Four countries in Five days whewww

Safe and sound in Zagreb. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to determine how to shorten this post – so much to tell about Zagreb and the Croatian culture and my job and Pedro and my hotel and my excitement and what I have learned so far…

So I am going to leave all of that for another day this week, and write about what is most fresh in my mind: my weekend getaway to SERBIA!

Pedro told me on my first day that he and his girlfriend, who works for The European Times also and is doing a project in Ljubljana, Slovenia, were planning on going to Belgrade, Serbia that weekend and wanted to know if I was interested.

Hmm..a chance to visit the country that caused the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, to marvel at the intriguing communist-influenced architecture, to spend Serbian dinars on Jelen Pivo drafts, to mingle with trendy Serbians in the “third biggest party city in Europe”, AND a chance to get my passport stamped in the car crossing the Serbian border…?

You could say I was interested.

Pedro drove us straight into Belgrade’s city center, after we had crossed over the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. It was an overcast day, but the gray buildings, rundown apartments, murky air, and bullet hole-filled walls didn’t impress our initial take on the city. We parked, found a cheap hostel, watched the world cup game in an outdoor cafe, and headed to dinner on Knez Mihailova Street or “Bohemian Quarter”, a beautiful and quaint cobblestone street that completely reversed our impression of Belgrade being an unsightly city. After testifying to the waiter that I wanted “the most natively Serbian thing on the menu” he uttered a couple words like “meat” and “milk” and “fried” and then insisted we try the “Serbian salad” and “Serbian wine” and “Serbian bread”. We were into it at the time and ordered it all – everything was delicious until my platter came out – a long, fried, mysterious meat that oozed a milky substance every time you poked at it. I made a commendable effort to like it, but after dinner found a stray dog who didn’t mind the foul entre. I wish I knew what it was called, or better yet, what it was?

Dinner in the Bohemian Quarter

After dinner, we headed to the street nicknamed “Silicon Valley” because of the number of wealthy and flashy Serbians that inhibit the lengthy line of swanky cafes. (Many also joke its because of the plethora of boobs seen there every night haha) Sure enough, tall, fashionable girls and suave guys would drive through the street in their Lamborghinis and strut into one of the boisterous lounges like they were royalty. We were mesmerized and people-watched more than anything, but called it a night early so we could enjoy our next day.

The next morning started with a cappuccino and more people-watching in the main square of Belgrade, and then we headed to the city’s fortress overlooking the Sava and Danube rivers. The fortress is the reason why Belgrade is the capital of Serbia today, and has protected Roman, Turkish, and Austrian inhabitants for thousands of years. We walked through the extensive ruins snapping pictures, and then used our sales and persuasion skills to bargain for souvenirs. I purchased a 500,000,000,000 dinar bill, which was actually used in the 70’s during a period of Yugoslavian hyperinflation, and some other Serbian goodies. We then trekked to St. Sava Temple, their famous Greek Orthodox church, and did some more oohh-ing and ahh-ing before watching more football with the locals.

Teryn, Pedro, and me at St. Sava Temple

We decided we were going to check out this supposedly wild and crazy Belgrade nightlife, and got all dolled up and headed to Silicon Valley like the rest of the flashy 20-somethings. After bonding with a couple other Americans over dinner, drinks, and the US’s failed attempt to make it to the quarter finals, we parked at a crowded, posh, FUN bar. Midway through our stay I came out of the bathroom to find the music stopped and about 15 intimidating Serbian policemen questioning everyone. Soviet bloc + big crowd + police with guns + blonde tourist = a little freak out. But everything obviously ended up ok – we chit-chatted with our waiter who explained that the government requires check-ins on establishments all over the city. All ended well after a random Serb I had cheers to earlier in the night snuck out of the bar after secretly paying for all our drinks! Our lifted spirits brought us to the river, where disco after disco lined the water. IN the water. Each club required that you walk about 300 feet on treacherous and rickety boards until you reached the middle of the river where the club was located! We went to about 3 of them – all very Euro with techno, strobe lights, mohawks, creepsters, and girls in thongs dancing on stage. We danced the night away as well, and made a splash without actually falling off the poorly thought-up club entrances.

