Sunday, 18 January 2009
Magical Vienna and more travels!!
Lucky me spent last weekend visiting a friend in Vienna!!
Juliane studies at Vienna Business School, and I've been missing her lots since we stopped working together in the summer, so I went over to see her for the weekend.
Add to this that I'd never been to Vienna before, and that whilst I was there we were going to the University's Winter Ball (in a castle!!), and it was pretty inevitable that it would be the perfect few days.
It definitely did not disappoint. Vienna itself was full of beautiful architecture, cosmopolitan bars, clubs and shops, great sushi (!) and very warm people. The weather was perfect for most of the time - very cold with clear sunny skies, the perfect winter weather. Jule and I spent a long time catching up on everything we've missed, over several glasses of red wine, some nice days taking in the sights around the city. I got a night time tour of the city, we spent an awesome afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art, and even managed to squeeze in Sachentorte and rum hot chocolate...
Peter Kogler @Vienna Museum of Mod Art
On the Saturday evening, we went to a huge ball, and I had an awesome evening chatting to some AIESECers there, trying not to main anyone whilst learning to Waltz (difficult - and even more difficult during a polka!) and soaking up the atmosphere. The venue was huge castle in the city centre, and there were several different large rooms with bands playing everything from swing to jazz, as well as a disco downstairs, and the huge main hall which was packed with people and had an orchestra playing - I hadn't quite grasped how huge an event it was going to be but I will definitely be back!
Back to earth at home, things with my current job in sales are going well, but I'm already itching to do something new. After initially being disappointed that I wouldn't be able to get away as early as planned, I'm really lucky to be working with some people who are great fun, which has made things easier. Despite this, I've been planning my next adventure before I'm in London for 2 years with my graduate job almost since October, and over Christmas came up with the perfect plan, and booked my flights!!
At the end of Feb everything starts again, and I'll be off to live in Jaipur, India for 2 months. I'll be volunteering at a charity called Cecoedecon, running a sustainability study into their Non-Formal Education Centres in rural India - see http://www.cecoedecon.org. Following that I'll spend 2 months in Beijing China, probably teaching English - I'll keep you updated!! I then fly into Bangkok to spend 2 weeks there, then 2 weeks in Cambodia visiting some friends before making it back to the UK. To say I'm excited is a huge understatement!
The thrill of picking up and going off to a new country is something that's very quickly become addictive - I'm particularly excited to be working in sustainable development, an area I definitely want to become more experienced in, and be active in throughout my career. I've loved being at home for these months, and having the time to evaluate my plans and where I'm going. And it's refreshing to feel the direction and certainty I had about my future whilst working in London over the past year come flooding back - right now I just can't wait to start, so much so that even the crazy, scary visa applications can't get me down!!
5 weeks and 3 days to go....
Juliane studies at Vienna Business School, and I've been missing her lots since we stopped working together in the summer, so I went over to see her for the weekend.
Add to this that I'd never been to Vienna before, and that whilst I was there we were going to the University's Winter Ball (in a castle!!), and it was pretty inevitable that it would be the perfect few days.
It definitely did not disappoint. Vienna itself was full of beautiful architecture, cosmopolitan bars, clubs and shops, great sushi (!) and very warm people. The weather was perfect for most of the time - very cold with clear sunny skies, the perfect winter weather. Jule and I spent a long time catching up on everything we've missed, over several glasses of red wine, some nice days taking in the sights around the city. I got a night time tour of the city, we spent an awesome afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art, and even managed to squeeze in Sachentorte and rum hot chocolate...
Peter Kogler @Vienna Museum of Mod Art
On the Saturday evening, we went to a huge ball, and I had an awesome evening chatting to some AIESECers there, trying not to main anyone whilst learning to Waltz (difficult - and even more difficult during a polka!) and soaking up the atmosphere. The venue was huge castle in the city centre, and there were several different large rooms with bands playing everything from swing to jazz, as well as a disco downstairs, and the huge main hall which was packed with people and had an orchestra playing - I hadn't quite grasped how huge an event it was going to be but I will definitely be back!
Back to earth at home, things with my current job in sales are going well, but I'm already itching to do something new. After initially being disappointed that I wouldn't be able to get away as early as planned, I'm really lucky to be working with some people who are great fun, which has made things easier. Despite this, I've been planning my next adventure before I'm in London for 2 years with my graduate job almost since October, and over Christmas came up with the perfect plan, and booked my flights!!
