Training

A random series of events, 1 hour of sleep, exhaustive and extensive questioning while training my team... I am so drained right now.

Long story short, last night I hit the gym for the first time in ages at the Dedeman Hotel across the street. It's a pretty expensive Turkish hotel but given the treadmills don't work at my hotel, I decided to check it out. They charge $20 for one day, but the pool was beautiful despite being small. It had the most perfect lawn chairs and would be a great place to work out, then read by the pool or go for a nighttime swim. Afterwards, I checked out a nightclub here, the Diplomat Club. Given it was a Mon night most of the clubs were closed. A friend I made at the hotel happens to speak fluent Russian and he somehow found a cab driver who knew the "in" scene here. Surprisingly, it was really good. The music was awesome, they had a really good dance show, along with my favorite local wine, "Mona Liza".

Today I began the training session for the kids here. I know I should stop calling them that. But for some reason I feel so protective of them. In any case, after poring through tons of research I decided to pick Russian Pharmaceuticals to start with. The Soviet form of education has been that what the teacher says, goes. There's no questioning, etc. One of the things I'm trying to do while here is train them to formulate their own opinion and encourage them in discourse. As they all speak good English, are intelligent, and extremely kind, I expect some will work in other countries in the future. Being a research analyst is also tough to explain. There is no one right approach, one right way, or one end conclusion. But some of their thinking is still, but "what's the answer?" It's been both exciting and challenging to observe this and try to break this mold.

But with very little sleep, an emotionally draining night, and the really hot weather, I am running on low. They are so interested when I train them. But they like to debate, argue, and one member in particular loves to question everything slightly as a joke, but also because he enjoys speaking his opinion. It's been challenging keeping them in order, staying patient, and maintaining a fine but strict border between discourage and challenging just for the sake of challenging.

And I realized today I find debating and arguing absolutely exhausting. If someone has a different opinion and I disagree, it takes more energy out of me to try to convince them of why I might be right than to just respect that they have a different opinion and move on. Also having never taught, I was surprised by the level of focus and tension it takes out of me. It's been interesting trying to figure out the best ways to teach them while thinking of their long term interests in mind. I've also been surprised by the level of maturity and diplomacy needed when you are training a team. It's been taking me to new levels as I try to take them there as well. But my god it's been a long day.

I decided to skip belly dancing class tonight and sign up for a massage and get some rest. It's moments like now that I wish the technique in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind were really real. I could use it right now.