Tales from the Diplomatic Corps 12

Hey folks!

Since Paraguay just scored against Italy, one of my favorites, I thought it was time to work off some stuff I'm terribly late on. In this particular case, it really is a pity, since my memory with Sofia Irala is one of my most cherished ones from the six days in Singapore. And once again, it has nothing to do with breaking out of prison together, but rather with a very small, yet beautiful incident.

Although Singapore is a rather small state (it's ranked somewhere between Toronto and Hamburg), you can definitely spend a lot of time on the road. When being introduced to the various CEP activities Singapore has in store for the athletes in August, we drove all over town on our comfortable bus. And apart from the first trip, when the inimitable Jed got a new hairstyle, those trips weren't filled with too much action.

Coincidence (or maybe destiny? [Insert Danny Elfman-like musical theme here]) had it that on most trips, I was sitting next to or somewhere near Sofia. One thing you should know about me is that I always, always, ALWAYS have my mp3-player with me. It's just that nothing can beat the feeling moving in a bus or car and listening to some inspiring tunes. Except for one thing: Having somebody to listen to it with you!

So during our time in Singapore, Sofia and I would sit on the bus and just play music to each other and talk about God and his brother. On top of this site, you find a selection of five songs that I still remember listening to with her.

-) When listening to Tabaco y Chanel, she told me that I so have to learn to dance Salsa
-) When listening to Bella, I tried to translate the lyrics to her, always hoping Fabrizia wouldn't hear my embarrassing efforts.
-) When listening to Words on Logs, I showed her what my home town sounds like
-) When listening to Always, we remembered what being young sounded like
-) When listening to Mala Vida, I told her the story about saying: "Tu me estas dando mala vida" to a girl I fancied.

The whole time in Singapore, we continued having the most awesome conversations. Not about anything worldshaking. Just about stuff: About hobbies, about friends, about injured strikers and about dreams. In short: About what life is all about!

Career choices

Hey folks!

Today, I'd like to pick up another thought from Erin's blog entry about falling in love with her job every day anew. Yesterday I wrote about my inner flame (Btw: Feel free to post what's burning inside you! And don't you are to write 'that nasty chili from last night'), which is handball. However, Erin also described another important aspect:

"It is in this moment, as I place the medals around these athletes, that I fall in love all over again with my career."

Quite recently, I updated my CV, just in case some irresistible job offer would float in. When looking at the 2 pages document I'd produced, I had to smile. Since it is in a chronological order, the practical experience section reads:

• International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland
  International sports governing body, right holder to the (Youth) Olympic Games
  Named Young Ambassador for Austria

• Union St. Poelten Team Handball, St. Poelten, Austria
  Austrian team handball club, currently playing in the 2nd league
  Project manager

I just think that it is a funny contrast, having the IOC, which is without a doubt the biggest, most influential and powerful sports governing out there, on the one side. And then, on the other side: Union St. Poelten team handball, playing in an Austrian amateur league. People frequently pick this fact up and say stuff like: "You must be so happy to do stuff with the IOC and to get away from the boring day-t0-day stuff you usually do."

Well, I have to say: They are wrong! Not about the being happy part - I haven't found a way yet to describe how happy I am to be involved with YOG. However, the last word coming to my mind when describing my duties with the handball club would be boring ("well-paid" would be runner up). For once, it is because the stuff is never boring. One day, I'm involved with planning a season closing and opening event in June and September respectively. The next, I am negotiating a new supplier deal with a sports company. And on the third day, I might be helping with putting together a budget for the next season.

However, apart from being quite diverse and thus interesting, I wouldn't necessarily agree on the fact that the IOC is so much cooler and better than my club. Of course you can't compare the two, that goes without saying. However, just because the IOC is bigger and global doesn't necessarily make it much more interesting. In fact, I discovered that when it comes to work, they are no wizards or the like. They haven't invented a secret program to do budget calculations. They haven't reinvented the wheel when they are promoting the different types of events there are. And from what I have heard, it's also a myth that days in Lausanne are 30 hours long, which is why they get more stuff done than us.

Don't get me wrong: The people at the IOC are amazing in their specific domains and so on top of their game that they don't need me to confirm this fact. However, at the end of the day, they do the same thing everybody around the globe involved with sports does: Work hard to promote the merits of sport. So no matter if I am giving presentations about the YOG or coaching my little league team: Both things involve what I love and thus chose as a career path. So the difference is only quantitatively, not qualitatively...as psychologists tend to say. And when talking about psychology, all I can say that the satisfaction I get from either one activity is just great!

Keeping the fire burning

Hey folks!

