Romania – 11 Sept 2021 – Wetskills Challenge day 1
By Loes Heemskerk (Wetsus Academy)
With a fresh mind and suitcase full of ideas I went on my way to the sunny Bucharest, Romania, for the 50th edition of the Wetskills challenge. At the baggage claim I already met one of the colleagues and the supervisors. Simultaneously, I met my first challenge, my luggage had not arrived in Bucharest. Not a highlight of the day, but it did give me the opportunity to bond a little with my first colleague as we were travelling to the university campus and marvelled at the soviet-classic-modern fusion architecture that was happening outside the car window.
In front of the accommodation building the whole group was gathered and I got a glimpse of the people I would be spending the most of the coming 10 days with. No time to get to know them yet though, we had to move on quickly to the first event of Wetskills, the kick-off.
At the kickoff we met each other and part of our host team. We played some icebreaker games and found out that we all like good food. I was still a bit worried how I was going to spend the rest of the week with just a laptop and half a pack of gum, but not to worry! The colleagues from Romania -people that I had never met before- were very accommodating and eager to help, which made me feel welcome immediately. So one of them took me on a little trip to a gigantic mall to gather some essentials for the missing luggage, while the rest of the group had a tour of the campus.
After a little well needed break we went on to the evening programme. “If you want people to get to know each other, have them share a plate of food!” if this is not a saying it should be now. For our first dinner together we had tapas style entrees and a big ol’ stack of grilled veggies and meat as a main. Oh, boy these Romanians know how to grill. Under the vines of the campus diner, while enjoying good drinks in tall glasses, we all shared food and shared stories. I think we are off to a great start with this group!
