At the beginning of this year (of 2020) I attended a conference as a speaker. It was organized by our company in a city Almaty in Kazakhstan.
We didn’t have enough time for sightseeing as the city deserves. But what I have to confirm is the fact, that the spirit of the post-soviet era is still present. During the stay, we visited two fancy restaurants and we tried local food – which was delicious. The city itself is interesting by its location because it is surrounded by marvelous mountains which were in that time covered by snow.
From the work perspective, it was an enriching experience. My presentation skills need more practice. But I accept this challenge. Even the words of “Pattabhi Joise”, the famous yoga teacher, were again confirmed: „practice and all is coming“. I have confirmed again to myself, that I am in the „practice“ phase :-).
The trip itself was „spiced“ by Coronavirus outbreak. The funny thing is that the security and health check on the airport was more strict after arrival to Kazachstan than check during entering the European Union on the way back.
Edit (3.5.2020):
At the time, when I wrote this text, no one in Europe knew how big the problem of COVID-19 will become. The truth is, that responsible people (government at least) should have known. The fact is that China’s government didn’t tell us the whole truth. The European Union as the organization should have lead and connected us together (at least coordinate the actions against the COVID-19). For example, where was the European president? It’s Mr. No-one. The EU has totally failed.
I found the poor security check in the EU compared to Kazachstan ridiculous. Especially, due to the fact that Kazachstan, at that time, had already had some infected people and Europe was totally “safe” area without COVID. Now I see, it wasn’t ridiculous but sad. Very sad. We should have used the experience from Asian countries and we should have been prepared better.
I think, for Europe (and for the rest of the world) it has been a very expensive experience. We will repay these bills for a very long time.
Was it necessary? I don’t think so.