Clubbing on a river in Belgrade with a seriously tall Serbian friend

Going down as the sun was coming up meant a late start to our Sunday, and as it was pouring we decided to head back to Zagreb. Pedro and Teryn claimed this was their favorite trip while working in Europe (must be the company they had). Haha but really it was one of the most interesting, fun, stimulating trips I have ever taken, and it makes me extremely excited to explore more of Eastern Europe! It was also great to get to know Pedro better, and his American girlfriend and I had a great time. We all bonded as much as you probably can in two days, and I really love their passion for adventure and their incessant curiosity to explore new places. More to come this week (if I can find the time or energy to write after 11-hour work days).

As they say in Serbia, dovidenja.

…that means goodbye!!

Just when you start to feel comfortable...

It’s 8am, and I’m sitting in the Brussels airport sipping a little taste of home: a venti caramel macchiato. My life packed away is sitting right next to me, which is making people a little mad considering the luggage I have takes the space of probably 3 people. I’m flying on Croatian airlines in about 3 hours to my next residence.

It’s difficult for me to fully grasp what has been happening in my life. Something doesn’t even seem real about what I’m doing. Yesterday was just a normal day at work when my coach informed me I would be leaving the Belgian house for Croatia the next morning at 6am. The news didn’t even faze me; I knew they would send me on my way with little forewarning. But when I really think about it, I realize how much I love the spontaneity of my life right now. My roommates and I reflected on the past 2 weeks we have spent together last night, and often commented on how those 2 weeks seemed like they lasted 2 years instead. Why? Because we woke up each day having NO idea what was is store for us – what we would learn, discover, laugh about, who we would meet, where we would be sleeping that night…erasing the routine of everyday life halts time in a good way, and I have undoubtedly taken advantage of this discovery.

I am really going to miss my fellow trainees – we have had some unmatchable memories together. Last night we played the “highs and lows” game (naming our highs and lows of the past 2 weeks – my favorite game I think ever) and we chatted about the hilarity of our time in Belgium and Holland over my wonderful good-bye dinner of pesto pasta, salad, cheese, and whisky. Finding out our country placement, racing home to change, and popping champagne on the tiny streets of Overpelt, Belgium won my vote as the biggest high. And low? Maybe walking into our hippie, smoky Amsterdam hostel located in a basement and named “Bob’s” on Friday night. We were still in our suits and had just driven 2 hours straight from the office, and all chatter ceased as well clacked down the steps. The permanently-stoned receptionist just stared at us for about 2 minutes until Cherise whipped out her Dutch and asked for a room, which we shared with about 10 other people. I had to resort to sleeping with all my clothes covering the dingy comforter, and shamefully used the inside of my running shorts as a washcloth. All part of the Amsterdam experience though, right? We did have an amazing time; it’s pretty difficult to not enjoy a town with as much character as Amsterdam. The Anne Frank House, the Red Light district, the Holland world cup game, the beautiful canals and boathouses – all blend together to form a distinct, kooky, historical beauty well-deserving of the heavy tourism it attracts. After a couple days in Amsterdam, we headed to my roommates house in Lelystad, Holland, about 50 minutes outside the city. Her wonderful family welcomed all of us with open arms, providing us with huge comfy beds and a new unbelievable meal every hour. Her family is Javanese and Surinamese, but have lived in the Netherlands for 20 years now. Fried rice, noodles, chicken and egg soup, spicy liver (sounds gross but actually delectable), home-cooked prawn chips, chicken – the cuisine kept coming and we kept eating. Her mother also cooked us traditional Dutch food like friktots, frikadel, croquettes, and in between eating we walked throughout the small city or just watched some of the exciting world cup games with her extended family. If I ever have the chance to welcome 7 foreigners into my home and treat them the way her family treated us, I will – such a commendable and kind thing to do, and I will never forget it!

