Peaked your curiosity have I? I'll try to be somewhat breif and give you the highlights here:
- July 5-August 3 - Detroit, MI: The day after celebrating July 4th with my friends in CT, I moved out to Detroit to greet and help educate 101 of my program's finest new recruits at our advancd technology center. This is a highlight of my current job that I look forward to twice a year. I really enjoy meeting with these young men and women who are embarking on their IT careers having just recently completed their university studies. While I have instructors that do the heavy lifting, teaching them about programming languages, presentation and communication skills, and business acumen, I get to teach them about the Company, career navigation, and how to start to emerge as new leaders within the organizations they'll be working in. It always makes me smile inside to think about the number of stories, experiences, and things that I've seen/done that I get to share with these folks and all within a relatively short period of time!
- July 22-July 29 - Thousand Island Park, NY: During the time I was in Detroit, I got to take a quick weekend trip back to CT, but the highlight of my summer vacationing didn't come until my younger brother and his beautiful fiancée were married in the lovely Thousand Island Park located in very Upstate/Central NY (on the Canadian border). Since my family is so spread out, we took advantage of the occassion to come together for a full week of vacationing and celebrating with the wedding being the focal point on Sat, July 28. Over the past few years, both of my brothers and my sister got married and all of them picked the perfect partners to spend their lives with. These two were no exception and the trip was both joyous and relaxing
- August 9-31 - Shanghai, China (上海，中国): After a few days at home, I repacked my bags (this time with bigger suitcases) to head out for three weeks in China. The second highlight of my job is the second of the two face-to-face learning experiences that I host. In this course, the folks who joined us in the previous year come back together for another three-week experience in which we go deeper in technology and business partnership. All of this takes place in the "New York" of China so that we can emphasize the global exposure of the Company while giving the program members a truly different cultural experience. We spend a lot of time in formal classes, but we also go on a few planned trips in the surrounding area and Beijing (北京) to take advantage of being in the far east. I love reuniting with the program members, catching up on how the first year of the program went, and giving career advice as they get ready to move into the second year of it.
All of this is fun and exciting, but boy it adds up in terms of time away from home, friends, family, and a language I can understand (although I'm actually getting better at Mandarin!). As I sit here thinking, getting ready to board my 14-hour flight back to the Big Apple, I'm thinking, though, about all of the personal touchpoints I've made in such a short period. I truly love my job. I bond with the people on my program and honestly look at them as my flock (if you will). We only get to spend time like this together twice in our lives and these trips are memorable, educational, and inspiring for many of them (including myself!). It makes me super happy to think that I have a part in all of that.
On the same token, I think about my family a lot. My younger brother brought me mercilessly to tears at his rehearsal dinner when he gave me a card in which he said he's looked up to me, especially academically, over the years. We always had a very strong rivalry and weren't the closest people when we were growing up. I never knew I made such a difference to him, and it unleashed a damb of emotions that had been welling up for decades.
Meanwhile, on the home front, I also realize who my closest friends are when I travel, because those are the ones that although several thousand miles away, I still talk to almost every day (whether it's through text, iMessage, Skype, or Facetime). I'm blessed to have a lot of fun acquaintances, colleagues, and friends, but my family and closest friends will always have a cherished place in my heart because it's with their support that I make it through these long work trips. I've also realized how much I missed having a spiritual community in my life and have to shout out to the wonderful people of St. Paul's in Norwalk, CT who were there to help me worship from quite a distance. Many of them, too, sent wonderful notes of encouragement, support, safety, and love and I'm so glad to be a part of such an awesome bunch.
Well, the summer is almost over, but luckily I'll get some time to relax before any more major expeditions. In the meantime, if you need me, I'll be HOME! :)
Cheers, M@
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