Yesterday, I wrote an entry about the diverse professional and educational backgrounds the Young Ambassadors have. What I didn't elaborate on too much was the immense pressure this puts on every single one of us. Just take this blog as an example: Sometimes, I have this great idea, a topic dealing with Olympism I'd love to write about (In case you haven't noted: 99% of all stories in this blog actually deal with the Olympic spirit). And then this: My dear colleague Erin Kennedy, marathon hero, inspiration for millions, whose masters degree makes me jealous everytime anew, just sits down and posts another amazing article on her blog! Just like that! Sometimes, life is just not fair (At this point, you can imagine the big irony sign accompanying these lines slowly fading out)

So in her blog entry, Erin was talking about falling in love every time anew with her amazing job working for an American sports governing body. At the end, she sets the stage for us to pick up her inspiring thoughts:

"As I have done before in my posts, I'd like to pose a challenge to everyone. Look at your own life - your job, your sport, your family, your life - why do you do it? What makes it all worth it? What makes you fall in love all over again, day after day?"

Even before reading her latest entry, I wanted to write a very similar experience. Last weekend, I accompanied one of our youth teams (Under 13 years) to the National Championships in Carinthia. It was the first time in years that I went to such a tournament. When I was still active, I competed at many of those competitions as a player and once I also went there as a referee, however, this was the first time I went there as a coach.

When coming back from the United States last September, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to get involved with handball again. I didn't have anything to do with the sport in two years and didn't have the feeling something was missing. Anyhow, I still got in touch with my old team and started helping them out with some stuff, e.g. as an assistant coach.

In Carinthia, our team played really well and you could see how excited they were to play against the best teams in the country. Unfortunately, two of our players got injured - nothing serious, but still, they couldn't play at their highest level. Still, they were fighting and hanging in as if they were playing for their lives. And while I was standing at the sideline, shouting words of encouragement and support or taking care of injured players, I felt it. I felt that from one moment to the next, the fire I believed to be extinguished was burning, as hot and all-consuming as ever. This might sound cheesy, but I don't really care. If you are involved in sports, you know what I mean and if you are not, you wouldn't understand anyway ;)

And this made me realize something: I might not be involved with handball constantly. I might not be working with my current club for all my life. I might not be playing the game anymore. I might won't have the time for handball once I got a full-time job. However, what I know for sure is that every time I go somewhere near a court, my pulse will accelerate and passion will get the best of me. Because all that matters is that special fire inside and that you just keep it burning...

Joining the Diplomatic Corps

Hey folks!

Yet another time, I have to apologize for cruelly neglecting this blog for...way too long. I actually kicked the habit of looking for excuses a while ago, but still: The reason I don't update this blog as frequently as I'd like to is that right now, I am really busy with my studies and work.

You might think: "What do you mean studies and work? Isn't being an Ambassador a full time job?" (Well, if you actually read only a line of this blog before, you most certainly would not think that. However, let's just keep the phrase as a nice leading-in) Anyhow: No, it is not! It's actually quite funny if you think about how diverse the Young Ambassadors' backgrounds are. So before getting back to a fascinating text about labor law, here is a non-comprehensive list of what the YAs are up to when they are not promoting the YOG:

• Studying, majoring in architecture, sports diplomacy, international relations, engineering, sport sciences, business, design, medicine and communication
• Working for sports governing bodies, such as National Olympic Committees and sport federations
• Running a sports marketing firm and an event management company
  
• Going for their pilot license
  
• Working as a design consultant
  
• Teaching foreign languages at high school
• Working with kids and teenagers as sports instructors and educators

That is only an ad-hoc list of all the amazing things the Young Ambassadors are doing. And guess what: It only comprises the stuff they do for a living, so all the voluntary work, side projects and just-for-fun activities are not even included in here!

Still, I promise (once again) that in the future I'll try to take some more time to update this blog. However, I hope that now you understand why sometimes things take a little while. So if anybody wants to leave some nice words of encouragement (Ranging from "Hang in there, champ!" to "Stop complaining and get up you lazy bas****!"), feel free to ;)

Tales from the Diplomatic Corps 11

Hey folks!

Wow, we have a world premiere here - today marks the first time I write two blog entries on one day, hooray! I just didn't have the heart to deprive you from my memory with the charming Alina Nyukthina, Young Ambassador from Russia. (Btw: Did you see her funny move at the end of the video? I start getting the impression that we should start a Young Ambassador cheer leading team!)

On our first evening in Singapore, we had this big get together with the CEP champs and all sorts of people. You might know that feeling when you come to a strange place to mingle with people, you feel kinda shy. Well, that was not very much the case with us! Still, the local organizers started out breaking the ice by inviting people on stage, asking them to present themselves. Alina was chosen as a Young Ambassador to introduce herself to the crowd. So Alina told us her name, her age and where she comes from. And of course what she was doing. That she was a teacher for foreign languages, going for her masters degree, being the editor-in-chief of a local newspaper and of course being an ambassador. Apparently, I was not the only one impressed by her account, because the MC's only comment was:

"Gosh, and I thought we only have 24 hours a day!"