At the end of Feb everything starts again, and I'll be off to live in Jaipur, India for 2 months. I'll be volunteering at a charity called Cecoedecon, running a sustainability study into their Non-Formal Education Centres in rural India - see http://www.cecoedecon.org. Following that I'll spend 2 months in Beijing China, probably teaching English - I'll keep you updated!! I then fly into Bangkok to spend 2 weeks there, then 2 weeks in Cambodia visiting some friends before making it back to the UK. To say I'm excited is a huge understatement!
The thrill of picking up and going off to a new country is something that's very quickly become addictive - I'm particularly excited to be working in sustainable development, an area I definitely want to become more experienced in, and be active in throughout my career. I've loved being at home for these months, and having the time to evaluate my plans and where I'm going. And it's refreshing to feel the direction and certainty I had about my future whilst working in London over the past year come flooding back - right now I just can't wait to start, so much so that even the crazy, scary visa applications can't get me down!!
5 weeks and 3 days to go....
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Long time....
So, am now back, working in chilly-but-beautiful Edinburgh. One weekend when I have a lot of time will write about the end of my travels, and what's coming up next, for now, a friend sent me this today and I found it such good common sense that I thought I'd put it up here!
"Creativity is as important in education today as literacy"
"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original"
Full video;
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
"Creativity is as important in education today as literacy"
"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original"
Full video;
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Past couple of weeks!
So, needless to say, the conference is now over! It was an awesome experience - definitely including some of the frustrating, difficult moments I imagined but overall it was awesome, am very very glad that I did it. In particular the ER side of things seemed to go more or less smoothly - running everything in a hotel rather than a university campus made everything much easier on us than usual!
By far my favourite day was the Learning Networks day in the middle of the conference, with panel discussions, workshops and speeches around the theme of sustainability. There were some really interesting people there (including the ex-president of Bolivia - photo opp!) and I got to attend some of the sessions and speeches on the day which were really worthwhile.
So, after that we did a few days debrief in Itapecericia, before I headed up to the Northeast for a holiday! Spent a couple of days in the capital of the state, Salvador which is very pretty and very very different to any of the other cities I´ve been to in Brazil so far. Last night I spent an eventful day travelling to a little town called Lençois, which aside from being very pretty, is the gateway to one of the most beautiful national parks in Brazil - I~ve got some walking and horseriding treks lined up for the next couple of days and am tempted already to spend longer than the 4 days I´ve planned here as it´s really very nice - relaxing, pretty, and there´s a festival in town!!
By far my favourite day was the Learning Networks day in the middle of the conference, with panel discussions, workshops and speeches around the theme of sustainability. There were some really interesting people there (including the ex-president of Bolivia - photo opp!) and I got to attend some of the sessions and speeches on the day which were really worthwhile.
So, after that we did a few days debrief in Itapecericia, before I headed up to the Northeast for a holiday! Spent a couple of days in the capital of the state, Salvador which is very pretty and very very different to any of the other cities I´ve been to in Brazil so far. Last night I spent an eventful day travelling to a little town called Lençois, which aside from being very pretty, is the gateway to one of the most beautiful national parks in Brazil - I~ve got some walking and horseriding treks lined up for the next couple of days and am tempted already to spend longer than the 4 days I´ve planned here as it´s really very nice - relaxing, pretty, and there´s a festival in town!!
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Day -4
We're now just a few days away from the start of International Congress - delegates are beginning to arrive for pre-stay, and the team delivering the conference arrived two days ago to begin working with us.
The feeling of excitement and urgency has been becoming gradually more intense over the past couple of weeks, and we're now at a point whereby even though there's lots of work to do, and final preparations to put in place, everyone is just willing the conference to start in earnest. Over the past couple of weeks everyone has been working hard, playing hard and trying to relax and prepare mentally for the next two weeks!
The ER team took a trip into Sao Paulo last weekend, ostensibly to view the venue of the conference (which is incredible - very comfortable), but also to let off some steam and enjoy Sao Paulo a little! After surviving a traffic jam which turned a 50 minute journey into a 5hr crawl along the motorway together, we finally arrived at a friend from the CC's flat, and got ready to go out for the evening. I went to my first churrascaria, a Brazilian favourite where you pay a fixed price (usually around £8) for unlimited barbeque, before going to a huge club to meet up with more friends and enjoy the atmosphere.
Now we're working on making the most of our time, and enjoying the conference - it's surreal to think about how quickly the time's gone past since we arrived, and to know that in just two weeks from now it will all be over...
The feeling of excitement and urgency has been becoming gradually more intense over the past couple of weeks, and we're now at a point whereby even though there's lots of work to do, and final preparations to put in place, everyone is just willing the conference to start in earnest. Over the past couple of weeks everyone has been working hard, playing hard and trying to relax and prepare mentally for the next two weeks!
