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Feature

A Sojourn to the Philippines

Opportunity of a Lifetime
Having the time of one's life is not an easy thing. Says who? I am just having the time of my life and loving it right here in the Philippines. I am in the beautiful Asian city Manila working for the yellow company “DHL Express Philippines” as Commercial Program Executive. I got the job through AIESEC in Independent University, Bangladesh. AIESEC is an international organization that provides a platform for young people to discover and develop their potentials. I got this wonderful internship opportunity through the Exchange Program they run in IUB. It has been 11 months already and my traineeship is coming to an end this month. I have had the most fabulous time of my life here.

AIESEC in Philippines made all the necessary arrangements for me down here. They picked me up from the airport and took to my accommodation. It was a really nice condo located in the central business district called Makati. My office is also in the same area. I was really looking forward to start my work. On the Monday after my arrival I started my work with DHL PH. Initially the training manager took me around the office and introduced me to everyone. I was really impressed to see people from so many countries working in the same office. We have Kiwi, Ausie, French, Japanese, Danish, and all kinds of people from all over working for this company. I was the first Bangladeshi in the office and was really happy to be a part of this diverse workforce. DHL is the global leader in express logistics and has a massive network in more than 220 countries of the world. It also has the 8th largest air fleet in the world. The yellow planes are called Yellow Banana's in the air !!! The Filipino people are really nice. In the office, everyone is very friendly and address each other by their first name regardless of designation. The post that I am holding, “ Commercial Program Executive”, is a post under the direct sales channel. I am here to run an integrated sales program.

Life in Idyllic Isles
In the Philippines, life is quite interesting because there is so much to do outside of work. In the weekends all the trainees from different countries would get together and head out for different activities. One weekend, the students from local AIESEC and trainees from Poland, UK, USA, Ukraine, Finland, China and Japan all went out to see the smallest volcano of the world. It is called Taal Volcano, near Tagaytay and is about 2 hrs drive from Manila. We rented two SUVs and reached at the Taal yacht club. It was my first time outside the busy Manila metropolis, and it gave me an idea how beautiful the country is. The mountains of Tagaytay look simply amazing. Every 5 mins I was like "WOW!!!" We had different activities to make the trip exciting. We went inside hidden tunnels filled with rats and bats, did mountain hiking hanging down from the cliff by clinging to a rope. In the evening when we were relaxing by the lake overlooking the volcano, we were asked to go to a bonfire. All of us were given a fire torch and we all kept walking in the deep forest in a line till we reached to the Bonfire. We had fun scaring each other on the way to the bonfire. We were told that we would have to wake up as early as 5 in the morning. When we all woke up there were 2 boats waiting for us to take us to the volcano across the Taal Lake. Once we were on the boat, the early morning breeze was blowing on our face and it felt really good. After a 20 min boat ride, we were at the bottom of the volcano. There were horses to go up to the volcano tip, but we chose to climb with our own feet. It was the first time I saw a volcano.

Learning in DHL
As time passed by, I started to get a grasp of my work. I was running sales programs with a big base of 5,000 to 7,000 customers. I was sent to New Horizon's Computers in Makati for a two day Excel training. Beside my job of running sales campaigns I am also responsible for supporting the direct sales channel through making databases, reports and presenting in the Sales General Assembly. In February we were taken to an exclusive resort in Batangas, one of the top 5 resorts in the PH. We had different kinds of learning activities where the senior managers had to perform as actors and were given different scenarios. For example, we were taught how to deal with the Japanese customers. In the afternoon we had a learning session by the beach. We were given different games for team building activity. After the days activity we went to our rooms, changed and headed to the beach party. After the dinner we had an award giving ceremony where employees were selected on different categories for their contribution to the country. To my utter surprise I was given the “Best Sales Support Award” for 2005. When the announcer said that the Best Sales Support Award goes to someone who is from Bangladesh, it gave me such joy that I could make my country proud in this foreign land. This July we had another Sales kick off where we rented a film studio for the day.

Filipino Food
The Philippines was colonized by the Spaniards, Americans and Japanese. The impact of this can be found in the Filipino foods too. It's not spicy or hot (that's where I started taking green chilli with my meals). People here are used to rice three times a day.. Eating Shutki (dried fish) and sausage for breakfast is a common practice. There is a Filipino delicacy called “Balut”. It is boiled egg with the unborn chicken inside. It is half yellow and half black and looks very “Not appetizing”. I tried having one just to make the local AIESEC'rs happy, but it really was terrible!!! In the office I made lot of friends. We hang out together all the time. Every Friday we go out to eat dinner and try different cuisine.

Life Changing Experience
I learnt a lot through working at DHL for a year. I think the best thing is DHL knows how to bring out the maximum potential from their associates. I have learned how to blend in with a diverse workforce, people from all around the world. I have learned multitasking, prioritizing work, team building, communicating and corresponding, and maintaining global standard. I have learned the corporate dos and don'ts. Overall, this experience has given me the confidence to be adaptive, proactive, and productive and now I can see more clearly where I want to reach in my carreer. If I can do it, you can too. It's up to you…

(Student, Independent University Bangladesh.)

Medical admission test: Dos & Don'ts

Dr. Mahbub Jamil
K58, Dhaka Medical College.

The practice of medicine requires some human qualities not everyone possesses. If you have decided to give it a shot, then you have done so because you already have some of those qualities. Qualities that have driven you to pursue a path not for the faint of heart, not for the selfish, but for those who find glory in sacrifice, for those who find incentive in a fellow man's smile.

So feel good about yourself. All that is required for you now is to go through the formalities of an admission test. Here are a few tips to help you through :

Take it easy. DO REMEMBER, the admission test is NOT a difficult one. You are more likely to score with a cool head than an anxious one.

DO REMEMBER, MCQs are taken from the text book of HSC curriculum, NOT from the 'sheet's given in coaching centers. So study accordingly.

DO go through every page of the textbook, you DON'T have to memorize everything, just read through. It will all come back to you when you get the MCQs.

DON'T put extra emphasis on biology. Physics and Chemistry are just as important. Study HSC biology, you are not an MBBS student yet.

DO practice with questions from past years. Set a time and try to finish within that. This will make sure you at least deliver what you know.

DO sleep well the night before, a prerequisite for the big day ahead. It will prevent a loss.

DO be a sissy and carry a bottle of orange juice to the hall. You WILL need the glucose.

DO REMEMBER to take your admit card.

In the Exam hall, DON'T panic. If you are doing badly, everyone else is also likely to be having a hard time.

All things being equal, the simplest answer is probably the right one. DON'T think any answer is too easy to be true.

Higher education in West Bengal

A good number of Bangladeshi students go to West Bengal seeking admission in various institutes of higher education. Here is a list of institutes in West Bengal. Asiatic Society, Bengal Engineering & Science University, Marine Engineering and Research Institute, Bethune College, Medical College Calcutta, Calcutta National Medical College, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Indian Statistical Institute, Jadavpur University, La Martiniere College, Maulana Azad College, National Library of India, Netaji Subhas Open University, Presidency College, Rabindra Bharati University, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, School of Tropical Medicine, Scottish Church College, St. Xavier's College, University of Calcutta, West Bengal University of Health Sciences, West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, West Bengal University of Technology

-Sent by Sharmin Hossain