I “Moldove” into another country last week…

Country: Moldova

Capital: Chisinau

Language: Romanian and Russian

Location: Landlocked between Ukraine and Romania

Currency: Moldovan leu

Last Wednesday, one of the coaches visiting us in Bulgaria, Josee, sprung the news that I would be traveling to Moldova that following day to help the team there with some high-potential meetings. Outsiders think of the country as “the least-developed in Europe” and “the drunkest per capita”; one friend maturely noted, “I hear they have the most prostitutes in the former Soviet Union”. Regardless of all these charming preconceptions, I was ecstatic to be given the opportunity to travel more for work. I also loved the fact that the company had actually seen potential in my ability to contribute to a completely new project, and that they had faith in me to do well. The situation only grew more peachy when I realized my ticket on the second leg of my trip from Istanbul to Chisinau was first class on Turkish Airlines! I felt more in heaven than in a plane that high up – endless service, Turkish wine and mezze, cheese platters, hot wet towels, and leg space. I felt like I didn’t belong, and found myself worried about my etiquette – on an airplane!

Marielle, a Belgian colleague who is wonderfully energetic, picked me up from the airport and gave me the low-down on the joys of sharing an apartment with two boys (it is her, my good friend Michael, and a new colleague, Fabian, all sharing a 2-bedroom apartment). Michael had salmon ready for us at home, and we spent the evening prepping for the meetings ahead!

Work ended up going very well, and we had a good sale on Friday, my final meeting in Moldova. Literally no one speaks English in Moldova – even worse than here in Bulgaria! All the meetings were translated from either Romanian or Russian. I could always tell if they were speaking Romanian because it is a lot like Italian, which is a lot like Spanish! It was neat to be able to single out a few words here and there. The meetings also proved that the country is the drunkest per capita as a few CEO’s brought out the Moldovan cognac (one even opened a bottle for us that was 20 years old, and our translator said it was the nicest he has ever tasted). Can you just picture us all – me, Michael, Fabian, Marielle, our translator, the marketing director, the CEO’s son, and the CEO - standing, toasting one another (translating those toasts), eating boxed chocolates, laughing (translating why we were laughing)…all the while trying to close a deal (translating me trying to close a deal)? Business is business, but in Moldova it’s just a little more entertaining…

The city of Chisinau replicates the environment of what I imagine most Russian cities to be like. All the women are walking around in large fur coats and hats as snow jails any opportunity for them to otherwise look fashionable. The streets are simple and the buildings, although just as ragged, are smaller than those in Sofia. Unfortunately most of my time was spent in meetings during the day so there was not much sight-seeing to be done, but I did have the opportunity to try some local fare as well – on Friday night we went to a traditional Moldavian restaurant where I tried Chisinau beer, a red soup appetizer called Borsh, and stewed pork.

Although my time in the little country was short, I gained more insight into what Michael kept referring to as “the real Eastern Europe”, as if I haven’t truly experienced it in my 7 months in Croatia and Bulgaria. Maybe he’s right, but that is certainly up for debate…

The textbook ingredients for an unforgettable weekend in Istanbul

Slavy, Abbie, and I took a short flight to Istanbul, Turkey last weekend for a couple days in the fifth-most populated city in the world (currently there are about 11 million people living there). It was my first time in Asia (Istanbul is separated by the Bosphorus River, where one side is Asian and one is European). Below are lists of everything we managed to see, do, and eat in less than 2 days…

To see:

The Hagia Sofia

-Since 360 A.D. this current mosque and museum served as the cathedral of Constantinople (Constantinople was the former name of Istanbul). Walking towards this structure literally gave me the chills; there are not words to describe how magnificent it is. We went inside the museum and learned all about its transition from the Constantinople cathedral to a Roman Catholic Cathedral to a mosque to a museum.

The Blue Mosque

-Situated directly across from the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque is just as, if not more, outstanding. It is still a practicing mosque, and we were not permitted to go inside as it was prayer time for the Muslims who worship there.

