ToT Groningen

My first training course where I went as a participant rather than as the organiser, was a train the trainer's course in Groningen, NL. It was nice to go, both because it means that my boss finally seems to take some interest in providing me with more experience and hence a chance of actually doing some more interesting work and to get somewhere at work, and because I was curious to be in receiving end again. On top of it, I was, as always, excited about seing a new place. Especially since Groningen is a city I would most probably never visit on my own choice. This is something I really like with my work - the fact that it has taken me to places like Skopje, Podgorica, Zagreb, Belgrade, Garmish-Partenkirchen and now Groningen - all places I would probably never think of going to on my own. Well, exception perhaps of Zagreb and Belgrade.

The ToT course went well. There were 11 participants and 2 trainers for a 2.5 days of extremely stuffed schedule, leaving me with a headache at the end which it took me more than 3 days to get rid off (and I hardly ever get headaches!). I learned a lot - both about training but also about myself. Before going I was quite worried about the first day when we had to hold presentations/trainings with the group - something I had never done before (outside of Uni) and which I wasn't that sure that I was able to do.... However, I realised after a few hours that 1) I did indeed manage to hold a training, and with people who some of them were quite experienced trainers already; 2) and that I did it quite well :))

It is always nice with a self-esteem boost :)

As already mentioned, I did manage to find some time on the second evening to walk around first in the city and then in an outdoor festival that was on that week in a park and where there was a mixture of organised concerts, spontaneous small ones, small theatre shows, different kinds of food and all other kind of happenings. I tried to local specilities, although I have forgotten the names now. The first is a kind of tiny pancakes that pop out of the wholes on the first picture - really yummy. The second was ordinary vanilla ice-cream served in a different way between two thin pieces of waffle - this ice-cream was pushed out of plastic tubes that reminded me of sausages... but it was nice was well. Or perhaps this was due to the sugar overload that night ;)

Local food stuff and happenings in pictures:














Other Groningen pics: