleased when afterward one woman came
up to me and was all excited to talk to me about the possibilities of
doing a working holiday abroad! Yay! I inspired someone! Me!
Last
up was final Keynote speaker Ligwina Hananto, who gave us a
surprisingly lively and entertaining talk about finances! Her main point
was that women in any situation need to have control of their own
money, and that everyone should have an 'emergency fund' of at least 3
months' living expenses.
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| Me with the lovely Ligwina. What a character! |
I was sad that it was the end! It all went by so fast and I met so many amazing people.
I'm
so glad I went to this event. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but I
came away from it inspired, motivated, and like I could achieve anything . I sat on the plane home feeling more positive and certain
about what I want to do than I have in a long time. And most of all, I
feel now like I'm part of something. There's a whole community out
there, which I now belong to, that I can turn to at any time for
friendship, support, and advice. I hope all the other women there left feeling the same way.
Thanks AWE '13, and I hope to see you all next year!