Topkapi Palace

-A residence for Ottoman sultans for over 400 years, this palace is situated on the outskirts of a beautiful park on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Grand Bazaar

-Chaos reigns in this never-ending enclosed market, where shameless store-owners yell everything from “Let me help you spend your money today” to “Charlie’s Angels, will you dance with me?!” We critiqued their sales tactics, and thought about how we could incorporate them into our own sales meetings? The endless shelves of jewelry, souvenirs, pottery, antiques, scarves, spices, and paintings kept us busy for most of Saturday afternoon!

Taksim square

-This is where our hostel was located, on the European side of Istanbul. Much like Trafalgar Square in London or Times Square in NYC, this central square was always happening. When we got into Istanbul on Friday night, we walked around until 3am and it was still impossible to walk freely as the streets were PACKED with people the whole time. At any one time, the streets surrounding this square inhabit 5 million people!

Bosphorus River

-After a long day of sightseeing on Saturday, we sat at the Tea Garden on the edge of the river that runs through Istanbul. We were on the Asian side, so marveled at how amazing it was to look across to an entirely different continent. Again, the chills were back…

The Blue Mosque

To do:

Stay in a typical backpackers hostel

-The owners of this hostel were extremely nice, despite us not being able to understand one thing they said and vice versa. We noticed that Turkey is not a place where knowing English is the norm.

Ignore the men calling at you every 5 seconds

-Because there are always people filling the streets of Istanbul, and always men attempting to lure others into their shops, and hardly any women seen outside, us three women foreigners were quite the target for obscene cat-calls and uncomfortable comments. You learn to ignore them, but not once did we leave each other’s sides. It only truly became an issue when even a police car came up to us and started pestering us!

Admire the ridiculous and random displays

-The streets of Istanbul just have some weird stuff. I was constantly attentive to everything I saw around me because it was so different. We noticed a huge electronic tree in the middle of Taksim Square and asked someone why they still had a Christmas tree up. He answered, like it was the most stupid question in the world, “That’s not a Christmas tree, that’s an advertising tree!” Um, ok.

Listen to the call of prayer

-As in all Muslim countries, the call of prayer is heard throughout the day. It was amazing to hear on the Asian side coming from Europe and vice versa.

Play checkers over sheesha in one of the numerous street cafes

-Because drinking is atypical for Muslims, many pass the time smoking sheesha aka a water pipe (we call it hookah in the states). In all of the sheesha cafes there are backgammon and checkers boards, and many older men pass their days smoking their own sheesha and trying to beat out their opponents in a game of checkers. Sunday morning was rainy, so we parked in an indoor café and did this ourselves for a few hours!

Bargain for Turkish keepsakes in the Bazaar

-I loved bargaining with the seemingly sly salesmen in the Turkish bazaar. I managed to negotiate a Turkish coffee set and some Allah-inspired jewelry for quite a good price, if I do say so myself…

Dance to live Turkish music with the locals

-Saturday night was lively, to say the least. We checked out some local dance bars and clubs, and found ourselves in a bar with live Turkish music, which is surprisingly fun to dance to

Buy shots of tequila from nightlife street vendors

-Again, the nightlife is crazy for the simple reason that millions of people stay awake on the streets for all hours of the night. This means thousands of open-air bars and liquor stands where partiers bounce to and from.

The Grand Bazaar

To drink/eat:

Sahlep

-A delicious warm milk-and-cinnamon drink typically taken over a sheesha or to warm up with

Dirty Rice

-One of the bizarre street foods we tried Friday night – this rice comes from a popcorn-like stand, flavored by whole chicken breasts sitting in the rice. Sounds disgusting, and it kinda was…they also had this rice inside large mussels, but we opted we had had enough rice for the weekend

Turkish tea

-Self-explanatory!

Fresh-squeezed juices

-Numerous stands of fresh fruit just waiting to be squeezed into delicious juices. We tried pomegranate, kiwi, carrot, strawberry, grapefruit..

Krompir

-A very typical snack for the Turks, a krompir is a loaded jacket potato with corn, beans, peas, cabbage, sour cream, carrots, and tons of other toppings. We enjoyed one at the Tea Garden overlooking the Bosphorus river.

