Spanish School - Cuernavaca Mexico

"Cuando una persona desea realmente algo, el Universo entero conspira para que pueda realizar su sueno".

- When you really want something, the whole Universe will conspire with you to get it - Paulo Coelho, the Alchemist


So I´m almost to the end of week 1 of Spanish School in Mexico, and I can ensure you it´s been very different from last week! We have morning classes outside with my lovely instructors Janet and Meli, I have one-on-one instruction for the first two hours with Janet as the school is practically empty now that it's outside of summer season - suits me fine, and learning in leaps and bounds!

Cultural activities have included taking salsa lessons - again- at some point I´ll have to start trying my luck at the club, but these guys are good... drinking the supremely cheap beer compared to the States and educating my Mexican neighbours on the political, social and economic situation in South Africa - in Spanish!

Oh, and today I gave a book report in Spanish on the Seven Habits, which basically almost turned into a lesson. I do think my lingo is improving...

I live in Ricardo´s weekend house - it´s in a security complex, I have the place all to myself including a shared swimming pool, cd player, nice kitchen, huge flat screen tv with 60 sattelite channels and I even think the maid came in today to clean the place up! These people are to good to me... Ricardo and gang are coming down on the weekend so we can party, let´s see what pops up!

OK sports fans, I need to be off soon - tonight I´m going to check out the local nacho libre-type masked wrestling with some American ladies, should be a hoot, will have plenty of Cervezas first to oil the laughing-screaming muscles.

Check out my other post below as well - the big Iacocca man asked some of us Villagers for a bit of info on leadership in our countries, this is what I came up with and I reckon it is a pretty good effort!

Adios amigos!

Pieter

LEADERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Answering the question of leadership in South Africa is an interesting task, and one I would gladly undertake. The potential scope to this task is monumental as South Africa has produced many incredible people in its rich history, but to simplify to a global audience it is necessary to divide the South African history into four main parts:

PRE-1652: Pre-colonization
1652-1910: Colonization and imperialism
1910 – 1994: Segregation, white dictatorship and APARTHEID
1994 – present day: Democracy

The leaders that can be mentioned are numerous, from the Zulu King Shaka Zulu to the leader of the first Dutch colony Jan van Riebeeck, the spokesman for peace Bishop Desmond Tutu to the last great dictator P.W. Botha, the captain of the National Rugby Team the Springboks Francois Pienaar who won us the World Cup, to the man who did the first heart transplant, Chris Barnard.

I will limit my dissertation to the following 3 highly Influential Leaders. The first two have been bridges from near civil war to democracy, the third is a role model for young people in the new South Africa…

Political-social: Nelson Mandela, former terrorist leader of the African National Congress, a prisoner for 27 years and the first black South African President.

Business-social: Raymond Ackerman, founder of the Pick ´n Pay retail group, a white Jewish Businessman who believed and fostered inclusive systems and the importance of social responsibility long before it became fashionable.

Business-social: Mark Shuttleworth, 30-something internet billionaire, engineer for social change, venture capitalist and the first African in Space.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was imprisoned by the white Apartheid Government of South Africa in 1963 for what was to be a period of 27 years. At the time he was one the leaders of the African National Congress, a black political organization who was fighting for civil liberties for the black majority in South Africa and was subsequently banned. A period of civil strife, sanctions and economic duress ensued with white and black South Africans living in segregation, a state of near civil war, rampant terrorism and cruel and violent surpression of black terrorist activity by the militant white government.

International pressure, coupled with a changing in the thinking of the white leadership and an untenable domestic situation led to a reformed National Party government under the leadership of F.W. de Klerk releasing Mandela from prison in 1990.

He could have emerged bitter and vengeful, eager to get back at his surpressors. Instead, he preached a system of inclusivity for white and black Africans alike, a new economic and social order of peace and democracy that would see all South Africans prosper. A model of renewal that would put South Africa firmly at the forefront of world affairs, a leader in Africa and a beacon of hope that would be a role model for others.

