KL in early morning, after last night's storm, was clean and blue and beautiful. But already smoke was rising from the utilities building in KLCC, and once the sun rose the heat began its relentless attack on sanity. Before the day was through I would have been conquered by chicken soup, awestruck by an audience of 1500 and enthralled by Asian bureaucratic efficiency.
Our Convention began at 2pm. Before that we strolled through KLCC garden, where the grass is not grass but some kind of broadleaf, and explored the underground mall that connects together many of the buildings near Petronas. In the mall we discovered yam frozen yogurt (delicious!) and bought a camera, a smallish Canon, for under RM800 (around $300). We ate lunch in a small seedy mall with plastic tables near our hotel, where a dish named Nasi Paprik, a soup made of chicken, beans and 1000 chillis, nearly made me cry. There was no time to recover as we rushed to change into business clothes and return to Convention.
I spent the first hour listening to a panel on the International leadership roles. The panel of International directors and officers provided some real food for thought - their main message seemed to be: leadership is not campaigning and it is not having power; leadership is service, at all levels of the organisation, and an effective leader comes to their role ready to learn. It was surprising and reassuring to hear this simple principle being applied even at International level.
The gathering of first-time Convention attendees blew my mind. 60 percent of the 3000 attendees gathered in one room to be welcomed by the International President and CEO. The welcome didn't go on long, though, before the CEO brought a roving mic into the audience for a spot of Table Topics. Of the many things I'd thought might happen to me at Convention, an impromptu speech before thousands was very far from my mind, but that was what ended up occurring. Not being "in the zone" and mentally prepared to speak, this former District champion couldn't muster more than 30 seconds of introduction before escaping back to my seat. Of course, with Toastmasters being a mutually supportive learning environment, I copped no stick at all from the other Kiwis for being so nervous, and everyone who did tease came up with a constructive recommendation as well. Yeah right.
The day wrapped up with the official opening ceremony. It was a huge event with many parts, but by far the best part was past IP Jana Barnhill's opening keynote. In simple and relatable terms, she shared how far Toastmasters had brought her and some of the hard lessons she had learnt along the way. It was almost exactly the type of keynote I'm hoping to deliver at Te Aro when I get back. I was inspired.
The very last thing we did tonight was collect our voting credentials for the International business meeting on Saturday. I'm carrying votes for four clubs and excited to be a part of the official business. The credentials process was extraordinarily efficient, well thought out, and warm and friendly to boot. We were in and out inside 20 minutes, which just goes to show that you can't believe everything you hear in New Zealand. No one should be surprised that our Malaysian organisers, with so much to prove, have put together a credentials system that puts previous Conventions to shame. Well done to them!
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