At the end of November, last year, I participated in our third regional Asia-Pacific SAP Business Consulting Boot Camp. The knowledge and experience exchange based training was held in the beautiful city of Kamakura, located around 50km south-south-west of Tokyo. The place itself is known as the old de-facto capital of Japan which was ruled by the Samurai. Fortunately enough I was also able to squeeze out some extra leave to explore Tokyo for a few days as well as work with and meet my SAP colleagues in the city's office.
Illustration 1: First Impressions in Japan - You never hear a mobile ring!
Illustration 2: First Impressions in Japan - No smoking on the streets! There
are designated smoking points if you need to have a nikotine break.
The boot camp provided me with a great chance to meet many of my international colleagues. Finally, I was able to put a face against so many names, previously only known to me from telephone conferences and e-mail communication. We were roughly a group of 40 people coming together from various countries, incl. China, Malyasia, India, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Germany, and Australia. The three-day conference included an intense program, not leaving much time to sleep - but in retro-perspective absolutely worthwhile. We exchanged our project experience and tools that we had developed over time. On the third day, most of us (the ones that didn't have to leave just yet) went out to explore the 'City of the Samurai', visiting temples, shrines, and the famous Great Buddha of Kotokuin in Kamakura. A culinary highlight of the three days was the visit to a Shabu-Shabu serving restaurant (boiled sliced beef and vegetables, dipped in delicious sauces), and the selection of hot and cold Sake and Shoju.
Illustration 3: Party in Kamakura
Illustration 4: Japanese Tea Ceremony
Illustration 5: Party in Tokyo
Illustration 6: The Sight-Seeing Business Consulting APJ Group
Illustration 7: Dinner
Illustration 8: Dinner with the Team
Illustration 9: The Great Buddha in Kamakura
Illustration 10: The Sight-Seers once more
Illustration 11:Our Tourist Bus is filled with curious visitors
Illustration 12: Gregor and I
Illustration 13: the first night - people from across the region are arriving at
the conference centre
Illustration 14: Sake at the Shabu-Shabu dinner
Illustration 15: Madlen and Kasey from the Australia Team
Illustration 16: Pierre-Francis and Poul
Illustration 17: This is how Shabu-Shabu looks like - it tastes marvelous
Illustration 18: Shabu-Shabu in action
Illustration 19: Shabu-Shabu in action (cont.)
Illustration 20: Local Shoju tasting
Illustration 21: During the Break - I can't believe what e-mail has done to us -
everybody's flooded in e-mails
Illustration 22: Party in Kamakura
Illustration 23: Party in Kamakura
Illustration 24: Leaving the Bus to enter the first Shrine of Kamakura
Illustration 25: Beautiful Colors that Japan shows in late Autumn
Illustration 26: The Entrance to the Shrine
Illustration 27: The Great Buddha
Illustration 28: Impressive view on the Great Buddha
Illustration 29: Temple
Illustration 30: another Buddha
Illustration 31: There is alot of them!
While I was in Tokyo, I was very well taken care of by Terada-san, a colleague from the local Value Engineering team (Thanks to you once more!). I can't tell you how lost you feel the first few days, even doing the simplest things like trying to withdraw some cash (you need to find a machine that accepts international banking cards!), ordering food (few restaurants have an English menu), or using the sub-way (there are over 400 stations in the Tokyo area alone). However what a great experience it was - everything is so clean, well-behaved and extraordinary polite, and on top of that they have great food. Funnily enough, I learned from Terada-san that the traditional "Wiener Schnitzel" (pork meat baked in crumbled bread) was imported into the Japanese cuisine around 100 years ago and you can now order it under the name of "Katsu-don".
Illustration 32: The famous Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills
Illustration 33: Roppongi
Illustration 34: Tokyo Midtown
Illustration 35: Tokyo Midtown
Illustration 36: Terada-san and I
Illustration 37: Shinjuku Crossing
Illustration 38: Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo
Illustration 39: Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo
Illustration 40: Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo
Illustration 41: Ginza Girls
Illustration 42: Elvis Imitators - they even shave part of their hair to look like him
Illustration 43: A picture in the category: "Things you can only see in Tokyo"
One of the personal highlights was the opportunity to catch-up with Makiko. As high-school exchange students in Colorado, USA, we spent an entire school year together in 1999. However unfortunately we haven't had any contact since then. Whenever I tried to reach out I was blocked by my inability to speak Japanese with her parents, hopelessly trying to leave a message. Again, Terada-san helped out and "re-connected" us. It was a real thrill to see her again after such a long time!
Illustration 44: Makiko and I
Illustration 45: Makiko and I - one more time
Last but not least, I must say that no Japan trip is completed without a visit to a Karaoke bar. Admitting, that I would have never expected so much fun, I'm reaching out to you and tell you: You MUST go when you get the chance! All in all the visit to Japan was a fantastic experience, one of the highlights of 2007.
