First things first: I am back. Back from a long hiatus, mainly due to work engagements, and selfishly due to a basic and primal need to catch up on life: from the boring to the glamourous, and the commitment to attend every detail of it. So yes, I went away, invited to take part in the 1st European Games earlier this year. And, bottom line, without any cynicism or sarcasm, this project definitely reset my sense of patience and adaptability. The exoticism of the destination may have played a role in that statement.

Following some drastic immigration rules, the host country of these Games has to issue an official invitation before allowing to cross its border. This is nothing out of the extraordinary, not my first time to go through that level of administrative procedure either. Yet, a surprising strike happened at YVR, my departure airport. 1. The airline agents had never heard of this destination (not making this up: I was told “oh, I know where Khazikistan is!”…). 2. They were therefore confused about how to handle the invitation letter instead of a “proper” visa. For some reason, I had anticipated their perplexity enough that, after easing things out with them, I still had plenty of time to catch my plane without stress.

Safely landed after a day of travelling, switching to a time zone fast-forwarded by 12 hours, I got splashed with a new everything there: the language, the currency, the traffic, the culture, the social codes, the do’s and don’ts from everyday life, the untouchable protocols within the work environment, the traditions, the history and the local beliefs. Add the discovering part of the scope of the project, which expectedly kept evolving until the closing ceremony. Sprinkle a steep learning curve from the catering industry (since it was where my logistics and operations skills had been hired). There, you have it: if you lack a sense of humour, you stumble, when you do not collapse.

Forget Barbie hipster and other trends buzzing the social media sphere. The fun part is in the introduction and exploration of other ways of living, working, eating and celebrating. I consider myself lucky to be able to travel for work, and it is a great lesson of humility. The stamps in my passports are also a reflection of the many times I had to bite my tongue so I could go without much ruffle: those events were when patience and humour were my best bets in handling the unforeseen. “Resilient”, as mentioned among the “nice-to-have” if not “must-have” aptitudes in many project scopes: I am still learning, and absolutely look forward to having more reasons to be so.