Think Pink! SAP Social Sabbatical in Jaipur, India
This time tomorrow I will be sitting in a plane to India.
I will be unwrapping my brand-new inflatable neck pillow, putting on my noise-cancelling headphones, diving into the in-flight entertainment program and trying hard to relax. Because I am not doing this for fun, well, at least not primarily: I am participating in an SAP Social Sabbatical, my company’s pro-bono program for global engagement.
Our mission statement? Equip the world’s youth with the skills they need to tackle society’s problems and thrive in the digital economy.
That means that SAP places employees in highly diverse teams to dedicate their skills, expertise & know-how in a unique, short-term assignment. In my case I will be going to Jaipur, working in India’s PINK CITY for four weeks.
So tomorrow I will finally meet my team: Deniz from the Netherlands, Tina and Terence from the US, Renata from Brazil, Peggy from China, Gyorgy from the Czech Republic, Kai from Germany, Natalia from Russia, Ari from Israel and Katherine from the Philippines. Unfortunately, Wolfgang had to cancel the trip on very short notice because of a family emergency.
So far we have only ever met virtually, during our 6 -week preparation period.
During the prep time we gave our team of 12 the name “Team Pink” giving credit to the predominant color in Jaipur (the city was painted pink in 1876 when Prince Albert visited the Maharaja).
But there is another team on my side: Team Rossana. It is made up of family and friends who will take care of everything at home while I am gone. Special thanks go to my partner and Rossana’s dad Dario who always claimed it is the most natural thing for a working mom to take off for a full month! Thanks to my dad, his wife, my mom, my brother, and my sister-in-law who will step in and take good care our six-year old. Thanks to Gloria for insisting to take Rossana to the swimming class together with her two girls. Thanks to Rinne and Melanie who will be the first to step in tomorrow after school. Thanks to my colleagues who kindly agreed to take on my work back home! Thanks to my manager Ulrike for being the most supportive!
And also to the many friends who supported me during my application and through the last few months in which I hardly ever spoke about anything else. Thank you for bearing with me and believing in me. It means so much.
I will start this journey thinking of some wise words I got during the prep calls and coaching: Let it go! Go with the flow! And: Worry less! Let’s see if this works also on the plane with my neighbor’s eternal elbow on the arm rest.
Watch out for more stories about my journey, the project itself and travel in India!