Under his leadership, this came to pass. He was duly elected President of South Africa in 1994. He did not accept this leadership sooner, as it was necessary to build the foundations to a new South Africa, including a ironclad constitution, a democratic system that was best of breed with an inclusive Parliament, Regional and National Government and a business environment that would foster growth.

Even more remarkable, he had earmarked a successor in Thabo Mbeki that would, in 1999, take on the mantel of national leadership and admirably fill the shoes of this legendary and almost mythical figure. Mbeki would bring South Africa to the next step of economic and social welfare with one of the strongest growth rates in the world, and sustainable social and economic programmes to ensure that it would remain an inclusive and internationally attractive country.

He is admirable for:

His capacity for forgiveness
His ability to inspire through the integrity of his character and the strength of his convictions
His complete lack of ego, and the resultant sustainability of his achievements through others


Raymond Ackerman

The Chairman of national grocery store Pick ´n Pay, he was fired by the then market leader Checkers in 1966, an action spawned by jealousy from his bosses at his success and often described as “The Single Greatest Mistake in South African Business – Ever.”

He proceeded to open a rival chain called Pick ´n Pay, and from humble beginnings this eventually grew into a market leader, built on fundamental principles he calls “The Four Legs of the Table”. Ackerman, and the whole of his thriving business, believes in and stresses the importance of Administration, Merchandise, Promotions / Social responsibility and People – with the sovereign consumer on top of the table.

His belief in Social Responsibility, specifically, has spurred him to implement social wellness programmes, educational benefits to staff, huge charity drives and numerous other initiatives that has firmly fixed Pick ´n Pay in the mind of the consumer as a company that cares about – and fights for- them. The public has resonded by supporting Pick ´n Pay to the degree that today is has long since eclipsed its old competitors and in reality now only face the Shoprite group in the retailer battlefield.

He is admirable for:

Doing what´s right on a social level long before it became fashion.
Formulating his guiding principles and sticking to them, and successfully transferring them to a massive organization as foundational principles to success.
Being a role model to other business leaders to what the modern South African can achieve through good corporate citizenship in helping change the landscape of our country.

Mark Shuttleworth

Mark Shuttleworth is of my generation, being born in 1973 in South Africa, a white South African. He sold his internet software company Thawte Consulting to US-based Verisign in 1999 for a reported $300 milllion, making him South Africa´s first internet billionaire (in Rand terms) and making him an immediately celebrity. Instead of just enjoying his windfall for the next few years, he proceeded to do the following:

He gave all of his 17 employees – including his gardener- a cool million dollars each to say thanks for their part in the success of his business
He immediately created several businesses, but most noteworthy would be HBD venture Capital (“Here be Dragons”) – to foster and support new technology businesses in South Africa.
On a social level, he initiated the Shuttleworth Foundation which runs the Hip2b² (hip to be square) campaign, a national campaign which encourages young South Africans to study Science and Maths as a key to eventual economic and social success.
He has broken several social taboos as one the most prominent young white South Africans, including dating a prominent black South African celebrity.
Currently, he is based in London and is spearheading the Ubuntu Project, an incursion on the territory of all-powerful Microsoft by developing free desktop software that can be readily available all over the world.

He entered the international consciousness, however, by using some of his vast fortune to buy a ticket to space in 2002. After seven months of intense testing and training, he launched with the crew of Soyuz TM-34 from Baikonur in Kazakhstan and docked with the International Space Station two days later. This event was the culmination of a lifelong dream and received wide international press for being “the first African in Space”.

He is admirable for:
His belief that there are no boundaries, whatever the mind of man can conceive it can achieve
· His generosity
His success as an entrepreneur, and his admirable use of capital gained in his pursuits to foster social upliftment and education
His willingness not only to spend on social initiatives but also to be gratuitous even under significant criticism (the exorbitant cost of the space mission cost him some friends – but hey, I just think it´s jealousy…).

CONCLUSION:

All three leaders had very different paths.
Mandela´s power came from character and integrity, and the ability to convince others of the validity of his convictions.
Ackerman brought a work and principle-centred ethic to his life and business, and is a role model for all South Africans in building a sustainable business that benefits the greater community.
Shuttleworth has firmly established that no young South African needs to see any limits for themselves in the new global community, but that your successes should not be used just for personal gain but also to the benefit of others.