The ER team took a trip into Sao Paulo last weekend, ostensibly to view the venue of the conference (which is incredible - very comfortable), but also to let off some steam and enjoy Sao Paulo a little! After surviving a traffic jam which turned a 50 minute journey into a 5hr crawl along the motorway together, we finally arrived at a friend from the CC's flat, and got ready to go out for the evening. I went to my first churrascaria, a Brazilian favourite where you pay a fixed price (usually around £8) for unlimited barbeque, before going to a huge club to meet up with more friends and enjoy the atmosphere.
Now we're working on making the most of our time, and enjoying the conference - it's surreal to think about how quickly the time's gone past since we arrived, and to know that in just two weeks from now it will all be over...
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
check it out for an awesome video on where our stuff comes from - about 20 mins long.
And....something my mum sent me today! Some amazing photos of our Olympian athletes here;
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Naked-Ambition-British-Olympic-medal-hopes-Phillips-Idowu-Gregor-Tait-and-Rebecca-Romero/Media-Gallery/200808115065813?lpos=Home_2&lid=GALLERY_15065813_Naked%2BAmbition%253A%2BBritish%2BOlympic%2Bmedal%2Bhopes%2BPhillips%2BIdowu%252C%2BGregor%2BTait%2Band%2BRebecca%2BRomero
The photographer also has some really cool stuff on his website, have a look here;
http://www.nadavkander.com/
check it out for an awesome video on where our stuff comes from - about 20 mins long.
And....something my mum sent me today! Some amazing photos of our Olympian athletes here;
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Naked-Ambition-British-Olympic-medal-hopes-Phillips-Idowu-Gregor-Tait-and-Rebecca-Romero/Media-Gallery/200808115065813?lpos=Home_2&lid=GALLERY_15065813_Naked%2BAmbition%253A%2BBritish%2BOlympic%2Bmedal%2Bhopes%2BPhillips%2BIdowu%252C%2BGregor%2BTait%2Band%2BRebecca%2BRomero
The photographer also has some really cool stuff on his website, have a look here;
http://www.nadavkander.com/
Friday, 1 August 2008
The end of an era...
So, today was the last day in the office for the MC 07-08. Feels very strange not to be there to share it with them - oddly enough it feels even stranger now than it did when I left 4 weeks ago, which felt very surreal. It feels absolutely bizzare to think that if I were to phone the office tomorrow I'd hear a different voice to one of the 9 that I've had for the past year. At the same time as being sad now it also feels complete - full circle. I know that I'll always have this feeling of nostalgia for the year 07-08 I have now, simply because of everything I learned, and more than that the people I got to share it with who in some way every day managed to make the experience for me. I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to work with so many talented, passionate people, and I'm really looking forward to being able to sit with them in the years coming down the line, and see what we all achieve and where our experiences take us.
Back in Brazil, we spent the whole day today meeting with every single other team to make sure we're all on the same page regarding what we're doing, and how things are going to work. It's been intense and everyone feels quite spaced out now, but it was incredibly useful - it felt as if it came at just the right time, and everyone is now so much more switched on and clued in on what they're doing, just from taking the time to have a structured chat. Everything's gradually stepping up a notch, but it's cool to see that most of the team is stepping up with it - the guys I'm working with are hugely motivated - very good at what they do, very switched on and most importantly nobody takes themselves too seriously and we all have good fun with each other. We noticed today in the meetings that the majority of the time we can now tell what the others are thinking, because we've discussed everything in so much detail that all it takes is a look to know we're thinking exactly the same thing at the same time - I guess it's because the experience and work is so intense, but being so connected makes it worth it 100%.
I'm still trying to upload pictures, but it really slows down the internet here, and stops people working so may have to leave it until my trips into SP next week.
Back in Brazil, we spent the whole day today meeting with every single other team to make sure we're all on the same page regarding what we're doing, and how things are going to work. It's been intense and everyone feels quite spaced out now, but it was incredibly useful - it felt as if it came at just the right time, and everyone is now so much more switched on and clued in on what they're doing, just from taking the time to have a structured chat. Everything's gradually stepping up a notch, but it's cool to see that most of the team is stepping up with it - the guys I'm working with are hugely motivated - very good at what they do, very switched on and most importantly nobody takes themselves too seriously and we all have good fun with each other. We noticed today in the meetings that the majority of the time we can now tell what the others are thinking, because we've discussed everything in so much detail that all it takes is a look to know we're thinking exactly the same thing at the same time - I guess it's because the experience and work is so intense, but being so connected makes it worth it 100%.
I'm still trying to upload pictures, but it really slows down the internet here, and stops people working so may have to leave it until my trips into SP next week.
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