Donor Kebab

-The lamb kebab was invented in Turkey and has made its way to cheap vendors world-wide. Of course we had to get one (or two) and they were just as delicious as always.

Turkish delight

-The typical candy of the region, Turkish delight is like a large jelly bean in various flavors – everything from pistachio to rose!

Turkish coffee

-As thick as coffee can possibly get, Turkish coffee is strong and grainy, but pretty delicious, especially for caffeine-lovers

Pita bread/mixed grill platter

-On Saturday night we went to a traditional Turkish restaurant where you sit on the floor (no shoes allowed!) and eat with your hands. We ordered a mixed grill platter that came with tons of meats and sauces and breads and had a ball mixing and trying it all together.

Street-vendor chestnuts

-Especially in the winter warm chestnuts cracked open over fire are devoured by locals all over the Balkan region. We grabbed some as we walked along the main pavilion in the city center!

Traditional Turkish Restaurant

…So concludes my long grocery list that cooked up a spicy weekend in the extraordinary ISTANBUL!

From One American Hug to Three Belgian Kisses

After an indescribably wonderful trip to AMERICA, I made it safe and sound to the Media Plus offices in Lommel, Belgium, just outside of Brussels. I was greeted by my enthusiastic colleagues (all of whom I must do the whole three-kiss-on-the-cheek thing, so it takes about an hour to say ‘hello’ to everyone). Coming back into Belgium I realized just how much character the little country really has. Even though 95% of the time it is overcast and/or raining and/or snowing, it has a cuteness about it, especially in the small villages where I stay while I am in the office. On every corner there is a snack shop or “frituur” serving all sorts of unidentifiable fried meats and delicious pomme frits smothered in repulsive mayonnaise (mine on the side, danku!). I am surrounded by the Flemish language (a slightly varied version of Dutch), not to mention the Italian, French, Spanish, and Hungarian of my colleagues. I also realized I actually really do miss the uniqueness of everyone I work with – they are all so different. Sitting at the lunch table (where I munch on a weird Belgian sandwich that never fails to have egg and mayo, no matter what you order), I look around and am confused how a Ukrainian, Bulgarian, British, Togolese, Hungarian, Canadian, and American can have such normal, everyday conversations about common life habits and routines. I got into the groove of being 6 hours ahead but one hour behind the country I was calling (Bulgaria) and also adjusted to the different phone systems, road signs, and food labels.

My week in the office was therefore a somewhat rough transition back into reality, and I was confused as to how a place so different could eventually once again become so familiar that I actually considered it reality (if that makes sense?) One extreme high and then extreme low occurred when the thousands of copies of the Croatia report arrived to the office. It looks amazing and perfect and I felt so proud – until I turned to the front cover, where under the title “Business Analyst” reads a “Kristin Kemy”. That is all I am going to say about that.

After a long night of clubbing in Belgium on Friday, Abbie, Slavy, and I woke up an hour later for our flight to good old Bulgaria. (As Slavy joked the whole way, “party in Belgium, hangover in Bulgaria!”) Our first stop after checking into our hotel was to our favorite traditional Bulgarian restaurant, and I surprisingly felt somewhat at home once again (or maybe it was just me trying not to think about how much I still missed everyone at my real home).

I knew I was really back in Bulgaria after our taxi ride home from dinner tonight. Slavy was not with Abbie and I, and of course the drivers always try to take advantage of us English-speakers. A crazy-haired lady who looked identical to Cruella Devil yelled at me that I didn’t pay her enough after telling me three different prices that she made up in her head. I have learned numbers 1-10 in Bulgarian so I can catch these little swindling tricksters. HA. Back to a life that is never easy, but always, always interesting.

Република България

If you understand the title of this post, shake your head “yes”. If you don’t, nod your head “no”. Or you can just go ask a Bulgarian local, who will pretend they know what you’re talking about and answer you completely wrong in an oh-so-convincing way.

Confusing? Welcome to my new world here in Sofia, Bulgaria!

No English, horse-drawn carriages racing stinky cabs on uneven roads, street signs in Cyrillic, everyone (literally, even in business meetings) chain-smoking, no clean drinking water, graffiti-ed shambles as business buildings…all so paradoxical from the plush hotel where I currently reside.