Through integrity of character, hard work and self-belief or our leaders, South Africa will continue to build a new economic and social miracle, and truly become a Rainbow Nation…

BAR PROVOCA

So this is how I´m spending my final days in Mexico City...

I tell ya, it´s a tough life. Last night Ricardo actually got us tickets to a reality TV show they have here called BAR PROVOCA – basically about 20 exruciatingly hot boys and girls serve you drinks and whoever gets the least tips on the night gets booted out – a 24 hour show it´s Big Brother meets Coyote Ugly. Check out the website http://barprovoca.kimozabi.com/

So I had to drink lots of rum, ogle models and try to forget that the cameras are watching 24-7 – plus Ricardo has amazing friends, including the thoroughly gorgeous Blanca...

I really am scratching my head here, if he ever comes to visit me in South Africa I´m gonna have a tough time matching the hospitality. Tonight we´re going to a Mexican wedding, I have borrowed one of his suits but I have to skip the dinner and go straight to reception – consequently I´m having dinner with one of my sister´s friends who I have been trying to hook up with all week, and Gabriel sounds like a hoot so it all works out.

As I am adding to this blog a little after the fact, I can also happily report that I got thoroughly wasted with Gabriel and his great friends at Restaurant La Opera, before going to the wedding and quietly sipping my water in the corner so as not to embarrass Ricardo...

Next week is sure to be significantly less glamorous as I settle into Spanish School in Cuernavaca – Institute Chac Mool, orientation is Monday at 8.

But hey, what a blast so far. Ricardo´s mother is fantastic as well, she made me chocolate milk this morning!

Nada hay mas sabroso que una “Modelo” Helada con una modelo caliente…

Which means, liberally translated, that there is nothing better than a cold Modelo beer and a hot model on your arm.

I concur.

So, let´s recap the grand Mexican adventures of young Geldenhuys so far...

As per previous blog, my arrival was rather bumpy due to:

a. I forgot my entry form to Mexico with my bank documents in my other bag in the States
b. They never gave me the f&%king form.

I do believe b is the reason, that´s my story and I´m sticking to it.

In the interim, the result was 14 hours overnight spent in Mexican Immigration, I missed the HUGE party Ricardo had arranged for me including some very attractive chicas, but hey... that´s life. I got to really bond with La Guardia Santiago, my Mexican guard and going-to-the-bathroom buddy, plus I´ve been making up with way too much Modelo Negro´s and Tequilas...

So, to wit. My week in bold...

Sunday:

Ricardo, Jorge and Melanie come pick me up at airport. They are all hung over but this is no impediment to further merriment, as I would soon learn of Mexico.
We head straight for Ricardo´s place, a swanky apartment with a huge patio. We buy Coronas and settle down on patio to a good long afternoon of merriment and catching up. His friends are brilliant, Miguel also arrives and we do a bit of singing - I am introduced to Jarabe de Palo´s La Flaca and determine to learn the song inside out!
Eventually we make it to a late lunch at the thoroughly Mexican restaurant Agave Azul, only after being joined by Carla, Pedro and Sam – I have my first Mochillo, a Mexican beer with the lemon in the glass, the salt on the rim and Modelo inside... HMMM.
The party continues at Ricardo´s place, but I call it a night at about 10 – loving having a real bed for a change!

Monday:

The perpetually cute and thoroughly directionally challenged Ana Luz comes and picks me up – we go for lunch at another great Mexican place joined by Guilio, another mate from this year´s GV program.
Once more I am not allowed to pay for anything – we have a great time catching up, then Guilio heads off – mas trabajo, the boys have to work again! Ana Luz and I go and pick up her friend Bero, and we head out for coffee at the mall. We discuss life, love and everything else, and it is revealed that Ana Luz has a direct line to JuJin – that would be Jesus. She ensures Bero that she will get the job she is shooting for, everything is arranged...
Ana Luz drops me off at about 7, Ricardo and I head out a bit later to Carla´s place to say goodbye to British Sam and Spanish Pedro. What was supposed to be a quiet night transforms into a tarot-reading Tequila swigging marathon that evenutally terminates at 3.
Signficantly, the cards tell me that next week will be a highly virile and successful one, but in order for my book to succeed, I need to make sure my foundation is more solid than it currently is.... hhmmmm.
Sleep comes to those who wait...

