Anette - thinking about the future

Happy X-Mas!

posted by Anette @ 12:10 PM 0 comments

Kasachstan

My dad works almost the whole year in Kasachstan. This is in the middle east. He is usually only for some days in Germany. After five years my sister and I visited him for the first time there. It was very exciting because Kasachstan is not a very common place to go to for holidays. ;-) We discovered that Kasachstan has beautiful high mountains and very warm people. It was a very special experience. I would love to recommend it to go there to everyone but the thing is that it is a bit difficult to get around without knowing Russian or Kasach language. ;-) The best would be to visit someone there. :-)

posted by Anette @ 11:40 PM 0 comments

New job :-)

I started a new job! :-) I am still in the same media company Bertelsmann. I quit my management development program to take over the position of Managing Director for the media company RTL Club. It is a great challenge and I feel very honoured that our board members decided to give me so much responsibility although I have been with the company only for a year now. It is a big challenge but I am loking very much forward to it! And I am soooo excited!!! http://www.rtlclub.de/

posted by Anette @ 12:45 AM 0 comments

New York City

At the end of my management development program marketing@media I had the chance to go to New York City to work with my collegues there. It was my first time in New York. I never felt a drive to see this city and maybe I wouldn't have gone there for many more years. But I have to admit that I was fascinated. I didn't expect this city to be so full of different faces. Although it was very cold I went for a walk whenever I had time. Every neighbourhood is so different. I had 3 weeks there. And this time was enough to get to know the city and even to feel connected to it. The best was of course when Marco joined me there and we could discover the city together.

posted by Anette @ 7:14 PM 0 comments

Short trip to Ukraine

I visited the Ukrainian Book Club for my job. I used this chance to see my family there as well. It was so great because I get to see them only around once a year. We had a weekend together and my couisins came around as well. It was just wonderful. And besides that it was also the first time for me to be there during the impressive winter :-)

posted by Anette @ 12:30 AM 0 comments

Sunrise in Hamburg

After some wonderful christmas holidays I had one more week of. Marco and I decided to spend some days in Hamburg. Together with Andi and Jennifer we went to the musical The Lion King and I have to admit that it is the best Musical that we have in Europe. The music, the colors, the costumes were just amazing! After a great party on saturday with some AIESECers we got up at 5 am on sunday to visit the legendary fish market and to watch one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. It remembered me a lot the paintings of Caspar David Freidrich I saw on Friday in Hamburg. Although it was a short stay it was full of wonderful moments.

posted by Anette @ 10:28 PM 1 comments

San Francisco

As I am in the Marketing@Media Team of the DirectGroup Bertelsmann I had the chance to go to San Francisco to participate at the Direct Marketing Congress. It was fantastic! Not only that we had a great time with the other members of the team, we also had great weather in a fantastic city.

posted by Anette @ 9:16 PM 0 comments

Octoberfest

As Andi and Robert wanted to go to the Octobefest and I just wanted to meet them I decided to join them and go to the Octoberfest, too. So finally we end up with a huge bunch of people having the best Octoberfest party of my life with my first beer, ever. :-) This is true. Despite the fact that I am German I never had a beer before. But there is no Octoberfest without beer...

posted by Anette @ 9:45 PM 1 comments

Board Meeting in Barcelona

As I am working as an executive assistant to the CEO of the German Bookclubs I could go to Barcelona for a board meeting. Thats a nice business life as you can imagine. ;-) It was my first time in that city. It is such a beautiful city that I want to go there again for sure. This city is full of art and history. But is also has music and parties. I was there only for some days so I had a heavy touristic time. I tried to see everything but it was just not possible. My feeth went on strike... But you should always leave something for the next time, right? ;-)

posted by Anette @ 10:09 PM 0 comments

Rajiv in Berlin

Rajiv visited me in Berlin. It was so nice to see him again because we didn`t see each other for several months. We had an incredible time!!! It is just fantastic when your friends come to visit you! I love to have guests. We had walks in the city, wonderful dinners together with other friends of mine and my sister. We also had a private concert. Holger, a close friend of mine, has played the piano for many years. Listening to him was just amazing!

posted by Anette @ 10:06 AM 0 comments

Marriage of my friend Sandy

My close friend Sandy got married last weekend. All their friends were wondering when it would finally happen, because she was together with her boyfriend for over 11 years now! It has been a great celebration with some traditional parts and a big party too. Before the wedding we of course had a hen night (Junggesellinnenabschied) for Sandy. It was so much fun! We walked through the city, sold many unuseful things and collected the money with wich we partied afterwards the whole night. :o) During the wedding I saw a lot of friends from school again that I haven`t seen for many years. Actually i didnt feel that anything changed. It felt like everyone was just the same person he used to be. I really enjoyed that a lot. We talked, danced and partied the whole day and the whole night.