Abbie and I have joined Slavy (my Bulgarian friend from training) and Ashey (a senior consultant who has worked for the company for awhile) to wrap up the Bulgaria project, which has been going pretty poorly for the past five months. While Bulgaria is in the same general region as Croatia so there are certainly many similarities, Bulgaria is truly unique in its culture and business environment. Companies rarely answer their phones, and it is impossible to find meeting addresses. However, we managed to double the turnover of the project (that has lasted for five months) in one day this week, so we definitely came in with a bang! Abbie, Ashley, and I sold a Greek bank that wanted to improve its stereotype as a weak Greek business to foreign investors. Cha-ching! Abbie made consultant on the deal as well; I’m like a proud little mum. We celebrated with champagne and a stellar dinner out!

Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia

Bulgaria does have many positives. For one thing, it is undoubtedly the cheapest country I have ever been to. The Bulgarian lev is 2-1 to the Euro, so all prices are cut in half. For example, a latte at Starbucks is 1.50, not 3 euro like usual, and taxis are ridiculous (I’m talking 15-minute drive for 2 euro). The hotel we are staying in is wonderful as well – free mini bar, stereo system in my huge bathroom, huge windows overlooking Sofia, living area, gym, hot tub access (where the girls and I have taken our mini bar items to many nights…) Also, having a Bulgarian friend here as our “PR” has made our job so much easier – she schedules meetings, networking events, etc. for us, and also speaks Bulgarian to the majority of the population who don’t understand English. Furthermore, socially the people here are pretty open. Abbie and I were in a coffee shop during our first day getting some work done one afternoon, and FIVE different people came up to us to give us their numbers after hearing us speaking English. They were Bulgarians, Americans, English…all living in Sofia offering to show us around if we wanted them to.

Ashley (also a native Virginian) and I were able to show Abbie and Slavy a true Thanksgiving meal after meeting up with the PR liaison of the American Embassy here in Bulgaria. He took us to a local restaurant where he knows the owner, who cooked up 4 turkeys, mashed potatoes, cooked veggies, stuffing, gravy…even pumpkin pie! It was wonderful and I was so fortunate to celebrate an amazing American holiday with my new international friends.

Happy Thanksgiving from Eastern Europe!

The Bulgaria team had one free “excursion” left from the car rental company they had been using before us, so we took a trip to Rila Monastery, about two hours outside of Sofia. Rila Monastery was built in the 10th century, and is named after the famous Bulgarian saint and hermit Ivan of Rila, who lived in a cave with no material possessions while the monastery was being built by his students who would visit the sacred man. The monastery is located in the Rila mountains as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the famous Rafail’s Cross is also housed. Made out of a single piece of wood, it was created by a monk named Rafail, and took 12 years to make – once it was completed, Rafail completely lost his sight. It and the monastery were amazing to see – we also checked out the sister convent and tried traditional Bulgarian fare inside the small village of Rila

Running around in the rain at Rila Monastery

I feel as if I could go on and on about the differences of my new home here in this post-Communist country, but this will be all for now. Perhaps it will be better to tell everyone in person in 3 short weeks when I will be back in my real home! Ciao Ciao for now!

P.S. The title of this post says “Republic of Bulgaria”, just in case you can’t read Cyrillic.

A Little Slice of Italy

Last weekend, to celebrate our final few days on the Adriatic Sea, Abbie and I trekked to Trieste, Italy for a taste of Italian culture and cuisine. There is just something so inimitable about the country; you can feel the fervor of the Italians immediately after crossing the border.

