From The Smile, Herself

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

I'm HOME guys!!!! Never been so happy. I have a lot to say about the trip. I learned a lot about the trip. I meet some wonderful people during the trip and I even flew in business class for the first time.

I can say it was an experience I would have never receive if it wasn't because of NFTE. Thank you Suzanne and Thank you Sagia for wanting youth entrepreneurs speaking at the GCF.

Please Chicago ME!

In Saudi Arabia, by myself......a big No No!

When my host left me in the airport after he helped me checked in, I cried for Chicago. While trying to buy my family and friends t shirts and key chains, there was no store in the airport. The only store in the airport had expensive perfume, Beats headphones, and watches. What type of stuff it that???? Then I tried to give my riyals for american dollars and they rob me of $80 dollars because they only had hundred dollar bills. No one understood me! I did not understand them! At that point in that trip, I was so ready to go home. I can not travel internationally by myself anymore. I'm just a little kid, for God sake. (lol) But I did learn a lot with this trip. Cultural, Business, Politics, and the Future of Global Businesses.

This is my face when I got off the airplane in Chicago.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Innovation to Generation Panel (that's me)

Oh My God!!!!

Guys, the panel was amazing. So many people said we made the conference have a GREAT ending. After we were done, there was a line of people waiting to meet me, majority girls. They told me how I enlightened them and also that I represented the woman of Saudi Arabia.

The panel consisted of
• Ariell Buckingham, Student, Entrepreneur

• Caspar Hobbs, CEO, Professional and Vocational Education, Pearson

• Kyle Wong, Student, Entrepreneur

• Tammy Camp, Managing Partner, Camp International; Entrepreneur

• Moderated by Steven Gold, Senior Partner for Entrepreneurship, Babson College

We changed the entire panel right before we went on stage. We came to agree that we were to speak about youth entrepreneurship. Kyle, Tammy and myself first told our stories and then Steve (the moderator) lead it into disadvantages and advantages of being a youth entrepreneur to education and what can people do to reach this market.

I had the crowd laughing! Each person who came up to me, never to stop smiling and that I'm blessed. What they don't know???? I CANT STOP SMILING! It's a blessing, but also a curse. Even if you don't smile at me, and the harder I try not to smile, I smile harder then laugh. It'I a made crazy! I know. But I told my story. I told the truth. and they loved it! This one man told me that because of me, the crowd stayed awake. If you seen me speak before, then maybe you know what they talking about. Or if you haven't then you missing out. And this is me not tooting my own horn. (lol)

When more and more people came up to me and said how I made them smile or how much I inspired them, I knew my job was accomplished. That was all I wanted to do, was share my story and hoped they liked it and learn something from it. And then they asked me to speak at their universities for ladies and then a man told me that he would pay for me to stay an extra night so he can show me around Riyadh, but I really can't miss any more days of class.

I knew that would happen. When I first got there, not too many people spoke to me, maybe 11 at the most for two days, and thats not including my host. I knew that after my speech and they see who I am and know that I'm a very easy lady, then they would love me and want to talk to me then. And that is exactly what happen. One man told me, after I told him about my first two days, he said that don't take it personal. Because of rules and customs, one. men and woman are separated and two. because woman are a lower class, it forces them to be more shy towards strangers. He said more, but I forgot word to word, but I understood what he said. I really didn't take it personal anyway because I knew after they heard what I had to say, then everything would be ok.

Until then.....SEE YA LATER Riyadh.