Three gals at work and myself decided it would be a memorable experience to put one of us in charge of planning a trip for all four of us. The idea was that we would set a budget and one person would plan a trip based on that budget. The other three would remain clueless until we hit the airport. I was the planner for what we were calling our first adventure together. I really do love the idea, and I hope to be as trusting as the three of them were one day. We chose two three day weekends, so we didn't need to use vacation, and I began searching. I found THE perfect AirBNB, THE perfect prices for airfare, and then all hell broke loose at work. Needless to say, this is just another #nellie served up on a silver platter. Okay, not quite, but still a heaping helping of hashtag. Two of the group had to travel for work on the weekend that I booked our trip. I had bought flexible tickets because that is just the nature of our work, but I forgot to insure the AirBNB. When I checked into it, I would lose half of my money if I cancelled. What's a girl to do but go on an adventure? So, NBF and I asked the kids if they would like to go on a trip to Poland. Turns out this was everyone's first trip to Poland. The trip started off fantastically for the kids as we stopped at McDonald's and Starbucks before we caught our flight. The trip was surprisingly eventless, and we even had a driver waiting for us at the airport. I felt a little like a celebrity to see my name on a sign. The apartment was everything the pictures showed and then some. We did struggle a little with the instructions and finding the right doors. I think we tried to get into two apartments that were not ours, but two keypads, two lockboxes, and four doors later, we were in! The place I booked was two separate apartments with two sleeping areas each. It was meant for four single women after all. This meant NBF and I had our own apartment and the kids shared one. It was a gorgeous place just a five minute walk from old town. You can see all the photos here . Of course, the first stop after we pulled our jaws up off the floor was a grocery for food. I don't think I am exaggerating to say that the store we found ourselves in was smaller than our living room. There was a one person wide circular path through the store. It felt really fucking crowded when the fifth person walked in. Turns out, it was really more of a convenience kiosk but they had them on every street. We settled for chips and decided we might have better luck in the morning. The following morning, we found a bakery with all sorts of fresh sandwiches, pretzels, bagels, and sweets. NBF had a rhubarb pastry, and I had a sandwich with fresh mozzarella cheese, salami, and arugula. Although we didn't intend to, we took a short tour of part of old town, found a true grocery, and even got to stop by another McDonald's. The city was clean, and even though there were a lot of smokers, you really couldn't smell the smoke. I think part of that was because there were so many people using vapes. There were so many small shops with goods ranging from souvenirs to jewelry. I saw an amber necklace that looked like it could have come straight off of Wilma Flintstone's neck. That afternoon, we toured a little deeper into old town. There was a huge city square filled with shops, food kiosks, and craft booths. We tried grilled cheese, and NBF got a beer that made up for the tiny little glass he got in Scotland. We couldn't help but dig that memory up since it was just a year ago we traveled to Scotland. We ended the evening with a boat tour on the Vistula river. Despite saying the tour was in English, the captain didn't speak a word. One sight we barely caught glimpse of was the fire breathing Wawel dragon that Krakow is known for. An old legend says that there was a dragon that lived in a cave by the river, and it was eating the citizens of Krakow. An old shoemaker fed the dragon a goat that had sulphur under its hide, and the dragon died. At the entrance to the cave, there is a statue of the dragon that breathes fire every five minutes. My picture was rushed and not great, so here is a link to see the dragon better. Sunday began on a much more serious note. I had arranged an early morning tour of Auschwitz concentration camp. We had to be on the bus at 6:45, so I was a little bit surprised we had all three kids with us. When we arrived, we did a lot of standing and waiting, and truth be told a little bit of bitching about the waiting and not knowing what was going on. But I am glad we paid for a tour because we jumped the lines. There really isn't a way for me to convey the weight and intensity of that tour. I wanted to document everything, but at the same time, I couldn't bring myself to take very many photographs. It just felt wrong. Our tour guide reminded us that soon we would move to a time where no survivors remained, but only memories, and that was why it was important that people come to learn. Many original places and objects have been preserved, and there are displays of what is left, like luggage and shoes. There are photographs and graphics that represent the nearly incomprehensible data. Of everything I saw, the child's shoe that was at the edge of a mountain of shoes is seared in my mind. I am quite certain I would like to return because our tour was barely a skim of the top layer, but I know I was deeply impacted by this trip. I will have to be more mentally prepared next time. Even now, I am tearing up just thinking about the overwhelming impact of this trip, and I know I cannot write anymore. Our intention Sunday was to tour Oscar Schindler's factory, but the day was heavy enough. We spent the rest of the day touring the old town, trying more food, and waiting for an hour for the coldest but best tasting food we had all trip. It turns out that duck is a staple of Polish cuisine, so I had to give it a try along with some pierogies. While I couldn't bring myself to pay for a horse and carriage ride, I did bring home a souvenir that will be right at home here. I only hope that the next chance I get to play Destination Unknown with the ladies, that I can plan something this memorable. P.S. A quick story....Our chauffeur was a friendly, funny man. I happened to see a sign at the airport that said Kiss and Fly. The concept is the same in many places, but I had never heard it called that. Our driver said, yeah that is where you kiss the driver as a thanks for taking you. NBF says, "I'll remember to kiss you when you drop us off on Monday." We all laughed, and then the driver says, "Eh, some days are better than others I guess."
