Looking back to 2008

As you noticed, my blog hasn’t been updated for a while. I haven’t felt like blogging at all- just no creative energy. I’m still not sure, whether I want to keep it, but since I anyways wrote a little reflection on 2008, I thought I share it here.

If I had to assign a theme to 2008, I would probably pick "settling in". Looking back this seems to be the red thread across the last 12 months. First of all, I had to settle in my new job. I have to admit, the beginning was rough in several aspects. I was thrown in at the deep end work wise and had to learn to swim rather quickly. But for the last 6 months now, I started to feel that I am being more myself in my job, also I've started shaping my role at work. Actually now, it feels good to be there. Besides, this was my first year in the "real corporate world". Overall, I think it is quite ok. I wanted to take this step in the first place. But sometimes, I still find it hard -hard to see meaning and a purpose of my work. Still, I do wonder whether the corporate environment is the place ,where I can really make a difference. Time will show, I guess.

Then secondly, I settled in a new city: Zurich. New people, new places, starting from scratch- almost. Since luckily I have some of my AIESEC friends in town it was easier. Although I still love Berne, I can say now that started to feel at home in Zurich. I discovered some places I like to hang out at, places to go in order to stimulate good conversations, places to take people to. In the first part of the year, I started taking Spanish classes. Absolutely LOVED it. I will have to continue next year, even though it is momentarily suspended.
Another thing I discovered was indoor cycling. One of the BEST activities after a hard day at work. Usually I feel so exhausted after it, that I hardly make it up the hill on the way home. But it makes you feel alive :-)
Overall however, my social life is not yet at the stage, where I would like it to be, thus I definitely need to continue working more on it.

Last but not least, I settled in my little 2 bedroom flat in Adliswil. I made at least five trips to Ikea, until I had bought all the different items for my apartment. It took me a while to have it decorated. And even now one year later, I still need to assemble a few bits n' pieces. But I can say, I feel at home at my place. It feels great to have your "own" place, after 7 years of sharing a flat. I love having people around for dinner and red wine, but just as much I sometimes love to spend my evenings watching the newest episode of "Greys Anatomy" and chill on my red leather couch. My apartment is about 20 minutes by public transport from Zurich city centre. But more importantly, it's only about 15 minutes walk from where I work. Every morning when I walk to work, I remind myself, how much of a luxury this is.

Some of the highlights of 2008

Prague- May
2nd MC 03-04 reunion with everyone present. Meat, meat and again meat at "Ambiente" Restaurant. Walks through the beautiful old town. Picnic in the park & jazz on the boat.

Leeds/London - August
playing monopoly until late at night. English breakfasts & English countryside. Fun. Drinks on the Themes. Reconnecting with old friends. Lunch on the top floor of the "Gherkin".

Borneo - October
Kota Kinabalu's night market: so much to see, observe and taste. My mouth still waters when I think of the freshly barbecued fish, the fresh mangoes or the refreshing coconut water.
Diving in Sipadan: the turtles, the sea horses, the sponge crabs, the stone fish, the sharks, the rays, the barracudas etc. The underwater world there is simply amazing. The feeling of reconnecting to mother earth.
Mulu National Park: The rain forest with all its sounds and animals. The caves that make you stare in awe. The conversations that really matter. The fun.

REM & Counting Crows Concert. The Euro Cup in Switzerland. AI transition party in Rotterdam. Discover Zurich Bars Tour with some people from work. Bernese Oberland hike in October. Lissabon with 5 very good friends.

The visitors I had coming from near and far to visit me in Zurich. Thank you guys for a great time and the memories:Kirat, Judith & Patrick, Nicole, Sybille & Sacha, Mama & Martin, Dean & Verena, Ika & Mike, Fede, Amit & Lars and all the others!

plans for the next few weeks

I'm about to leave Jakarta and head off to explore the rest of Java. Some other wedding guests are also travelling, so it looks as if I will join them for a bit. While being in Indonesia, I also wanna check out Bali and if possible parts of Lombok before taking a flight on the 18th of May to Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia. There I will meet up with Dimitris. As it looks now we will check out Malaysia for a few days before going to spend a few days on the beach in Southern Tailand. After that I will go on North: North Tailand, Laos and Southern China, before heading back to Singapore. Thinking of the weeks ahead I'm very excited, as I feel that my experience here will be quite different from the experience so far, as I don't have my AIESEC network to rely on any more, plus the fact that I don't speak any of the languages of these countries will make things a litttle more complicated I think. I also wonder how I will be dealing with the heat and the humidity. So far it is kinda ok, although I must admit that air con is not such a bad invention after all...:-)

2nd stop: Colombia

Finally back online. Internet access is more difficult to arrange than I first imagined. Today is my 17th day here in Colombia already. Right now sitting here in an auditorium of EAFIT University in Medellin, attending an AIESEC meeting.

In short what has happened up until now:

My time here started with chairing the Leadership Development Seminar 2007 in Cali. What a conference. I always wanted to chair a conference in another continent. I couldn’t have wished for a better country to do so than Colombia. Such energy and such a willingness to learn and discover I have hardly come across before.

After the conference I was travelling with Bee to Popayan and San Augostin. Even though I fell sick for one day, it was a very cool trip as it was including all the ingredients such a trip needs: a lovely colonial city (Popayan), adventurous and long bus trips, spectacular scenery, fascinating archaeological sites (San Agostin), interesting encounters with locals and expats alike, as well as excellent conversations with Bee.

As Bee had to go back to Bogota, I’m now continuing my trip by myself. The last three days I spent in Manizales, visiting people I had met at the conference. During my time in Manizales I was living with different Colombian families, who offered to host me. My days were filled with exploring the city and its surroundings, eating huge lunches, enjoying tasty Colombian coffee, the evenings consisted of long conversations over beer and wine, as well as of dancing salsa, vallenato…etc :-)

I find it difficult to put my experience so far into words. Of course I have been seeing many interesting places and sights, also have I indulged into new food, but what really is making my stay here are the people I have met and the friends I have made. I know it sounds cliché, but I’m really overwhelmed by the people here in Colombia: People with such a lot of energy, such a big heart and so much passion for their work and for their country. Simply inspiring. Simply adorable. Thank you so much for all the moments I was able to experience so far thanks to you all! A special thank you to Marta, Juan Pablo, Laura, Caro and Manuel for your incredible hospitality!