We prepared a surprise for the couple. When they came back from the celebrations they found their flat full of balloons. ;o)

posted by Anette @ 1:13 PM 0 comments

Beaches in Berlin

Most of you would wonder how we can have beaches in Berlin? Well we have! And we have several ones. Summer in Berlin is just great. We go out every day and every day is different. Berlin has so many things to offer. So just come around and have a look.

posted by Anette @ 12:00 PM 6 comments

Our Board

Here you can see four of our board members with who I work very closely. I wanted to show you this picture because that way you get an little impression that our board is not very formal (but very sportive ;o). That is one of the reasons why I like it so much to work with them.

posted by Anette @ 11:46 AM 0 comments

I became a soccer fan!

The soccer world championship is over and you wouldn’t believe how this event made me becoming a football fan. This event was not just a championship. This event gave the people for the first time since many years a strong feeling of togetherness and a good feeling about our nationality. It has been fantastic. People were watching the games together in big groups at public places. Public viewing became a new concept. Seeing people wearing the national flag and clothes with national colours became very natural. In former times it felt really strange to see that. But now people just celebrate together. Everyone is celebrating and feeling that WE had an unforgettable championship and that WE actually won this year. ;o)

posted by Anette @ 11:38 AM 0 comments

Presentational Skills in France

I went to France to take part in a presentational skills workshop and to work on a special project. As we as AIESECers are used to give a lot of presentations and workshops ourselves I didn't expect many new things. But this workshop was very special. We had an actress who teached us how to present in a our very individualistic and natural way. Actually that showed me that I had to forget some things which I have learned till these days. This training was one of the most intense trainings I have ever been to and it was located in the best hotel with most private athmosphere that I have seen so far.

posted by Anette @ 9:54 PM 0 comments

Book Fair in Leipzig

posted by Anette @ 1:18 PM 0 comments

Drive & Passion

It is the first time that I talk about drive and passion in the context of a company. Last week I met the participants of the leadership development program of Bertelsmann where I am part of as well. We spent 3 days with discussions about the future of the media market and our company. It was very inspiring and motivating. All of these guys are very passionate and positive. It was great to meet these people who have similar ideas for the company and the same drive to create something. I never thought that my first job after aiesec could be so great.

posted by Anette @ 10:56 PM 0 comments

Tango

As I am dancing since I can remember I thought in the context of dancing could be no surprises anymore. But the Argentinean Tango surprised me. It is the dance of passion, of balance and of the tense between male and female. I can’t believe that I didn’t discover this dance before. I have the tango fever. This dance just got me. It became my new passion.

posted by Anette @ 10:53 PM 1 comments

Unexpected Alumni Meeting

Last weekend I was in Bonn to meet my landlord. Happily Philip organized a party. When Micha told me that we are going to Philip’s party I expected a party with people that I have never met before. But when I entered the room I knew every single face. This was amazing! Some of them I didn’t see for several years. It was so nice to meet these guys again!

posted by Anette @ 10:50 PM 1 comments

My Work

posted by Anette @ 10:45 PM 0 comments

My New Apartment

posted by Anette @ 10:24 PM 0 comments

Working Athmosphere

My second week started and I still have the impression that everything is just perfect. Strange, hm? ;o) The athmosphere in the office is great. The people are down to earth, positive, open and very natural. I feel very welcome. They help me a lot to get an overview about the whole business. I am learning every day, almost every minute ;o). It's just great.

The Berlin Cathedral right next to the office

posted by Anette @ 7:02 PM 1 comments

My first day at Bertelsmann – 16th of January

I was so excited before my first day and I still am. Today in the morning I met the woman from the HR department. She explained to me the structure of the company and the different departments I will work with and introduced me to the people from the different departments. She scheduled meetings for me for the first days with several people. That way I have the chance to get to know most of them already in my first week.