So I have to bring you back to the present because it is time for me to check in – I think I’m ready? I hope? I’m flying over to Eastern Europe, where Pedro will pick me up from the airport and bring me to our hotel. Here goes nothing…

Ja ne govoriti Engleski jezik

For those of you who don’t know Croatian, that mean’s “I don’t speak English”…yup, that’s about all I know. I’ll get to why in a second. Well, I know that and the name of the capital where I will live: Zagreb.

Tuesday morning we all received our evaluations, and every one of us passed (which is VERY rare)! We were all excited about that, so you can imagine our anticipation when our HR manager said we would be finding out our country placement that afternoon as well. I literally couldn’t sit still – you know the feeling on Christmas morning when you’re about to open that HUGE package you’ve been waiting to open for 25 days? Multiply that excitement times 100, and then you can start to imagine how I felt. I was called into the conference room, and my sales coach asked me where I would like to go, what I had learned, my skills, etc. I said I would like to go to South America so I could use my Spanish, or I would love to stay in Europe. She responded, “well you get to do both”, which I was confused about until she explained I was being sent to CROATIA with a native-Spanish speaker as my partner! (so I can still practice Spanish)

My roommates are in some insane places too: 1 in Botswana (luckyyy gets to go to the world cup), 1 in Panama, 1 in Malaysia, 2 in Bulgaria, and 1 in Romania. I am happy that 3 are in Eastern Europe; we have already started planning weekend trips to visit each other!

I am working for The European Times, which is my favorite BMG publication! You can check it out at http://www.european-times.com/. My partner, Pedro, is already in Croatia; I have spoken with him twice through Skype and he seems AWESOME. Exactly the kind of person I want to work with – he’s Colombian, studied in the UK and Italy (and lived in Madrid!), really funny and nice, but hard-working as well. He has already been so encouraging, and I know he will be very supportive and understanding of my inexperience. He also said he’s excited to help me perfect my Spanish.

My hotel and car service is all set up; now all I have to do is individually make at least 5 but preferably 10 appointments with the CEO of various companies in Zagreb. Pedro sent me a list of companies in the financial sector and the production sector, as he has already met with the Minister of Finance and the Deputy to the Minister of Economy to receive support for our Croatia publication of the European Times. So for a little while yesterday and all day today I called company after company to try and set up meetings with the President or CEO of that company. Plain truth: cold calling is pretty tough. Cold calling a Croatian bank named Trcin Vrijednosnice and asking for Zvonimir Maric is tougher. (which is why I definitely got a few “Ja ne govoriti Engleski jezik”’s) It’s funny, every time I would say thank you they would respond with “nothing” and every time I would ask them to spell something out, every single person would use country names to explain what letter they were saying! Regardless, I did end up setting 3 appointments yay! Only 2 more and they will book my ticket to Croatia. They never said this was going to be easy, but I do love the utter craziness of what I am doing. I love sitting across from Lydia as she struggles with Botswana addresses, and next to Elliot screaming “HABLA INGLES?!” to every Panamanian he encounters over the phone. Keeping a sense of humor throughout this entire process is undoubtedly necessary, and I think I will be able to take this job on with a couple of laughs.

Tomorrow we are all road-tripping to Amsterdam for our last weekend together. We are staying with Cherise, one of our roommates, whose parents live right outside the city. She is Surinamese, and her parents are going to cook us yummy Surinamese food (not that I have ever had Surinamese, but sounds like it will be pretty fantastic). I’m excited to explore a new city before taking on my new life in Croatia.

Always trekking along, that’s how I like it.

“Belgium: St. Truiden to Brussels to Lommel to Overpelt back to St. Truiden back to Overpelt back to Brussels back to Overpelt…”

The roller coaster of emotions I have felt during my first week abroad greatly correlates with the spontaneous ride I have been taken on throughout Belgium.

