The craziest summer

OK three months since my last post, but what a crazy summer it has been! To be honest, I have been on the road every week since my last post. I can't even believe that it is already September!! There has been a lot going on, and I am not even sure where to start.

I think it is fitting to start with the work side of things, because that has been the main reason that I have been on the road for the entire summer. Earlier this summer, we finalized the acquisition of another orthopedics company. The powers at be have been working on this for some time, but it only became official at the beginning of the summer. I myself have also been working on this integration since February. At that time, it was something I was doing on top of my day job. I was putting together the plan on cross-training all of the reps across EMEA. No easy task I can assure you since now the Spine portfolios of both companies were going to be combined. Well I am happy to report that all of the hard work paid off. We were able to hold our first cross-training sessions 4 days post close - the first region in the world! I am pretty proud of that. The team worked extra hard to get everything in order in time, and it was well worth it. We decided on the concept of a RoadShow, meaning we would take the training to the markets instead of them coming to us. Great concept, but that just meant that I was literally on the road every week this summer! We were given the goal that we had to train all of the EMEA reps within 3 months, so that is what we did. Essentially we werer in a different country every week. We started the RoadShow in Oberdorf, CH, then moved onto Hamburg, Leeds, Madrid, Rome, Warsaw, Stockholm, and we just finsihed last week in Dubai. So at this point we have trained 95% of the sales force! We just have one more training to go, and that is in South Africa, which is next week. This summer really challenged all of us to try and find some balance. Really hard thing to do when you are on the road every week. Prioritizing our time became of the utmost importance. There were definitely some great days and nights that I missed out on here in Zurich. Such a pity because summer in Zurich is absolutely amazing. I didn't get to do as much as I wanted to, but still enjoyed. One crazy summer for sure.

Along with the crazy travel for work, I did get the chance to do some traveling for fun, so I cannot really complain! Last time i left you, I was just about to leave for Amsterdam. Well I was able to celebrate my birthday there. It was a long weekend here in Zurich so I had the honor that some of my friends from here made the trip to Amsterdam to celebrate my bday. We had dinner at Supper Club on Saturday. OH. MY. GOSH. This place was unreal. It's essentially a club that serves dinner. Set menu, 5 courses. Everyone gets the same menu. But heres the thing. There are no tables, just beds!! They serve gloves with the food and you eat from bed! And in the middle there is a DJ! It was seriously unreal. One of the coolest things I have done. Loved this place, and I would recommend it to anyone. I think there is one in Istanbul as well. So worth it! We then went to this club Jimmy Shoos!!! Oh it was so cool. All in all a great weekend. I was in Amsterdam for work for the week after, for SpineWeek. The week was good, but long. But we had the chance to see more of Amsterdam. We saw some good restaurants, some good bars. Good trip to Amsterdam.

So when we got back from Amsterdam, I had my bday party here in Zurich. Oh man. That was great. Thanks to all that came out!! We started out at dinner at Steinfels and then headed to City Beach Bar. Really cool concept - a beach bar on top of a parking garage!! Loved it. And then we went to the Prime Tower and ended in Plaza. I had such a great time. I am really lucky to have some amazing friends here in Zurich!

In July, Andrea and I took a holiday to Madeira Island, off the coast of Portugal. Oh man. I so needed this holiday. It was only for a week, and I didn't get the chance to completely disconnect, but it was so good to be away. The island is absolutely breathtaking. Not really a beach island but it is all about the nature. Amazing flora and fauna and such different terrains. We had a couple of lazy days by the pool, did some hiking, took some tours around the island, and had one beach day on the island of Porto Santo! Andrea and I tried different restaurants every evening and explored the nightlife. Really laid back and chill scene. We found the one nightclub on the island and visited a few times. We even tried the local poncha (even brought some home with me!), and took a wine tour of the Madeira Wine Company. All in all a perfect holiday and nobody else I would rather spend the week with!!

So I also made a trip back to the US for Sheena and Sameer's wedding! I was so happy to be back and see all my girls. It had been 2 years since I saw them, and I was really looking forward to seeing them again! The wedding was awesome, everything was beautiful! I am so glad I made the trip back home. I even had to do a Bollywood dance - oh dear! Sheen - only for you! I had such a great time. I did get very homesick when I got back. I realized that I really missed my friends. I love my life here in Zurich but I realized how different my two worlds are. It's like one has nothing to do with the other. And it is pretty crazy to think how different my life is here. Two years ago, I never would have been able to imagine what it would be like living outside of the US, and look at me now, I can't imagine going back to the States! It is so crazy! I do really miss all of my friends from back home. I wish I could transport them all here to Zurich. It was good to see the BU girls. Luckily I will get to see them again for Dolie's wedding in November!! Can't wait girls. Miss you much!!

So a couple of other cool adventures/milestones this summer before I wrap up this post. My friends from Zurich got me an amazing Birthday gift - a hot air balloon ride over Switzerland! I was finally able to cash in on the gift on 1 Aug, Swiss National Day. What an incredible gift!!! I was up near St. Gallen and could see Bodensee, Konstanz. It was amazing! They make you put the balloon together and break it down, and honestly, it was one of the coolest things I have done. I also had the chance to go on a dune buggy excursion in Dubai. We had one extra day after the training, and booked a dune buggy ride in the sand dunes of the desert. Oh that was INCREDIBLE!!! So much fun! I was a passenger as I don't know how to ride a manual car, but it was still such a blast. I am so glad we took the time to do that. It was seriously incredible! One last milestone - FINALLY, today, 1 September, the LAST of my furniture was completed. Thanks to handy work of one Alex Sexton, the doors to my wardrobe were finally finished!!! OH MY GOD. Almost 1.5 years to finish all of this stuff. For the record, I still stand by the fact that I hate IKEA.....!!! HAHA

As the summer comes to a close, it truly has been the craziest summer. So much has happened (as you read above) and I cannot believe it is already September. Where did the time go?!?!? In November, I will be in CH for 2 years!!!! I think that is absolutely insane! But it still hasn't gotten old. I still love it here, and still excited for what is to come in the future. Yes, I am just that cheesy. What can I say? Maybe it was in my destiny to move to Switzerland....let's see what the future brings!

Anyway thanks for reading the blog. Apologies for the novel you just read, hope you enjoyed the reading, even if it was long. One thing is for sure - I am never lacking with words, spoken or written!! Until next time, faithful readers!!

PS - apologies for not posting any pics in this post. For pics and of course my Bollywood video, check out my Facebook page. This post was written using my iPad and wireless iPad keyboard. The keyboard was a bday gift....at first, I have to admit that I completely dismissed the fact that I got a iPad keyboard for my bday. WHO DOES THAT?!?!?! But now that I have used it to update my blog, I get it. So in the end, a big thanks to Oli and Alex for such a weird, but practical gift!! haha