My boss and mentor is Fernando Carro, who used to be an AIESECer (PAI, MCP) in the past! This is a really nice coincidence. :o) I look so much forward working with him!

Today I got the offer for two projects that I could work on. I should decide, wich one is more interesting for me. What a start :o)

posted by Anette @ 7:36 PM 1 comments

How to find a nice place to live

In the first week in Berlin I wanted to find a new flat/house. Well, the situation to find a flat is quite good. Many flats are empty or become empty soon as there is a high fluctuation in that city. So I was very optimistic that I would find a nice place. But I didn`t know how much work that would be…

posted by Anette @ 7:28 PM 0 comments

First Days in Berlin

I arrived in Berlin earlier to have time to find a flat. Although everything is new it felt home because I stayed at my friend Doreen`s place. That was really nice :o)

posted by Anette @ 7:19 PM 0 comments

My last Day in Bonn

Tomorrow I will be in Berlin already. Time is running. Every day of the last week I met one or two of my friends who live here to say good bye. I will miss you guys!!! You made me feel home here and I really hope that you will visit me in Berlin soon!

posted by Anette @ 11:56 AM 1 comments

New Year`s Eve

After deciding in the last minute to celebrate the New Year in Cologe Stadtgarten we had a very nice evening together with Marco, Micha, Monika, Andrea, Amit, Jenny, Achim, Wing and Cliff. Although the club Stadtgarten is a great place for a party I recognized again that no matter where you are as long as you celebrate the New Year with some of your close friends it is always perfect!

I wish you a wonderful New Year that brings you closer to your dreams – but not too close - to keep it motivating and exciting ;o)

posted by Anette @ 2:10 AM 0 comments

Finally snow

After waiting for snow during Christmas days we had this wonderful view yesterday. The other side of it was that my flat had a temperature of 8 degrees when I came back after leaving it 5 days ago.

posted by Anette @ 11:17 AM 2 comments

Christmas Time at home

I love the Christmas days at home. In contrary to some other families we have a very peaceful time and celebrate being a family a lot. We sit together for hours, talking, listening to Christmas music, of course eating and exchanging gifts. For me it has never been like an uncomfortable must and I am always surprised by the unhappy stories of family life of others. This year my parents made a calendar for me. It is done in a very artistic way. Every month has a postcard scanned from both sides. These are the postcards that I sent throughout the years to my family, postcards from different places of the world. What a nice idea!

posted by Anette @ 5:52 PM 0 comments

23rd of December - My Birthday

Actually I planned to go to my parents place on the 22nd of December because before Christmas usually people go home early and no one stays in Bonn. But then I asked some people and recognized that some of them would be still in Bonn. So I decided to celebrate into my birthday. We had a great evening. I was so touched that so many of my friends were still able to come and spend this special day with me. We partied till 4 in the morning without recognizing how the time flew by. It was a perfect evening!

posted by Anette @ 5:45 PM 1 comments

Meeting People from a Catholic Student Organization

There was an AIESEC Christmas Party last week. Of course you would not expect to meet Non-AIESECers at such a party. The thing was that the party was in the party cellar of the catholic student organization KStV Arminia. It was a very old traditional house. As I am very curious I couldn’t stop myself from entering a room where there were sitting other students.
We started to talk about our organizations and what our goals are. As you could imagine their main goal is to broaden their religious understanding and involve it into their every day life. But additionally to that they had the principle of friendship, trust and openessness. I was very impressed. This community had a strong social collectivistic frame that I miss in our society a lot. Even AIESEC does not have such a strong social approach. Of course there are also reasons for us not to have it. But in this moment I just recognized the power and warmth of this strong collegial community. And from the first moment I felt welcome and accepted although I am not religious. This impressed me a lot.

posted by Anette @ 5:42 PM 0 comments

“No Limits Team” Reunion

posted by Anette @ 5:40 PM 1 comments

New Start in Berlin

The last time that I posted something in my blog is only two weeks ago but it feels like months. So many different things happened.