Excitement to fear to uncertainty to anticipation to exhaustion back to bursts of excitement back to deep fear back to scary uncertainty back to happy anticipation as of right now…

Belgium is wonderful. The people, the scenery, the chocolate, the waffles…I absolutely love this country and am so glad it is where Big Media Group is headquartered. The first weekend I was here, I stayed in a nice apartment in St. Truiden, a charming, small town about an hour outside of Brussels. I was able to figure out how to head into Brussels from the train station, and met up with one of my best high school friends, Coop, and some other guys I know for a night out in Brussels. Familiar faces and boot-size mugs of beer in one of the most legendary bars in the world, Delirium café, was just what the doctor ordered.

Best thing about the past week..waffles in Brussels!

The next day, my other roommates and fellow trainees arrived from the airport. I was extremely excited to meet them, as I know often times the people can undoubtedly make or break an experience. I LOVE them. Three from America, one from Holland, one from Australia, one from Colombia, and one from Bulgaria. I have only known them for a week, but I know we will stay lifelong friends. Whether I am talking about friends and family in Spanish with my Colombian roommate, or listening to my Bulgarian roommate tell us about her childhood during a communist regime, or making fun of my Australian roommate for his love of Vegemite (gross), I feel as if I learn something new from one of them every second of the day. We often joke that Media Plus has planted webcams in our apartment and that we’re actually on a European reality show, or they are just flying us over here to harvest our organs (just kidding, Mom). But I do like that they feel just as “out-of-the-loop” as I do - we are all in this crazed, extraordinary, life-changing transition together.

Outside our apartment in St. Truiden

We moved to Overpelt on Monday, another adorable Flemish town that reminds me of somewhere Hansel and Gretel might live. I scored the bedroom suite in our new house, complete with skylights and my own little den (woohoo). There was little time to relax, however; the following will explain why...

One word for my sales training in Lommel, Belgium: INTENSE.

Wake up, turn on my swagger in a stiff suit, get picked up by our driver Renee (who I swear is in on the training evaluation of us all), chug 3 cups of coffee at the Big Media Group office, and get ready for a day of grueling sales workshops and on-the-spot call-outs. Basically, we have learned how to handle all the responsibilities we will have once we are placed in our first assignment. Our objective as sales consultants is to sell sponsorship space in whichever media outlet we are promoting at the time (BMG owns about 20 different media sources, from the European Times to British Airport Magazine) by negotiating directly with the CEO’s of the nation’s top 100 companies. How do I do that as a 21-year-old with no sales/work /real WORLD experience? Now you can see why training has been so extreme…

First, along with a partner, I will have to research anything and everything I can on the country I will be sent. I must work with the “openers” here at BMG to schedule meetings with as many government ministers as possible, and start calling the top 100 companies in the country to make appointments with their CEO’s as well. After successfully meeting with the government ministers of the country, gaining their support for our publication, and receiving their insight into which companies we should sell our publications to, I continue contacting various companies via telephone or in-person PR visits. To summarize, my work days will consist of planning, entering country information into BMG's database, calling about 20 companies/ministers per day, actually conducting about 3 meetings throughout town per day, and reporting back to my field coach and recording daily progress.

Cherish, Francisco, Elliott, me, Mwongola, and Lydia at training!

My kind of job. I am so excited to be doing something so active; I love the idea of waking up to a completely different work schedule every day. The sales trainers have definitely reiterated though that the work hours will be long and hard, especially at first, and that this position is more of a lifestyle than a career. Needless to say, I won’t ever be bored…

After training each day, my roommates and I go running on one of the many scenic trails around our apartment or house (wherever we are living that day J); I swear Belgium has more running trails and beautiful parks than buildings! You can imagine how much I love that aspect, and the fact that all my roommates are runners. (The Aussie even ran track at FSU!) We then either cook dinner all together or go out on the town, or study our sales manual to prep for the day ahead!

Just yesterday I gave my memorized hour-long sales pitch to the head of recruiting, who taped it as well. Along with my week-long evaluation and sales exam grade, she is going to use it to determine where and IF I will be placed.

The next post should be interesting…!