Trieste Canal

Trieste is a large port town that blends Slovenian and Italian customs, as it is about a five-minute drive from the Slovenian border. The entire city is located on a steep slope overlooking the sea, and the roads feel like they are as wide as our tiny rental sedan. Abbie and I held on for dear life swerving through the narrow, windy, STEEP paths that led to and throughout the city. After parking at the port, we bee-lined straight for a pizzeria and enjoyed some Italian vino and a calzone. We had contacted a couple locals through couchsurfing.com (which is utterly amazing) and had planned to meet up with one of them that day so that they could show us around. We perched at an outdoor bar and enjoyed aperol and aperitivo (a pre-dinner drink and appetizer-like snacks provided with every drink, much like Spanish tapas) as we waited for our new friend. Federico (or “Feddy” as everyone called him) showed up with a mental itinerary, and his genuine character served as the perfect welcoming. A native-born Triestian, Feddy knew tons of facts about the various sites he led us to: an ancient Roman theater and ruins, the Trieste castle and fortress, the annual chocolate fair where he treated us to Italian hot chocolate (I got a mix of white and dark, which is solely melted chocolate aka extremely rich and delicious). Next, Feddy began explaining the ritual of an “Opazzi”, which is a Slovenian-Italian tradition that occurs for about a month of every year in Trieste. Local Italian families living in the outskirts of the town open up their homes for others to come and try their homemade wine, cheese, and other aperitivo. However, you can only find these homes through secret “holly-and-arrow messages” scattered throughout the boroughs (see picture below). Feddy invited us and some of his friends to the Opazzi near his home, where we enjoyed the family’s wine, cheese, bread, and prosciutto. Feddy and his friends were some of the nicest people I have ever met, completely enthused in everything Abbie and I had to say, despite their difficulties in understanding our rapid and slangy English. They apologized immensely for not being able to come out with us that night as they had a birthday party, but directed us to the most fun bars and discotheques. A night out in Italy proved amusing to say the least, and the outdoor culture left us refreshed after a long evening of drinks and more aperitivo on the streets of Trieste.

One of the hidden arrow messages leading to an Opazzi

The next day we toured another fortress situated directly on the coast, and headed to a local Italian restaurant for some pasta! Seafood is the obvious specialty of the coastal town, and a heaping plate of spaghetti and shellfish gave us the satisfaction of trying authentic Trieste fare. After, we met up with yet another couchsurfing friend. (side note: couchsurfing.com is an international networking website that allows you to contact people from all over the world who are willing to show you around the city they are living in or are willing to provide lodging for free! It has seriously restored my faith in humanity, as everyone we have met through it has been unnecessarily gracious in showing us around, taking us to the best and most “hidden” places, even buying us gelato!!) Anyways, Pablo is from Argentina and is a student in Trieste, so we chatted with him during a walk along the coast for a few hours. We said our goodbyes as we needed to head back to Zagreb, but he is in Brussels this weekend so he is going out with us and our colleague tonight! I love how paradoxically big and small this world really is...

Abbie, Pablo, and I at Piazza Unita

Hungary for Romania

Weekend trips to Budapest, Hungary and the region of Transylvania, Romania have undoubtedly been the highlights of my past month! Abbie and I visited our coach, Adam, in Budapest for a few days (he is originally from a small town outside of Budapest but now lives right in the city center) and were lucky enough to stay in downtown Budapest at a nice hotel recommended by him.

My intake of Hungarian history, culture, cuisine, and sights left me in awe of wonderful Budapest, and Abbie and I squeezed in the chain bridge, Buda Castle, Parliament, The Museum of Terror, a night river cruise (with champagne, cha-ching!), St. Stephen’s cathedral, Heroes’ Square, and Margaret Island! Adam had sent us an itinerary of must-do’s, and we only got about a third of the way through! Budapest has so much to offer; its history of occupation by the Turks, the Russians, the Germans, and the Austrians has inspired their uniquely chaotic story. Despite a surprisingly disturbing past (learned from the Museum of Terror), Hungary is extremely developed and a strong contributor to the European Union.

View of the Danube river, separating the "Buda" and "Pest" sides of the city

Along with miles of walking around the massive city, Abbie and I tried typical Hungarian goulash, paprika chicken, cottage cheese crepes, and local wine and beer – did I already mention that food and alcohol are by default one of the most amazing aspects of travel?