Several months ago I applied for a position in marketing at the Europeans biggest Media Company Bertelsmann. After 3 interviews and a presentation I got accepted!!! During all the time this was my most favourite job and I was just over the moon when I got the positive answer! :o) The only weird thing was that I was already accepted for a very good position at DHL in Brussels. I felt sorry for cancelling that because it would have been a great learning experience as well. But of course they understood my decision.

Now I feel like I am going to start a new part of my life. I will move to Berlin and start to work for Bertelsmann on the 17th of January. The contract arrived on my birthday together with a birthday card that said how happy they are to be able to send me the contract like a present on the day of my birthday ;o) I was so impressed!

Although I am so happy for this new beginning I also feel a bit sad to leave Bonn now as I finally feel like home here and found great friends.

posted by Anette @ 5:24 PM 1 comments

Old Times

So I am doing a lot of research right now to find their email addresses, phone number etc. I am writing emails to people who I think could be my old class mates. I am calling people in my old home town, where I hope that these could be their parents. It is really crazy but also a lot of fun. The best is when you are successful, of course :o). I already got some answers and talked to some of my friends from that time. Although I didn’t have any contact to them for so long I still feel a bit connected and also somehow close to them. It is very nice. We had a really great time in school while spending 5 or more years of our childhood together.

posted by Anette @ 6:52 PM 0 comments

100 years of the Theory of Relativity

posted by Anette @ 8:44 PM 0 comments

Follow your principles

Yesterday I saw the movie "The Contender". It is a normal political thriller. But at the end it has a line that I really liked and that made me think.

posted by Anette @ 10:53 AM 0 comments

First Advent

Today it is the first Advent. It means that in four weeks it is Christmas and we light the first out of four candles. Finally the time of christmas markets, mulled wine and gingerbread started. Oh I love it!

posted by Anette @ 2:35 PM 0 comments

Kitchen for Rajiv

Rajiv moved to Bonn to work at DPWN/ DHL and rented a flat. As the flat is completely empty and Rajiv didn`t bring any furniture from Rotterdam he had do some heavy shopping. Did you ever tried to furnish a whole flat in once? It is a real adventure. After doing some research it was necessary to have a list with all the basic stuff that is needed. Then you start to research where you can buy different things and how much they cost to get an overview how much money you would have to invest. To buy only the very basic things would have been already a huge amount of money. So the question was how to save some money.

After visiting some second hand shops and doing a research in newspapers for announcements we realized that to buy everything second hand is a logistical challenge that we can`t manage. So we decided to define only two logistical challenges. First was try to buy a kitchen at Ebay and second buy the rest at IKEA.

Going to IKEA on a Saturday is actually not the best idea as the people from the whole region have exactly the same idea. Nevertheless that way you have the chance to develop your patience, your orientation skills and your crypt deciphering ability (as everything at IKEA has codes, which you need to find the furniture in a huge storehouse). Happily we had already a list ready with the stuff we wanted to buy and didn’t need to decide too many things anymore. So we reached the cashboxes already after four hours.

But such a successful day still needed an extra. In the evening we sat in front of the computer and were giving bits for a kitchen. Did you ever buy something at EBAY? It is so exciting! There were several people interested in that kitchen and we could see the prices rising, but a minute before the end the price was still below Rajiv’s personal limit. The last seconds create a big tense. When the bit was over we hold our breath. YEAHHH we got it!!! This was such a great feeling!!!

Yesterday Rajiv rented a van and we picked up the kitchen. Driving this huge van to a very little village was again an adventure but also lots of fun. And after several calls about how to get there we found the way. Rajiv was just happy to see his kitchen as it is in a real good condition and has all electric appliances that you need. Just perfect. So very soon we will have big cooking events at Rajiv`s place! :o)

posted by Anette @ 11:43 AM 0 comments

Don`t shit here

Last weekend I was in Stuttgart. Stuttgart lies in the South of Germany and seems to be a very conservative place. During a walk I saw that sign. Have you ever seen a sign like that in another place of the world? I was just flabbergasted.

posted by Anette @ 2:04 PM 1 comments

Step into another world

posted by Anette @ 1:51 PM 0 comments

I am a Gryffindor

.