Tuesday:

Homestay day. I do e-mails, work through my Spanish comic book (The X-men are transported to an alternate universe where they reign supreme then try to fix things by getting their own world back – yep it´s tough vocabulary), and have lunch with Ricardo and Jorge. I learn how to say I´m sorry in Spanish (lo siento).
After lunch I take a nap, then go to the gym downstairs. After a solid workout and a a sauna, I meet up with Ricardo to stock up on our beer supply (balance is important). We have a relaxing evening at his place where I try to explain the concept of Lobola (South African culture where a man pays for his wife by giving cows to the father). We have a much needed early night...

Yep, big day.

Wednesday:

I hit the gym again in the morning, Ana Luz comes and picks me up shortly and we head off to her place. Her house is like the movie haciendas, thoroughly beautiful, which fits with her mom. You know what they say about a girl and her mother... if this be the case, Ana Luz will still be a stunner in the odd 25 years from now.
Meanwhile, Sujin from Korea arrived last night, hugs ensue. After breakfast the three musketeers head out to visit the famous Pyramids of the sun and moon at Teotihuacan, site of one of the biggest cities in the world round about 200 AD and unquestionably a must-see archeological site. The pyramids are awesome but a pretty steep climb – Ana Luz manages just fine with the sexy boots.
We get rained out, however, and purchase some cheesy souvenier t-shirts to get dry. We head back to Mexico City, and our main entertainment for the next two hours is watching Ana Luz try to navigate her home city back home. Well, I wouldn´t try... with 20 million hombres in this town and more coming in each day, it´s small wonder even the locals get lost.
That evening we go big or go home. We have a reunion – Ricardo and I from GV02, Ana Luz, Guilio and Su Jin form GV06 and Ramon, Ana Luz´s brother from GV05. We eat, we dance, we drink Modelos and Tequila, we get a full on Mexican band at our table – my dad would absolutely LOVE this shit!
We eventually get home at 1h30, Ricardo reckons it´s a good idea to now open the bottle of red wine I purchased yesterday – these guys don´t stop! I wriggle out of that one – way too drunk already! And his mom is coming tomorrow....


Which brings me to present day: The maid is right now preparing another massive lunch for 3, this indicates that ETA for his mom is pretty soon – the lady of the house, daunting prospect. I have two good options for Spanish School in Cuernavaca next week, and Ricardo has offered that I stay at their holiday place, so it´s all good. So the rest of the week will be a fusion of the following optional events, depedending on what Ricardo can organize:

1 Be part of Mexican reality TV show in a bar
2 Attend Mexican wedding with Ricardo – this would be a hoot if he could get me invited!
3 Go to Ana Luz´s lake house on the weekend
4 Go to Ricardo´s place in Cuernavaca on the weekend

While I do enjoy the luxury lifestyle in the city, I am now eager to get out to Cuernavaca to start classess.... pfff, maybe a few more days of hard partying can´t hurt!

Man, I do recommend Mexico!!!

Hasta Luego,

Pedro

MY NIGHT IN JAIL...

Ok, maybe that´s a bit dramatic, but here´s how it all went down:

The date: 19 August 2006
The event: Young Geldenhuys disembarks the FANTASTIC cruise ship, says goodbye to Quentin, Phillipa, Mike and all the other good folks who made it an awesome holiday... then the fun starts.

