222 days of anticipation — ¡Wepa!
The first SAP social sabbatical in Puerto Rico is just around the corner! What’s that? In a nutshell the social sabbatical is a four week pro-bono engagement in an emerging or developing country with the dual purpose of helping nonprofit organizations and growing SAP talent.
Being lucky enough to participate in the social sabbatical this year I blog here to spread the word about this terrific program. Hopefully this inspires more people to pursue and more organizations to offer such engagement opportunities.
Anticipation — the longest phase of the social sabbatical
It has been quite a stretch getting to take off to the social sabbatical, exactly 222 days between being accepted into the program and the flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Fun fact: In Germany we have a superstition about repdigits as lucky numbers and we even have a special name for them: Schnapszahl, which literally means “hard liquor number” and hints at the double vision after too many drinks. Anyway, I am all for the good omen to our social sabbatical.
Rewind to the beginning: 222 days before take-off the anticipation phase begins at the moment when the congratulations-you-have-been-accepted email pops up on my phone. I am jumping around nearly exploding from a sense of adventure. My mind tries to assemble all bits and pieces it holds about Puerto Rico, later Google comes into play. Interestingly, during the next days all of a sudden half the internet seems to be about Puerto Rico: books being published, news articles, videos and tweets everywhere. The filter bubble is working. Is this creepy technology, a matter of selective perception or both?
During the following reading and research phase my picture of Puerto Rico becomes more complete. Also more questions arise. Being US territory to which extend is Puerto Rico an “emerging country”? That is: What makes Puerto Rico a location for a social sabbatical? Also, how is the restoration after hurricane Maria coming along? Are we going to a destroyed island or an outright vacation paradise? Even in the age of the internet from the other side of the ocean it’s hard to grasp a good understanding of the overall state of the island.
Three months before take-off the official pre-work phase of the social sabbatical program begins. We get to know each other as a team of 12 about to embark on the Puerto Rico adventure. Eventually we learn about our client organizations and the sub-teams of three we are split up into. After several conference calls, more reading and further research the state of our host location becomes clearer. We learn that Puerto Rico struggles due to being hit twice, first by an economic depression then by Maria on top. We are both surprised and excited to find out that all 12 of us will be working with clients tackling entrepreneurship or STEM education topics.
¡Wepa!
Eventually we get to talk to Puerto Ricans directly, first to Ada, our local coordinator from the social sabbatical implementing partner Pyxera, later to our client organization Centro para Emprendedores. The calls with our Caribbean counterparts are full of energy, love and kindness. Before the social sabbatical has started on-site we are already taking away plenty of positivity from the interactions. When Ada briefs us on intercultural basics we find ¡Wepa! on our vocabulary list, the Puerto Rican exclamation of rejoice. We directly identify and choose it as our common social sabbatical team name.
Let’s go!
After 222 days of anticipation I am now ready for take-off and still full of questions. I leave Germany with an odd compilation of information about Puerto Rico, ranging from the assumption that entrepreneurs will be the ones to rebuild the island to trivia like names of more or less flavorful mango varieties. I leave a little doubtful whether overall our Caribbean destination is maybe too comfortable to count as the out-of-comfort-zone experience the social sabbatical is supposed to be. I leave feeling attached to Puerto Rico already and incredibly blessed with the chance to grow a special relationship with another place on earth. It is high time for the adventure to begin!