When talking about the Young Ambassador role, people often ask me what you have to do to be named an Ambassador. Usually, I tell them some stuff every HR person would love to hear: That you have to excel academically, have a background in sports and education, are a team player, speak English fluently and so on. While this is all true, I guess this is not the real deal. So what I usually tell people is the quote from above: "Young Ambassadors are people, who's day has more than 24 hours!"

Of course I don't mean this literally (Despite some circulating rumors, we have not yet succeeded in breaking the space-time continuum). What I mean is that to be a Young Ambassador/CEP champion/champion in general, you have to take as much out of the time you have as possible. True, every one of us only has 24 hours a day. However, the difference lies in what we do in those 24 hours as well as how and if we make them count. And Alina definitely does make hers count...

John Wooden's Seven Point Creed

Hey folks!

Today, I did something fun. My handball team was invited to test a brand new laser tag arena in my hometown. Basically, laser tag is like paint ball, just with lasers instead of bullets. It's great fun and while playing, you really feel like being part of a Star Wars movie.

However, this blog is not about how much fun I had pretending to be Han Solo. At the wall of the new center, there is a quote by John Wooden, a very famous college basketball coach.

"It doesn't matter who starts the game, but who finishes it"

I admit that this is probably not the most stunning quote I had on this blog so far. Still, I was curious to find out who this John Wooden was and why somebody bothered to write his quote in big letters on the wall. While browsing through his biography (I admit that it was on Wikipedia...it's just so convenient ;)), I found some remarkable stuff. Apparently, John's father had given him a seven point creed upon graduation (and even if he did not, it's still an awesome creed!).

• Be true to yourself.
• Make each day your masterpiece.
• Help others.
• Drink deeply from good books.
• Make friendship a fine art.
• Build a shelter against a rainy day.
• Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

I'll leave the last point up to everyone's personal religious views, however, I think if we all lived our lives by this creed, topped with some friendship, excellence and respect, we'd all be off pretty well.

Histoires du Corps Diplomatique 10

Bonjour à tous !

Comme vous avez probablement déjà réalisé, cette entrée de mon blog va parler d’un sujet francophone. Ben, vous avez bien sur raison. Aujourd’hui, j’aimerais bien raconter une histoire de mon cher ami Hamza, jeune ambassadeur du Maroc telegenique, et moi, qui s’est déroulé à Singapour.

Hamza et moi, nous avons partagé une chambre au début de la semaine au centre du congre. Nous sommes tout le deux arrivés au même jour, je crois que c’était un Samedi. Et comme le décalage de temps est presque pareil entre Singapour et Maroc/Autriche, nous étions vachement fatigues. Au début, c’était pas un grand problème, car nous nous sommes bavardés des trucs véritablement importants (le foot). Nous avons aussi écouté de la musique (« Aicha, Aicha, écoutez-moi » ).

Pourtant, après une heure, c’est devenu un peu ennuyeux. Alors, Hamza et moi, nous avons décidé de faire une petite promenade dans les jardins. Alors, nous nous sommes levés, ont mis nos chaussures et sont allés dehors. Le temps faisait très beau et chaud, même la nuit, et c’était donc très agréable de bouger un peu. Après quelque temps, nous voulons essayer de nouveau de dormir un peu et nous avons donc décidé de rentrer dans la chambre. Alors, nous sommes rentrés à notre bâtiment, nous avons monté les escaliers et j’étais en train d’ouvrir la porte quand j’ai réalisé – la clé ne marche pas ! J’ai essayé une deuxième fois – rien ! M**** !!! Il faisait trois heures le matin, nous étions crevés et la porte restait fermer.

Donc, nous sommes descendu (le centre est sur une colline, alors, il nous fallait descendre et monter pas mal de fois) pour informer la gardienne de nuit de notre misère. Malheureusement, elle ne savait pas non plus quoi faire, mais étant gentille comme tout le monde à Singapour, elle nous a accompagnés à notre chambre pour se renseigner de la situation.

A notre porte, j’ai dit à Madame : « Voici, j’utilise ma clé, mais la porte ne bouge….CLACK » (Le CLACK signifie le son d’une porte s’ouvrant). Sans changer quelquechose, notre porte avait tout à coup décidé de s’ouvrir et nous laisser entrer. Vous pouvez bien imaginer que la vigilante n’était pas aussi heureuse que Hamza et moi.

Alors, c’est l’aventure que Hamza et moi ont passé pendant notre première nuit à Singapour. Bien entendu, des histoires comme celle-ci soude les ambassadeurs ensemble à jamais ;).