The following HALLOWEEN weekend, my friends in Bulgaria came up with the amazing idea to hit up Transylvania, Romania to celebrate the spooky holiday Twilight-style! Team Croatia, Kosovo, and Bulgaria all met up in Bran, Romania, where Dracula’s castle is. Well, met up BEFORE an 18 HOUR drive through deserted, under-developed no-name Serbian and Romanian towns. Eastern Europe Google maps lies (Claire, Kell, and Jenna – get on that haha!) Abbie and I drove to Belgrade, Serbia to pick up Bill and Lydia, who had taken a bus from Kosovo. Getting into Serbia from Kosovo is a difficult process, and there is literally a war in Lydia’s passport. Because Serbia is one of the only countries to not recognize Kosovo as a country, anytime Serbian border control sees their Kosovo stamp, they pound an “annulled” stamp over top of it! Their Kosovo stamps caused us problems at the Romanian border as well – 3 Americans and 1 Brit driving a Croatian rental car through the Romanian border at 3am caused quite the queue.

We finally reached the Transylvania region just as the sun was rising, and if I hadn’t of been so crabby/numb/sick of car games/tired of yelling at Bill for driving so aggressively past horse-drawn wagons, I would have enjoyed the windy passage through rickshaw cottages, just waking up with smoke in their chimneys. Completely out of it, we checked into our amazing lodge, and were greeted by the kind owners insisting that we have breakfast before sleeping. They brought out fresh fried eggs literally straight from their chickens, warm milk straight from the cow, and mysterious cheese straight from the goat. After rest we explored Bran market and souvenir-shopped our little hearts out. We snapped pictures of Dracula’s castle during daylight and enjoyed Romanian funnel cakes in town – my fatigue was completely overshadowed by the amazing weather, company, and indescribably extraordinary surroundings.

Bran Castle (the original "Dracula's Castle")

That night we enjoyed Vampire wine at the lodge before heading to a Romanian restaurant for dinner with the whole group. From there, dressed head-to-toe in black, with plastic fangs to emanate truly vampy personas, we marched up to Dracula’s castle just as midnight on Halloween eve was approaching. Halloween is the only time of the year when the castle is open during the night, and we loved gallivanting through the truly paranormal fortress for awhile, reading tall tales about “Count the Impaler” who inhabited the castle. After an unforgettable tour, we headed to a Halloween disco and danced the night away with the rest of the Halloween-spirited locals.

Count Kristen and Abbie Cullen inside Drac's Castle on Halloween

The next day we went to Brasov, Romania, a picturesque town with an adorable Sunday market, and enjoyed browsing the many stalls of homemade gingerbread cookies, delicious cakes, hot wine, cheese samples, and other traditional Romanian specialties. It was a beautiful afternoon, and stopped by the famous Black Church of Brasov – which actually is now Lutheran!

A night of relaxing dinner and drinks in Bran prepared us for the long day of traveling we had in front of us (that Monday was All-Saints Day in Eastern Europe, so did not have work). We all tried to enjoy the car ride home, and broke up the trip by stopping in Belgrade for dinner. Was two more-than-full days of backseat driving worth the trip to Dracula’s castle for October 31^st? Bloody bet it was.

"Those who seek paradise on earth should come to Dubrovnik" -George Bernard Shaw

Last week, Abbie and I booked a few meetings in the southern coastal town of Dubrovnik, which is the farthest point from Zagreb. Unable to drive there and back all in one day, the company approved a flight for us to go there for a night!

A couple days before we left, I was calling resorts in Dubrovnik to set meetings with the general managers, and one offered us a free stay in their 5-star suite. He also promised us airport transport and offered to take us both out to dinner in old town. I was both shocked and impressed by his unnecessary but marvelous proposal, and looked forward to visiting Dubrovnik in complimentary style!