posted by Anette @ 4:35 PM 0 comments

Diwali in Bonn

Yesterday I celebrated Diwali with some friends. It was a very nice day although we couldn`t find a place with Indian food for lunch because we were a bit late and all restaurants were closed by that time. So we ate at a German restaurant and postponed the Indian lunch or dinner for another time. Hopefully our Indian friends will cook for us soon ;o)

posted by Anette @ 1:30 PM 1 comments

Reconciliation in Dresden

Yesterday was the official ceremony of the end of the reconstruction of the Church of Our Lady “Frauenkirche” in Dresden. The church was destroyed during the Second World War in a massive firebombing so intense that Dresden burned for nearly a week. Lots of Germans are emotionally very strongly attached to that church as it had always been more than just a beautiful Protestant cathedral; it is also an important symbol of religious tolerance. One person said that this generation had experienced two miracles: the reunification of Eastern and Western Germany and the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche.

It was very emotional to follow that ceremony with around 10.000 participants including all top German politicians. It is a symbol for reconciliation, hope and the desire for peace. But it also remembered us the cruelties of war. Some of the British people who were flying the bomb attack during the war took part in that ceremony and spoke in a report about their thoughts and their feelings. It was very sad and I wished that the whole world could have seen that report that made me recognize the horror of war once more.

Before the reconstruction started in 1994 there was a big dicussion whether it should be rebuild at all or whether it should stand there as a symbol for the horror of war. To see the ruins in the center of the city was a reminder for the cruelties that were done during that time and didn`t stop in our world till today.

All over the world terrorist attacks, war, fights. It looks like it is in the nature of humans. I am not a sociologist, so I don’t know why human beings don’t stop to kill each other. And for me this behaiviour lies far away from my logical understanding and even more far away from my love for the human kind. Why don`t we see the beauty of our nature and the happiness that smiles and love bring in our live instead of hate and death?

posted by Anette @ 12:40 PM 0 comments

Doris in Afghanistan

Today one of my very best and closest friends has her first day in Kabul. I am so excited about it and I feel so happy for her. It makes such a big difference if you get the contact to a country through the experiences of a friend instead of reading a book about it. It is so much more than just a report because you get in touch with the emotions as well. Talking to her in skype today and feeling her happiness and excitement makes me so happy as well.

As soon as she installed her weblog you will find a link here as well.

posted by Anette @ 8:25 PM 0 comments

Teamdays AIESEC in Afghanistan

Last weekend I was chairing the teamdays of the German AIESEC in Afghanistan Team. It was a very special experience with lots of different inspiring and motivating moments.

We spent the first evening in the Orient Palace in Frankfurt. We had very interesting talks with the owner of the Orient Palace. Friday night I recognized again that you learn the most when you talk to the people directly.

That evening was the perfect introduction into the weekend and led us to a very productive weekend. Saturday night we had dinner at a very nice African restaurant were we were sitting in the sand. As I was responsible for that team last year it was very nice to meet all of them again and see their strong motivation and passion for that project.

posted by Anette @ 8:49 PM 0 comments

Overwhelming Ukrainian Nature

posted by Anette @ 3:08 PM 0 comments

Kiew – historical and modern

It is always nice to see the fast changes in that city. Next to the historical part of the city grow business and lifestyle areas. There are always events like concerts, shows or political events happening. And during the weekends they close the main street for traffic to open a huge pedestrian area. Just amazing!

posted by Anette @ 3:04 PM 0 comments

Beautiful Ukraine

I spent three weeks in my home country. I love it to go back there. It is as you would reconnect with your roots. When I am in Ukraine I can feel the difference between Ukraine and Germany. Even if it is all Europe and it is not too far, the people are a bit different. People I didn`t see for 15 years invited me to their home and from the first minutes I felt like coming to friends I used to visit regulary. Ukrainian people are able to create such a warm and welcome athmosphere it is just impressive.

posted by Anette @ 2:56 PM 0 comments

A great evening with friends

Is there anything better than to spend an evening with your friends? One of these evenings was Friday night. We had such a great time! I am so much thankful for my friends to be there for me. It is not only that you can laugh with them and share your happiest moments. I can also be myself and share sad or bad moments. True friends go with you through the darkest tunnels and take sunniest ways. As Aristotle said: "Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.