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When I was hired to my new job, a big reason for bringing me onboard was my writing. Sure, my educational background has been utilized endlessly, but I was not quite as experienced in international teaching as they would have liked. I have no worries on that front because I have been put in charge of making a professional development plan for our team.
I feel like I must stray to a silly side story...I have a lot of ideas that I am happy to share. Unfortunately, I discovered the implementation team for all of these ideas has one employee. I suggested to the CEO that someone should do a thorough proofreading of one of our main documents. That conversations ended with me asking my boss, "Did I just volunteer?" Fun fact, I did indeed volunteer. Apparently didn't learn a thing. Thus far my suggestions have resulted in my boss saying, "Great idea. Make it happen," to faaaaar too may of my ideas. My coworker even sends me Tiktoks about how to not volunteer at work...you get the idea. Last week, we were discussing who would speak to the global team. I could see the twinkle in the boss's eye, so I said, "I'll just say I will do it before I'm volun-told." She'd never heard that expression and hasn't stopped giggling yet. Anyway, if you need me, I'm over here volunteering like I don't have a full time job. Needless to say, volunteering is how I got put in charge of the professional development plan. So far, I have begun to compile a list of conferences, but my big push has been for our team to visit our existing ECD centers to ensure our company vision has come to life in the centers. This will give us a chance to discuss what works and what can be improved. Plus we will have bonding time as a team. I mean, sure, it means I'll have to travel to other countries, but I am willing to make the sacrifice in order to learn my job better. In the meantime, there is plenty of writing and creating to do. I recently created a first version of progression plans for our centers. It was a culminating project that involved collaboration with a team of representatives from six different countries. I can remember the absolute gut wrenching doubt and near horror when my boss called that project my "first official project." How the fuck am I going to do this and why me? It went so well, though. The team was amazing. I have to brag just a little that I even hit my deadline for creation. As of today, I have one more bit of feedback to fit into the document and one last meet with the design lead, and then I can officially say I have completed the roughest of minimal lovable products. Another unbelievable experience was being looped into some top level documents. When I first began with the company, an unofficial job of mine was to create a document with soundbites for people to use when communicating with public entities or to use on social media. I had a large hand in creating some of our brand messaging as well. Since that time, many people have approached me to proofread their documents or suggest phrasing. I have proofread and approved our Google play app description and our podcast introductions. I am sitting here still feeling the mind shatter that causes. Unofficially, I became the "company tone of voice." I learned this when I was invited to a meeting and was asked if I would like proofing approval on text for a large project. Ummmm...yeah, no. I need to go and see exactly what I have been volun-told this time! Still sorting that one, so stay tuned. Honestly, the bits of proofreading have become like NPC side quests. You know the kind where someone needs something really simple and you think, "I've got time. Sure!" Then next thing you know, you have 5,000 side quests and your boss is asking why are you playing video games when you're supposed to be creating documentation. Anyway, last week, I had the best side quest ever. The CEO and Chief Growth Officer came out of a meeting room and hurried to my desk. "Can you proofread a letter for us?" I could feel the energy and enthusiasm...and of course, urgency. They laughed a little when they said I had a chance to critique their poor English. I reassured them that their English is far superior to my Norwegian, so no such critiquing will occur. I agreed to take the task, and then found out it was a rush order, needed immediately. This side quest was going to make me miss my ride home, dammit. I guess the train ride home would be my next unexpected side quest. I received the letter and did my due diligence, editing and suggesting, and sent the letter on its way, thinking the quest was complete. Cue the XP cashout. WRONG! Now, I have to start here, when I proof a document or text for someone, I use the review feature of Word to track changes. This lets that person see my changes, and hopefully helps them to learn something. This time however, after I sent the letter, the CEO wanted to go in a room to look at it together, on the big screen. FUCK ME TO TEARS, WHY DID I USE REVIEW??? Had I known this was the outcome, I would have just done the necessary changes and only made my phrasing suggestions. The CEO does not need me pointing out all the grammar and spelling. LAWD! As we read the letter together, I mentioned that I was surprised that they had used so much of my soundbites. He said, "Of course we did. It's brilliant work." Then he described the purpose of the letter and where it was going. That was when the weight of this side quest really hit home. I told BAH not long ago that I don't really do meaningful work in the same way that a teacher in a classroom does. Amazing how many times a person can be WRONG! I can't even describe the validation and purpose in that moment or explain how I felt when my boss made a special call just to tell me she was so amazed with my work and the changes I have made for our company so far. But what I can tell you is the question to the title's jeopardy answer.....What is the prime minister of India is going to read a letter that you had a large hand in writing? |
Nellie HillJust a woman leaping outside her comfort zone and telling the tale. Archives
April 2024
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