Illustration 46: Karaoke Bar in Tokyo with the Team
Illustration 47: Karaoke Bar in Tokyo with the Team
Illustration 48: Karaoke Bar in Tokyo with the Team
Illustration 49: Karaoke Bar in Tokyo with the Team
Illustration 50: Karaoke Bar in Tokyo with the Team
Shortly after returning back to Australia, I went up to Sydney to celebrate my 26th Birthday. Over 25 friends came to visit, including Matt and Christoph, two of my closest friends from Melbourne, who made the special effort to fly up with me. In between Japan and my birthday, we also celebrated our traditional SAP Christmas party both in Melbourne and Sydney. Here are the pictures:
Illustration 51: SAP Christmas Party in Sydney - Simon, Greg and I
Illustration 52: SAP Christmas Party in Melbourne
Illustration 53: SAP Christmas Party in Melbourne - Clinton, Suzi, Paul and Dave
Illustration 54: SAP Christmas Party in Melbourne - The Boys having a FEW beers
Illustration 55: SAP Christmas Party in Melbourne - Sarah and Clinton
Illustration 56: SAP Christmas Party in Melbourne - Mr. Nobbi
Illustration 57: SAP Christmas Party in Melbourne - Gordon and Dave
Illustration 58: SAP Christmas Party in Sydney
Illustration 59: Mr. Greg
Illustration 60: SAP Christmas Party in Sydney
Illustration 61: SAP Christmas Party in Sydney - Captain Damian
Illustration 62: SAP Christmas Party in Sydney
Illustration 63: SAP Christmas Party in Sydney - Mel
Illustration 64: SAP Christmas Party in Sydney - Zak
Illustration 65: Bartek and Gean
Illustration 66: Bartek and I
Illustration 67: Marcin and I
Illustration 68: Victor's 26th - Marcin & his cousin, Szymon, and I
Illustration 69: Victor's 26th - Jurek, Christoph, Marcin, Michal and I
Illustration 70: Victor's 26th
Illustration 71: Victor's 26th
Starting the New Year, I changed my role, from Business Consultant to Value Engineer, in the process changing from Consulting to the Sales department. It's an exciting new role, supporting our local Account Executives in their endavour to maximise sales by illustrating the value SAP has to offer to our clients and prospects.
A few weeks later, in the beginning of March all of SAP Australia and New Zealand (around 500 people) travelled to Kingscliff, just an hour south of Brisbane, situated along the Tweed Coast of Northern New South Wales. The annual Kick-off event was absolutely fantastic with great food, parties, and of course a lot of work around strategic alignment and positioning for this year.
Illustration 72: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 73: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 74: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 75: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 76: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 77: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 78: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 79: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 80: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 81: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
Illustration 82: SAP Kick-Off 2008 in Kingscliff
After the event, Christoph and I went down to Byron Bay to spend the weekend. Byron is a huge party town, having an immense back-packer attraction and hosting many festivals and concerts each year.
Illustration 83: Christoph and I in Byron Bay
Illustration 84: Christoph and I in Byron Bay
Illustration 85: Christoph and I in Byron Bay
Illustration 86: Christoph and I in Byron Bay
Following the Kick-Off Event, in early March, Matt, Jamie, and I travelled for vacation to South America. In a bit over two weeks we visited Argentina (Buenos Aires), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) and Uruguay (Colonia del Sacramento). I'm already convinced that this is gonna be the highlight of 2008. When we arrived after a long 20+hours flight the taxi driver put it quite nicely: "There are three things that are most impressive in Argentina: The ladies, the food, and Maradona". On top of that I also loved the Tango Dance and nocturnal life-style. The diversity and beauty of people was astonishing. So much proudness, love for life, and energy - I've never seen anything like it. Dinner would typically be after 11pm and would go on till 2am. The night clubs wouldn't open their dance floors before 3am during the week and the strength of only one drink could catapult you into space. WOW! A small steak would have at least 500grams of meat and if you are a real man, then you order the 1000g piece of Lomo beef. Such tenderness, most intense taste and preparation of the meat in Argentina - it's like eating a dream. Despite numerous warnings and shocking stories, there was not a single moment where I felt insecure or endangered in Buenos Aires. It felt to be a very safe place with a great culture.
Illustration 87: Matt and I in Buenos Aires
Illustration 88: Learning Spanish in the mornings and practicing it in the evenings
Illustration 89: El Congresso in Buenos Aires
Illustration 90: Subway Station
Illustration 91: Small portion of Spare Ribs
Illustration 91: Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires
Illustration 92: Friends you make while travelling
Illustration 93: Dinner before the Tango Show at "Senor Tango"
Illustration 94: This is what you get when you order a Whiskey and Coke
Illustration 95: One of those delicious Stakes - mhh - and the size!
