At my workplace, and in the project which I'm part of, there is a requirement to have 2 team members to be in London at any one time. There was a bit of stigma last time, in that some felt it would be a very trying time. Living in a far off country, unfamiliar culture and environment, time zone difference, sense of loneliness. Maybe that was true in the beginning, but wow, has things changed this year. We used to have one person going 3 months at a time. This year, we've had team members going for almost a year. For the project, it would ensure more continuity in terms of knowledge retention. And with a bit of courage, people can travel to many other nice places that many just dream about. From London, it is so easy to hop over to Europe for a weekend. Even London itself is known as one of the most happening cities in the world. Not to mention the amount of daily allowance the company bestows on someone during this time.
In short, I will say that these long term oversea assignments is not for everyone. Some already have the personality to be able to adapt, some need to have the potential to adapt. If one has neither, it would not be a pleasurable experience. But for those that do have what it takes, the opportunity should really not be missed....
Recently I had to participate in a RFP and the follow up Presentation. If I were to list all my inadequacies, it would be a long list. I am first to admit that I do not have much knowledge and experience with these kind of things. Most of my work is in operational support on old legacy systems. The projects I handle are very small scale. Very low hardware and networking knowledge. I am also not familiar with the client, but every other colleague involved in this effort is. They can readily spout many points heard or observed from the client gained from previous visits to their office, whereas I cannot. So for all these reasons and more, I felt like a fish out of water. I also received critique that I was too quiet during discussions. Of course, that made me feel like I was performing even more poorly. Discussions for the preparations were always done late at night, and I had errands to run early in the mornings. At times I felt like a zombie and was too tired to focus.
So I could have banged my head on the wall, and admitted defeat, just go along with the motions. But I knew that I would be no better off if I did. I tried my best to overcome my shortcomings. Don't know if others can acknowledge any improvement, but heck, if you allow your life to only feel validated by the yardstick others impose of you, it would be very unhappy indeed. Better to have checked your own measure of success, ensuring it is honest of course, and validate against that instead. I don't believe I have grown leaps and bounds, but I think I have grown. Until I am thrown into another challenge, only then can I review my improvements. So I await for the next oppurtunity then.
My next challenge is One Hundred Pushups. Wish me luck!
Seek and pursue!