10h00: They page me - time to get the hell off the ship, party´s over, go home.
10h20: Luggage not where it´s supposed to be - go back to terminal with over-aggressive taxi driver, he drops some names and we get my backpack. Off to the airport!
11h00: Checked in and fall asleep in cafeteria
13h00: Have sunblock, deepheat and Axe deoderant confiscated by customs. Now I´ll have to make do with my own manly smell for a while. Chicks dig it.
14h00: Off to Houston - sleep on flightç
17h00: Get off walk mile get on flight to Mexico - relatively smooth sailing so far...
20h00: Arrive in Mexico City. Woohoo! Tonight we party - I´m sure Ricardo has organized something huge, and probably I´ll see Guilio, Ramon and Ana Luz as well tonight. Can´t wait to clear customs!
20h11: "You seem to be missing your arrival form that needs to accompany the visa sir. Please wait here in this holding area for 5 minutes".
20h30: Other 20 people in holding cell are helped and start clearing out. I desperately try to get one of the security guards to help me phone Ricardo who´s waiting outside...
21h00: Only me, Sashan from India and some Peruvian bloke are left in holding cell. First bad news - we´ll have to stay the night, they can´t issue docs without payment to the bank of $40, which is only open at 9 in the morning...
21h30: Sashan starts to complain heavily. He has hypertension. Guards become even unfriendlier. I call Ricardo from Sashan´s phone, he says there is a huge party at his house just for me but he´ll see me in the morning then.
21h40: More bad news. Guard advises bank is closed tomorrow as it is Sunday, and we can´t stay in holding area more than 24 hours. They are gonna send me back from where I came. Say what??? I worry that Sashan will bust a nerve...
Temperature drops I have no warm clothes - can I either go get my luggage or some blankets???
22h30: Peruvian guy gives up and is off to Lima. Sashan and I only ones left. I start jabbing in broken Spanish with Santiago, our guard. We REALLY bond after he escorts me to the bathroom.
23h00: Ramon calls on Sashan´s phone to tell me what an awesome party they´re having. Thanks for sharing. I tell them I might be sent back in the morning...
23h30: Continental Air rep brings sandwiches and takes my other passport. Now I´m fucked, they´re definitely sending me back to Houston!
00h00: Sashan asks for Paracetemol. I wield the Spanish ling like a scimitar and a doctor is on his way. Hey I´m impressing myself!
00h30: Same guy who said bank is not open on Sunday changes his mind. Maybe wé´ll be allowed to stay... Continental rep brings blankets.
01h00: Santiago reckons we get upgraded to ensuite facility with the other prisoners. Now I don´t need a date to go to the bathroom anymore. Sleep on stools, fed and warm. They bring my luggage as well. Now it´s like the Hilton!
01h30: Clowning around with guards... they think my gyro-powerball is a wank muscle exerciser, hysterical giggles ensue. I take a picture of holding facility just as doctor arrives '- he shits on me for a busy height: "yes I speak English - and German too! Do you think you´re a bloody tourist? No pictures!" He examines Sashan, concludes that we have wasted his time and goes his not-so-merry way. Me and the guards poke fun at him after he leaves. Loco...
2h00: Go to sleep. Let´s worry about things as they happen tomorrow.
8h00: Herded back to old digs - hey I missed this place! Looks like we´ll be getting out of here after all... We wait on needles and pins. Sashan starts copying my quote book.
10h30: Get my passport back - this time I make sure I have all the forms. Pay additional $50 penalties for something I never die wrong, but voila! I am in Mexico...
11h00: At internet cafe relating this stirring tale... life can now resume!

TIP TO ALL SA TRAVELLERS: For God´s sake please remember that a visa isn´t enough, you need an entry form from the consulate as well!

Till next time true believers...

Hola Sports fans!

I have had a beaut of a day cycling all over Bermuda - it is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world I have ever been to, and it just drives home again what a privilige I have to be out here on a freebee holiday!

Quentin is looking after me in a grand way - I realized this week that we went to primary school, high school, university and London together - and then we worked for the same company! Talk about history... so it's great to catch up.

I had a good night's sleep and after getting up at 7 to check out how we sail round the island, I went back to sleep only to arise at 1. Now, after six weeks of average 4 hour sleep nights, this is quite liberating to be this lazy.

I've started progress on my book as well - looking for the next bout of inspiration, but you can check out the disjointed progress on www.yellowjasper.blogspot.com...