Illustration 96: La Flora Mecánica - It closes and opens depending on the Sunlight
Illustration 97: La Flora Mecánica - It closes and opens depending on the Sunlight
Illustration 98: La Flora Mecánica - It closes and opens depending on the Sunlight
Illustration 99: La Flora Mecánica - It closes and opens depending on the Sunlight
Illustration 100: The famous Recoleta Cemetary
Illustration 101: The famous Recoleta Cemetary (cont.)
Illustration 102: Jamie was very well prepared...
Illustration 103: ...and had great fun because of it!
Illustration 104: another one of those Mega-Stakes
Illustration 105: an average size appetizer
Illustration 106: The proud Argentinean soldiers
Arriving in Rio de Janeiro, the safety warnings of friends and guidebooks were much more warranted. Having hundreds of police men patrolling the Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon Beach, you felt quite intimidated. You had to be especially carful at night when police patrols would reduce their numbers to a bare minimum. I must admit, it took my 2-3 days to get used being careful and less outgoing. Nevertheless Rio is worthwhile visiting at least once in your life. It's quite amazing to walk into a Samba Bar, with seats and tables everywhere, but nobody sitting. Everybody's dancing while having food, smoking, drinking, and listening to and singing along with a 10-men live band. The contrast of rich and poor was much more visible in Brazil than in Argentina and you could feel it everywhere you went. All in all Rio was much more of a Beach-type holiday, very relaxing and less intense when it comes to dancing through the night with night clubs already closing at 4am.
Illustration 107: Off we go to Rio de Janeiro
Illustration 108: Ipanema Beach
Illustration 109: La Copacabana
Illustration 110: La Copacabana
Illustration 111: La Copacabana
Illustration 112: La Copacabana
Illustration 113: Samba Dancer
Illustration 114: Samba Dancers and I
Illustration 115: Samba Dancer
Illustration 116: Samba Dancer
Illustration 117: Cristo Retendor atop Mount Corcovado
Illustration 118: Rio de Janeiro Plant Life
Illustration 119: Sugar Loaf Cable Car
Illustration 120: Rio de Janeiro Plant Life
Illustration 121: Rio de Janeiro Plant Life
Illustration 122: Rio de Janeiro Plant Life
Illustration 123: Pao de Acucar or the Sugar Loaf Mountain
Illustration 124: Karima, Leila, Jamie and Matt on the "One Day in Rio" tour
Illustration 125: Favelas Building
Illustration 126: The Favelas of Rio de Janeiro
Illustration 127: The Favelas of Rio de Janeiro (cont.)
Illustration 128: Leila, Karima and I
Illustration 129: From the top of the Sugar Loaf Mountain - The Islands around Rio
Illustration 130: I think this is actually the only photo we took,
where you can see all three of us in one picture :) + Karima & Leila
Illustration 131: Going out in Rio - Matt, Karima, Leila and I
Illustration 132: Rio Downtown
After Rio we returned back to Buenos Aires and went for a side trip to Uruguay. Really not seeing more than a fairly touristy Colonia del Sacramento, and being there for only 8hours I don't really have an opinion on this country. Suffice it to say, that it felt a lot like Argentina, but much more relaxed and laid-back.
Illustration 133: Go-Karting in Uruguay
Illustration 134: Go-Karting in Uruguay (cont.)
Illustration 135: On top of the Light House in Colonia del Sacramento
Illustration 136: an old Torero Stadium in Colonia
Illustration 137: Chillin' Out in the Sheraton Hotel in Colonia
Illustration 138: Chillin' Out in the Sheraton Hotel in Colonia (cont.)
Illustration 139: Plant Life in Colonia del Sacramento
Illustration 140: a terrible flooding has destroyed this peer many years ago
Illustration 141: el Matt'a'dore
Illustration 142: Light House of Colonia
Illustration 143: Church in Colonia
Around the beginning of Octobre'07 I was asked if I wanted to write about my experiences as a young professional for my University's student magazine, branded Ampersand. I decided positively and have been writing a series of articles under the banner "Live Your Dreams". Hidden behind my personal motto is a mini-series of guides on how to prepare the optimal career start for the young graduate. Here you can find the first few articles out of the series.
Before I will say "hasta luego" to you, here's some more random photo shots:
Illustration 144: Tony's Stag Night in Melbourne - Ingo,
Nobbi, Christoph, Daniel, Tony, Matt and myself
Illustration 145: Sunset in Melbourne from the Hyatt Hotel, 30th floor
Illustration 146: Mariusz and his wife - met them by coincidence after Mariusz
competed in the Australian Open
Illustration 147: Australia Post extended Account Team Party
Illustration 148: Mikael and Jeff are gonna kill me for posting this Photo!!!
Illustration 149: The Dane is going home, but before that he's
equipped with some Australian essential goodies
Illustration 150: In the German Hofbraeuhaus in Melbourne - Ingo and friend
So that's the summary of the past eight months. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the reading. Looking forward to hearing from you and meeting you whenever the opportunity arises. Take good care, stay safe and healthy, have fun everyday and enjoy the day.
Live your
dreams,
Victor
|
