A Retreat Full of Goals and Solutions
By: Tinna Chung 鍾羽婷
The 2009 Mid-Year Conference was held in the beautiful state of Oregon. The ladies of NATWA came together once again for four days of reflection and relationship building. As a newcomer, the intern for NATWA II, I had no idea what to expect. Within five minutes of entering the throng of chatty and excited first generation taiwanese women, I could sense the strong bonds and seasoned friendships with each other. It was intimidating at first, but all the ladies were so personable and genuinely curious to learn about me (and about NATWA II) that my own excitement to exchange ideas took over.
All four days of the Mid-Year Conference were organized carefully to include the Board Meeting and numerous workshops that focused on a variety of topics involved with self reflection, living a healthy life, team building, and protecting the environment. NATWA II had the privilege to highlight three of its members: Dr. Michi Fu, Jennifer Kuo, and Monique Hawthorne. All three women were asked to create a workshop and speak on a topic related to their careers. Each women did a wonderful job and fittingly spoke on three different but vital topics that could help enrich your life. The NATWA ladies all seemed to enjoy all three workshops immensely.
Dr. Michi Fu focused on reflection and restoration. Prepared with small booklets that included constructive exercises that help you shape your goals and prioritize your values. It was powerful to witness 50+ taiwanese women discussing what they view as important in their lives and concreting goals for themselves. It was also inspiring to watch Michi conduct a meditation session for everyone. The previous excited, chaotic chatter of 50+ women became peaceful and pensive with the guidance of Michi's soothing voice and verbal cues.
Jennifer Kuo focused on team building. Her workshop had a different approach. Contrasting from Michi's peaceful workshop, Jennifer incorporated vigorous exercises that allowed the NATWA ladies let loose and have pure unfiltered fun. Her exercises taught everyone the importance of working together toward a common goal. She showed how a leader among a team is important to establish during times when direction is needed for the whole team to move forward. She also showed how important it was to maintain and show support to each other. I will forever remember the hilarious scene watching the NATWA ladies run around applying stickers onto each other to show encouragement. Their faces reflected pure enjoyment; child-like and innocent.
Monique Hawthorne's workshop was a very informative presentation that made us all more aware of what is going on in the world. She educated us all on what kinds of pollution are currently the most destructive and what solutions are out there to help reverse the damage being done. I thought Monique's presentation was well laid out and thoughtful. I especially liked how she gave multiple examples of solutions to help fight the deterioration of our environment. She covered what large companies are doing to be more green and informed on what we as an individual can do to become more green.
The 2009 Mid-Year Conference ended with a wonderful tour of the Oregon Coast. We stopped by many tourist spots and enjoyed the peaceful scenes that the Oregon Coast had to offer. It was a great experience to be able to explore the different tourist spots with the NATWA ladies.