Tomorrow we go for a wreck scuba dive! Pinch me I'm dreaming!

P

THE MOTION OF THE OCEAN…

Quick wrap up on the last week’s events, in chronological and highly satisfying order:

4 August: The Global Village closing dinner, it all ends with a bang and I get to shake hands with Lee Iacocca, drink apple martinis till 4h00 in the morning with my friends and start saying goodbye to some of the best people I will ever meet. Eish!
5 August: It’s a cryfest as the Village empties out, people start leaving every hour and it’s a pretty sad state of affairs. I don’t pack, preferring to spend the time with my friends. I keep my promise to Fico and that night we go to Bethlehem Musikfest and watch Alice in Chains live in concert. Wild – another good night with the knowledge that the next day we’re outta there.
6 August: Saying goodbye to Nancy and Agniezska, I go to New York with Catharina and we spend the night at Ivan Vosloo, the consul of SA’s flat. Fantastic place with an awesome view of the UN From the 38th floor! We have dinner in Chinatown and drinks off Times Square.
7 August: Say goodbye to Catharina, go for a jog in Central Park and go watch some improv comedy that night with Alfonso, Guili and Uri. Good stuff, and that night I say goodbye to the last bunch from the Village… it’s all over now!
8 August: After a bit of a tussle, I get my Mexican Visa and hop on the bus back to Bethlehem. We proceed to have a great dinner at Mary Fances’s house – we being me, Fico, his mom, MF and her daughter Rebecca. She has an awesome place up in the Pokonos and we rent American Pie: Band Camp and the last two episodes of Prison Break – man I’ve been wanting to know what happened for ages!
8 August: Me and Fico go to the waterpark Camel Beach with another colleague Sherry Buss and her kids – we have a blast, then it’s off to the Crossing, where all kinds of brand names have outlet stores. I shop at Ralph Lauren and Banana Republic to upgrade my t-shirt quality, and throw out some of my old crappy stuff. That night we have an awesome dinner at Big Daddy’s, then after watching another vid I drive back to Bethlehem with Beth to go stay at Sherry’s for a couple of nights.
9 August: Sweet!!! Sherry takes me golfing, this time I kinda have a duckhook on the four iron and I shoot an 87, but still a good day out. Sherry cooks up a storm that night, we have loads of good red wine and appletinis, and I have a great night’s sleep in her boy Tanner’s bed – man what a comfortable bed! Thanks Sherry – awesome!
10 August: Which brings me up to the present… I’m boarding the bus to Phillie in about 30 minutes, tonight I hang with my mate Kevin again, and tomorrow at noon I board the Empress of the Seas to go on free joyride to Bermuda with one of my schoolmates Quentin. Yep, it’s a tough life…

Hi Global Family


In the true and trustest tradition of my regular updates, here is my latest one, albeit this time not from the most beautiful place in the world the southernmost tip of Africa Cape Town, but a place most determinedly in the top 10: Bethlehem Pennsylvania...

CAREER: As you by now know, I quit my job, missed out on a bumper bonus and threw away a promising corporate career with a listed company... And you know what? Best decision I ever made! Coming back to the Global Village was like chicken soup for my soul, being a guide is awesome in so many different ways than being a Villager - I have learned a tremendous amount this summer, but among other things the following are clear to me:

1. I want to keep on being significant to others. It feels good to help facilitate real and positive change in people's lives. To that end I hope to come back next year to the Village and present some 7 Habits courses.
2. I will write and publish a book before the end of 2008. Right now the subject matter is the daredevil adentures of a South African writer pursued by international terrorists across Central America, but it's a work in progress...
3. You never ever HAVE TO work in an environment that slays your soul. Get out, you can go do what you're good at somewhere else where your talents are nurtured and given room to develop. You should get up every morning and want to go to the office... that's the key! To that end I will look for alternative business opportunities the day I go back to South Africa... eventually!