The drive from the airport to the hotel was enough to pin the town as one of my absolute favorites in Europe. The cab winded along the edge of the steep coastline, and all we could see was the wonderful Adriatic ocean and the Old Town of ancient Dubrovnik jutting into it from a distance. We entered a marvelous sea-front lobby with welcoming staff who guided us to our suite. We met the general manager, agreed on a time for dinner later that night, and then enjoyed the grounds of the resort and had a beer right on the beach!! The dinner later was meant to be somewhat of a business meeting, so we dressed in professional attire not quite knowing what to expect from the manager. When we met him in the lobby he was completely casual which triggered the awkwardness of the night that would partially ensue for the next three hours. However, I forgot about our real purpose of the meeting once the manager led us through the enchanting old town of Dubrovnik. You walk across a drawn bridge to enter the old town center, and once inside can only look around and up at the stunning architecture from ancient Croat times. Dubrovnik was the most heavily bombed city during the Yugoslav wars, so much of it has been renovated; however, the town still emanates a Roman and Greek vibe that cannot be ignored. We were led to a hole-in-the-wall entrance into the chosen restaurant, and Abbie and I tried not to let our mouths hang open as we gawked at the magnificent décor of the outdoor restaurant overlooking its own private harbor. We sat at a plush L-shaped couch with eloquent pillows and chose our wine, dinner, and desert for the night. I can honestly say I have never been to such a posh, lush (as Abbie would say) restaurant, and throughout the night the somewhat egotistical manager was name-dropping all of the celebrities who had dined at the tables right next to us! (Bill Gates, Beyonce, Jay-Z, etc.) We managed to talk about his hotel somewhat throughout the night, but mostly just enjoyed being treated to such an amazing evening!

View on the way into Dubrovnik

The next day was the most hectic so far, with five meetings in a row followed by a flight back home and more prep work throughout the evening for the following day. All went very well, and the prep paid off as we made another sale the next day! We met with the oldest shipyard in the WORLD. There are five main shipyards in Croatia that are all currently owned by the government. Before Croatia can become a part of the European Union, all of these state-owned companies need to privatized due to European regulations, so this is one of the last steps that need to be taken for the country to be an EU member state (Croatia and Turkey are the two main countries in the pre-accession process, and Croatia should be a member within the next year or two). The shipyard that we met with was the only one that had not had a private bidder (aka a private company that makes an offer to buy the shipyard from the state), so this was a great angle to play on to convince the director he needed more exposure to ensure the company was purchased by a private investor. After an amazing meeting, we sold the director who was extremely proud of the shipyard’s history and family ownership. Following the meeting, it just so happened that the Serbian company that had already purchased one of the other shipyards was at this shipyard, wanting to inquire about a possible privatization offer! The director therefore took Abbie and I out to a gourmet meal with the 8 other Serbian businessmen who were interested in purchasing the company. After three hours of wining, dining, and observing the unofficial multi-million dollar deal unfolding between a Serbian company and a Croatian company, Abbie and I headed home. This is just one example of the business situations I have been fortunate enough to experience in just three short months on the field, and I have learned and seen more than I ever thought imaginable on such a grandiose, international level.

Our big meeting at the Shipyard!

Last weekend Abbie and I, along with some other teams, flew to Brussels for training on Monday and Tuesday. There was a big group of us – teams from Kosovo, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Finland, Mexico, Belgium, and Malaysia were all there, and it was so wonderful to see some of my fellow trainees! We all stayed in the Brussels company house – a four-story mansion located on the edge of a nice park in Brussels. The Brussels office is right next door, so we had training and meals there during an intense two days of project presentations, role-plays, and lectures. I really love regional trainings – they are a chance to not only see people I have missed since I have been in Croatia, but also to meet new people within the company. For example, the team from Mexico was there, three girls from Czech (Adela), France (Laure), and Mexico (Karla), and I hung out with them a lot throughout the week. The different people I have met in this job is probably the best and most unforeseen perk – I have become so much more aware of and open to people of completely different backgrounds. Everyone has a different story to tell, a different personality, and a different outlook on the world, and I absolutely love learning from every single person I meet.

Adela, Karla, and I in Brussels

Wednesday through Friday Abbie and I worked from the Belgium office to set up more appointments for Croatia this week, as we are being sent back to ensure that all the work that needs to be done is completed. While I love Croatia and do not mind coming back, I am very ready for a brand new project! My coach told me that I will most likely stay in this region, so I will find out soon what country that will be! Until then I am bound to Croatia, the land of nice people, pristine coastlines, and excellent cappuccinos…