Attending Soap Conference in Krakow, Poland
I attended the conference for the talks, loved the food, and stayed for the people.
Hey friend,
Olaenman-ieyo (Long time, no see in Korean)!
How have you been? If you were wondering, I have been well.
As you know, I travelled at the beginning of this month and am recovering from all the excitement and stress.
I loved travelling solo, but I’ll have to try it again, this time with a well-thought-out plan. But till then, I’ll like to share some highlights from my trip.
Some Background
You might’ve noticed from my recent postcards that I am a tad jobless, and I enjoy being jobless because it allows me to be creative and free to do what I want.
After moving to Malta, I decided not to rush into job hunting and breathe. I was already considering taking a break because I was burnt out, but I never got to take that break because I just thought I had to make money.
When I decided to take a break, I also decided to pick up some skills, improve my current skills, and attend conferences while at it. That was how I found SOAP Conf.
I joined some communities to network and improve my skills and attended online meetups. During a WTD meetup, someone mentioned the SoapConf happening in Krakow, Poland and that piqued my interest.
Some highlights from Krakow
I decided to attend after checking for flight tickets and accommodation and noting all potential expenses.
My experience of staying in a Hostel: To have company and spend less, I decided to stay in a hostel. That was a wrong choice. I realised that I ran out of social battery faster than I realised. My first shocker was that I realized I would share a room with mixed genders. (Ah, my mummy can’t hear this one oh)
But I played cool, and honestly, it turned out incredible. I listened to most of the conversations even though I could barely relate to any topics. However, the hostel served a delicious choice of breakfast and dinner, and the mix of people was dope.
Krakow is very affordable: I barely spent anything. I bought bottled water and apples. I was lucky to get a hostel that was 20mins walk away from the venue of the conference. And I was staying in the city centre, so I had access to all the fun places (even though I barely visited any place).
Lots of young people: Krakow had many young people. It is because Krakow, Poland’s former capital, has around 23 universities compared to Malta, which has eight universities as a country.
Cool things about the Soap conference
- The Soap conference was held at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology: the ticket gave us access to the Manggha Japanese Museum. The museum comprises contemporary art from Japanese, Korean, and Polish paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, and more.
- Design of the attendees' tags: I loved the idea of printing the schedule and attaching it to the attendees' tags. It helped me keep up with what was next, and I didn’t need to stress. This was the coolest thing about the conference and, oh! the food.
- The food was too delicious: I ate so well. The networking room never ran out of snacks, coffee, tea, and fruits throughout the conference. The lunch was healthy and tasty too. Anyone on a vegan, keto or any diet would find options. It was marvellous!
- Soap Box Talks: A couple of you following my tweets probably noticed that I appeared on stage to speak. The organizers of the conference initiated an idea that allowed anyone of the attendees to take 5-mins slots to speak about anything on stage. I took a slot and gave a resounding speech tagged a “Call to action” from the conference.
Highlights for me
- I met amazing people: The networking sessions were great. I reached out to people to chat about anything. My first day was shitty because I didn’t have the stomach to talk to anyone. But it improved with time, and I made new friends in my technical/content writing field.
- I know way more than I give myself credit: Before attending this conference, I doubted every idea I had and would second-guess myself at every chance I got. During the conference, I spoke with different people and groups, and every conversation left the group or person amazed at my thought process and the things I knew. I could think on my feet, get creative about anything, and always find room for improvement. It was beautiful to be reminded of how unique I am.
- Learned more about myself: Asides from figuring out that I could think on my feet and that I wasn’t scared to jump into things as long as I didn’t overthink things, I also learned that there are reasons for some of the things I do. There were explanations for the ways I acted or reacted towards things. It made me calm and understand why I act the way I do. I don’t have all the answers to my questions yet, but it just feels better to understand why I act some way.
Note-worthy events
The last day of the conference was the first night of the Dragon Festival in Krakow. You can read more about the history and the great dragon weekend here.
I ate lots of good food. I mentioned it before, but again, I loved eating good food.
I visited the Wawel Royal Castle and didn’t go for the paid tour but enjoyed the views.
I tried archery, and I am good at it. I hit the bull's eye; it was my first time trying archery. I could join the woman king army for part 3 of the show with some practice. Y’all watch this space.
On a final note
Wǒ de péngyǒu (My friend in Mandarin)
I know; I am just in my language-flexing era. Bear with me.
My trip to Krakow, Poland, was a fruitful one. I loved the talks and the people. I was humbled to speak at the conference and even received a high-five from the CEO of Heretto — the company that is the conference's primary sponsor.
I look forward to attending another Soap Conference in 2024. My message to you, dear friend, is to find people on the same track as you are in your career and build relationships with them. It’ll do you good on all rounds, and you’ll be better for it.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend, my friend.
Happy Weekend.