GLOBAL VILLAGE: Different. Amazing. To the Villagers it was very similiar than to our year - they did not do toga parties but they had cocktail parties, they did not go cruising in New York but they did go cruising in Baltimore - some hated their projects, some loved them, people fell asleep during speeches in Washington DC, there were several couples, some outsiders, some guys who alwas hogged the attention. There were good looking guys and beautiful women, awesome dancers, and lots of love in the room come the closing dinner. Tears on demand every hour on the hour on Saturday when everyone left...

People will ask me - so how does this Village compare to our Village? Well the answer is it doesn't. To me, to us, our Village will always be the only place where we had that amazing connection to a part of ourselves that we did not know was there, and can never be repeated. But for this year's Villagers - well they were, as all the Villages, priviliged to have that same experience. And it was beautiful to watch, and to be a part of it - as a guide and mentor, so always a little on the outside - but still amazing.

FRIENDSHIP: I was priviliged to work in an amazing guide team guys. Rosaria was here as well as Mary Frances, Lesley, Joan, Kelly and Beth - not to forget the big Kahuna Dick Brandt. But added to that I had the amazing time of making amazing new friends in the guide team, and that is something that will be with me always. We were four international guides, and I can safely say that Fico, Nancy and myself built frienships that will last a lifetime. What a blessing!
LOVE: The rule for guides is that keep it tidy - no relations with the interns, no relations with the staff. This, as you might imagine, in the context of a Village that keeps one completely immersed for 7 weeks with guide training, keeps an energetic lad like myself fairly frustrated. But the Village is over, and that means for all intents and purposes I'm back in the game. So nothing to report on this front currently sports fans, but keep tabs on my movements down to Mexico...

THE LIST: As you folks might know, I've been keeping a to-do list for the past three years. I've now ticked off 10 things on this list since then, leaving 31 to go. Benchmarks over the last year have been:

1. Quit my job
2. Go back to Global Village
3. See Bon Jovi Live in Concert

Over the next four months, I will also hit:

4. Learn Spanish in Mexico5. Backpack through South America
If you're interested to keep tabs on whatever the hell I get up to, please visit my blog http://www.coveyfan.blogspot.com/. You'll laugh - you'll cry.
Take it easy true believers - and have fun on the cruise, those of you that are going!
Pieter

Cuando buscase el bien en las otros, descubridas lo mejor de te mismo

"When you look for the good in others, you discover the best in yourself"

I have a pretty good feeling today - the Village is coming to an end and the interns are going into reflective mode.

We had our final client presentation for my project team today - and after a rocky start where I really felt like the stronger team members would dominate, I really felt them come together as a team. For Pete's sake, they actually enjoyed spending time together doing it in the end!

Big successes: Miho from Japan popped out as a whiz on powerpoint after being completely non-involved at the start - Guili from China ended up to be as smart as a razor, we had some great conversations and she really pulled her weight in the end. Ilana from Israel, who has made a point of being pretty bored by the whole thing, was challenged in the end and had a good experience. I laid into Filipe from Portugal about halfway through the project for his laziness, and Ilana was the one who came to his defence and made it her responsibility to make sure the "weaker" team members stayed on board.

All in all, I've seen Yu Shaw from Belize really grow, as did Supriya from India - and Meng Meng from China, after also kinda being disinterested to begin with, really got on board.

so... feeling kinda good, it's nice to be involved in a process where the outcome is so positive, people really grow as individuals and as a team, and something powerful is learned!

Tonight we're doing the girlie thing - have decided my toes need TLC and will be going for a pedicure - we've told Fico from Peru we're going out for Beers and Ribs, so can't wait to get his machismo response to this little surprise... man we're having a lot of fun!

Tomorrow I wrape up my guide group meeting and am presenting a final Seven Habits course in the morning - not quite sure how many people will pitch up, it might be a challenge with the room...

So it's all good, only 3 days to go really and it's all over for this year, this is undoubtedly the best move that I could have done for myself this year and a great foundation for the next part of my grand transAmerican adventure...

Until we meet again folkds, take care of yourselves - and each other!

And remember... Chuck Norris doesn't go at the speed of light - light goes at the speed of Norris...

P