This week I started training on the database and had to rethink my ways and adjust accordingly. I arranged my training materials and planned training as I have done in Australia not thinking about language barriers, current skill levels and making general assumptions on past experience. I could kick myself.
First day of training I conducted with the whole team, classroom style at their own desks, own computers. We had some technical issues and some ploughing ahead as they had a good competency with the database and some left behind. Ok. Rethink. First lesson - fail. Second lesson I held in a room with me in control and team watching. Yawns and general boredom. Second lesson - fail. Third lesson I planned one on ones and some with groups of two. Voila! Finally success! This worked much better as I could use patience and explain myself fully when language barriers became an issue and we could resolve technical issues without holding anyone else up and I could answer questions as they came up. End of the week most of the team trained. Phew! Now for implementation and daily use. Will have to archive old data for a second time as our first trial with keeping all data did not work. 35,000 contacts and no way to review? Let's use as a read only library and enter new contacts and financials. We will see how it goes.
Share point is moving along with amazing assistance of Gsk. Second meeting this week with agenda, brainstorming planning and implementation arranged. Everyone is slowly coming around to the idea and becoming more positive about the concept and what we could use it for. So happy.
Personally. Tired now. Lots of travel within and outside of Romania. But oh how I love this country. I will sincerely miss it and the people when I leave. I had a wonderful experience on the train this afternoon. I watched a family have to say goodbye to each other. Mother and daughter one way and father left on the platform. There was many tears from the daughter - I showed her a picture of my children and said I was sad too. The mother spoke to me in Romanian and I sadly replied that I don't understand as I am still language deficient. I did try but my pronunciation is atrocious and it is unfair to their beautiful language for me to keep torturing it the way I unwittingly do. I gave the daughter my copy of Marie Claire, the uk version I picked up in Paris thinking she would like the pictures. Well unbelievable. Both mother and daughter poured over the pages pointing at the fashion, both reading and rereading. As you can imagine, I told them to keep it - for five euro I can pick up another copy easily. I shared some of my perfume with them as they saw an advertisement in the magazine. They were still smelling their arms I left. I think of how much I take for granted, that something so simple can bring so much joy. (They were kind enough to feed me as a thank you! A banana which will make my family laugh as they know my complete aversion to the fruit. But I ate it to be polite. It hasn't changed my mind. Lol)
Returning to Australia next week to apply for my visa to return and see my family. I am so excited to see my children. I miss them desperately. They are packed already and ready for our adventure with my parents. Beach, family and friends. I feel that I will always be torn after this experience though, I already feel like I am leaving a home. How can you have an adventure like this one and not change utterly and totally forever more.
Signing off for now.
Dani.
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